The Rocky Cliff on the West Side of the Desolate Mountain.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gasped for breath, one hand clutching the collar of his old friend Danzō's shirt tightly.
"You bastard, do you have any idea what you're doing?!"
"Unhand me," Danzō took two steps back, inhaling. "I'm is not adept at running."
"Not adept at running?" Hiruzen snorted coldly. "I fucking saw you running pretty damn fast!"
"Precisely because I am not adept at running, I decided the clumsy bird must fly first," Danzō wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and said calmly. "Is there any contradiction between these two facts?"
"Fine, fine, fine. So you admit you ran, right?" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, his voice icy. "While Homura was out there alone holding off the powerful enemy for us, you bastard sure skedaddled quickly!"
"I acted this way... for Homura's sake as well," Danzō declared with an air of righteous magnanimity.
"You what?" Hiruzen sucked in a sharp breath.
"What was the purpose of his sacrifice? Was it not to preserve our fighting strength! If I had lingered there any longer, that would have been the greatest disrespect to Homura!"
"You... you bastard…"
Hiruzen was so angry he almost laughed. He never imagined his old friend could sink to such shameless depths.
"We should leave this place quickly. There's no guarantee other pursuers won't arrive," Danzō spoke again, his expression serene. "Hiruzen... you wouldn't want Homura's sacrifice to be in vain, would you?"
"Shut the hell up!" Hiruzen glared furiously.
But even as he said it, his feet were already moving. As much as it sickened him, Danzō was right. Homura was almost certainly gone. If they got themselves killed by that Espada here, his friend's death would be in vain.
They had to get off this mountain. Now.
*Main Office, Land of Waves.*
"Looks like they're planning to descend the mountain," Mikoto murmured, her eyes fixed on the large screen before them.
"Mn. Just as we anticipated," Yuto nodded calmly. "It's time to wrap things up."
"Legendary!"
The computer Kushina was using emitted the sound notification for "The enemy team is Godlike!"
An awkward silence instantly filled the room.
"Hey, don't look at me like that! It wasn't just me feeding them kills!" Kushina's cheeks flushed crimson as she shot up from her chair, defensive.
"We…" Mikoto opened her mouth to say something, but Yuto stopped her with a look.
It was better to minimize interaction with a gamer on tilt. It only served to fuel their rage. Don't ask him how he knew this; it was a history written in blood and tears. Fortunately, the computer chose that moment to announce their own team achieving a "Godlike" kill streak.
"Oh, you have a skilled player on your team too," Mikoto said, surprised.
"There's someone playing as Konan, their mechanics are pretty sharp," Kushina muttered, sitting back down. "My teammates are even saying it's Konan herself."
"I doubt that. I can't imagine Konan finding time for video games," Mikoto shook her head. Since accepting the post of Security Advisor, Konan had been completely consumed by her work, rarely seen at social functions, let alone online gaming.
"It's probably just high praise," Kushina agreed, her attention shifting back to the main screen. "So, the Third Hokage is done. That just leaves Ōnoki. What's the plan for the Tsuchikage?"
"Simple. We just take him down directly," Yuto said, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
*Central Army Camp, Allied Shinobi Forces.*
Ōnoki sat rigidly in the commander's seat, his brow furrowed in deep concentration as he studied the battle map spread before him.
Something wasn't right. According to the reports from the other two armies, something was... off.
"Commander, do you suspect Hayashi Yuto has an ambush prepared?" asked Nara Shikaku, the Central Army's strategic advisor.
"It's not a suspicion; I'm certain that brat has an ambush prepared," Ōnoki stroked his beard and said flatly. "I just don't know where his trap is yet."
"So, you intend to let the other armies probe and discover the ambush positions?" Shikaku nodded in understanding.
"Don't think me heartless, Shikaku," Ōnoki sighed, his expression resolute. "Everything I do now is for the ultimate victory of our Shinobi Alliance."
"I understand," Shikaku replied empathetically.
"You're being way too paranoid, old man!" Deidara complained from below, tilting his head back arrogantly. "That Land of Waves is just a tiny speck of land. So what if they have an ambush? My art will blow it to smithereens! Hm."
"Grandpa, he's... kind of got a point," Kurotsuchi added quietly. "Isn't this a bit of an overreaction
"Shut up, you brats!" Ōnoki shot them a glance. "You still have much to learn. Just watch and–"
BOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the earth, the ground trembling violently.
"What's going on?!"
Before the occupants of the tent could fully react, a pale, gigantic hand descended from the sky.
CRASH!
The entire command tent shattered, strips of canvas, and splinters of wood flying everywhere.
"No! This is bad!"
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"Wh-what is that thing…"
Amid the panicked shouts, Ōnoki got his first clear look at the attacker. It was a colossal humanoid figure, nearly a hundred meters tall, its body armoured in stark white, bone-like plating. With a single, casual swipe of its hand, it sent dozens of shinobi flying like ragdolls.
Its defence was absurd; a combined Fire Release attack from over a dozen shinobi couldn't even leave a scratch on it!
"Th-this looks just like that war machine you bought grandpa?" Kurotsuchi exclaimed in surprise.
"That's the one!" Ōnoki's face twisted in fury. "Those thieving Wave Country swindlers! They took my money and then repossessed the merchandise!"
"Hmph! Let me test its quality!" Deidara snorted coldly, spitting out a large wad of clay from his mouth.
Bzzzt.
A giant clay bird rapidly took form. Deidara leapt onto its back and shot straight towards the "war machine."
"Idiot, get back here!" Ōnoki yelled, hopping mad, and flew into the air after him.
"Heh, taste this!" Deidara ignored him, hurling dozens of clay explosive balls at the war machine.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of explosions rang out, shrouding the area in dust and smoke.
As Deidara perched on his bird, observing the effects of his bombs, a hand suddenly extended from the war machine's torso and swatted him out of the air like a bug.
In that moment, Deidara felt like he'd been hit by a ten-ton hammer, seeing stars. Luckily, Ōnoki caught him just before he hit the ground, saving him from death or serious injury.
"Fool!" Ōnoki's face was red with fury as he set Deidara down. "Charging in blindly before assessing the enemy's capabilities! You're a reckless and brainless fool!"
"Grandpa, it's coming again!" Kurotsuchi warned.
"Now watch closely, you fool, and learn how to fight an enemy like this!" Ōnoki took a deep breath and rose into the air.
His hands rapidly formed seals, and a transparent conical shape materialized instantly between them.
Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!
FWOOSH!
The cone of light lanced straight through the war machine's head. The gigantic body teetered and then crashed to the ground with an earth-shaking thud.
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