Chapter 111: Conspiracy Revealed, Sand Ninja Turns Traitor
"Six Powers Secret Technique: Six Kings Gun!"
"Monster Strength Fist!"
Ling Yu used Space Power to dodge the Third Raikage's lightning-fast attack, then instantly appeared behind him. Raising a fist coated in Armament Haki, he struck straight at the Raikage's chest.
"Not good!"
Even though the Third Raikage had gathered Lightning chakra to reinforce his "Lightning Release Armor" in the previous second, Ling Yu's punch still pierced through his defense and sent him flying.
"Pfft—"
Once again blasted away by Ling Yu, the Third Raikage crashed into a freshly formed crater on the battlefield. He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, lying on the ground gasping heavily.
At this moment, the Third Raikage's chest was caved in, bearing a deep fist imprint—the terrifying wound clearly caused by Ling Yu.
It was only thanks to the Third Raikage's exceptionally tough physique and the protective layer of his Lightning Release Armor that he didn't die on the spot. Anyone else would have been reduced to a bloody mist by Ling Yu's strike.
"Damn it… I can't drag this out any longer."
The Third Raikage couldn't hold Ling Yu back and was clearly on the verge of collapse. Hanzō quickly flung a bundle of explosive tags to force Tsunade back.
"Rain ninja—move now!"
Then, following the original plan, he appeared atop his salamander, standing high above the battlefield and shouting.
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
In the next moment, the three thousand Rain ninja scattered across the battlefield seemed to receive a signal. They simultaneously broke away from their opponents.
They formed hand seals in unison and exhaled thick fog from their mouths. With so many ninja performing the technique, thick white mist rapidly blanketed the entire battlefield in moments.
"This is… the Rain ninja's technique. What exactly are they planning?" Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered gravely, his expression solemn.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
To clear his view of the Rain ninja's next move, Hiruzen Sarutobi released a Wind Release ninjutsu, blowing away half the nearby mist.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
At that instant, Ōnoki suddenly burst out from the dispersing fog and launched an attack at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Ōnoki split into a clone. The original rushed toward Hiruzen, using rock to knock him into the air. The clone flew behind the opponent. Both original and clone simultaneously fired cylindrical Dust Release beams, sandwiching Hiruzen from above and below.
Seeing the danger, Hiruzen quickly extended his Adamantine Staff—
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!"
At that critical moment, the Third Kazekage betrayed them. Using Magnet Release, he compressed iron sand into a massive spiked barrier that enveloped Hiruzen Sarutobi from all sides. Taking advantage of Hiruzen's distraction, he launched a ferocious assault.
"What?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart sank. Dodging Ōnoki's earlier attack had already consumed most of his strength. Facing the Third Kazekage's sudden betrayal, he had no time left to release a defensive ninjutsu.
In an instant, iron sand kunai pierced his abdomen and left hand, severely reducing his combat ability.
"Sensei!"
Jiraiya and Orochimaru had been watching this side of the battlefield. Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi ambushed by the Third Kazekage, they immediately abandoned their own opponents and rushed to protect him.
"Third Kazekage! You… why?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi dropped to one knee, staring in disbelief at the Third Kazekage now standing beside Ōnoki.
"Hahaha, Hiruzen Sarutobi—did you really think I came here to support you? To tell you the truth, I joined the ninja alliance long before offering support. My purpose was to betray you on the battlefield, cut off Konoha's rear, and help the alliance destroy the Land of Fire."
The Third Kazekage revealed a sinister smile.
"Damn it… I actually fell for their scheme."
Hiruzen Sarutobi secretly cursed himself. It seemed today he might die on this battlefield.
It wasn't just Hiruzen Sarutobi who was backstabbed. In the thick fog, Konoha ninja were suddenly attacked from behind by Sand ninja who had been allies moments earlier. This caused nearly a thousand Konoha casualties in an instant.
The battlefield situation was now completely suppressed by the four-nation forces. Konoha's remaining four thousand-plus ninja now faced nearly seventeen thousand ninja from the four nations—almost a four-to-one disadvantage. Victory looked impossible.
Meanwhile
"Moon Step!"
Hidden in the dense fog, Tsunade's Observation Haki suddenly sensed danger from her side. Without thinking, she used Moon Step to leap into the air.
