Naruto : Rise From The Rain

As expected, the Iwagakure forces launched their offensive swiftly. Now holding the upper hand, they wouldn't miss this opportunity to exploit Konoha's precarious position.

Adding to the pressure, nearly six to seven thousand Kusa-nin and Iwa-nin pushed against Konoha's defensive line.

Konoha had already prepared for the assault. Yahiko, Asahi, and other Amegakure ninjas were integrated into the main force. Only a canyon separated the Land of Fire from the Land of Grass. From the frontline, they could already see the enemy forces.

Gale-force winds swept across the cliffs, hardening the expressions of everyone present.

Asahi raised his head, glancing at the scorching sun above. On the opposing cliff, several enormous ballistae were suddenly pushed into view.

"Stay alert!"

A loud shout spread across the frontline. Moments later, several black spheres were launched into the air, exploding with a deafening blast between the two armies. Thick white smoke cascaded like a waterfall, obscuring everyone's vision.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A sharp whistling sound followed as lethal objects pierced through the smoke, flying toward Konoha's forces. These were massive ballista bolts launched by the siege weapons. To their horror, the bolts were covered in explosive tags.

Prepared for such attacks, Konoha's side immediately raised defensive formations. Numerous Water Release techniques created towering walls of water that connected like a celestial river. Still, a few ballista bolts broke through, striking Konoha's formation and triggering devastating explosions, sending fiery black-red mushroom clouds into the sky.

The ground began to tremble as the battlefield descended into chaos. High above, various ninjutsu clashed alongside countless shurikens, mercilessly claiming lives.

Asahi, Yahiko, and Kyusuke fought back-to-back, their ears filled with the cacophony of battle. Iwagakure's forces had already crossed the canyon and launched an all-out assault.

High above, Konan, with her paper wings unfurled, unleashed a wide-scale barrage of paper blades and spears on the dense enemy ranks below, causing heavy casualties wherever she struck.

Realizing the threat, the enemy began targeting Konan with shuriken and stones. Yet, she moved with agility in the air. As the concentrated attacks approached, she ascended higher, rendering them ineffective.

Aerial combat ninjas were exceedingly rare. Iwagakure and Kusagakure were left helpless against Konan's dominance in the skies.

On the battlefield, retreat was no longer an option. Even with death looming ahead, the soldiers pressed forward, paving their way with their lives.

The two armies clashed fiercely within the canyon, their destructive ninjutsu shattering the cliff faces and triggering landslides.

As the enemy closed in, Asahi and his companions cooperated seamlessly, defending one another while cutting down foes.

On this battlefield, where every moment demanded unwavering focus, there was no time to consider the broader situation. Asahi's abilities weren't strong enough to monitor the entire battlefield. All he could do was engage one enemy after another. Against weaker foes, he could end the fight in a single strike. The trio stayed close, trusting one another with their backs.

Fortunately, Asahi's chakra reserves were abundant, allowing him to maintain peak performance.

Time passed unknowingly. Asahi's clothing was soaked in blood, and he had lost count of the lives taken by his hands. The glaring sun above remained unchanged, but the enemy forces seemed endless. The growing pile of corpses was beginning to carpet the ground, staining the cliffs crimson.

Yahiko and Kyusuke were already gasping for breath. The trio regrouped briefly, but before they could exchange words, a massive shadow suddenly swept over them. A powerful shockwave from behind sent Yahiko and Kyusuke staggering, followed by an ear-splitting roar that nearly shattered their eardrums. The cliff finally gave way, collapsing entirely.

What is that…?

Asahi widened his eyes, glancing back. Amidst the dissipating mushroom cloud, a faint roar of a ferocious beast echoed in his nearly deafened ears.

What is that?!

From the Iwagakure ranks emerged two colossal beasts, towering like mountains. One resembled a giant ape, while the other was pure white, appearing as a fusion between a dolphin and a horse.

Yahiko and Kyusuke were equally stunned, their eyes wide with disbelief at the two monstrous creatures. In their brief distraction, the enemy launched another attack, but a dozen paper spears from above swiftly eliminated the advancing foes.

Konan descended near them, forced to abandon her aerial advantage. The moment the two beasts appeared, she sensed their attention locking onto her. Even in the air, where she usually moved freely, their gaze made her feel as insignificant as an insect.

