Before this, the Leaf Village's victories were entirely due to Uchiha Shigure's intelligence and formidable strength.
Now, due to Orochimaru's impatience, their inherent advantage had completely vanished.
"Sigh… Hiruzen-sensei… I had intended to find a way to negotiate with the Sand Village to secure sufficient benefits for the Leaf, but now it seems we must continue the fight," Shigure said with a hint of helplessness.
"A general outside the capital is not bound by the emperor's orders. Lord Orochimaru also wishes to use the current high morale to push the Sand Village to a dead end," Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to understand Orochimaru's feelings.
"Although morale is strong, Orochimaru is bound to fail this time," Shigure stated firmly.
"Hm? Why are you so sure?"
"Haven't the Sand Village's main forces been wiped out by us?" Kusuo Hatake and Kurenai also expressed confusion.
"Boss, just tell us the reason directly. I'm not good at war; all I know is that Orochimaru is quite strong and can protect himself," Kakuzu said.
Shigure then explained: "First, although the Sand Village's main forces have retreated, they did so in an orderly fashion and did not lose command. Ebizo is more formidable than Chiyo; he uses tactics, and Orochimaru could easily fall into an ambush. Second, Orochimaru is too arrogant and self-important; his psychology can easily be exploited by Ebizo.
"Third, if Orochimaru's ninja troops are ambushed and surrounded, without our supplies, they could easily be annihilated. And the last point, also the most crucial one—
"While the Leaf Village has many forests, the Sand Village's environment and weather are extremely harsh, but the Sand Village has adapted to it. This is the 'heavenly timing.' The Ichisen Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, giving the Sand the 'geographical advantage.' Beyond Ichisen Pass lies the Sand Village itself, and at a moment of life and death, the Sand shinobi will undoubtedly fight with all their might and unity; this is 'human harmony.'
"Our side lacks supplies, possesses only high morale, lacks intelligence, and our combat personnel are not numerous. However, the enemy holds the heavenly timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony… I truly can't see how Orochimaru could possibly win."
Everyone immediately understood after hearing Shigure's explanation.
"So, what should we do?" they asked.
"We can only attack," Shigure replied.
Shigure then went to the Leaf Village's frontline command post and addressed all the ninjas.
"All troops, listen up!" Shigure declared with authority. "Cross the desert! Attack the Sand Village's Ichisen Pass! Rendezvous with Orochimaru and together, take down the Sand Village!"
"Alright!"
"Amazing!"
"Shigure! Shigure!"
"Light of the Shinobi World!"
The ninjas under his command, having witnessed Shigure's strategies and strength in previous battles, were naturally loyal to him. Hearing Shigure's words, they all believed victory was within reach, and that this combined force would annihilate the Sand Village.
In reality, however, Shigure merely didn't want his subordinates to lose confidence; the true purpose of this mission was actually to rescue Orochimaru.
Immediately after, the main force of Leaf ninjas led by Shigure crossed the scorching desert and entered the southwestern Wind Desert.
The desert environment was extremely harsh, with direct sunlight. If Shigure hadn't prepared a large amount of water resources in advance, countless Leaf ninjas would likely have collapsed from the heat alone.
As they advanced, Shigure began to faintly spot some corpses of Leaf ninjas.
"Investigate," Shigure commanded.
"Yes, Lord Shigure!" A Leaf jōnin reported after investigating, "Indeed, they are Leaf ninjas who were with Lord Orochimaru."
"Did they die of thirst? Or…" Shigure immediately used his Observation Eye and realized that these individuals had not died of thirst. The surrounding sand was extremely loose and slowly settling.
"Wait!" Shigure immediately shouted, but a distracted chūnin, before he could react, sank into the sand.
"This is a quicksand area!" Shigure immediately warned.
The chūnin was completely unable to exert any force and couldn't get out of the sand, immediately panicking.
"Don't struggle! Don't move!" Shigure warned. Hiruzen immediately sent out an Empty Palm, creating a depression in the quicksand, while Kakuzu's tentacles quickly grabbed the ninja and pulled him out.
"I'm saved…" The chūnin had narrowly escaped death.
"Everyone follow me. Do not exceed one meter in horizontal distance from me!" Shigure, using his Observation Eye, could accurately bypass the quicksand zones. Once trapped in quicksand, it's very difficult to break free; even if only one foot is buried, it requires the strength to lift at least a car.
Therefore, Shigure ordered his subordinates to be extra careful, and they eventually bypassed the quicksand safely. After walking for a long time, the entire Leaf main force was extremely fatigued.
"Set up camp! There won't be any enemies nearby," Shigure observed the distance and saw no signs of any living creatures. After issuing the order, he began studying the map in front of a campfire.
"Lord Shigure, our supplies are also running low…" a jōnin reminded.
"I know. Don't worry, I discussed it with Orochimaru early on; he will leave some supplies for us," Shigure reassured him.
"Get some good rest. Tell everyone not to worry about supplies. Tomorrow, we will reach the Sand Village's Ichisen Pass! Isn't the purpose of coming here to defeat the enemy?" Shigure projected an air of impending victory.
"That's how it is! That's wonderful! I think morale will surely rise again!" The jōnin happily left.
Kakuzu and Hiruzen naturally guessed, "Orochimaru wouldn't leave us supplies, would he?"
Shigure smiled wryly. "That's certainly true… I just don't want them to lose hope, otherwise what morale would be left to speak of."
"I see… I understand."
"According to the map, we should reach Ichisen Pass very soon. We should arrive near Ichisen Pass tomorrow." Shigure then felt a strange gust of wind.
"Are you serious…" Shigure was a bit speechless. He used his Observation Eye and saw a scene not far away where the entire sky and land were covered by sand and dust.
"We just passed the quicksand area, and now we're facing a sandstorm?!" Shigure immediately sounded the alarm.
"Everyone pay attention! A sandstorm is approaching!" Hiruzen and the jōnin quickly relayed the message.
"Everyone who can use Earth Release! Use all your chakra to create Earth-Style Wall to block it!" Shigure used a Summoning Jutsu to summon the giant slug, Katsuyu, and then immediately used her Split ability. Thousands of Leaf ninjas each gained a small Katsuyu on their person.
"Everyone who can use Wind Release! Come forward with me and use Great Breakthrough! Try to blow the sandstorm back!" Shigure ordered.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Fortress Wall!" Numerous Leaf ninjas cast the jutsu together, and a gigantic Earth-Style Fortress Wall was formed.
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