Ōnoki, seeing that Namikaze Minato was tied up fighting Kakuzu, finally let out a small breath of relief. Clutching his waist, he flew toward the location of the Five-Tails and One-Tail Jinchūriki.
Uchiha Yuan noticed Ōnoki's movement and immediately realized what he was trying to do.
Right now, Konoha had seized the initiative in the war. Naturally, Ōnoki wouldn't just sit back and wait—he would do whatever it took to reverse the situation.
And the Tailed Beasts were undoubtedly the greatest force capable of disrupting that balance.
After some quick thought, Uchiha Yuan decided to intercept Ōnoki. However, just as he moved, Kitsuchi launched another attack.
Kitsuchi formed hand seals and used Yomi Numa (Swamp of the Underworld) to trap Yuan's legs in the mud.
Kitsuchi clearly understood what his father intended—and he wasn't about to let Uchiha Yuan get in the way.
Once Yuan's legs were buried in the mire, Kitsuchi slammed his palms to the ground. Two massive earthen walls rose and slammed toward Yuan with crushing force.
Uchiha Yuan had no time to think. He immediately teleported to dodge the strike and reappeared behind Kitsuchi, slamming a kick into his back.
Crack!—The figure shattered into a pile of earth blocks.
"A damn Earth Clone?" Yuan was a bit shocked.
His Mind's Eye had been active the entire time, and so were his Sharingan. And yet, Kitsuchi had still managed to secretly cast a clone. His mastery over Earth Release really was astonishing.
Still, Yuan didn't have time to waste with Kitsuchi anymore.
Using the Mind's Eye, Yuan locked onto the real Kitsuchi's location. With a single thought, his horizontal blade became wreathed in crackling lightning chakra—an overwhelming energy radiating from it.
Kitsuchi felt the danger and his hair stood on end.
'If I get hit by that, I'll die.'
As a Kage-level shinobi, his judgment was accurate.
The technique Yuan was about to use was Chidori Blade.
But Yuan had added a twist to it—combining Lightning Release Chakra Mode with Chidori Blade, infusing it into his horizontal sword.
In essence, the weapon was now a combination of Chidori Blade and the Third Raikage's Hell Stab.
Combined with the exceptional sharpness and material of the sword itself, this new jutsu was lethal. Lightning chakra would invade the opponent's cells and destroy them on contact, obliterating the area struck.
This technique was something Yuan developed while working with Kakashi on Chidori-based jutsu derivatives. It was his most powerful attack so far.
Originally, he had planned to save it as a trump card for the night of the Nine-Tails attack. But now, to stop Ōnoki from releasing the Tailed Beasts, he was forced to use it early.
Kitsuchi sensed how deadly this technique was and immediately prepared to defend himself.
Yuan was a speed-type ninja, but in their earlier exchanges, his speed hadn't overwhelmed Kitsuchi. Most of Yuan's attacks had been blocked.
So in Kitsuchi's mind, this attack wouldn't be much different—though that sword definitely couldn't be allowed to touch him.
But he was confident Yuan couldn't land a hit.
Shlick! Yuan made the first move, choosing to teleport straight in for the attack.
Though his body flicker had become extremely fast with the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, it still wasn't as fast as teleportation.
There was a huge difference between spatial jumping and running.
Yuan teleported behind Kitsuchi.
But Kitsuchi had been watching Yuan's chakra signal the entire time. The moment he vanished, Kitsuchi activated a pre-set Earth Release jutsu.
Earth Release: Great Terrain Shift. The ground surged upward dramatically, altering the terrain and disrupting Yuan's attack. His first slash struck the risen earth instead.
Zzzzt! Sparks crackled where the Chidori Blade met stone. The ground sizzled with lightning, mini-explosions popped in a chain reaction, and black smoke billowed.
Kitsuchi stared at the scorched area and couldn't help but inhale sharply.
Even though he had anticipated the power of this move, he had still underestimated it.
If that slash had landed on his body, would he really have fared any better than the ground?
Gazing at the charred terrain, Kitsuchi grew even more serious. He knew if Yuan landed even a single solid strike, he'd be in critical danger.
Under normal circumstances, Kitsuchi would've backed off to avoid the risk.
But right now, in such a critical moment of war, if he didn't keep Uchiha Yuan occupied, his father wouldn't be able to release the Tailed Beasts—and the tide would fully shift to Konoha's favor.
That outcome was unacceptable for Iwagakure.
With that thought, Kitsuchi took a deep breath and formed more hand seals. Yuan immediately sensed the ground tremble.
In the next moment, two colossal earth dragons burst from the soil.
One dragon spewed a flood of mud across the battlefield, coating the entire area in thick sludge. The other dragon lunged at Uchiha Yuan.
Yuan didn't dodge. Instead, his lightning chakra flared even more violently.
Crack! A flash of lightning streaked across the field, slicing the earth dragon clean in half.
He immediately teleported behind Kitsuchi, raising his sword to cleave into his neck.
Just as he was about to strike, the muddy ground transformed into chains and wrapped around his arms.
Yuan froze for a second—he hadn't expected the mud to serve this function.
Kitsuchi spun around, fists coated in rock, and landed a heavy blow to Yuan's chest.
Yuan was sent flying, slamming into a massive boulder.
But Kitsuchi didn't chase. His goal wasn't to defeat Yuan—just to stall him and prevent him from interfering with his father.
"Damn! This Kitsuchi is way too troublesome!" Yuan cursed as he struggled up, clutching his chest.
Meanwhile, as Yuan was tangled up with Kitsuchi, Ōnoki arrived at the battlefield where the Jinchūriki were fighting alongside Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
Ōnoki used Dust Release to drive back Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and their summons, then turned to the One-Tail Jinchūriki, Bunpuku, and the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, Han, and shouted:
"Now! You two—go into full Tailed Beast form! If this keeps going, we're going to lose the war!"
Neither man hesitated—they immediately broke the seals inside their bodies.
The next second, with a high-pitched cackling laugh, Shukaku the One-Tail appeared first.
"HAHAHA! This lord is finally out again!"
Immediately afterward, the Five-Tails manifested as well.
(To Be Continued...)