Another roar erupted from the eastern battlefield.
Roar!
A snow-white giant beast suddenly appeared, five enormous tails thrashing wildly behind it.
It was the Five-Tails, Kokuō.
It stood atop the northern wall, looking down at the dense Konoha formation below.
"The Jinchūriki, Han..." Fugaku's expression darkened. "He's fully transformed into a Tailed Beast."
Five-Tails Kokuō locked onto the Konoha shinobi.
"Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength!" Its fists were instantly wrapped in high-temperature steam, then it slammed them violently into the ground.
Boom!
The earth split open, and a terrifying shockwave rippled outward in all directions.
Some Konoha shinobi failed to dodge in time, were sent flying into the air, and coughed up mouthfuls of blood midair.
"Damn it!" Fugaku gritted his teeth and immediately shouted, "Everyone, retreat! Do not engage the Tailed Beast directly!"
The Konoha shinobi retreated without hesitation.
The Five-Tails galloped on its four hooves, relentlessly pursuing them. Wherever it passed, the ground split and rocks shattered.
Inside Iwagakure.
Ōnoki watched as the Tailed Beasts rampaged across the eastern and western battlefields. At last, he sighed in relief.
The two great Jinchūriki were Iwagakure's final trump cards.
As long as they could hold this wave, Iwagakure still had a chance to turn things around.
On the wall.
Kitsuchi looked at the towering figure of the Four-Tails, his eyes filled with awe.
"Rōshi…"
"I'm counting on you."
On the battlefield.
The arrival of the two fully transformed Tailed Beasts instantly reversed the entire battle.
The fierce advance of the Allied Forces was abruptly halted.
Suna suffered heavy casualties. Their attack force was nearly wiped out.
Konoha dared not approach. They could only maintain distance.
The entire battlefield fell into a rare moment of calm.
But everyone knew—
This was only the calm before the storm.
An even more brutal battle was coming.
On the western perimeter.
Orochimaru stood atop a high slope, watching the battlefield from afar.
The Four-Tails' colossal figure rampaged across the field, spewing lava. Unlucky shinobi who couldn't dodge in time were instantly incinerated.
"Orochimaru-sama." A Konoha Jōnin stepped forward, seeing the Suna shinobi being pushed back. "Should we help them?"
"It looks like Sunagakure is about to be wiped out. If we coordinate an attack now—"
"No," Orochimaru interrupted directly, "charging in now would be suicide."
The Jōnin was startled. "But…"
"Look carefully." Orochimaru raised his hand and pointed toward the battlefield. "The Four-Tails is attacking indiscriminately. Even Iwagakure's own people are being hit. Why should we rush to join the chaos?"
Indeed, the rampaging Four-Tails made no distinction between friend and foe. Even Iwa's own shinobi only dared to support from a distance. A few who got too close were hit by lava and instantly reduced to ash.
"Then… what do we do?"
"Wait." Orochimaru licked his lips, a strange excitement flashing in his eyes. "Be patient."
"Understood!" The Jōnin nodded.
He had fought beside Orochimaru during the Second Great Ninja War. He trusted every one of Orochimaru's decisions.
"Pass down the order," Orochimaru said as he turned. "All units switch to feigned attacks. Use long-range Ninjutsu to pressure the Iwagakure wall. Do not interfere in the fight between Sunagakure and the Tailed Beast."
"Yes!"
Soon after—
Konoha's units began to move.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A storm of Ninjutsu flew out, all intentionally avoiding the Four-Tails' location and bombarding Iwagakure's wall instead.
Kitsuchi saw this and clenched his teeth in frustration.
"Those Konoha bastards!"
He immediately understood what they were doing.
"They want us and Sunagakure to wear each other out, then swoop in to reap the rewards!"
"Kitsuchi-sama, what should we do?" the deputy asked anxiously.
Kitsuchi's gaze turned cold. "Order the entire front to pull back! Focus on defending against Konoha's long-range attacks!"
"As for Sunagakure..." His eyes shifted to the Four-Tails, still rampaging. "Leave them to the Tailed Beast."
"Yes!"
…At nearly the same time, on the northern battlefield—
Fugaku gave similar orders.
"Keep your distance. Don't engage the Five-Tails head-on."
"Our goal is to drain Iwagakure's fighting strength, not throw ourselves against the Tailed Beast."
"When we've pulled it far enough away, that's when we strike."
He and Jiraiya, who had arrived as support, were in charge of containing the Five-Tails.
Jiraiya and Gamabunta led the attack, with Fugaku assisting.
They didn't fight recklessly, but focused on provoking and distracting the Five-Tails.
Whenever the Tailed Beast tried to turn around or when Jiraiya couldn't keep up, Fugaku would jump in and slow it down using his Sharingan.
Roar!
The Five-Tails roared repeatedly in frustration.
Uchiha Fugaku narrowed his eyes. His three-tomoe Sharingan spun slowly as he stared coldly. "Hmph, a beast is just a beast..."
On the southern battlefield—
Konoha also adjusted its tactics.
Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique, blinking constantly through the Iwagakure ranks.
Below, waves of long-range Ninjutsu poured down on the earthen walls.
This made Iwa extremely uncomfortable.
They wanted to concentrate on surrounding Minato, but the long-range attacks kept disrupting them.
And whenever they tried to launch a Ninjutsu counterattack, Minato would teleport in and interrupt their hand seals.
It was maddening.
Left with no choice, they had to send the injured Ōnoki back into the fight. Only then did they barely manage to push Minato off the wall.
After returning to camp, Minato immediately issued orders.
"Keep up the long-range pressure. Don't engage directly!"
"Medical Corps, treat all the wounded without delay!"
Konoha's Medical Corps worked swiftly.
They set up a temporary hospital at the rear. Whether the wounded were from Konoha or Sunagakure, all were sent there for treatment.
With the ally going this far, even if Orochimaru was just standing by, Rasa had no reason to complain.
The Medical Ninja were extremely busy, but their efficiency was high.
Many wounded who would have died were saved.
Watching them work, Minato nodded to himself.
Tsunade-sama's reforms to the medical system were truly effective.
At the very least, the casualty rate was far lower than before.
A Konoha Jōnin approached. "Hokage-sama, the casualty report is ready."
"Report."
"One hundred and twenty-three light injuries. Forty-seven serious injuries."
"Thirty-one deaths."
Minato nodded.
Thirty-one.
That was lower than expected.
This battle had lasted half a day. Based on past casualty ratios, at least a hundred deaths would have been normal.
This was the Medical Corps' achievement.
Minato said, "Maintain this strategy."
"I'll continue to lead the main assault this afternoon. The rest of you keep up long-range harassment and conserve strength."
"When Iwagakure is on its last legs, we go all in."
"Yes!"
For now, across the three battlefields—
Aside from the roars of the Tailed Beasts and the sounds of Ninjutsu clashing…
There were no more cries of war.
No more fierce assaults.
Except for Sunagakure, still desperately battling the Four-Tails.
(To be continued.)