Vacations always come and go in a flash. After a week of rest in the village, they set foot on the battlefield again.
Danzo, that sneaky guy, really lives up to his reputation. He's first - rate at spreading slander.
The news that Chiyo, the Sunagakure commander, had a grandson who assassinated the Third Kazekage and that Chiyo was aiming for the position of Kazekage spread throughout the Sunagakure camp during this period. Not only that, but it also reached Sunagakure, which was thousands of miles away.
Although Chiyo still held the position of commander, her influence had been greatly diminished. Many people no longer trusted her. Under the manipulation of some people with ulterior motives in Sunagakure, the war arrangements deviated, leading to setbacks in the battle situation.
As the front - line commander of Konoha, Orochimaru naturally wouldn't let this great opportunity slip through his fingers.
All - out attack!
Konoha and Sunagakure had their troops amassed at Kikyo Mountain. A great battle was on the verge of breaking out.
When Seisuke and his team returned to the base camp, the atmosphere inside was extremely oppressive, giving a sense of an impending storm. They knew that a major battle was about to begin.
The total number of troops amassed by both sides at Kikyo Mountain had exceeded ten thousand. Clearly, this was a decisive battle.
On Chiyo's side, due to Danzo's dirty work, her position as commander had been shaken, and her younger brother, Ebizo, had also been affected. The two siblings knew that the village probably wouldn't let them be commanders for much longer, as there was some personal interest in their decision to attack Konoha.
The old - timers who had experienced two great wars could already see that Sunagakure was showing signs of decline and would be defeated soon. They decided to take a desperate gamble and fight a decisive battle against Konoha at Kikyo Mountain. If they lost...
Sunagakure would withdraw from the Third Shinobi World War and could only hunker down in defense.
Offensive actions would be out of the question.
Early the next morning
The Konoha base camp started to take action. Seisuke and his team were also on high alert. Akahiro Yuhi, who had returned from a mission, stood in the Konoha formation.
Opposite them were numerous Sunagakure ninjas, led by Chiyo and Ebizo.
On the Konoha side, Orochimaru took the lead.
Chiyo, who was once a beauty in the ninja world, had now grown old. Looking at Orochimaru, she said, "Orochimaru, you little brat have really done a good job. Tsunade, that little girl, is said to have left Konoha. Otherwise, this war would be more interesting."
During the Second Shinobi World War, Chiyo's venom had caused Konoha a great deal of trouble. Then Tsunade - hime, the bane of venom, emerged, neutralizing the old woman's poison and greatly reducing Konoha's losses.
In this Shinobi World War, without Tsunade, the number of Konoha ninjas who died from poison had increased significantly. Even though Orochimaru, along with a group of medical ninjas, developed an anti - venom serum later, it was too late, and many had already died.
"Even without Tsunade, you Sunagakure ninjas are still no match for Konoha. As for you, is there really no one left in Sunagakure? You're so old and still out here fighting. Hiruzen - sensei is already looking forward to having grandchildren."
Everyone can engage in trash - talking. Despite Orochimaru's usually taciturn nature, he can still dish out some taunts. If Jiraiya were here, he'd probably come up with some really mean remarks, perhaps even directly bringing up Chiyo's age, really pushing the envelope.
Chiyo snorted. These days, she had been overwhelmed by the news that her grandson had assassinated the Third Kazekage.
She couldn't believe that her lovely grandson had grown so powerful.
Yes, she believed that Sasori could kill the Third Kazekage because the child's talent was simply terrifying. Although she didn't know how he had managed it, Sasori had gone missing for those few days, and the Third Kazekage had disappeared at the same time. This was circumstantial evidence that her grandson had killed the Third Kazekage.
There were already voices in the village saying that she shouldn't be the commander. It had been suppressed by a few old friends, but it couldn't last long. After this battle, regardless of the outcome, she would have to return to Sunagakure and live in seclusion.
It was so disappointing not to have seen her grandson.
She said, "Orochimaru, that timid and crafty old fox, the Third Hokage, sent you, a venomous snake, out. He really has a good plan. After this war, you'll probably be nominated as the Fourth Hokage, and that Hiruzen Sarutobi should retire, right?"
"Since Hiruzen - sensei is in his prime and you haven't retired, how could he retire?"
Just then, a bright red flare rose up behind the Konoha forces.
Orochimaru's face immediately darkened, while Chiyo smiled and waved her hand. "Attack!"
As soon as the words were out, the originally solid ground suddenly spewed out golden sand, like a golden torrent, surging towards the Konoha side.
"This is... Gold Dust!"
Seeing this, Orochimaru wasted no time and used Earth Release: Earth Flow City Wall. A high wall rose up, blocking the Gold Dust.
Then he immediately summoned a purple - colored giant snake.
It was his summoned beast, Manda!
Manda had a particularly bad temper. "Hey, Orochimaru, are you summoning me to another dangerous battlefield?"
What a stupid question.
If it wasn't a dangerous battlefield, why would I need you?
"Manda, you can eat anyone except Konoha ninjas." Orochimaru said with a cold smile.
"You said it. It's been a long time since I had a good meal!"
Manda's eyes glinted with a blood - thirsty color. With a twist of his body, he bypassed the Earth Flow City Wall and appeared in front of the Sunagakure ninjas. Opening his huge mouth, he swallowed a dozen bewildered Sunagakure ninjas in one gulp.
Seeing this, a young ninja with short brown hair immediately controlled the Gold Dust to form a large hand, trying to grab Manda, but Manda nimbly dodged.
"Sunagakure's Magnet Release, Gold Dust, different from the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand." Looking at Rasa, the future Fourth Kazekage who was controlling the Gold Dust, Orochimaru made a prompt decision. He jumped off Manda's head and charged towards Rasa.
Although Chiyo was dangerous, compared to Rasa, who possessed Gold Dust, Rasa posed a greater threat to Konoha in the future. He might even become the next Kazekage.
As Orochimaru rushed into the battlefield, Orochimaru left Shikaku and others in the camp to coordinate the battle situation.
Shikaku immediately dispatched a portion of the troops to deal with the puppet army led by Ebizo that had appeared behind them, while the rest remained on the frontal battlefield.
"Charge!!!"
"Kill those Sunagakure bastards!!!"
"For Konoha!!!"
The Konoha ninjas charged out, and Seisuke was among them.
"Ember!"
"Fire Vortex!"
"Big Character Explosion!"
"Fire Bullet!"
All kinds of attacks rained down, and each time, someone was killed by him.
"Scorch Release: Steam Overkill!"
A familiar coquettish shout came from behind, followed by a scream. Turning his head, Seisuke saw a Konoha ninja being instantly dried of the water in his body by two fireballs and turned into a mummy.
It was obvious who had done it.
Turning to look at Yotsuki, Seisuke smiled and said, "Are you that eager to go on a date with me?"
"No! I'm here to kill you!"