On a constantly shifting battlefield, making the right tactical adjustments in real-time requires a commander to grasp every critical piece of information, analyze it instantly, and issue the perfect orders. This isn't something just anyone can do; it's not merely a matter of a high IQ.
It's the absolute, foundational prerequisite for any competent commander.
Why had Jiraiya pushed all the way to the absolute front lines?
Partially because only he could withstand the suffocating pressure Menma exerted, but also because with Shikaku holding down the rear, Jiraiya had absolutely nothing to worry about.
Personnel adjustments were made seamlessly based on the rapidly evolving situation.
Almost the exact moment Shikaku's orders were issued...
On the flank...
The redirected reinforcements arrived.
Swish!
Swish!
Two figures blurred into the sky at terrifying speeds.
"Ninja Art: Expansion Jutsu!"
"Sixth Gate: Gate of Joy, Open!!!"
One figure rapidly expanded to several times his normal size, while the other's chakra aura violently erupted in a blazing green flash.
The signature techniques instantly gave them away.
It was Choza Akimichi and Might Guy.
As absolute elites among the Leaf's Jonin, activating their exclusive techniques pushed both of their combat capabilities far past the normal Jonin limits.
This was especially true for Guy with the Sixth Gate open.
His aura was already pushing directly into the standard Kage tier of the Five Great Nations.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
Arriving at top speed, Guy reached the frontline just as Satori was about to slaughter another group of Leaf shinobi.
BANG!
Twisting his body with immense force...
He spun like a localized hurricane, slamming a devastating, high-speed kick directly into Satori's left side.
The violent kinetic impact rippled through the air.
!?
Unable to withstand the sheer physical force...
Satori was violently blasted backward.
While it was still in the air...
"Human Boulder!"
Choza had already transformed into a massive, rolling sphere of destruction. Angling his trajectory perfectly, he crashed heavily into Satori's front.
BANG!
Blasted backward a second time...
CRASH!
Satori slammed heavily into the ground, violently tearing a massive, deep trench through the earth.
A massive cloud of dust billowed into the air.
"Kakashi? Are you alright!?"
Guy landed right beside Kakashi, a rare look of deep concern etched across his rugged face.
Kakashi looked completely battered. His clothes were shredded, and deep, bleeding gashes marked his left leg and abdomen. Blood soaked his remaining gear, and his chakra signature was dangerously weak.
But this was inevitable.
Even if Muku couldn't fully manifest Satori's absolute, perfect form yet, the monster's current combat power was sitting comfortably at the ceiling of the Kage tier.
Without his Mangekyō Sharingan, and having let his physical skills stagnate for over a decade, it would be a miracle if Kakashi could actually fight it head-on.
The fact that he had survived this long without getting butchered was a testament to the incredibly solid foundation Kakashi had built in his youth.
This was exactly why so many believed that if Kakashi hadn't wasted those years, and wasn't constantly crippled by the Sharingan's chakra drain, he could have easily followed in his father's footsteps and become an undisputed top-tier Kage.
The White Fang of the Leaf hadn't relied on anything but his sheer mastery of the blade to strike terror across the entire ninja world.
If Kakashi had taken that path, he definitely wouldn't be in this miserable state right now.
"Ah? Guy. I'm fine, just some flesh wounds and low chakra. But be careful. That monster's defense is obscenely high. Normal ninjutsu doesn't even phase it. It might be some kind of artificial Tailed Beast created through specialized research."
Kakashi exhaled a heavy, ragged breath, his voice weak but analytical.
Tailed Beast research!
Ever since humanity discovered the nine Tailed Beasts and realized their terrifying power, related research had naturally followed. To human nature, anything powerful must be studied, simulated, and replicated.
Extracting Tailed Beast chakra and running countless experiments to see if an artificial Tailed Beast could be manufactured...
Every single hidden village had attempted it.
The Leaf was no exception.
Therefore, without knowing Satori's true identity, Kakashi naturally made the most logical deduction.
After all, Muku hadn't hidden his transformation from a human into Satori; he had done it right in the middle of the battlefield.
Wasn't that the textbook visual of a Jinchuriki entering a Tailed Beast state?
