Countless missiles rained down from the sky, bombarding the Stone Hidden encampment.
A defensive barrier rose, intercepting the aerial bombardment and rippling with each impact.
Stone Hidden ninja quickly assembled, preparing for defense.
Qingshui stood with his arms crossed, watching the scene unfold, then looked at Chiyo.
"Chiyo-sensei..."
"I understand."
Chiyo gave another order, sending the entire army forward.
Their current advantage wasn't long-range capabilities, but rather the suddenness of their attack and their overwhelming power. There was no need to waste time with long-range weapons until the enemy's barrier collapsed, as they usually would.
"Wind Release: Net!"
"Wind Release: Divine Wind!"
Several combined ninjutsu barrages poured onto the Stone Hidden's protective barrier, causing it to become precarious in an instant.
Qingshui didn't make a move, instead standing at the front of the formation, waiting patiently.
Stone Hidden wouldn't just sit idly by; they would definitely have a countermeasure.
As expected, that countermeasure should be...
Tailed Beast Bomb!
The moment the barrier collapsed, two orange-red, high-energy beams instantly shot out from the Stone Hidden position, heading towards the Sand Hidden army.
Qingshui had already prepared early, creating two Shadow Clones with large amounts of Chakra, and casting spells together.
"Flames of Faltine!"
"Wind Release: Super Vacuum Great Sphere!"
"Palm Thunder!"
Magic, ninjutsu, and Daoist Lightning Technique perfectly merged at this moment.
Wind Release and Palm Thunder were Qingshui's specialties, and he was also quite proficient with Flames of Faltine. Furthermore, Qingshui had already established his central position and was in the "Li" trigram, greatly enhancing his sensitivity and mastery over fire-related energies, which allowed him to perfectly fuse the three attacks.
Wind fueled the fire, wind and thunder surged, and lightning and fire intertwined.
While the Tailed Beast Bomb's power was not weak, Qingshui's Chakra reserves were greater and of higher quality than a typical Tailed Beast, and his technique was significantly superior.
The three attacks collided in an instant, and terrifying energy erupted, illuminating the ground like a small sun.
The next second, a rising mushroom cloud appeared.
As the earth trembled, Earth Style: Earth Walls rose simultaneously in front of both armies, blocking the terrifying shockwave from the explosion.
"How can this be! Someone's attack burst is even stronger than a Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Han, who had undergone Tailed Beast Transformation, exclaimed in shock, looking at the distant explosion.
"It's probably Qingshui, the Kazekage Candidate from the Sand Village. He truly lives up to his reputation. This battle will be very difficult."
Rōshi, also in Tailed Beast Transformation, said solemnly.
He too felt immense pressure from the enemy's power, but at this moment, they could only fight!
"Puppetry: Lion's Roar Seal!"
"Ninja Art: Flowing Sand Waterfall!"
Chiyo and Karura led the charge, rushing forward with the Sand Hidden army.
Qingshui, on the other hand, directly sought out the two most prominent Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.
Regular ninja, even Kage-level powerhouses like Chiyo, rarely possessed effective means to deal with Tailed Beasts. They could only rely on brute strength to endure.
But even if your strength was somewhat superior to a Tailed Beast, you couldn't suppress them indefinitely, because they could grant Jinchuriki incredibly long Chakra and health bars, along with formidable defense and self-healing abilities.
Aside from a very few exceptions, almost no one could match a Tailed Beast in terms of endurance.
This was the Tailed Beasts' "bug." Therefore, when facing a Jinchuriki or a rampaging Tailed Beast, unless it was a special ninjutsu like Wood Release or Adamantine Chains that possessed extremely strong suppressing power against Tailed Beasts, or a unique case like Gold Dust countering the One-Tails' sand, or Kisame's large-scale Water Release and Samehada countering the Four-Tails' Lava Release.
Otherwise, it usually involved one powerful individual capable of suppressing the Tailed Beast, assisted by multiple other experts, who would then look for an opportunity to control and seal the Tailed Beast.
And on the battlefield, Jinchuriki often had the assistance of their comrades from the same village, making it difficult for enemies to get the chance to seal them.
For Qingshui, there was no need for such trouble; he could simply overwhelm them with his strength.
He possessed all the advantages of a Tailed Beast, and his raw power surpassed that of both Jinchuriki. Even if they teamed up, it would just be a bit tricky, perhaps taking a little more time.
*"Bang!"*
Heat waves billowed as Fatty Puppet's body recoiled a few steps, its two large hands firmly bracing against one of the Five-Tails' massive hooves.
