"Hu..."
Looking up at the purple flare in the sky, Hyuga Soushu exhaled deeply. A hesitant expression flickered across his face as he halted his advance, coldly watching A slowly force himself back to his feet.
Truthfully, though outwardly he appeared relatively fine, Hyuga Soushu's actual physical condition was far from ideal.
Without the 12% life steal ability provided by his [Hunger Hydra], and considering that he used weapons against an unarmed opponent, Hyuga Soushu might easily have been left battered had it not been for those advantages.
Moreover, Hyuga Soushu had no intention of killing A. After all, if the heir were killed, the Kumo ninja—known for their ferocity—would surely pursue him relentlessly until death. No matter how strong he was, how many blows could even the strongest steel endure?
After sending up the signal flare and standing upright, A still maintained the dignity of a dying tiger, refusing to show weakness. He kept his savage expression, hoping to intimidate Hyuga Soushu.
Hyuga Soushu hesitated briefly, then suddenly shifted his gaze behind A before slowly retreating.
"He bought it!" A immediately relaxed slightly.
Despite his severe injuries, his sensing abilities remained intact. The intense chakra fluctuations coming from behind carried the unmistakable Lightning Release signature known to all Kumo ninja.
"You're lucky this time."
Stepping back about ten meters, Hyuga Soushu spat out bitterly between clenched teeth. Shooting one last glare at A's rear, he vanished using the Shifting Body Technique with obvious reluctance.
Though using the technique now felt somewhat uncomfortable, to make the performance convincing, Hyuga Soushu didn't have time to worry about minor discomforts.
"Pu!"
As soon as Hyuga Soushu disappeared from sight, A—who had barely managed to stay standing—collapsed again, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
His straight posture instantly crumbled. His legs trembled weakly, his body swaying unsteadily, his consciousness fading more and more.
But since his subordinates would soon arrive, A—as the Raikage heir—couldn't afford to appear too disgraceful in front of them.
Ignoring the aftereffects of the medicine, he trembledly reached into his robe and pulled out several bottles of secret medicinal potion. Roughly tearing off the sealing tags, he bit down hard enough to crush both the glass and its contents.
His ferocity was as if he were biting into Hyuga Soushu's flesh himself.
"One day..."
Tasting the metallic sweetness of blood trickling from his cut tongue, A silently cursed inwardly, hatred toward Hyuga Soushu burning intensely.
On the Konoha side, everything had finally settled.
This daring raid conducted by Hyuga Soushu alongside the jonin squad had ultimately yielded fairly satisfactory results.
As he had initially planned, after successfully holding off A, the leader of Kumo's pursuing Ninja Force, Hyuga Soushu's squad — composed of Hyuga Branch House ninja as scouts and Jonin as main combat forces — swiftly identified a breakthrough in the chaotic battlefield. Using their terrain advantage, they began picking up speed like a rolling snowball, launching small-scale counterattacks amid the chaos caused by A's signal flare after gathering fleeing Konoha ninja.
If not for Hyuga Soushu signaling a retreat immediately after disengaging from combat, the Jonin Squad might have actually had a chance to mount a counter-strike against the retreating Kumo forces. However, none among the Jonin Squad had sufficient prestige or courage to defy Hyuga Soushu's order, so they could only reluctantly regroup their lines and eventually withdraw entirely from contact with Kumo.
This seemingly reckless raid rescue operation saw Hyuga Soushu successfully evacuating over two hundred and thirty Konoha ninja in total. Although this number represented more than half the original force lost in battle, it was still not considered a complete loss — after all, the Jonin Squad had inflicted over a hundred casualties on the pursuing Kumo forces.
Moreover, upon interrogation, Hyuga Soushu learned that Keshi Nara had chosen to burn down Hakone Prefecture city during his withdrawal, destroying Kumo's stored military supplies in the process. When carefully calculated, this outcome actually proved somewhat profitable.
At the very least, Kumo would not be able to launch another offensive against Konoha until they reacquired sufficient supplies. This window of opportunity would allow the weakened Northern Border Defense Force much-needed time to recover. Viewed from the perspective of overall village strategy, the benefits were considerable.
However, what disappointed Hyuga Soushu was that despite suffering over fifty percent casualties among the elite forces he had led into battle, the person he most wished dead returned completely unscathed.
Take Keshi Nara, for instance.
Though specifically targeted by A — who regarded him as a thorn in his side — during the retreat, Keshi Nara still managed to escape intact through sheer cunning. He only fell into a semi-conscious state after being rescued due to overusing Shadow Clone Jutsu and excessive consumption of secret medicinal pills. Other than that, he didn't even bear a single visible wound — an extremely fortunate condition when compared to the rest of the retreating force, where even minor injuries were commonplace.