"A special Tailed Beast? Got it. You stay back and provide support, Kakashi. Choza and I will take it from here!"
Guy nodded, his expression turning entirely serious.
BOOM!
A violent, swirling vortex of chakra erupted from him.
As a terrifying aura washed over the area...
Swish!
Taking a direct, head-on angle...
Just as Satori pulled itself from the crater and spread its wings to take flight...
Guy closed the distance with lightning speed, his chakra surging to an absolute peak.
"Morning Peacock!!!"
With a furious roar...
A blazing, crimson tide erupted from Guy's body.
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!!
His fists blurred, striking out so incredibly fast that the sheer friction against the air ignited them into flames.
The next second!
BOOM!
The shockwaves violently ruptured the air.
In an instant, a massive barrage of flaming shockwaves formed!
Beautiful and brilliant, like a peacock spreading its tail feathers, the blinding barrage surged toward Satori with unstoppable momentum.
It was a devastating attack.
The oppressive threat it carried was suffocating.
"What!?"
As the blazing barrage filled its vision...
'Satori'—currently still primarily controlled by Muku's consciousness—felt its heart skip a beat as the terrifying, scorching heat crashed toward it.
It instinctively tried to dodge.
But it was far too late.
With the Sixth Gate open, Guy's raw physical speed was already brushing the same tier as the Fourth Raikage.
This hyper-speed, friction-ignited bombardment...
Was not something Muku—who could currently only utilize slightly more than half of Satori's true power—could react to in time.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The brutal shockwaves rained down like a violent, flaming hurricane.
Explosions blossomed one after another.
Satori, having barely regained its footing, was brutally forced back again. More importantly, unlike standard ninjutsu that couldn't even leave a scratch on Satori's hide...
Guy's Morning Peacock was leaving very distinct, charred impact marks across Satori's massive body.
Satori was indeed immortal. Much like the Tailed Beasts were manifestations of pure chakra, Satori was born from the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
It wasn't a biological creature with a true body of flesh and blood in the traditional sense.
To permanently kill Satori, one had to destroy the Box of Ultimate Bliss. However, immortality didn't mean invincibility. Just as Tailed Beasts could be critically wounded, dissipated, and forced to wait before reforming...
Satori was entirely dependent on the Box.
Its manifestation and every single movement required chakra supplied by the Box. This included taking damage. Unless an attack was weak enough that it truly couldn't break Satori's innate defense, taking hits consumed chakra.
The damage from the standard shinobi earlier had been negligible. But Guy's attacks thoroughly breached that threshold.
This would absolutely accelerate Satori's chakra drain.
And the Box's chakra came directly from the contractor.
Once that reserve was depleted...
Satori wouldn't be able to keep fighting. It would inevitably vanish, returning to the Box of Ultimate Bliss to wait for the next host to supply it.
Muku was not a ninja with massive chakra reserves to begin with.
Furthermore, he was constantly expending energy just to use his own will to suppress Satori's true, innate consciousness born from the Box.
Attacks like Guy's...
Were utterly lethal to the current Muku.
And Guy's assault had barely finished when, from the other side...
RUMBLE!
Choza rushed in at top speed.
Raising his massive right hand high...
SMASH!
Timing it perfectly with Satori's fall, Choza slammed his giant palm down heavily onto the monster's body.
Another deafening boom echoed out.
A massive shockwave of dirt and debris blasted into the air.
"YEEEAAAAHHHH!!!"
All around the immediate area...
Seeing this, the Leaf shinobi erupted into thunderous cheers, their faces lighting up with hope. They had been getting absolutely butchered by Satori just moments before. The horrific deaths of their comrades and the agonizing screams of the wounded were already seared into their minds. The last time they had experienced casualties this brutal was during the Nine-Tails Attack thirteen years ago.
In fact, during the initial massacre...
Many of the veteran Leaf shinobi had vividly flashed back to that exact night.
It wasn't that they lacked courage.
Fleeing just because they were afraid to die was an exaggeration. But if the situation had continued to deteriorate, the front line genuinely could have shattered. Unlike the Nine-Tails Attack, they weren't fighting inside their own village; the innate drive to protect their families and homes wasn't providing that final, desperate anchor.
