Two minutes later, Tsunade arrived on time with the main force heading toward the suspected enemy position at Kumogakure.
She believed that with nearly six hundred personnel, they were more than capable of wiping out this small enemy unit.
When they reached halfway up the mountain, the Hyuga clan ninja responsible for scouting had already detected their presence using the Byakugan.
"Enemy count: one hundred twenty-seven, located directly two kilometers below us."
"Good. Everyone, scatter and launch an attack!" Without another word, Tsunade charged straight down ahead of everyone else.
Konoha and Yugakure shinobi split into squads of around a hundred each and began surrounding the Cloud ninjas as they advanced.
Quickly, Tsunade spotted the small squad of Cloud ninjas first.
Without hesitation, she rushed forward and kicked, sending four or five enemies in the front row flying.
"Retreat! Immediately withdraw down the mountain!" The Kumogakure Junior Captain hiding at the rear immediately issued a retreat order.
Seeing their complete lack of will to fight, Tsunade decided to launch a pursuit.
"Maintain squad formations. Stop all these Cloud ninjas!" After giving orders through her earpiece, she followed closely behind the enemy's trail down the mountain.
However, just after taking a few steps, a new report from the Hyuga clan ninja made her stop in her tracks.
"There are an unknown number of enemies waiting below the mountain."
This was a trap!
Instantly, Tsunade set up a small battlefield communication station and contacted the nearest eastern commander.
"Jiraiya! You better get your ass over here right now or I'll be dead by then!"
"Eh..."
"Hurry up, or you can prepare to collect my corpse!"
"Tsunade, what's happening?"
"No time to explain. Just get prepared first."
Leaping upright, Jiraiya immediately issued orders without wasting a second.
His eastern forces needed to urgently head south for reinforcement.
The Kumogakure Junior Captain who had "fled" to the foot of the mountain noticed that no enemy shinobi had pursued them, realizing their plan had been uncovered by the opposition.
"After all, with our opposing positions, how could they possibly not deploy members of the Hyuga clan?" Having figured out this key point, the junior captain looked back at the numerous Cloud shinobi hidden below the mountain.
A smirk spread across his face as he seemed to have yet another scheme brewing.
After gathering his main force, Jiraiya bit his thumb.
[Summoning Technique!]
With a puff of white smoke, an orange-colored toad appeared before him.
"Wen? Where's your old man?"
"My dad went out on an errand. What do you want, kid?"
Seeing the still-developing Wen, Jiraiya felt a thousand complaints building up inside.
But the dangerous situation Tsunade faced instantly dispelled those thoughts.
"That's right, there's also the aircraft!"
"Oh, you mean that big iron block you said flies in the sky?" Young Wen asked curiously, wondering exactly how this airplane managed to take flight.
Jiraiya didn't bother explaining and simply gave his commands. "First squad, fifty people will follow me. The rest should rush immediately to reinforce the east side!"
Saying this, he placed Hagoromo's Ship atop this high mountain.
Coincidentally, Wuzhe and Wenzhe — both named on the list of the first squad of fifty — suddenly felt uneasy for no clear reason.
Thanks to that flight experience years ago, they'd all gone over aircraft procedures like crazy.
Mountains? The terrain wasn't flat at all. There's no way this plane could fly!
"Hurry up and board!" Jiraiya, carrying Young Wen, plopped himself down in the pilot's seat.
That long-ago sense of fear returned once again to Wenzhe's heart.
He asked his older brother beside him, "Wuzhe, do you think we will witness death with our own eyes this time?"
"Yes, Wenzhe, but it'll be the enemy's death." After giving that answer, Wuzhe stepped forward and entered the cabin.
Jiraiya then started flipping switches one by one, trying to remember what he'd learned from that massive flight manual.
"What does this button do again? Whatever, I'll just press it if the plane won't take off!"
Young Wen watched as he randomly pressed a few buttons before starting the engine.
"Jiraiya! Do you even know how to fly this thing!" It jumped up and hugged his entire face.
"Wen, stop messing around, I've got this under control."
"That, well, I actually know how to fly planes," Wuzhe raised his hand, indicating he was an experienced pilot.
"Don't joke around, do you realize you're gambling with your father's life here?"
Wuzhe appropriately expressed some feelings: "When Heaven bestows great responsibility upon a person, it must first test their mind, exhaust their body, and starve their flesh."
"I promise you won't die, okay?" After pulling Wen off his face, Jiraiya tossed him onto the co-pilot seat beside him.
Then he pulled back on the control stick.
With envious and jealous expressions, the Yugakure shinobi watched as Hagoromo's Ship slowly climbed upward from atop the mountain.
"Beeeeep"
The wildly flashing indicator lights caused unease for all fifty-one people inside plus one little toad.
If conditions were already this bad inside, it wouldn't be surprising at all for Hagoromo's Ship to suddenly fall apart mid-flight.
Any plants or flowers, large trees or rocks in its path were flattened and sent flying away, leaving behind a very obvious wide road.
Holding tight to the joystick, his face bathed in flashing red warning lights, Jiraiya didn't bother turning — he just yanked the stick straight back.
In an instant, Hagoromo's Ship — its wingspan stretching over thirty meters — blasted straight into the sky with a deafening roar.
On the southern mountain, Tsunade found herself surrounded from the opposite direction and needed to make a difficult decision.
Would she stay behind to block off the Kumogakure shinobi, giving her comrades time to escape while awaiting reinforcements? Or should everyone try delaying together?
Running away was never an option for her!
[Yin Seal Release!]
A diamond-shaped pattern beneath Tsunade's forehead protector rapidly spread throughout her entire body.
[Strength of a Hundred Technique!]
"All of you hurry up and leave. I'll hold them back!" Standing in front of the incoming Kumo forces, she issued the command as a commander.
"Tsunade, I'm here!" As Jiraiya's voice crackled through the earpiece, she clenched her fist even tighter.
"Jiraiya? Where are you?"
"In the sky!"
Looking up at the sky, Tsunade noticed Hagoromo's Ship plummeting downward, its rear section engulfed in flames and its body badly damaged.
"Hang on, Tsunade!" Mū shouted. "We're all gonna get out of this alive!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hagoromo's Ship slammed into the Kumogakure shinobi gathered at the foot of the mountain.
Plowing forward fearlessly, it flattened everything that stood in its way.
"Was that a quick escape route?"
Seeing the destruction it had caused, Tsunade barked new orders: "Everyone, fall back while fighting! I'll pave the way for you!"
With that, she pushed off the ground forcefully and leaped toward the Kumogakure shinobi, delivering a powerful punch she had been charging for some time.
[Crack!]
The impact sent several fissures across the ground.
In its full form, the Strength of a Hundred Technique was something even the Heavenly Lightning Arm couldn't rival.
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