However, it was clear they had no intention of sparing Konan, who had caused significant trouble for their allies. One of the beasts began forming a massive black-red sphere in its mouth, radiating dense chakra. Even those without sensory abilities could feel the overwhelming terror it exuded.

"We have to retreat!"

Asahi's voice was sharp and urgent. They had no means to counter a Tailed Beast Bomb!

But just as Asahi's voice fell, the Tailed Beast Bomb had already been launched. Its destructive power obliterated everything in its path, and all they could do was watch in despair as the black sphere grew rapidly in their field of vision.

In the moment when Yahiko and the others were about to lose all hope, countless black patterns appeared in the sky, forming a massive net that forcibly halted the Tailed Beast Bomb's advance.

Whoosh!

In the next instant, the enormous black sphere vanished into thin air, only to reappear far away, where it exploded into a gigantic mushroom cloud.

Yahiko stumbled back a step, his survival instincts kicking in as he felt a surge of relief wash over him.

"Are we still alive?" Kyusuke's trembling voice reached his ears.

Asahi's eyes were drawn to a golden figure that had appeared briefly before disappearing from the scene. His heart raced with both relief and astonishment.

"So this… is the power of the Tailed Beasts..."

It was already a stroke of luck that the first Tailed Beast Bomb hadn't been aimed directly at them. Positioned at the frontline, the enemy had likely avoided targeting them directly to prevent collateral damage to their own forces.

The current situation left no time for reflection. Bolstered by the presence of their Tailed Beasts, the enemy forces were reinvigorated and surged toward Konoha with renewed vigor.

"We need to move away from the Tailed Beasts to avoid getting caught in the crossfire!" Asahi quickly instructed the group.

Fighting as they retreated, Asahi kept a vigilant eye on the Tailed Beasts, wary of another attack aimed in their direction. For now, the creatures seemed occupied with something, moving farther away and becoming harder to see. But Asahi had a good idea of who might be engaging them.

Even so, the presence of the Tailed Beasts exerted a terrifying dominance over the battlefield. Konoha's forces were clearly at a disadvantage. Asahi looked around, but there was no sign of their fellow Amegakure ninjas.

The defensive line was being steadily eaten away. The cliff, already heavily damaged, was swarming with enemy forces. The two Tailed Beasts launched simultaneous Tailed Beast Bombs in opposite directions, targeting different areas of Konoha's formation.

Despite the efforts of a golden flash on the battlefield, only one of the bombs was intercepted. The other detonated within Konoha's ranks, instantly reducing countless lives to ashes.

"Konoha is losing," Asahi said gravely.

At that moment, a massive fireball streaked across the sky, slamming into the enemy's ranks. From the western side of the battlefield came a new cacophony of noise as Iwagakure's line began to crumble.

"The Toad Sage has arrived!"

A loud voice rang out amidst the chaos. Yahiko turned his head quickly toward the west, where countless dark figures were surging forward. As they drew closer, it became clear—a large contingent of Konoha ninjas had arrived!

"Was that… Jiraiya-sensei's voice?"

He murmured to himself, just as a massive shadow darkened the sky, momentarily blocking out the sun. A gigantic toad appeared out of nowhere, slamming down and pinning the snow-white Tailed Beast to the ground.

Boom!

The earth trembled violently as countless Konoha ninjas poured in from the west.

Reinforcements… Where did reinforcements come from? How was this possible?

This group of Konoha ninjas, numbering in the thousands, instantly shifted the tide of the battle. The two Tailed Beasts were soon entangled and unable to launch large-scale attacks against Konoha.

"Jiraiya-sensei is here! Reinforcements have arrived, Asahi!" Yahiko exclaimed joyfully.

He turned to Asahi to share the news but found his companion frowning deeply, his expression heavy.

"Asahi?"

After the long and grueling battle, both Konoha and Iwagakure forces were exhausted. With Konoha's sudden reinforcement, the enemy made a swift decision to retreat, using the two Tailed Beasts as their rear guard. Massive ninjutsu attacks continued to disrupt the battlefield as they withdrew, leaving deep trenches in the ground and causing landslides on both sides of the canyon.

