The situation was already extremely critical, leaving no room for even the slightest hesitation or delay.
In order to protect the safe withdrawal of the majority of the Iwagakure ninja, Onoki made a difficult yet resolute decision.
To abandon those comrades who were still trapped within the sea of fire.
Even though this choice felt like knives cutting into his heart, as a leader he knew all too well that this was not the time to let emotions dictate his actions.
A trace of pain flashed quickly through Onoki's eyes, but immediately afterward his expression turned ice-cold as he issued the order without the slightest hesitation, "Abandon the people in the rear. Immediately change the terrain and block Konoha's pursuers!"
At that moment, Kitsuchi, who had been busy nearby organizing the formation, heard the order and rushed over in a panic, shouting loudly, "You can't, Father! We still have many brothers who haven't managed to escape!"
Onoki's eyes went wide with fury as he glared fiercely at Kitsuchi and shouted harshly, "Get out of my way! Do you want even more people to die here because of your indecision?"
Kitsuchi looked around at the Iwagakure companions covered in dust, their faces full of panic, and his heart sank heavily.
The urgency on his face instantly faded.
He slowly lowered his head and silently retreated to the side. Even though his heart was filled with pain and reluctance.
He knew very clearly that Onoki's decision was the right one.
At that moment, the flames in the distance began to weaken, the once-rampaging fire slowly dying down.
This meant that that powerful enemy, Uchiha Rengoku, could come charging back at any moment.
Time was tight. Every second of delay could bring fatal consequences.
Onoki paid no mind to his son's feelings and began issuing orders, "The Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth units will use Earth Flow Wall to block the pursuers."
"The Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth units, change the terrain..."
As a series of commands were issued, the Iwagakure ninja all began forming seals together, slamming their hands onto the ground as they unleashed their ninjutsu.
"Earth Release, Ten-Thousand-Mile Earth Flow Wall!"
The burning area began to rumble loudly as towering earthen walls, like massive city ramparts, rose straight up.
There were still some Iwagakure ninja within the burning zone who hadn't even had time to run out.
They cried out in despair, "NO! LORD TSUCHIKAGE!"
Those who were too severely injured to run, their faces pale as paper, their bodies trembling, collapsed at the edge of the earthen wall.
When they struggled to raise their heads and their eyes met the towering wall dozens of meters high, endless despair instantly swallowed their hearts.
But Onoki did not stop at creating just one wall.
Other Iwagakure ninja pressed their hands to the ground and cast another terrain-altering ninjutsu, "Earth Release, Earth Style Core!"
The solid ground shook violently. The side of the wall actually caved downward, as if an invisible giant hand had pressed it down with brutal force.
Thousands of casters activated their jutsu simultaneously. The immense chakra fluctuations surged forth like raging ocean waves.
The entire ground began to quake madly, as if a terrifying earthquake had descended upon the world.
Amid the roaring and trembling of the earth, the terrain of this land underwent a world-shaking transformation in the blink of an eye.
In just a brief moment, a bottomless, pitch-black abyss appeared before everyone.
The abyss was several meters wide, so wide that even ninja famed for their agility would have absolutely no chance of leaping across it.
Like a monstrous beast opening its blood-filled maw, it mercilessly severed the last path of survival for the remaining Iwagakure ninja on the other side.
Standing in the distance, Onoki cast a pain-filled glance in that direction.
He knew that if they did not withdraw immediately, Iwagakure would likely face utter annihilation.
With that thought, he issued the order without hesitation, "All personnel, retreat immediately!"
As his words fell, the surviving Iwagakure ninja turned and fled this place filled with the stench of death at the fastest speed they could manage.
On the other side, the sage-art flames had already ended. What continued burning were the other ignited materials, with thick smoke and the stench of scorched flesh everywhere.
The ground was littered with large numbers of injured Iwagakure ninja who hadn't made it out in time.
Their faces were filled with terror as they desperately racked their brains for a way to escape this dangerous place.
At this moment, Rengoku's clone had already quietly slipped into the Null Horizon. [T/N: Kaori's Pupil Technique]
Silently watching those pitiful Iwagakure ninja struggle in agony beneath his overwhelming Fire Release, only to ultimately die.
Compared to his battle with Kumogakure last time, the power of Rengoku's Fire Release this time was even more astonishing, its coverage so vast it left one speechless.
Such a tremendous increase was entirely thanks to the four clones continuously stockpiling senjutsu chakra for him.
However, even with such powerful support, after unleashing this terrifying technique, Rengoku's own senjutsu chakra was almost completely drained.
This time, he hadn't attacked from the sky like before. Without the dojutsu Null Horizon, how to land safely would have been an unsolvable problem.
At present, this clone was still useful, so it could not be discarded.
Rengoku noticed that Onoki, decisive and resolute, had abandoned those subordinates still trapped in the raging sea of fire, choosing to break off the tail to survive.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, 'Worthy of someone who's served as Tsuchikage for so many years.'
Rengoku passed through the Null Horizon and arrived before Konoha's forces.
The instant he stepped out of the Null Horizon, his nasal passages were flooded with all kinds of heavy scorched smells and sharp burnt odors.
Fugaku and the others had always followed Rengoku's orders without question, and this time was no exception.
Since Rengoku had told them not to continue the pursuit, they obediently stopped in their tracks.
Only after coming to a halt were they finally able to fully immerse themselves in appreciating this Fire Release display that could truly be called a visual feast.
At this time, within Konoha Village, people were already being organized in an orderly manner, cleaning up the battlefield that had just witnessed a fierce battle.
The scene of devastation was shocking to behold, yet everyone's movements were so practiced, as if this were simply part of everyday life.
Just then, Rengoku's figure slowly appeared within everyone's field of view.
In an instant, the previously noisy scene fell completely silent.
All eyes focused in unison on this legendary figure, deep reverence shining in their gazes.
After all, although Konoha had produced generations of Hokage, someone with Fire Release power as formidable as Rengoku was truly rare, one of a kind.
Thus, when they saw Rengoku appear, an indescribable sense of admiration and respect surged in everyone's hearts.
"Hokage-sama!"
A shout rang out first from within the crowd, followed immediately by waves of greetings rising one after another.
"Clan Head!"
The members of the Uchiha clan were even more excited, standing tall with chests out, their faces filled with pride and glory.
At this very moment, a profound sense of honor as members of the Uchiha clan naturally welled up within their hearts.
Fugaku and the others quickly gathered around, tightly surrounding Rengoku at the center.
Among them, the strongest experts naturally occupied the innermost layer, while younger students like Neji, Tenten, and Hotaru could only watch from afar on the outer edge.
Even so, these children could not hide their excitement.
Especially Hotaru. Because of the mark of the Tsuchigumo clan on her back, her perception of the surrounding environment far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Through her keen senses, she clearly detected the dense senjutsu chakra lingering in the air.
This mysterious and powerful energy was precisely the remnant of the earth-shaking Fire Release attack from earlier.
At this moment, Hotaru's heart was filled with shock and longing.
Mastering such profound and unfathomable senjutsu would not be easy, but she had already secretly made up her mind to work hard at practicing senjutsu in the future.
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