At Kumogakure's stronghold, in the meeting room.
"... So far, the Konoha forces have reached less than ten miles from the stronghold. They're making adjustments now, but judging by their movements…"
The intelligence officer looked up, sounding almost in disbelief. "It seems the Konoha forces are planning to attack us."
Crack—
The cup in his hand shattered as the Fourth Raikage let out a cold snort, clearly irritated. "What's the status of that new fortress Konoha built?"
"At noon today, reinforcements entered the fortress. No more than fifty shinobi."
The intelligence officer paused before continuing. "It's estimated that Orochimaru handed over the fortress to the reinforcements and then led all the troops straight toward us."
The Fourth Raikage didn't comment on that. Instead, he swept his gaze across the meeting room and said in a deep voice, "What do you all think of Orochimaru's move?"
A burst of noisy discussion broke out in the room, but none of it had any real substance.
The facts were simple, leaving little room for speculation.
—Orochimaru planned to attack the Kumogakure stronghold head-on.
Doing this clearly meant he believed Konoha's forces were stronger than Kumogakure's. But that was impossible. The reality was the complete opposite.
Even if Orochimaru turned into that white snake form he used that night, Kumogakure could suppress him with the power of its two Jinchuriki.
They wouldn't even give him a chance to damage the fortress.
As for the other Konoha shinobi—without Orochimaru leading them—Kumogakure was confident they could crush and even wipe them out.
Everyone in the meeting room was guessing Orochimaru might have some hidden trick, but they couldn't figure out anything.
Even among the "Three Sannin," Orochimaru was the most mysterious of all.
"Big bro, how about you stay on defense and let me go destroy their base?"
The Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, waved his hands in rhythm and said in his strange tone, "The fortress is empty, perfect chance for me to strike."
Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage was tempted, but soon shook his head. "It's just one base. If we can crush Orochimaru, we can tear that base down anytime."
Orochimaru's strange actions made Raikage uneasy. In this situation, he wasn't willing to split forces—he wanted to play it safe.
After thinking for a moment, the Fourth Raikage said, "Have the scout squads keep watching Konoha's movements. Everyone else, rest and stay ready for battle."
Since Orochimaru's troops had no fortress to rely on, and Kumogakure had no other targets to chase, now was the best chance to wipe them out.
But before fighting, he had to confirm the enemy's real plan.
If his guess was right, they would attack the fortress first, giving Kumogakure the advantage.
And even if Konoha just scouted around, they could still be struck when they pulled back.
Attack or defend, the choice was in their hands this time.
Thinking this, the Fourth Raikage's confidence rose. He felt certain the battle would go their way.
…
Time slipped into late night. Dark clouds rolled across the sky, covering the endless forest below.
Kumogakure's scout squad hid in the shadows, linking their senses with their summoned beasts to lock on a patch of forest.
In the darkness, Konoha's ninja appeared in their "sight" like scattered starlight, clearly outlined.
They had been watching Konoha's forces for a while now. The enemy seemed unaware and hadn't moved at all.
Did they not bring the Hyuga clan this time?
Just as the thought passed, their vision filled with sudden brightness—an enormous mass of chakra, as vast as a mountain, blotting out all the stars.
The scout squad's captain went pale. Sharing senses with his beast, his mind trembled at the sight.
Aside from tailed beasts, he had never seen chakra this massive.
He bit his tongue, using pain to clear his mind, then shouted to the communications unit, "Konoha is attacking! Orochimaru has turned into that giant white snake again!"
The message was quickly sent back to Kumogakure's base.
The Fourth Raikage soon received it. His rough face showed doubt. "Orochimaru's already using that forbidden jutsu?
They're still ten miles from the base. Isn't it way too early?"
Thinking from his own perspective, the Fourth Raikage guessed Orochimaru wanted to take the hit for Konoha's army. But Raikage wouldn't let such a chance slip by.
He gave a direct order. "Killer Bee, Yugito, stop him! Don't let Orochimaru near the fortress. Everyone else, follow me!"
"Yes!"
The Kumogakure shinobi answered as one and leapt out of the fortress.
…
Five miles from Kumogakure's fortress, the rampaging Yamata no Orochi was finally blocked.
A blue-flamed cat covered in black curse marks, and an octopus-headed bull monster with one broken horn and eight tentacle-like tails, both struck together. Against them, Yamata no Orochi could not advance—on the contrary, their battle pushed farther and farther away from the fortress.
Seeing this, the Fourth Raikage eased a little. Though Yamata no Orochi held its ground two-on-one, it could no longer crush them like before.
With Orochimaru's threat held back, the Fourth Raikage turned his attention on Konoha's army. His already harsh face twisted even more fiercely.
"Boom!"
He leapt straight into Konoha's forces, lightning flashing across his body. Showing his mastery of taijutsu, he tore through the enemy. Even the Uchiha with Sharingan couldn't last more than two moves.
"Uchiha Fire Formation!"
Suddenly, four Uchiha Jonin took positions at four corners, surrounding the Fourth Raikage. Pressing their hands to the ground, they raised a glowing red barrier that cut him off from the rest of Konoha's forces.
"A barrier technique?"
The Fourth Raikage let out a cold laugh. With the four Jonin protected inside, the only way was to smash through from within.
But he didn't care. Other than Orochimaru, there was no Konoha ninja worth his attention.
"Boom!"
His fist slammed against the barrier, making it tremble violently. Looking at the scorch marks on his knuckles, Raikage raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."
"But how many punches can you really block from me?"
The four Uchiha jonin didn't say a word. They only poured chakra into the barrier, keeping it up with all their strength.
Their job was simple—stall for time until Orochimaru returned.
…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Under the pitch-black sky, roars, howls, and earth-shaking rumbles echoed without end.
Three giant beasts clashed at close range. Trees snapped apart, and huge craters kept opening across the ground, as if the world had gone back to ancient times when primeval monsters fought for survival and dominance.
The Eight-Tails Gyuki coiled his tentacles tight, tangling with the heads and tails of the Yamata no Orochi, locking down its movements, as if settling the score from the night he was trapped by Manda.
If it were a one-on-one fight, Killer Bee wouldn't waste so much strength holding down his enemy. But this time, he wasn't fighting alone.
The Two-Tails Yugito opened her jaws wide. A burning fireball formed in front of her, not like a cat's aura at all, but like a tiger's.
Boom—
The scorching fireball shot out. Killer Bee suddenly felt his grip loosen. Before he could react, a blazing ball of fire slammed into him.
Even with Gyuki's tough hide, he let out a pained roar.
Not far away, Orochimaru had already shifted back into human form. He slipped past the flames and spoke toward a shadow in the trees. "I'll leave this to you."
---
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