The Decisive Battle Arrives

"Crack!"

Lightning split the heavens, bringing a torrential downpour. Yesterday's warm sunlight had only been temporary.

Wind and rain were the norm in this land.

A year had passed since Orochimaru arrived in the Land of Rain.

A year ago, he had swallowed the Dragon Yuan and broken through to Kage-level. After another year of exploration and repeated tempering through blood and fire, though Orochimaru's strength had not undergone a qualitative leap, it had steadily improved.

Over the past year, the five thousand Konoha Ninja had suffered tremendous losses in the meat grinder that was the Land of Rain. But thanks to Tsunade, their situation had been far better than elsewhere. It would likely be difficult to enjoy such treatment again in the future, however.

Konoha had just over three thousand combat-capable troops remaining.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had no intention of merging forces with the Amegakure led by Hanzo of the Salamander, and Orochimaru had offered the same recommendation.

Therefore, they would not combine their armies. This was not merely for the sake of precaution, but also to ensure smooth command.

Rashly merging two or even several armies into one might increase their numbers, but it could also lead to muddled orders. It was better to manage them separately—you fought your battle, and we fought ours. As long as communication between the command structures remained open, they could already achieve an effect greater than one plus one.

Land of Rain, a plain.

The Konoha Ninja and Amegakure's Rain Ninja stood clearly divided on opposite sides.

Hanzo had brought only a few hundred men. He had left half of Amegakure's ninja behind in the village, so even if they lost, he could return to Amegakure and hold it defensively.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, and the rest of Konoha's command had not paid much attention to this. What they valued was Hanzo's formidable strength.

A Five Kage-level powerhouse could inflict widespread casualties on the battlefield, target and eliminate the enemy's experts, tear through their formations, and more.

"Hokage, where is Princess Tsunade?"

Hanzo indicated that he, too, wanted to receive Tsunade's special treatment. Konoha could not be the only ones enjoying themselves; Amegakure wanted a share as well.

Unfortunately, only Konoha Ninja had gotten to enjoy it, and they would not get to anymore either.

Orochimaru grumbled inwardly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, meanwhile, regretfully informed Hanzo of the Salamander that three days ago, Tsunade's team had intercepted an extremely important shipment. Tsunade herself was personally escorting it, so she could not appear on the battlefield.

However, Amegakure's old friends need not be discouraged. Konoha had a group of medical ninja trained by Tsunade.

Their presence could greatly alleviate the pressure. If Amegakure's people were wounded, they could come to Konoha for treatment as well.

As for what sort of supplies were important enough to require a key combatant like Tsunade to escort them personally, apologies, but that was Konoha's highest secret. They could not disclose it.

Hanzo had no choice. Getting even a little was better than getting nothing.

While the two big shots chatted, the other members of both command headquarters began formulating the strategy for this battle.

In truth, the general policy had already been decided. They were now making certain adjustments based on the actual circumstances of both sides.

The main discussions in the command headquarters were conducted by the respective think tanks of the Third Hokage and Hanzo. Leading Konoha's side was a pineapple-haired Nara Clan ninja, while Hanzo's side had some unknown fellow.

Yet among the Amegakure ninja, a green-haired ninja caught Orochimaru's attention.

This green-haired ninja seemed to have disguised himself, but Orochimaru still recognized him. His name was Aoi Rokushō. He had once been a Konoha Chunin, but after defecting, he had joined Amegakure.

If he had merely been a rogue ninja, Orochimaru would not have paid him much mind. After all, the man was now a Rain Ninja and belonged to Konoha's allied camp.

But Orochimaru remembered that before defecting from Konoha, he seemed to have stolen the Second Hokage's Raijin's Sword. That was a different matter.

Orochimaru had always loved swords. Otherwise, he would not have collected the Kusanagi Sword, much less acquired the Kusanagi Sword: Sky's Great Sword later on.

Orochimaru's own swordsmanship was not weak either. Otherwise, in the original timeline, he could not have trained Sasuke into a master swordsman.

Several small snakes silently burrowed underground. One would not be reliable enough; more was better.

These little creatures were tasked with keeping an eye on Aoi Rokushō during the operation to come. Of course, it would be even better if he simply died on the battlefield.

The strategy this time was actually very simple: charge directly into Sunagakure's base in the Land of Rain, then fight their way in.

During actual operations, excessively meticulous plans could sometimes fail more easily, because unforeseen changes could arise. Not everyone was Zhuge Liang, capable of calculating every possibility without error.

In battles involving several thousand or even tens of thousands of people, accidents were practically inevitable. The only difference was whether they were major or minor.

As long as they grasped the overall direction, adapting to circumstances would be enough for the rest.

Sunagakure naturally held the advantage of terrain, but Konoha was not too worried that they possessed any formidable barriers.

