AN: Had a few of you ask why they didn't just reverse summon Naruto back. The way it works in this world is that you can only be reverse summoned to the summoned animal's home. IE Naruto can be reverse summoned to Mount Myoboku and then sent back to the exact spot from where he was summoned from but nowhere else.
Also special thanks to GJMEGA for his Beta work!
Chapter 47: Invasion Part III
Every shinobi the Raikage brought with him knew their role in the upcoming battle. The Raikage had created a Raiton clone and stationed him next to Atsui at the head of their army. He was actually positioned on the left side of the army several ranks behind the first wave of shinobi. Darui had not wanted a strong sensor to be able to detect a second Raikage's signature.
The Kumo line moved forward and started the attack by launching kunai with explosive tags attached at the ground and at the walls of Konoha. The goal was to trigger any traps the wily Konoha shinobi may have placed. At the same time Konoha responded with a barrage of kunai released from their accursed fuinjutsu scrolls.
They were anticipating that and those with abilities in Futon or Doton blew kunai away or brought up earthen walls to protect their comrades. Since those abilities were rarer in Kumo they didn't have full coverage. Those squads without a Futon or Doton expert relied on skilled jōnin to protect their comrades by deflecting the kunai with their own blades. Even with all the preparations some kunai still caused injuries and a few deaths with their massive barrage.
It was time for the Raikage to act. He blitzed forward encasing himself with Raiton armor and rushed past his shinobi. C and Fuyu trailed behind him at a slower pace. The Raikage slammed into the wall with every expectation of smashing right through it and creating an opening for his shinobi to pour through. Instead when he slammed into the walls of Konoha Sakura's dispersal seal activated and distributed the impact throughout the length of the wall. It groaned in protest but not even a crack manifested.
The Raikage stepped back from the unexpected failure to break through. Not one to be deterred he jumped onto the wall and using his chakra he raced up it. Konoha was ready for the Kumo shinobi to attempt this and had placed a variety of other seals on the wall.
The first seal was another storage seal that carried flammable oil that was manually triggered by the defenders. Oil sprayed out and covered the wall. While the Raikage raced up so did other Kumo chūnin and jōnin. The Raikage reached the top of the wall first and brutally crashed into a large Akimichi killing him instantly.
The Kumo shinobi still climbing the wall watched in horror as Konoha lit the oil covered wall on fire. Instantly the oil ignited and burned the climbing shinobi. A few made it past the fiery conflagration with burns and they were met with more of the Akimichi clan in close quarters knocking most of them back down to the ground. Those that didn't make it past were burned to death or hastily dropped down to get away from the heat. To add salt to the wound, the wall itself was not burning, just the oil. A second sealing array had been placed on the wall that made it flame retardant.
Konoha wasn't done yet. Poisonous smoke bombs were launched and landed in the midst of the chaos below the Konoha walls. Some shinobi were retreating from the flames while others were still trying to charge up the wall, braving the fire and seeking to support their leader. In that chaotic mill of shinobi the deadly gas rose up adding to the confusion and laying several shinobi low before they could get away.
But the Raikage was up on the wall and he blitzed through the defenders. The Aburame clan unleashed swarms of kikaichu to try to drain his chakra. However he simply moved too fast for them to even attempt to latch on. The Raikage quickly spotted Shibi Aburame and poured on the speed and used Rariatto (Lariat) on the head of the Aburame clan.
Shibi was skilled and had used one of his favorite tricks of planting explosive seals underneath the ground with his insect allies. He only had a fraction of a second to detonate them and the explosion discharged right underneath the Raikage's feet. The explosion did little damage thanks to the Raiton no Yoroi (Lightning Release Armor). It did however alter his charge slightly and so instead of the Lariat instantly killing Shibi it only slammed into his shoulder shattering the arm socket and fracturing the collar bone.
