"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Faced with the full-scale assault from the Rain and Iwagakure alliance, Konoha's ninja forces appeared quite powerless in their counterattack.
Even the Fire Release Ninjutsu typically used for main attacks had been reduced to the Fire Release Dragon Fire Technique due to excessive chakra consumption by the ninja casting them—at least, that's how it seemed to the attacking alliance forces.
For the alliance forces who held absolute numerical superiority and had already worn down Konoha's Ninja Forces for three hours through successive wave attacks (a war of attrition), the combination techniques employed by Konoha ninja seemed especially ineffective against the well-prepared Iwa ninja.
They didn't even need to specifically deploy ninjutsu for interception; weak wind-and-fire combo attacks couldn't fully break through the maze of earthen walls constructed by the Iwagakure ninja, let alone cause real damage.
Even the weakest Rain Genin couldn't help but cheer and charge forward eagerly, ready to prove themselves in the coming fight.
"Lord Sakumo, we..."
In Konoha's battlefield command post, Jonin Koryo looked pale as he glanced at Sakumo Hatake's shadow clone beside him. He hesitated, clearly on the verge of saying something.
After Third Tsuchikage Onoki unleashed his Dust Release Secret Jutsu to clear the path, Sakumo Hatake vanished without a trace, though he had been leading the frontline moments ago. If not for the fact that Konoha's ninja were too busy facing the enemy's all-out charge, they likely would have fallen into complete disarray by now.
Even Jonin Koryo himself probably would've assumed that Sakumo Hatake had met an unfortunate fate, had he not noticed that Sakumo's shadow clone still appeared composed and unperturbed.
"Reserve units, prepare to move in."
Seemingly failing to catch the underlying implication in Jonin Koryo's tone, Sakumo's Shadow Clone mechanically reported according to the preset instructions: "Everything will get better in just another hour!"
"I"
Even though he faced only a clone of Sakumo, Koryo opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to bring himself to say the word 'retreat.'
"Understood!"
Finally, clenching his teeth, Jonin Koryo chose to trust Sakumo Hatake's decision.
Right or wrong—it didn't matter anymore!
At that moment, the Rain-Iwa alliance forces had already approached Konoha's battlefield under the cover of surging, powerful ninjutsu fire, instantly shattering the first defensive line whose morale had completely collapsed.
Particularly devastating was the leader of the Rain assault, Sanshouo Hanzo, whose advance left corpses strewn across every battlefield area. Even Konoha Jonin could barely survive a minute within the poisonous mist environment he generated, let alone engage him in actual combat.
Therefore, the Rain ninja became the sharpest blade piercing deepest into the formation, nearly driving straight through Konoha's position in one single push.
[Four-Corner Sealing Barrier!]
Just as Sanshouo Hanzo, advancing too quickly, had penetrated deeply into Konoha territory and somewhat lost coordination with his main Rain force, four figures completely covered in gas masks erupted from underground. Despite the residual effects of poison, they swiftly began performing seals.
A rectangular barrier suddenly surged upward, its translucent purple flames enclosing Sanshouo Hanzo along with his summoned beast!
This was also the only possible method remaining for Konoha ninja to stand a chance against Sanshouo Hanzo.
The sealing techniques originating from the Uzumaki clan are incredibly versatile jutsu, and they're also the only techniques capable of enabling a weaker opponent to defeat a stronger one. Combined with the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier's flames, which can effectively block poison to some extent, Sanshouo Hanzo was unable to pose any threat to the Konoha Ninja Forces before he forcibly broke through the barrier.
Suddenly, a shadow quietly emerged from underground and swiftly swung its blade among the Rain ninjas, who were thrown into chaos due to the unexpected incident.
Those Rain ninjas hadn't yet recovered from their shock at seeing the Semi-God's imprisonment, when they found themselves beheaded without realizing what had happened, blood bursting into the sky.
This lightning-fast figure moved freely through the ranks of the Rain ninjas, leaving decapitated bodies in his wake. Among the Rain ninjas, practically none could withstand even a single blow.
[White Fang!]
Sanshouo Hanzo immediately recognized the figure that was currently wreaking havoc among his own troops, slicing them down without mercy. The tragic sight of his men nearly made him grind his teeth in rage.
Thus, Sanshouo Hanzo wasted no time and quickly began forming hand seals to forcefully break through the Sealing Barrier.
Meanwhile, the Konoha ninja reserve forces pressed forward as well. However, instead of paying attention to the advancing Iwagakure forces, they focused their attack on the weakened Rain ninjas.
Under the command of Jonin officers, combined ninjutsu once again rained down upon the disarrayed Rain ninjas. Those whose formation had been completely disrupted by Sakumo Hatake barely had any capacity for resistance!
Even when a few Rain Jonins, who still retained their composure, shouted loudly trying to regroup and counterattack, they couldn't rally the panicked Rain ninjas before Sakumo Hatake swiftly beheaded them, leaving them to die tragically on the battlefield.