Half an hour later, the two Tailed Beasts also vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Iwagakure and Kusagakure forces retreated to the other side of the canyon. The ballistae that had previously targeted Konoha now rained explosive-tipped bolts to prevent any pursuit.

The battlefield finally quieted. Konoha had successfully held off the assault.

Kyusuke let out a weak groan as he collapsed onto the ground, his entire body aching. Gasping for air, he muttered, "We survived… I thought I was going to die."

This was their first experience with a battle of this scale, despite having fought on the battlefield before.

They had faced death countless times. Only their mental resilience had kept them standing until now.

Yahiko scanned the surroundings, searching for any surviving Amegakure ninjas.

Meanwhile, Konoha's forces began clearing the battlefield.

Yahiko, now dragging his fatigued body, found a surviving Amegakure ninja and began conversing with him, offering mutual comfort.

Asahi sat silently nearby.

Konan, who had also been resting after the previous intense battle, couldn't help but notice that Asahi didn't seem as exhausted as Kyusuke, despite the heavy chakra drain from the fight. She looked at him with a hint of surprise.

"How are you?" she asked gently.

Asahi glanced at her but only shook his head wordlessly.

Seeing his demeanor, Konan pondered for a moment. "Are you thinking about something else?"

Asahi paused before speaking softly. "I'm wondering… why Lord Jiraiya appeared here."

"What do you mean?" Konan asked, puzzled.

Jiraiya's arrival had helped drive back the enemy forces, so wasn't that a good thing? She looked at Asahi, struggling to understand the thoughts running through his mind.

"Lord Jiraiya has been stationed at the northeastern border of the Land of Rain, with thousands of Konoha ninjas. The number of reinforcements here matches that exactly. It's almost as if they've sent out all their forces," Asahi explained.

Konan was momentarily taken aback. Her gaze flickered as she looked toward the battlefield, scanning for Jiraiya's figure.

Then she heard Asahi's voice again.

"They came, but what will happen to our defense?"

Two hours earlier.

At the northwestern border of the Land of Grass, Kyoso led a team of Amegakure ninjas into the area.

Jiraiya had given them orders to conduct a two-pronged attack. Jiraiya would lead the main force to directly assault the enemy camp, while Kyoso would lead the Amegakure ninjas around to the enemy's rear to flank them.

Kyoso was still somewhat surprised at how they had located the enemy camp, but seeing how resolute Konoha's forces were, he had carefully considered the plan's chances of success. The Iwagakure's main forces were concentrated at the front, with mostly Grass ninjas stationed in this area. If the surprise attack succeeded, it might very well wipe out the enemy's rear defenses.

Konoha's forces were already weakening, and according to Lord Hanzo wishes, facilitating this move seemed to be a wise course of action.

Otherwise, if Iwagakure won the battle, not only would Amegakure not gain anything, but they would also face the future hostility of Iwagakure.

Kyoso and the Amegakure ninjas soon reached the designated location. However, after circling around, there was no sound of battle. The area in front was a canyon, and there was no sign of the enemy. He ordered the sensory ninjas with them to investigate, and they confirmed that there was indeed a barrier in place.

The Land of Grass was mostly flat terrain, and it was hard to hide their presence. They had ventured deep into enemy territory, taking great risks, and could be discovered at any moment.

Kyoso suddenly felt a bad premonition in his heart. After waiting for nearly half an hour with no signs of battle, his expression darkened.

"Lord Kyoso, why hasn't there been any movement from Konoha?"

"If they were attacking the front, they should have started by now."

Kyoso's face grew increasingly grim.

"Lord Kyoso, could Konoha be deceiving us?"

"What should we do, Lord Kyoso? Should we retreat?"

Retreat?

They were deep in the Land of Grass, with so many people. Could they just retreat now?

As Kyoso thoughts grew more restless, something suddenly changed in the canyon ahead. It seemed a barrier was being deactivated, and a large military camp appeared out of nowhere. Numerous tents were neatly arranged.

But in front of this camp, a large group had gathered, and they were charging toward them!

Kyoso heart sank.

They had been discovered—probably long ago. How could they not have been spotted with so many people?

What exactly was Konoha trying to do? Where had they gone?

"Lord Kyoso?!"

Kyoso hoarsely screamed, "Retreat! Retreat!"