Chapter 164: The Battle Begins
After a moment of commotion, the few people in the tent began to discuss the battle situation again.
After explaining the current situation on the battlefield to Kyosuke, Orochimaru described Saori's proposal to him.
"Assassinate Bunjin? Why him and not Rasa?" Kyosuke asked with a puzzled expression.
Although Rasa's abilities were more powerful, his overall strength should be a bit weaker than Bunjin, who was a veteran Kage-level powerhouse. That was why Kyosuke had this question.
Hearing his words, Orochimaru began to explain his reasoning.
First, regardless of the difference in strength between the two targets, Bunjin was the front-line commander of the Sand ninja army this time. The strategic positions of the two were very different.
Second, although Rasa's overall strength was lower than Bunjin's, the trickiness of his abilities was not low at all. The difficulty of killing him should be a bit greater than Bunjin's.
Finally, there was the difference in their personalities. Bunjin was more aggressive in his actions. As long as he seized an opportunity, he was the kind of character who would dare to go all out. In contrast, Rasa's fighting style was more inclined to attack with ninjutsu from the rear. It was not an easy task to surround him.
So, it was not surprising that Orochimaru would ultimately set his sights on the Sand ninja's commander-in-chief, Bunjin.
After hearing Orochimaru's words, the众人 all silently nodded.
Since the target had been determined, the next step was to discuss the plan.
Of course, as one of the main combatants, Kyosuke needed to let everyone know what his current strength was.
Hearing the others' questions, Kyosuke nodded with a smile and said, "I've already mastered Sage Mode, but the duration is relatively short, only about thirty seconds."
"Thirty seconds... it's a bit short, but it's enough," Orochimaru said after a moment of thought. He then looked up and began to explain his plan.
The group secretly plotted until late at night, and then they returned to their respective tents to rest.
The moment Kyosuke left Orochimaru's tent, he found that the two clan shinobi had been standing outside at some point.
With a warm smile, the four of them walked back to their own tent.
In the early morning of the next day, with a series of roars, the two sides once again broke out in a fierce battle.
"Gentle Fist Art: Four Celestial Palms."
Saori, whose strength had greatly increased, successfully created a path for the others with a series of vacuum palms.
She glanced back at an inconspicuous Konoha ninja behind her, and then Saori took the lead and charged in a certain direction.
Along the way, this small team, under her leadership, charged forward with an unstoppable momentum. No matter how many enemies came from the Sand, they could not stop their advance.
"Orochimaru's battlefield is a few kilometers ahead. It's time to speed up," Saori thought to herself, and immediately gave a secret signal with her hand.
Then, the other ninja instantly scattered, preparing to divert the Sand ninja's attention, while she herself led one person and charged forward.
Meanwhile, Rasa was controlling his ninjutsu and once again began to wreak havoc.
Just then, a powerful Fire Release ninjutsu suddenly shot toward him.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
Using his gold sand to cancel out the enemy's attack, Rasa looked at the expressionless Fugaku and said, "What, is it your turn today? Where's Orochimaru? Tell him to get his ass out here and die."
But although he said this, when he saw that Orochimaru was not in front of him today, he still felt a sense of relief.
Although Rasa had seemed to have suppressed Orochimaru in their previous battles, only he himself knew the bitterness of it.
Summoning Jutsu, swordsmanship, a variety of ninjutsu attacks, and an endless stream of secret techniques—Orochimaru's methods had made him suffer greatly. If it weren't for the fact that his opponent was always on guard against him attacking the Southwestern Army, Rasa asked himself, he would not have been able to hold out for so long.
"But today's situation is different. Uchiha Fugaku is no match for me," Rasa said with a vicious smile. At the same time, for some unknown reason, a sense of unease suddenly rose in his heart.
He shook his head to dispel that strange feeling, and then he gathered a huge sandstorm and charged at the many enemies in front of him.
"Die, you Konoha trash."
A few kilometers away from this battlefield, on a wide plain, Bunjin was leading the main force of the Sand ninja and advancing rapidly.
"Stop," suddenly, as if he had noticed something, Bunjin waved his hand to stop the team.
He looked carefully ahead, sneered, and said, "Stop hiding, Orochimaru. I can smell that stinking snake smell of yours from miles away."
Seeing that there was still no movement ahead, Bunjin directly clapped his hands, and two ninjutsu were instantly released.
"Fire Release: Earth Crawl."
"Wind Release: Wind Blast."
A combined attack from the air and ground successfully forced out Orochimaru and the others, who were ambushing them.
Looking at the somewhat disheveled Orochimaru and the few members of the First Army behind him, Bunjin's eyes couldn't help but flicker.
"Uchiha Fugaku is not here, and the number of men Orochimaru has brought this time is also relatively small. What is he up to?"
Just then, Chiyo, who was on the side, came out. Her heart was also a bit strange about the Southwestern Army's actions.
But at this point, all schemes and tricks were useless. Even if it were Orochimaru who had come, with just the people in front of him, they could not stop the advance of the Sand ninja army.
She exchanged a look with Bunjin, then waved her hand, and the Sand ninja army quickly launched a charge.
In contrast, the Southwestern Army on Orochimaru's side also launched an attack at almost the same time.
In an instant, a sky full of shuriken and ninjutsu quickly streaked across the plain.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
In a cloud of smoke, a giant snake, dozens of meters high, suddenly charged at the Sand ninja army.
"Heh, is it this trick again?" Bunjin said with a light laugh, looking at the familiar scene before him. He then waved away the people beside him and led a few powerful jounin to charge at the rampaging Manda.
As for Chiyo, who was on the other side, she quickly bypassed Manda and charged at the Southwestern Army behind him.
"Puppet Technique: Manipulated Assault Blade."
A few kunai, controlled by chakra threads, traced a strange arc in the air and directly hit a few unlucky Konoha ninja.
And that wasn't all. With a light flick of Chiyo's wrist, the kunai floated up again. From the looks of it, the ninja in front of her could not escape these attacks.
And just then, a soft cry suddenly sounded from a distance.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm."
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 100 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you!