— — — — — —
"Alright! As long as you're confident, that's good enough! You can start setting up the Flying Thunder God's mass teleportation array now!"
Tsunade and the others nodded in understanding. Tsunade gestured, urging him to begin.
"Okay! I'll get started right away! It's actually not that hard; it just takes some time."
Kaito nodded and immediately created several shadow clones to help carve out the Flying Thunder God teleportation array on the nearby open ground.
The process involved embedding countless seals into the ground to form a massive teleportation array.
This array was a one-time-use deal.
Once activated, the seals and formation would automatically vanish, preventing any need for later erasure or the risk of leaking secrets.
In just a few minutes, Kaito and his clones had completed the teleportation array.
Leaving a single shadow clone behind, Kaito turned to Tsunade and the others, nodding. "I'm heading over to prepare now!"
"Got it!"
"You guys should get ready too. Be there in five minutes!"
With that, Kaito locked onto a mountaintop about a kilometer outside Amegakure and teleported there instantly.
Standing on the mountain, he observed the Iwa shinobi attacking Amegakure below. Kaito's lips curled into a slight smirk.
In the next moment, his body transformed into lightning and shot into the dark clouds above.
He began gathering the electrical charges from the surrounding 20-kilometer radius, pulling them together from far and near, from high to low.
Initially, the Iwa shinobi below, engrossed in their siege of Amegakure, didn't notice anything unusual.
— — —
That was, until two minutes later.
"Crackle! Crackle!"
Some of the Iwa shinobi, particularly Onoki, suddenly felt a deadly sense of danger coming from the sky.
They looked up and noticed that the clouds had darkened even further. Countless electrical charges flickered menacingly across the surface of the stormy sky.
"Not good!"
Onoki's eye twitched as he recognized this eerily familiar scene. Alarm bells rang in his head.
He immediately descended to the ground, shouting at the Iwa shinobi below, "Defend yourselves! Uchiha Kaito is in the clouds! Hurry! Defense formations!"
As he landed, Onoki quickly used his Weighted Rock Technique to slam into the ground, clapping his hands to summon two thick earthen walls. The walls quickly enclosed over a hundred Iwa shinobi, providing cover.
Many of the Iwa shinobi, spurred by Onoki's warning, began casting Earth Release techniques to protect themselves.
Unfortunately, only a few elites were quick enough to react.
Most of the lower-ranking shinobi were still in the middle of forming hand signs when—
"BOOM!"
Thousands of lightning bolts crashed down from the clouds.
"Aargh!!"
In an instant, countless Iwa shinobi were reduced to charred corpses.
Witnessing this scene through his sensory abilities, Onoki's face twisted in rage. "Damn you, Uchiha Kaito! I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"
He had never felt so humiliated or helpless.
He couldn't believe such a terrifying lightning technique had been unleashed on his forces.
Worse, he had no way to counter it.
At this moment, Onoki couldn't help but regret his decisions. Knowing that Kaito had such a devastating area-of-effect technique, why had he brought so many shinobi to their deaths?
Deep down, he realized it was his own overconfidence.
He had convinced himself that Kaito's technique must have significant drawbacks or limitations, making it difficult to use frequently.
Or perhaps, with the combined efforts of himself and the Third Kazekage, they could eliminate Kaito before he could unleash his attack.
But reality had proven him wrong.
"BOOM!"
Another two seconds passed, and another wave of thousands of lightning bolts rained down.
This time, many Iwa shinobi had already hidden underground with the help of their comrades' Earth Release techniques.
Even so, over 500 shinobi failed to escape in time and were annihilated.
"How unfortunate! As expected, Iwa shinobi are sharper and more resourceful than Suna shinobi," Kaito muttered, taking in the situation.
Instead of following up with another attack, he consumed a high-grade nutrition pill and a potion to restore his mental energy. Closing his eyes, he began meditating.
Controlling lightning mainly drained his stamina, but locking onto thousands of targets in such a short time also took a toll on his focus.
