Team 9 had encountered the greatest crisis in its history. The shockwave from the Earth Release: Cracking Earth Palm technique had drawn the attention of Team 7, who were nearby.
"Hmm?"
Kakashi noticed the commotion about two kilometers away, where trees were toppling in succession.
"Let's go!"
He immediately dashed toward the disturbance, with Obito and Rin following close behind.
Any sign of a battle likely meant an encounter between Iwa-nin and Konoha ninja, so Team 7, as reinforcements, rushed toward the source of the noise without hesitation.
Shizune, after landing with Kurenai in her arms, felt a sharp pain in her right ankle. She realized she must have twisted it while carrying Kurenai and landing in such a hurry.
Under normal circumstances, a minor sprain like this wouldn't be an issue, but at this moment, it could prove fatal.
"Although I don't like hitting someone when they're down… you're the enemy, after all."
The fat Iwa-nin let out a cold laugh, his face full of malice as he looked at Shizune and Kurenai. His large, fleshy hands suddenly plunged into the ground, and veins bulged across his arms as he prepared his next attack.
Swoosh!
A crescent-shaped crack began to spread across the ground.
With a sharp grunt, the fat Iwa-nin let out a low growl and pulled a massive chunk of earth, dozens of times his size, from the ground, lifting it high above his head.
"Time to die!"
With a mighty swing, he hurled the massive chunk of earth toward Shizune and Kurenai.
Seeing this, Kotoe began forming hand seals, ready to use a jutsu to shield Shizune from the incoming attack.
Just then, a slight ripple passed through the air, and a figure appeared, followed by a flash of a blade.
Sensing the danger, Kotoe abandoned her hand seals and quickly drew a kunai to block the incoming sword.
Clang!
The kunai clashed with the sword, sending sparks flying.
The force behind the strike pushed Kotoe back two or three steps.
"Not bad."
The horse-faced Iwa-nin smirked and pressed the attack, stepping forward with another diagonal slash, forcing Kotoe to block again with her kunai.
"Worried, are you? Don't worry, you're all going to die anyway."
He sneered coldly, licking his lips with his long tongue.
Kotoe gritted her teeth, unable to spare any attention to check on Shizune.
The massive chunk of earth continued to bear down on Shizune and Kurenai. Shizune tightened her grip on Kurenai and tried to move, but the pain in her ankle slowed her down.
"A little pain like this…"
Her brow furrowed as she ignored the pain, pushing herself to run forward. However, the momentary hesitation had cost her the chance to escape the path of the incoming earth.
The shadow of the huge earth chunk loomed over them, falling toward the ground.
Staring at the approaching shadow, a sense of despair washed over Shizune.
Suddenly, the sound of birds chirping echoed through the forest.
A figure dashed past Shizune, surrounded by crackling lightning, heading straight for the falling earth chunk.
The gust of wind from his swift movements blew Shizune's hair as she turned to see a silver-haired boy, his hand wrapped in blazing lightning, thrusting into the chunk of earth and splitting it in half. The two halves fell to the sides, crushing several trees with a thunderous crash, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Reinforcements…" Shizune breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the silver-haired boy.
Kakashi, who had arrived just in time to save Shizune and Kurenai, lifted his gaze to the fat Iwa-nin and his comrade, Sekitō. He drew his short sword from behind his back.
"Too bad," the fat Iwa-nin muttered coldly as he stared at Kakashi, his eyes showing caution. Despite Kakashi's youth, the power he displayed by splitting the earth chunk wasn't something an ordinary boy could possess.
By now, Obito and Rin had also arrived. Their faces turned grim when they saw Kurenai, covered in blood and breathing weakly.
Rin rushed over to Shizune and exclaimed, "We need to treat her right away!"
As a fellow medical ninja, Shizune knew they had little time to act. She turned to Rin and said, "We need to move her to a safer place first."
