novelnext Chapter 204 204: Hyuga Arin Is On His Way to the Rescue
Chapter 204 204: Hyuga Arin Is On His Way to the Rescue
Hyuga Arin rushed out of the village with the Hokage's dispatch order in hand.
He looked almost like he was fleeing in embarrassment.
Without stopping once, he followed the mission map all the way from Konoha to the vicinity of Mount Bifu in the Land of Earth.
Standing atop a high ridge, he activated his Byakugan and looked toward the battlefield in the distance.
"So many people…"
With a single sweep of his vision, he counted nearly a thousand ninja. Under Ōnoki's command, they were launching a fierce assault on the Sannin.
"If I just charge in, I'll get swallowed too."
Arin stroked his chin. Forget Ōnoki—even with just those thousand shinobi, he wouldn't be able to stir much of a storm alone.
He glanced again at the mission scroll.
It only stated that he was to extract the Sannin. Nothing else.
But it was an S-rank mission. The reward was extremely generous.
"…This is troublesome."
He more or less understood why Hiruzen had assigned this to him. With Substitution Technique, he had exceptional mobility. Under normal circumstances, repeated use could indeed allow him to extract the Sannin.
But with that many enemies, one misstep and he'd be blasted into fragments by combined ninjutsu.
Arin thought for a moment.
Then he used Transformation Technique, disguising himself as an Iwa ninja, and dashed toward Mount Bifu.
Through his Byakugan, he could clearly see the Sannin under siege.
And then there was Ōnoki—the one who had once kept up with his Substitution Technique.
"That old geezer's going to be a pain…"
Alone, Arin was confident he could shake Ōnoki off.
But carrying three people while using Substitution would consume massive chakra. It would be easy for Ōnoki to catch him mid-transfer.
Still—
Arin wasn't without options.
"Enough experience."
He glanced at his experience points. Plenty to level up several abilities.
He sped toward Mount Bifu and soon reached the outer ring of Iwa shinobi.
…
Mount Bifu
Tsunade shattered the ground beneath her feet, launching herself skyward with explosive force and throwing a full-powered punch at Ōnoki.
Ōnoki rose higher instantly, avoiding the strike.
BOOM!
The air rippled violently.
"Dust Release—"
Before he could finish forming it, he was forced to dodge repeatedly as countless massive shuriken flew past him.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."
Orochimaru had cast it.
Seizing the opening, Jiraiya's silver hair lengthened, wrapping around Tsunade's waist and pulling her back.
The three coordinated seamlessly. Even for Ōnoki, taking them down cleanly wasn't easy.
"Calm down, Tsunade," Orochimaru said coolly.
Tsunade took a deep breath, forcing herself to steady.
The more she suppressed it, the angrier she felt. Only after several long breaths did she manage to control herself.
"Sorry for dragging you into this."
Jiraiya laughed casually. "We're teammates."
Orochimaru smiled faintly, though his gaze flicked toward the encircling Iwa forces and the hovering Ōnoki above.
The smile faded quickly.
"This time… it's truly dangerous."
They were completely surrounded. The Tsuchikage himself was present. And there would be no reinforcements.
There was no path of escape.
Even Orochimaru couldn't see a way out.
"Wood yourselves surrender, Konoha's Three Sannin," Ōnoki said coldly from the sky.
Even he hadn't expected such luck—to trap the now-famous Sannin.
If it had been Konoha's White Fang, he might have reconsidered. Reports from other fronts suggested Sakumo Hatake could rival a Kage in single combat.
But the Sannin were different.
Though rising in fame, they were still just short of true Kage level. Together they could contend with one—but victory would be extremely difficult.
That thin line between tiers was a vast gulf.
Thus, he chose to encircle and capture them.
If he could take them alive, Iwagakure—though losing the war—could regain leverage at the negotiation table.
Still, he preferred to avoid unnecessary losses. Iwa had suffered heavily already.
Even if they had the largest ninja force among the Great Villages.
"Bullshit! You want us to surrender? Dream on!" Tsunade shouted.
Ironically, the same Tsunade who once told Jiraiya to stay calm in Amegakure had now completely lost her composure.
Her recently started relationship had ended abruptly—her boyfriend killed on the Iwa front.
They had barely begun.
The grief burned into fury.
She had pursued his killer deep into the Land of Earth. Before she could succeed, Ōnoki himself had stepped in.
Everything had spiraled too quickly.
Now they were trapped.
Was Iwa really so short-handed that the Tsuchikage had to come personally?!
Negotiations broke down.
Combat resumed.
Iwa shinobi surged forward.
Tsunade charged into their ranks—one punch sent a chūnin flying, one kick shattered ribs.
Don't ask why one was described as "eunuch."
Orochimaru and Jiraiya supported her with ninjutsu. Among the three, Tsunade held the strongest frontline combat ability.
For a time, Iwa couldn't break through.
Ōnoki grew impatient.
"Earth Release: Rock Arm!"
Massive stone arms erupted from beneath the Sannin, attempting to crush them in giant fists.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Burst!"
Orochimaru unleashed a surge of lightning, shattering the rock arms.
But that moment of distraction intensified the Iwa assault.
They had already been fighting for some time. Fatigue weighed heavily on both body and mind.
Jiraiya's flames previously blocked the Mud Dragons—but this time, one broke through.
Tsunade leapt and shattered it with a punch.
"Haha… looks like this is where we die," Jiraiya laughed.
Child of prophecy? That meant nothing now.
Ōnoki had intended to capture them alive—but the Sannin would rather die.
Seeing their defiance, Ōnoki's anger flared.
Fine.
He'd return three corpses instead.
"Seize them!"
Iwa's assault intensified.
Where Tsunade once needed one punch to cripple a jōnin, now three or four were barely enough to push one back.
Just as the pressure peaked—
A familiar voice echoed in their ears.
"If you were going on a journey… where would you want to go?"
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