However, Ai was once again disappointed.
Seeing that he was no longer pursuing, Senju Mori simply stayed put.
His gaze, like an eagle, swept across the chaotic battlefield, instantly locking onto a small area—two Kumogakure Jonin were, with practiced coordination, cornering a Konoha Hyuga clansman.
Indeed, Senju Mori's previous attacks mostly targeted groups of Chunin. Genin were too weak, and even veteran Genin weren't worth his special attention, while Jonin were powerful and difficult to kill with a single blow.
But there are always exceptions.
"Wind Release: Self-Flowing Wind!"
Senju Mori formed hand signs within his sleeve with his left hand, while his right hand seemingly casually flicked.
A gentle breeze swept past, and one of the Jonin felt a chill on the back of his neck, as if pierced by an extremely fine senbon, his movements instantly stiffening.
Seizing this opportune moment, a Gentle Fist strike, infused with a large amount of Chakra, like a long-waiting venomous snake, fiercely struck the Jonin's chest.
"Pfft—!"
Blood mixed with shattered internal organs spewed from his mouth, the light in his eyes instantly extinguished, and his body fell straight backward.
His companion turned in horror, barely dodging the fatal sneak attack on the back of his neck, but a cluster of blood suddenly burst open on his wrist, and in the throes of intense pain, his Kunai immediately slipped from his grasp.
Senju Mori's attack was extremely insidious; he created extremely fine, transparent wind needles and allowed them to drift with the wind, then suddenly launched a sneak attack once they approached their target.
He never chose vital points with keen perception like the heart or eyes, but instead specifically targeted areas with relatively duller perception such as the back of the neck, lower back, wrists, and ankles.
Unless one's sensitivity to changes in airflow was extreme, or one was a Chakra sensory type Ninja, it would be extremely difficult to detect in this chaotic battlefield.
And it was in this moment of creating chaos that Senju Mori once again sank into the earth, causing Ai's furious counterattack to land on empty air.
When he reappeared next, it was at a small Kumogakure gathering point near a mountain wall.
"Earth Release: Rock Lodging Collapse!"
Senju Mori placed a single hand on the mountain wall, Chakra rapidly surging in.
"Rumble—"
The entire rock face groaned under the strain, then collapsed with a roar! Countless giant rocks came crashing down, burying all the Kumogakure Ninja below in the rubble, leaving no further movement.
Ai arrived close behind, but his violent Lightning Release only blasted open a patch of dirt.
Senju Mori's figure was like a ghost, appearing in the blink of an eye next to another muddy area formed by a previous Ninjutsu, where a squad of Kumogakure Ninja were standing steadily by applying Chakra to the soles of their feet.
"Earth Release: Swamp!"
Senju Mori's palm touched the ground, and the earth instantly transformed into a life-swallowing pit, the viscous mud like a living thing wrapping around the legs of these dozen or so Kumogakure Ninja, rapidly dragging them downward.
The Konoha Ninja who noticed this scene simultaneously threw Kunai and shuriken, and amidst desperate wails, these immobilized Kumogakure Ninja quickly became metal porcupines.
Ai finally stopped, no longer blindly chasing Senju Mori's figure.
His crimson eyes scanned left and right, his chest heaving violently.
Suddenly, Ai charged again, consecutively decapitating several Konoha Ninja with his hand blade.
Ai suddenly looked up, only to find that although Senju Mori had noticed his actions, he was completely indifferent to them.
The opponent stood at leisure on a high cliff, continuously spewing high-pressure water streams, precisely and swiftly killing the Kumogakure Ninja below, just like a more efficient killing machine.
Even though they were far apart, Ai felt as if he could clearly see a hint of playfulness on Senju Mori's face.
His reason, at this moment, completely burned away.
"Senju Mori—!"
Ai let out a beastly roar, charging madly in Senju Mori's direction, then suddenly leaped up midway, heading straight for the high cliff, unleashing a punch imbued with violent lightning.
But this time, Senju Mori did not choose to leave.
His right fist was instantly enveloped and expanded by dense rock, transforming into a giant rock fist. He leaped down from the high cliff, not dodging or evading, and swung his fist to meet the golden lightning.
"Boom—!!!"
