At the very moment Hatake Sakumo entered the Eastern Provinces of the Land of Lightning, Hyūga Sōshu—who had immediately learned about this—first ordered all the Konoha ninja animals secretly embedded within Kumo's camp to withdraw immediately. Then he led his forces into a frontal assault against three Kumo battalions positioned directly ahead.
Although numerically, Sōshu's forces were nearly two thousand fewer than the enemy, thanks to the earlier deception tactic of inflating camp size, the Kumo side failed to detect the ruse and was now thrown into tense preparation, bracing for what they believed would be a thunderous counterattack from Konoha.
Once more, Sōshu deployed elite Jonin squads as the vanguard, personally leading over half his Jonin into direct assaults. Shielded by the main force, these rapid, small-scale attacks surged wave after wave, steadily overwhelming the Kumo defenses under unrelenting pressure.
The defending Kumo ninja forces found themselves under immense pressure.
With the presence of the Byakugan-wielding Hyūga shinobi, all the traps and fortifications set up by Kumo became useless. Their defensive weaknesses were laid bare. Even worse, the Jonin strike teams led personally by Hyūga Sōshu moved through Kumo's formation like a masterful butcher dissecting his prey—effortlessly identifying and exploiting every weakness, no matter how large Kumo's numerical advantage.
However, reinforcements soon arrived, boosting the morale of Kumo's frontline. What had been an unstable line quickly stabilized. No matter how intense the bombardments of explosive tags and ninjutsu became, the Kumo ninja gritted their teeth and held firm—the arrival of support brought them tangible hope!
Even so, the four Kumo battalion commanders—including the reinforcement unit—still dared not act recklessly.
After all, whether it was the hail of explosive tags and kunai or the continuous onslaughts by clusters of Jonin, Kumo had already sustained considerable casualties. All of this only further solidified the battalion leaders' resolve to remain entrenched and await reinforcements.
"As long as Lord Dodai gathers his forces and advances southward, this pitiful Konoha force of four thousand will collapse easily!"
This is how the Kumo Jonin comforted themselves.
Unfortunately for them though, the moment everyone loves—the swift and brutal crushing of overconfidence—had arrived!
On the same afternoon that Kumo's reinforcement battalions reached the central frontlines, word arrived that the Kinki garrison base at their rear had been completely surrounded by a Konoha force which had executed a flanking raid.
The shocking news left the senior Kumo Jonin at the central front reeling with disbelief.
Had they not decisively chosen to suppress the information, chaos likely would've spread throughout the entire Kumo army by now!
Nevertheless, Hyūga Sōshu had tactfully established a sound-amplifying sealing formula and assigned eloquent members of his forces to broadcast exaggerated reports about the dire situation behind enemy lines.
Though the Kumo Jonin desperately insisted that these were merely deceitful psychological tactics from dishonorable Konoha ninja, once communication from the encircled Kinki headquarters ceased entirely, fear spread among ordinary Kumo ninja. Though they dared not openly discuss it due to intimidation by their superiors, the seeds of doubt had already begun to sprout in their minds.
"The morale of the Kumo forces is more disorganized than we imagined."
After another round of Jonin assaults, Hyuga Soushu stood at the forefront of their position, with his Byakugan scanning Kumo's current movements.
It was reasonable that the Jonin assault teams failed to break through the Kumo defenses. After all, Kumo remained one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and possessed basic discipline and fighting spirit.
However, after continuous waves of attacks and harassment, the Ninja within Kumo's camp had already fallen into a state of panic.
This resulted from several factors working together. Even if Kumo's leading Jonins were eloquent speakers, their words were powerless before carefully fabricated facts.
Compared to the desperate situation in Kumo's nearby Kinai Camp, things here weren't so bad yet. After all, facing Hyuga Soushu was a Ninja force numbering four thousand strong. Even if merely defending passively and with fully prepared fortifications, even Hyuga Soushu himself leading an assault couldn't penetrate deeply into their defensive position.
Furthermore, Hyuga Soushu wasn't willing to stain his own path to glory with the blood of his subordinates, so he simply maintained low-impact, high-frequency small-scale offensives, keeping the Kumo Ninja perpetually on edge. He waited patiently for good news from Sakumo Hatake—and preparing to pursue a retreating force when the opportunity arose.
Meanwhile, Dodai, who was deep within enemy lines, was now ready to gamble everything.
Yet from the perspective of the Kumo Ninja stationed at the Kinai Camp, this final gamble amounted to nothing more than a last desperate struggle.
Surrounding the Kumo main camp weren't just 4,000 elite Ninja from Konoha, but also [Colossal Summoned Beasts] from the Holy Place!
Looking at the enormous serpent brimming with malice, the massive toad that regarded ordinary humans as insects, and the monstrous slug whose trail corroded the land it touched—Kumo Ninja felt overwhelming helplessness.
Even so, surrender would never cross the mind of the stubborn Dodai.
Therefore, during the brief respite when Konoha Ninja attempted negotiations and used the time to recover their strength, Dodai gathered the remaining elite Jonins under his command to act as sharp blades, preparing to strike head-on against the Konoha forces in a life-or-death clash.
