Hiruzen The Professor!

At this moment, A seemed to be at the end of the road.

A deep, bone-revealing burn marred his left shoulder, his Lightning Release Chakra Mode had been broken through by Jiraiya after prolonged combat.

The surviving Kumo ninjas following him were all battered and bloodied. This surprise attack had not only failed to achieve its objective, but had also cost them dearly in men and morale, a complete and utter failure.

Darui's right arm was fractured, hastily bound with strips of cloth during their retreat, blood still seeping out continuously. If not treated soon, even gripping a blade might become impossible in the future.

The only one in relatively good shape was the Killer B, his half-shattered sunglasses still on. He'd taken a straight punch from Guy that left his ribs cracked. For a jinchūriki, such injuries were not significant, but even he no longer had the mood to rap.

They had no idea when the Konoha pursuers behind them would catch up.

A's face was dark; he felt as if he'd been thoroughly deceived. But this wasn't the time to dwell on that. Looking back, his subordinates were utterly demoralized, exhausted and covered in dust.

He had to raise their spirits, or the road ahead would be impossible to walk.

"B, rap something," he suddenly said.

Killer B was momentarily stunned, his eyes widening slightly behind his sunglasses. Darui looked up, clutching his broken arm, blood seeping from the makeshift bandage.

"Bro, you…"

"I said rap, so RAP!" A punched the cliff beside him, causing stones to rain down.

His sharp gaze swept over his injured troops.

Suddenly, Killer B tore off his broken sunglasses and spat. Then, slapping his thigh to keep rhythm, his raspy voice echoed through the canyon.

♪Yo~ Dead end ain't the end~

The soul of Kumo will never bend~ Yeah!

Shattered blades, broken gear, who cares, fool!

The Raikage clears the path, what a tool!

We'll strike back from the Land of Lightning, yeah!♪

Normally, no one in Kumo appreciated Killer B's rapping. But now, his verse stirred the spirits of the weary Kumo ninja.

A single failure did not define them. Kumo would not fall from one defeat. Their leader, their Kage, was still by their side, sharing the same hardships. As long as he stood, hope remained.

Seeing the morale of his men lift slightly, A suddenly burst into loud laughter, startling the birds in the forest canopy into flight.

Darui, enduring the pain, asked, "A-sama, what are you laughing at?"

A pointed to the cliffs on either side and spoke proudly. "I laugh at the foolishness of Hiruzen, and the lack of cunning in Jiraiya. If they had stationed a squad of ANBU in ambush here, we'd be finished!"

Up ahead was a treacherous route, a canyon as narrow as a thread, flanked by sheer cliffs. If the situation were reversed and he were leading Konoha's forces, he would have definitely placed an ambush here, trapping the enemy completely.

"Let's go, return to the Land of Lightning. After we regroup and recover, we'll challenge Konoha to a fair fight once more!"

He laughed heartily.

Even in defeat, such boldness, he was truly a heroic figure of this world. His laughter still echoed through the canyon as the morale of the remaining Kumo ninjas burned anew.

He stepped first into the narrow canyon, ready to lead his men out of the Land of Fire.

However, just as the last ninja entered the canyon...

BOOM!!!

The cliff wall at the canyon's entrance suddenly collapsed. Massive boulders rained down like a storm, sealing off their escape in an instant!

"AMBUSH!" Darui shouted, but his voice was drowned out by a second, even louder explosion. From both sides of the canyon, countless explosive tags detonated at once.

"Earth Release: Rock Collapse!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

More and more ninjutsu attacks poured down on the Kumo forces.

Voices came from above, but not a single figure could be seen. The entire canyon trembled with the chain explosions, stone splitting and smoke soaring skyward.

"Scatter!!" A roared, his Lightning Release Chakra Mode flaring to full power once more as he smashed a giant boulder crashing toward his subordinates with a single punch.

When the bombardment finally ceased, the already exhausted Kumo ninjas had lost even more comrades.

"I've been expecting you," a lazy-sounding voice drifted from the far end of the canyon.

From the swirling dust ahead, a silver-haired ninja walked out with one hand in his pocket. His forehead protector was lifted, revealing an eye glowing blood-red in the shadows.

"This whole thing was a trap from the start, wasn't it?!" A shouted furiously, throwing accusations even as he cursed Konoha's treachery and led a desperate charge to break through.

"You cannot escape the springtime of youth!" Another booming voice came from behind.

Turns out, Guy's unit had been tailing the remnants of the Kumo forces for a while, maintaining distance from the rear. They had been waiting for this very moment, to form a pincer attack with Kakashi.

A had no choice but to fight his way out with all his strength.

By the time they finally broke through Kakashi's encirclement, the Kumo forces had taken yet another heavy toll in casualties.

---

There weren't many Kumo ninjas left now.

Looking at the dozen or so battered and exhausted survivors, A was overcome with bitter sorrow. Back when they had marched out of Kumo, morale had been high. Now, it seemed the Land of Fire might become his grave.

What lay ahead was uncertain. And after taking a direct hit to the lower back from Kakashi's lightning attack, he was beginning to feel truly weak. In his prime, that Sharingan brat wouldn't have even been able to scratch him.

At last, he understood Konoha's strategy, they had been bleeding the Kumo ninjas dry through relentless pursuit, forcing them into exhaustion until they were too weak to fight, aiming to annihilate them with minimal losses.

It was a hyena's tactic, and the one commanding it was utterly ruthless.

After closing his eyes in grim contemplation, he made a difficult decision. His eyes gleamed like lightning as he swept his gaze over the survivors.

"Someone has to stay behind."

A light breeze carried the scent of scorched earth and blood through the canyon. His voice was low but resolute.

The Kumo ninjas fell into silence.

Darui's broken arm hung limp, blood dripping from his fingertips into the dirt. Killer B's eyes narrowed behind his shattered sunglasses, the chakra of the Eight-Tails churning restlessly inside him.

A didn't explain, he didn't need to. They all understood.

In their current condition, if no one stayed behind to stop Kakashi's pursuit, none of them would make it out of the Land of Fire alive.

Killer B was about to speak, ready to accept the heavy task and bid A farewell for the last time, but Darui stepped forward faster.

"I'll do it," he said firmly, taking a decisive step ahead.

"Take everyone and go. I can still use my Storm Release—"

A cut him off with a wave of his hand, his tone suddenly more serious than ever. "Starting tomorrow... you are the Raikage."