The ambush plan encountered a slight hiccup due to Linton's sudden pursuit. At this moment, most of Konoha's forces were still engaged with the Sand ninja covering their retreat, while Linton was the only one chasing after the retreating enemy, making him stand out.
"What do we do now?" a Jonin asked Minato Namikaze.
"Is anyone injured?" Minato asked.
"Not yet," the Jonin replied.
"Then let's continue the pursuit," Minato ordered.
Originally, their unit was a strike team meant to join the battle after their ambush. Now that they had routed the enemy's logistics unit, continuing the pursuit onto the battlefield seemed like a good strategy.
Of course, Linton had no idea what was happening behind him. He was entirely caught up in the moment and couldn't stop. He hadn't yet found the person who had attacked him earlier, and now even more people were targeting him. The retreating Sand ninja, seeing Linton catching up, instinctively launched attacks, throwing shurikens and kunai at him.
A barrage of attack warnings appeared, but Linton's body didn't slow down at all. His body moved on its own, forming hand seals: "Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
The earthen wall blocked most of the attacks, and Linton vaulted over it like a parkour expert, continuing his charge.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Linton spat out several fireballs. Though none were individually powerful, the area-of-effect damage disrupted the Sand ninja's formation. However, the jutsu wasn't powerful enough to kill, merely injuring a few.
"Stop that Uchiha!" Several Sand ninja charged at Linton. Although he hadn't activated his Sharingan, they immediately identified him as an Uchiha, given his use of fire techniques and his Uchiha-like appearance.
At least four Sand ninja rushed forward, but Linton showed no intention of retreating. As a kunai was thrown at him, he dodged by ducking, catching the airborne kunai, and spinning around to stab it into a nearby Sand ninja.
With one enemy down, Linton released the kunai and swiftly pulled another from the waist of his fallen opponent. With a quick motion, he stabbed it into the neck of another nearby Sand ninja.
Two Sand ninja collapsed instantly. The remaining two hesitated, startled by Linton's combat skills. They hadn't expected an Uchiha to be so fierce. Just as they wavered, two large, glowing green shurikens flew by, slicing them in half.
Linton glanced at the source of the attack, realizing it was likely some sort of Wind Style jutsu. He turned to see Sarutobi Shin'nosuke land beside him.
"Uchiha Linton!" Sarutobi Shin'nosuke sounded angry, likely upset because Linton had pursued the enemy without orders. "Who told you to chase after them?"
"I…" Linton started to explain, but his body didn't respond to his commands and continued charging toward the Sand ninja forces.
"Hey, come on, let me explain! You're gonna get me killed here!" Linton complained.
"…." As expected, the mechanical voice in his head didn't respond. It had warned him earlier that non-combat-related issues would be ignored.
"This guy's pretty intense," Shin'nosuke muttered, scratching his head in confusion. "He seemed so calm before."
Meanwhile, the Sand ninja were panicking. They weren't frontline soldiers, and their mission had been to retreat. The sudden ambush had caught them off guard, and now that the rear guard was holding off the enemy, those remaining were too scared to continue fighting. Chaos ensued as they began retreating further.
At this point, Konoha's strike team was somewhat scattered. Linton led the charge, too far ahead to be reined in, while Sarutobi Shin'nosuke's squad followed close behind, worried that something might happen to Linton. The rest of the team had nearly finished dealing with the Sand ninja's rear guard and were preparing to join the main battle.
Elsewhere, Konoha's main forces were already engaged in battle with Sunagakure's troops. From the looks of it, Konoha had the upper hand, but the Sand ninja were fighting with unexpected tenacity.
"Lord Orochimaru," Nara Shikaku approached the battlefield where Orochimaru was engaged in combat. "Something's off with the Sand ninja. In this situation, they should be retreating, but they seem to be preparing for something."
"Hmm." Orochimaru also sensed something was wrong. For the enemy to still have the will to fight after such a heavy blow was abnormal. "But what could it be…?"
