Naruto: Pay-to-Win Ninja System

Outside Iwagakure Village, at this very moment.

Onoki's group was in hot pursuit, completely unaware that their precious crystal had been stolen right from under their noses—again.

Even without outside interference,

the minimal defenses around Iwagakure's Vault would have been no match for Jiraiya and his crew anyway.

It was just another Konoha raid.

Though they had successfully lured out most of Iwagakure's forces—including Onoki—to create an opening for Jiraiya and the others,

Sarutobi and his men now found themselves in a dire situation.

They were running for their lives.

The Iwa pursuers chased them with equal ferocity.

But for the lower-ranked Konoha ninja—Genin and Chunin—

how could they possibly keep up with Tokubetsu Jonin and Jonin-level speeds?

Before long, their 600-man formation stretched into scattered groups.

Despite using various trap jutsu and wide-area offensive techniques to slow down the enemy pursuit,

among the thousands of Iwa shinobi chasing them,

there were still elite Jonin scouts who could easily leap over these traps, steadily closing the distance.

And above it all,

Onoki soared through the sky using his [Super Lightweight Rock Technique].

His signature [Dust Release] was especially terrifying—it rained destruction on Konoha from afar.

This forced Konoha to keep leaving shinobi behind as rearguards to stall the relentless chase.

Yet none of them stood much chance of survival.

Within a short time, dozens of Konoha ninja had already died covering the retreat.

At this rate, before the main force even reached safety,

Konoha might lose more than half its shinobi!

"Hokage-sama, let me stay behind and hold them off!"

"This is where youth must burn brightest!"

Guy grinned earnestly as he requested.

If he went all out, he could take down waves of Iwa ninja with his strength alone, buying more escape time for the main force.

"No, Hokage-sama, let me go instead!"

Kakashi, his face masked, quickly requested too.

Besides Kakashi and Guy, other nearby Konoha ninja also begged to join the fight.

Seeing this familiar sight, Sarutobi couldn't help but recall how twenty-one years ago, he and Tobirama—the Second Hokage—had covered a similar retreat together.

It was like déjà vu!

But there was no time for nostalgia now.

Every extra moment spent lingering only endangered the entire unit further.

"Kakashi, Might Guy—you will continue protecting the evacuation of our main force!"

"You're both still young; the village needs you!"

"As for Anbu Fourth Squad, Ninth Squad, Thirteenth Squad… come with me to hold the line!"

Sarutobi ordered gravely, showing unprecedented decisiveness.

"Hokage-sama, please reconsider!…"

"This is an order!"

Moments later, Sarutobi himself led a dozen elite Anbu operatives.

Stepping away from the main group, he began setting up ninja traps on the spot, preparing to cover the retreat.

Looking at the massive force of Iwagakure ninja chasing from behind, Sarutobi remained composed.

He quickly tore off a strip of cloth from his sash and tightly bound his wounded right arm. The injury had been caused moments earlier by Onoki's [Dust Release].

Even so, Sarutobi knew.

That this rearguard mission would almost certainly cost him his life.

But dying in battle protecting the younger generation, just like his respected Tobirama-sama...

Could truly be considered an honorable death!

...

At the same time, on a vast stretch of dark barren land,

A lone figure stood watching the intense chase unfold in the distance. (It was none other than Shimoku, who had once again teleported back outside [Iwagakure Village].)

And at the moment, Shimoku was caught in hesitation.

To be honest, if he charged in recklessly now,

There was a good chance he could wipe both old men—Sarutobi and Onoki—out at once.

After all, Sarutobi's right arm was already crippled. Even if he could still use the [Dead Demon Consuming Seal], it would definitely require much more preparation time.

During that gap, with his current strength, Shimoku could kill him ten times over.

However, what concerned Shimoku was—

Once he made his move, his involvement in this grand battle would be exposed.

