Chapter 268

"I understand your intentions, but as I've said, now is not the time."

Hidden in the distance, Nagato, controlling Pain, spoke slowly. At this moment, he was steadily approaching the area with the help of Konan.

It's not that he doesn't want to take action, but he can't act just yet. Being too far away, he really can't unleash his full power.

So, he is currently in the process of moving. He truly needs to wait a bit longer.

However, no matter what, he has decided that he must do something today. He absolutely will not allow anyone to challenge the authority of his godhood!

Kaito was unaware of Nagato's 'teenage angst', and at this time, he was continually adapting to his own changes.

Similarly, he was also earnestly testing the extent of his strength.

Deep down, he had already conceived an idea, a concept where his power was sufficient.

Unfortunately, he had never encountered war before this and never had the chance to try or use his power.

But now, with the opportunity right in front of him, if he didn't properly test it out, it would indeed be a missed chance!

Thinking this way, the electrical arcs around Kaito became increasingly intense. The next moment, his "Void Walk" ability suddenly burst forth.

His entire figure abruptly vanished from the spot, and when he reappeared, he was back within the large Rock Ninja troop!

And these Rock Ninja troops, trying to avoid Kaito's fire release technique, had already gathered closely together.

However, when Kaito appeared among them, the jumping arcs of electricity exploded with unimaginable power and destructiveness in an instant!

The Rock Ninjas simply couldn't react in time, for Kaito's space-time ninjutsu was indeed unpredictable.

With Kaito's chakra bursting, thunder interwove around him, and the chakra in the sky also began to furiously brew.

"Secret Technique·Thunder Prison Tempest Pull!"

In an instant, endless terrifying thunder erupted around him and in the sky!

The mighty divine wrath, under the guidance of chakra, transformed, just like the ancient thunder god delivering heavenly punishment to the mortal realm.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

Terrifying screams accompanied by thunderous noises echoed everywhere, and the entire world let out a mournful cry.

If we were to talk about what Earth Release ninjas fear the most, it would undoubtedly be Lightning Release.

This is because Lightning Release has an unimaginable penetrating power against Earth Release, causing destructive and devastating damage.

Even disregarding the elemental attributes, being struck at such close range by such a powerful scale of Lightning Release results in unimaginable lethal damage.

Even if they weren't killed instantly, those Rock Ninjas were electrocuted to the point of full-body paralysis, leaving them almost unable to move.

Fortunately, Kaito's "Thunder Prison Tempest Pull" has a fixed range, and Kaito did not recklessly unleash such thunder everywhere.

Thus, the Rock Ninjas outside the range of the lightning were relatively unharmed.

However, after either electrocuting to death or paralyzing the enemies in that area, Kaito's ninja blade danced once again.

Almost every slash would silently kill a Rock Ninja; every assault was accompanied by a fallen figure.

In such an extreme death-fearing situation, the Rock Ninjas underwent both mental and physical torment.

Many Rock Ninjas on the periphery even started trembling!

Watching this scene, Bungo's heart was on the verge of breaking. However, he knew he absolutely couldn't break down.

He had to look after these large troops; he had to be responsible for this battle; he had to pull himself together.

But at this moment, he truly felt helpless, to the point where he couldn't even resist!

Watching the Rock Ninjas continuously fall, his heart was filled with sorrow and helplessness. He not only mourned the death of these ninjas but also lamented the loss brought upon the Hidden Rock Village.

In just a short few minutes of combat, they had lost countless ninjas. Such a loss would be unbearable for anyone!

Ninjas are never easy to train.

Take the Leaf Village as an example: such a vast ninja village only trained tens of thousands of ninjas, with the majority being lower-ranked ninjas.

There's a fair number of middle-ranked ninjas, but not as many as one might imagine.

And for those with the ninja rank of elite, even when combined from the entire Leaf Village, there are only a hundred or so.

But how many people are there in the Leaf Village? At the very least, over a hundred thousand or even more!

