Since Uchiha Yuan's team planned to go watch the unfolding chaos, they had to inform Orochimaru first to help cover for them.
Otherwise, if they were assigned by the Third Hokage to head to the Land of Bears but ended up not going, it'd be hard to explain.
So Hyuga Asana summoned a small snake and delivered the newly gathered intel to Orochimaru.
Soon, Asana received a reply—Orochimaru was clearly interested in the battle as well. He approved Asana's actions and told her to observe carefully and report the details upon return.
With his approval, the three diverted toward the Land of Frost.
While they traveled, over half of Kumogakure had already been destroyed.
Iwagakure's demolition squad, high in the sky, rained down explosive clay upon the village.
The first target was the Raikage's office. As the bombs fell and expanded mid-air, the building was blown to rubble.
More and more explosive clay followed, demolishing nearly all of Kumogakure's important buildings.
The stationed shinobi who fled watched in horror, then quickly sent messengers to the front lines. All of this was witnessed by the rampaging Five-Tails jinchūriki, Han.
There were only around 1,000 shinobi left in Kumogakure. Han had already killed nearly half, and the others were either hiding, fleeing, or heading to inform the Third Raikage.
Han didn't chase them.
Partly because they were too weak to interest him, and partly because the plan called for some to escape and report everything to the Third Raikage.
Meanwhile, on the Frost battlefield, Konoha, Kumo, and Iwa were locked in a three-way battle.
Though technically three-sided, the tension between Kumo and Iwa was far higher—they were historic enemies.
Just as things reached a stalemate, messengers from Kumogakure arrived to inform the closest jōnin about the attack on their village.
The elite jōnin's face changed immediately and rushed toward the Third Raikage.
Seeing a subordinate arrive in haste, the Raikage casually knocked Ōnoki aside and turned to ask, "What's the matter? Why the urgency?"
"Raikage-sama, there's been an incident! Our village is under attack. Iwa sent their demolition squad and a jinchūriki. Half of Kumogakure is already destroyed!"
The Third Raikage's face darkened. No matter how brutal the war, the village must be protected above all.
He gave the immediate order: "Retreat! Inform everyone—this is a direct order!"
Ōnoki quickly realized something was up. Kumo's forces were clearly regrouping to pull back.
"It seems our plan worked. Kitsuchi, take your squad and execute the second phase—break through their flank and force the Raikage to stay behind," he ordered his son.
Kitsuchi nodded and departed.
Kumo's shinobi, hearing the news, were furious. They burned to return and protect their home.
Ōnoki, of course, wouldn't let them leave so easily and pressed the attack.
Then Kitsuchi's unit emerged from the flank with thousands of Iwa-nin, catching Kumo off-guard.
The Third Raikage knew the time for delay was over. He shouted, "All of you return to defend the village. I'll hold them off!"
Trusting in his power, the Kumo-nin obeyed without hesitation.
The Iwa-nin tried to pursue, but the Raikage unleashed his Lightning Chakra Mode and used his Hell Stab to blast away nearly a hundred Iwa-nin in one go.
At that moment, Uchiha Yuan and his team arrived and witnessed the scene.
"Hiss~ So this is the Third Raikage? One strike knocked back so many Iwa-nin. He's insanely strong!" Yamanaka Kagetsu exclaimed.
"Lightning Chakra Mode plus Hell Stab—he's truly a force to be reckoned with," Hyuga Asana added.
Uchiha Yuan remained silent, quietly activating his Sharingan to observe the pinnacle of current shinobi combat.
The Third Raikage had walked right into Ōnoki's trap. Ōnoki gave the order to attack.
The Raikage's expression grew solemn. Though his people believed he was invincible, he knew better.
Facing tens of thousands of Iwa-nin, with Ōnoki and Kitsuchi looming, he understood the odds were grim.
He had felt something was off the moment he heard of the village being attacked.
Then, when Kitsuchi suddenly appeared with thousands of troops, he fully grasped Ōnoki's plan.
All of this had been orchestrated to trap him.
Yet knowing all that, he still chose to stay behind and shield his comrades' retreat, even at the cost of his life.
For the sake of Kumogakure's future, he would give everything.
While he braced for death, Ōnoki was all smiles.
After all, with the Third Raikage gone, Kumo's morale would crumble, and Iwa could expand its gains.
But Ōnoki's smile didn't last.
The Raikage faced the enemy horde without fear. The lightning around his body grew ever more violent, and he punched through wave after wave of attackers.
His strength stood equal to the Third Hokage and Hanzō of the Salamander—the pinnacle of the shinobi world.
Regular Iwa-nin rushing him was suicide.
With one punch, dozens of attackers were sent flying. Ōnoki's face darkened, but he didn't call off the assault. To him, the Raikage was a beast in a cage—his death was inevitable.
Thousands of Iwa-nin charged in waves, but the Raikage fought like a machine, tirelessly swinging his fists.
Two hours passed.
Despite being surrounded, he remained uninjured. The corpses of Iwa-nin piled around his feet, covering the ground.
(To Be Continued...)