Chapter 154: Fierce Light!

Within the illusion, inside the Root base, Shūichi, playing the role of Danzo, smiled. "Have they finally found me?"

Accompanied by a loud rumble, a massive figure descended from the sky, crashing through the Root base. Wherever it passed, bridges crumbled.

Boom!

Shukaku landed, raising a paw to smash down. "Hiding here, and looking so ugly too!"

"Die!"

Shūichi leapt into the air, ending his role-playing, and began battling Shukaku.

He needed to buy time.

But it was clear that tailed beasts were exceptional beings.

Even in a mental space, Shukaku's immense power was wreaking havoc, causing the entire Root base to collapse.

Whoosh!

Shūichi suddenly vanished, teleporting using the Flying Thunder God technique.

Shukaku immediately gave chase, gathering a Tailed Beast Bomb in his mouth and firing it at the ground.

The earth quaked, and the entire illusion began to collapse.

The spiritual body acting as the illusion's vessel could no longer withstand the rampage of Shukaku's overwhelming power.

…

Under the night sky, Konoha and Sand shinobi clashed on the battlefield, with Shukaku at the center.

The Sand shinobi sought to free Shukaku, while Konoha fought to stop them.

Meanwhile, behind Shukaku, Shūichi, who had already pulled a third of Shukaku out of Bunpuku, sighed. "What a pity…"

The illusion had been broken!

Shukaku and Bunpuku both woke up.

At the same time, Chiyo had managed to break through Uchiha Shisui's defenses, allowing two Sand shinobi to rush in.

Seeing this, Shūichi acted decisively. A shadow clone appeared beside him, summoning the Yagakigami Sword.

Blue Flame Waterfall Blade!

A massive blue blade materialized, and just as Bunpuku was about to pull Shukaku back, Shūichi sliced down, severing the third of Shukaku that had been pulled out.

The enormous chakra, wrapped in Fire Nether Chains, was absorbed into Shūichi's body. As he sealed it, he cast another genjustu on Shukaku and Bunpuku.

Binding Jutsu!

Both Bunpuku and the tanuki were frozen in place.

But the effect lasted less than a second before they broke free.

Still, Shūichi had completed the sealing, and his ninjutsu burst forth in rapid succession.

Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!

Lightning Release: Sixteen Pillar Bind!

First, he trapped Shukaku's now smaller form in the swamp again, followed by stone pillars rising from the ground, surrounded by crackling electricity that formed a field of lightning.

This alone wasn't enough to stop Shukaku's sand-based body.

But then came the Firing Biscuit Jutsu.

Intense blue flames emerged, enveloping Shukaku and finally restraining him. Shūichi then sprang into action, as fast as lightning, knocking away the two approaching Sand shinobi and blowing a retreat whistle.

The Konoha ninjas retreated like a tide, fighting as they fell back. Shūichi created some clones to assist, and alongside Uchiha Shisui, they held the rear.

After Chiyo and the Sand shinobi surrounded Shukaku, they didn't pursue.

Shūichi's strength was extraordinary; without Shukaku, they didn't dare to challenge him head-on.

Carrying their wounded and the bodies of fallen comrades, the Konoha forces successfully retreated back to the Land of Rivers.

Shūichi halted, giving orders. "Immediately take the injured to the medical team. The rest, follow the plan for shifts and rest."

"The Sand shinobi won't stop provoking us just to hold my real body here."

Sarutobi Shinichi and the others nodded. "Understood!"

Everyone swiftly vanished into the forest.

Shūichi turned to Uchiha Shisui, who had stayed behind. "Shisui, you should rest too."

"Restore your strength, so we can face Shukaku together next time."

Shisui smiled and replied, "Got it!"

With that, Shisui disappeared in a flash.

Shūichi leaped up and sat on the treetop, gazing toward the Sand shinobi's direction. His spiritual body, however, was already inside the Eight Trigrams Seal on his abdomen.