"Time's up."
Within Konoha's encirclement, Orochimaru glanced at the sky while standing side by side with Sakumo Hatake, uttering a phrase dripping with bloodlust.
"Then let's begin!"
Sakumo Hatake slowly unsheathed the White Fang tanto, silently channeling chakra.
"Shoo!"
As a signal flare lit the sky, Sakumo Hatake leapt forward first, launching himself directly toward the battle-ready Dodai!
Tsunade immediately took over command, ordering the Konoha Ninja surrounding them from all directions to launch a simultaneous attack, while Orochimaru and Jiraiya rode their respective summoned beasts from the Holy Place, charging toward the Kumo camp.
[Lightning Release: Heavy Stream Bullet!]
Dodai, equally fearless, personally led his most elite Kumo Jonins in a countercharge aimed directly at the attacking direction of Sakumo Hatake and Orochimaru. He even activated a Ninjutsu as he advanced, rushing forward after pinpointing where Sakumo's Body Flicker Technique would land.
"It seems you're ready to die then!"
Sakumo Hatake didn't hold back either. He slashed straight through Dodai's Power Strike and left a deep, bone-revealing gash in the latter's elbow.
With this single strike, Dodai had sustained a minor injury!
Nevertheless, with rage burning in his eyes, Dodai gritted his teeth and initiated another secret technique.
[Lightning Release: Black Panther Variation!]
Black lightning shaped like a panther surged from Dodai's body, lunging toward the nearby Sakumo Hatake.
However, Sakumo instantly dodged using Body Flicker. The black lightning directly struck Manda—the summoned beast brought forth by Orochimaru!
"Zzzt!"
For a sacred summoned beast of such colossal size, an attack of this level might not be fatal, but the sensation of being hit by lightning was enough to drive Manda into a frenzy.
Then came the thrashing tail strike that sent Dodai flying!
"You bastard, Orochimaru!"
Still furious, Manda spat out angrily, "Every time you make me deal with these annoying enemies! So this time, the offering must be doubled!"
"Eat as much as you want!"
Orochimaru didn't bother wasting words with his summoned creature. He simply pointed at the Kumo camp ahead and said, "Your luck decides how much you get!"
"Sss—"
Manda flicked out its tongue, spewing a vast cloud of poison mist straight toward the camp. Then, with one powerful push of its tail, its hill-sized body crushed forward like an unstoppable force!
All the traps and sealing formations laid by Kumo along the way crumbled before this overwhelming raw power, breaking through the entire defensive line!
This was the remarkable advantage gained after enhancing both size and defense. Unless they had some extraordinary power that could deliver a one-hit kill, ordinary ninja didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell against this gargantuan summoned beast.
As for Dodai, who had just been sent flying, he barely managed to stabilize himself midair when preparing to fight again. Suddenly, a chill crept up from behind him, accompanied by a voice rising from below—
[White Fang Style Ultimate Art: One Thousand Years of Death!]
Following that, a cold gleam shot upward from beneath his wounds, splitting Dodai clean in two!
"Coward..."
Before finishing his final words, Dodai had already died in bitter regret!
"Pass down my orders—surrender now and live!"
After successfully eliminating the enemy commander, Sakumo first severed Dodai's head and held it high. Then he effortlessly cut down a brave yet foolish Kumo ninja charging recklessly at him. At the same time, he issued an order that shook the morale of the entire Kumo forces: "Anyone refusing to kneel and surrender within five minutes shall be executed!"
As Konoha ninja continuously spread his command across the battlefield, the will to resist among Kumo ninjas completely collapsed.
Numerically and in terms of combat strength alike, Kumo had no hope left for recovery. Continuing to fight now was purely out of ingrained habit from their village training.
However, expecting mass surrenders would still require some mental adjustment—at least momentarily.
But Manda wouldn't tolerate hesitation!
Especially upon hearing about the planned surrender, Manda became even more frenzied, worried there wouldn't be enough offerings left for it. It barreled into the Kumo ranks without a care for enemy attacks, fully intent on feasting, injuries be damned!
[Earth Release Swamp of the Underworld!]
Orochimaru very considerately used a ninjutsu to create an expansive swamp, slowing down Kumo's retreat and setting the stage for a favorable meal.
"Final minute!"
Just as chaos completely engulfed the Kumo forces, Sakumo Hatake's battle cry once again echoed across the sky. Even the Daimyo quietly seated within the Daimyo's court could hear this voice.
"We've lost..."
The Lightning Daimyo's sigh carried an unfathomable sorrow.
This meant that all the effort and preparation he and the Raikage of the Land of Lightning had poured into rebuilding over the past dozen years since the end of the First Great Ninja War had now come to nothing in a single moment!
"Lost! We've lost!"
And this final ultimatum utterly crushed the fighting spirit of the Kumo ninja.
Units of Kumo ninja dropped their weapons and knelt in submission, heads bowed in defeat.
Kakashi Sakumo then called off the slaughter and began taking the surrendered enemy ninja into custody.
Thus, the southern great camp of the Kumo Ninja Force was finally breached!
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