Red hair. A young, immature face. The person before him was someone Gekko Chizan never expected to see.
Chiyo's grandson—Sasori of the Red Sand!
Sasori!
Why is it him?!
Gekko Chizan felt like his brain couldn't keep up anymore.
At this time, Sasori was still a few years younger than Chizan, but the gloom and hatred on his immature face were unmistakable.
He finally understood where the anger and resentment that Chomei had sensed came from.
Sasori's parents were killed by Hatake Sakumo—of course he would bear hatred toward Konoha.
But didn't he assassinate the Third Kazekage?
Why would he be part of a Sunagakure unit? And judging from the others' attitudes toward him...
Could it be—he's the captain of this vanguard unit?
While Gekko Chizan was lost in thought, Sasori suddenly made his move.
"Boom!"
He pulled out a scroll from behind him. In a puff of white smoke, a massive puppet instantly appeared.
At a glance, Gekko Chizan recognized the large puppet. After all, it was too distinctive to forget.
Salamander!
For puppet masters, all their combat strength comes from their puppets.
And Sasori of the Red Sand had shown extraordinary talent in puppetry from a young age.
This massive puppet before them was clearly his work.
"Just some useless traps. Smash them, and they're gone!"
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, the massive Salamander charged into the area filled with traps.
Seeing this, Gekko Chizan couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
The Salamander was a puppet specialized in defense—its toughness was insane. Even falling boulders wouldn't leave a scratch on it.
As the Salamander advanced, whether it was kunai, senbon, explosive tags, or falling rocks—
They were all forcibly tanked by its incredibly durable body.
"Damn it, if this keeps up, all the traps will be rendered useless."
"Chomei, help me think—any way to stop him?"
Chomei let out two dry laughs and replied calmly:
"Nope. How am I supposed to help with this?"
"How about we Tailed Beast Transform and stomp him?"
"I'm in. Are you in?"
Gekko Chizan fell silent. That would basically be the end of him.
"Forget it. Better to retreat and warn our team to prepare for defense."
It wasn't that Gekko Chizan didn't want to contribute—he just had no way to deal with this.
There were so many enemies, and with Sasori—a master of both poison and puppets—he had no intention of charging in to become cannon fodder.
He immediately leapt back to retreat.
On the way, he kept pondering why Sasori of the Red Sand was here.
Soon, a line of reasoning emerged.
Logically, Sasori had two enemies—Hatake Sakumo and Haneda Zaimon...
Damn—it all makes sense now!
In the original story, Hatake Sakumo was already dead at this point. So Sasori's revenge target had become the Third Kazekage.
But now, because of his interference, Hatake Sakumo was still alive.
So Sasori's hatred would naturally target him first.
No wonder he showed up on the battlefield! With his puppet and poison mastery, he was a massive asset.
Damn it. Haneda Zaimon really lives up to the title of strongest Kazekage—did he actually predict all this?
And clearly, Sasori was aligned with Chiyo's faction. Not only could he eliminate internal threats to the village, but he could also strengthen the vanguard unit.
What a ruthless move.
Realizing this, Gekko Chizan didn't dare delay. He accelerated and raced toward the Land of Fire.
...
Konoha Defensive Line
A thousand ninja were working tirelessly to construct defensive fortifications.
Orochimaru stood in front of the structures, gazing off into the distance. Soon, a group of masked ANBU appeared in his line of sight.
The leader, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, ran straight to Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, the enemy vanguard numbers 200. Their leader is unknown."
"We set many traps along their path, so they should be slowed down for a bit. How's the progress on the fortifications here?"
Orochimaru nodded. But when he heard the vanguard had 200 people, he was visibly surprised.
Normally, a vanguard wouldn't have such large numbers. After all, their role was to scout and clear the way.
Could it be that Sunagakure really had so much power to throw around?
"I've ordered most squads to fall back. ANBU Number Six is still scouting enemy movements."
"I'll wait here for his report. Intel is vital."
Leaving those words behind, Sarutobi Shinnosuke walked alone into the camp, while the other ANBU quickly returned toward the village.
ANBU Number Six? Hehehe. Chizan-kun, why'd you give yourself such a weird codename?
Orochimaru was well aware of his student's abilities, so he had no complaints.
Even though the boy was his student, he was also an ANBU operative and answered directly to the Hokage. As one of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru had no right to interfere.
Not long after the ANBU departed, another figure came sprinting toward the camp.
Orochimaru immediately recognized his own student and moved to meet him.
"Huh? Sensei, you really came to the Land of Rivers battlefield?"
"Hehehe. Isn't that only natural?"
Gekko Chizan approached Orochimaru, his voice dead serious.
"Sensei, the enemy means business. Their leader is a red-haired youth skilled in poison and puppetry."
"He used a massive puppet to clear the way. The ANBU traps were almost completely ineffective."
"Looking at this place, the defenses aren't finished. I'm afraid we don't have enough time."
"And based on my analysis, the red-haired puppet master is likely the child of Chiyo's son, who was killed by Hatake Sakumo. That would make him Chiyo's grandson."
Hearing this, Orochimaru's snake-like pupils narrowed sharply.
He trusted his student's judgment completely—Gekko Chizan specialized in stealth and reconnaissance, after all.
And it was true: Hatake Sakumo had killed many puppet masters back then, including a red-haired one—Chiyo's son.
"Poison, huh? How powerful is it?"
Gekko Chizan: Damn, why not just ask how strong the enemy is? I could tell you straight up that this guy will go toe-to-toe with you one day.
Orochimaru: Wouldn't that sound a bit rude?
"Hard to say. But judging by the puppet's quality and the fact he's Chiyo's grandson, I doubt he's weak."
"The key issue now is that our defenses aren't ready. We should strike first—disrupt their momentum and slow their advance."
Hearing that, Orochimaru gave a small nod. That was indeed what he had in mind.
Their fortifications were still incomplete, and the enemy vanguard was numerous. If they clashed before preparations were finished, Konoha would suffer heavy losses.
He immediately ordered someone to fetch Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
"What?! The traps were destroyed? Damn it!"
"Not even Kemaki's armored puppets could dismantle all the traps without a scratch."
"Number Six, are you sure you saw that right?"
Faced with Shinnosuke's questioning, Gekko Chizan felt annoyed. But since the man was now his superior, he still repeated his report.
After listening, Shinnosuke's expression turned grim.
"If that's really the case, then I agree with Number Six. We need to stall the enemy."
"We move out now!"
As the current ANBU captain, his grasp of battlefield tactics was excellent.
Anything Orochimaru could think of—he could too.
"We don't need a big team. Just the three of us."
"We'll use large-scale ninjutsu to obstruct them. I specialize in Earth Release—this part's mine!"
Shinnosuke's voice brimmed with confidence. No surprise—he was the son of Sarutobi Hiruzen, and already an elite jonin.
Especially in Earth Release—he had received personal instruction from his father.
"Alright. Chi—Number Six, what do you think?"
Orochimaru almost said the wrong name but quickly corrected himself.
Unexpectedly, Sarutobi Shinnosuke spoke again.
"Enough. His identity isn't a secret to me—it's just Gekko Chizan, right?"
"Let's go, Orochimaru, every minute earlier means more time to buy!"
And just as the three began their mission, the original traps were completely removed by Akasuna no Scorpion.
He put away his salamander and coldly issued orders:
"The traps are gone. Everyone, keep advancing!"
Then Sasori put on his conical hat again and disappeared into the ranks.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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