The reason Kazekami Senran had to act was because the situation had reached a point where he could no longer hold back.
A massive purple serpent roared as it smashed through the eastern defenses of the Sand's camp.
Standing atop the snake was a slender figure with pale skin, long hair, and purple eyeshadow.
Orochimaru!
Of the Legendary Three Ninja of Konoha, Orochimaru was the most renowned.
Though the Sannin had not yet reached the peak of their power as they would in later years, after earning the title of Sannin, they were already nearing their prime—each one a true Kage-level powerhouse.
Behind him marched Konoha ninja, all well-equipped with swords and kunai.
"Sazan, Tetsuya, hold them off with your puppets! Sato, support with ninjutsu! Kurokawa, you're with me!"
To stop Orochimaru, the Sand had mobilized nearly all their remaining high-level forces.
But few could even qualify to face a powerhouse like Orochimaru.
Among all the Sand shinobi sent to the Land of Rain, there were only about twenty jonin, and only a handful could be called elite among them.
Suna no Sazan and Sanaka Tetsuya were the vice-captain and captain of the First and Second Puppet Squads, respectively. Along with Sato, Kurokawa, and Kazekami Senran, there were five elite jonin. Working together with the main force, they could just barely hold out against Orochimaru for a while.
As for actually defeating him—there was little hope.
Hardy and his two companions watched the battle anxiously, keeping on guard.
Kazekami Senran and that jonin named Sanaka Tetsuya were unexpectedly strong—clearly more powerful than the other three jonin, and bore the brunt of the pressure.
If Hardy had to compare, he'd say that even if these two weren't quite on par with Kakashi Hatake when he first appeared in the original story, they were at least not much weaker than Asuma Sarutobi.
Being able to exchange blows with a Kage-level fighter already made them top-tier in the shinobi world.
Unfortunately, after only a short exchange, the jonin named Kurokawa was wounded.
Manda rampaged through the Sand's ranks as if in a land without opposition.
Orochimaru remained calm, using snake-style ninjutsu to keep Senran and the others suppressed.
In his eyes, victory was only a matter of time.
"Captain Senran and the others probably can't hold out much longer."
Hardy clenched his fists, his palms sweating.
He never expected that, having just arrived on the battlefield and being assigned to the supposedly safest reserve unit, he'd find himself in such a dangerous situation.
If the camp was breached, who knew if Chiyo could preserve the main Sand force and help them retreat?
If not, the Sand's troops would be scattered.
He had to start thinking about how to escape and survive!
As Hardy was weighing the situation, a disturbance suddenly appeared on the distant horizon.
Two clouds were moving toward them.
But these were no ordinary clouds—one was a brownish sand cloud, the other a shining golden hue.
"What's that…?"
A ninja stared at the distant clouds.
"That's Magnet Release! But it's different from the Second and Third Kazekage's Magnet Release! Someone else in the village has mastered it!"
An old ninja couldn't help but cheer.
Everyone knew—Sunagakure's reinforcements had arrived.
"Rasa, looks like we arrived just in time."
A young woman with shoulder-length pale-gold hair spoke to her companion.
She looked seventeen or eighteen, blossoming into the most beautiful stage of a woman's life.
"Yes. The Konoha Sannin—perfect stepping stones for me, Rasa, to make my name known!"
The young man with reddish-brown hair looked supremely confident.
"Let's go help—the jonin Kurokawa and the others can't hold out much longer."
Karura smiled gently, raising her hand.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
Waves of sand gathered, forming a waterfall that crashed down toward Manda.
"You're right."
Rasa also raised his arm.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Great Burial!"
Brilliant golden sand, together with the brown sand, surged toward—
Orochimaru and Manda withdrew.
"Magnet Release?"
Orochimaru forced Kazekaze Chiran back with a giant snake shooting from his sleeve, frowning deeply.
He was well aware of the power of the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release.
The gold and sand controlled by the two before him, though not as grand in scale as the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand, were still enough to pose a threat to him when combined.
Adding in several elite jonin of considerable strength, even Orochimaru had to admit that his chances of victory were slim.
"Formation of Ten Thousand Serpents!"
A dense swarm of snakes spewed from Orochimaru's sleeve and gaping mouth, blocking the gold dust and sand.
In his haste, Orochimaru glanced at the other parts of the battlefield.
Chiyo and Hanzo were still locked in stalemate.
The average strength of the Amegakure ninja was lower than that of Sunagakure, and the number of Konoha reinforcements was slightly insufficient.
It seemed unlikely that they could achieve any further results in this battle. Continuing would be meaningless—it would be better to retreat and plan anew.
"Retreat."
Orochimaru gave the order, using the snake swarm to cover the Konoha ninja's withdrawal.
Elsewhere on the battlefield—
Hanzo also noticed the commotion on Orochimaru's side, his heart sinking.
"Inkfish."
At Hanzo's command, the giant salamander Inkfish immediately understood, opening its mouth to spew a thick cloud of purple poison gas.
At this point, the poison gas was not meant to kill, but to serve as a smokescreen, covering the retreat of the Amegakure ninja.
"Phew…"
Seeing Orochimaru and Hanzo withdraw, Hardy couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the reinforcements were reliable.
During the battle, Hardy, Pakura, and Baki, as chunin, couldn't intervene, but once the fighting ended, the three busied themselves.
They helped clean up the battlefield, tally casualties, and recover discarded ninja tools. By the time they finished, night had fallen.
"Thank you both for today. If it weren't for you, this old woman might not have been able to hold off Orochimaru and Hanzo. Here, it's not sake, but let me toast you both anyway."
In the tent, Chiyo raised her cup to Rasa and Karura.
A few simple dishes were laid out on the table between them.
"Elder Chiyo, you're too kind."
"Thank you, Elder Chiyo."
Rasa and Karura also raised their cups and clinked glasses with Chiyo.
"This is Hardy, the disciple that Ebizō and I recently took on."
Chiyo gestured to Hardy, who was sitting with them.
"Senior Rasa, Sister Karura."
Hardy smiled and raised his glass to the two.
His cup contained juice.
Abstinence from alcohol, luxury, and lust are the three taboos for ninja. Although many ignore them in daily life, during important missions and wartime, they must be observed to prevent enemies from exploiting these weaknesses to steal information.
"Hello, little Hardy."
Karura smiled warmly.
Rasa nodded slightly and clinked glasses with Hardy.
He was proud, but not foolish.