Land of Grass, battlefield.
In Orochimaru's words, the situation here could be summed up in one word: deadlock.
Kitsuchi, the Land of Earth's commander-in-chief, lived up to his reputation as the son of Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage. Not only was he powerful, but his tactics were formidable too.
At that moment, Kitsuchi was controlling a giant of rock, locked in combat with Orochimaru's Manda.
Orochimaru stood atop Manda's head, his serpentine eyes fixed coldly on his opponent, though his thoughts had drifted elsewhere.
What surprised him most in this battle was the young man named Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku, who was only in his early twenties, was actually fighting Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, to a standstill.
Roshi's body was covered in a dark red Tailed Beast Cloak. With a sweep of his arm, he sent a Lava Release ninjutsu crashing toward Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku's Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, having already taken in the magma's trajectory.
He pushed off the ground and drifted aside, evading the frontal attack while sweeping his hand back...
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Several Shuriken shot through the air.
"Hmph!"
Roshi stood his ground in disdain.
As he saw it, ordinary Shuriken were child's play. They couldn't even pierce his Tailed Beast Cloak.
He neither dodged nor evaded, waiting for the Shuriken to strike him. But before they reached him, the scene before his eyes suddenly warped.
His heart jolted, but it was already too late.
Those were no Shuriken!
Boom!
A "fire dragon" engulfed Roshi, sending him flying backward. He plowed a trench through the ground and crashed through several trees before finally stopping.
"Damn it... I fell for another Genjutsu."
Just as Roshi said, he had indeed fallen for a Genjutsu.
From Roshi's perspective, Uchiha Fugaku had thrown ordinary Shuriken. In reality, however, he had already fallen under the Three-Tomoe Sharingan's Genjutsu the moment Uchiha Fugaku raised his hand.
What flew at him in reality weren't Shuriken, but the Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet Technique!
The mighty Four-Tails Jinchūriki had actually fallen for a trick played by a kid in his early twenties.
Roshi ground his teeth.
After fighting for so long, he had already experienced firsthand how formidable the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was, especially its impossible-to-guard-against Genjutsu...
You never knew whether what you saw was real or a trap your opponent had set for you.
"The Uchiha Clan... what a troublesome bunch." He spat and climbed back to his feet.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Orochimaru controlled Manda in his fight against Kitsuchi and found a moment to glance at the battle over here.
This Uchiha Fugaku really does have some skill.
When Orochimaru first discovered that the Four-Tails Jinchūriki had also come to the Land of Grass, it gave him quite a headache.
The situation he feared most was the Four-Tails Jinchūriki suddenly going berserk while he was in the thick of fighting Kitsuchi.
If Roshi really did go berserk, the Four-Tails, Son Gokū, was no joke.
Even if he summoned Manda, they could only barely hold their own against the Four-Tails. If Kitsuchi seized the chance to attack as well, Orochimaru would be facing two powerful enemies alone, with little chance of survival.
But at the critical moment, Uchiha Fugaku had stepped forward.
Land of Fire, western border.
The battle on Jiraiya's side was much the same.
He had already entered Sage Mode and was fighting six of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist alone.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist hadn't earned such a great reputation for nothing. Their skills were naturally formidable.
"Toad Oil Bullet!"
As Jiraiya spoke, the two Toad Sages standing on his shoulders spat out Toad Oil. Then he brought his hands together:
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
The oil met the fire and erupted with a boom into a sea of flames, rolling toward their opponents.
But the six men wielding Ninja Blades were unfazed. Each formed Hand Seals and unleashed Water Release.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Six enormous water dragons soared into the air, instantly turning into a "sea of water."
Water and fire collided, steam rising with a hiss and spreading across the entire battlefield.
Elsewhere, Hyuga Hiashi was fighting one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist one-on-one.
His palms flew as he struck again and again at the man's vital points with the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, trying to seal them. His opponent was forced back repeatedly, and the longer they fought, the more deadlocked the battle became.
Land of Fire, southwestern border.
On Hatake Sakumo's side, the battle had already ended.
He and the Konoha Ninja were cleaning up the battlefield.
The bodies of the Kumogakure ninja who had fallen in battle were gathered together and burned to ashes with Fire Release.
The wounded Land of Lightning ninja who had been captured were bound hand and foot, waiting to be taken back to the village together.
Once the battlefield had been cleared, Hatake Sakumo ordered the return to the village. Behind him was a line escorting the prisoners.
Uchiha Arashi dragged A, who had regained consciousness but was tightly bound.
The Raikage's son had flushed bright red when he woke to find himself captured, and at first he struggled. Only after Hatake Sakumo punched him twice in the stomach did he settle down.
Now Uchiha Arashi was pulling him along, and he walked obediently.
Hizashi Hyuga carried Killer B, who had likewise regained consciousness and been tightly bound, as he followed Hatake Sakumo.
Dodai, who had lost a leg, was being dragged along by Uchiha Retsu.
