That night, Makoto set out at top speed with the rotation troops, heading for the frontlines of the Land of Hot Water.
They traveled through the night, pushing forward at full speed. Because the situation was urgent, they only stopped to rest for two hours along the way.
Around 10 a.m. the next morning, the unit arrived at the border of the Land of Fire.
Ninjas from the Hyūga clan kept their Byakugan active in shifts the entire ti, maintaining surveillance to prevent any ambushes. Fortunately, everything remained relatively stable.
After entering the Land of Hot Water, Makoto sensed that many Konoha ninjas ahead were retreating in scattered groups, looking extrely battered, with multiple Kumogakure pursuit squads chasing behind them.
Clearly, the frontlines had already erupted into battle—and the "black-skinned bastards" had wasted no ti getting their hands dirty.
Maintaining his sensory perception, Makoto advanced a bit further before issuing orders: "There are retreating Konoha units ahead. Fire a signal flare and have them fall back to this position."
"Squads Five through Twelve, hold here to regroup, receive them, and treat the wounded. Squads One through Four, follow —we're intercepting those Kumogakure bastards."
"Yes!" ×N
As the signal flare shot into the sky, the scattered Konoha ninjas across the wide area spotted reinforcents and began converging toward this point in an orderly fashion.
Along the way, many of them crossed paths with Makoto's interception force, but neither side had ti to exchange words.
anwhile, the Kumogakure pursuit squads also began converging as the Konoha forces regrouped. Even after realizing reinforcents had arrived, they still acted completely unafraid.
It seed they were determined this ti to drive Konoha completely out of the Land of Hot Water.
Makoto imdiately identified enemy numbers and positions in each direction for the four interception squads, directing them to flank from both sides, while he alone faced the direction with the largest concentration of enemies.
On the desolate, snow-covered plains of the Land of Hot Water, Makoto stood quietly, waiting.
Even alone against a group, there was not a trace of fear on his face.
Soon, the gathered Kumogakure forces charged toward him.
They had a mix of dark and light skin tones, and upon seeing only a single Konoha ninja, they initially intended to overwhelm him in one go—but soone quickly recognized who he was.
Many Kumogakure ninjas instinctively took a step back, as if facing so terrifying demon king.
That was the pressure of a top-tier expert—Makoto had practically beaten trauma into them.
The leading Kumo ninja shouted angrily: "Damn it, what are you afraid of?! He's just one man! You think he can kill all of us?! Attack together! Take down this so-called 'Hell Wind Oni' and avenge our crippled brothers!"
Under his rousing speech, the Cloud ninjas looked at each other, their courage quickly swelling. In the end, all of them charged forward with ferocious expressions.
Makoto smiled faintly. With a simple hand seal, a thick yellow-brown mist surged up around him, rapidly spreading outward and rolling forward, engulfing the charging enemies.
Sage Art - Annihilation Release: Yellow Springs Mist!
At a glance, it looked like the Hiding in Mist Technique—just with a different color.
But in reality, it was completely different.
This was a brand-new Kekkei Tōta created by Makoto himself—Annihilation Release—ford by taking the corrosive nature of Water Release as the base, then layering and fusing it with Earth's pulverizing properties and Wind's cutting properties.
After half a year of effort, he had finally fused his three innate chakra natures into an entirely new bloodline ability.
The Kumo ninjas saw only a dense mist and assud Makoto was trying to replicate Kirigakure tactics to create a favorable battlefield. But the mont they made contact with the mist, they realized how wrong they were—terribly wrong.
Very quickly, those who recklessly rushed into the mist let out a single scream before instantly losing their lives. Their bodies, under the horrified gaze of their comrades, were rapidly eroded and dissolved, until all that remained was a shriveled, humanoid husk riddled with countless tiny holes.
As for the others, even the slightest contact with the mist caused excruciating, piercing pain.
Wherever it touched, flesh, muscle, and blood rapidly decayed, shriveled, and died—becoming riddled with tiny holes just like the corpses—and the damage slowly spread as it devoured their chakra.
This was the defining trait of Annihilation Release: any living being that ca into contact with it would have the moisture and vitality of their cells instantly erased, turning into a porous, desiccated, inorganic shell.
Combined with Makoto's unique Sage Mode, even the soul within the affected area would be annihilated—just like Orochimaru's severed soul-arms, it could never be restored.