The Fatty Puppet, having completed its Magic Tool Transformation, was likely the only puppet in the current ninja world capable of contending with the Five-Tails' Boil Release Brute Strength in a head-on power struggle.
"Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!"
Scorching magma balls shot from the mouth of the monkey-shaped Four-Tails, heading towards Qingshui, who was covered in Big Ivan.
Qingshui instantly vanished from his spot, his Kusanagi Sword flashing. Chakra overflowed from his body, transforming into a Chi Dragon that instantly cut down all the magma balls. Its momentum undiminished, it continued towards the Four-Tails Son Gokū's head.
"Lava Release: Granite!"
A layer of lava erupted from Four-Tails, solidifying into stone and shielding its body.
At the same time, Qingshui had already reached Four-Tails' side.
"Separation Breathing, Seventh Form: Separation Mirror!"
A massive circular mirror instantly enveloped Four-Tails' body, then quietly shattered.
Scorching hot granite pieces fell to the ground, and sword marks appeared all over Four-Tails' enormous monkey body.
Before Qingshui could press his advantage, two massive hooves kicked in from a distance.
"Five Mountains Leap!"
Five-Tails was only slightly better off than Four-Tails; Tailed Beast Chakra continuously erupted from its entire body, repairing its full-body Tailed Beast cloak. It was currently enduring the attacks of several of Qingshui's puppets to relieve Rōshi.
The opponent's strength was too great!
They, the two Jinchuriki, were suppressed shortly after the fight began. If they didn't want to be defeated, they had to cooperate more closely.
Qingshui used Blood Demon Art: Flying Thunder God, flashing hundreds of meters away to evade Five-Tails' attack.
Meanwhile, Fatty and Big Ivan No. 2 charged forward side-by-side towards the two Tailed Beasts.
Miss Qiu and Little Boy, the two flying puppets, also began raining down countless kunai inscribed with the character "kill" from the sky onto this battlefield.
"First, destroy these kunai! We can't let him establish stable teleportation points around us!"
Rōshi shouted loudly.
"I'll cover you!"
Han instinctively stepped in front of Four-Tails, steam erupting from his body. He continuously used Boil Release and his own body to defend against the incoming attacks.
"Lava Release: Fruit Mountain!"
Four-Tails clenched its two monkey fists and slammed them into the ground. Using this as a catalyst, it injected Chakra, detonating the ground and creating a small volcano.
Scorching lava erupted, covering a large area of the ground.
The kunai stuck in the ground were all destroyed, along with Qingshui's blood sealed within them, which was also evaporated and ruined.
"Using this method to limit my mobility? It's a bit clumsy, but somewhat effective. Not much, though."
Qingshui controlled Big Ivan, flying mid-air, looking at the small sea of lava below. With a thought, streams of Wind Release Chakra instantly surged from the acupoints all over his body, swirling around him. They even resonated with the internal structure of the Big Ivan puppet, causing his flying speed to instantly skyrocket.
Wind Release Chakra Mode!
Qingshui had been researching this mode for a long time and finally completed it a few days ago.
This was the first time Wind Release Chakra Mode was publicly displayed before everyone in the ninja world.
In an instant, afterimages appeared in mid-air. Several puppets, stained with a lot of lava and showing varying degrees of damage on their surfaces, were also summoned by Qingshui into the air, wildly firing kunai in all directions, 360 degrees.
Qingshui's figure continuously flashed and leaped among them, like a streak of light, furiously attacking the two Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.
At this moment, without counting Blood Demon Art: Flying Thunder God, Qingshui's speed, boosted by Wind Release Chakra Mode, was no less than that of a super-fast ninja like Fourth Raikage A. Combined with Blood Demon Art: Flying Thunder God, he was even more elusive than Minato Namikaze, making the two Tailed Beast Jinchuriki feel as if they were being simultaneously besieged by several Qingshuis.
Meanwhile, ten white-robed puppets, under Chiyo's control, had surrounded Kitsuchi, steadily suppressing him.
If not for his truly high Earth Release mastery and extremely strong defense, he would probably have struggled just to protect himself.
On the more distant battlefield, yellow sand billowed. Karura stood at the center of the battlefield, surrounded by endless swirling sand, mercilessly slaughtering every Stone Hidden ninja.
Streams of Sand Hidden forces poured through the breach opened by Karura, frantically cutting through and charging the Stone Hidden positions.
Relying on stronger special ninja tools, higher average combat power, and a Kage-level expert who could change the tide of battle, even though Sand Hidden was outnumbered by Stone Hidden, they still shattered the latter's formation.