An Akimichi used Bubun Baika no Jutsu (Partial Multi-Size Technique) to grow his arm and hand and try to flatten the Raikage. The leader of Kumo was far too swift. The attack was easily dodged and then the tables were turned. The Raikage initiated another Lariat that pulped the Akimichi. Shibi was wracked with pain but managed to create a Mushi Bunshin no Jutsu (Insect Clone). The insects carried sulfuric acid with them on the hollow inside of the clone; Shibi hoped that when their deadly S class opponent struck down the clone the acid would melt the armor.
It was not to be. The Raikage did indeed smash the clone but the acid was ineffective. Three Hyūga branch members rushed him at once using their Juken (Gentle Fist) style of chakra closing attacks. In less than a second their corpses were thrown back and their bodies demolished. Shibi only had a fraction of a second to try to frantically think of some other stratagem to stop this seemingly unstoppable assault before the Raikage's fist crashed into his head and ended the life of the Aburame clan head.
***BREAK***
Ōnoki was ready for his long awaited vengeance. The Yellow Flash had broken him during the third shinobi war and he would now at long last have his revenge. Iwa had been destined for greatness. They were winning the war; their place in history was assured until Minato crippled them.
The battle on the right flank was quite different than the one on the left. Ōnoki masked himself with Meisaigakure no Jutsu (Hiding with Camouflage Technique) and flew high above the battle field. Light would reflect around his body making him almost invisible to all but the most perceptive shinobi. This being an Iwa technique and him being in the air made it very unlikely that a Konoha shinobi would think to be on the lookout for something like that.
But they would detect the massive surge of chakra as it built up. The first two seconds caused confusion and alarm and then after that it was too late. With great relish Ōnoki released a massive rectangular prism from his hands. A 40 foot section of the wall, all of the seals in that section and all of the Konoha defenders were incased in white light and then it all disappeared. He had used Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu (Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu) and it had instantly killed dozens of shinobi and created a huge gap in the Konoha defense that was swiftly exploited by the Kumo nin he had allied himself with.
Ōnoki wasn't done. While the chakra required to use the kekkei tōta was immense there was a reason that Ōnoki had risen to the rank of Kage, he had chakra to burn. The leaf shinobi knew he was there and kunai and Katon jutsu from the Sarutobi clan raced upward toward him. It took little effort to simply fly above the kunai and avoid the Katon jutsu. Soon the Konoha defenders had to focus on fighting the Kumo shinobi and the Tsuchikage flew deeper into Konohagakure.
***BREAK***
Jiraiya had been ready for the assault. Moments before he quizzically looked to the sky and asked, "Does Kumo have any shinobi that have learned how to fly?"
His companions shook their heads. The Hokage stretched out his senjutsu senses and realized the chakra source was massive.
"Radio Inoichi and Ibiki that Ōnoki is attacking to our left."
Asuma's cigarette dropped from his mouth. They had to deal with the Raikage and the Tsuchikage?
Speaking of the Raikage he spotted him signal the charge and Kumo shinobi launched kunai with explosive tags at the gate, the walls and the ground. The attack triggered some of Konoha's traps but not all of them.
Jiraiya gave the signal and Konoha retaliated by opening their kunai scrolls spraying death into the Kumo ranks. As was expected Kumo took counter measures. Kumo charged forward and attempted to climb the walls and the gate. As the Kumo nin on Konoha's right flank had experienced the wall was lit on fire and many were burned or were sent to their deaths. Oddly enough the Raikage was hanging back and had yet to engage.
Tsunade asked, "Should one of our teams go after Ōnoki?"
The toad sage shook his head, "We've passed along the message to Inoichi, we'll wait for him to relay Shikaku's tactical advice."
The Kumo shinobi were wary of approaching the flaming wall and had settled into a mid-range duel of ninjutsu. Azure blasts of Raiton energy struck out at the defenders while Konoha retailed with kunai, Katon jutsu and poisonous gas.
"Something isn't right," Hiashi advised. "The Raikage isn't doing anything and Kumo is being very cautious. It's almost as if the real attack isn't here."
