On Sunagakure's side, Nobunaga stood at the very front, wearing black Kazekage robes without a hat.
His eyes were ordinary black; he had not yet revealed his Sharingan.
Temari stood to his left, her Giant Folding Fan held horizontally in front of her.
Gaara stood to his right, sand forming a shield around him.
Sasori stood slightly behind, surrounded by thirty puppets.
Kankuro stood beside Sasori, clutching Crow in his hands.
Pakura led a team of elite Jonin, scattered on both sides.
Wind and sand blew past.
Orochimaru looked at Nobunaga and licked his lips. His voice was hoarse and cold: "Fifth Kazekage... I've heard you're quite a character, but I'm more curious about your eyes."
Nobunaga said nothing.
Minato Namikaze took a step forward: "Lord Kazekage, surrender. You cannot stop us."
Nobunaga looked at him: "Your name is Minato Namikaze?"
"Yes."
"I've heard you're very fast."
Minato smiled: "Very fast."
Nobunaga also smiled: "Then let's test it."
He raised his hand.
"Attack!"
The Sunagakure Ninja moved first.
Pakura led a team charging from the flank, her Scorch Release fireballs smashing into the Konoha formation, instantly burning through several enemies.
Temari opened her Giant Folding Fan and slashed three times; Wind Release whipped up the sand and dust, forming a wall of sand.
Orochimaru didn't move, just watched Nobunaga's figure, muttering with interest: "Let me see your trump card."
Minato Namikaze moved.
His figure vanished from the spot, appearing behind Temari the next second, his Kunai stabbing toward the back of her neck!
Temari had no time to react.
But a wall of sand suddenly rose, blocking the Kunai.
It was Gaara's sand.
Minato glanced at him.
"The Shukaku Jinchuriki?" He vanished again, appearing at Gaara's side.
But Nobunaga was already blocking the way in front of Gaara.
He raised his hand and directly caught the Kunai Minato lunged with. His palm was cut and blood dripped down, but he didn't let go.
"Being fast is useless if you're not tough enough," Nobunaga said.
His other hand formed a fist and smashed toward Minato's face.
Minato vanished again and landed in the distance.
He looked down at his hand. This Kazekage's strength was immense; his wrist had almost been crushed by that grip just now.
"Interesting," Orochimaru's voice came from afar. "Minato, stop playing around."
Minato nodded.
His figure began to flicker, constantly jumping across the battlefield. Every time he appeared, a Sunagakure Ninja fell.
Temari grit her teeth: "Too fast, I can't see him!"
Nobunaga didn't speak; he closed his eyes.
Then he snapped his eyes open!
Those eyes had turned red, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly spinning within his pupils.
"I can see you," he said.
Minato's figure appeared in front of him, Kunai stabbing toward Nobunaga's throat.
Nobunaga leaned aside, the Kunai grazing past his ear.
His hand grabbed Minato's wrist and twisted hard.
Minato vanished.
But Nobunaga had already predicted his landing point.
He swung his fist at the empty space, hitting the newly appeared Minato right in the abdomen.
Minato let out a muffled groan and was sent flying.
He rolled several times on the sand, stood up, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. He looked at Nobunaga, shock in his eyes.
"That's the Sharingan... Are you an Uchiha?"
Orochimaru's eyes lit up, and he laughed: "Uchiha... No wonder. To think that Sunagakure's Kazekage is actually a survivor of Konoha's Uchiha. Interesting, how very interesting."
Nobunaga ignored him, just looking at Minato.
"Still want to fight?"
Minato wiped the blood from his mouth.
"Yes."
Minato's figure vanished again. This time even faster.
He jumped around Nobunaga constantly, leaving countless afterimages.
Nobunaga's Sharingan tracked him, but the speed was too fast; the three tomoe could no longer keep up.
Nobunaga's eyes changed. The three tomoe spun, connecting into a six-pointed star pattern.
Mangekyo Sharingan.
Minato's figure suddenly appeared behind Nobunaga.
The Kunai stabbed toward the back of his head!
Nobunaga didn't turn around. A purple Chakra skeleton emerged on the surface of his body—the initial form of Susanoo.
The Kunai struck the skeleton and snapped.
Minato was stunned for a moment.
Nobunaga turned and smashed a fist into his chest. Minato spat blood and flew backward, but in mid-air, he threw a Kunai with a seal attached to it.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
He instantly appeared at the Kunai's location, only three feet away from Nobunaga. Another Kunai stabbed toward Nobunaga's left eye.
The speed of Space-Time Ninjutsu was too fast!
Nobunaga's nerves had just reacted; he had no time to dodge, only enough to tilt his head.
The Kunai instantly pierced into his left eye socket.
Intense pain.
But Nobunaga didn't stop. His right hand transformed into a purple Chakra giant's claw, grabbed Minato's left arm, and tore hard.
Minato's left arm was torn off from the shoulder.
Blood splattered.
Both men fell at the same time.
Nobunaga knelt on the sand, his vision blurred, blood flowing like a river from his left eye.
But with his right eye, he saw Minato also kneeling not far away, his left shoulder torn off, now a bloody mess.
"Minato!" Orochimaru's voice rang out.
He finally moved, his snake-like figure rushing toward Nobunaga.
But Pakura blocked him, her Scorch Release fireballs smashing over, forcing Orochimaru to retreat.
"Your opponent is me," Pakura said.
Orochimaru looked at her and licked his lips.
"Scorch Release Pakura... Fine, I'll collect some interest first."
He formed hand seals.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands."
Countless snakes surged from his sleeves, coiling toward Pakura.
Pakura burned a batch with Scorch Release, but there were too many snakes; her ankle was caught, and she was dragged to the ground.
Sasori moved. His puppets rushed forward, severing those snakes.
Kankuro followed behind, using Crow to fire poison needles.
Orochimaru retreated a few steps, looking at them.
"Sasori of the Red Sand... Chiyo's grandson. And another brat."
He laughed: "Quite a harvest today."
His hand reached for his neck, preparing to summon Manda.
But at that moment, Nobunaga stood up.
He was covered in blood, his left eye tightly closed, his right eye's Mangekyo Sharingan staring fixedly at Orochimaru.
Purple Chakra surged from him, and the Susanoo skeleton emerged again, this time as a complete torso, holding a Spiral Sword.
"Orochimaru."
His voice was hoarse: "Take one more step, and I'll cut you down."
Orochimaru looked at him.
The pressure of Susanoo was overwhelming, a power that could suppress even a Tailed Beast.
Orochimaru was silent for a while.
Then he smiled.
"Interesting. Truly interesting."
He withdrew his hand seals, "That's enough for today."
He looked at Minato.
"Can you walk?"
Minato pressed his right hand against his left shoulder, his face pale. But he nodded.
"I can."
Orochimaru waved his hand.
"Retreat."
The Konoha army began to pull back, taking their corpses and leaving behind bloodstains all over the ground.
Nobunaga stood there, watching them walk away.
It wasn't until the last enemy disappeared behind the dunes that he finally knelt down.
Susanoo dissipated.
Temari rushed over to support him.
"Teacher! Your eye—"
Nobunaga shook his head.
"It's nothing."
He looked at the distant battlefield.
Bodies were everywhere, both Sunagakure's and Konoha's.