Chōga Battlefield, Suna Camp
Chiyo looked at the signal flare from the Hakuki direction and felt inexplicably uneasy. She quickly said, "Pakura, I have a bad feeling about this."
Pakura was startled. She had also seen the distant signal flare, which meant Elder Ebizō had begun executing his plan. Wasn't this good? Moreover, the mountain had given the correct response. What was there to worry about?
"Perhaps Lady Chiyo is overthinking it. With Ebizō-sama's intelligence and strategies, this Hakuki battlefield will surely be a great victory!" Pakura reassured.
At that moment, a scout entered the camp. "Report! Orochimaru has led Konoha shinobi to surround two main gates of our camp. They are stationed 300 meters outside!"
Chiyo frowned. Surrounding without attacking, this tactic was so similar to the siege of Amegakure in the Land of Rain. What was Orochimaru planning?
Then she trembled all over and exclaimed, "No! Ebizō is in danger! Orochimaru is trying to prevent us from joining forces with the Hakuki troops!"
Pakura was confused. "Lady Chiyo, Ebizō-sama's plan has been proceeding smoothly so far! How could there be danger? Even without us, he can annihilate the Konoha troops!"
Chiyo gritted her teeth. "No, no, no, no, no. You didn't participate in the war in the Land of Rain. You don't know how terrifying Konoha's strategies can be. If I'm not mistaken now, Kikyōzan has likely already been taken by Konoha!"
Pakura's face turned pale. That couldn't be. Didn't the mountain respond? Wait, it was about the timing of the response!
If one didn't think carefully, this detail could easily be overlooked. Suna's signal flares followed the rule of one flare followed by a second. Although the second flare was launched, the timing was wrong. It was about 20 seconds slower than it should have been.
According to Ebizō's trained shinobi, such a mistake shouldn't happen. Therefore, the mountain had likely already been occupied by Konoha!
This meant the traps originally set for Konoha would now be used against the Suna troops!
At this moment, those involved were confused while spectators saw clearly.
Chiyo and Pakura were not on the Hakuki battlefield and could think calmly. Ebizō had pursuers ahead of him. In such a situation, it was entirely possible to overlook some details.
Ah, one must not underestimate others. If being a transmigrator made one look down on the characters in the anime, treating them as paper figures whose thoughts were all known, then one would be close to death.
"Hurry, hurry, we must dispatch troops immediately. We need to abandon this position and join Ebizō. Otherwise, it will be too late, and everything will be lost!" Chiyo quickly commanded.
"Yes!" Pakura of the Scorch Style activated her chakra. An orange-red cloak formed by the fusion of wind and fire chakra appeared around her in the camp. She announced loudly, "Everyone charge through the back gate! We must break out and join Ebizō-sama's troops!"
Chiyo gritted her teeth in frustration. Damn it, was Konoha's commander Danzō really this formidable? She slapped the table and then unsealed a scroll, summoning all ten puppets of the Chikamatsu Collection.
Orochimaru watched this scene from afar and sneered. Although I can't defeat you, dragging this out won't be a problem at all!
"Summoning Jutsu!" Orochimaru placed his right hand on the ground, and dense black summoning seals spread from his palm. Then a massive creature appeared, and Orochimaru stood on its head.
"Kukukuku, Orochimaru, summoning Lord Manda requires payment. Have you prepared the sacrifices?" Manda laughed wildly.
Orochimaru chuckled. "You can eat as many Suna trash as you want later!"
Manda grinned. "Hmm, not bad, not bad. Later, this lord will eat a hundred!"
"Eat, eat as much as you want!" Orochimaru's smile turned sinister as he looked at the Suna camp.
"Teacher! Teacher! Can I fight alongside you?" Nawaki Senju grinned and jumped up and down. Seeing this, Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh.
"Nawaki, you're still young. You must protect yourself first! When you grow up, we'll fight together as master and disciple!" At this moment, Orochimaru was cunning and ruthless toward enemies but remained confident, warm, and gentle toward his own people, especially Nawaki.
Nawaki Senju sighed. He understood Orochimaru's importance now, but he still wanted to try. What if? What if his teacher took him into battle?
Tsunade's medical team followed behind Orochimaru's troops. She felt uneasy and kept glancing toward Orochimaru's forces, her eyes wandering uncertainly. Finally, she made up her mind.
She activated her chakra, preparing to go to the front lines. Just then, a voice called out, "Yo, Tsunade, so this is where you are. I've been looking everywhere for you!"
It was Jiraiya. He scratched his head and looked at Tsunade. Tsunade's eyes lit up, and she immediately said, "Jiraiya, take care of the medical team for me. I have something urgent to attend to!"
Without waiting for Jiraiya's response, Tsunade rushed to the front lines. Jiraiya was dumbfounded but could only sigh and take charge of the medical team.
While everyone's attention was on the front lines, a black head stealthily emerged from the ground to observe the situation.
He secretly watched Nawaki Senju, a greedy glint flashing in his eyes. He grinned, then sank back into the ground.
Tsunade's unease grew stronger. She quickly reached the front lines. At that moment, the camp gates opened, and Suna shinobi charged out. Orochimaru, Manda, and the Konoha troops were holding them off.
"Nawaki!" Tsunade saw her younger brother fighting. After defeating a genin, Nawaki instinctively turned at his sister's voice and grinned.
Then five explosive tags flew toward Nawaki. Tsunade's face turned pale. The five explosive tags seemed to appear out of thin air, and their target was Nawaki Senju!
"Nawaki!" Tsunade's eyes widened in horror. Then a massive explosion erupted, centered on Nawaki and spreading outward.
Even Orochimaru, who was fighting Chiyo, froze and shouted, "Nawaki!" He immediately used the Many Hidden Snake Hands technique, leaving Manda to rush toward his student.
Chiyo saw this as a perfect opportunity and signaled Pakura. Pakura nodded and unleashed a massive Scorch Style attack. "Many Hidden Snake Hands, boom!"
The Many Hidden Snake Hands were destroyed. Chiyo led a thousand troops to retreat immediately, heading toward Kikyōzan at Hakuki.
The thick smoke obscured everyone's vision, making it impossible to see Nawaki at the center. However, this didn't affect the black figure's sight. He grinned and emerged from the smoke.
He used his signature technique: Heart Removal. But then, a sound like shattering glass rang out. His pupils contracted. What!
He immediately tried Heart Removal again, only to hear another glass-shattering sound. He was stunned. What was happening?
Then Tsunade charged in. She didn't see the black figure clearly but assumed he was an enemy. She delivered a powerful kick, sending him flying. The black figure quickly sank into the ground, still shocked that his Heart Removal technique had failed.
"Wind Style: Clear Wind!" Orochimaru formed hand seals, and a gust of wind blew away the smoke around Nawaki. When the smoke cleared, Nawaki and Tsunade stood unharmed!
Orochimaru felt relieved, then glared at Nawaki. This kid was too reckless!
Tsunade's unease vanished. Seeing Nawaki safe, tears streamed down her face.
She had heard it, the sound of protective barriers breaking twice. This meant Nawaki had endured two shadow-level attacks in that instant!
Thanks to that explosion-proof suit!
"Ryun, you saved my brother. How can I ever repay you?" Tsunade thought to herself as she hugged Nawaki and wept.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━