Just like Fūza had predicted, it didn't take long for Suna ninjas to show up.
A squad of them came charging, weapons drawn and chakra flaring as they made a push to reclaim their jinchūriki. Kenji tensed, hand already moving toward his kunai pouch, but before he could engage, reinforcements arrived.
Konoha support troops hit the Suna squad from the side, intercepting them. At the same time, the sealing squad arrived from the opposite direction, moving toward Bunpuku's unconscious form.
The sealing specialists didn't waste time with complicated rituals or lengthy preparations. Within minutes, they'd slapped suppression seals across the jinchūriki's body, hoisted him onto a stretcher, and started hauling him away from the battlefield toward the secure rear area where he'd be kept under heavy guard.
The Suna ninjas tried to break through, but the Konoha troops held the line. The outcome was never in doubt. The Suna squad was outnumbered and fighting without their trump card. After a few minutes of intense engagement, they were forced to retreat.
Kenji watched them go, then turned his attention back to Fūza.
"You sure you're okay? Your face is still pretty pale. Maybe you should head back to camp and rest properly."
"I'm fine," Fūza said. He reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out another soldier pill, this one a darker brown than standard issue. This was an Akimichi specialty. It restored chakra faster than the regular stuff, though it was harder on the body. He popped it in his mouth and chewed, grimacing slightly at the taste. After swallowing, he stood there for a moment, breathing slowly. Gradually, color started returning to his cheeks.
"We still need to deal with the Third Kazekage. I can't back out now, not when the others are fighting him."
Kenji considered arguing, but dismissed it. Fūza was a clan head and a veteran ninja. He knew his own limits better than anyone. If he said he could keep fighting, then that was his decision to make.
"Alright. I'm coming with you. Maybe I can help somehow."
More importantly, his Transparent Release puppet was still hidden nearby. The Third Kazekage's Magnet Release was incredibly rare. This might be his only chance to collect a sample. By the time the Third Great Ninja War rolled around, he would already be dead, turned into a human puppet by Sasori. If he missed this opportunity now, he'd never get another shot at acquiring Magnet Release data.
They found a sheltered spot behind some rubble and took a few minutes to recover properly. He sat cross-legged and ate from his ration supplies, chewing through dried meat and rice balls to restore his stamina. His chakra was already regenerating on its own, but food would speed up the process.
Fūza, meanwhile, pulled out an enormous bag of compressed jerky and rice balls and started eating at a pace that would've made most people sick. This was part of the Akimichi clan's unique physiology, their secret techniques allowed them to convert food directly into chakra at an accelerated rate. What he was doing now was basically refueling after burning through everything he had against Shukaku.
"What's that thing on your back?" he asked between bites, nodding toward the Swift Release puppet still perched on Kenji's shoulder. "Some kind of summon?"
"It's a puppet," Kenji answered. There was no point hiding it. He'd been using puppets in combat regularly. People were going to notice eventually. "I use it for combat support."
"Puppet, huh? Like what the Suna ninjas use?" Fūza nodded thoughtfully, tearing off another chunk of jerky. "Smart idea, using a puppet instead of relying on teammates for support. I know you don't have a fixed squad right now."
Kenji just nodded. Most chunin and jonin operated in temporary teams or went solo on missions. Having a puppet for support meant he didn't have to coordinate with strangers or worry about whether his teammates could keep up.
"Alright, let's move," Fūza said after finishing his last rice ball. He brushed crumbs off his hands and stood up, looking considerably more steady than he had a few minutes ago.
Kenji got to his feet and fell into step beside him. They headed toward the main battlefield where Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade were engaged with the Third Kazekage.
The closer they got, the louder the sounds of combat became.
The high-pitched screech of iron sand grinding against itself mixed with the explosive booms of jutsu impacts. They passed through a forest that had been torn apart by the fighting, trees snapped in half or uprooted entirely, craters pocking the ground where large-scale techniques had detonated.
Finally, they reached a vantage point that gave them a clear view of the battlefield.
The ground was covered in scars from iron sand impacts, deep gouges carved into the earth where the Third Kazekage's techniques had struck. Manda, Gamabunta, and Katsuyu were nowhere to be seen. They'd probably been withdrawn early. Their massive size made them easy targets for his wide-range attacks.
At the center of the battlefield, the Third Kazekage hovered in midair.
Iron sand formed a pair of wings behind him. From his position, he had a commanding view of the entire combat zone and could strike at any angle.
Below him, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were fighting for their lives.
They moved constantly, never staying in one place for more than a second, dodging the relentless barrage of iron sand attacks that rained down from above. Occasionally one of them would counter with a jutsu, but the attacks were ineffective. Their opponent was too mobile, and his iron sand could deflect most techniques before they reached him.
"I'm going in!" Fūza announced suddenly.
