Chapter 439: White Zetsu Attack and Edo Tensei
Without Deidara's constant aerial harassment, Ōnoki finally had his hands free. He floated in mid-air, his hands clasped firmly behind his back, staring gloomily at the white-haired man across from him.
"Jiraiya of the Sannin." Ōnoki's voice carried over the din of the battlefield, thick with disdain. "To think even someone of your stature is willing to become that Uchiha brat's lackey."
Jiraiya stood tall atop Gamabunta's massive head. He reached up, casually scratching at his spiky white mane. "'Lackey' is such an ugly word, old man. I am simply doing the right thing for the peace of the Ninja World."
"Peace?" Ōnoki sneered, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening into harsh lines. "A peace brought about by slaughter and annexation? Do not insult my intelligence."
"Talk is useless, then."
Ōnoki slammed his weathered hands together. "Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique!"
The Tsuchikage's figure instantly vanished from sight, propelled by a sudden, terrifying burst of momentum. A split second later, the air above Jiraiya warped. A massive fist encased in ultra-dense rock materialized out of thin air, crashing downward with the force of a falling meteor.
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"
His long white hair instantly hardened, whipping around his body to form a dense, impenetrable shell of steel-like needles. The heavy rock fist slammed violently against the hardened hair. Sparks showered in all directions, hissing as they hit the air. The sheer kinetic force of the blow traveled straight down through Jiraiya, instantly shattering the bedrock beneath Gamabunta. The giant toad let out a low grunt as his massive webbed feet sank several inches into the crushed earth.
"It is not over yet!" Ōnoki roared, his hands flashing through another set of seals. "Earth Release: Golem Technique!"
The ground violently bulged upward. A colossal giant forged of solid rock ripped itself from the earth, drawing back a massive stone fist and swinging it directly at Gamabunta's snout.
"Gamabunta! Let's go!"
"Got it!"
Gamabunta drew the colossal short sword from his waist. The massive steel blade glinted coldly in the sunlight as he swung it in a brutal arc.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The rock giant and the giant toad engaged in a primal, earth-shaking brawl in the dead center of the battlefield. Stone shattered against steel. Shockwaves rippled outward with every collision. Standing atop Gamabunta's head, Jiraiya maintained his balance perfectly, his hands blurring through seals.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
A massive sea of superheated flames erupted from Jiraiya's mouth, turning the air into a scorching furnace.
Ōnoki was not to be outdone. He extended his hands, a glowing geometric cube expanding between his palms. "Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
A blinding beam of pure destructive light tore through the inferno. The two legendary figures traded devastating blows, the sheer scale of their Ninjutsu illuminating half the sky in flashes of crimson and blinding white. One was a long-renowned Sannin; the other was the Tsuchikage who had ruled Iwagakure with an iron fist for decades. Both possessed combat experience forged in the fires of countless wars. Neither gave an inch. The battle locked into a terrifying stalemate.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, the clash between Kakashi and Darui was rapidly drawing to its bloody conclusion.
Darui gasped for air. His chest heaved violently. His dark skin was covered in dozens of fine, stinging sword cuts. The worst of it was on his left shoulder, where a deep gash exposed the bone, blood constantly seeping down his arm and dripping from his fingertips.
Kakashi stood a short distance away. Though his breathing was slightly elevated, his silver hair swaying in the wind, his injuries were superficial compared to the Kumogakure commander.
"What is wrong?" Kakashi flicked his wrist, shaking a line of blood from the White Fang Short Sword before angling the tip toward the ground. "Is this all you have got?"
Darui gritted his teeth, forcing his trembling legs to stand straight. "Do not look down on me..."
Lightning crackled wildly around Darui's form, turning pitch black as it condensed. "Lightning Release: Black Panther!"
A massive beast of black lightning roared into existence, tearing up the earth as it lunged toward Kakashi with terrifying speed.
Kakashi merely shook his head. He slowly slid the White Fang Short Sword back into its scabbard. Dense, crackling chakra from all over his body flooded into the sheath, building pressure until the air itself seemed to hum.
"Hatake Style: Iaido Slash!"
A blinding arc of white light flashed across the battlefield. For a fraction of a second, time seemed to stand completely still. The roaring black lightning panther was cleanly split in two, falling apart before the white light as if it were made of fragile paper. The white arc continued unabated, a deadly crescent aimed straight for Darui's throat.
Darui's pupils shrank to pinpricks. His muscles locked. He could not dodge.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Oppression Horizontal!"
Two burly figures suddenly rushed out from the flanks. Two Kumogakure Jonin, one from the left and one from the right, threw themselves desperately in front of Darui, crossing their arms in a final, frantic block.
The white light swept past.
Blood instantly sprayed high into the air as the two Kumogakure Jonin were struck across the chest, their bodies sent flying backward like broken dolls. But that momentary, sacrificial block had bled just enough momentum from the strike to save Darui's life.
"Lord Darui! Hurry, leave!"
The remaining Kumogakure ninja seized the brief opening, hurling smoke bombs at their feet. Thick, acrid smoke billowed outward, instantly obscuring their retreat.
