After Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning was destroyed, the occasional small rebellions were swiftly suppressed.
Since Kirigakure had always maintained a policy of not harming civilians, the former Cloud citizens, though occasionally restless, quickly settled down again.
Kirigakure was well practiced at absorbing new villages — after all, this wasn't their first time.
Meanwhile, the main Mist forces didn't return from the Land of Lightning. Instead, they remained in place to regroup.
After resupplying with additional war materials and resources, the Mist army, led by Terumi Mei, began moving once more — heading west.
The next target: the Land of Earth!
Three of the Five Great Ninja Villages had already fallen. For the last remaining village, the Mist side clearly intended to wipe it out in one stroke.
As for Uchiha Madara in the Land of Earth — with Yuto's personal guarantee that Madara wouldn't intervene, Terumi Mei dared to march forward without hesitation.
Iwagakure received word of the Mist army's advance, and the leadership panicked. When they all went to find Uchiha Madara—
They discovered that Uchiha Madara and his group had already vanished!
Faced with this reality, every Iwa leader understood they had been abandoned by Uchiha Madara. While cursing his name, they—
Quickly began mobilizing their ninja forces. At the same time, some factions sent word of surrender to the Mist.
Unfortunately, the Mist had never intended to give Iwagakure any chance to surrender. One surrendered village in Sunagakure was quite enough.
A lone tree cannot hold up the forest. In this situation, the Iwa leadership appealed to the Earth Daimyo for aid, hoping he would negotiate with the Water Daimyo.
But the Earth Daimyo refused to leave the Daimyo's Court, hiding inside no matter what. The death of the Lightning Daimyo had served as a stark warning.
If those ninja wanted to kill, they had more than enough ways to do it.
Helpless!
Iwagakure had no choice but to fight the Mist forces in an all-out battle at the Land of Earth's border.
Boom!
The once-flat ground erupted with a thunderous roar, splitting open like a volcanic eruption!
Countless tons of earth blasted upward from below, creating a massive area-of-effect attack. Combined with the tremors from the cracking ground, it instantly buried a large number of Mist ninja beneath the surface.
"Earth Release — Open Earth Rise!"
Kitsuchi pressed both palms against the ground with a low shout.
The enormous Earth Release jutsu completely devastated the once-flat terrain. The Mist's defensive line — including their traps and buried explosive tags — was utterly destroyed.
In the process, quite a few Mist and Sun ninja lost their lives!
Since Sunagakure had surrendered directly, large numbers of Sun ninja were now fighting alongside the Mist in both the Land of Lightning and Land of Earth campaigns.
"Damn Iwa ninja — all our preparations are ruined!"
A Mist ninja spat the words angrily, swiftly drawing a kunai from his pouch.
"In that case, let's just go all out!"
Another Mist ninja roared.
In the next instant, a flood of ninja charged toward Kitsuchi's position, hoping to take out this powerhouse in one rush.
At the same time, a sky-darkening volley of kunai and shuriken rained down on Kitsuchi from above.
"Earth Release — Earth Spear!"
Just then, Akatsuchi, standing not far from Kitsuchi, formed a rapid series of hand seals and let out a low shout.
The ground, already loosened by Kitsuchi's jutsu, suddenly sprouted countless razor-sharp earth spears!
These jagged lances not only blocked the Mist ninja's thrown weapons but also pierced straight through several inattentive ninja on the spot!
Blood sprayed in all directions!
Swish! Swish!
Seeing the technique activate, some of the quicker Mist ninja leapt into the air, dodging the sudden eruption of earth spears from below.
Akatsuchi saw the enemy ninja dodge en masse and showed no surprise — instead, a smile crossed his face.
Right now!
"Earth Release — Earth Dragon!!"
Kitsuchi, who had been waiting for this moment, saw the airborne ninja and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
With a beast-like growl, a massive dragon formed entirely from earth chakra and embedded with boulders surged skyward, lunging straight for the ninja suspended in midair!
Hanging in the air, there was nowhere to dodge!
Moreover, the coordination between Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi was flawless — not a single gap. Even if the airborne ninja tried to use jutsu to defend, it was already too late!
Just as the Mist forces were about to be swallowed by the enormous earth dragon, a calm, low voice came from another part of the battlefield.
"Water Style — Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
A massive shark-shaped projectile formed entirely from water chakra materialized in midair, its enormous jaws clamping down on the earth dragon's neck.
The two jutsu collided with a thunderous boom!
Countless chunks of mud and water rained down from the sky like a storm of earth and stone!
The Mist ninja who had been leaping in the air hastily landed on the ground, each one letting out a heavy breath, their faces still pale with lingering shock.
"Kitsuchi of Iwagakure? Now that's a decent opponent!"
Kisame Hoshigaki appeared at the center of the battlefield, Giant Sword — Samehada in one hand, a hint of excitement in his voice.
"This part of the battlefield is mine. You all go elsewhere."
Without looking back, Kisame waved a hand at the Mist ninja behind him and spoke in a flat tone.
The ninja paused for a moment, then exchanged glances.
"Yes, Kisame-sama."
The Mist ninja responded in unison, then vanished one by one, heading for other parts of the battlefield.
"One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen — Kisame Hoshigaki, huh?"
Kitsuchi stared intently at his opponent, murmuring to himself. A trace of gravity appeared on his face as he spoke to Akatsuchi beside him:
"I'll handle Kisame Hoshigaki. Go help at another battlefield."
"Got it!" Akatsuchi nodded without hesitation and turned away, disappearing to the rear.
Kitsuchi and Kisame Hoshigaki faced each other in silence. Then, almost simultaneously, they charged at one another.
"Samehada — Chakra Devouring Slash!"
Kisame bared his sharp teeth with an excited growl, raising the Giant Sword — Samehada and slashing fiercely at Kitsuchi!
"Earth Release — Rock Fist!"
Kitsuchi didn't yield an inch. Earth chakra rapidly condensed around his right hand, transforming his entire forearm into a fist of solid rock.
The descending Samehada collided with the heavy rock fist in a dull, resounding impact.
Kisame's expression shifted. Both of his hands gripping Samehada went numb from the punch, and his body was sent flying backward, carving a deep groove in the ground.
"Not bad — Ōnoki's son is no one to underestimate."
Kisame flexed his numb wrists, his expression turning serious.
Kitsuchi was right on his heels, slamming a fist into the ground where Kisame had just stood and blasting out a huge crater.
As Kisame leapt backward, his hands formed seals in midair and he opened his mouth wide:
"Water Style — Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A massive volume of water formed instantly, pouring down like an ocean tide, surging toward Kitsuchi from above!
Kitsuchi's expression changed. Without hesitation, he slapped his palms onto the ground.
Earth Release — Earth-Style Core!
Under Kitsuchi's control, the ground beneath his feet began to churn rapidly. The terrain ahead sank into a vast depression, spreading further and further downward.
At the same time, the ground where Kitsuchi stood began to rise, climbing higher and higher!
Through this combination of rising and sinking earth techniques, the massive flood of water released by Kisame quickly drained into the depression.
And Kitsuchi stood on the elevated ground, completely untouched by the Water Release assault.
Seeing his jutsu so easily countered, Kisame showed a clear hint of surprise.
Since Kisame had launched his technique while airborne, Kitsuchi naturally seized the opening.
"Earth Release — Rock Cannon Technique!"
Kitsuchi pressed his palms together at his chest, puffed his cheeks, and fired a small pebble from his mouth.
[
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