"Fire Style, Ash Pile Burning!"
Asuma exhaled a cloud of black smoke to envelop Kurenai, then gritted his teeth, sparks appearing in his mouth and igniting all the black smoke. At the critical moment, several snakes flew from the side, pulling Kurenai out.
"Shadow Snake Hands!"
Guren Yugao arrived at the seaside battlefield and saved Kurenai as soon as she got there. Konan had also come with her. Suddenly, several paper clones appeared nearby and rushed towards Asuma. As they approached, they exploded. The powerful burst of flames attracted the attention of everyone present.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio looked up and saw their teachers. Facing them were three women, one of whom was the same woman from when Pain invaded.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm no longer with the Akatsuki. I'm here to help you now." Konan saw Shikamaru's wariness and quickly explained.
Ino, through her data eyes, noticed something was wrong. Konan's current physical data was the same as Karin's; they were the same species. This meant Konan had a special relationship with Li Xing.
"Is that so? You too, Xing. You really make me love and hate you!" Ino muttered to herself below, audible only to her.
"If that's the case, then you go help Uncle Choza. We'll deal with Asuma. Let us bid farewell to Asuma! Teacher Kurenai, you and Shizune too."
Immediately, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio leaped forward, confronting Asuma. Kurenai and Shizune wanted to stay, but seeing Shikamaru's determined gaze, they didn't hesitate and followed Konan towards Dan Katō.
At this moment, Dan Katō and Choza were locked in a fierce battle. Suddenly, pieces of paper fluttered between them. While Choza was still confused, the white paper turned into explosive tags, and Choza was pulled back by Shizune.
"Kurenai, Shizune, it's you! What about Asuma?" Choza turned to look towards Asuma, seeing his son crying, seemingly unwilling to fight his teacher. However, Choza did not intend to intervene, believing that Choji would grow through this battle.
"You go over there, leave this place to me." Konan flew into the air, pointing towards Hiashi Hyuga, and told Choza to go help there.
Choza wasted no time and hurried over. He didn't know who this person was, but as long as they weren't an enemy, and seeing as they were with Shizune, it was fine.
...
Ahead, Dan Katō, whose body had been destroyed by the explosive tags, was slowly recovering. Dan's body uncontrollably used the Spirit Transformation Technique, similar to soul departure. A phantom Dan flew towards Konan and stabbed her.
"Konan!" Shizune shouted in distress. It was this woman who had saved her from Li Xing and vowed to help the Allied Shinobi Forces kill the masked man. Shizune couldn't believe Konan was dead.
"Shizune, be careful! That's the Spirit Transformation Technique!" Kurenai quickly pushed Shizune away, narrowly dodging Dan Katō's attack.
"So this is the so-called immortality? It can be called a gift from the gods, can't it?" Konan's body was rapidly healing. She extended a hand, folding space, and Dan Katō's soul was completely locked within.
"What's going on? Konan, are you alright?" Shizune rushed to Konan's side, checking her body.
Konan shook her head and said, "I'm fine. More importantly, this person has been sealed by me. You should go help others!"
Without Konan needing to say it, the two saw that Dan Katō's soul was suspended in the air, unable to move. They then went to help other shinobi.
"Is this my Kekkei Genkai? Because I like origami, I was given the ability to fold space?" Konan recalled the peculiar sensation she had just experienced. A technique that could be used without hand seals. This must be the reason for Li Xing's power.
...
Meanwhile, on the desert battlefield, with half the shinobi withdrawn, Gaara's troops were constantly retreating, avoiding direct confrontation with the Four Kage, especially with Li Xing's whereabouts unknown.
The Four Kage, however, were advancing steadily, not rushing to engage the Allied Shinobi Forces.
As a result, by evening, the battle on the coast had ended in victory. Kabuto chose to recall all the Edo Tensei reanimations because Obito had other plans for the night.
He intended to use the White Zetsu's contact today to impersonate members of the Allied Shinobi Forces, infiltrate the enemy camp, and carry out assassinations, thereby sowing chaos within the Allied Shinobi Forces' morale.
...
Separately, Naruto had been training on Turtle Island. After mastering the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, he learned to release a Tailed Beast Bomb, but he had never left. Furthermore, due to the Nine-Tails Chakra's rampage of Kinkaku, Naruto sensed something was wrong.
Coupled with Yamato's prolonged absence after leaving, Naruto decided to go out and investigate. He then used the excuse of needing to use the restroom to slip out of Turtle Island, but was stopped by the Leaf shinobi guarding the perimeter.
Naruto wasn't foolish and naturally sensed that something was amiss. As he contemplated forcing his way through, Iruka stepped forward, urging Naruto to return.
However, Naruto didn't completely believe Iruka's words and intended to see for himself. He then transformed into Sage Mode and directly broke out of Turtle Island.
Upon reaching the outside, Naruto immediately sensed the ongoing war, the countless shinobi casualties, and his own comrades fighting. He, meanwhile, had been unknowingly training.
Naruto remembered what Nagato had told him and his promise to Nagato to end the war and bring world peace.
Iruka chased after him and spoke with Naruto at length, explaining the situation outside and stating that this war was for Naruto's protection.
Naruto disagreed with this reasoning. Iruka was the first person to acknowledge him, yet now he was treating him like the Nine-Tails and keeping him confined. He wasn't the Nine-Tails; he was a Leaf shinobi and should be on the battlefield protecting his comrades.
Naruto didn't want to say much more. He activated Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and fled, heading straight for the battlefield he had sensed.
Iruka knew he was too weak to protect his student properly and reluctantly asked Killer Bee to look after Naruto, to prevent him from acting too rashly.
Killer Bee fist-bumped Iruka. After the fist-bump, Killer Bee immediately understood, stating that Iruka held a special place in Naruto's heart, similar to how he and the Raikage were to each other.
This awakened Iruka. He finally understood why Naruto had been so stubborn earlier. He then pleaded with Killer Bee once more to help Naruto.
Killer Bee also decided that he would personally go to the battlefield. Like Naruto, he would go even if the Raikage tried to stop him.
Following this, within the barrier of the Hidden Cloud Village, an octopus was firing a Tailed Beast Bomb, and a small golden figure was pushing the Tailed Beast Bomb. Using this method, the two broke through the thirty-six layers of the barrier and emerged outside.
Upon learning this, the Raikage was furious and decided to personally intercept them, calling for Tsunade. However, Tsunade already knew that even Iruka couldn't stop Naruto, so her going would be pointless. Thus, only the Raikage went to intercept them.
The moment Naruto and Killer Bee exited the barrier, both Zetsu and Li Xing sensed it. Zetsu sensed the chakra of the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails, while Li Xing sensed their precise location.
However, this was not something Li Xing needed to worry about. There were still unengaged shinobi forces before him. It was the first day, and they should at least fight a little, right? He couldn't just slack off like this.
With that thought, Li Xing headed towards the resting area of Gaara's troops.
"The night is meant for excitement! Let me join you for some fun!"
(The temperature has dropped, take care to keep warm. It turns out snowflakes are indeed hexagonal stars. Today, I caught a complete snowflake on my hand.)