Uchiha Retsu really was a talkative fellow.
With one hand pulling the prisoner along, he still didn't forget to heap praise on the Lord Hokage. "Lord Hokage, you..."
Hatake Sakumo showed nothing on his face, but he was rather pleased.
Land of Fire, northwestern border.
Nara Shikata led the ninja army day and night and finally reached the northwestern border, where they ran straight into the Land of Wind's army led by the Third Kazekage.
The two armies faced each other as dust billowed.
The Third Kazekage floated in midair, controlling his iron sand. Looking down, he swept his gaze over the opposing army and discovered that the man standing front and center and directing it was none other than Nara Shikata.
He gave a cold laugh.
"Konohagakure really has run out of people."
In the Kazekage's view, Nara Shikata might be highly intelligent, but his proper role was that of an adviser, directing things from the rear and assisting the commander, not coming to the battlefield to fight on the front lines himself.
Putting a strategist on the very front line was putting the cart before the horse.
Konoha had actually fallen so far as to send the head of the Nara Clan into battle personally. Clearly, they had no one else to send.
Nara Shikata directed the Land of Fire's ninja into formation, fully prepared for battle.
A melee was about to erupt. Blades clashed between the two sides, and battle cries shook the sky.
The Third Kazekage controlled his iron sand, rampaging across the battlefield. Konoha Ninja were thrown into disarray and suffered heavy losses.
Wherever the iron sand filling the sky swept, not a single Konoha Ninja could stop it. Anyone it touched was killed or injured.
After fighting for a while, the Third Kazekage flew above the battlefield once more to survey the situation from on high.
What he saw made his expression change at once.
His own side was actually being driven back at every turn?
Something's wrong.
The Land of Wind was too far from the Land of Fire, so he hadn't dared bring all his ninja forces, only a portion of his elites. Even so, the battle shouldn't have gone like this.
As far as he knew, the Land of Fire was currently fighting the Land of Earth and the Land of Water, beset by troubles both at home and abroad. How could it spare so many elites to deal with him?
Yet a ninja force that had simply shown up was actually overwhelming the elite main force he had brought?
What infuriated the Third Kazekage most was the blond young man among the enemy ranks.
That blond ninja kept flashing around the battlefield, appearing and disappearing without warning.
One moment he was here, the next he was there, always striking at the weak points in the Land of Wind's formation and posing a serious threat to the formation his side had deployed.
The more the Third Kazekage thought about it, the angrier he became.
He, the mighty Third Kazekage, had led a great army to attack the Land of Fire, only to be stopped halfway by a force led by the head of an ordinary clan. If word got out, how could he ever show his face again?
The Third Kazekage couldn't sit still any longer.
He immediately decided to start with that blond ninja.
The Third Kazekage moved, controlling his iron sand as he flew toward Minato Namikaze.
He stopped above Minato Namikaze and raised both hands, unleashing his wide-area technique:
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Shower!"
The iron sand filling the sky instantly transformed into countless fine needles. Like a torrential downpour, they whistled downward across a wide area, piercing at high speed and covering an entire stretch of the battlefield.
The Konoha Ninja were caught off guard, and a whole group was struck down on the spot. Seeing the danger, the rest formed Hand Seals and shouted:
"Quick, defend with Earth Release!"
Minato Namikaze also noticed this troublesome threat.
He looked up at the Third Kazekage flying in midair, his brows knitting together.
This won't do. If this keeps up, my comrades won't last long. I have to find a way to keep this guy occupied.
Minato pulled several Flying Thunder God Kunai from his ninja tool pouch, flinging some around him with his left hand and tossing the others into the air with his right.
The Kunai traced arcs through the air and fell in different directions.
The next moment, golden light flashed around Minato, and he vanished from where he stood.
When he reappeared, he was in midair, in front of the Third Kazekage, where a Flying Thunder God Kunai hung.
The instant Minato appeared, he formed a Rasengan in his hand and thrust it straight at the Third Kazekage!
The Third Kazekage's pupils contracted.
"That's... the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
He was somewhat surprised. This was the Space-Time Ninjutsu mastered by Tobirama Senju, and supposedly he was the only one who had ever used it.
This young man could use it too?
"Konoha really does produce talented people one after another." Though the Third Kazekage was surprised, he showed nothing on his face.
At a thought, he controlled a mass of iron sand to shield himself. With a boom, the iron sand easily blocked Minato's Rasengan.
Having missed with his strike, Minato didn't linger.
His figure flickered, golden light flashed, and when he appeared again, he had landed beside another Flying Thunder God Kunai.
The Third Kazekage narrowed his eyes and stared at the blond ninja's back, his brows drawing ever tighter.
He really is fast. As expected of Space-Time Ninjutsu.
It looks like I'll have to deal with this kid. If he's allowed to grow, he'll surely be a formidable enemy of the Land of Wind in the future!