Meanwhile, the shinobi within Amegakure watched in stunned silence as the Iwa shinobi, who had been ruthlessly attacking them moments ago, were struck down by what seemed like divine punishment. Over a thousand of them lay dead, while the rest cowered underground.
"What's going on? Did the Iwa shinobi commit too many sins and get smited by the heavens?"
"Divine punishment, my ass! Didn't you hear the Tsuchikage shouting earlier? This was clearly the work of some Konoha ninja named Uchiha Kaito using a lightning jutsu!"
"You're joking, right? What kind of jutsu has that kind of range and power? Is that even humanly possible?"
"Who knows? Just keep watching, and we'll find out."
"But if it's true, what do we do next?"
"What do you mean, 'what do we do next'? This has nothing to do with us."
"How can you say that? Have you forgotten why Lord Hanzō went out yesterday? He went to confront Konoha's ninjas! If this Uchiha Kaito is from the Uchiha Clan, doesn't that mean something terrible happened?"
"Shut up! Stop spouting nonsense! Lord Hanzō is a demigod. No one could harm him. He's probably just been delayed. Don't worry!"
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just hold the village and wait for him to return."
While the Amegakure shinobi hesitated, the Iwa shinobi underground also stayed still, uncertain of their next move.
Two minutes passed, and no more lightning struck.
Through sensory techniques, Onoki and his men confirmed that the oppressive presence in the clouds had dissipated.
Based on what they'd seen before, Kaito had only launched two waves of attacks against Hanzō and his forces before stopping.
Onoki reasoned that the clouds' electrical charge must have been depleted.
"That's right! Such an attack must consume a massive amount of energy—it can't be used indefinitely!"
"That brat! If he's out of tricks, it's his death sentence now!"
Smirking coldly, Onoki rose and shouted, "The enemy's lightning jutsu is spent! Follow me—we're going on the offensive!"
"Rumble!"
The ground cracked open as Onoki controlled the earthen dome, and he and a hundred Iwa shinobi emerged.
The other hidden Iwa shinobi, sensing Onoki's movement, began surfacing as well.
"Crackle!"
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down in the distance, about 200 meters from Onoki.
As the lightning condensed, it formed into a humanoid shape.
When the figure fully emerged, revealing itself as Kaito, Onoki's eyes narrowed.
With a swift movement, Ōnoki soared into the air, glaring at Kaito in the distance as he shouted, "Kid! Why did you attack us? And why did you kill so many of my men? Are you trying to provoke a war between Konoha and the Iwa shinobi?"
At the same time, the old man secretly began channeling chakra, his hands forming seals in front of his chest, ready to unleash a deadly Dust Release attack on Kaito at any moment.
Ōnoki's hatred for this Konoha brat, who had just wiped out over 1,500 of his subordinates in the blink of an eye, was deep.
What made it worse? This kid was a member of the Uchiha clan. That fact alone stoked his fury even more.
Seeing Kaito, hearing his name—it all reminded Ōnoki of the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of another Uchiha in the past, someone who had not only insulted him but his mentor as well.
He could never forget that man's arrogant demeanor, the look of disdain he carried for Ōnoki and his teacher. It had been a lifelong disgrace. And above all, he could never erase the image of Uchiha Madara's colossal Susanoo towering above everything.
"Hmmph!"
Kaito, of course, noticed Ōnoki's subtle movements. With his sharp senses, how could he miss the raging surge of chakra within Ōnoki's body and the astonishing buildup of energy between his hands?
Unfortunately for Ōnoki, Dust Release, as powerful as it might be, had a significant flaw: the preparation time was too long.
For someone like Kaito, who specialized in speed, it was utterly meaningless. If the attack couldn't land, no matter how powerful it was, it was useless.
Hearing Ōnoki's accusations, Kaito smirked, his tone dripping with disdain. "Old man, is there any point in saying all that?"
"Are you seriously blaming us for provoking this war? Wasn't it you Iwa shinobi who interfered with our dealings with the Ame ninja?"
"Weren't you the ones constantly provoking Konoha?"
"And now you're talking about us declaring war? Haven't we already been at war for a while now? Or did you think we were just playing games this whole time?"
