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Facing Shizune's stern interrogation, Tsunade eventually confessed everything.
Oh my god...
Shizune had been wondering where Tsunade got such confidence!
It turned out she had swiped one of Kazuki's money scrolls.
"My Lady, this money cannot be spent."
Refusing Tsunade's proposal with righteous indignation, Shizune confiscated the scroll.
Absolutely won't let Tsunade spend this money!
Watching the scroll get taken away, Tsunade felt numb!
This meant her plan to have a good time was ruined.
From now on, if she wanted to live it up, she would have to earn money. Otherwise, she might face the possibility of going hungry.
*******
Dropping the kunai in his hand, casually tossing the corpse into a sealing scroll, Orochimaru stored the scroll away and asked Itachi, who was standing not far away:
"How many waves have we had today?"
"Fifth wave."
Itachi accurately reported the number of times Iwagakure ninja had attacked.
As time passed and Iwagakure made a series of arrangements, the number of attacks and interceptions they faced increased.
To prevent Kazuki from lurking on the border and delivering a massive blow to the village, Ōnoki chose to disperse his forces.
Using small-scale units to drive away and eliminate Konoha's ninja.
Unfortunately, the results were not ideal.
The ninja who had invaded the Land of Earth were all specially selected elites.
To successfully intercept and kill these Konoha ninja, or drive them away, required concentrating large forces.
Small-scale engagements basically meant sending in cannon fodder.
After all, Iwagakure's main forces were still bogged down on the Land of Waterfalls battlefield, fighting Kumogakure.
In just a few days, having the main forces on the Land of Waterfalls battlefield withdraw back to the Land of Earth was simply unrealistic.
Moreover, Ōnoki didn't dare give such an order easily.
Because withdrawing the main forces from the Land of Waterfalls battlefield would cause problems there.
At this point, Ōnoki was completely caught in a dilemma.
Forced into a corner, he could only choose small-scale attacks to counter Konoha. The price was heavy casualties.
Fortunately, at the cost of many ninja lives, Konoha's operations were significantly hindered.
"It seems the intensity of Iwagakure's attacks is increasing."
With a faint smile on his face, Orochimaru said to Itachi:
"Send word to all units to gradually accelerate their pace and converge toward the border. The village's mission is plunder, not fighting to the death with Iwagakure within the Land of Earth."
If the mission were to fight the enemy to the death within the Land of Earth, Orochimaru would adjust tactics immediately.
But it wasn't. The mission was simply plunder.
At this time, Konoha had no need to fight Iwagakure to the death.
Go send the message.
Itachi signaled to the clansman beside him.
*******
"Damn it!"
Even though he was mentally prepared, seeing the casualty report still made Ōnoki explode with curses.
Facing Konoha ninja who had infiltrated the Land of Earth, without being able to deploy large forces, they could only fight and drive them away using scattered, small-scale tactics.
The price for this was increased casualties.
Ōnoki had almost forgotten how many times he'd cursed in his mind.
"Send more people! Even at great cost, we must drive all these Konoha ninja out, or annihilate them!!!"
Compared to the nuclear-level threat of Kazuki's existence, sacrificing some ninja was acceptable.
But this type of warfare would negate Iwagakure's numerical advantage.
Why did Konoha always produce such monsters?
Especially the Uchiha clan.
Recalling the time he followed the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, to Konoha seeking an alliance, only to be crushed by Uchiha Madara, a thorn had always been stuck in Ōnoki's heart.
Back then, Uchiha Madara handled the two of them as easily as pinching chicks, casually grinding them into the ground.
When asked why he didn't kill them, Madara had oddly replied:
Don't be ridiculous. Who would get serious with a child? Who would kill a child for no reason?
So in your mind it's perfectly fine to casually grind children who come seeking alliance into the dirt!
But killing is wrong, and you shouldn't stoop to a child's level?
Why don't you just go die?
Realizing his emotions were getting out of control, Ōnoki kept taking deep breaths to steady himself.
As Iwagakure continuously dispatched wave after wave of ninja to block and intercept, Konoha's operations encountered resistance. Even if they killed all the enemies that appeared, new ones would arrive soon.
Seeing this situation, everyone knew it was time to go back.
Combined with Orochimaru's orders arriving, the various units began to withdraw, gradually converging toward Orochimaru.
As Konoha's ninja converged, the forces would unite. This meant Iwagakure's attacks would become even more futile.
The downside was that with so many people, the target was large and easily tracked.
For certain reasons, Iwagakure didn't dare send large forces to pursue and intercept.
Realizing this, Orochimaru immediately ordered the dispersed units to speed up their convergence.
A vast ninja force rapidly withdrew toward the border.
Iwagakure's scout teams watched all this, but they could only watch Konoha's main force retreat.
They wanted to intercept, but found it impossible.
Unless the village deployed more than twice their numbers for an effective attack and interception.
Three thousand elite troops assembled was no joke. Unless the main forces arrived, without double the numbers, interception was impossible. The most they could do was increase Konoha's casualties.
Coupled with the intangible threat of Kazuki's presence, these three thousand Konoha elites could rampage with impunity within the Land of Earth.
Kazuki's plan to deploy three thousand elites into the Land of Earth was carefully calculated.
Otherwise, if he casually deployed several thousand elites and they suffered heavy losses, no matter how many resources Konoha plundered, it would be a losing business.
Kazuki had calculated that Iwagakure's main forces were tied up in the Land of Waterfalls and couldn't be redeployed quickly.
Even if they could be redeployed, Ōnoki wouldn't dare move them.
Combined with the deterrent effect of his own actions, Ōnoki didn't dare act rashly.
This situation left Ōnoki with no choice but to watch helplessly.
"Ha ha ha, Iwagakure people are so funny. They keep sending people to die."
"It seems Iwagakure isn't so scary. I wonder why the village suffered such heavy losses in the Third Great Shinobi War."
Pride can easily lead to delusion.
Too smooth an operation led many Konoha ninja to become arrogant.
Fortunately, there were plenty of people in the ranks suitable to act as coolants.
This was something Nara clan ninja excelled at.
"Shut your mouths. If you don't want to be punished by Lord Advisor, keep them shut. Some things are not for us to casually discuss."