Shimura Danzō led the large troops to the border of Hakuki. At this time, he waved his hand to halt the advance.
"Everyone listen, now release shadow clones to scout ahead first! Do not rush forward recklessly!" Shimura Danzō's voice rang out. The shinobi army all obeyed the order, forming hand seals to release clone techniques.
A brand new Konoha army crossed the border and entered Hakuki. The Hyūga clan shinobi were sent to observe the situation of the shadow clone army.
Their Byakugan could see very far, making them most suitable for observation and intelligence gathering. Just as the shadow clone army advanced about five hundred meters, suddenly explosions sounded.
Boom boom boom! The first explosion triggered a chain reaction, causing all the explosive tag traps to detonate. From the Konoha shadow clone army, screams rang out one after another.
This was because Danzō had ordered the shinobi to instill consciousness into their shadow clones, so that when encountering ambushes or attacks, they would shout loudly. The purpose was to lure out the enemy troops.
After the explosions ended, five hundred Suna-nin immediately appeared. There were countless puppeteers and those using Wind Release, all attacking the shadow clone army.
Seeing the panicked state of the Konoha shadow clone army, they revealed cruel smiles. Because the explosive tags blocked their vision, and combined with the shouts of the shadow clones, they believed this was the main force.
And they were suicide squads. Since they had come, they had no intention of returning alive. They might even kill many people, contributing to Sunagakure.
But when one of the Wind Release shinobi used Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet and shot at a shinobi, the shinobi suddenly screamed and turned into a puff of white smoke. His expression changed, and he was about to speak.
At this moment, Danzō's shadow clone appeared behind him, one hand covering his mouth while the other used a kunai to slit his throat. "Everyone else, engage the enemy immediately!"
Indeed, Danzō's strength in his youth was still quite good. Even his shadow clone could kill a real person. Moreover, Danzō himself was proficient in assassination techniques. Although in the original work he couldn't kill Sarutobi Hiruzen, killing Suna-nin was still within his capabilities.
Following the orders of Danzō's shadow clone, the other shadow clones began to fight. The Suna-nin sneered, thinking, "Can you resist?"
They all began to fight desperately. Every time the Suna-nin noticed something wrong, the shadow clone Danzō would perform a precise backstab, preventing them from spreading the news.
But shadow clones were still shadow clones. Some disappeared after exhausting their chakra during the fight, while others turned into white smoke after being killed.
By this time, the Suna-nin had realized they had been tricked. Chiyo's strategy had been seen through!
At this moment, the Konoha army arrived. They looked at the Suna-nin on the battlefield with playful expressions, then looked at Danzō, feeling that the commander was amazing!
Shinobi were strong in assassination, sneak attacks, and ambushes. Once exposed in the open, their effectiveness was reduced by half, with some exceptions, of course.
Danzō coldly looked at the Suna-nin below and waved his hand. Immediately, various elemental ninjutsu rushed toward the remaining Suna-nin. The Suna-nin resisted for a while but soon couldn't hold on, being overwhelmed by the long-range ninjutsu.
Shimura Danzō did not lose a single soldier and took the heads of five hundred Suna-nin, attracting everyone's attention!
"Lord Danzō is wise! This shadow clone army decoy tactic has never been seen before in history!"
"Most importantly, we didn't lose a single soldier and annihilated an elite Suna unit!"
"Lord Danzō is mighty!"
The shinobi all praised Shimura Danzō's brilliant strategy. Shimura Danzō chuckled and waved his hand. "It's all thanks to everyone's brave performance that we could achieve such results. I should be the one thanking you all!"
Indeed, politicians knew how to speak. With this battle's achievement, Danzō's reputation also rose.
Only Nara Luming thoughtfully looked at Danzō, then suddenly had an epiphany and smiled. He realized that such a cunning tactic must have been devised by that person, but he didn't point it out.
After calming the troops' high spirits, Danzō said, "We will now head to the nearest village to establish a military camp. Remember, no one is to engage the enemy without my orders!"
"Yes!" everyone replied. They had complete trust in Danzō's command abilities, so whatever Danzō said, they would obey.
Danzō nodded, then called Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, take one thousand Senju clansmen to Chōga to battle the Suna-nin and prevent them from ambushing us from behind."
Orochimaru clasped his hands and said, "Understood!" Then he led the Senju clansmen toward the direction of Chōga.
On the battlefield of Chōga, Orochimaru used the same tactic Danzō had employed earlier, successfully avoiding the explosive tag traps. However, the difference was that this time the commanders were Chiyo and Pakura.
Orochimaru felt a headache coming on. According to the village's intelligence, Chiyo was a Kage-level combatant. Although Pakura was only a jōnin, her Scorch Release was extremely rare, with damage comparable to a Kage-level fighter. They couldn't fight head-on.
Thus, Orochimaru sent a wave of shadow clone gifts to the Suna troops, exchanged for a few dozen heads, then immediately headed to the nearest town to establish a military camp, focusing solely on defense.
In the Suna troops:
"Grandma, our previous setup failed!" Pakura was somewhat frustrated, not expecting the enemy to pull such a move.
"Hmm, man proposes, heaven disposes. It seems Konoha has a talented individual too. A shadow clone army, how interesting," Chiyo shook her head.
She understood that from this moment on, they had already failed. If they couldn't even pass the first hurdle, defeating Konoha was out of the question.
At this moment, a shinobi suddenly appeared, kneeling on the ground with a panicked expression.
"Lady Chiyo, Lady Chiyo, last night an assassin tried to kill your son, Chiron!" the Suna spy said.
Chiyo's pupils constricted. "What! Bastard! How is Chiron?"
Chiyo was no longer as calm as she had been after the battle's failure. Chiron was her only son, the apple of her eye. Hearing this news, how could she not be agitated?
She grabbed the spy by the collar, her face twisted in fury as she asked.
The spy swallowed hard, feeling fear. "Lord Chiron is fine. He just asked me to give you this." He then took out a letter.
Chiyo immediately relaxed, then took the letter and opened it. "Mother, I am fine. However, during the battle, I obtained a map and some intelligence. This matter is of great importance. Please take a look."
Chiyo opened the map, her face turning livid. Then she read the letter. The handwriting habits in the letter, such as upward hooks, were unmistakable—this was Yashamaru's habit. Who was Yashamaru? Rasa's brother-in-law and also his advisor.
Chiyo's expression darkened. She dismissed the spy, giving him some money and ordering him not to speak of this. The spy quickly nodded and left.
Only Pakura and Chiyo remained in the camp. Seeing Chiyo so angry, Pakura quickly asked, "Grandma, what happened?"
Chiyo snorted coldly. "It's your good senior brother, trying to borrow a knife to kill my son, leaving me without an heir and disheartened, so I would withdraw from the power struggle and pave the way for his future."
"With the enemy at our gates, he actually sold intelligence and colluded with the enemy village. What a fine Rasa, what a fine prized student of the Third Kazekage," Chiyo sneered.
She was no pushover. But this time, she owed Konoha a favor, so she decided not to attack Orochimaru. As long as Orochimaru didn't attack, she wouldn't move either. After all, this was a great kindness.
What? The village? The village is trying to kill my son, and you still want me to fight for the village? Nonsense!
Chiyo looked at Pakura and said, "Pakura, do not attack without my orders! I need to visit the Third Kazekage and ask him how he taught his student!"
Pakura nodded. "Understood, Grandma. Be careful on your way."
Chiyo nodded, then took the map and intelligence and headed to the central camp. She wanted to ask the Third Kazekage how he planned to handle this matter!
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