"Chiyo, I've discovered a hidden canyon in the Land of Rivers. Take the puppet corps through it and circle around to Konoha's rear. This time, we're going to wipe out this entire batch of Konoha ninja."
The Third Kazekage spoke with absolute confidence.
"No problem. But what about the main battlefield?"
"Orochimaru and Tsunade—two who've only just stepped into Kage-level—what gives them the right to break through my defenses?"
The Third Kazekage said confidently. This was complete faith in his own strength.
"As for the rest of Konoha's forces, leave them to teacher. Fighting a thousand alone—what a beautiful record, don't you think?"
"Alright, I'll go make preparations. Ebizō, come with me."
Chiyo set out with Ebizō, along with her son and daughter-in-law.
"Rasa, I'm assigning you a thousand Sand ninja this time. You must leave that Inuzuka behind. A genius is far too dangerous."
The Third Kazekage recalled Orochimaru's breakthrough during battle.
If Konoha had a few more people like that, the entire ninja world wouldn't stand a chance.
"Yes. This time, I'll definitely take care of that white-haired brat."
...
Night fell.
Chiyo led the remaining two thousand puppet corps in a stealthy advance.
Each person concealed themselves within their puppets as much as possible, suppressing their presence to avoid detection by the Inuzuka clan.
But what they didn't notice—
In the pitch-black forest, the eyes of certain tiny insects flickered with an unusual light.
...
At the Konoha camp,
Orochimaru and Tsunade watched the large-scale movements of the Sand ninja and immediately checked the map.
"Damn it. They found a route that lets them strike directly at our rear."
Orochimaru's hoarse voice echoed.
"Damn it, Orochimaru, what do we do? Should I lead a team to intercept them?"
Tsunade asked.
"No. If they dare to circle behind us like this, it means they're absolutely confident they can pin both of us down on the front line."
"Then what? Should we send the Inuzuka clan to block them? Their strength isn't weak."
Tsunade suggested.
"The Inuzuka clan has changed their tactics. They're no longer fighting like reckless berserkers. Now they favor controlled, distance-based combat. But the Sand ninja force circling behind us will charge straight at our Konoha position. The Inuzuka clan won't be able to stop them."
Orochimaru analyzed calmly. Ever since the Inuzuka clan changed their style, their casualties had nearly dropped to zero. Forcing them back into their old mad-dog approach wouldn't sit well with them—unless they chose it themselves.
"Orochimaru-sama, Tsunade-sensei, our Inuzuka clan has never forgotten the instincts in our bloodline. Leave it to us. Not a single one of those Sand ninja will reach Konoha's position."
Inuzuka Ryoha said with a twisted grin.
A fight to the death—he actually loved that kind of thing. Standing shoulder to shoulder with death… maybe he had always been a madman.
The previous tactics were just to keep his clan alive. Now that death was unavoidable, he felt both regret for his clan—and excitement for himself.
What kind of feeling was that?
"Woof woof."
Eimaru, you're excited too, huh?
Bang.
A small insect suddenly transformed into a scroll and dropped before the three of them.
Tch. That bastard Shiken—now it's another guaranteed win. Annoying.
Orochimaru's left hand turned into a long snake, retrieving the scroll. He opened it and read.
"As expected of Shiken. Over on their side, the Stone Village has basically given up, indirectly forcing the Cloud Village to stay put within the Land of Lightning. Sakumo-senpai is already on his way here."
Orochimaru said.
"That's great! Then this Sand force is finished. Sakumo-senpai stepped into Kage-level even earlier than the three of us."
Tsunade said, delighted.
"There's more than just good news. Shiken also suspects that the Second Kazekage might join the battle."
"What? That's someone from the Warring States era. How could he still be alive?"
"It's very possible. During the First Great Ninja War, the Sand Village barely participated—they just made noise. A healthy Kage-level powerhouse living until now isn't that strange."
"But he's so old. Does he still have any combat power?"
"On the battlefield, the scariest enemies are old men with nothing left to lose. Tsunade, send a message to Jiraiya. Tomorrow, I want to see him on this battlefield."
"Got it. But what about Hanzo?"
"We can't worry about that right now. The Sand Village is a far greater threat than the Rain Village. As long as we win here, the Rain Village won't dare to make any moves."
"Alright."
Tsunade hurried off to find a way to contact Jiraiya.
"Ryoha, I know you brats have your own communication methods. I don't care how Shiken forced back the Stone Village without losing a single soldier, but their combat strength is largely intact. Tell him to keep an eye on the Rain Village."
"Yes."
Ryoha went off to prepare. That insect was extremely precious—there were only a few of them, and each had to be used at a critical moment.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed Minato to run errands before.
Minato: ??? So you actually had a communication method, and still made me run across half the Land of Fire? Aburame Shiken, you've really got some nerve.
...
On one side, the Sand forces were constantly mobilizing.
On the other, Konoha's messengers were working nonstop.
Far away in the Land of Rain, Jiraiya received Tsunade's message, temporarily bid farewell to his three young disciples, and set off for the Land of Rivers battlefield.
"Crossing that kind of distance in one night… Tsunade, you really know how to use people."
...
Meanwhile, far away in the Land of Grass, Aburame Shiken noticed a special insect suddenly explode.
This was a pair of insects engraved with a summoning formula and a storage seal.
By detonating the summoning formula on one insect, it could transfer the contents of the storage seal to the location of its paired insect—a low-grade version of a Flying Thunder God bug.
However, due to the violent fluctuations of space-time, each pair was single-use.
And because they had to be bred in pairs, with both the summoning formula and storage seal coexisting, the cost was extremely high. At its worst, a million pairs were bred just to produce a single successful one.
So after cultivating five of them, Aburame Shiken stopped.
Due to the insects' small size, they could only store limited items—kunai, shuriken, intelligence scrolls, and the like.
But if anyone ever sent him a kunai or shuriken this way…
He guaranteed that person would die in a very "beautiful" way—
As a host for parasitic insects.
After reading the intelligence,
"Sand ninja… so they're making their move. With Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru-sensei, Jiraiya, and Tsunade—four Kage-level fighters—if they still lose, then this version of the Sand Village is just absurdly strong."
After sighing, Aburame Shiken went to find Aburame Shikuro and Aburame Shibi.
He instructed them:
"If you see Ōnoki appear, activate immediately and retreat at once. Don't worry about heavy losses. As long as people survive, insects can always be bred again."
He gave special emphasis to Aburame Shikuro.
"If Shibi hesitates because he can't bear the loss, you act. Remember—people are always more valuable than insects, even if it's billions or tens of billions of them."
Aburame Shikuro nodded.
Only then did Aburame Shiken set off for the Land of Rain.
As for why he didn't send Shikuro and Shibi instead—
Because the Land of Rain had no preparations whatsoever.
Aburame Shiken genuinely feared that his two clan mates might die there.
In comparison, this place was far safer. After laying plans for so long, his chances of survival here were absolutely secure.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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