Chapter 148: The Sand Ninja's Total Rout
At this time, on the main battlefield, with the defeat of the Third Kazekage and Rasa, there was no one left to restrain the rampage of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two.
So, in an instant, the main force of the Sand ninja suffered heavy casualties.
"Don't panic! There are only three of them," a Sand ninja with the strength of an elite jounin said, trying to use his influence to reorganize their formation for a counterattack.
But a powerful assault from Orochimaru and Uchiha Fugaku directly killed him on the spot. Seeing this, the few Sand ninja who had just mustered up the courage to resist scattered in terror once again.
Since Hiruzen Sarutobi had personally come to the battlefield, he would not let the Sand ninja off so easily. With a wave of his hand, a powerful S-rank combination ninjutsu shot toward the enemy.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet."
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet."
"Combination Jutsu: Fire Stream Earth Flame Bullet."
Two entangled ninjutsu thus devoured countless Sand ninja in front of them, and it was only after being blocked by a ninjutsu released by seven people in unison that it finally slowly dissipated in the clash of ninjutsu.
Before the seven could rejoice, a giant snake that had burst out of the ground directly swallowed three of them. Orochimaru had arrived.
As for the remaining four, they naturally could not escape his pursuit and soon died tragically under the Kusanagi sword.
And so, the Southwestern Army, led by the three of them, pushed the front line to within five kilometers of the Sand ninja's camp before finally stopping.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, leaning on his power pole, looked at the Sand ninja's camp, which was now within sight, his gaze sharp. Behind him stood Orochimaru and Fugaku, side by side, and the remaining thousand-plus Konoha ninja.
At this time, Kyosuke and the others had also arrived. After all, the Sand ninja had already given the signal to retreat. They couldn't fight even if they wanted to.
Although Kyosuke had been mentally prepared, when he saw the Third Hokage in his battle armor, he still felt a sense of strangeness.
"Did Hiruzen Sarutobi participate in the Third Great Ninja War in the original story? I don't remember it being mentioned," Kyosuke thought to himself as he joined the large group.
"Is it because the original story didn't deliberately explain it, or did my arrival change something... forget it. At this point, it's useless to think about these things."
Kyosuke pulled up the system panel and, after checking his current experience points, couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
Putting other things aside, at least the experience points he had gained today were worth the price of admission. But since the Third had arrived, the war with the Sand ninja was probably coming to an end.
At this time, in the Sand ninja's camp, a few high-ranking officials were gathered, discussing something.
Thump! The Third Kazekage violently knocked over a medicine bottle, pushed away the medical ninja, and was preparing to go to the battlefield again for a decisive battle with the enemy.
Seeing this, Rasa quickly stepped forward to stop him. After a great deal of persuasion, he finally managed to calm him down.
With a sigh, the Third Kazekage looked up at the others and suddenly asked, "How is the battle situation on Advisor Chiyo's side?"
Bunjin nodded and said, "Hanzo's Rain ninja unit has not launched a particularly fierce attack. There is no problem in resisting."
"That's good," he muttered, then his gaze swept over the others and he asked, "Konoha's morale has been greatly boosted by Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrival. What should we do?"
Bunjin, Rasa, and Pakura exchanged a look and said almost simultaneously, "Retreat for now."
"Retreat?!" the Third Kazekage asked, his face grim.
Bunjin looked at his ugly expression, hesitated for a long time, and then said, "The Hokage's strength is great. It's not a good idea to fight him head-on at this time. Only by retreating to the rear and meeting up with the forces led by Ebizo can we resolve this crisis."
How could the Third Kazekage not understand this? But to have him flee like a stray dog, he admitted that he couldn't do it.
After a moment of thought, the Third Kazekage suddenly said again, "No. If we retreat at this time, Konoha's pursuit will cause massive casualties on our side. This is very unfavorable for the course of the war."
Before the others could say anything, he directly gave an order. "Listen to my command. Send a message to Ebizo and have him lead his troops to support us. You will now go with me to fight Hiruzen Sarutobi again."
"...Yes, sir."
At this time, the Southwestern Army was gradually approaching the Sand ninja's camp. Along the way, they left behind countless Sand ninja corpses.
Originally, the Third Hokage and the others had thought that the enemy would definitely choose to retreat. But when the group led by the Kazekage appeared on the battlefield again, they couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
However, a wave of ecstasy then washed over the crowd.
"The Kazekage has made a big mistake," Kyosuke muttered with a strange expression.
Saori, who was beside him, nodded in agreement.
If the Sand ninja had retreated this time, no matter how unfavorable the subsequent battle was, they would have at least preserved most of their forces and could fight another day.
But since they had chosen to clash head-on with the Southwestern Army led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, what awaited them would be a point of no return.
The subsequent development of events was just as Kyosuke had predicted. Although the Kazekage, Bunjin, Rasa, and Pakura had tried hard to defeat Hiruzen Sarutobi, the interference of Orochimaru and Fugaku had successfully thwarted their plans.
In fact, if it weren't for the Third Kazekage desperately fighting his way out, it was likely that none of the four would have been able to leave today.
Seeing that even the Kazekage had fled, the remaining Sand ninja had completely lost their will to fight. Besides the 300 who were captured, the rest of the Sand ninja were all killed, with no one escaping.
Although there were still thousands of troops led by Ebizo a dozen kilometers ahead, in this situation, they wouldn't dare to attack again, even if they had the guts.
And with that, this border conflict, which had lasted for several years, came to an end with the unexpected surprise attack of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Kyosuke lay in his tent, bored, flipping through a book. And outside the tent, the heavy snow, which had been falling for a week, showed no intention of stopping.
More than a month had passed since the Sand ninja's retreat. At this time, it was already winter.
During this period, the Sand ninja, seeing that they were unable to turn the tide, hastily drew up a "surrender letter" and then returned to the Land of Wind in disgrace.
As for the Third Hokage, he had only issued a stern diplomatic condemnation of the Sand ninja's actions, and then the matter was dropped.
There was no war reparations, no signed treaty, not even a verbal apology. Konoha had just let the defeated Sand ninja go.
For this, the Southwestern Army, upon hearing the news, almost mutinied.
In the end, it was Orochimaru and the others who had to appease them, and only then was their anger temporarily suppressed. Otherwise, no one could guarantee what would have happened.
Kyosuke, at first, could understand the helpless choice of the Third and the others. But when he saw the corpses all over the medical unit, he threw that understanding out the window.
The Third Hokage and the others naively believed that after the Sand ninja were repelled, they would not dare to attack for at least a few years. So, for the sake of peace, they had ultimately given up on seeking war reparations.
Seeing that the previously restless Cloud ninja had also suddenly settled down, this only strengthened their belief. So, after hearing about the situation in the Southwestern Army, they did not change their decision.
But unfortunately, all these beautiful wishes were shattered by a boy named "Sasori."
And the storm that followed was far more violent than they had ever imagined.
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