Her sturdy arms couldn't match the seemingly invincible strength of the small building, and Sakura Haruno had already curled into a ball, her feet pressing firmly against the Raikage.
With a provocative glance at the Raikage, she unleashed a sudden burst of power from her arms and the leg holding him back just as she was about to crash into the ground!
In that instant, the Raikage could no longer hold her down. The Konoha witch he had restrained broke free!
A faint sweep of her emerald eyes caught a glint of cold steel stabbing straight toward her!
Without a moment to think, Sakura executed a swift Rabbit Kick, sending the Raikage flying with a powerful thrust of her legs. Twisting her body midair, she narrowly dodged Orochimaru's surprise attack.
Clearly, a guy like Orochimaru could take a direct hit from a steel gate dozens of meters tall and still come out unscathed—aside from looking a little disheveled.
Sword strikes rained down like a storm, relentlessly targeting Sakura. Yet she moved as if she could see through Orochimaru entirely. Each slash grazed past her, as though every strike could hit her, but no matter what, they couldn't touch the Sharingan-like precision of her evasion!
Orochimaru's face remained calm, utterly unfazed by the situation before him. If it were anyone else, he'd already be plotting his escape.
Lightning flashed as the Raikage, sent soaring by Sakura's kick, clambered back to his feet and charged at her once more!
At that moment, a furious roar echoed through the air!
"Sage Art: Massive Rasengan!"
A figure descended from the sky, wielding a monstrously large Rasengan that radiated an intimidating aura, hurling it straight at the Raikage!
The Raikage instantly felt the looming threat of death, his hair standing on end. Without a second thought, he leaped back to retreat!
Sakura's peripheral vision caught the scene. As she dodged another of Orochimaru's sword strikes, her hand shot out like lightning, seizing his wrist in a vice-like grip!
Orochimaru sensed trouble brewing, but before he could react, an irresistible force yanked his wrist, pulling him right in front of Sakura!
"Monster Strength: Full Power!"
A wild blaze of blue-pink chakra flames erupted around her fist, instantly morphing into the roaring head of a tiger wreathed in chakra fire!
"Think you can beat me?!"
"You're five hundred years too early!"
BOOM!!
The tiger's head smashed into Orochimaru's face in an instant!
An overwhelming, unstoppable force radiated from the impact on his cheek!
Under the blow, Orochimaru's features practically caved in!
SHING!!
Orochimaru felt everything go silent, his vision blanking out, overwhelmed by an endless ringing in his ears as his consciousness abruptly faltered!
A ferocious shockwave exploded from the punch, sweeping across the battlefield!
Orochimaru's entire body was blasted back in an instant!
Even the arm still attached to his torso was torn apart by that unmatched power!
Blood sprayed through the air!
Sakura glanced at the severed arm in her grasp and casually tossed it aside.
At that moment, Jiraiya, having forced the Raikage back, arrived at Sakura's side. The two exchanged a glance and a slight nod. Without a word, Sakura immediately dashed off toward the central army, racing to confront Killer B.
"Little Jiraiya, that kid is…"
Fukasaku, perched on Jiraiya's shoulder, stared curiously at the retreating pink-haired figure.
"Oh, one of the village's rising stars."
"The old man's got high hopes for her, and now I do too."
Jiraiya replied to Fukasaku, his gaze locking onto the Raikage, who glared back from a distance.
In truth, if he weren't the commander, he'd be the perfect one to support the central army in Sage Mode.
But precisely because he was the commander, it didn't matter if he stayed off the field. Once he stepped in, he couldn't back down until the war was over.
As the commander, Jiraiya was a banner for all Konoha ninja. If he vanished after taking the field, it could easily shake the army's morale.
Still, thinking of Sakura, who had just held her own against both Orochimaru and the Raikage, Jiraiya immediately reached out to Kakashi through the Mind Transmission Technique.
"Kakashi, pull back now and head to the central army to support Sakura."
Kakashi, locked in a deadlock with Darui and breathing heavily, frowned as he received Jiraiya's message.
He was the vanguard leader. If he left, who would hold Darui back?
And what was happening in the central army that required both him and Sakura to reinforce it?
"Hayate and Asuma will take your place."
"No time to waste. Execute the order."
Jiraiya's words left no room for argument.
"Yes, sir."
Kakashi gave a quiet acknowledgment, feinted an attack to slip past Darui, and bolted without looking back.
Darui's heart tightened.
As the Raikage's guard, he was well aware of Killer B's ambush on Konoha. He couldn't let the Sharingan-wielding Kakashi slip away so easily. But as he moved to pursue, a fist blade and a ninja sword barred his path.
"Konoha Elite Jounin, Hayate Gekkou."
"Guardian Ninja Twelve, Sarutobi Asuma."
The moment they received Jiraiya's orders, the two had rushed over to relieve Kakashi.
"Well, crap, this is a pain…"
Facing two renowned jounin, even Darui couldn't help but feel the pressure.
By now, Konoha's central army had been reduced to a small lake.
Terumi Mei panted heavily as she stared at the humanoid tailed beast standing atop the water's surface.
Too strong…
She'd never imagined a jinchuriki could be this powerful.
In her understanding, even the Fourth Mizukage, the Three-Tails jinchuriki, or the other Six-Tails jinchuriki from the Mist Village, she was confident she could take down in a one-on-one fight.
But this Eight-Tails jinchuriki…
A single roar unleashed a chakra shockwave that instantly dispersed her Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique.
Her Lava Release couldn't even keep up with his movements.
Her Water Release, unless she poured massive amounts of chakra into it, was utterly ineffective against his tailed beast cloak.
If she hadn't managed to shape the battlefield to her advantage, using Water Instant Body to drag him into a war of attrition, she'd have lost long ago.
And yet…
All of this was against him in just his six-tailed state… According to intel from that girl named Ino, he was a perfect jinchuriki…
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