The two fists, one large and one small, collided with a resounding crash. Senju Mori's rock fist shattered instantly, but Ai was also sent flying backward with a fierce blow!
Ai's reason returned, and protected by his Lightning Release Armor, he suffered no damage, merely looking up with slight astonishment.
Senju Mori, on the other hand, used Ai's force to leap back onto the high cliff, looking down at Ai below, and grinned.
The Senju Clan's physique combined with the enhancement of the Strength of a Hundred Technique, further aided by the weight of the "Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique," allowed him to stand his ground in a momentary pure power clash against the Raikage, renowned for his physical prowess.
Even if the opponent truly found an opportunity to get close, his only concern would be the "Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite" technique.
What's more—
Senju Mori's hand slowly reached behind him, grasping the uniquely shaped basho fan—with the help of this six paths sage tools, he could unleash powerful attacks of any elemental nature without needing to form hand signs.
The two were a hundred paces apart, and in the utterly chaotic battlefield, Senju Mori's voice did not carry, but his meaning was conveyed to the other party with utmost clarity.
The high cliff where Senju Mori stood was located in the center of the battlefield, a vantage point he had created with Earth Release.
Following Senju Mori's gaze, Ai looked around at the brutal battlefield, recalling the series of tragedies the opponent had wrought during their mutual entanglement.
He had to admit a cruel truth—compared to himself, who was proficient in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, Senju Mori, as a standard Ninjutsu artillery, had an incredibly high killing efficiency.
Furthermore, this guy only needed to form a few hand signs to quickly unleash highly destructive area-of-effect Ninjutsu, and perhaps even now, he still maintained ample Chakra... Ai withdrew his gaze, looking back at Senju Mori on the high ground.
Senju Mori's robes fluttered, his expression calm, and his crimson armor was as good as new, showing no signs of Chakra depletion.
Yes, this guy always utilized his surroundings for every technique he performed; no matter how astonishingly powerful a technique was, how much Chakra could it consume?
He finally understood that this battlefield was a meticulously chosen and personally crafted killing trap by that bastard Senju Mori.
The heavily defended Konoha camp, the surging river beside them, and that grand composite Ninjutsu, all served to completely shape the environment of the current battlefield.
In this muddy land filled with puddles and swamps, Senju Mori's killing efficiency and flexibility would be maximized, while he and Kumogakure had no chance of defeating Konoha.
This was not war at all!
This was a premeditated conspiracy!
Ai gradually calmed down, a strong urge to retreat growing in his heart, the word "retreat" instantly appearing in his mind, but just then, piercing screams echoed all around.
He suddenly turned his head, only to see that Senju Mori had already vanished from the high cliff, like a stone thrown into water, once again spreading ripples of death among the Kumogakure ranks.
Ai could no longer tolerate it, immediately gathering Chakra in his throat and shouting repeatedly:
"Retreat!!!"
"Kumogakure forces—!"
"Rally to me! Alternate cover—"
Ai completely gave up on continuing to entangle with Senju Mori. He knew he couldn't stop the other party from carrying out his slaughter, so he simply plunged into the fray himself, beginning to clear out Konoha Ninja in a certain area.
Now that both sides' Ninja were mixed together, Ai had to carve out a retreat path to give more of his own Ninja a greater chance of successfully withdrawing.
As the Raikage's command gradually spread, large numbers of Kumogakure Ninja attempted to disengage from the battlefield, but a significant portion of Kumogakure Ninja also died at the hands of Konoha Ninja due to this order.
This was the price that had to be paid for a forced retreat, and Kumogakure could only bear it.
Senju Mori immediately ordered a pursuit, leading the Konoha Ninja to cling tightly to Kumogakure's tail.
After suffering another round of heavy casualties, the main Kumogakure force finally completely separated from the Konoha Ninja, with Ai personally leading Kumogakure's Jonin to cover the rear of the army.
Only then did Senju Mori issue the order to cease pursuit, watching the remnants of the Kumogakure army slowly retreat under Ai's leadership... The heavy scent of blood permeated the air, and Senju Mori stood alone atop this mountain of corpses and sea of blood that he had personally created, gazing at the bodies left behind by the Kumogakure Ninja.
He did not defeat the Raikage, but he won this war, in the most brutal, direct, and effective way.