"Absolutely spectacular!"
Shihouin Naraku stood atop his boulder perch, watching in genuine awe as the fire tornado spiraled into the heavens. The twisting inferno released waves of scorching energy that distorted the very air around it.
He hadn't contributed to this phenomenon at all.
This monstrous creation was purely the result of the fierce ninjutsu battle between Konoha and Cloud shinobi forces. While the surrounding sea of flames had certainly amplified the effect, the tornado itself was born from their clashing techniques—a testament to the destructive power unleashed when opposing forces collided.
Ninja on both sides continued their desperate struggle, neither daring to show the slightest weakness. The stakes were too high for anything less than total commitment.
Within moments, the fire tornado began its inexorable march down the mountainside. The Cloud shinobi lines buckled and broke—they could no longer maintain their position against such overwhelming force.
This outcome surprised no one.
Konoha forces held every advantage. Their elevated position gave them superior range and visibility, while the terrain itself worked in their favor. Cloud shinobi, forced to advance along a narrow mountain path, couldn't leverage their numerical superiority. The winding trail became a bottleneck, limiting how many ninja could engage at once.
That they had held out as long as they did spoke volumes about their training and discipline. Lesser forces would have broken and fled immediately when faced with such disadvantages. These Cloud ninja had shown remarkable resilience.
But courage alone couldn't overcome physics. No amount of determination could reverse the tornado's momentum now.
They could only watch helplessly as the wall of flame and wind bore down upon them. The hurricane-force winds made standing impossible, while the superheated ground cracked and split beneath their feet.
"Fall back!"
"Retreat! Now!"
"Everyone run!"
Further resistance had become pointless. Survival demanded immediate withdrawal.
At the mountain's base, the Fourth Raikage observed the unfolding disaster with an expression carved from stone. His jaw clenched as he watched his forces scatter.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Several Cloud shinobi squad leaders refused to abandon their posts. Determined to buy time for their subordinates' escape, they leaped forward, channeling every ounce of remaining chakra into defensive techniques.
Steam exploded outward where water met flame, creating massive clouds of vapor that briefly obscured the battlefield.
The respite lasted less than a heartbeat. The fire tornado, as if enraged by this resistance, vaporized the steam instantly. Its fury only intensified—the vortex expanded rapidly while accelerating its deadly advance.
The raging tornado had become a force of nature unto itself, accumulating energy with each passing second. It obliterated everything in its path with contemptuous ease. Nothing could stand before its wrath.
One brave Cloud jonin exhausted his entire chakra reserve creating the thickest, most solid earth wall he could manage. The massive barrier stood for perhaps half a second before the tornado reduced it to dust and debris.
"It's going to blow!"
From his vantage point, Shihouin Naraku watched the tornado's body swell dangerously. The vortex now filled hundreds of meters of mountainside, painting everything in shades of crimson and orange. Everywhere he looked, fire dominated the landscape.
At this point, only direct intervention from Naraku himself could have controlled this rampaging beast of flame and wind. He chose to remain a spectator.
Naraku whispered softly, almost to himself:
"Now."
The tornado exploded.
First came an eerie moment of stillness, lasting less than half a second. Then brilliant white light erupted from the tornado's core, temporarily blinding everyone who looked directly at it.
The crimson flames detonated outward with apocalyptic force, releasing energy that seemed capable of reshaping the landscape itself.
A devastating shockwave rippled outward instantly, roaring across the battlefield like an invisible tsunami. It crushed and scattered everything in its path—rocks, trees, and unfortunate ninja alike.
What followed resembled nothing so much as a volcanic eruption. Fireballs of every size rained from the sky, cratering the earth wherever they struck. Each impact triggered secondary explosions, creating a hellscape of overlapping destruction.
"Aaagh!"
"Someone help—"
"No, please—"
The fleeing Cloud shinobi found no escape from the rain of death. The sky itself had become their enemy, offering no shelter from the falling inferno. Some were instantly incinerated, reduced to ash between one heartbeat and the next. Others were blasted by the shockwave into the waiting embrace of the sea of flames. Many simply vanished, struck directly by massive fireballs that left nothing behind but smoking craters.
Every single Cloud shinobi who had ascended the mountain path was annihilated. None survived.
But the catastrophe wasn't finished. The Fourth Raikage's eyes widened as he tracked the trajectory of the falling fireballs. His voice cracked like thunder across the battlefield:
"All forces withdraw immediately! Move! MOVE!"
