Struggling under the relentless assault, Sakumo Hatake found himself barely able to hold his ground.
The carefully laid-out sniping positions of the Konoha Ninja Forces were overwhelmed far quicker than expected by the combined assaults of Sanshouo Hanzo and the Iwagakure ninjas. They hadn't even managed to slow the enemy's charge as planned, and the retreating forces ended up messing with the defenses set up in the rear.
With no choice left, Sakumo handed over command to Koryo Jonin and personally intervened, hoping to delay Sanshouo Hanzo's advance.
But since Sakumo lacked an effective way to deal with the highly toxic Sanshouo Hanzo, he could only target the weaker Rain ninjas, forcing Hanzo—who worried about his fellow villagers—to return temporarily for defense. That gave the Konoha forces behind a small opening to regroup.
However, once the Iwagakure ninjas at the rear of the allied forces entered the battlefield, Sakumo, now unable to fight alone, chose to pull back quickly to avoid being surrounded.
And when the Iwagakure ninjas officially shifted from providing ninjutsu support to direct combat involvement, the retreat speed of the Konoha forces was forced to accelerate again.
In less than an hour, the Konoha Ninja Forces had fallen back to their final and strongest mountain pass defense line—the border of the Land of Fire lay just beyond it.
The majestic mountains stood like a natural barrier, separating the fertile lands of the Land of Fire from the perpetually rainy Land of Rain. Even during times when the Land of Rain suffered severe flooding, the border regions of the Land of Fire experienced at most increased rainfall; therefore, while the borderlands were considered relatively remote and undeveloped within Fire itself, to Rain ninjas separated merely by a single mountain range, this land appeared as a rare paradise.
Thus, when Sanshouo Hanzo ordered his summoned beast Ibuse Poisoning to halt its advance and began examining Konoha's defensive layout, the Rain ninjas could barely contain their eagerness to rush across into Fire territory.
"Steady! Maintain formation!"
Sanshouo Hanzo bellowed, halting his subordinates' reckless impulse.
At the same time, the Iwagakure Village ninjas who fought alongside them quickly moved into position at the front line, preparing to launch probing ninjutsu attacks under the leadership of their respective jonins.
"Lord Hanzo, why have you suddenly decided to halt our advance?"
Kitsuchi rapidly Body-Flickered to the front of the summoned beast carrying Sanshouo Hanzo and shouted, "As long as we continue pressing forward, victory will tilt toward us! The last thing we should do is grant Konoha a chance to catch their breath and regroup at such a critical moment!"
After personally witnessing Sanshouo Hanzo's unmatched dominance on the battlefield—watching entire squads of Konoha ninjas scatter like frightened birds—Kitsuchi's tone subtly shifted again in how he addressed him.
Though his words held doubt, he now dared not show even a hint of disrespect in formal address.
"Mind your tongue!"
Sanshouo Hanzo snapped sharply, then completely ignored the Iwagakure jonin—who, aside from being the Tsuchikage's son, held no value whatsoever in his eyes—and continued closely analyzing the subtle details of Konoha's defenses.
Without question, this was indeed Konoha's final line of defense.
If this defensive line were breached, the gates of the Land of Fire would be completely opened to the Rain Ninja and Iwagakure alliance! The Rain Ninja who had long yearned for farmland beneath the sun would finally step into their dreamed Promised Lands!
This is the mighty Land of Fire, the leading nation among the Five Great Countries!
Though they had suffered heavy losses along the offensive path, at the thought that their dream was now seemingly within reach, the Rain Ninja couldn't help but breathe rapidly with excitement.
But Sanshouo Hanzo was thinking several steps ahead.
Perhaps his subordinates, overwhelmed by rising emotions, failed to truly grasp the situation. But from his elevated vantage point overlooking the battlefield, he had clearly seen that nearly one-fifth of the three thousand Rain Ninja forces had already been lost without notice during the campaign. While most of the casualties were newly promoted Genin whose abilities were indeed lacking, these people represented the future of Amegakure. Sanshouo Hanzo could not recklessly gamble away the last remaining backbone of his village in a single battle.
So after some contemplation, Sanshouo Hanzo gestured, calling Kitsuchi forward from afar.
Upon noticing Sanshouo Hanzo's signal, Kitsuchi hesitated briefly before bravely Body Flickering onto the head of the summoned beast Ibuse (Poisonous Giant Salamander), where he bowed respectfully about five meters away from Sanshouo Hanzo.
Still, even though he had taken Iwagakure's secret Antidote Pills beforehand, the moment he stepped onto Ibuse's head, the overwhelming stench hit him like a wave—his head spun, his stomach churned, and his face turned pale one moment and green the next.
"Wear this gas mask!"
