Direction of the Land of Earth

The allied forces formed by the villages of Konoha and Kirigakure were unstoppable as they advanced toward the Land of Lightning, achieving continuous victories. However, they faced setbacks in other directions.

Compared to the relatively young and energetic Fourth Raikage, the Third Tsuchikage, who was tough in battle, was undoubtedly a more formidable opponent.

To address this, Konoha sent several experts such as Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Tetsuo, Uchiha Hamasu, and Hatake Kakashi as team leaders in this direction.

Along with the team from the Hidden Sand Village led by Pakura, they managed to hold off the attacks from the Village of Iwagakure and successfully pushed the battle lines into the territory of the Land of Earth.

Facing the threatening coalition forces of Konoha and Sunagakure, the forces of Iwagakure had to retreat into their own territory.

In the vast and rocky Gobi Desert of the Land of Earth, both sides once again engaged in a thrilling and intense battle.

On the side of Iwagakure, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki was indeed powerful, but he was ultimately aging.

In the Village of Iwagakure, there was no second ninja who could bear the heavy responsibility alone like his son, Kitsuchi.

In desperation, Onoki had no choice but to drag his apprentice into the battle – this man's name was Deidara. Although he was two years younger than Itachi, his power should not be underestimated.

Deidara had mastered a special kind of white clay, which could be shaped into various forms of explosives by putting it into his mouth, chewing it, and mixing it with his own chakra, which could then trigger explosions.

Moreover, these explosives could move freely at the user's will, making them difficult to guard against.

However, this explosive clay had a fatal weakness: its chakra attribute was of the Earth Element. When faced with a Lightning Element chakra attack that restrained the Earth Element, the explosive clay would instantly lose its explosive capabilities.

This was undoubtedly the greatest weakness of Deidara's Ninjutsu, clearly placing him at a disadvantage when facing opponents proficient in the Lightning Element.

Everyone in Konoha was well aware of this crucial information. After careful consideration, they decided to send Hatake Kakashi, who had outstanding achievements in all five elements and was highly skilled in the Lightning Element, to confront Deidara.

After this fierce battle, as expected, the highly powerful and destructive young genius was successfully suppressed by Kakashi.

Although Deidara was indeed a uniquely talented person in the Village of Iwagakure, he was still too immature.

In contrast, Kakashi not only had innate talent but also years of combat experience and a mature, stable mentality.

Therefore, it was not surprising that Kakashi had the upper hand in this confrontation. On the other hand, Kitsuchi was indeed a strong ninja. There was no doubt that if something unexpected happened to Onoki, the only person who could succeed him now was Kitsuchi.

Kitsuchi wore a bright red ninja cap on his head, had a large nose, and a thick beard on his chin.

He was tall and muscular, dressed in a striking red tight-fitting battle outfit with a brown jonin vest on the outside. His left arm was wrapped in a long red sleeve, while his right arm was exposed.

He possessed rich practical experience and strong power and was in his prime.

Unlike Onoki, he had not mastered the Dust Element Kekkei Tota, nor was he adept at using explosively powerful clay like Deidara.

However, Kitsuchi was the most prominent Earth Element ninja in the Village of Iwagakure.

The Ninjutsu he performed could easily rend the earth and shake the mountains. Even his fists, wrapped in hard stone, were enough to take down any enemy that blocked his path.

Even Kitsuchi's father, Onoki, was no longer as strong as him in the Earth Element due to factors such as age, physical weakness, and insufficient chakra.

Facing such a formidable opponent, Konoha certainly did not take him lightly. They carefully selected two powerful ninjas, Tetsuo and Hamasu, to challenge him.

These two ninjas were similar to Kitsuchi. Both had gradually promoted themselves from the lowest Genin level to the Kage level through hard work. Their foundation was very solid, and they were not naturally gifted geniuses.

However, do not underestimate the two of them, as their true strength was not to be taken lightly either.

Outstanding Fire Element Ninjutsu, strong swordsmanship, and exceptional shuriken skills together formed a solid combat foundation.

Moreover, they both possessed powerful secret weapons like the Mangekyo Sharingan, which was undoubtedly their greatest asset in daring to face Kitsuchi directly without fear.

When facing Onoki, the Konoha Alliance sent Uchiha Fugaku and the Fifth Kazekage Pakura to fight.

Pakura's strength had increased since the Third Ninja World War, and she was worthy of being a Kazekage. In particular, her unique Scorch Element, a combination of the Fire and Wind Elements, was extraordinarily powerful.

As for Fugaku, there was no need to explain in detail how strong he was. As a senior expert in the Village of Konoha, his strength had now reached a new level.

At this moment, Onoki was seen jumping into the air, opening his palm, and using [Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu].

In an instant, a small, bright white barrier suddenly flew out and expanded at an extremely fast speed.

The surprising thing was that wherever this barrier passed, everything instantly turned into powder – no, it should be said that the barrier instantly disappeared into thin air, as if it had never existed.

Seeing such power, Fugaku and Pakura quickly dodged, not daring to face it head-on.

Onoki's Dust Element was famous in the ninja world. Its strong power made many people tremble with fear, and no one dared to face its superiority.

However, every technique had its shortcomings, and the Dust Element was no exception, with its release speed being one of them. This weakness was undoubtedly an excellent breakthrough point for top experts like Fugaku and Pakura.

Seeing Onoki's attack, Fugaku and Pakura ducked and easily dodged it. Immediately afterward, they both displayed their unique techniques without hesitation.

"[Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu]."

With Fugaku roaring furiously, he instantly opened the Mangekyo Sharingan, and strong Fire Element chakra burst out from his mouth.

With the blessing of the Bishamonten eye technique, the large fireball became even more fierce, with a diameter of ten meters, like a blazing sun.

