There was no time to think about finishing off the Sand shinobi. Dodai began pulling back the Kumogakure forces while also sending people to scout and provide support for the Third Raikage.
Meanwhile, Ōnoki floated down from the air, returning to the elite squad of Iwagakure guards assigned to protect him as the Tsuchikage.
"Tsuchikage-sama, the Sand shinobi are retreating. Should we pursue them?" asked Higashi Shibito, an Iwa jōnin, as Ōnoki landed.
"Let them go," Ōnoki said after hesitating briefly, shaking his head.
"Wouldn't it be better to stop them here?" Higashi Shibito asked, surprised that their Tsuchikage was willing to let the already defeated Sand shinobi escape.
"We've received new intelligence. That old puppet master from the Sand, Chiyo, is bringing the One-Tail Jinchūriki with her," Ōnoki said quietly.
Higashi Shibito immediately understood.
Bringing the One-Tail Jinchūriki and leaking that information on purpose was clearly meant to intimidate them.
Higashi Shibito didn't believe that a single One-Tail Jinchūriki could stand against Iwagakure's current forces, even with Kumogakure's help.
But if the Sand and Cloud shinobi were forced to join hands, it would undoubtedly become a huge problem for Iwagakure!
Ōnoki, being cautious as always, clearly didn't want to take any risks at such a critical moment. It wasn't worth creating unnecessary complications.
Letting them retreat was the better option.
The Sand Village was already so weakened that they could barely defend their home, let alone actively participate in the war. For all intents and purposes, they were halfway out of the current shinobi world war.
Now, if they could just eliminate the Cloud shinobi here, Kumogakure would also be forced to retreat and lick their wounds. This would give Iwagakure the chance to launch an all-out invasion of the Land of Fire, setting the stage for the final battle against Konoha.
"Ai, take B and the Cloud Ninja troops and return to the village." The Third Raikage gave orders to his son and subordinates as he returned to the camp.
"Father!" Ai's eyes widened in shock, and the unease in his heart quickly spread, reaching its peak.
"I will stay behind and hold off Onoki and the main force of the Iwa Ninja," the Third Raikage said calmly.
"Hurry up, as long as you're still here, Kumo won't be eliminated from this great battle, and we will remain one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages!"
"The Iwa Ninja have surrounded the battlefield, but with me drawing their attention, breaking through the encirclement won't be difficult for you. I will hold off as many of their pursuing forces as I can." The Third Raikage interrupted Dodai's words, speaking decisively and resolutely.
"Ai, from now on, you are the Fourth Raikage!" The Third Raikage fixed his gaze on Ai and spoke with determination.
"Lastly, leave the mask with the code 'One' to me."
"Have they split their forces? Where is the Third Raikage?" Onoki had received the intelligence from the Iwa Ninja about the Cloud Ninja splitting their forces to break through, but he wasn't surprised. His attention, however, was focused on the Third Raikage.
If they could eliminate the Third Raikage, even if some of the Cloud Ninja managed to break through, they wouldn't escape the follow-up pursuit from Iwa.
"The Raikage is charging toward us with his men."
The Iwa Ninja delivering the report were also somewhat surprised by the Third Raikage's choice.
"Is he coming to his death?" Onoki instantly grasped the Third Raikage's intentions. His heart was moved by this choice.
The Second Hokage of Konoha had done something similar back then.
"The Raikage is truly a worthy leader!"
Onoki admired him, but without hesitation, he began issuing a series of specific orders to the Iwa Ninja.
Though they might share a mutual understanding or even make the same choice if they swapped places, that wouldn't stop him from destroying him and the Cloud Ninja he wish to protect.
The Third Raikage led a small squad of Cloud ninjas into the vicinity of the Rock ninjas. As they were swarmed by the attacking Rock ninjas, the Cloud ninja squad members who followed him were quickly taken out, leaving only a single, muscular figure flickering like lightning on the battlefield.
The overwhelming ninjutsu couldn't catch up with the figure racing across the battlefield. Even when wide-range ninjutsu attacks were launched, the flickering figure could be seen bursting out of the technique's area, charging straight into the group of Rock ninjas casting the jutsu, causing them casualties.
For a moment, it seemed like the entire battlefield was filled with afterimages of the Third Raikage, and the front-line Rock ninjas were suffering devastating losses.
No one was a match for him in one-on-one combat. As the Third Raikage charged forward, he was like a death god—crashing into his enemies and killing them instantly, or grazing them and leaving them injured.
Many Rock ninjas never even saw his figure; they only heard the roaring sound of thunder and saw a blinding flash, before their bodies were sent flying, torn apart in mid-air, and killed on the spot.
Ordinary ninjutsu couldn't limit the Raikage's movements. His reckless charge into the Rock ninja ranks seemed like a suicidal act, but with his unbeatable defense and unrivaled speed, it turned into a nightmare for the Rock ninjas.
In just a few hours, the Rock ninjas had lost hundreds of their soldiers.
Meanwhile, the dazzling figure, wrapped in lightning, continued to move tirelessly through the Rock ninja lines, spreading death wherever he went.
Wherever the lightning flashed, confusion and death followed.
Under the booming thunder, the cries of the Rock ninjas echoed through the battlefield.
"Lord Tsuchikage?" Higashi Shibito looked at the Third Raikage, surrounded heavily by the Rock ninjas, and glanced cautiously at the calm-faced Tsuchikage.
"Wait a bit longer! We need to drain more of his chakra!" Onoki said calmly. Though it was cruel for the Rock ninjas on the front lines, war was .
A ninja powerful enough to be called one of the Five Kage could easily take on thousands.
Since they wanted to kill one of the Kage, Onoki had prepared himself for the necessary losses. Now wasn't the time to send in the Rock ninja elite.
At least wait until the Raikage's chakra is depleted—that's when the Iwa ninjas will strike.
The Raikage clearly realized this as well. Although he was full of energy and his chakra was still abundant, the Iwa ninjas had figured out how to limit him and slow down his speed. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel⁂fire.net
The area he moved through was already covered with large patches of quicksand and swamps. His speed, though still fast like lightning in the eyes of the Iwa ninjas, had clearly been affected.
If this continued, he would become a target for concentrated ninjutsu attacks. At that point, it would be even harder to inflict significant damage on the Iwa ninjas.
This method of slowing him down and reducing his damage output was familiar to the Raikage. It reminded him of his previous battles with Suna's Rasa.
The main difference was that Rasa's Kekkei Genkai was far more limiting and restrictive for him than the techniques of these Iwa ninjas.
Iwagakure clearly aimed to deplete his chakra this way, at least limiting his speed. Only then could Ōnoki's Dust Release become a real threat.
The worst part was that he had already lost part of his arm to Dust Release earlier, which severely impacted his ability to use and release ninjutsu.
The Lightning Armor and Hell Stab were difficult to use with the same range and long-distance capability as other Lightning Release techniques.
Support me on my ko-fi account and read upto 15 early chapters,
https://ko-fi.com/pirateking24/tiers