"Should we ask Tsuchikage-sama whether we need to dispatch a reserve force to assist the Rain ninjas?"
Kitsuchi, the temporary field commander once again, noticed this minor incident on the battlefield and immediately gave instructions to the communication ninja beside him.
The Iwagakure communication ninja quickly used a secret technique to transmit the message to the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, who was hovering in midair.
Soon, the communication ninja received Onoki's reply: "No need to intervene."
"I understand."
Kitsuchi felt somewhat surprised but realized his father's response was quite reasonable.
Although they shared the same battlefield as the Rain ninjas for ulterior motives, the mutual trust between them was extremely fragile. Frankly speaking, the long-standing grudges dating back to the countless bloody battles since the Second Great Ninja War already ensured that the Rain ninjas and Iwagakure would never fully trust each other enough to entrust their backs to one another.
Just considering how Sanshouo Hanzo had violated their pre-battle agreement not long ago, forcing Iwagakure to become the main attacking force, one could see how delicate their relationship truly was.
From Iwagakure's perspective, although Konoha was an enemy they longed to eliminate, the Rain ninjas were equally untrustworthy false allies. For these two sides to fight each other to the death was undoubtedly highly advantageous for Iwagakure, with absolutely no drawbacks!
In fact, Onoki even used secret sound transmission to instruct the Iwagakure ninja forces to slow their offensive pace. He wanted to prevent the Konoha Ninja Forces from collapsing too quickly by letting the Rain ninjas suffer even heavier losses.
As for Sanshouo Hanzo, trapped inside the sealing barrier, he had already figured out Iwagakure's plan just by watching. At the same time, he was forming hand seals and channeling his chakra. But right now, all he could do was break free from this prison as soon as possible in order to reverse the Rain ninja's unfavorable situation.
[Water Release: Water Dragon Devouring Explosion!]
With surging chakra waves like a roaring tide, a pitch-black chakra dragon materialized out of thin air. Controlled by Sanshouo Hanzo, the dragon opened its monstrous jaws and charged straight at the barrier's fire wall!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
The sealing barrier trembled violently as a chain reaction explosion erupted instantly.
In an instant, the barrier filled with chakra-charged steam. Sanshouo Hanzo immediately gathered this dispersed energy, reshaping it into another identical chakra water dragon.
"Boom!"
With the ninja techniques unleashed once again, the sealing barrier shattered!
The four sealing ninjas maintaining the barrier were instantly killed by the backlash, spitting blood as they collapsed!
Sanshouo Hanzo didn't even bother finishing off these dead sealing ninjas before directly summoning his summoned beast Ibuse Poisoning to charge toward the Konoha ninja who were continuously pouring into the Rain ninja formations.
But soon he sensed that something was seriously off!
If he released poison mist, the Konoha ninja would most certainly meet a gruesome end—but the problem was that the Rain ninja wouldn't be able to withstand even those instantly lethal toxins either!
So all he could do was rely on ninjutsu or sword techniques to forcefully drive back and kill the Konoha ninja currently engaged in melee combat.
And this was exactly the "comeback from death" strategy planned by Sakumo Hatake.
In short, it was a tactical doctrine of "you fight where you want, I strike where I choose"—using the Rain ninja's relatively weak combat power as an entry point to break them apart and create localized sweeping momentum, thereby disrupting the attacking forces' offensive rhythm.
Initially, when Iwagakure led the main assault, Sakumo Hatake had thought this extremely risky plan would fail before even starting. Yet after the coalition formally launched their attack, he realized—true to Ninja World's reputation—the chaotic amateurism somehow miraculously corrected itself through sheer accidental compatibility!
However, even Sakumo Hatake hadn't anticipated how quickly the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier, composed of four jonin specialized in sealing techniques, would collapse so soon, causing the reserve forces of Konoha Ninja Forces who entered the battlefield later than expected to fail to fully merge with the Rain ninjas.
After Sanshouo Hanzo performed Body Flicker, the Konoha ninja still stationed at the battlefield outskirts fell one after another like autumn leaves in the wind, no different from those Rain ninja who had died by Sakumo Hatake's blade.
"Push forward entirely!"
Koryo Jonin, previously still maneuvering and directing troops, directly abandoned micro-control upon witnessing Sanshouo Hanzo's might. He then activated Shifting Body Technique and dashed straight into the Rain ninja formation!
Sanshouo Hanzo was utterly swamped this time around!
Meanwhile, Sakumo Hatake, after relentless slaughter, finally succeeded—with assistance from charging Konoha ninja—in throwing the Rain ninja formation into chaos. He then took advantage of the momentum to drive these retreating ninjas straight toward Iwagakure's battle lines.
This placed Kitsuchi, the commanding officer, in a difficult dilemma.
If he took action to stop them, he would inevitably injure the fleeing Rain ninjas. If Sanshouo Hanzo got angry about that, the consequences would be serious.