His command brooked no hesitation. Cloud shinobi scattered in every direction, their earlier formation completely abandoned in favor of survival.
The ninja had been frozen by the apocalyptic spectacle above them. The Raikage's order shattered their paralysis, sending them fleeing at maximum speed.
Countless fireballs continued their descent, transforming the sky into a canvas of destruction. Where they struck, waves of fire erupted and surged outward, racing toward Cloud shinobi positions at the mountain's base with terrifying speed.
The Fourth Raikage's quick thinking and immediate evacuation order prevented a complete massacre. His forces managed to clear the impact zone with seconds to spare.
Still, every Cloud ninja who had been on the mountain perished without exception.
The fire waves swept across vast swathes of land before finally losing momentum. They ignited everything flammable in their path, leaving behind a blackened wasteland that would take years to recover.
Ironically, the fire tornado's incredible power had produced an unexpected consequence. By absorbing so much energy from the surrounding sea of flames, it had actually weakened the inferno coating the mountainside. What had been an overwhelming conflagration now burned at merely dangerous levels.
The Fourth Raikage noticed this immediately. Without hesitation, he organized fresh units and sent them racing up the mountain path once more.
"Quick reactions indeed," Shihouin Naraku mused from his mountaintop position, watching the ant-like Cloud forces begin their ascent anew.
"We eliminated an entire wave of their forces. Perhaps a bit excessive, but effective nonetheless."
The fire tornado's loss of control and subsequent devastation had occurred without any intervention from Naraku. He had simply allowed events to unfold naturally, resulting in far greater casualties than initially intended.
Throughout the battles that followed, Shihouin Naraku continued his policy of non-intervention. He served purely as a commander, directing Konoha forces to repel wave after wave of Cloud shinobi assaults.
With the sea of fire significantly diminished, Cloud shinobi pressed their attacks with renewed vigor. They came in waves, each assault following immediately after the last, hoping to overwhelm the defenders through sheer persistence.
Yet even without their environmental advantage, Konoha forces held firm. Superior positioning, better coordination, and high morale allowed them to repulse every Cloud shinobi advance.
Throughout the day's fighting, Naraku waited for the Fourth Raikage to take the field personally. Such direct intervention would have given him the perfect opportunity to eliminate Cloud's leader in single combat. But the Raikage never appeared on the front lines.
Perhaps the Fourth Raikage understood that Naraku was waiting for exactly such an opportunity. Rather than risk everything in personal combat, he remained with his command staff, directing operations from relative safety.
"The Raikage shows impressive restraint," Naraku commented as dusk approached. "Does he truly not care about his forces' mounting casualties?"
Shihouin Naraku stroked his chin thoughtfully while observing the Cloud shinobi establishing their night camp at a safe distance from the mountain. His Observation Haki swept across their positions, easily identifying the hidden sentries and defensive preparations.
As if responding to the coming darkness, the mountain's sea of fire suddenly surged with renewed intensity. The flames roared higher, casting dancing shadows for miles in every direction and turning night into flickering day.
Under such conditions, any attempt at stealth became impossible. Both armies would spot approaching enemies long before they could strike.
"The Raikage cares deeply about every Cloud shinobi death," Nara Shikaku said, approaching from behind. He had overheard Naraku's question. "But he also understands that Cloud Shinobi Village cannot afford to lose him. If he falls, there's no recovery from that blow."
"The current Cloud Shinobi Village stands on a precipice," Shikaku continued, his tactical mind already analyzing every angle.
Naraku turned to face his strategic advisor. "What's our current situation?"
"Captain Hiashi's raiding force continues to perform excellently. Cloud shinobi has dispatched multiple teams to hunt them down, but they've consistently evaded capture."
"Good. Their primary mission is disruption and forcing Cloud to divert resources. The actual supplies they capture or destroy are secondary benefits."
"I've already relayed those priorities," Shikaku confirmed. "They understand that their survival takes precedence over any material gains."
While Naraku and Shikaku discussed tactical details on the mountaintop, the Fourth Raikage huddled with his general staff in the Cloud shinobi command tent below. Maps covered every surface as they desperately sought some strategy—any strategy—that might crack Thunder Gorge's defenses.
The battle would resume with dawn's light, but for now, both armies prepared for another day of desperate combat.
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