Kaito sneered further. "Let's be honest here. You and the Kazekage seized the opportunity while we were attacking Amegakure to launch a surprise attack on us. Are you really going to pretend that wasn't your plan all along?"
Ōnoki's expression changed subtly upon hearing this.
How does he know all that? Ōnoki thought, shocked. This plan was a last-minute decision between me and the Kazekage. We moved as soon as we decided on it—how could he possibly know?
Wait… if he knows, and I'm here now, what about the Kazekage and the Suna ninja?
A sense of dread crept into Ōnoki's mind. He shouted at Kaito, "Kid! Have you already encountered the Kazekage and his forces? Where are they now?"
"Heh," Kaito chuckled, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Oh, they've been defeated already. Even the Third Kazekage himself was killed by me, personally."
Ōnoki froze.
As much as he didn't want to believe it, a part of him sensed that Kaito wasn't bluffing.
If that's true, what's Konoha's situation like? If their losses were minor, would their main forces turn their attention here to deal with us Iwa shinobi?
If that happens, can we win? And if we lose… losing the remaining troops here would be disastrous.
These thoughts raced through Ōnoki's mind. Slowly, the idea of retreating began to take root.
Ōnoki wasn't above taking risks, but only when there was something to gain. Right now, things weren't looking good.
Could Kaito use that terrifying Lightning Release technique again? If he used it against the Suna forces, the cooldown might be much shorter than I expect.
And with Konoha's main forces potentially arriving at any moment… staying here to fight might be asking for disaster.
"How can you prove you're telling the truth?" Ōnoki demanded.
"Oh?" Kaito raised an eyebrow, sensing the change in Ōnoki's tone. This old man is thinking of retreating, isn't he? That won't do.
Kaito decided it would be better to defeat, or even kill, Ōnoki here and now. That way, the Iwa forces would have no choice but to surrender.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, a massive teleportation array appeared behind Kaito, immediately putting Ōnoki and his forces on high alert.
Before they could react, the array lit up, and thousands of Konoha shinobi materialized behind Kaito in an instant.
"Mission complete! I'm leaving the rest to you, boss!" Kaito's shadow clone said before dispelling itself, returning its knowledge to the original.
Ōnoki and the Iwa shinobi, along with their Ame allies, stared in stunned silence.
"Mass teleportation? Has Konoha already mastered such a technique?" the shocked murmurs spread among the Iwa and Ame forces.
If Konoha had this kind of power, the battlefield dynamics would change entirely.
Imagine sending most of your troops to the front lines, only for Konoha to teleport their forces directly into your village. The thought alone sent shivers down their spines.
"Hah!"
Tsunade arrived, taking in the scene. She gave Kaito a proud slap on the shoulder. "Not bad, kid! You wiped out another thousand Iwa shinobi. Now we've got the numbers advantage. This battle is ours to win!"
She clenched her fists, ready to dive into the fight.
"Wait!" Ōnoki raised a hand, flying forward a few meters. "Stop! We concede! This time, we admit defeat."
Everyone froze, stunned.
Ōnoki continued, "We're willing to withdraw our forces and negotiate a peace treaty. We'll even discuss forming an alliance with Konoha. What do you say?"
Kaito and Tsunade exchanged disbelieving glances. What's going on? Why would he surrender so suddenly?
But among the Iwa shinobi, there wasn't much resistance to Ōnoki's decision. Many were too terrified after witnessing Kaito's devastating Lightning Release. They didn't want to fight this monster any longer.
Tsunade frowned. "Are you serious, Tsuchikage?"
Ōnoki nodded solemnly. "Yes. If you're authorized to negotiate, we can finalize the terms right here and now."
"Interesting," Tsunade muttered, exchanging glances with her comrades.
Nara Shikayama suddenly spoke in a low voice, "Could it be the mass teleportation technique that's scaring him? If we can teleport here, what's stopping us from teleporting straight into Iwagakure?"
"Or maybe it's Kaito's Lightning Release," someone else suggested.
Everyone turned to Kaito for his thoughts.
.
.
.