A golden sphere burst outward the moment the Four Red Yang Formation collapsed. After flying some distance, it unraveled into particles of glimmering sand, revealing four figures.
It was Rasa, manipulating his Gold Dust to evacuate Chiyo, Ebizō, and Ye Cang. Only the four of them had escaped.
"Karura..."
Rasa looked back at the burning ruins of Uzushiogakure, his face clouded with anguish.
His wife had been on the front lines, tending to the wounded. The distance and chaos had prevented him from reaching her in time. He could only retreat with the ones closest at hand.
Now, it might be too late.
Ebizō, weakened, urged, "Head back to Sunagakure immediately. Ye Cang, maintain your Scorch Release orb—its intense heat seems to repel the poisonous insects. You mustn't let it fade."
The toxins ravaging his body had been temporarily suppressed using a combination of antidotes and poison-matching. But even then, the concoctions used were harsh, barely keeping death at bay. Without proper treatment soon, he and Chiyo wouldn't survive.
Across the battlefield, Iwagakure wasn't faring any better. Xī Shiren had survived only by using an advanced Earth Release technique to shield against the massive explosion of the detonation tags.
"Zi, don't come near! Keep your Lava Release and the Four-Tails' chakra active—the heat is keeping the venomous insects away. That's why you're still standing!"
As the commander of the Iwa forces, Xī Shiren barked a final order. "Return to the village. Tell Lord Ōnoki everything. Tell him… I failed."
His chakra could suppress the poison just enough to stay conscious, but not enough to survive.
There was no time to grieve. Konoha's trap had been too precise. There could be more killing blows waiting, and if Zi lingered, she'd die too.
"But you'll—!"
"Go! While Kumo is holding them off!" Xī Shiren spat blackened blood. He wasn't just sparing her for her potential or her strength—she was the Four-Tails' Jinchūriki. Even with an unstable seal, her power was vital to the village.
"I'll inform Ōnoki. And I'll avenge them all."
Suppressing her rage, Zi burst away from the smoldering remains of Uzushiogakure. She had to live—for the truth, for vengeance.
"This… This was my first mission as commander. How did it end like this…?"
Watching her vanish, Xī Shiren gritted his teeth.
He had dreamed of glory, of acclaim. Instead, all he had were corpses and smoke.
"…My son… carry the future…"
Clinging to life, he staggered toward the forest's edge, trying to mold chakra while suppressing the swarm of toxins in his bloodstream. He wouldn't wait for death.
---
"Full speed! Head straight for Uzushiogakure!"
From afar, Dodai saw the inferno and ordered a charge. Behind him, Tamura Hao moved swiftly with Samehada strapped to his back.
He mentally communicated with the sentient blade. A feast of chakra awaited.
Though Samehada hadn't fully accepted him as its wielder, it had stopped rejecting him. Now, it thirsted for the unique life force of the Uzumaki.
Elsewhere, hidden behind the lines, Shimura Danzō watched the firestorm bloom across the sea village.
The nano-sized venomous insects had been deployed. The hundred thousand explosive tags had detonated. Uzushiogakure must've been obliterated, and the other villages wiped out with it.
But his triumph was short-lived.
Suddenly, a crimson barrier sprang up around his position—dense with sealing chakra. Five red-haired shinobi stood at equidistant corners, channeling power.
"Shimura Danzō! Die!"
In that instant, the Third Raikage consumed a chakra pill and was cloaked in crackling black lightning—a more volatile form of his Lightning Release Armor, one honed for ultimate penetration.
With a roar, he launched into his Hell Stab.
Danzō, no stranger to the Lightning Armor, raised his sword imbued with Vacuum Release: Vacuum Sphere. He had used it before to cut into armor like this.
But the black lightning was different. Enhanced by the pill and raw rage, the Third Raikage pierced through the Vacuum technique, shattered Danzō's blade, and severed his right arm in one thrust.
"Fall back!!"
Grimacing from the agony, Danzō dashed toward the incomplete edge of the barrier. His subordinates followed—but they hadn't accounted for the Raikage.
In a blur of black light, he blocked their escape.
Cloud-nin who had hung back now surged forward, firing coordinated elemental jutsu.
"Break through! The Raikage can't hold that form long—it's too taxing!"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke rallied his troops. They had trained for sudden assaults. Now they had to survive one.
But the Raikage wasn't fading—his pill had been a decoy, a tactical misdirection.
And now, the Five-Seal Barrier snapped shut. Escape was impossible.
While weaker than the Four Red Yang Formation, it was still formidable, especially with the Raikage and over a hundred Kumogakure Jōnin inside.
With ruthless speed, the Third Raikage dove into the Konoha formations, severing units and crushing resistance. Kumogakure's outside assault synchronized perfectly.
It was a massacre.
Even Earth Release escape failed—the barrier extended underground.
"Damn you—Cloud!!"
Shinnosuke shouted, his heart filled with grief. He knew—it was over.
"Shinnosuke!"
Izumi Shimura appeared beside him, wounded but resolute, her naginata flashing.
"We can't die here!" Shinnosuke gritted his teeth, pulling out a blood-red pill.
His chakra surged. It tore through his body like fire, but he endured.
He bit his finger, formed seals, and slammed his palm into the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu—Monkey King: Enma!"
Smoke exploded. The aged but powerful simian appeared, eyes scanning the carnage.
"Shinnosuke? You're not Hiruzen—what's going on!?"
"Uncle Enma—quick! Transform into the Adamantine Staff! We must break this barrier!"
Despite the agony from the pill's backlash, Shinnosuke forced himself to stand, gripping his last hope tightly.
This wasn't just about survival.
It was about vengeance.
About honor.
And saving the remnants of the Sarutobi and Shimura clans.