The Two Sides Forced into Decisive Battle

Hatake Sakumo frowned as he looked at Third's order demanding that he launch a full-scale assault, remaining silent.

Nara Shikayama also consoled him in a low voice. "Intelligence says the fighting over at Amegakure isn't going smoothly either. Lord Hokage is extremely anxious. Having our side shoulder the burden is also a sign of his trust in you."

Recalling the wounded soldiers' complaints from earlier, Hatake Sakumo shook his head and said:

"The problem now is this: if we launch a decisive battle with morale like this, will we be fighting to survive, or fighting to die?"

Nara Shikayama's expression stiffened. As one of the Nara Clan's clever minds, he had noticed this problem long ago.

But what could he do?

Hatake Sakumo looked at the battle map before him and silently wiped the edge of White Fang.

The Hatake Clan had its roots in the Land of Iron. Before the Warring States Period, the Hatake Clan had all been Samurai, only gradually evolving into a shinobi clan afterward.

Sakumo's thoughts slowly drifted away as he recalled every step of his growth in Konoha.

From escaping the destruction of his clan by sheer luck, to joining Konoha as a war orphan, to fortunately meeting Lord Tobirama and receiving an education at the Ninja Academy; then joining the Anbu, rising step by step through slaughter, and ultimately becoming the battlefield commander of an entire army.

Konoha had shown him kindness. In his heart, he bore the responsibility and obligation to devote himself loyally to Konoha.

This man who appeared to be a shinobi but was a Samurai at heart had already resolved to repay Konoha with his life.

To a Samurai, the most important things were bearing responsibility and fulfilling it. Death was merely one means of carrying out one's duty.

Failing to accomplish what one's duty required was more serious than death.

Hatake Sakumo closed his eyes, adjusted his state of mind, and said calmly:

"Stop thinking about it, Lushan."

"At dawn tomorrow, we launch the general assault. I'll lead the vanguard. At worst, I die."

Nara Shikayama looked at Hatake Sakumo with complicated eyes, let out a heavy sigh, then turned to arrange the attack plan.

Sunagakure's main position.

Chiyo, Ebizo, and a pair of young Sunagakure Jonin were discussing the battle reports in a relaxed atmosphere.

"Hi, Koh, you both did very well in dealing with Konoha's countercharge last time."

Chiyo looked fondly at the young couple. They were her son and daughter-in-law, and Sasori's parents.

Koh had beautiful long black hair and a gentle temperament.

Hi, meanwhile, had crimson-red hair and a handsome, sunny appearance. Sasori looked very much like him.

The two were both talented Puppet Masters of Sunagakure's new generation, and they had performed exceptionally well in this war.

Ebizo also looked at them warmly. They were his juniors as well, and the future pride of Sunagakure.

This war against Konoha had gone even more smoothly than predicted before it began.

"Still, we can't let our guard down. This is precisely the most intense stage of the battle, so we must remain wary of Konoha's counterattack," Ebizo added.

Cautious by nature, he had not let the brief victory cloud his judgment. He would never underestimate Konoha.

"Well, Konoha's shinobi really aren't all that impressive. Compared with what the records say, they're far worse," Koh said carelessly.

Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged a glance, both with a trace of confusion in their eyes.

"Konoha's shinobi really have declined far too much compared to the previous shinobi war. Their combat strength doesn't match the Anbu reports either."

That was what they both thought. As for the reason, they could only reluctantly attribute it to the complacency brought by Konoha's prosperity.

Chiyo looked at her son's confident expression and smiled as well.

With her watching over them, there shouldn't be any surprises, right?

"Lady Chiyo, an order has arrived from Lord Kazekage!"

The brief warm scene was shattered as a travel-worn Sunagakure Anbu, covered in blood, knocked on the gates of the Sunagakure camp.

Chiyo took the order and read it carefully, while Ebizo questioned the Anbu messenger beside her.

"What happened? Wasn't Konoha's Hunter-Killer Unit already stationed at the border without moving? Which Konoha unit intercepted you?"

The Anbu messenger wore a terrified expression. What he had experienced was bizarre and terrible.

"It wasn't the Uchiha unit led by the Konoha Devil, but a strange three-man Konoha squad."

"The leader was a very young blond Konoha shinobi who had mastered an exceptionally advanced Body Flicker Technique. They wiped out Intelligence Squad 2 and Squad 3 entirely. Of Squad 1, only Yazo and I escaped."

Ebizo's gaze sharpened, inwardly shocked.

"They wiped out nearly three squads. To accomplish something on that level... Konoha has barely begun to show signs of decay, and yet another extraordinary genius is emerging?"

"Tell me in detail the physical features and fighting methods of every member of that Konoha squad!"

The Sunagakure Anbu lowered his head and muttered:

"They appeared to be between twelve and fifteen years old. Their main attacker was that blond Konoha shinobi. He used some strange Body Flicker Technique to approach, attacked with large numbers of Explosive Tags, then used Body Flicker to retreat."

Seeing Ebizo's puzzled expression, he hurriedly added:

"His Body Flicker Technique was incredibly refined—so fast that we couldn't even see his afterimage. And that red-haired female Konoha shinobi seemed to possess large-scale sensory abilities. No matter how we concealed ourselves, they could find our location."

Ebizo waved him away to recover from his injuries and fell into thought.

"A Body Flicker Technique so fast that it leaves no visible afterimage... I've never heard of anyone like that. Could the Flying Thunder God Technique have reappeared in the Shinobi World?"

"A red-haired sensory shinobi... She should be one of the Uzumaki survivors who sought refuge in Konoha. What a troublesome combination."

"And they use huge numbers of Explosive Tags to attack. Konoha's shinobi really are extravagant."

Ebizo considered countermeasures. A genius squad like this had to be eliminated quickly!

But before he could decide to hunt down that squad, his thoughts were interrupted by Chiyo slamming her hand heavily on the table.

Chiyo waved the Kazekage's order in front of her and said grimly:

"The daimyo has put pressure on the Third Kazekage, demanding that we achieve results quickly. If this drags on any longer, the Land of Wind's tax revenue won't be able to support us."

Ebizo's expression turned ugly as well. It seemed Konoha was not the only one rotting away; his own homeland was no better.

All he could do was sigh inwardly. How could the Land of Wind ever be governed properly with a pack of vermin like this?

If they delayed a little longer, given the current battlefield situation, they could clearly win without fighting!

"Since that's the case, we can only obey the order. Let's study the combat mission."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Issue an order. The remaining five intelligence squads are to take Rasa and Pakura and spare no effort in killing this Konoha squad."

With a great battle approaching, every precious Jonin had to be used in the decisive battle. There was simply no one to spare to deal with Minato's group.

Then let Sunagakure's geniuses test themselves against Konoha's geniuses!

"Hopefully, they can kill these Konoha newcomers... Sigh."

In the original timeline, the Land of Wind had been deeply constrained by its daimyo.

During Rasa's tenure, the daimyo of the Land of Wind further cut Sunagakure's funding, forcing him to spend large amounts of time panning for gold in the desert to keep Sunagakure's finances from collapsing.

Under different outside pressures, the forces of both Konoha and Sunagakure rapidly organized themselves.

A forced great battle was on the verge of erupting!