As Saiki's confrontation began, the main force led by Jiraiya also clashed with the primary Cloud offensive.
While the rule of the battlefield was that everyone must rely on themselves and being overprotected is rarely beneficial, Saiki had still left a Shadow Clone with Genhai's group as a final safety net.
In the original story, the name Genhai was never heard, while Tsume Inuzuka and Kurenai Yuhi both survived until the finale. However, as the "butterfly" in this world, Saiki was genuinely afraid of his presence causing a fatal ripple effect.
People must grow, and no one can lean on another forever. After just over a week apart, Saiki was immensely satisfied with Genhai and Kurenai's performance; they were coordinating perfectly with Tsume.
In Saiki's eyes, Genhai's innate talent was only average—enough to become an elite Chunin—but he had actually underestimated the boy.
Previously, Genhai had decent chakra reserves but poor talent for complex jutsu. Now, he was successfully unleashing several Water and Earth Style techniques while demonstrating formidable close-quarters combat skills.
As for Kurenai, she had been a top-tier student at the Academy. Aspiring to earn the title of "Leaf Genjutsu Master," she was now showing a lethal synergy between her illusions and Taijutsu.
Genjutsu didn't always need to be world-shattering; on a battlefield, a single moment of an enemy's hesitation is all it takes to end their life.
And then there was Tsume Inuzuka. After her trip to the Land of Iron with Saiki, having been thoroughly "irrigated" through dual cultivation, her talent—which should have plateaued at elite Chunin—had cracked the threshold of Jonin.
Her chakra and physical stats were now undeniable, limited only by her lack of diverse Ninjutsu outside the Inuzuka secret arts.
Furthermore, having been cleansed by Saiki's Pre-natal Qi, her physical body was significantly tougher than the average Jonin's. Her beast-mimicry Taijutsu was now operating on an entirely different level of power.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
A roaring dragon of flame surged toward Tsume's team. Genhai lunged to the front, weaving signs at a blur, and successfully manifested a defensive jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!" Genhai's reserves were surprisingly deep. Despite the arid environment, he used his own chakra to manifest a massive wall of surging water out of thin air.
Fire met Water. The collision triggered a violent explosion; the dragon evaporated the wall, but the wall extinguished the dragon, creating a massive, expanding cloud of scalding steam.
Watching from the side, the Cloud ninja who launched the attack realized Genhai was a Water specialist.
Due to their geography, most Cloud ninja used Lightning and Water Style. So why use Fire? They intended to use the white mist to blind Genhai's team and launch a pincer attack.
With perfect synchronization, two Cloud ninja charged into the steam the moment the Fire Style dissipated.
They thought they had created an opening, but someone was already waiting for them. Kurenai unleashed her Genjutsu instantly.
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"
Both enemies were Chunin-level. Kurenai knew she couldn't kill them both outright with a single illusion.
But killing them wasn't the goal. She only needed to bind them for a heartbeat.
"SHIT!" Feeling their bodies entangled by phantom roots, the two Cloud ninja realized they were trapped. They immediately flared their chakra to disrupt their internal flow and break the illusion.
They succeeded, snapping out of it with ease, but they were a second too late.
"Fang Over Fang!"
The empowered Tsume was already more than a match for them in a fair fight, but she specialized in the ambush. She and Kuromaru transformed into two high-speed, drilling whirlwinds that slammed directly into the Cloud ninjas' chests. The impact pulverized their internal organs and reduced their ribcages to a bloody slurry. They were launched backward like bags of wet meat.
Genhai was the "Mage," handling suppression and defense; Kurenai was the "Crowd Control" with her Genjutsu; and Tsume was the "DPS" who delivered the execution. This was the result of their squad's daily drills.
As for Saiki, he was the ultimate support. And what does the "ultimate support" do? When he actually steps in, he wipes the entire map.
Currently, the one watching them was only a Shadow Clone, far weaker than the main body, occasionally stepping in just to clear away the small fry.
The clone was "weak" in relative terms, but it still possessed the combat power of a Jonin—more than enough to act as their guardian angel.
Although the Cloud had initiated this engagement, they were the ones losing ground. Konoha's current roster was simply too stacked.
Jiraiya alone required the commander Dodai and several other Jonin to contain him. But Konoha didn't lack Jonin today.
To facilitate the raid on the rear camp, the Cloud had siphoned off a large portion of their elite vanguard, leaving their main line's high-end combat power significantly hollowed out.
On the battlefield, Saiki's main body was an undeniable anomaly. He stood alone in a clearing, looking entirely out of place amidst the carnage.
He was maintaining his chakra consumption, preserving his core in case a crisis arose that required him to protect Tsume and the others.
While the main front roared with violence, the battle at Saiki's position erupted as well.
The Cloud strike team possessed elite discipline. Despite losing a third of their number to Saiki's Spiral Water Vortex, the survivors had regrouped the moment Saiki finished his banter with the A-B brothers. The second he attacked, they counter-attacked.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
One Cloud ninja leaped in front of A and Bee, manifesting a defensive wall, while another coordinated a follow-up.
"Lightning Style: Gratitude Wave!"
A combination jutsu: Water for defense and Lightning for conductibility—a perfect balance of offense and defense. But Saiki simply swung 'Thunderstorm' with a heavy, two-handed grip.
"Water Sword Style: Severing the Waterfall!"
Water-natured chakra condensed along the steel, emitting a shimmering, blade-like aura. With a single swing, Saiki unleashed a pressurized water-blade that could carve through solid stone.
It was a strike defined by absolute Nature and Shape Transformation. The Cloud Jonin didn't even realize the danger until A roared a warning, launching a massive kick to send his subordinate flying out of the way.
The combined Water and Lightning defense meant nothing. Saiki's water-blade sliced through the Water Wall like a hot knife through butter, and the Lightning chakra was simply bifurcated along with it.
After cleaving the wall, the water-blade lost none of its momentum, carving a deep, ten-meter-long trench into the earth.
"Lightning Style Chakra Mode!"
Having kicked his subordinate to safety, A—still young, but wise enough not to underestimate this brat—activated his ultimate technique.
The Lightning Style Chakra Mode, known as the "Lightning Armor," concentrated massive volumes of electricity around the body. It hyper-activated the cells, accelerated neural transmission, and granted god-tier speed and defense.
A lunged at Saiki with everything he had.
"Lariat!"
Concentrating high-intensity Lightning chakra into his forearm, he leaped into the air, aiming a horizontal chop capable of decapitating the Eight-Tails at Saiki.
"Lightning Style, huh? Let's see whose is stronger!"
"Lightning Blade: Raikiri!"
Saiki manifested the Raikiri in a heartbeat. He charged directly into A's path. The Raikiri was a technique legendary for its ability to slice through a literal bolt of lightning in the sky.