Chapter 87: Battle Begins – Sand Ninja Massacre
"Lord Third, the Konoha reinforcements have arrived."
At that moment, Ebizō's voice came through.
Ebizō and his older sister Chiyo were currently in their prime. Since the era of the Second Kazekage, they had firmly held the positions of Wind Shadow advisors, both possessing Kage-level strength.
Together with the Third Kazekage and the One-Tail jinchūriki, the Sand ninja now had four Kage-level powerhouses—completely overwhelming Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hatake Sakumo in numbers.
It was clear that the Hidden Sand Village had committed all its forces this time. They intended to use this battle to crush Konoha, win the war, and march their army straight into the Land of Fire.
"They're finally here."
The Third Kazekage looked up and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi walking forward from the center of the Konoha ninja army with Hatake Sakumo at his side.
"Third Kazekage, you actually violated the Tailed Beast Treaty established by the First Hokage just to win this war—deploying a jinchūriki onto the battlefield. Aren't you afraid the tailed beast will go berserk?"
Hiruzen walked to the front of the Konoha army, his face dark as he condemned the Third Kazekage.
Since the First Hokage established the Tailed Beast Treaty, tailed beasts had almost never been deployed in previous wars—kept under strict guard by each village.
This wasn't just because of the treaty; the primary reason was the tailed beasts' lack of control. Their power was far beyond what ordinary ninja could withstand.
If a tailed beast went berserk on the battlefield, both sides' forces would suffer indiscriminate attacks. The entire warzone would become the beast's playground, resulting in catastrophic losses—even Kage-level fighters could fall to a rampaging tailed beast.
This would be a devastating disaster for both warring parties.
"Hmph! War is war—victory is all that matters. Who cares about the means? The Tailed Beast Treaty the First made is nothing but waste paper."
The Third Kazekage sneered disdainfully, his eyes filled with ambition.
"Since our Hidden Sand Village can control the One-Tail, why shouldn't we deploy it? If you can't win, you can surrender right now. I won't make things difficult for you."
"Impossible!"
Hiruzen rejected him on the spot.
If they surrendered now, the Fire Country's front line would collapse. Then the Land of Wind—and any other nation—could advance into the Fire Country with ease.
They had to hold out here. If reinforcements arrived, there might still be a chance.
"Then enough talk—begin the battle!"
A cold glint flashed in the Third Kazekage's eyes. He stepped forward and raised his hand, shouting to the Sand ninja army behind him:
"Use Wind Release ninjutsu—full assault!"
While giving the order to attack, the Third Kazekage didn't stand idle. He formed hand seals and struck first.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
In an instant, a wave-like mass of iron sand appeared in the sky. The iron sand reshaped into countless fine needles and shot toward the Konoha ninja at extreme speed.
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
At the same time, thousands of Sand ninja behind him sprang into action. Countless shuriken and long-range Wind Release ninjutsu were unleashed.
Combined with the Third Kazekage's technique, the Sand ninja's barrage covered half the sky and surged toward the Konoha forces like a flood.
"Damn it! Earth Release defensive ninjutsu—now! Block it!"
Hiruzen saw the Third Kazekage's despicable tactics and immediately roared at the Konoha ninja.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
In the next moment, thousands of ninjutsu erupted from the Konoha army in unison.
First, a massive several-hundred-meter water wall rose in front of the Konoha forces, slowing the speed of the Sand ninja's long-range attacks.
Then, an equally massive earth wall appeared behind the water wall—this was Konoha's true shield.
After both sides finished releasing their ninjutsu, the next phase was a contest of quality.
Countless attacks pierced through the water wall, filtering out roughly half the shuriken and ninjutsu. The remaining barrage continued toward Konoha's earth wall.
Facing the onslaught, the earth walls in front of Konoha's stronger ninja successfully blocked the Sand ninja's attacks—no casualties occurred there.
But for dozens of weaker ninja, their thin earth walls were instantly shattered. Before they could even flee, they were riddled with holes and killed on the spot.