Sanshouo Hanzo glanced disdainfully at the struggling Kitsuchi, casually retrieving a Sealing Scroll from his Ninja Tool Pouch, unsealing a brand-new gas mask, and tossing it toward him.
"Phew!"
Only after hurriedly putting on the gas mask did Kitsuchi exhale in relief. Even with slightly labored breathing inside the mask, things had improved dramatically compared to the earlier suffocating sensation.
From just this small detail alone, Kitsuchi realized how terrifyingly dominant Sanshouo Hanzo was on the battlefield!
Even holding his breath briefly led to such fierce toxic damage; if Hanzo unleashed stronger poison mist by fully commanding his summoned beast, Kitsuchi couldn't even bear imagining how horrific the results might be.
"Now it's Iwagakure's time to prove its strength and resolve!"
Slowly raising the sickle in his hand and pointing it toward Konoha's well-prepared defenses, Sanshouo Hanzo declared, "In the upcoming battle, Iwagakure must serve as our main offensive force!"
"Why?"
Kitsuchi instantly snapped into action. "That doesn't align with our prior agreement!"
"I want to see Iwagakure's resolve in battle!"
Sanshouo Hanzo's reasoning sounded flimsy—certainly so in Kitsuchi's ears.
"Honorable Lord Hanzo, we are already advancing simultaneously along two fronts!"
Kitsuchi emphasized, "At this point, do we still have room to back down?"
"That's exactly why Iwagakure must fight!"
Hanzo remained firm.
With that said, disregarding the hesitant expression forming on Kitsuchi's face, Sanshouo Hanzo leaped straight off the summoned beast's head and strode toward his own Ninja Force ranks.
"Wow..."
Ibuse let out a childlike wail, then shook his massive head, jerking Kitsuchi out of his thoughts.
With no choice left, Kitsuchi returned to his own camp and found The Third Tsuchikage Onoki hidden among the Iwagakure Ninja Forces, reporting Sanshouo Hanzo's request.
"Fool!"
Furious with rage, Onoki scolded his son bitterly.
Kitsuchi kept his head bowed and remained silent.
"Tsuchikage-sama, under these circumstances, it really makes no difference whether we attack or not."
A Jonin from Iwagakure persuaded: "The arrow is already on the string. If Hanzo wants to play dirty, we can simply wait until after the battle to reclaim our advantage."
"Easier said than done,"
Onoki muttered. But after a moment's thought, he waved his hand and gave the order: "In five minutes, let the Explosion Corps begin the assault!"
"We shall obey!"
The Jonin commanders responded in unison before scattering off to their respective Directly Commanded Units, preparing for the offensive.
After Sanshouo Hanzo halted his advance, although slightly confused, the Konoha Ninja Forces quickly completed their final defensive preparations under the command of the Jonin assembly.
This time, behind them was the Land of Fire — they had nowhere else to retreat.
Lord Sakumo Hatake had also taken another full bottle of Military Rations Pills to replenish his stamina, and once again took his place at the forefront of the Konoha Ninja Forces with his blade drawn.
The Ninja Force could not retreat — and neither could he.
Since the outbreak of The Great Ninja World War, enemy ninja forces had yet to step foot on Konoha soil, and Lord Sakumo Hatake had no intention of being the one responsible for initiating such a disastrous precedent.
Nothing left but to fight to the death!
"My Lord Sakumo!"
At that moment, a messenger Jonin rushed over hastily, reporting to Lord Sakumo Hatake: "Just received word via ninja hawk — Lord Soushu's Northern Front ninja forces have departed from the Kinki region of the Land of Lightning, and approximately three thousand ninja are expected to arrive at the battlefield shortly!"
"When did they depart?"
Lord Sakumo Hatake asked.
"According to the timestamp recorded in the secret message, roughly one and a half hours ago."
The messenger Jonin answered immediately.
"In that case, if they march at full speed…"
Sakumo paused, calculating the arrival time using the typical chūnin pace: "They'll still need nearly four more hours."
"That's correct."
The messenger Jonin nodded.
His earlier excitement cooled instantly upon realizing this.
Whether Konoha's Ninja Forces could hold out for another four hours remains uncertain.
Although Sakumo Hatake — who bore the halo of invincibility — is leading them, the overall disparity between the opposing forces is quite evident, as clearly shown during their sniper-retreat operations.
No one could have foreseen it — the original plan had been to stall the Rain and Iwagakure alliance for half a day, yet within just over an hour, every single defensive position had fallen.
This showed how intense and determined the alliance's offensive had been.
Although both Lord Sakumo Hatake and the Jonin keep boosting morale, negative emotions are hard to avoid throughout the ranks.
"What about the village?"
Sakumo Hatake leading reinforcements wasn't unexpected, though his speed surpassed even Sakumo Hatake's expectations. However, what concerned him most was the village's stance.