Furthermore, four out of the seven operational squad leaders originally deployed had been killed outright — a serious blow indeed for a shinobi force facing imminent war.
Therefore, immediately upon returning to the Land of Rice Fields, Hyuga Soushu ordered the dissolution of the four squads that had lost their commanding officers, merging all their subordinates into the Instructor Corps.
The already-weakened operational squads had neither the spirit nor the will to resist or debate this decision, allowing this brutally direct consolidation to proceed without opposition.
But before those surviving squad leaders who secretly felt relieved about retaining their positions could even catch their breath, Hyuga Soushu resumed his precise strategic maneuvering.
He first redeployed all the ninja squads originally assigned to patrol duties from various operational Squads, reorganizing them into three patrol Squads each commanded by a senior Jonin from the Hyuga Branch House. Then he sent back all severely injured ninjas to the rear base camp and ordered half of the Instructor Corps to move northward, integrating them with the combatants whose units had been formally disbanded.
That officially marked the success of the centralization strategy.
After completing these complex rearrangements, Soushu urged those who had just completed recovery from injuries to immediately reconstruct the defensive line in preparation for the impending major battle.
However, by the time Sakumo arrived at the Northern Border after a long journey from the Western Camp on the Land of Fire's western front line, Kumogakure still hadn't shown any intention to launch an offensive southward.
Soushu didn't know that A's injuries were unexpectedly severe.
Externally, aside from some bruises on specific areas, A appeared relatively unscathed. In reality, however, after being relentlessly pounded by Soushu's heavy strikes, his internal organs had sustained extremely critical damage.
The genital region bore the most serious trauma.
Even though Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Secret Jutsu for body-hardening had reached pinnacle levels, when struck directly by such overwhelming force, the groin remained an extremely vulnerable spot without bony support structures and could not be strengthened through cultivation practices.
Thus, Kumo's medical ninja were astonished to discover their future Raikage had literally become a "One Testicle Wonder" in the most literal sense!
When A learned of this devastating truth, the humiliation was so unbearable that he spat out three mouthfuls of blood before collapsing into a coma!
Consequently, the Kumo ninja stationed along the border fell into complete chaos, leaving several Jonin to temporarily assume command and urgently request tactical instructions from the Hidden Village headquarters.
Naturally, before Kumogakure's Hidden Village headquarters could make decisions regarding their next move, the border between both nations entered an eerily tense standoff situation filled with strange atmosphere.
"Souzhu-kun truly deserves being regarded as the most promising elite Jonin among our generation!"
While inspecting the Northern Border defenses, Sakumo couldn't stop praising: "Whether it was the rapid strike into the Land of Lightning or the counterattack coordinated with Jonin Squads, everything was executed exceptionally well—absolutely exemplary operations worthy of becoming mandatory study material for future Jonin commanders!"
"You're overpraising me, Sakumo-senpai,"
Soushu modestly replied: "I merely fulfilled my basic responsibilities. As a Ninja Force commander, I sometimes have to take unavoidable actions out of necessity. Honestly, there are still many aspects where I haven't performed adequately enough. It's actually I who should express gratitude for your long-distance reinforcement."
"Don't sell yourself short, Soushu-kun!"
Sakumo continued showering praises: "Successfully executing a counteroffensive from a desperate situation while remaining humble despite victory—that alone proves your exceptional command capabilities!"
"But won't temporarily relocating you northward affect the defense situation at the Western Camp?"
Trying to change the subject, Soushu steered the conversation toward their shared experiences on the western front to build some rapport.
"That won't be a problem."
Sakumo Hatake shook his head. "Sunagakure has shifted its focus toward Bird Country and is locked in fierce battles with Iwagakure, which controls the region. For now, both the Land of Rivers and the Wind Country border remain quite stable."
"If that's the case, then won't our expeditionary force become the only active Konoha ninja force operating in the Land of Rain?"
Hyūga Soushu asked cautiously.
"That's correct."
Sakumo nodded and continued, "But the war in the Land of Rain has dragged on for nearly three years already. Now that reinforcements have arrived, it seems we'll finally decide the outcome!"
"Hanzo isn't an easy opponent," Hyūga Soushu expressed his concern.
"We can only place our faith in Jonin Orochimaru's abilities," Sakumo replied ambiguously yet meaningfully.
To Konoha ninja from the Fire Country plains, the Land of Rain during monsoon season was a brutal test of willpower—especially for the newly promoted chunin under Orochimaru's command.
