It wasn't until the smoke finally dispersed that the Konoha ninja — whose emotions had just taken a full roller-coaster ride — came back to their senses.
They might not have understood exactly what had happened, but that didn't stop the surge of excitement coursing through them. After all, the oppressive presence of those Tailed Beast Balls that had nearly descended upon their heads moments ago had been overwhelming beyond words.
Only now did the communications from the signal ninja arrive—painfully late.
"All combat units, be advised: all Tailed Beast Ball projectiles released by Kumo have been completely neutralized by Mitsuki. Continue operations according to the original plan."
In truth, the delay couldn't be blamed on the command center.
No one had anticipated Mitsuki's counterattack to be this decisive—almost single-handedly crippling the Kumo's ninja forces.
Mitsuki's words upon arriving at the Land of Hot Water front — "I'll handle the Tailed Beast Balls." —were gaining more weight by the second.
While one side rejoiced, the other despaired.
Within Kumo's strategic deployment zone, a massive, blue-flamed two-tailed feline stretched its body before dissolving away, revealing A, Darui, and the others inside.
A's expression was indescribably grim.
He didn't even need to inspect the battlefield closely — the thick stench of blood hanging in the air was more than enough to tell him just how catastrophic their losses had been.
Unable to suppress the rage boiling in his chest, A roared,
"Damn Konoha! They were hiding something like this the whole time?!"
At present, very few people knew about Mitsuki's so-called "counter-reflection" ability—only the upper echelons of Kirigakure and Sunagakure who had directly clashed with him.
Even if A and the others had known, they would never have imagined that Mitsuki could reflect dozens of Tailed Beast Balls at once.
Yugito reverted from her full Tailed Beast transformation, her graceful figure emerging as she calmly assessed the situation.
"That attack covered far too wide an area. Conservatively speaking, less than half of our combat strength remains."
As she finished speaking, she cast a meaningful glance toward Darui.
Darui immediately understood her implication. His face twisted in discomfort, but he still forced himself to speak.
"B-Boss… maybe we should… withdraw for now."
"Bang!"
A's eyes bulged as he smashed a nearby boulder into powder with a single punch.
"What did you just say?!"
Darui shrank back, no longer daring to argue.
At that moment, the Kumo jōnin Cee stepped in to support Darui's suggestion. With his exceptional sensory abilities, no one present understood the gravity of the situation better than him.
"Boss, if we drag this out any longer, Konoha's forces will enter close-combat range. Once that happens…"
A knew it himself.
If the battle continued, Kumogakure would almost certainly lose.
Retreat was the optimal choice — but Konoha wasn't a pack of mindless monsters that would simply allow them to pull back unchallenged.
Someone would have to stay behind to intercept Konoha's advance.
And those people would be abandoned.
A did not want to make that kind of disgraceful decision.
"I'll do it," Darui suddenly said. "I'll lead a unit to cover the retreat."
Unlike before, there was no hesitation in his voice—only resolve.
"Yo, you guys are really standing around chatting?"
A completely unfamiliar voice cut through their discussion.
"Relax. None of you are getting away."
Yugito immediately turned toward the source, her guard raised.
The speaker made no attempt to conceal himself.
He stood openly atop a jagged stone spike thrown there by the earlier explosion, looking down at them from above.
"White hair. A tanuki on his shoulder. That's him — Shimizu Mitsuki of Konoha."
Cee swiftly drew two kunai and shared the intel with the others.
"So it's you!"
A exploded into motion.
The ground beneath his feet shattered from the sudden burst of force as he used the recoil to close the distance instantly, his left hand forming a blade as it swung down.
"Lightning Release: Lariat"
Facing the incoming strike, Mitsuki casually raised Mistcutter and gave a light, effortless swing.
The domain of Full Counter expanded once more.
The instant A's arm — wrapped in crackling Lightning Release Chakra Mode — made contact with the Full Counter field, all chakra-based rules were forcibly rewritten.
What that meant for A was simple:
The chakra he had condensed in his left arm suddenly spiraled out of control.
What had been reinforcement energy instantly transformed into a force that began destroying his own cells from within.
Kumogakure's signature technique — the Lightning Release Chakra Mode — was violently torn apart by its own chakra.
"BOOM—!"
The lightning chakra detonated at point-blank range, blasting A backward along his original trajectory and slamming him into the ground, carving out a massive crater.
"Lord A!"
A's attack had been reckless —but no one in Kumo had expected an outcome like this.
"I'm fine."
True to his lineage as the Third Raikage's son, A's body—honed through relentless training—was not so fragile. While inferior to his father's legendary physique, a mere chakra detonation wasn't enough to take him out of the fight.
He slowly rose from the crater and glanced at the bleeding gashes on his left arm, frowning deeply.
He couldn't understand what kind of bizarre technique the enemy had used.
Truthfully, when Full Counter was used against taijutsu-enhanced fighters, its effects were far subtler than when reflecting ninjutsu head-on.
Taking advantage of A's momentary setback, under Yugito's command, Cee, Darui, and the remaining ninja — those who hadn't been directly wiped out by the Tailed Beast Balls — converged and surrounded Mitsuki.
Mitsuki showed no awareness of being encircled.
Instead, he spoke casually,
"Don't be so hot-headed, Raikage."
"Oh—right. You're not the Raikage yet."
"Too bad for you."
"You probably never will be."