"I must have pig brains—how didn't I think of this?"
Jinghang regretfully smacked his head with one hand while clutching a telegram with the other.
"What's wrong, godfather? Is the Moon Lake battle going badly?"
Sasori asked with concern.
Jinghang smiled bitterly and handed the telegram to Sasori.
Sasori took the telegram and scanned it rapidly.
"What! A great victory at Moon Lake! Flying puppets! Over four thousand Konoha ninja eliminated! This... Agh! I'm pig-brained too!"
Sasori mimicked the same motion, smacking his own head.
"Here we are, stupidly fighting Konoha blade to blade, spear to spear, while look at Rasa—one bombing run and Konoha's northern army is... flattened."
Jinghang finally couldn't help but laugh.
"Then let's not waste time either."
Sasori's eyes gleamed with intensity.
"Right! Stop sending telegrams to Kumogakure for now. Konoha wants to mobilize reinforcements? Fine! When they come, I'll stew them all in one pot. Sasori!"
"Here!"
"Head back to the village immediately. Bring all our explosive tags and flying puppets. We're serving Hiruzen Sarutobi a hotpot!"
"Awesome! But godfather, you'll need to give me some manpower."
Sasori looked extremely excited.
"No problem. Will two thousand be enough? You can use all the warships. Oh, I almost forgot—I've got those chained explosive tags Orochimaru gave me. Combined with puppets... tsk tsk tsk, enough to give Hiruzen Sarutobi quite the drink..."
"Two thousand is plenty. In that case, godfather, I have a new idea..."
Sasori whispered something in Jinghang's ear.
Though no one else could hear what was said, it made Jinghang beam with delight.
"Excellent! You little devil, you're ruthless enough! Go ahead and do it boldly!"
Jinghang patted Sasori's shoulder, his eyes full of encouragement and anticipation.
"Also, notify Hirai Kangsaburo to help us buy up explosive tags on a massive scale—as many as possible! I've got plenty of money!"
Jinghang waved his hand dominantly, and his secretary immediately went to relay the orders.
"I'll bury you with money! I'll spend you into the ground!"
The Battle of Moon Lake was absolutely devastating for Konoha's northern army. Over four thousand died outside the puppet formation—there weren't even a few complete corpses left. Severed limbs and spilled entrails literally paved two bloody paths, a sight that chilled one to the bone.
Who had ever seen such a thing? Overwhelming aerial bombardment, with earth walls created by Earth Release blocking escape routes on both sides. For a moment, there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run—like a pack of rats trapped in a corridor, helpless under the ninja world's first "air raid."
Danzo had led his forces too deep. Only about two thousand ninja actually escaped. Two jōnin, Hamaki Mimura and Iwana Akame, perished in the battle, but Danzo saw the danger quickly and escaped disaster.
"Retreat! Withdraw immediately! We can't stay here or we'll all die! Take nothing but water and rations—retreat to the Night-Howling Sand Sea region immediately!"
Danzo was a veteran of many battles and understood the principle that defeat spreads like a landslide. With the northern army having lost nearly half its strength, not only had they completely lost offensive capability—whether they could even preserve their lives was questionable!
"Kime Konata!"
Danzo commanded loudly.
"Your unit of five hundred ninja... stay behind to cover the retreat!"
"What?!"
Kime Konata could hardly believe his ears. Selling out teammates this blatantly?
"Without someone covering the rear, none of these remaining two thousand ninja will escape. You just need to hold out through tonight, then you can retreat. I'll leave you ten warships—more than enough for your withdrawal!"
Though the words sounded like a request, the tone was completely commanding.
Seeing Kime Konata's hesitant expression, Danzo's face immediately darkened.
"Jōnin Kime, your family..."
Kime Konata shuddered at these words. He hadn't expected the mighty Danzo to be so despicable!
"Don't worry, the fortifications here are complete. Holding out for one night is no problem. As long as you complete the rearguard mission, it'll be a great achievement. After your children graduate from ninja school, I'll personally arrange for them to join the ANBU!"
Carrot and stick. Kime Konata gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement.
"Fine. We'll meet up at the Night-Howling Sand Sea."
He turned and left without looking back.
"What a bastard."
Watching Danzo's retreating figure, Kime Konata cursed under his breath.
"Fourth Squad, all ninja! Follow me into the fortifications!"
...
"All ninja, prepare for battle within ten minutes! Any later and Danzo will have escaped!"
Rasa was extremely excited. He hadn't expected to hit the jackpot this time—if they moved quickly, they could trap the main force of Danzo's northern army in the desert.
Ten minutes later, six thousand Sunagakure ninja had assembled and surged toward Konoha's camp.
"Huh? Looks like they haven't run yet!"
Karuke studied Konoha's camp in the distance, which showed large patches of light.
"Even better if they haven't run—saves us from chasing them across the desert. Karuke, Yura!"
Rasa commanded.
"Here!"
"Each of you lead two thousand ninja and circle around to cut off the Konoha ninja's retreat!"
"Yes!"
"Lushu!"
"Here!"
"How many explosive tags do we have left?"
"Huh?"
Lushu was completely stumped by the question.
"Sigh! What a blockhead."
Rasa shook his head helplessly.
"Danzo put great effort into building this camp—all kinds of fortifications are complete. Now in the dark of night, having our brothers charge in blindly would be disregarding their lives!"
Lushu understood immediately.
"You mean using Shadow Clones carrying explosive tags for demolition work."
"At least you're not completely stupid. This is called using their own methods against them. First destroy the fortifications, then let our brothers reap the harvest!"
Rasa waved his hand dominantly.
"Hehe, I'll get right on it!"
Lushu walked away grinning.
The outskirts of Moon Lake New District were destined for an restless night, with thunderous explosions lasting half the night.
By dawn the next day, Sunagakure ninja had completely occupied Konoha's camp.
"What! Only five hundred! You didn't miscount, did you?"
Rasa asked incredulously.
Karuke replied with a mournful expression,
"No mistake. We carefully counted the bodies—just five hundred, not one more. Must have been the rearguard suicide squad."
"Damn!"
Rasa was somewhat annoyed.
"They ran fast enough. In one night, they're probably far away by now."
"Should we pursue them?"
Yura asked.
"Of course we pursue! Concentrate all the warships..."
"Lord Kazekage, we're out of explosive tags."
Lushu said.
"What? You spendthrift! Why didn't you use them more sparingly?"
"Lord Kazekage, you need to be fair! Last night we consumed a full three hundred thousand tags, and you were shouting the loudest..."
"Get lost! Dare to complain and I'll beat you!"
Rasa pondered for a moment.
"We still need to pursue. Even without explosive tags, the battle must go on. Danzo is now like a startled bird—he won't be able to stir up any big waves."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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