Jiraiya frowned as an unexpected Katon attack from the Kumo line killed a surprised chūnin on the wall. Hiashi was right. Something was off. To the left in the distance he could see the massive hole in the wall that Ōnoki's Jinton (Dust Release) had caused. As he was considering these implications Inoichi's voice filled his mind.
"Shikaku suggests Jiraiya take his team and secure the right flank. The Raikage has broken through there and is inflicting heavy casualties. Tsunade's team should head left and try to plug the gap. We'll move reserves to the central gate. We will deal with the Tsuchikage; Ibiki is taking control of the tactical situation."
The Hokage replied, "Understood, be careful the old man isn't a light weight, he's got just as much chakra as the Raikage."
The telepathic orders had gone to the team leads and Jiraiya signal Genma, Yugao and Hiashi to follow him.
"The Raikage out there is a clone; we need to deal with the real one."
The four of them sprinted toward the right side of the village knowing that every second they delayed probably meant another Konoha shinobi dead at the hands of Kumogakure's leader.
***BREAK***
Naruto and Sakura were making good time. They had no idea when the attack would take place other than that it would be before dusk. They were in Hi no Kuni and were nearing the village. It would be close but they would make it before dusk. An hour before they would reach the village Sakura asked him to stop.
"What is it Sakura-chan we need to hurry!"
"I know but you should create some clones and have them wait here and gather the nature chakra you need for your senjutsu."
Naruto blinked and rubbed the back of his head, "Oh yeah good idea!"
After he made two clones he picked Sakura back up and they raced toward home.
***BREAK***
Anko wasn't at 100% after her fight with Darui and gulping down more than one soldier pill but she could still fight. The problem was that her orders were to collect the other shinobi returning to Konoha that had been on missions when news of the invasion arrived. And right now they had not encountered many returning shinobi.
Hayse and his team of chūnin were the first to arrive. Anko wasn't impressed with Hayse. He was one of the chūnin that was planted in the first round of the chūnin exam testing. She didn't have anything against him personally but he often volunteered for non dangerous assignments which meant she questioned his abilities.
Two more teams arrived. One was another squad of chūnin and then one jōnin and his three genin. Anko had been hoping for far more. To make matters worse she was in sight of Konoha and could see smoke rising. Battle was joined and she was sitting on her hands while her comrades were fighting.
Iruka saw her frustration and he said, "We'll move out soon. I'm pushing my senses out as far as they can go but if I don't sense anyone in the next 30 minutes we should move out with what we have.
Anko gave a barely perceptible nod and continued staring out at Konoha.
***BREAK***
The Hokage and his team arrived at the scene of a massacre. Hyūga, Akimichi and Aburame corpses littered the ground. Without defenders the Kumo shinobi had streamed over the wall and were pressing into the heart of Konoha.
Jiraiya could sense the Raikage was near thanks to his enhanced senjutsu senses. In a flash the Raikage had charged him and only the combination of his heightened senses and S class worthy reflexes allowed him time to put up his arms to block the Lariat that threatened to take off his head.
The Raikage was moving at full speed and with absolute power. The Lariat crashed into Jiraiya's arms and bruised them heavily. The toad sage was knocked off his feet and smashed into a nearby building.
Hiashi darted in with grace and speed. The enemy was within his field of divination. Of course the battle was proceeding at lightning speed, and already twenty Juken (Gentle Fist) strikes had been launched in the time it would have taken to announce that his opponent was in his field of divination. Unfortunately for the clan head his chakra laced strikes could not pierce the Lightning Armor. It did drain chakra and so Hiashi continued his assault.
The Raikage was surprised at the Hyūga attack. The man hadn't been in the field for years but was listed as an A ranked taijutsu specialist. The Raikage moved faster than the Hyūga and sent his fist careening toward Hiashi. Hiashi tilted his head to the side causing the blow to miss but the Raikage was too fast and nearly instantly arrested his fist's moment and sent it slamming sideways toward Hiashi's head. Hiashi had barely enough time to get his palm up but against the Raikage's power it just slammed into his hand and only slightly slowed down the blow.