"Leave that to us. We'll handle things here," Obito immediately said.
"Alright, but be careful. These guys are strong," Shizune responded without hesitation. She and Rin quickly carried Kurenai to a safer location and began administering treatment.
Kurenai had lost a lot of blood. Although the sword hadn't struck a vital point, her injuries were severe. If it were just Shizune, it might have been too late to save her, but with Rin's help, the situation was more hopeful.
The two medical ninja worked together to heal Kurenai.
Meanwhile, Obito and Kakashi stood side by side, facing the Iwa-nin known as Sekitō and the fat Iwa-nin.
"Sekitō, I'll take care of the one with the goggles. You deal with the stronger one," the fat Iwa-nin said, pulling Kakashi toward him with his words.
"Be careful," Sekitō warned, clearly recognizing Kakashi's strength.
On the other side, Kotoe was locked in close combat with the horse-faced Iwa-nin. Initially, he had underestimated her, but as their fight progressed, he realized she was a formidable opponent.
"This is getting interesting," the horse-faced Iwa-nin sneered as he unleashed a dazzling barrage of sword strikes. Kotoe, with a kunai in each hand, danced through the storm of blades, deflecting his attacks.
The more Kotoe resisted, the more excited the horse-faced Iwa-nin became. His sword strikes slowed, but the force behind them grew heavier.
Kotoe felt the increasing weight of each strike and found it harder to block the sword.
Meanwhile, Guy, who had been knocked away in his fight against the female Iwa-nin, coughed up blood as he got back on his feet. His right leg throbbed with pain—it wasn't broken, but it was definitely swollen.
"Such strength," he muttered, wiping the blood from his mouth. He had no time to worry about his teammates, as the female Iwa-nin was already charging at him again.
The earlier clash had left Guy with internal injuries, but the female Iwa-nin hadn't escaped unscathed either. Proud of her strength, she had initially dismissed Guy as just a child. But after their first exchange, she realized he wasn't an ordinary kid.
Setting aside her arrogance, she now saw Guy as a worthy opponent.
"Let's see whose taijutsu is stronger!" the female Iwa-nin shouted as she charged at Guy, her arm turning to stone as she swung a powerful punch.
Guy ducked under the punch and countered with both fists aimed at her chest.
The female Iwa-nin twisted her arm and slammed it down with immense force.
Guy's fists connected with her chest, and a cracking sound rang out as his knuckles ached from the impact. Immediately after, her stone-covered elbow crashed into his neck.
The force sent the female Iwa-nin flying backward, while Guy was slammed into the ground, breaking the thick tree trunk beneath him.
The two seemed evenly matched, trading injuries with each blow.
Not far from the battlefield, Ye Zi and White Zetsu quietly observed the battle between Team 7, Team 9, and the Iwa-nin.
On their way here, Ye Zi and White Zetsu had killed six squads—four Iwa-nin squads and two Konoha squads—all to weaken both sides.
"If this keeps dragging on, it'll never end. Should we just kill them all?" White Zetsu asked calmly.
Ye Zi remained silent, his wooden mask hiding his expression as he stared at several familiar faces.
Nearly a year had passed since he had last seen them. Guy's youthful face had lost much of its innocence, and while his strength had improved, his reaction speed and agility were still lacking.
Kotoe had clearly improved in close combat, able to hold her own against such a fast opponent, though her skills were still better suited for stealth attacks.
Kurenai… still as weak as ever. Her lack of taijutsu training remained uncorrected, and as a genjutsu specialist, she had been the first to fall. With medical ninjas present, she would probably survive.
And those two kids… If he remembered correctly, they were Minato's students.
"Can't make up your mind?" White Zetsu tilted his head, watching Ye Zi's masked face. It was impossible to see his expression behind the wooden mask.
On their journey here, they had mercilessly slaughtered the six squads without hesitation, not waiting for either side to claim victory.
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Currently on Chapter 238 - Caught You