As they speculated, a massive cloud of smoke suddenly appeared on the battlefield. Emerging from the smoke was a colossal shadow. Every ninja on the battlefield paused to look at it. A monstrous figure appeared, its entire body seemingly made of sand, with black stripes running across it. It resembled a giant tanuki, though far more ferocious, especially with its terrifying size.
"One-Tail Shukaku? That's impossible!" Nara Shikaku immediately recognized the beast. It was a Tailed Beast, but these creatures couldn't be easily controlled. Most nations kept their Tailed Beasts sealed away. Could Sunagakure have found a way to control one?
"Oh?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes with intrigue. He had always been curious about the Tailed Beasts and wanted to study them.
"Were they waiting for this all along? But can they…?" Before Shikaku could finish, Shukaku burst into maniacal laughter, its voice grating and harsh.
"Keh keh keh keh… I'm finally free! Finally free! You wretched ninja, I will kill you all! You will all die!"
"Well, it seems Sunagakure has no control over the Tailed Beast after all. Was this just a trap?" Nara Shikaku suddenly realized. No wonder there hadn't been any sign of the Kazekage or other high-ranking officials. The strongest fighters they had seen were a few Jonin. Sunagakure must have known Konoha's forces were superior, so they had lured Konoha here to unleash the Tailed Beast on them. This was a difficult situation.
Before Shikaku could come up with a plan, Shukaku slammed its paw into the ground, instantly crushing several Konoha and Sand ninja into pulp.
"Lord Orochimaru!" Nara Shikaku looked to Orochimaru, asking whether to fight or retreat.
"How strong is Shukaku?" Orochimaru ignored the question and formed hand seals, "Boar-Dog-Rooster-Monkey-Ram, Summoning Jutsu!"
With a loud "Bang," another huge cloud of smoke appeared. When it cleared, a massive purple snake had appeared on the battlefield.
"It's Lord Orochimaru's summon, Manda!"
Seeing the giant snake, the Konoha ninja regained their composure. Some didn't know what the beast before them was, but they recognized Manda, the signature summon of one of the Legendary Sannin. Manda's presence reassured them.
Unexpectedly, Manda spoke: "Orochimaru, you've got guts summoning me… Let me see… A Tailed Beast? Shukaku? You want to fight this thing?"
"What's the matter? Are you scared?" Orochimaru taunted with a smirk.
"Scared? Heh. If I'm going to fight this thing, I'll need 100 sacrifices!"
"I'll give you all the captives after the battle," Orochimaru replied. "Now, restrain it!"
Shukaku also noticed Manda and seemed to realize the snake was an enemy. The two giant beasts faced off.
Manda was the first to strike, lunging at Shukaku. Shukaku retaliated with a massive swipe, but Manda deftly dodged the attack, coiling around Shukaku's body and constricting it.
As Manda wrapped around Shukaku, it slithered toward the beast's neck and sank its fangs into it. Shukaku roared in pain and began clawing at Manda, ripping open multiple wounds on the snake's body. Despite the pain, Manda tightened its grip.
"This thing really is a chakra monster," Manda groaned, struggling against Shukaku's immense strength. "Its entire body is practically made of chakra. This is insane! I've got it restrained. Find the one controlling it!"
"I'm working on it," Orochimaru replied, searching for the Tailed Beast's Jinchuriki, but they were nowhere to be seen. Growing anxious, Orochimaru continued his search, knowing that Shukaku had to be sealed inside someone.
"I can't hold on much longer!" Manda cried. The Tailed Beast's power was overwhelming, and even Manda couldn't suppress it for long.
Just then, a giant humanoid figure appeared nearby, grabbing Shukaku before it could break free. Everyone looked up to see the familiar giant.
"It's Lord Choza Akimichi!"
"The Akimichi Clan's Expansion Jutsu!"
"Lord Orochimaru, I'm here to assist!" Choza shouted.
"Hold it down!" Orochimaru yelled back. "I'll figure out a way to seal it!"
"Understood!"
As the three giant creatures clashed in battle, Linton found himself in a corner of the battlefield, completely bewildered as he came to a sudden stop.
(End of Chapter)