"Releasing thick fog to block visibility across the battlefield—what are the Rain ninja plotting now?"
Arriving high above, Tsunade frowned, trying to figure out the Rain ninja's scheme.
Then another alarm from her Observation Haki rang out. She looked down through the fog—several black shadows were breaking through the mist and charging toward her.
"Heavenly Foot!"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. Coating her foot in Armament Haki, she stomped downward at the approaching shadows.
Crack!
It didn't sound like hitting human flesh. The several white-clothed puppets that appeared were instantly shattered into parts.
"Chiyo! I knew the Sand ninja had bad intentions. So you really were working with the Rain ninja all along."
Just as Ling Yu had said, the Sand ninja had indeed planned to turn on Konoha. Tsunade's heart burned with anger as she cursed downward.
"Attack now, Danzō—capture Senju Tsunade alive first. Once we have her, Senju Ling Yu won't dare move against us."
Chiyo ignored Tsunade and instead gave the order to Hanzō beside her.
"Hmph. Don't order me around. I know what to do next. You just manage your Sand ninja properly."
Danzō glared darkly at Chiyo. As the leader of the Land of Rain, he hated being commanded. After warning her, he formed hand seals.
"Summoning Technique: Three-Tails!"
"ROAR—"
A massive sound wave blew away all the fog on the battlefield. A gigantic figure suddenly appeared in the middle of the fight. Nearly fifty meters tall, shaped like a giant turtle with a hard shell covering its back—extremely strong defense.
"Tailed Beast Ball!"
The moment the Three-Tails appeared, it locked onto Tsunade still in the air and fired a Tailed Beast Ball at her.
"Shave!"
"Monster Strength Fist!"
Tsunade showed no fear. With a flash, she dodged the Tailed Beast Ball. Then, coating her fist in the same black-red Armament Haki as Ling Yu, she exploited the opening after the Three-Tails fired and struck its chin.
The Three-Tails couldn't dodge in time. It was sent flying by Tsunade's attack—strong enough to kill a Kage-level ninja. Its body soared into the sky, flipped 180 degrees at forty to fifty meters, then crashed back to the ground.
"ROAR ROAR ROAR—"
The Three-Tails flipped back up, now completely enraged, and attacked Tsunade furiously.
The Three-Tails was a tailed beast particularly suited to counter Tsunade. Hanzō and the others knew Tsunade's strongest asset was taijutsu. Against the Three-Tails' powerful defense, her taijutsu held little advantage. That was why they had chosen to use the Three-Tails to capture her.
"Senju Tsunade! Just give up. Konoha cannot possibly win against the combined might of our four nations. Even your strongest ninja—Senju Ling Yu—will die here."
Hanzō and Chiyo attacked Tsunade together alongside the rampaging Three-Tails, taunting her as they fought.
Tsunade refused to surrender and stayed silent. But because taijutsu held no advantage, she could only be continuously worn down by Hanzō and the others.
"Shinra Tensei!"
At that moment, the still-raging Three-Tails was suddenly blasted into the sky by an invisible repulsive force. It flew several kilometers away from the battlefield before stopping.
"Oh? Is that so? You're that confident a few ants can defeat me?"
Ling Yu's voice rang out at the same instant. His figure appeared silently behind Tsunade.
From the moment the Three-Tails was summoned, Ling Yu had noticed—but he hadn't paid attention to the heavily injured Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was being continuously suppressed by the Third Kazekage and Ōnoki. Jiraiya and the others could hold out a bit longer anyway.
Sensing something wrong on Tsunade's side, he instantly used Space Power to appear beside her, looking at her with concern.
"Big Sis, are you alright?"
"I'm fine—just got held up for a bit."
Tsunade let out a relieved breath at Ling Yu's arrival and shook her head in response.
"Senju Ling Yu—you're too late. We didn't bring only one tailed beast for this war. No matter how strong you are, you can't possibly face four tailed beasts at once, can you?"
Hanzō showed no panic at Ling Yu's sudden appearance. Instead, he taunted arrogantly, acting as though victory was already assured.
"ROAR ROAR ROAR ROAR—"
His words had barely finished when a huge commotion erupted behind the Konoha ninja. Two tailed beasts—the Four-Tails (Son Gokū) and Eight-Tails (Gyūki)—had appeared out of nowhere behind them and began rampaging against the Konoha forces.
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