Kakashi did not pursue. He fully sheathed his sword with a soft click, his visible eye narrowing as he watched the smoke dissipate into the wind. "This war has only just begun."
Back on the main battlefield, the sounds of slaughter were deafening.
Led by Fugaku, Kakashi's shadow clones, and the elite vanguards, the Konoha army had systematically suppressed the Allied Forces' offensive, driving them back step by bloody step.
Then, a sudden, chilling change occurred.
A scream rang out from deep within the Konoha camp. A Konoha Chunin, hands halfway through forming seals for a Ninjutsu, froze. He looked down in absolute disbelief at the sharp metal of a kunai protruding from his own chest.
He slowly turned his head. The one holding the handle was his squadmate.
"You... why?" the dying Chunin choked out, blood spilling past his lips.
His teammate tilted his head, a strange, unnatural smile stretching across his face. "Because... I want to kill you."
The kunai was ripped out. Blood splattered across the dirt.
Similar horrific scenes began playing out simultaneously in dozens of different corners across the battlefield.
"Watch out! He is a fake!"
"Bastard! Why did you suddenly..."
"Do not trust the people around you! Keep your distance!"
Panic spread rapidly, infecting the ranks like a plague. The originally tight, disciplined formations instantly fell into chaotic disarray. The Konoha ninja were forced to divert their attention from the enemy ahead to guard against the companions standing right beside them. Their relentless offensive ground to an immediate halt.
Inside the command center, Nara Shikaku stood over the tactical map. Through Inoichi Yamanaka's mental transmission network, he instantly grasped the terrifying shift in the battlefield's dynamic. His brow furrowed slightly, but his voice remained perfectly steady.
"Send out the orders," Shikaku commanded. "Have the Hyuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka clans move out immediately. This clumsy disguise has nowhere to hide before Konoha's Bloodline Limit Clans."
Back in the mud and blood of the front lines, a Konoha ninja silently raised a kunai, preparing to drive it into the back of a wounded medic treating a soldier.
"Woof!"
A large white ninja dog suddenly lunged from the shadows, its jaws snapping shut around the impostor's wrist with bone-crushing force. The man let out a shrill scream.
Inuzuka Hana rode atop Akamaru's back, a wild, feral smile on her face. "Fang Passing Fang!"
Girl and dog instantly blurred into two violently spinning tornadoes of claws and chakra, tearing the screaming impostor to pieces in a spray of dirt. The shredded fragments fell heavily to the ground. No blood flowed from the severed limbs; instead, the flesh rapidly dissolved into a mass of pale, spongy, plant-like roots.
It was a White Zetsu.
A few dozen yards away, several more White Zetsu had successfully mixed into a cluster of retreating infantry.
A low, scalp-tingling buzzing sound filled the air. Countless black Kikaichu swarmed out from the cracks in the earth and the surrounding debris, instantly blanketing the bodies of the disguised White Zetsu in a writhing black mass.
"The bugs... do not like your scent." Shibi Aburame stood calmly in the distance, adjusting his dark sunglasses.
In the blink of an eye, the White Zetsu were completely devoured by the ravenous insect swarm, leaving not even a scrap of clothing behind.
On the far right flank, the ninja of the Hyuga Clan demonstrated an even more absolute dominance over the infiltrators.
"Byakugan!"
The veins around Hyuga Tokuma's eyes bulged sharply. In his piercing, monochromatic field of vision, the chakra signatures of the White Zetsu disguised as Konoha ninja flared like beacons. They had absolutely nowhere to hide.
"Over there! Three o'clock!" Tokuma shouted, dropping into a low stance. "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Invisible blasts of highly compressed chakra blasted through the air. The disguised White Zetsu were violently knocked off their feet, their chests caved in by the precise, long-range strikes before they even had a chance to raise their weapons.
Watching from a high vantage point in the distance, Black Zetsu narrowed his yellow eyes, his dark, viscous face twisting into a grim expression. The flawless transformation technique had been broken far too quickly.
Just as the chaotic commotion on the main battlefield began to settle under the swift purge of the tracking clans, a new presence stirred.
At the very rear of the Konoha army, the Sunagakure and Kirigakure Units were stationed in a heavily fortified encampment. They had not yet joined the frontline slaughter. Their explicit mission was to act as the final reserve force and protect the vital logistics supply lines.
"So boring." Chojuro kicked a loose pebble, resting his chin on his hands. "Why are we just watching from the sidelines here while everyone else gets to fight?"
"This is Hokage-sama's direct order." Mei Terumi looked at the young swordsman, her tone unusually serious. "He said it is to preserve our strength and deal with unexpected situations."
"Unexpected situations?" Chojuro curled his lip, looking out over the quiet rear camp. "What unexpected situations could there possibly be all the way back here?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the ground beneath their feet began to tremble violently.
"An earthquake?" Chojuro stood up abruptly, reaching for the handle of Hiramekarei.
Behind the Sunagakure and Kirigakure defensive lines, the earth groaned and split open. Dirt cascaded away as several ancient, heavy wooden coffins slowly rose from the depths, standing upright in the fading light.
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