With such a vast population, only one-tenth are ninjas. This goes to show how challenging it truly is to train a ninja.

In the original story, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, the total number of participating ninjas was just over 80,000.

This was the result of the four major ninja villages summoning all their combat-capable ninjas, just to muster such a number.

Obviously, with Kaito taking out thousands of ninjas in such a short time, how could Bungo not feel anguish in his heart? He even wanted to end his own life out of remorse!

He now truly wishes to evacuate everyone from here, but the unfortunate truth is that he can't issue any commands due to his severe injuries.

What makes him feel even more powerless is that once they retreat, the worst will happen – it would mean the Hidden Rock's surrender!

"We must hold on! We have to stand firm!"

Bungo struggled to his feet. Ignoring the ninja trying to bandage him on the side, he stood up, enduring the excruciating pain from his entire body.

With a hoarse voice amplified by his chakra, he shouted hysterically, 

"He's just one person! Clear this area! 

Use Earth Release to slow him down; don't let him easily get into the crowd. Surround him and use Earth Release to attack! 

Everyone, spread out!"

Within the Grass Country, in the Hidden Rock's control zone, Ōnoki was rapidly flying forward.

He was now extremely anxious because he received a piece of somewhat unsettling news – the Hidden Rock's entire forces had been deployed.

In truth, Ōnoki knew that Bungo's decision wasn't flawed.

He had learned along the way that, during that time, the Hidden Rock's forces were truly being heavily suppressed by the Leaf.

If it weren't for the Hidden Rock's ninjas being exceptionally qualified and having unwavering determination, they would have likely crumbled when surrounded and attacked by the Leaf.

Choosing to fully deploy and counter-attack the Leaf at this time was indeed a brilliant decision.

This would not only quickly boost the Hidden Rock's morale but also catch the Leaf off guard.

In fact, the correctness of this decision was evident as they had taken a day and more in a long-distance rush, almost reclaiming the lands they lost.

However, the problem now is the enormous physical exhaustion caused by the prolonged assault.

Back in the day, the Leaf's strategy against the Rock was to continually stretch and tire them out, then ambush them.

Of course, this method had its limits, since the Leaf was also draining its own stamina.

But during such a prolonged assault, the Leaf managed to gain some advantages, and this was definitely a factor to consider.

Especially since the commander of the Leaf was none other than the woman, Tsunade.

This woman had experienced both the Second and Third Wars and even directed the course of wars. She's undoubtedly not an easy opponent to deal with.

Even if Ōnoki heard rumors that this woman had developed some sort of blood phobia, her role as a commander didn't require her to be on the front lines, so it didn't impact her.

Besides, on the Leaf's side, there's Uchiha Kaito, a man who's stirred the entire ninja world!

Ōnoki was truly unsure of the extent of Uchiha Kaito's power.

But the shattered mountains truly struck a chord deep within him; such destructive power was truly terrifying.

However, Ōnoki always held a belief that an individual's power could never stand against a large, organized army!

Even though Kaito had already demonstrated unimaginable strength, the problem was that that time, Kaito was fighting one-on-one.

A large-scale army isn't foolish; why would they stand still and let you hit them?

Moreover, Kaito definitely isn't Uchiha Madara, and his defensive capabilities surely haven't reached the level of Uchiha Madara's!

"There should never be another Uchiha Madara in this world, and we absolutely cannot have another one like him!"

Ōnoki thought bitterly to himself, recalling that rebellious man.

He clearly remembered one night when a man named Uchiha Madara coldly told them that there were no alliances, only submission or death! He clearly remembered those crimson eyes, the chakra emanating a cold and destructive aura, and the deep blue chakra giant surrounding him.

All of these memories didn't fade over time; instead, they were imprinted deeper into his memory.

Every time he recalled himself lying on the ground, looking up at that terrifying figure, he couldn't help but shudder.

It was a deeply ingrained fear, and Ōnoki felt that he might live the rest of his life under its shadow.

//

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