At that point, instead of deepening the hatred between [Iwagakure] and [Konoha], this move might even push them to unite against a common enemy. Worse yet, they could team up with the other two Hidden Villages and jointly attack [Homura Hidden Village]!

Not to mention the [Akatsuki] organization lying in wait on the sidelines.

Even if he managed to win and crush the four hidden villages, their own [Homura Hidden Village] would most likely face total destruction.

The luxurious, extravagant lifestyle he longed for would come to an end.

Not worth it, not worth it at all!

He'd already secretly instigated and pushed forward this war between Konoha and Iwa,

Causing both [Hidden Leaf] and [Rock Village] to fight as fiercely as dogs tearing each other apart! He'd emptied the [Iwagakure Treasury Vault] again, even framing Konoha for it—those two were already beating each other bloody like dogs tearing into one another!

A rather fruitful scheme indeed.

There was no need to expose himself further for mere petty gains.

Still, since he'd come all this way,

He should at least leave behind another big gift!

If he couldn't show himself, someone else wouldn't mind stepping up for him.

"Three-Tails, don't you agree?"

Shimoku took out the small turtle—Isobu—from his pocket again, gently tapping its little turtle head.

He gave a particularly sinisterly "kind" smile and said in a conversational tone:

"So, did you rest well enough?"

"It's time to work again. Looks like you can fire off a few more shots, right?"

"It's showtime for you!"

Of course, for a certain little turtle,

Negotiation was possible—but refusal wasn't an option...

Soon enough, Isobu once again succumbed to Shimoku's oppressive dominance.

Helplessly, it began charging a [Tailed Beast Ball], each second drawing more life force from its tiny body.

Shimoku carefully adjusted the direction.

Then fired straight toward the center between the two distant forces.

...

At this moment, the vanguard pursuit unit of [Iwagakure] had caught up to Sarutobi and the others again.

Looking down at Sarutobi and his squad voluntarily staying behind to hold off the enemies.

Onoki soared through the sky, his expression devoid of any trace of joy.

Truth be told, he truly desired Hiruzen Sarutobi's death. Eliminating the Third Hokage would indeed deal a heavy blow to Konoha.

Compared to the more than six hundred of our own troops we lost earlier,

killing just Sarutobi seemed hardly worth it.

But since this Sarutobi insisted on courting death, Onoki was more than happy to oblige.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you deserve to die!"

"Kill him!"

Onoki bellowed furiously and issued the command without hesitation.

Below, hundreds of Iwagakure elite warriors radiated overwhelming killing intent, their rage filling the air.

They charged as one, swiftly rushing toward Hiruzen and his group.

However, right as both sides were about to clash in battle,

"Xiiiuu—"

A series of piercing whistles sliced through the air.

Before anyone could react,

three massive [Tailed Beast Balls] suddenly flew into the battlefield's center and exploded at once.

The next moment,

in an instant, blinding orange light erupted outward, lighting up the entire night sky!

When combined, the explosive force of the three [Tailed Beast Balls] was even more terrifying—its reach far greater!

Hiruzen and his men; the hundreds of Iwagakure vanguard troops; even Onoki soaring high in the air...

All were instantly engulfed.

Everything happened too fast.

Added to the pitch-black night, no one could even tell where exactly those [Tailed Beast Balls] had come from!

"Boom! Boom!"

The earth groaned like a wounded beast, sending shockwaves rippling across the land.

Even from thousands of meters away, the tremors could clearly be felt.

At that very moment, both the Konoha main forces fleeing ahead and the pursuing Iwagakure troops closing in from behind—

all stared blankly at the three 'mini suns' rising in the distance, stunned beyond words.

At the same time, both sides couldn't help but curse inwardly:

Iwagakure: "F*ck! So Konoha's actually pulling out the tailed beasts? Just to escape, they're willing to slaughter their own people too?"

Konoha: "F*ck! So Iwa's gone full beast mode too? Chasing us so hard they'll fry their own comrades?"

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