Hiashi was also launched away from the Raikage though the damage to his body was greater than to Jiraiya's. Jiraiya was naturally tougher and stronger before even taking into account the senjutsu chakra flowing through him.
Yugao and Genma had followed instructions and engaged the other Kumo shinobi. Genma fired senbon with speed and accuracy while Yugao sped forward using her Oborozukiyo (Moonlit Night). It was incredibly hard to counter because her speed created an afterimage that confused her opponents. She had sliced down a pair of Kumo kenjutsu specialist in a matter of moments.
The Raikage turned to deal with Genma and Yugao when the Godaime Hokage came roaring back onto the battlefield. His arms were bruised but his ability to fight had not been damaged. While he charged at the Raikage Lord Fukasaku used Zessenzan (Fighting Tongue Slash). Pa had used his own senjutsu abilities to strike out with his tongue infused with natural chakra. It slashed with a speed that no eyes but the Sharingan could follow and could cut through stone.
The Raikage sensed the attack and showed why his speed was so feared. He dodged to the side and rushed in close. The earth of Konoha was sliced completely through by Pa's tongue. Jiraiya and the Raikage clashed with thunderous force. Their fists crashed into each other and the raw speed of the Raikage met with the raw power of Kawazu Kumite (Frog Kumite). The collision of the Kage's fists shattered windows hundreds of yards away and completely blew back any shinobi who happened to be nearby.
The Raikage felt a massive drain on his chakra as he was thrown back by the clash. Other than being rattled around a bit his physical body had not taken harm thanks to his Raiton no Yoroi (Lightning Release Armor). Jiraiya on the other hand had split his knuckles open from the force of the blow. But nonetheless he was the one standing while the Raikage had been the one blown backwards.
This caused an instant feeling of shock to flow over the Kumo shinobi which made them even easier prey to Genma and Yugao. Jiraiya didn't waste any time in capitalizing on this as well and let loose with Hari Jigoku (Needle Hell) into dozens of Kumo shinobi. His hair itself had become a weapon that slew with a speed even greater than Genma's senbon.
The Raikage, enraged by the death of his shinobi, stood up and roared. He was faster than Jiraiya he just had to avoid getting hit and the battle would be his. He flashed across the battlefield. Shima however knew something like that would happen and had already inhaled and prepared Futon: Shinkugyoku (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets). Even with his speed he couldn't close the distance before the wind powered bullets rippled through the air. Since Futon chakra was one of the few things that could breach his defense he dodged away from the stream of deadly bullets, his speed certainly fast enough to do so.
This gave time for the Hokage to form a massive Rasengan in his hand almost half the size of a human body. The Raikage darted past the Hokage avoiding the spiraling ball of death. He then dashed back toward him. The Hokage was slower than he was but his speed was still quite swift. Jiraiya spun on his heel and the ball slammed the Rasengan into the Raikage sending him flying backwards.
The Raikage felt the chakra drain away again but got to his feat ready for another assault. Then he remembered Darui's request. If he came across an opponent dangerous enough he was to retreat back and strike elsewhere. Though it galled him to do so, he had told Darui that he trusted in his plan. With great disgust he retreated back from the Hokage and over the wall back toward his own lines.
Jiraiya felt the Raikage leave and was surprised. As long as the man's chakra held up the Lightning Armor could likely not be pierced by anything that wasn't filled with wind chakra. Many shinobi thought the Rasengan was a Futon derived jutsu but that was not the case. With his senjutsu senses he know the Raikage still had plenty of chakra to keep going despite getting struck twice by powerful attacks.
