Facing Gekko Chizan's teasing, Fugaku nearly lost his temper.
In Fugaku's mind, whenever he crossed paths with Gekko Chizan, he'd be furious.
"Alright, Chizan-kun, that's enough fooling around."
"Jonin Shirakumo, how's the battle going?"
Orochimaru stopped his disciple and began asking about the situation.
At his words, Shirakumo let out a heavy sigh, his tone weighed down with gravity.
"Not good..."
"You know as well as I do the power of a Tailed Beast. We can't possibly stand against it."
"Even when Jiraiya was here earlier, we couldn't effectively halt their advance."
"Now we've already retreated to the foot of Kikyo Pass. We can't fall back any further."
The last sentence was delivered with deep gravity, and Orochimaru nodded. He knew all too well how dire things were.
If Kikyo Pass couldn't be held, it would mean Konoha's forces in the Land of Rivers had been completely crushed by Sunagakure.
The consequences then would be beyond prediction.
"Chizan-kun, go scout the situation."
"Got it, I'm on my way."
Gekko Chizan didn't refuse. Given the current circumstances, he no longer had the luxury of choice.
Konoha's crisis had already gone far beyond what happened in the original events. After all, in the original Third Shinobi World War, Sunagakure hadn't even deployed a Tailed Beast.
Leaving behind a marker, Gekko Chizan activated Transparent Release and soared into the air.
From above, he observed Sunagakure's movements.
He had to admit, the Sunagakure forces looked to be in far better shape than Konoha's.
And now, their troops had already begun to move.
Through insect vision, he quickly spotted the key figures in Sunagakure's ranks.
Rasa, Chiyo...
And an old monk...
"Shukaku, huh..."
"Didn't expect Sunagakure to actually send that old monk to the battlefield. That's going too far."
"Not afraid of divine punishment, are they?"
Sending a monk into battle — Gekko Chizan had nothing but disdain for that.
"So the Jinchuriki of Shukaku is that old man?"
"Chizan, let's go mess with them a bit."
"My scale powder's itching to be used."
Chōmei, whenever he saw one of his fellow Tailed Beasts, always wanted to test his strength.
After all, they were both Jinchuriki-Tailed Beast pairs. Chōmei being weaker was fine — but Gekko Chizan could handle it.
His underhanded jutsu was honed to Master level.
"You're the one underhanded — I call it tactics!"
"Chōmei, I've noticed you're quite energetic lately."
"But your idea's not bad. Just not sure if we can pull it off."
Messing with another Jinchuriki was exactly the sort of thing Gekko Chizan enjoyed.
Once he decided, he dove toward the ground.
Thanks to Transparent Release, no one noticed his movements.
"Chōmei, what kind of scale powder will send him into a rampage?"
"How about something hallucinogenic?"
As they neared attack range, Gekko Chizan's lips curled into a sly grin.
"Hallucinogenic, same as with Gyūki before."
"Heh, already prepared!"
As Chōmei spoke, he had the scale powder ready.
Feeling the powder coursing through his body, Gekko Chizan suddenly accelerated downward.
But just as he was about to reach his target, something felt off.
His descending body had brushed against...
Sand?
"Not good!"
A wave of chilling chakra surged up from the Sunagakure ranks, making Gekko Chizan's heart jolt.
"Hmph!"
"Konoha vermin!"
"Gold Dust Rain!"
From the ground, vast swaths of gold dust appeared, quickly mixing with sand and rising together.
A storm of yellow sand and gold dust outlined Gekko Chizan's position in midair.
"Chiyo! Help me take him down!"
"Magnet Release! Gold Dust Realm!"
"Everyone! Push toward Kikyo Pass at full speed!"
The gold dust condensed into countless senbon, shooting at the shadow in the air.
"Attack Puppet Blades!"
Chiyo moved swiftly — under her puppet strings, dozens of kunai whistled toward Gekko Chizan.
"Damn! Sand, huh! I underestimated it!"
"Rasa, you think you can keep me here? Dream on!"
"See you on the battlefield!"
The instant the attack hit, Gekko Chizan used Flying Thunder God to teleport away.
Kunai and gold dust collided in the air.
Rasa and Chiyo's expressions darkened.
"Looks like Konoha sent reinforcements."
"Flying Thunder God, combined with some bizarre concealment technique... Gekko Chizan..."
Chiyo muttered toward Kikyo Pass's direction.
At her words, a glint of murderous intent flickered in Rasa's eyes, thick killing intent radiating from his body.
Gekko Chizan...
Back during the battle in the Land of Fire, combining Chiyo's account with intelligence reports, Rasa had learned this was their opponent in that fight.
And on the battlefield before, thanks to this bastard's Flying Thunder God, they had suffered heavy losses.
"Advance! Don't give Konoha a chance to breathe!"
"I'll bury that bastard myself!"
With those words, Rasa charged toward the main force.
...
Having escaped with Flying Thunder God, Gekko Chizan still felt shaken.
"Damn, I didn't expect that bastard Rasa to be this cautious."
Cursing under his breath, Gekko Chizan sped back toward his camp.
The moment he landed, he ran straight for the command tent.
"Sensei, be ready — Sunagakure's about to break through."
Inside, the assembled officers were discussing strategy. Hearing Gekko Chizan's words, their faces changed instantly.
"Already...?"
"Jonin Shirakumo, get the medical corps to evacuate all wounded."
"Everyone else, grab your weapons and prepare to fight."
Since the enemy had come knocking, Orochimaru had no reason to retreat.
But his head was still cool — he quickly settled on a plan.
"Abandon the defensive line. Everyone fall back into Kikyo Pass. Don't fight them on the plain."
"On open ground, we're at a disadvantage."
Orochimaru knew that Shukaku's powers lay in sand and wind, so his decision was perfectly sound.
"Chizan, you and Uchiha Fugaku take a squad of Uchiha elites and see if you can ambush their high command."
"If possible, kill their Jinchuriki."
At Orochimaru's words, Gekko Chizan gave a helpless smile.
He laid out everything he had just tried.
"I already tested it — Rasa's defenses around the Jinchuriki are airtight."
"I went in with Transparent Release and got spotted immediately. His sand counters me pretty hard."
"If even I can't get close, forget about an ambush."
"Our only option is a frontal assault. But once we get close, Shukaku will show up."
His words left everyone present momentarily stunned.
This guy really dared — not only scouting alone, but also taking a shot at the Jinchuriki...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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