The long-range exchange achieved some effect. Now came the moment for close-quarters combat.
"Charge!"
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Triangular Pyramid!"
The Third Kazekage roared and struck first with his kekkei genkai, forming iron sand into triangular pyramids and firing them at extreme speed toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hmph—Summoning Technique!"
Hiruzen showed no fear. He summoned the monkey king Enma—who had fought alongside him for decades—and had it transform into the Adamantine Staff, knocking the iron sand pyramids away.
At the same time, Ebizō—the slightly weaker Kage-level fighter—summoned his puppets and charged toward Hiruzen.
Whoosh—
A silver blade sliced through the air, aiming for Hiruzen's back while he was occupied.
Relying on his veteran Kage-level battlefield instincts, Hiruzen swept the Adamantine Staff backward, knocking the puppet's blade away.
Facing Hiruzen Sarutobi—currently at the peak of his power and known as the "Hero of the Ninja World"—the Third Kazekage naturally wouldn't engage head-on. He had already instructed Ebizō to cooperate with him.
Even if they couldn't kill Hiruzen, as long as they kept him pinned down, the Sand ninja would surely win.
"White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppets!"
Chiyo summoned ten advanced puppets and sent them toward Hatake Sakumo—the second-strongest Kage-level fighter on the Konoha side after Hiruzen.
Facing Chiyo's puppets and their poisoned weapons, Hatake Sakumo didn't dare be careless. He could only respond cautiously.
While the Kage-level battles had begun, the upper-level ninja clashes also erupted.
Representing Konoha's major clans, the Hyūga clan head and the Ino–Shika–Chō trio faced off against Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law from the Hidden Sand.
Although the high-level combat appeared balanced, the situation for Konoha's regular forces was dire.
Though the Sand ninja's long-range attack hadn't caused massive casualties, it had boosted their morale.
Under the overwhelming numerical advantage, the Sand ninja quickly took control of the battlefield and began pressing forward.
Faced with the relentless advance, the Konoha ninja could only fight while retreating. In no time, they were pushed to the edge of the battlefield.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly, an earth-shaking roar came from behind the Konoha ninja.
In the next moment, a fifty-meter-tall, single-tailed tanuki made entirely of sand blocked their retreat path.
Under Bunpuku's control, the One-Tail had slipped behind the Konoha forces during the Kage-level clashes, following the Third Kazekage's orders.
Now that the Konoha ninja had retreated to the designated spot, the Sand army and the One-Tail formed a perfect pincer attack—completely trapping the Konoha forces.
"Wind Release: Multiple Vacuum Bullets!"
Following this, Bunpuku—controlling the One-Tail—formed hand seals and unleashed ninjutsu.
Several enormous Wind Release techniques smashed into the center of the Konoha battlefield. In an instant, every Konoha ninja within range was obliterated—even those who had used defensive ninjutsu couldn't withstand the tailed beast's attack.
The sheer size and immense chakra of a tailed beast made its ninjutsu far more powerful than anything ordinary ninja could produce.
"Ahhh—!"
Faced with the double-sided assault, the Konoha ninja couldn't hold out. In just a few minutes, hundreds of Konoha ninja were slaughtered.
The few survivors who remained had already lost all will to fight. They simply stood in place, silently awaiting death.
"You Sand ninja are truly despicable!"
Hiruzen watched helplessly as the Konoha ninja he led were massacred by the Sand army and the One-Tail. His back teeth were nearly ground to dust. He was about to abandon his opponent and rush to stop the One-Tail.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall!"
In the next instant, a black iron-sand wall blocked his path. Ebizō's puppets also appeared at his side.
"Hahaha, Hiruzen Sarutobi—don't even think about escaping. Until you surrender, I won't let you go."
The Third Kazekage sneered darkly.
"You want me to surrender? Absolutely impossible—unless you step over my corpse!"
At that moment, a calm voice rang out across the entire battlefield, momentarily stabilizing the one-sided slaughter.
"Universal Pull!"
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