The little Four-Tails saw him appear and spoke up, "It looks like it won't be long before you capture that Shukaku guy."

Shūichi, staring at the massive chakra of Shukaku, smiled. "I have no intention of capturing Shukaku."

The little Four-Tails pondered this.

Shūichi ignored him, continuing to focus on the power contained within Shukaku's chakra.

…

Kikyo Mountain, Kikyo Castle.

This castle in the Land of Rivers originally belonged to a noble, but it had since become a military fortress for Konoha.

After Shūichi's shadow clone met up with Orochimaru at the Land of Fire border to take command, they quickly headed here.

However, Konoha's forces only numbered about 300 ninja.

Fortunately, upon arriving at Kikyo Castle, Shūichi immediately summoned Gamabunta and sent a message to Konoha through Mount Myoboku's toads, requesting reinforcements.

This method was even faster than if he had returned to Konoha himself.

After all, Shūichi couldn't teleport directly to the village, while Mount Myoboku had a direct passage to Konoha.

If his teacher, Minato Namikaze, were in the village, he could have simply performed a reverse summoning and then canceled it immediately.

Orochimaru busied himself organizing the troops and setting up defenses.

Meanwhile, Shūichi found a secluded spot, transformed into a miniature Four-Tails form, and began recovering his chakra.

With Konoha's limited forces, he clearly couldn't let the transformation fade.

They had to hold out until Konoha's reinforcements arrived.

However, it was apparent that the Sand's elite forces would arrive before Konoha's reinforcements.

The distance from the Sand's northern battlefield to Kikyo Mountain was much shorter than from Konoha to Kikyo Mountain.

Even if Konoha rushed their forces overnight, they would still only arrive after dawn tomorrow.

The Sand's 800 ninja versus Konoha's 300—a significant advantage!

Time passed slowly.

At 3 a.m., Ebizō led the elite Sand forces to the base of the mountain.

The vanguard squad had already scouted Konoha's troop movements.

After receiving the report, Ebizō furrowed his brows. "Kikyo Mountain, huh?"

"That place is easy to defend and hard to attack…"

A Sand Jonin beside him remarked, "Even so, we have enough numbers."

"Konoha only has 300 people."

Just then, a figure swiftly arrived in front of Ebizō and reported, "We detected Konoha's Blue Flash chakra in Kikyo Castle!"

The surrounding Sand ninja were startled.

But Ebizō, having already anticipated this, calmly said, "Relax, it's just a shadow clone of Shūichi Hoshita."

"With Shukaku holding his real body in check, he can't be here."

He glanced at the dimly lit Kikyo Castle in the distance and commanded, "Begin the attack in half an hour!"

…

Inside Kikyo Castle, Orochimaru and Shūichi stood on the rooftop, overlooking the gathering Sand forces.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Less than three times the numbers, and the Fourth Kazekage didn't even come in person. They're underestimating you, Shūichi-kun."

Shūichi replied calmly, "While shadow clones can indeed replicate all of the real body's abilities, it's not the same in practice."

"My shadow clone can't use the Fire Release Chakra Mode, and Lava Release Chakra Mode isn't my forte. It's still within normal expectations, so the Fourth Kazekage doesn't need to come himself."

"Moreover, he wouldn't dare leave his position."

If the Fourth Kazekage left, the Third Tsuchikage could order an Iwa-nin counteroffensive.

At present, the Suna and Iwa hadn't formally allied.

Shūichi glanced toward the Land of Earth and said, "Once our war with the Sand reaches a stalemate, Iwa-nin will likely take action."

Orochimaru nodded, unconcerned. "Don't worry too much. Though the old man's become more cautious, that just means he has enough strength to handle it."

Shūichi withdrew his gaze and nodded slowly.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

The Sand ninja reached the foot of the mountain and attacked from all sides without hesitation.

Under the cover of night, the battle erupted!

From the rooftop, Shūichi watched the charging Sand shinobi. Lightning erupted from his limbs, accompanied by the chirping of a thousand birds.