Jiraiya took stock of the situation and expanded his senses. Roughly 120 Kumo shinobi had breached the wall and had gone past the wall area and deeper into the village. He hoped the Inuzuka and reserve forces could deal with them. He also knew that hundreds and hundreds of Kumo shinobi were now getting over the wall with impunity.
Jiraiya quickly did two things. First he summoned Gamabunta and requested he hold the line here. Secondly he found Hiashi who had a bruised shoulder, a broken finger and a severe concussion. If a medical nin could treat him he could fight again soon. He carefully picked Hiashi up and quickly delivered him to one of the reserve squads that were headed to his location to help breach the gap.
"Take him to one of the triage locations and get him to the front of the line quickly. Infiltrators have made it into Konoha, once he's up and fighting have him work with the Inuzuka teams and hunt them down."
"Hai Hokage-sama!"
***BREAK***
Fuyu and her scouts had made it up the wall after the Raikage had decimated the defenders. Instead of staying and helping they had pushed forward to wreck havoc behind the enemy lines. With them was C who was annoyed to be away from the Raikage's side.
Fuyu glared at him, "Did he look like he needed help? Now be quiet."
It didn't take long for them to sense an ambush and sure enough a pair of Inuzuka along with their ninken charged forward with Gatsuga (Fang over Fang). Fuyu slipped to the left of the attack and her blade slashed one of the ninken down. Its Inuzuka partner howled in fury and charged in but a taijutsu specialist versus a kenjutsu specialist could only end in one way unless there were hidden abilities or the taijutsu specialist was far beyond the kenjutsu specialist's abilities. Neither was the case and soon she had decapitated the fool.
Fuyu had been tempted to blame C for them being spotted but there were a pair of Hyūga with the ambush group. Their damned eyes could see through the actual buildings they had been using for cover. As an infiltration specialist what happened next amused her greatly.
C used his Raigen Raikochu (Lightning Illusion: Flash Pillar) to blind the two Hyūga who were swiftly dealt with as they clutched their eyes. The other Inuzuka managed to kill one of her shinobi before being taken down.
'Good thing they underestimated us.'
Fuyu knew it wouldn't be that easy moving forward. No doubt right at that moment another Hyūga was watching them from thousands of feet away relaying what had just happened. The next time they were attacked it would be by a much more dangerous force.
***BREAK***
Tenten had been only a few feet away from the Tsuchikage's attack. One moment she was standing next to a kind Sarutobi clan member, a distant cousin of Asuma, and the next the man was gone. Just gone.
Tenten didn't have time to mourn as the Kumo shinobi streamed into her village. Some of the Sarutobi clan attempted to strike down Ōnoki, however she knew it was hopeless. Being a ranged specialist herself she knew that ranged attacks fired into the air against someone like the Tsuchikage were futile. Their attention needed to be on the Kumo shinobi advancing in.
Tenten flung a brace of kunai with explosive tags attached to them at the advancing horde. It didn't do nearly as much damage as she had hoped. These weren't genin or soldiers these were chūnin and jōnin. The Kumo shinobi used shunshin to close with the Sarutobi clan before they could turn their deadly Katon jutsu on the enemy that wasn't in the sky.
Tenten grew sick to her stomach seeing them cut down and knew she had to do something.
"Soshoryu Kyokkei" (Ultimate Twin Rising Dragons)
Two fuinjutsu scrolls rose up in the air and disgorged every manner of weapon conceivable. Kunai, daggers, katanas, maces and senbon were just a few of the types of weapons. She had gone to Sakura to learn how to create larger sealing scrolls. Really nothing had changed except the sheer quantity of weapons that were being sent out. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds rained down on the Kumo shinobi.
Kenjutsu met ranged weapons and in most cases the art of the blade countered the thrown attacks. However one in 30 did cause damage which meant dozens of shinobi were injured and a few were killed. And Tenten wasn't done.
