Seven or eight hill-like figures closed in, hemming Isobu in on all sides.
For no clear reason…
A flicker of panic crept into Isobu's heart.
Seeing these few arrive to help him, Choza did not smile—his brow creased instead.
These men were the Akimichi Clan's hidden depth laid bare; exposing them to every eye was not necessarily wise.
One or two users of Chō Baika no Jutsu (Super Multi-Size Technique) would draw little notice—but eight at once? To certain people, that would look like a threat.
Across the battlefield, all gazes snapped to those mountain-sized silhouettes in an instant.
"So strong!"
"So this is the Akimichi's power?"
"With them here, the Three-Tails is no longer scary!"
Shouts of excitement rippled through the Leaf ranks.
"The Akimichi, is it?"
Hiruzen's lids lowered a fraction, thoughts unreadable.
While the Leaf's morale surged, the Sand—who had only just started celebrating Isobu's arrival—wilted all over again.
The Sand shinobi attacking the Leaf suddenly realized how foolish this invasion had been.
If the Mist hadn't joined them out of nowhere, they would have been thrashed already.
On the Hokage Rock—
Yuto also paused, staring at the eight hill-sized figures in the distance.
"So that's how it is. That's more like it."
He came back to himself, murmuring under his breath.
"Konoha is scary strong," Ranmaru whispered at his side, swallowing.
"What do you think, Kisame?" Yuto ruffled Ranmaru's hair and glanced back toward Kisame.
Kisame flicked his eyes toward the village, then said after a beat, "Konoha's hidden cards are beyond expectations. But the Akimichi alone can't reverse the Leaf's current disadvantage."
"And the Akimichi… may have other motives."
Yuto nodded—he agreed.
It looked spectacular, but it changed little at the core.
Chō Baika no Jutsu (Super Multi-Size Technique) was staggering—and staggeringly costly. And a bigger body wasn't always a boon.
A target that size was hard not to hit.
"I'm getting more curious about Konoha's real backhand," Yuto said, eyes bright, staring straight down at the village.
Of course, if that "backhand" was ordinary, then in Yuto's eyes Konoha no longer needed to exist.
He would erase it himself.
On the field—
Eight giants moved as one. Isobu outclassed any single one of them, but even a beast's two fists can't beat eight hands.
Under their joint assault he could only roar unwillingly as they drove him, step by step, toward the outskirts.
"Choza, I know what you're thinking—don't worry."
One clansman glanced at Choza's clouded face and spoke gently.
"The Three-Tails showed up right by our clan compound. If we don't act, we lose our home."
"Besides, the elder already agreed."
Another chimed in.
"The elder… agreed?"
Choza looked stunned. He couldn't imagine that crafty old fox greenlighting something like this.
"Yeah. The elder said the Mist and Sand's alliance isn't as simple as it looks. Konoha might be headed for a reshuffle."
"In that case, showing our strength might push the Akimichi into the village's first tier."
The words reached Choza's ears and made the corner of his mouth twitch despite himself.
Feeling himself being all but ignored, Isobu roared in anger. Yuto was watching from the Hokage Rock—
If he let this crowd march him out so easily, he could expect a beating later.
Isobu began to thrash. He tried to whip his three tails, but each one was pinned to the ground by a different Akimichi and couldn't budge.
Left with no choice, he thrust his two left legs—until now tucked into his shell—down hard in rapid stamps.
The ground convulsed like an earthquake, and he leveraged the rebound to cant his shell up at a steep angle.
"Isobu!"
He arched his whole body—and suddenly spun like a rolling wheel.
The massive impact blasted the three nearest Akimichi clear off their feet.
The others reacted at last, scrambling to suppress him.
But Isobu's shell was hard as iron, and that tremendous weight—once spinning—generated forces beyond expectation.
One Akimichi launched Nikudan Sensha (Human Boulder) straight at him.
They collided—and in that instant, the Akimichi was knocked out of Chō Baika no Jutsu, spat blood, and dropped unconscious.
Faces around the circle flushed with fury.
They threw everything into stopping him—yet the effect was minimal.
Several more were badly hurt.
Only now did everyone truly grasp why most people feared tailed beasts.
"We can't let him go another step!"
Choza bellowed and charged to meet the rolling juggernaut.
Chō Mōdo (Butterfly Mode)!
Vast butterfly wings of pure chakra burst into being at his back.
In mere moments, his strength multiplied.
He braced and wrapped both arms around the oncoming Isobu.
The collision's brute force made him cough blood on the spot—
But he held, though his forearms twisted at ugly angles.
Clearly—fractured.
The others exhaled in relief.
But Isobu wouldn't stop. Jets of water blasted from his maw one after another.
The Akimichi dodged—but the torrents still smashed through buildings in their path.
With no better option, they were forced to tank the blows head-on.
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