If this flank had collapsed too quickly...
The cascading failure would have guaranteed the loss of the entire war. By that point, it wouldn't matter if Jiraiya defeated Menma—unless Menma was killed on the spot, the Leaf would have fundamentally lost the battle.
The arrival of Guy and Choza truly stabilized the crisis, completely suppressing Satori and turning the tide.
The Leaf's morale instantly skyrocketed.
Conversely, the Hidden Waterfall's momentum took a visible hit.
Seeing this from his command post, Shikaku finally let out a long breath of relief. Diverting two elite Jonin like Guy and Choza meant the right flank, which had been advancing smoothly, was now being pushed back. But this was well within Shikaku's acceptable margins. If the black monster had shattered the left flank...
The resulting destruction would have been catastrophic.
At the end of the day, the Leaf still held an absolute numerical advantage.
They could literally bury the Waterfall forces in sheer numbers if they had to.
The most important thing right now was to maintain stability!
Shikaku exhaled slowly, solidifying his thoughts.
While the battlefield seemed to be flipping once again...
A short distance away, Menma easily dodged another fierce jutsu from Jiraiya while simultaneously throwing out an attack to help Shikkudo relieve the pressure from Gamabunta. Surprisingly, Menma didn't look anxious at all.
To him, this shift in the battle was entirely predictable.
While his current strength definitely suppressed Jiraiya...
Much like the brawl between Gamabunta and Shikkudo, a quick victory was impossible. Jiraiya in Sage Mode was obscenely strong. It always came back to the same point: Nagato's Six Paths of Pain could effortlessly defeat Tailed Beasts one through seven, yet Sage Mode Jiraiya—even in an imperfect state—had managed to push Pain to the absolute limit. That alone proved everything.
Menma had planned for the reality that he couldn't put Jiraiya down quickly.
His initial objective...
Was simply to personally lock down Jiraiya and suppress him head-on.
The rest of the battlefield was left to his comrades.
Judging by the time, it should be about now, Menma thought.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he cast a quick glance toward two different directions.
As if the heavens were perfectly synchronized with his thoughts...
The very moment the thought crossed his mind...
From a short distance away...
BOOM!
A massively dense, overwhelmingly powerful chakra signature suddenly washed over the battlefield.
The moment Menma sensed it, a faint, icy smirk touched the corner of his lips.
So the Mist chose the left flank? That might put a little pressure on Utakata, but this was an obstacle we had to face eventually anyway!
Why had Menma deployed Utakata, Shibuki, Fu, and Ajun to secure the flanks before the battle even started? Specifically to guard against a sudden strike from the Hidden Mist.
Menma couldn't be absolutely certain if the Mist would attack head-on with the Leaf or split their forces.
So, he had to prepare for both scenarios from the very beginning.
Fortunately, the Mist hadn't mobilized a massive army.
Menma had enough leeway to deploy his forces effectively.
Utakata and Fu were his primary heavy hitters.
Forget the fact that Menma had already used his own intelligence network and Orochimaru's channels to scout the Mist's current military strength—even if he hadn't, he knew exactly who the top-tier fighters in the Mist Village were right now better than anyone.
At best, it was just Mei Terumi and Chojuro.
Actually, Chojuro's threat level had to be significantly discounted right now. The only true Kage-level threat was Mei. Utakata and Fu were more than enough to handle them.
Not to mention Shibuki was acting as the final safety net.
The Waterfall Village leader was fully prepared to chug the Hero Water like it was regular adrenaline.
With that trump card backing him up...
Shibuki could reliably output strength comparable to a standard quasi-Kage for a short duration.
In Menma's original plan...
One flank would completely stall Mei Terumi and the Mist forces, while the assets from the other flank would rush to reinforce the main battlefield.
And the massive chakra signature rapidly approaching right now...
Belonged to Fu, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki.
Rushing in entirely alone as vanguard reinforcement...
Just as she closed the final distance to the battlefield...
BOOM!!
She completely unleashed her Tailed Beast Transformation.
HUM!!!
High in the sky above the battlefield, a colossal, deep-blue, winged rhinoceros beetle abruptly materialized.