Every single one of those weapons had an explosive tag attached to them and Tenten detonated them all. Even weapons that had been successfully deflected now exploded and delivered death. Some of the metal Tenten had used was high quality but roughly half had been junk metal that now shattered under the explosion sending shrapnel in every direction.
She had inflicted horrific damage, far beyond what one would think that a chūnin would be capable of. But while the casualties were massive there were plenty more Kumo shinobi charging in. The weapons specialists knew that Kumo had the numerical advantage unless they threw civilians, genin and non combat shinobi at them.
The next several minutes passed in a blur as she went weapon to weapon against the Kumo shinobi. She took a kick to the head and a cut to her leg but she was still fighting when she met her match. Tenten was currently armed with a sword and her opponent had to be jōnin level. She backed up as his blade sought her head barely defending against every attack.
Her blade was a fraction of a second too slow against one follow through and instead of cleanly parrying the blow she didn't get to it in time and the blade chopped into her side. It wasn't a fatal wound but it was bleeding badly and now it was only a matter of time.
The Kumo jōnin launched another offensive and Tenten could barely follow the blade. Feinting twice he came on and Tenten was too focused on his blade and never saw his foot rise up and knock her own blade out of her hand and then double her over with a vicious kick to the stomach.
Tenten didn't have time to dodge as the blade swung down to end her life.
'This is it…'
But instead of death Tenten felt a forceful wind hit her in the face. When she looked up the Kumo shinobi was prone on the ground thirty feet away at an unnatural angle. A blinding grin that showed off her sensei's sparkling teeth was a sight she never would have thought she would be this thankful for. He gave her the thumbs up and then slammed into another Kumo shinobi.
Trailing after him was Tsunade-sama, Asuma and Neji. Neji paused and said, "Tsunade-sama she needs help."
Asuma seeing so many of his clan dead or injured charged after Gai with a furious expression on his face.
Tsunade bent down next to Tenten and quickly sealed the wound.
"Take a plasma pill and give yourself a few minutes. After that you'll be well enough to fight."
That was all Tsunade said before rushing after her team and rolling over the attacking Kumo shinobi taking them down like wheat before a scythe. Tenten was in awe at the sheer destructive power of Tsunade, Gai, Asuma and Neji. She had always respected Neji's power but since joining the rapid response squad his skill had increased tremendously. And Tsunade… it was an honor to see her fight. Her chakra infused punches shattered blades and bodies alike.
She rose to her feet and jumped back into the fray.
***BREAK***
Ōnoki had collapsed the wall for the invading Kumo forces but he wasn't done wreaking havoc. He could have remained with the Kumo shinobi and helped them slaughter the defenders but his Jinton (Dust Release) would then be in danger of hitting his allies. The Raikage wasn't a forgiving man and so he decided to take out other targets of opportunity within Konoha.
The first target was Konoha's hospital. It would likely be staffed with medical nin and used as a place to care for the wounded. By destroying it he would do significant damage and hurt morale. Knowing that you had skilled medical assistance on hand gave courage to shinobi. He was going to take that away.
Ōnoki flew closer. He could turn the entire multi story building into dust but that would tax his chakra considerably. Instead he chose to fly closer and strike at the ground floor. This would cause the entire structure to come crashing down.
As he descended he was spotted by a Hyūga who put everyone on alert. Not that it mattered. It was an easy enough matter to dodge a few kunai and then launch another Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu (Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu). His jutsu struck the first floor and turned it into dust killing patients, doctors and medical nin. The rest of the patients in the building also died as the hospital crashed to the ground.
Some of the shinobi and medical nin did survive by leaping out of the windows or using their chakra in some way to push away debris. One such shinobi was Shizune whose face was a mask of rage.
"This is unforgivable," she said in a voice reminiscent of her shishou.
Ōnoki knew he should move on to his next target but he couldn't help but taunt his hated enemy.
"No stupid girl, what was unforgivable was the Yellow Flash murdering my people!"