That was why the technique was called Yellow Springs Mist—a mist of annihilation like the Yellow Springs of hell, a lethal poison to the living.
In the original tiline, Orochimaru could exploit loopholes with the Reaper Death Seal to recover his arms—but injuries caused by Sage Art Annihilation Release were beyond recovery. The affected portion of the soul was completely erased from existence.
Even the God of Death would be useless.
Brutal beyond asure.
The courage the Kumo ninjas had just gathered was completely shattered by a single move.
Faced with this never-before-seen, utterly terrifying jutsu spreading toward them, they turned and fled in panic.
Fight? Fight my ass.
Makoto's figure flickered as he passed through the mist, appearing behind the fleeing Kumo ninjas. Drawing his sword, he unleashed a wave of pale yellow wind blades.
Sage Art - Annihilation Release: Eternal Scar Blade!
Many Kumo ninjas were pierced clean through by the blade energy—but they didn't die, nor did they bleed. Instead, their wounds showed the sa withered decay, accompanied by unbearable pain.
What they didn't realize was that this pain was permanent.
For the rest of their lives, they would be trapped in this extre agony, unable to escape it until death finally took them.
Even amputation—or carving out the wound along with surrounding tissue—was useless. Annihilation Release had already infiltrated their entire chakra system and would resurface at new wounds, clinging like a parasitic curse.
Why else would it be called "Eternal Scar Blade"?
Kekkei Tōta was both wondrous and terrifying.
The Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki's Dust Release pursued absolute instant destruction, reducing anything it touched to the microscopic level.
Makoto's Annihilation Release, however, was even more horrifying—not just for its imdiate lethality, but because it inflicted a continuous damage-and-agony effect, tornting its victims until death.
In the end, only a few at the very front managed to escape. None of them dared to look back as they fled alongside the wounded, who gritted their teeth against the pain.
Makoto didn't bother pursuing.
Those survivors would return and sink into endless suffering, just like their wheelchair-bound comrades, further deepening the already bleak atmosphere in their village.
Makoto had promised Hiruzen not to cause excessive slaughter—but he never said he'd let these bastards off easy.
After dispersing the Yellow Springs Mist, he glanced at the unlucky fools who had died inside it, feeling a chill run down his spine.
Annihilation Release combined with Sage Art was too extre.
He'd need to be more cautious using it in the future.
This kind of Kekkei Tōta was a bit too inhumane—unlike Dust Release, which left nothing behind at all.
Afterward, he departed to support the flanking units.
...
The pursuing Kumo ninjas were quickly crushed and routed by Konoha, leaving behind many wounded shinobi fleeing while screaming in pain.
With the enemy gone, the scattered Konoha remnants were able to regroup and receive treatnt.
Command on the northern front rotated frequently.
Recently, the position had once again fallen to Makoto's old acquaintance, Nara Suzaku—but his luck had been poor, running straight into Kumogakure's renewed offensive.
Fortunately, he had survived.
After returning, Makoto asked: "Suzaku-senpai, what's the current situation on the frontlines?"
"They've fallen," Suzaku replied after catching his breath. "Early this morning, the Kumogakure forces we were facing launched a large-scale offensive."
"That alone would've been manageable—we've been evenly matched in numbers all along. But not long after, the Fourth Raikage personally arrived with reinforcents. We couldn't hold them off and had no choice but to follow the Third Hokage's orders to disperse and retreat."
Makoto looked up.
Most of the northern forces had already gathered here. There might still be a few scattered squads elsewhere—but as for the rest, they were likely already dead.
Ninjas might seem extraordinary to ordinary people, but in a great ninja war, they could still be cut down just as easily as common soldiers.
"Right now, Kumogakure has occupied the Sakama Mining Camp, correct?"
"Yes. They ca specifically for the chakra tal vein inside. Sorry… we couldn't hold it."
Makoto wasn't surprised.
War was always about seizing advantages—and the chakra tal in the Sakama mine was an invaluable resource Konoha couldn't take with them.
At the sa ti, it was also a test directed at Konoha.
Makoto said: "As long as the people are safe, that's what matters. I'll take the mine back. For now, Suzaku-senpai, take the wounded back to the village. Leave this place to us."
After that, they split ways.
Suzaku led his n back toward Konoha, while Makoto took the rotation troops northward—ready to "treat" Kumogakure with a particularly effective redy for their habit of looting for free.
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