The reason Orochimaru didn't immediately launch a final assault on the Rain Ninja Village after receiving reinforcements was because many of these ninja had fallen ill shortly after entering the Land of Rain due to various strange causes. This meant even more staff had to be pulled from an already stretched workforce just to assist these inexperienced recruits—who had once marched out full of hope—and organize adaptation training for them.
Under those circumstances, rushing into battle could easily end in a devastating loss.
So despite intense pressure from his mentor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru refused to budge, instead constantly sending requests back to the village demanding more elite ninja forces.
It wasn't until Hyūga Soushu launched an offensive against Kumo and the Top Leaders reached a consensus at the Ninja Clan Summit to declare war on Iwagakure that Orochimaru finally quieted down and began working together with Jiraiya and Tsunade to draft a combat plan.
But things rarely go according to plan.
After Iwagakure abandoned control over the Land of Rain—a region they already considered insignificant—due to Sunagakure advancing north into Bird Country, and redirected their forces to fight Suna head-on, the Rain Ninja Village quickly recaptured large swaths of lost territory in the northwest of the Land of Rain. As they pursued the retreating Iwa forces, they also recovered massive quantities of supplies the enemy had intentionally left behind—supplies meant to weaken Konoha by strengthening Ame—instantly revitalizing the Rain Ninja Village (Amegakure), which had previously been weak, impoverished, and on the verge of collapse.
There were two main reasons why Iwa had so hastily discarded what seemed like enormous military assets. First, the situation in Bird Country truly demanded immediate attention, and carrying too much equipment would slow troop movements. Second, unwilling to let the Land of Rain fall entirely into Konoha's hands after withdrawing, they deliberately supported Ame, hoping these notorious rain ninjas could inflict heavier damage on Leaf forces. After all, the Land of Rain wasn't going anywhere. As long as Iwa could successfully crush Sunagakure in Bird Country, later claiming this Land of Rain—which by then would have exhausted itself fighting Konoha—for themselves would simply be a matter of mopping up what's left.
So before Konoha's Land of Rain expeditionary force could execute its planned attack, the rain ninja—long known for being fierce yet fragile—unexpectedly launched an offensive of their own.
The Rain Ninja Village's multiple small-scale probing attacks were all crushed under Orochimaru's calm command. Not only did they fail to regain any lost ground, but they didn't even come close to their basic objective of testing weakness before being utterly annihilated.
But this outcome only further fueled arrogance among Konoha ninjas.
Especially the newly promoted chunin from the reinforcement unit, who had barely recovered from their injuries, started boasting recklessly about launching a counterattack in three days and conquering the Rain Ninja Village within ten days, completely ignoring the terrible weather conditions in the Land of Rain.
Fortunately, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade—three rational elite jonin—hadn't let temporary victory cloud their judgment. From the Rain ninjas' extremely abnormal initiative to attack, they sensed something unusual was going on.
"Sanshouo Hanzo is probably going to make a personal appearance,"
Orochimaru concluded.
Jiraiya and Tsunade nodded in agreement.
Still, the Rain Ninja Village remained a minor shinobi village. Although Sanshouo Hanzo's reputation as a "semi-god" terrified the Ninja World, to the Hokage's three young prodigious apprentices who held high positions, it wasn't that impressive. While they understood his strength to some extent, their knowledge wasn't comprehensive.
Moreover, since the three great ninja villages unconsciously chose the Rain-dominated small country as battlegrounds for larger powers, Sanshouo Hanzo focused his primary efforts on countering Iwagakure and Sunagakure's offensives in the northwest and southwest regions. Therefore, since entering the war, none of the Hokage's three gifted apprentices had faced Sanshouo Hanzo directly, naturally lacking sufficient understanding of him.
"If we defeat Hanzo, how should we split that 'semi-god' title?"
Jiraiya joked irreverently, "How about you two modestly give it to me?"
"Don't underestimate Hanzo—he's a legendary figure who's been famous throughout the Ninja World for ages!"
Orochimaru said with furrowed brows.
"So what? At worst, we'll summon our sacred beasts together!"
Jiraiya shrugged nonchalantly, "But we better agree beforehand—one condition: keep your stinky snakes away from Mount Myoboku elders or they might really abandon us during battle!"
"You can't even control your summoned beasts?"
Orochimaru's frown deepened.
"Better communication always helps."
Tsunade smoothly interjected, "I'll also talk to Katsuyu ahead of time so we can conveniently summon stronger sage clones when needed."
"Fine,"
Orochimaru decided to drop the issue.
After all, he believed that with their trio combined with the sacred beasts from three holy places, there was absolutely no reason they couldn't defeat that mere half-god from a small ninja village—an opportunist whose fame rose only because true heroes were temporarily absent!
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