Before Kenji could respond, he charged onto the battlefield. His hands blurred through seals, and his left arm suddenly swelled to several times its normal size, transforming into a massive fist.
"Partial Multi-Size Technique!"
BOOM!
A pillar of iron sand that had been forming to strike Tsunade was smashed aside by Fūza's fist. The iron construct crashed into the ground and exploded into fragments.
"Fūza!" Tsunade's face showed visible relief at the reinforcement. She dodged another iron sand spike and called out, "How did it go with the tailed beast?"
Jiraiya and Orochimaru also glanced toward Fūza.
"The beast's been dealt with," Fūza answered, using his giant fist to bat away another incoming iron sand attack. "The sealing squad took the jinchūriki back to the secure zone."
"Thank god," Jiraiya muttered.
They looked noticeably more relaxed. With the tailed beast out of play, they could focus entirely on the Third Kazekage. As long as they didn't get defeated here, the war was essentially won. Konoha had captured Suna's jinchūriki. That was a massive victory regardless of how this battle turned out.
So Bunpuku fell?
The Third Kazekage had been listening to the conversation.
His chakra erupted outward in a visible wave. Massive amounts of black iron sand poured from his body, spreading outward. The volume was enough to cover the entire battlefield and then some. Within seconds, the sky above them had turned completely black.
"Iron Sand World Method!"
Countless sharp spikes began forming in the cloud of iron sand overhead. They condensed rapidly, thousands of them. Together they formed a dense forest hanging in the air.
Then they fell.
BOOM!
The entire battlefield disappeared under a storm of iron sand spikes that crashed down. When the dust began to settle, the landscape had been completely transformed. What had been relatively flat ground was now covered in a dense thicket of iron sand spikes standing upright. Each spike was taller than a person, and they were packed so tightly together that navigating between them would be nearly impossible.
In the center of the iron forest, a sphere of white hair stood out.
Jiraiya's hair had expanded massively. Needle Jizō had held against the initial barrage, but Kenji could see it wavering. Another attack like that and it would break.
The Third Kazekage didn't give them time to recover.
He dove into his own iron sand forest, moving through it like a ghost. As the controller of the iron sand, he could navigate the dense thicket effortlessly. He struck from different angles.
Jiraiya and the others were forced onto defense. Trapped inside the iron sand domain with limited mobility, they could barely counter. And the Third Kazekage's wings let him move three-dimensionally, diving and climbing and attacking from above where they couldn't easily reach him.
"This isn't good," Kenji muttered from his position at the edge of the battlefield.
He'd stayed hidden, observing the fight and trying to figure out an opening. But the more he watched, the more obvious it became that this was a terrible matchup for Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade. The Third Kazekage had air superiority, massive range with his techniques, and perfect defense through his iron sand. Meanwhile, Jiraiya's team was grounded, limited in mobility by the terrain, and unable to get close enough to land meaningful hits.
"How did they win in the original timeline? It can't just be a chakra battle, right? Even though they aren't at their peak yet, Tsunade alone probably has more chakra than the Third Kazekage..."
He stared up at the Third Kazekage as the man rained down more iron sand bombardment. The title of "Strongest Kazekage" wasn't just propaganda. This guy was terrifying. Magnet Release gave him offense, defense, and mobility all in one package. Single-target precision strikes or wide-area devastation, he could do both. Flying combat or ground fighting, he was effective at either.
Shame he gets killed by Sasori later. If you ignore that embarrassing death, his skill set is incredible. Too bad Hiruzen didn't show up. It would've been interesting to see "Strongest Hokage" versus "Strongest Kazekage" duke it out.
But admiration aside, he had a problem. He couldn't help in this fight.
The Third Kazekage's iron sand was a natural counter to puppeteers. If those iron particles got inside a puppet's joints and mechanisms, they'd jam everything up and leave the puppet completely paralyzed. And his left arm and both legs were puppet constructions. Getting caught by that iron sand would be a disaster.
I need to finish that synthetic skin project when I get back, he noted mentally. Cover up the puppet weaknesses, make them look and function more like real limbs.
But that was a problem for later. Right now, he needed to figure out how to help without exposing himself to the iron sand.
"I need to find a way to get to him..."
He watched the Third Kazekage unleash another wave of iron sand attacks. His mind was already working through options. Then he made a decision.
He released the Mind Clone Switch Technique on his Swift Release puppet. At the same time, he released the summoning contract. The puppet vanished in a puff of smoke, returning to his tent back at the Konoha camp.
Against iron sand, the puppet was useless. Its speed meant nothing if one touch could disable it completely.
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I am reading your suggestions, but due to differences in the chapter order, your suggestions might only fit much later (if I decide to use the idea) or I might not be able to use them at all, because other things are already planned.
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40 Advance Chapters!