After all, no matter how much he resented Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage still represented Konoha's legitimate authority.
As expected, the jonin communicator could only shake his head, looking visibly distressed.
After sending a distress message to Konoha headquarters, they received absolutely no response—it was like shouting into the void.
In desperation, the worried jonin had released fifteen ninja hawks to avoid intercepted communications, yet there still hadn't been any reply.
He absolutely refused to believe anyone could intercept all those hawks without detection—the ninja world was vast, but he'd never heard of a technique capable of eliminating so many hawks in midair without leaving a trace!
Therefore, Konoha's indifferent reaction left everyone in the know—including the jonin communicator—feeling chilled to their core.
"Spread the word."
Sakumo Hatake waved casually while watching the Rain and Iwagakure alliance openly reorganizing their formations ahead. Without turning back, he added, "Inform everyone—reinforcements will arrive in six hours. Hold the line with me until then!"
"Huh?"
The jonin looked surprised.
Although Hyuga Soushu's reinforcements traveled from the Land of Lightning, shouldn't they arrive far sooner than six hours?
"Better to leave extra margin for error."
Though he didn't turn around, Sakumo knew exactly what the jonin was thinking, so he explained further. "Even if Soushu's forces might arrive in about four hours, rushing directly into battle without rest would probably make them less effective."
Besides, giving them a bit of hope isn't a bad idea—better than letting them lose heart too soon.
Sakumo spoke calmly, but his words carried a bitter edge.
This kind of talk—filled with quiet resignation—didn't suit Sakumo Hatake, a man always filled with determination.
"Understood!"
The jonin said nothing more, performed a respectful bow, and Body Flickered back to base.
Soon after, announcements amplified through chakra spread across the battlefield exactly as instructed by Sakumo.
Six hours—that's how long they had to hold out.
Upon hearing this news, the uninformed chuunin and genin felt somewhat disheartened. Yet seeing Sakumo still standing resolutely at the front line reignited their determination.
To fight and die beside the legendary White Fang—what greater honor could there be?
Because Konoha's jonin broadcasted the message openly using chakra amplification, even distant enemy forces quickly learned of it. Specialized sensor ninjas intercepted the signal and immediately reported it to their commanders—Onoki and Sanshouo Hanzo.
Onoki merely scoffed coldly upon learning the news: "White Fang won't live past three hours here!"
Sanshouo Hanzo said nothing. He simply waved his hand to indicate awareness.
He wasn't interested in getting bogged down by these trivial numbers. After calling off the attack, he found out that over six hundred of the three thousand Rain ninjas under his command had already died. The reason the Ninja Forces still seemed to have suffered minimal losses was because the injured Rain ninjas kept gritting their teeth and pressing forward with the assault to maintain momentum.
It was true that attackers always took more losses than defenders, and the Allied Forces had the upper hand—yet the kill-to-loss ratio was still embarrassingly low.
But what could he do?
The Rain Ninja Village had long been known as a pushover, essentially at the same level as the Grass Ninja Village. It only gained prominence thanks to the sudden emergence of one formidable talent—Sanshouo Hanzo. But if you looked at its foundational strength and depth, it was practically no different from other small to mid-tier ninja villages. Worse yet, after countless brutal battles during the Great Ninja War, the Rain Ninja had already gone through multiple generations within just a few short years. Aside from a handful of veteran subordinates, Sanshouo Hanzo now realized with startling clarity how unfamiliar he had become with his own Rain ninjas!
"The rain of the Land of Rain..."
Looking up at the gray sky that never stopped drizzling, the suddenly somber Sanshouo Hanzo felt a whirlwind of emotions inside.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just then, as the signal flares of the Iwagakure ninja army shot into the sky, four thousand participating Iwagakure ninja launched an unprecedented combination of jutsu.
[Combined Ninjutsu Techniques: Earth Release—Bullet Rock Technique!]
[Combined Ninjutsu Techniques: Earth Release—Earthen Wall!]
As countless Chakra-forged rock projectiles darkened the sky and bombarded the Konoha Ninja Forces' positions, endless towering earthen walls erupted from the ground, spreading toward Konoha's frontlines!
Right after completing their first wave of Combined Ninjutsu Techniques, the Iwagakure Ninja Forces swiftly dispatched a portion of elite troops, which charged along the massive maze of protective earth walls toward the Konoha positions about to be overwhelmed by the barrage of Iron Rock Projectiles!
This was Iwagakure's specialty—an overwhelming tactic involving launching all-encompassing saturation strikes while simultaneously constructing nearly insurmountable labyrinthine barriers to protect their elite forces' focused breakthrough!
And now, Onoki—who had previously been holding back—activated his Super Lightweight Rock Technique and soared into the air, preparing to launch a thunderous strike against none other than Sakumo Hatake standing proudly at the very forefront of Konoha's position!
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