Yet if he allowed the Rain ninja refugees to join their ranks, it would definitely disrupt his own battle formations and give Konoha ninjas an opportunity to exploit — that would be a costly mistake.
"Deploy the reserve unit immediately!"
After hovering above the battlefield to assess the situation, Onoki landed swiftly, took over command, and ordered, "Also order the Explosion Corps to disengage immediately and flank around to cut off the Konoha Ninja Forces' retreat route!"
"At once!"
Kitsuchi immediately agreed with sweat pouring down his face. He personally led the reserve unit toward the direction from which the Rain ninja refugees were fleeing.
From this point onward, chaos completely engulfed the border of the Land of Rain!
"All units pay attention!"
While leading his forces forward at maximum speed, Hyuga Soushu estimated the distance and finally broke the silence by ordering, "Immediately take Military Rations Pills to replenish your strength!"
"Yes sir!"
The entire Ninja Force responded in unison.
They each pulled out their respective Military Rations Pills carried on their persons, chugged the entire bottle of secret medicinal potion straight down their throats, and swallowed without even chewing.
After continuously marching for several hours, the Konoha ninjas' originally tense mood had already calmed somewhat. Additionally, during the march, Hyuga Soushu had been controlling the pace, so currently while everyone felt some fatigue, it wasn't significantly affecting their combat effectiveness.
However, since they were now starting to take Military Rations Pills in advance, it meant that Hyuga Soushu intended to increase speed again.
"Maximum speed ahead!"
Sure enough, Hyuga Soushu's second order was to accelerate their advance to the battlefield.
As soon as the words fell, Hyuga Soushu himself first activated Body Flicker to accelerate, once again taking position at the very front of the Ninja Force formation.
"Speed up! Speed up!"
The Jonin commanders immediately urged their subordinates to quicken their pace.
After another half hour of rapid movement, Hyuga Soushu's Byakugan finally spotted the intense battlefield!
"This is why we've crossed mountains and seas!"
Hyuga Soushu suddenly raised his voice, his loud cry echoing across the entire force, "Now our enemies are right before us! I need every one of you to fight courageously for both the village and yourselves!"
"Konoha Victory!"
Following the thunderous roar reaching the clouds, the edge of the battlefield finally came into view of the Konoha Ninja Forces.
And the Iwagakure ninja immediately spotted the Konoha Ninja Forces, who made no effort to conceal their presence.
"It's actually Konoha ninjas!"
Onoki's expression immediately changed dramatically!
"Actually our reinforcements have arrived!"
The Konoha ninjas erupted with joy.
Konoha blades slashed even more fiercely.
Among the Iwagakure ninja there was initially some hidden unrest, but it quickly subsided.
"The Explosion Corps and reserve unit should immediately go intercept them!"
Observing the approaching Konoha Ninja formation from midair, Onoki narrowed his eyes slightly, then issued command orders once again.
Though he had never laid eyes on Hyuga Soushu, the precedent-setting feat of beheading Sunagakure's elder Chiyo and defeating over four thousand Kumo ninja with only two thousand forces was more than enough for Onoki to take him seriously.
At the same time, Onoki formed hand seals and began gathering his Dust Release chakra. He slowly activated his Secret Jutsu to lift himself higher, avoiding unintended harm below.
"Break into skirmish lines and spread to both flanks—move out!"
The top of Hyuga Soushu's torch pole already burned with a blue chakra flame as he continued barking orders: "Our goal is not to kill, but to break the enemy's formation and sow chaos among their ranks. Avoid prolonged engagements at all costs!"
"Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya!"
"We are here!"
The Sannin stepped forward promptly, ready to carry out their mission.
"The three of you will target Sanshouo Hanzo directly. Drive him back and contain his offensive capabilities."
"Understood!"
Orochimaru abruptly but firmly nodded.
The sting of his earlier loss to Sanshouo Hanzo had never left him.
Now presented with an opportunity for rematch, Orochimaru saw this as a perfect chance to redeem himself.
Then, Hyuga Soushu immediately activated his technique.
[Jumping Slash!]
Like a phantom defying space and time, Soushu appeared right before Iwa's Explosion Corps. Swinging his hammer with immense force, he crushed an Iwa ninja who looked up in shock—killing him instantly!
"What?!"
Onoki, hovering midair, was utterly stunned.
Although intelligence reports had warned about Soushu's incredible battlefield speed, witnessing it firsthand now left even this old veteran, well-versed in many battles, awestruck.
"Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!"
Before Hyuga Soushu could exert unchecked dominance, an Iwa Jonin from the Explosion Corps summoned a miniature volcano directly beneath his feet.
"Boom!"
Scorching magma erupted violently, forcing Soushu to retreat hastily.
Undeterred, he immediately activated his [Jumping Slash] again, eliminating another relatively weaker Iwa ninja on the spot.
"Advance!"
Shortly after, the three thousand Konoha ninja, having covered vast distances in a forced march, successfully established their attack formation. Under their Jonin commanders, they engaged the Iwa forces in brutal close-quarters combat.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>