To prevent the war from escalating further, the Leaf sent personnel to discuss a ceasefire with Chiyo and others.
Unfortunately, the Sand Ninja had no intention of a ceasefire, insisting that the Third Kazekage's disappearance was related to the Leaf.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was furious upon receiving the reply. "If you want to seize land from our Land of Fire, just say so."
"What kind of excuses are you making? Do you really think our Leaf is afraid of you?"
"Let's fight! Whoever backs down first is a coward."
"Go tell Orochimaru not to hold back. Drive all the Sand Ninja out of the Land of Rivers!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, wearing his Hokage hat, had a strong murderous glint in his eyes.
"Yes, sir!"
Iwagakure, Land of Earth
"Lord Tsuchikage, the Leaf and Sunagakure are at war. Should we take this opportunity to invade the Land of Fire?"
Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, wearing a straw hat, looked at Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki and asked seriously.
"Wait a moment. Those hotheads from Kumogakure haven't made a move yet. Let them act first. The Third Raikage won't miss this good opportunity."
Ōnoki shook his head at Han's words, indicating that he would not act for now and would wait for Kumogakure to make the first move.
And at this moment, the Third Raikage was indeed, as Ōnoki expected, already sharpening his blades and eyeing the fertile lands of the Land of Fire.
Along with Sarutobi Hiruzen's order, a support force of three thousand arrived on the battlefield in the Land of Rivers.
With the reinforcements, Orochimaru immediately ordered his troops to launch a proactive attack.
"Kill them! Drive these guys from Sunagakure back to the Land of Wind to eat sand!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu!"
On the front lines, ninjutsu flew everywhere, the shouts of battle were incessant, and ninjas perished every moment.
"Magnet Style: Gold Dust Tsunami!"
Rasa quickly formed hand seals, then slammed his hands to the ground, and a large amount of gold dust immediately erupted from the earth.
The gold dust surged like a waterfall towards Orochimaru, who was continuously slaughtering the Sand Ninja.
Orochimaru looked at the massive amount of gold dust surging towards him, then killed a chunin in front of him, retreated rapidly, and began forming hand seals.
"Ninja Art: Triple Rashomon!"
Clang, clang, clang... Three giant gates, carved with demon faces, rose rapidly from the ground in succession.
Just as the three gates finished rising, the wave-like gold dust precisely crashed into the gates.
Boom... "Hmph, Magnet Style: Gold Dust Spear!"
Rasa, controlling the sand while flying in the air, saw his technique blocked, then extended his hands forward, and the gold dust instantly transformed into an incredibly sharp spear.
"Orochimaru, die!"
In an instant, this spear made of gold dust appeared before Orochimaru's eyes.
"Hidden Shadow Many Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru extended his right hand, and numerous large snakes crawled out from his arm, fearlessly rushing forward to tightly entangle the spear.
Seeing the spear controlled, Orochimaru licked his lips with his tongue, and spoke coldly:
"Hehe, Rasa, are you going to keep fighting me? Your troops seem to be on the verge of collapsing, you know."
Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, Rasa hastily looked at the battlefield, only to see the Sand Ninja being steadily beaten back by the Leaf, likely to be completely annihilated before long.
"Hmph, you're lucky this time, but this war is still long."
"Everyone, listen to my command, retreat!"
The Sand Ninja, who were struggling to resist, felt a sense of relief the moment they heard the retreat order.
They disengaged from their entangled enemies and rapidly retreated towards the rear.
Seeing this, the Leaf side did not pursue, as they themselves had also suffered heavy losses.
Just as Rasa had said, no one knew when this war would end.
And Orochimaru watched the Sand Ninja gradually disappear from sight, silently, his eyes flickering, wondering what he was thinking.
"Lord Orochimaru, the enemy has completely retreated. What should we do next?"
Just then, a chubby member of the Akimichi clan came to Orochimaru's side and asked respectfully.
"Let's go back to the camp and rest first."
Orochimaru's hoarse voice revealed a hint of coldness, but those familiar with him knew that this was just his nature.
"Yes, sir!"
The first battle between the Sand Ninja and the Leaf ended with heavy losses on both sides.
At the same time, the long-peaceful Land of Tea was suddenly attacked by a large number of ninjas, and it fell within a day.
However, because its demise was so swift, not a single piece of news managed to escape.
"It's truly the common people who suffer the most in war!"
Kochou Shinobu looked at the surrounding ruins and the weeping citizens of the Land of Tea amidst them, speaking with a touch of sympathy.
"Shinobu, haven't you heard a saying?"
"What saying?"
Kochou Shinobu looked at Zhong Chen with a puzzled expression.
Zhong Chen suddenly pulled out a hat from somewhere and put it on his head, with two characters clearly written on it: [Blue Sky].
"Hehe, Lord Chen has arrived, the Blue Sky is here, and good days are coming!"
"It's clearly that wherever you appear, something big is bound to happen."
"Heh, you make it sound like I'm some kind of bad omen."
Kochou Shinobu rolled her eyes at Zhong Chen's words.
"You said that yourself; I never did."
Whoosh... "Lord Chen, all the high-ranking officials of the Land of Tea have been executed. There were no innocent people."
Akame, dressed in a sailor uniform, appeared suddenly before Zhong Chen and Kochou Shinobu with Kurome and others.
"Hmm, I understand. Let the political department handle the aftermath. The troops will rest for a day, and then we'll go wander around the Land of Rivers."
"Yes, Lord Chen!"
Akame nodded obediently after hearing him.
Zhong Chen, however, noticed Kurome standing behind Akame.
Looking at the little loli constantly eating snacks, Zhong Chen couldn't help but feel a bit mischievous.
Swish... Zhong Chen's figure vanished instantly, and when he reappeared... "Ah! My snacks! Lord Chen, give them back!"
Kurome's mouth immediately puffed out as she looked at the snacks Zhong Chen had snatched, glaring at him with an angry expression.
"Hmph, no one has ever been able to take something back from my hands!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhong Chen opened his mouth wide and poured all the snacks into it.
Feeling the taste of the snacks in his mouth, Zhong Chen unconsciously smacked his lips.
"He... he ate them! You hateful Lord Chen!"
Kurome looked at the empty bag and pounced towards Zhong Chen, baring her teeth and claws.
But as soon as she moved, Akame grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.
"Don't be rude to Lord Chen!"
Akame expressionlessly lectured her sister, while Zhong Chen, watching Kurome being restrained, revealed a smug expression.
"Hehe, come on over! Why aren't you moving! Wahahaha!"
Looking at Zhong Chen making faces at her, Kurome began to struggle wildly, shouting angrily as she struggled:
"Sister, let go of me! I'm going to take Lord Chen down with me today!"
Everyone present couldn't help but cover their foreheads, seeing Zhong Chen's irritating behavior.
How could their boss be such a character, so smug about snatching snacks from a little girl?
Perhaps Zhong Chen's behavior was truly too annoying, even the usually spacey Sheele couldn't help but say:
"Lord Chen is so punchable..."
Everyone turned to look at Sheele upon hearing her words, while Sheele tilted her head innocently and asked softly:
"Did I say something wrong...?"
"Hahahahaha!"
"No, you're absolutely right, Sheele!"
"Lord Chen is indeed very punchable!"
"That bad guy truly does nothing but bad things..."