He still had his camouflage jutsu up but his voice allowed Shizune to know instantly where he was. He was about 20 feet off of the ground and Shizune dashed forward spitting poisoned senbon as she grew closer.
The senbon were tiny slivers of death, he figured they were poisoned and so instead of taking chances the Tsuchikage used Futon: Reppusho (Wind Release: Gale Palm) to scatter them away. He decided not to try to pin down the agile looking kunoichi with another sample of Jinton (Dust Release). It was wasteful on his chakra reserves and it could be hard to hit a moving target. The jutsu had the appearance of being nearly instantaneous but it actually took a couple of seconds of chakra buildup to function. The instantaneous belief came from no one ever seeing someone caught in it ever escaping. By the time an enemy saw the jutsu it was too late.
So instead he used Doton: Goremu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Earth Golem Technique) to create a golem from the ground near Shizune. Its massive hand attempted to grab the medical nin but she dodged away from it. Ōnoki laughed and created another. Shizune kicked out at one of them using chakra to make the blow more powerful but it only slightly cracked the golem.
She used Kawarimi to get clear and fired more poisoned senbon at the flying Kage. Annoyed at her persistence and unwilling to give her the satisfaction of having said that she forced back the Kage of Iwagakure he used "Futon: Reppusho" (Wind Release: Gale Palm) again and then followed it up with an immediate Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). He had been through many wars and battles and his ability to manipulate any of the elements he had an affinity with was legendary.
Shizune was not expecting the powerful gust of wind so soon after one jutsu had ended. She was pressed flat against the earth and could do nothing as the earth golem hand slammed into her. It crushed bone and she barely hung onto consciousness. It grabbed her and held her in the air squeezing her and preventing any movement.
Ōnoki hovered near her. "Just so that you know child, my next target is your village's pathetic civilian shelters." With those final words the golem's fist closed and Shizune died.
Before the revenge maddened Ōnoki could continue the hunters had come for him. Perhaps if he had left immediately after demolishing the hospital he would have been able to strike the civilian shelters down with his Jinton (Dust Release). But now because he had been delayed the Ino-Shika-Cho team had arrived. And they had a plan.
***BREAK***
Darui had handed out short wave radios to shinobi whose only purpose was to observe the battle and report back. Darui examined the data on how the battle was going. Already things weren't going exactly as planned. Ōnoki had done his part initially but instead of waiting for new orders he had gone off into the heart of Konoha to deal damage. While it could end up working out for the best the uncertainty was frustrating.
The traps Konoha had set on the walls had delivered higher than expected results. It didn't do much to change the numerical advantage but it was regretful. Darui was thankful when the Raikage had followed the plan and had retreated away from the Hokage. And speaking of the devil Darui looked up and there he was.
"I have never run from a fight Darui."
Darui never changed his expression. "I am sorry. It was necessary. I'd like you to hit the central gate. Tsunade was seen heading toward the gap Ōnoki made and Jiraiya hasn't moved from your assault area."
The Raikage grunted and was about to speed off when Darui added, "Lord Raikage when you engage it's likely the Hokage will arrive again. As soon as he does retreat and then attack the breach Ōnoki created. I'm going after that toad summon."
The Raikage nodded and sped back into battle.
Darui had already killed one summon and Manda had a more fearsome reputation. Once the great toad was down and the best of Konoha's defenders were on the other side of the village there would be no meaningful resistance on that side. Over a thousand Kumo shinobi would pile in and the advantage of numbers would start to play more heavily in their favor.
He turned to his aides, "You know the orders and contingency plans laid out. Do your duty and we will win."
AN: A quick note on Ōnoki – he has Fire Release, Wind Release and Earth Release, all three elements make up the Dust Release. While he's not seen using Futon jutsu I imagine he would be quite good at it. Also here is the tally of the named dead so far.
RIP
Shizune
Shibi Aburame
Don't hate me but more are coming!
Oh and I've added another chapter to Nine Tailed Possession - if you haven't already done so take a look and tell me what you think!