Lightning surged across his body. With a standard sword in his right hand and a kunai in his left, Shūichi shot down from the rooftop in a flash of lightning, leaving a trail of scorched earth in his wake.

"Be careful, Konoha's Blue Flash is here!"

"It's just a shadow clone! Use Wind Release to limit his speed!"

"Prepare the puppet weapons!"

…

Seeing the lightning approaching, the Sand ninja immediately sent their elite to surround Shūichi.

However, after killing three Sand shinobi in quick succession, Shūichi vanished, reappearing elsewhere to rescue a Konoha ninja and sending the Sand forces flying.

With effortless control over Earth Release, Wind Release, Lightning Release, Fire Release, Water Release, and Genjutsu, wherever Shūichi went, the Sand ninja quickly crumbled.

The Sand ninja had no way to set a proper ambush.

They couldn't predict where Shūichi would appear.

Though his shadow clone didn't carry many Flying Thunder God kunai, every Konoha ninja acted as his marker. He could appear beside any of them, unleashing a barrage of ninjutsu that halted the Sand's advance.

This was the tactic Shūichi and Orochimaru had agreed upon beforehand.

Rescue and dismantle the Sand's offensive!

Though the Rasenshuriken was powerful, it consumed too much chakra.

Even with this shadow clone, Shūichi couldn't wipe out all of the Sand forces.

The Sand shinobi, unlike the Mist ninja from before, weren't gathered together. They had turned the entire Kikyo Mountain into a battlefield, attacking the castle from all directions.

Given the situation, sustained conventional ninjutsu was the best choice.

Half an hour later, the Sand ninja's fierce assault retreated like a tide.

Shūichi halted, panting heavily.

His chakra was nearly depleted!

If the fight continued, he wouldn't be able to keep going.

Though the battle had only lasted thirty minutes, his output had been overwhelming.

After briefly greeting Orochimaru, Shūichi disappeared, heading to a secret chamber where he transformed into the miniature Four-Tails to recover chakra.

But before half an hour passed, the Sand launched another attack.

This time, Orochimaru himself joined the fray, summoning Manda.

The Sand ninja responded by summoning two large creatures—a scorpion and a burrowing sandworm—to hold Manda at bay.

Shūichi continued to dart across the battlefield, extinguishing fires and halting the Sand's relentless assault.

On the mountainside, Ebizō's face darkened as he watched the flickering blue lightning.

"Though it's only a shadow clone, with spatial ninjutsu, Shūichi Hoshita's clones could keep coming from over there…"

Ebizō felt a deep sense of helplessness.

There was nothing he could do about Konoha's Blue Flash—his teleportation technique was impossible to counter.

Initially confident that his 800 troops would overwhelm Konoha's forces, Ebizō now foresaw failure.

After thinking for a moment, Ebizō dispatched someone to the northern battlefield in the Land of Wind.

They had to request reinforcements, or this strategic assault would fail.

Time continued to pass.

The Sand ninja launched one fierce attack after another.

By dawn, they had already assaulted the castle six times.

At 6 a.m., the first wave of Konoha reinforcements finally arrived.

Upon detecting them, Ebizō immediately sent 200 men to intercept the 100 reinforcements from Konoha.

But seeing Shūichi casually walking through the air, Ebizō reconsidered.

He feared that sending 200 men would be like throwing dumplings to a dog—there would be no return.

Thus, the 100 reinforcements were smoothly escorted into Kikyo Castle by Shūichi.

However, Shūichi was not pleased, as the reinforcements included Yakushi Nonō and Shizune, members of the medical corps.

Nonō and Shizune, on the other hand, were overjoyed to see Shūichi. Their worries vanished upon his appearance.

But there was no time for conversation, as the battlefield was filled with wounded, even Orochimaru had been injured. So Nonō and Shizune immediately got to work, too busy to rest.

"People are really double-standard…" Shūichi muttered to himself, watching the two work tirelessly, before heading off to recover his chakra.

