Chapter 739: Turning the Tides in the Blink of an Eye!
Under normal circumstances, Shirogane would have easily sensed anyone sneaking up on him and countered before that happened. However, Hoka's frontal assault kept him occupied. He immediately realized, 'So that's why this bastard is fighting this way. He isn't here to seal me, but only wants to distract me when the real attack arrives!'
Shirogane could have still spared some attention towards the new attacker, but Renjiro continued distracting him by launching Water Shurikens from weird angles. These two factors, combined with Fujin's ridiculous speed, meant that Shirogane couldn't divide his attention to focus on the new opponent. Hence, he simply decided to launch several sharp bone projectiles from his back to force Fujin away.
However, his bones had barely appeared out of his back and hadn't even been launched when several Vacuum Blades cut through his body and ruthlessly sliced him into several pieces. No matter how strong his bones were, they couldn't resist the sharp Vacuum Blades.
Realizing the danger, Shirogane twisted his head at a very odd angle to ensure that his brain wasn't sliced through. Even though his neck was sliced through, his head remained intact. He looked at Fujin and scoffed internally, 'As if I'd let myself be sealed without getting a taste of blood!'
He immediately controlled all the bones in the pieces of his body and was about to launch every single one of them in all directions. He thought, 'Renjiro is too far away to be hit and this guy has weird defenses, but the Hyuga won't stand a chance against my…'
Suddenly, his eyes widened as several Vacuum Palms landed on crucial chakra points on Shirogane's floating head. Hoka thought, 'Even though I don't like studying much, there was no way I wouldn't research the Kaguya clan. They were the only clan who could defeat a Hyuga in Taijutsu! Even though Fujin cut him, he won't lose his vitality so easily.'
A fraction of a second after Hoka's attacks landed on Shirogane, a fist landed on his head. The water under their feet retreated and exposed the hard ground as Guy's punch pulverized Shirogane's head along with the remaining pieces of his body.
Renjiro chuckled. He had noticed Guy's movements and immediately withdrew the water around the area while hardening the ground at the same time. As a result, the bones that had previously been slashed by Fujin were almost entirely pulverized by Guy and Shirogane lost consciousness. Before the Edo Tensei jutsu's regeneration could kick in, Fujin sealed him up as well.
The battlefield came to a standstill once again as the Suna and Konoha ninjas looked at the arena in shock. Just a couple of minutes ago, the entire battlefield was in a deadlock. The reanimated ninjas kept the strongest Konoha ninjas busy while the Suna elites held off the remaining Konoha ninjas.
However, the situation changed in the blink of an eye! Before they could realize it, Fujin suddenly sealed five of the six reanimated ninjas. And now, Fujin, Guy, Renjiro and Hoka were glancing at Sakumo.The morale of the Konoha ninjas rose once again and several ninjas exclaimed loudly.
"That's incredible!"
"They defeated those reanimated ninjas just like that! Now only the White Fang is left!"
"As expected of Councilman Fujin! They didn't stand a chance against him!"
"Hahaha! This is incredible! We can't lag behind. Kill these Suna scums! Make them pay for trying to invade our home!"
On the other hand, the Suna ninjas were horrified.
"How can that be?"
"This is impossible! How could strong ninjas like Shirogane, Kaminari, Juzo and Zabuza be sealed so easily!"
"Fuck Orochimaru! Why did we ally with such an incompetent fellow!"
"Forget Orochimaru! Where is Lord Fourth? If that monster turns his blade towards us, we're dead!"
The thought of Fujin turning his attention on them terrified the Suna ninjas. The feet of the three Jounins, who wanted to assassinate Fujin, froze too. Unlike others, they had watched all of his actions. Any thoughts they had of killing Fujin evaporated away. They could only pray that Sakumo could stall Fujin.
The Konoha ninjas launched a spirited assault on the demoralized Suna ninjas. They still gave their best, but the number of Suna ninjas falling kept rising at an alarming rate.
