44. Talk-no-jutsu.

The time to impact was so small that only a few people were going to be able to act, and those people only had one shot. Terumi Mei fired a stream of Boil Release, while Akainu swung his arm to fire a slash of lava. They both hit the same place, but their attacks seemed ineffective.

"Water Release: Water Bullet technique."

A massive ball of water fired by Yagura hit the same point, and cracks started spreading from the point of impact.

A large number of tentacles started wrapping around the top of the tree as Killer B began pulling the tree down while in the middle of transforming. Onoki and Raikage once again performed their combination technique, hitting the same place.

Baam! Crack!

More cracks appeared, but it still wasn't enough. The situation turned grim, but a new hope appeared beside them: Tsunade. She hadn't had time to release her Yin Seal, so she went all out with a punch.

"AAARGH!" Tsunade screamed as she punched the target. The cracks widened, breaking off chunks of ice to create a gap. The fully released Eight-Tails pulled with all his strength, but it still wouldn't budge. He screamed, "Not enough!"

Time to impact: T-00:00:02s.

Akainu flew while kicking the air, his body transforming into lava. He yelled, "Get away!"

His liquefied body entered the gap, and the kage outside the gap heard his voice as a whisper, "Overheat."

His body turned bright red and instantly vaporized the ice into steam. The steam expanded with a blast, blowing away Tsunade, Onoki, and Raikage. In the air, Tsunade looked to see the tree tilting away from her. The tree was broken. With all his strength, the Eight-Tails pulled the top and cleared the way for the rod. There was still a good barrier of ice, but he knew someone was going to take care of it.

Time to impact: T-00:00:01s.

Pakura, still stuck to the rod, was ready to release her jutsu.

"Scorch Release: Grand Scorch Beam."

She spat out a red beam which passed through the ice like butter. Knowing her work was done, she bailed, free-falling through the air. She felt sand touching her back as she slid on a sand slide made by Gaara.

The rod went through the path made by the beam and pierced straight through Groudon's head. The ninjas saw the rod disappear into the icy lake, and from the center of the lake, spider-like cracks spread out. The ice at the center of the lake rose up and then fell, creating a wave that spread outward. The ninjas were not ready for the ground wave and suffered catastrophic damage, with many buried in the ground by the wave.

Regaining balance, they knew that the worst was yet to come. Tsunade ordered, "Sensor units, find the buried. Earth users, dig them out. Everyone who is confident in their speed, stay and help. Everybody else, run away."

In the air, Akira, who had a slower terminal speed than the rod, was still falling down. He saw that they had hit their mark. He looked to his side and saw Lu Xiyan, he reached out to him as planned. Lu Xiyan reached back out to him, and suddenly he stopped in mid-air. Akira looked back to see Lu Xiyan and Lu Qiye standing still in the air, grinning at his astonished expression. Akira knew he had messed up. He turned back to face the ground, muttering, "It's all left to you, Darkarai."

Lu Xiyan and Lu Qiye looked down to see Akira falling into the icy waters below. Lu Xiyan turned, "Let's go before it blows up." They both flew away.

On the ground, the evacuation was in full force, with the major contributors being the massive number of Naruto's shadow clones and Gaara's almost unlimited sand. An Anbu appeared beside Tsunade, "Hokage-sama, it's starting."

Tsunade ordered, "Everyone, leave everything now and evacuate."

Naruto shouted back, "There are still people left. I won't leave them behind."

"You will follow my order, Uzumaki Naruto," Tsunade replied.

"Those are my comrades. So I will save them because that is my ninja way," Naruto shouted out loud. Hearing his words, the surrounding ninjas stood still. They didn't want to leave their friends behind. These ninjas had learned all their lives to follow orders; this was the first time they had seen someone openly defy them. They looked toward Tsunade for her answer.

"You are going to certainly die here and wouldn't be able to fulfill your dream. Are you okay with that?" Tsunade sternly replied.

"I would rather die here than become Hokage after leaving my comrades behind," Naruto announced.

Tsunade sighed and shook her head, muttering, "I really shouldn't have taken this job."

She looked at the Konoha troops, "All those who want to stay here can stay, everyone else I order you to evacuate. If I don't come back, I nominate Jiraiya to be my successor."

"Granny Tsunade, why?" Naruto questioned.

"Of course, a Hokage doesn't abandon his comrades." Tsunade smiled. She saw none of the Konoha ninjas move. She questioned, "Why are you standing here?"

A Konoha ninja replied, "We don't leave our comrades behind."

Hearing their words, even Tsunade felt a little emotion. She looked at their faces. They were resolute and sincere, afraid of dying but willing to bet their lives. She turned to see Naruto's smiling face and felt that the future of Konoha was truly bright. She shouted, "Then what are you waiting for? Move out."

Swish! Xn 

She turned to the other kages and said, "Well, it looks like our cooperation ends here."

"Looks like we will see a new Hokage," Onoki criticized her decision. He looked to see Kurotsuchi working with the rescuers, "What are you doing, Kurotsuchi? We have to evacuate."

"I am not going," Kurotsuchi replied.

"What are you saying?" Onoki angrily said, "Did the kid's words make you stupid?"

"No, they made me remember. I don't want to be the current you," Kurotsuchi replied.