What could a ninja village whose Sealing Jutsu could not even handle Tailed Beast seals, and whose Jinchuriki went berserk every other day, possibly amount to?

Before Konoha, which had inherited most of the Land of Whirlpools' Sealing Jutsu, Sunagakure was like a high school student compared to a doctoral student.

One had attained considerable mastery, while the other was still laying foundations.

After the two big shots reviewed it, neither raised any objections. They made the decision on the spot: depart immediately!

At once, the several-thousand-strong force set out in grand fashion, charging toward Sunagakure's base.

Meanwhile, on Tsunade's side, they had set off yesterday evening and traveled through the night. The group had already arrived in Konoha, while several Anbu had gone to report to Anbu headquarters.

Tsunade had brought news of Danzō Katō's death, a tremendous blow to the Katō Clan.

The Katō Clan had once been prosperous, after all. Otherwise, such an immensely powerful ninjutsu as the Mind Transfer Jutsu would not have been passed down through their lineage.

While the Mind Transfer Jutsu was powerful, it also carried enormous risks.

This was not merely because the user's physical body could not move while using the Mind Transfer Jutsu. The technique was extremely difficult to cultivate and even carried a significant risk of death.

The Katō Clan had already lost an unknown number of talented ninja while training in this jutsu. They had finally produced a Dan Katō, and just as the clan had begun to show signs of revival, he died just like that.

Quite a few members of the Katō Clan had previously learned of Danzō Katō's relationship with Tsunade and were waiting for him to marry her, get promoted and earn more, then become Hokage!

Perhaps they could even become the next Sarutobi Clan.

Konoha's largest clans were currently the Hyuga and Uchiha, but the fastest-growing one was the Sarutobi Clan.

But now, it was completely over. With Danzō Katō dead, becoming Hokage was out of the question. Forget becoming the next Sarutobi Clan—even avoiding continued decline would already require the First Hokage's spirit to bless them from heaven.

Thus, the Katō Clan approached Tsunade, hoping that, for Dan Katō's sake, she would select a disciple from their clan.

That way, the Katō Clan would at least have someone powerful backing them and would not have such a miserable time.

After making her selection, Tsunade took away the most talented member of the Katō Clan at present, Shizune Katō.

Shizune Katō was Dan Katō's niece. Whether emotionally or by blood, she was relatively close to him.

Though Shizune Katō's talent was not bad, it could only be considered outstanding. She was nowhere near as exceptionally gifted as the Three Ninja; otherwise, she would have long been discovered and taken in as a disciple by some important figure.

If she had been allowed to develop naturally under the Katō Clan's training, becoming a Jonin would not have been a problem.

In fact, as long as she did not die young, becoming a Special Jōnin would basically have been guaranteed.

Now that she was being trained by Tsunade, barring any accidents, as long as she inherited even part of Tsunade's legacy, she would have a strong chance of becoming an Elite Jonin.

With the support of being part of the Hokage faction, along with the added value of Medical Ninjutsu, she had no hope of becoming Hokage in the future, but she had a considerable chance of attaining a high-ranking position like Utatane Koharu or Mitokado Homura.

At their peaks, those two had only been at the level of Elite Jonin themselves. They became advisors solely because they belonged to the Hokage faction and had correctly chosen to support Hiruzen Sarutobi.

In truth, if Danzō Katō had really married Tsunade, he would have counted as part of the Hokage faction as well. Becoming Hokage would not necessarily have been impossible for him.

It was simply that he would have had to compete with Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, Jiraiya, and the others. He had a chance, but it was not necessarily a great one.

But becoming an advisor was different. Aside from Danzo drawing considerable strength from the Shimura Clan to establish Root, the Shimura Clan had also been subtly suppressed by the Third Hokage because Danzo had once been the greatest threat to his position.

As for the clans of the other two advisors, which one of them was not living comfortably?

Clearly, the Third Hokage also knew that Danzo posed the greatest threat to his position as Hokage. After all, Danzo was currently in his prime. With Kage-level Wind Release and swordsmanship learned from the Second Hokage, his strength was no joke.

Tsunade did not plan to leave Konoha for the time being. Although her hemophobia did not leave her completely incapable of fighting, her condition made things inconvenient if anything happened. She planned to train Shizune for a year or two before heading out.

Teaching one person was teaching, and teaching a group was also teaching. Shizune had not yet reached the stage where she could learn those profound ninjutsu, so Tsunade simply waved her hand and opened a tutoring class for medical ninja.

Besides the fact that there were other reasons behind Dan Katō's death, Tsunade had grown weary of the darkness within Konoha. Coupled with the many years of war, she had already begun considering leaving Konoha.

However, before leaving, she also intended to leave behind a complete system for training medical ninja. This was the only thing she could do before departing Konoha.

Back on the Land of Rain battlefield.

Konoha and Amegakure's allied forces were about to reach Sunagakure's encampment.