Baki's expression became very ugly as he realized, 'If Orochimaru doesn't have any more hidden cards and Lord Kazekage doesn't show up, this battlefield is doomed. The only way things could turn around is if the Hokage falls. However…'
Helplessness appeared in his eyes. After the First and Second Hokage appeared inside the barrier, he expected Hiruzen to fall very easily. However, the reality was the exact opposite. Forget dying, Hiruzen held the upper hand throughout the battle!
From Baki's observation, the only way Hiruzen could lose is if he ran out of chakra. However, it was extremely clear that every Suna ninja would be long dead before Hiruzen ran out of chakra. Once Sakumo was sealed and Fujin turned his attention to them, the war would be over.
However, Baki still held some hope. He thought, 'Since Lord Kazekage hasn't appeared yet, he must be doing something very important. That could be a way for us to turn this around.
In addition, Orochimaru should be aware of the situation too. Once we are wiped out, every Konoha ninja will attack the barrier. Surrounded by hundreds of ninjas, Orochimaru might fall as well. Since he is still only focusing on the Hokage, he must have some plans as well.'
As Baki suspected, Orochimaru did have a few plans. Even so, his expression was ugly. He thought, 'Guren's death messed up my arrangements badly. The battle outside is a complete loss. If Sakumo had gone all out, he could have tied Fujin down. However, with him resisting my commands, his strength weakened to a point where even Kakashi could handle him. That said…'
Confusion appeared in his eyes as he wondered, 'What game is Kakashi playing? Shouldn't his strength be much higher? Why is he still hiding his strength even after seeing Kabuto?'
Orochimaru was genuinely confused. When Kakashi appeared in the arena along with Sasuke, Orochimaru looked at Kakashi with a whole new gaze. The fact that someone like him kept his true power hidden for so long increased Orochimaru's respect for him. However, his actions on the battlefield confused Orochimaru.
Orochimaru couldn't help but wonder, 'Could it be that he has kept his power hidden from even the top brass of Konoha? Hehehe, that's interesting. I wonder what his true motives are considering that he doesn't go all out even at such a critical time.'
Sakumo was barely done explaining and displaying his critical techniques to Kakashi when Fujin and others arrived. Sakumo smiled and said, "It seems I'm the last one. You guys did a good job. I'll continue resisting Orochimaru's command. Seal me quic…"
He suddenly stopped talking as his eyes went completely black. Sparks appeared around his body as his speed increased tremendously. Winds blasted behind Fujin as he moved forward to intercept Sakumo. In the blink of an eye, their blades clashed hundreds of times as the two engaged in a terrifying battle!
Guy asked in confusion, "What happened? Why did your father suddenly go all out?"
Kakashi answered grimly, "It looks like Orochimaru has taken control of his mind completely."
Renjiro agreed and added, "Orochimaru was likely struggling to control all 6 of them at the same time. However, since Sakumo-sama is left now, Orochimaru must be focusing entirely on him."
It was exactly as Kakashi and Renjiro analyzed. Once Fujin sealed five reanimated ninjas, the only ones left were Kabuto and Sakumo. Unlike the others, Orochimaru did not need to control Kabuto. Due to his loyalty, Kabuto followed Orochimaru's plans without the need for any control.
Hence, Orochimaru focused entirely on Sakumo which increased his control drastically. He completely suppressed Sakumo's will and made him go all out, at least to the extent to which his body allowed. As such, Sakumo fought just like how Hashirama and Tobirama were fighting.
Hoka asked with a frown, "What do we do now? Sealing him will be extremely difficult. Should we assist Fujin or should we leave him to Fujin and focus on others?"
Guy immediately answered, "Let's assist Fujin. I can open my Inner Gates once again for a short while without tiring myself."
Kakashi nodded too. However, Renjiro glanced in the direction of the barrier and looked at Hiruzen and his opponents. Looking at the state of the battle, he quickly analyzed the situation. Before Kakashi, Guy and Hoka could join the battle, he softly said, "Wait!"
Kakashi, Guy and Hoka glanced at Renjiro, wondering what he was planning.
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