"You don't want to be Tsuchikage?" Onoki was confused.

"No, the current you is a coward, a deceitful old man who is filled with hate for the world," Kurotsuchi said.

Now Onoki was angry and sad, "You don't look up to me?"

"No, I still look up to you, knowing that the Onoki who fought Madara and cleaned a stone for years still exists somewhere. But he is not here today. So, I will be that Onoki that the world forgot, that you forgot," Kurotsuchi told him, giving him a brilliant smile.

Onoki was astonished. He had always thought of her as a brat who was naive and couldn't understand the responsibility of a kage. He looked at his hand and could see the wear and tear. He felt old. He closed his eyes to remember one of the important days in his life. He could still clearly remember it. The roar of the crowd and the wind brushing along his face. He still remembered all Mu's teachings of deceit, but he also remembered an unusual thought he had—a thought only a naive young man could have. Maybe his teacher was wrong. Maybe the villagers' smiles were more important than the village's gains.

He opened his eyes and held his head, starting to scream. All the people were concerned.

"Tsuchikage-sama."

"Old Man."

Onoki roared, "All the Iwa-shinobi carry the injured and evacuate. If I die here, blame it on Konoha. Make sure to ask for massive compensation from Konoha. Akatsuchi will be the leader in my absence."

"Tsuchikage-sama, we..."

Before the Iwa-shinobi could say anything, Onoki glared at him, "Are you going to not follow my orders? I am not as soft as the Hokage. If you don't follow my orders, I am going to kill you."

The Iwa shinobi gulped and followed his orders. Onoki floated toward Kurotsuchi to help her. She smiled and hugged him, "I knew you had it in you, Grandpa."

"Don't be happy. If I die here, you would be remembered as the girl who killed her grandpa by throwing a tantrum," Onoki complained.

Pakura walked to Gaara, "So, is it your final decision?"

Gaara nodded, "Uzumaki Naruto saved me and taught me kindness. Now it is my turn."

Pakura rubbed his head and softly said, "You know, when they told me you changed, I couldn't believe it. I thought you were just acting to become Kazekage, but now I believe you have changed, and I know you will grow up to be an amazing ninja or even an amazing Kazekage. That means I have to make sure you live long enough."

Pakura looked at her troop, "It is your decision now. I hope you all go evacuate, as it is my duty as Kazekage. But it is also the fact that there is no way I will leave my shinobis behind."

"We are with you, Kazekage-sama."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

"You are our Suna's hero. We will follow you anywhere."

"Everyone," Pakura was touched. She

 was thankful for Naruto who brought this change, "Team 1, carry the people rescued. Don't care which village they are from, just pick them up and run. Others, help in the rescue."

Tesla had already packed up his stuff and reported to Raikage, "We are ready to go."

Raikage ordered, "We are staying."

"Whaaat?" Tesla was surprised. He looked to see where Raikage was looking and saw Killer B helping in the rescue. He said, "Raikage-sama, Konoha can cope with losses, but we can't. I am sure Killer B will understand."

Raikage punched the ground, causing a crater. He roared, "I and B are staying. All others go back. You understand?"

Seeing him roaring, the Kumo shinobi could only nod. One of the worst moments in the history of Kumo was the death of the Third Raikage. He thought Onoki was a coward due to his tactics in the attack. On the other hand, he adored the Third Raikage's decision to stay back. Now that same Onoki was doing what the Third Raikage did, then how could he run away? He activated his Lightning mode and joined B, "Let's go, B."

Killer B smiled, "You made up your mind, Aniki."

Raikage roared, "What are you talking about? Do you think I would run away?"

Killer B replied, "Of course not."

"Good, then let's show these fools how to get the job done." Raikage pumped more chakra into his armor to lift the massive stone and help the buried victims.

Seeing people making dumb decisions after dumb decisions, Akainu felt that the dumbness was spreading. He turned to Terumi Mei and said, "Mizukage-sama, order us to evacuate. If we wait any longer, we will be boiled alive. Those left behind are weak; that is why they are stuck."

Terumi Mei nodded and looked at Yagura, "That is true. If you were the leader, what would you do, Mizukage-sama?"

Yagura replied, "I would leave them behind, but I have a feeling it is a good thing I am not the Kage."

Mei smiled, understanding his subtext. She was happy that Yagura had changed. She looked back at her troops, "You heard it. It looks like we are a new Kiri. So I won't order you, but if you all stay, it will be a problem to maintain the village. So we will be drawing straws. Only the one who stays has to show their straw, okay?"

Mei knew that not everyone in the village was as kind as her, so she gave them a way out by not showing their straws. As expected, only a quarter of the ninjas stayed while a third of the straws were for staying. Unluckily, Ao drew the "go home" straw much to his annoyance, while Akainu might have also drawn the same but never showed it. Terumi Mei said goodbye to them and went to rescue.

"If we die here, it would make history," she joked.

"A beauty like you should not die young," a man replied.

Mei turned to see an unexpected face, "What are you doing here?"

Akira smiled, "From looking at your situation, I am here to save you all."

.....

📢 8 Advanced chapters on p@treaon📢

For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)

45. Rising from the Ashes.

46. False Promise.

47. Unseen Threats.

48. Mission to the Southern Sands.

49. Desert Encounter.