The Sand's attacks wouldn't stop just because 100 reinforcements had arrived. In fact, they might become even more frenzied.

…

On the western side of the Land of Rivers, just as Shūichi had predicted, Shukaku was still eager for battle despite taking a severe beating. Now, an additional helper had joined Shukaku—Chiyo!

Shūichi brought Uchiha Shisui along and summoned Gamabunta to continue sparring with Shukaku and his allies.

They fought three rounds throughout the night, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

At 7 AM, Koharu Utatane finally arrived and took over command, allowing Shūichi to focus entirely on dealing with Shukaku.

Meanwhile, in the northern part of the Land of Wind, the Fourth Kazekage received Ebizō's plea for reinforcements and fell silent.

Eight hundred troops were already the limit of what he could afford to allocate. Any further reduction in manpower would weaken his position.

"It seems I'll have to recruit more forces from the village..."

The Fourth Kazekage quickly made his decision.

Even at this stage of the war, Sunagakure's full military potential hadn't been fully tapped.

He sent the order back to Sunagakure via a flying ninja beast. That afternoon, 600 reinforcements left the village, headed straight for the Kikyo Mountain battlefield.

However, by this time, Konoha had already sent three waves of reinforcements. The arrival of these fresh troops made it impossible for Ebizō to quickly seize Kikyo Mountain.

The next day, Sunagakure's reinforcements arrived, boosting their total fighting force to over a thousand.

At the same time, the number of Konoha ninjas within Kikyo Castle, capable of fighting, had grown to over 700.

With Shūichi Hoshita's shadow clone acting as a firefighting unit, the two sides reached a stalemate.

What was meant to be a quick victory had now inevitably turned into a protracted war.

...

In Iwagakure, within the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki was deep in thought as he reviewed the latest intelligence.

The current situation presented a prime opportunity for Iwa to take action.

Suna's movements had prompted Konoha to repeatedly send more troops to the front.

Rough estimates indicated that Konoha had already committed over 3,000 soldiers due to the wars with Kirigakure and Sunagakure.

After a moment's consideration, Ōnoki rose to his feet.

He decided to personally head south to meet the young Fourth Kazekage face to face.

...

At the border between the Land of Birds and the Land of Wind.

Under the cover of night, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, met with the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, across the national boundary.

"Fourth Kazekage, I have already ordered my army to withdraw," Ōnoki began.

Rasa responded promptly, "I've also ordered my troops to retreat."

"However, if Iwa dares to provoke us again, Sunagakure will commit its full force to battle."

Ōnoki remained unfazed by the threat and said calmly, "Iwa fears no one."

"Fourth Kazekage, you should focus on investigating the death of the Third Kazekage."

"Of course, it's already quite obvious who was responsible."

Rasa remained indifferent. "That's none of your concern, Tsuchikage."

...

Though the meeting between the Fourth Kazekage and the Third Tsuchikage wasn't exactly amicable, they reached a mutual understanding.

That same night, both armies began their respective retreats.

At the western border of the Land of Rivers, Shūichi had just finished another fight with Shukaku when he received the memories of his shadow clone and immediately sensed something was off.

With both Suna and Iwa withdrawing their forces, a major problem was now headed straight for Konoha.

"Shisui, I need you to report to Lady Koharu immediately. Let her know that both Suna and Iwa have retreated."

Shūichi spoke to Uchiha Shisui, who had just sat down to rest.

"What?" Shisui was shocked. His expression quickly turned serious as he nodded. "Understood!"

In the blink of an eye, Shisui disappeared.

Shūichi rubbed his temples.

He had been using the Strength of a Hundred Seal for the past few days, keeping every cell in his body active with small amounts of chakra, even during non-combat periods, to relieve fatigue.

But mental exhaustion was far more difficult to alleviate.

"I'm so tempted to just raid their headquarters directly..."

A fierce glint flashed in Shūichi's eyes.

This constant back-and-forth was getting on his nerves.

(End of Chapter)

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