In comparison, Pakura's Scorch Element Fireball was slightly smaller in size, but the energy contained within it was no less potent.

This blazing white fireball, with a radius of only three meters, emitted a dazzling light. The air seemed to ignite wherever it passed.

Onoki's body was as light as a swallow, floating in the air. The reason he could fly so lightly was due to the [Keijūgan no Jutsu], which was unique in the ninja world, using chakra as a power source to propel the body rapidly through the air.

Although this form of flight was impressive, its speed was not as fast as lightning.

When faced with two massive and threatening fireballs in front of him, Onoki still struggled to fully avoid their pursuit.

The massive fireball released by Fugaku struck directly behind him like a burning meteorite, immediately blocking his retreat.

At the same time, Pakura controlled her powerful Scorch Element Fireball.

Onoki knew that although his Dust Element was powerful, the deadly nature of Pakura's Scorch Element should not be underestimated. For a group of ninjas with strong offensive power but weak defense, the only difference between the two was the manner of their death.

Given the extremely urgent situation, Onoki did not dare to be careless at all. When he found that his retreat path had been cut off and a burning fireball was chasing him in front, he quickly flew toward the higher airspace without hesitation.

In the process of fleeing in embarrassment, Onoki looked serious, quickly clasped his hands together, and shouted: "[Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu]."

He spat out a mouthful of stone, and these stones condensed into four living physical clones. These four clones were well-trained, remained in place, and immediately performed Earth Element Ninjutsu.

Their large stone palms were placed in the air like shields, trying to intercept the threatening Scorch Element Fireball.

Unfortunately, things went counter to their expectations. The seemingly indestructible stone palms were like paper before the burning fireball, easily penetrated.

Not only that, at the moment of their contact, the stone palms melted into hot magma due to the scorching high temperature, dripping one by one. And the four clones responsible for blocking were directly swallowed and crushed by the terrifying fireball.

However, Onoki did not sit still and wait for death. Using this time, he once again completed the ninjutsu hand signs. A cone-shaped Dust Element barrier slowly appeared in his palm.

He faced downward and stretched out his hands. In an instant, the cone-shaped barrier shot out like an arrow from a bowstring, turning into a white cylindrical shockwave that rushed toward the fireball.

Soon after, the shockwave emitted from the Dust Element collided with the fireball.

As a powerful ninjutsu eliminated with the Kekkei Tota, the Dust Element displayed unrivaled power, easily suppressing the Scorch Element Fireball.

Fugaku and Pakura were seasoned and experienced in battle. Facing such a strong enemy, they immediately reacted and fled separately, leaving the exhausted Onoki.

Onoki pondered for a moment and decided to focus his efforts on eliminating Pakura first, as she possessed a powerful ability like the Scorch Release. As a result, the Dust Release shockwave locked onto Pakura and chased her, turning everything in its path into ruins.

Pakura had no choice but to flee with all her might, leaving the responsibility for a counterattack to Fugaku.

"As the leader of the Uchiha Clan, he must possess extraordinary talent. Now, we can only place our hopes on him."

Pakura had conflicts and interactions with Shintaro, but she knew little about Fugaku's strength.

However, since Fugaku could become the leader of the Uchiha Clan, his abilities should not be underestimated. The facts proved that Fugaku lived up to Pakura's expectations.

"A great battle is a gamble!"

Fugaku murmured softly, and then without hesitation, he used the Mangekyo Sharingan technique again, Daikokuten. Relying on the power to foresee the future granted by this technique, he successfully grasped Onoki's current attack route.

Everything became clear.

"[Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu]."

As Fugaku opened his mouth, he unleashed countless small fireballs.

These small fireballs were numerous and dense, quickly spreading like a curtain of rain, almost covering the entire vast sky in an instant.

Facing so many flames, Onoki didn't dare to be careless at all, and immediately fled towards the edge of the fire's coverage area to evade, while at the same time, he didn't forget to continue his fierce attack on Pakura.

However, what Onoki didn't expect was that Fugaku had already calculated his every move.

As Onoki fled desperately, Fugaku took advantage of the perfect opportunity when the fire obscured the vision of both sides and quietly used the Shadow Clone technique.

Then, he controlled the wind to blow his shadow clone into the air.

The shadow clone held a sharp kunai in its hand and intercepted Onoki's only escape route with ghostly precision.

Immediately after that, the shadow clone moved smoothly, and the kunai with a cold glint in its hand stabbed directly into Onoki's chest!

The sudden turn of events shocked Onoki, but he reacted very quickly. As he was injured, he swung his iron-hard stone fist and suddenly struck the shadow clone in front of him, intending to smash and disperse it.

Although he eventually managed to defeat the shadow clone that attacked him, he also sustained serious injuries, and his body fell from the sky unconsciously.

"[Doton: Gōremu no Jutsu]."

Onoki summoned a giant stone golem to support him and began thinking about retreating. The two people in front of him were clearly no ordinary individuals.

Deidara rode his clay bird and continued throwing clay bombs downward, while Kakashi skillfully dodged.

It seemed like a one-sided situation, but Kakashi found an opportunity and used Earth Style to raise the ground, then rushed into the sky with [Raikiri] in hand, and [Raikiri] pierced through Deidara's stomach.

On the other side, Kitsuchi used [Doton: Sando no Jutsu] on a stunning scale to try to suppress Hamasu and Tetsuo, but the two men unleashed Susano'o and forced him to retreat, with Kitsuchi being thrown by Susano'o's arm and his fate uncertain.

Onoki then realized the terror of Konoha, and in sorrow, gave the order to retreat. However, Konoha was not about to let Iwagakure retreat easily.