At this moment, Stone Hidden's defeat was certain.
This was a fact everyone could see.
"The army must retreat immediately, otherwise, these several thousand people will likely be wiped out here."
Han struggled to parry Qingshui's attacks while shouting to Rōshi beside him.
He had almost had his full-body Tailed Beast cloak, from his complete Tailed Beast Transformation, broken. If Five-Tails Kokuō hadn't been the fastest among the nine Tailed Beasts, allowing him to barely keep up with Qingshui's attack speed, he would already be lying on the ground.
"I know, but right now, I'm worried we both might be wiped out here!"
Rōshi shouted back.
His condition was slightly better than Han's.
The granite armor formed from lava gave him quite impressive defense. Even though he took more hits, his true body inside the full-body Tailed Beast cloak wasn't threatened.
"The enemy is very fast, and far stronger than us. Running together definitely won't work. Han, you're faster, you retreat first. I'll make one last stand to cover you. As for the rest, they'll just have to rely on fate."
"This…"
"Are you saying you have a way for both of us to escape?"
Rōshi cursed at Han, then fell silent. He gathered all the Tailed Beast Chakra he could, fiercely slamming it into the ground.
"Lava Release: Scorching River Great Eruption!"
Several larger volcanoes rose from the cracked earth, spewing lava indiscriminately into the sky along with Four-Tails' massive mouth.
An attack of such a wide range was quite powerful, and even Qingshui found his movements somewhat restricted for a moment.
Han seized the opportunity to break through in a certain direction.
"One covering the rear, one fleeing? Not even caring about the main army? That's quite decisive!"
Qingshui scoffed as he watched the scene unfold.
Can the two of you really escape?
Two Blue Jerboas immediately went all out, freezing the endless lava on the ground. Frost even began to spread over the two giant beasts.
However, one of them could release lava and the other could spew high-temperature steam, so the Ice Bomb's effect wasn't as good, but it still managed to suppress them somewhat.
The next instant, Qingshui appeared before Han. The Kusanagi Sword in his hand instantly extended dozens of meters, aiming directly for the five horns on Han's head, blocking his charge.
At the same time, numerous tangible clones drifted out from behind Qingshui.
Ekron's Form!
Some clones cast Chains of Krakkan, others cast Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, transforming into chains that wrapped around the two Tailed Beasts, restricting their movements. Still others drew talismans in the air with one hand, releasing talismans with sealing and suppressing effects to restrain the two Tailed Beasts.
Just then, Karura, noticing the situation, flew over on sand clouds to assist.
She raised her hands high, turning sand into flowing sand that wrapped around the bodies of the two Tailed Beasts. She then compacted the sand, forming two pyramids over twenty meters tall.
The reason she rushed to Qingshui's aid was, on one hand, because the two Tailed Beasts were indeed formidable. It wouldn't be difficult for Qingshui to defeat them both alone, but sealing them would be somewhat strenuous, and he might let one escape.
On the other hand, the Stone Hidden army was now in complete disarray.
Upon seeing the Five-Tails Jinchuriki begin to flee, Kitsuchi immediately put all his effort into shaking off Chiyo and ordered the army to retreat.
Did Kitsuchi not want to save the two Jinchuriki?
Of course he did, but he also knew he simply didn't have the ability.
He was already struggling immensely against Chiyo, almost getting taken down by the old woman, so there was no way he could handle Qingshui, whom even two Tailed Beasts couldn't defeat together.
Moreover, Karura was also watching like a tiger.
He couldn't possibly let the Tailed Beasts, himself as the Son of the Tsuchikage, and a large number of Stone Hidden troops all perish here.
What was present now was most of Stone Hidden's high-level combat power and nearly half of its active ninja force, all of whom were elites.
If they were lost, then the Stone Hidden Village would truly have its backbone completely broken in this battle, never to stand tall again, directly falling to the bottom tier of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Perhaps even six Great Ninja Villages, because Hanzo's Rain Village might even be much stronger than them by then.
Stone Hidden retreated in disarray under Kitsuchi's leadership, and Sand Hidden pursued under Chiyo's command.
Qingshui, after having Karura suppress the Four-Tails with the sand pyramid, signaled her to release the sand pyramid on the Five-Tails' side.
He wanted to seal the Five-Tails Jinchuriki first.
Mysterious talismans flew from Qingshui's clones, landing on the Five-Tails, sealing its Chakra. In short order, this pure white beast with five horns on its head completely vanished, transforming into a tall, muscular man wearing red armor.
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