Battle Begins

Shikun Mitarashi's strength was in an awkward position. No matter who he faced, it was difficult for anyone to truly defeat him, but when he encountered a Kage-level opponent, he also found it hard to defeat them.

Truly—nobody could beat anybody.

Minato was in a similar situation. Because of his age, he had not yet fully matured, and his strength was still a notch below Shikun Mitarashi's. During ordinary training, he could remain evenly matched for a short time, but once the fight dragged on, Shikun Mitarashi usually won.

The two of them were not suited to confronting Rasa head-on. The best arrangement for them would be to hold back either Chiyo or Pakura, or simply cut through the enemy army.

No matter what, Orochimaru had to prepare himself to fight multiple Kage-level experts. Sunagakure's One-Tail and Ebizo had yet to appear on the main battlefield.

But those were not what worried Orochimaru the most. What worried him most was the other major nations.

Once Konohagakure became bogged down in a war with Sunagakure, the other great nations would likely take advantage of the situation.

In the current Konohagakure, aside from the Hokage and Orochimaru, only Jiraiya and Hatake Shōsō had the strength and prestige to command large numbers of shinobi and earn their subordinates' trust. Tsunade had developed hemophobia, so she was destined to be unable to take the battlefield.

If the remaining three great nations attacked Konohagakure, the old Third Hokage would have to step in. Danzo had lost one eye and half an arm, and his strength had greatly declined. He was no longer Kage-level and could not stop any Kage or Tailed Beast the enemy might deploy.

That would leave the village's interior empty, with no experts stationed there. Danzo might cause trouble as well. Given enough time, something would inevitably go wrong.

For one thing, without the Third Hokage keeping Danzo in check, he would definitely siphon resources in secret and profiteer from the war to expand his Root. He might even make a move against the Nine-Tails in hopes of gaining its power.

What if the other three great nations really attacked Konohagakure? That was very likely to happen.

From the outside world's perspective, Konohagakure had won two Ninja Wars in a row and possessed six Kage-level experts: White Fang, the Three Ninja, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Shimura Danzō. It was incomparably powerful.

Even the retired Torifu Akimichi counted. If he swallowed the red pill, he had the ability to kill a Kage-level expert. Throughout the past several centuries of the Warring States Period, every Akimichi clan head had been capable of trading their life for that of a Kage-level expert.

That made seven.

And if they added the strongest Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails, then what the hell was anyone supposed to fight Konohagakure with?

One village was stronger than two villages combined. That would inevitably draw a joint assault from multiple villages.

The first two Ninja Wars had both been chaotic melees involving the entire Shinobi World.

For example, the Second Tsuchikage had perished together with the Second Mizukage. The Land of Wind had also been attacked from the coast by the Land of Water, and the Second Hokage had beaten up the other four ninja villages one by one.

If war broke out in the other directions around the Land of Fire as well, the only solution would be to resolve one battlefield as quickly as possible and free up manpower.

Konohagakure had a great chance of winning against one village. It could hold a stalemate against two. Against three, it probably had no chance.

At the very least, Konohagakure could not be allowed to fall into a three-front war.

But at present, Orochimaru saw no possibility of their side defeating Sunagakure in a short time. He could only hope that the other ninja villages would delay their war against Konohagakure until after he had defeated Sunagakure.

As Konohagakure's main force arrived, countless squads set out even before the two sides began a large-scale battle.

They would infiltrate, counter-infiltrate, gather intelligence, intercept the enemy's intelligence, and carry out assassinations.

Orochimaru could no longer sit still. During this period, the Konoha Ninja had already fallen into a disadvantageous position.

Their shinobi forces had been hastily mobilized and assembled, lacking both elite troops and overall numbers. Their opponents, meanwhile, had come after making thorough preparations.

If things continued according to the current situation, their disadvantage would only continue to grow.

What Orochimaru needed to do was lead the ninja of Konoha into battle.

Victory would curb Sunagakure's arrogance, raise their side's morale, and halt the enemy's momentum.

The enemy were invaders, the attacking side. In reality, there were only so many routes they could take, and they had to ensure the transport of supplies and the stationing of large numbers of troops. With some probing, it would be easy to determine their location.

In fact, part of what those earlier squads had been doing was gathering intelligence in that regard.

The borderlands. A plain.

Konohagakure and Sunagakure's first direct confrontation began.

This place was near the River Country.

Although the River Country was merely a small nation, it had fairly abundant resources. With Konohagakure backing it, it had lived reasonably well.

But before Sunagakure's overwhelming strength, the Daimyo immediately surrendered with a French military salute. Otherwise, the River Country would have had to replace its Daimyo.

Both sides deployed their forces. By the usual rules of the martial world, they first traded words before fighting, hoping to use language to raise their own morale while striking at the enemy's.

"Orochimaru, so you're the one leading them. What, was White Fang too scared to come?"

The only one with such deep hatred for White Fang was obviously Chiyo.

"What's this, Granny Chiyo? How did your arm get reattached? It probably didn't hurt too much last time, right?"

The one who had severed Chiyo's arm last time was Hatake Sakumo.

"Thanks to your Konohagakure, this old woman's arm can no longer feel pain, Orochimaru! Answer me honestly! Was Sasori's disappearance also the work of your Konohagakure?!"

Chiyo had already fitted herself with a mechanical arm. Its imitation was so lifelike that it was difficult to notice without looking carefully.

Orochimaru froze. We really didn't do that!

"Granny Chiyo, tell me... is there a possibility... that Sasori assassinated the Third Kazekage, then disappeared and ran away?"

Orochimaru spoke the truth.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Orochimaru, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

Chiyo was somewhat humiliated and enraged. Orochimaru had actually dared to insult her beloved grandson.

Chiyo decisively ruled out the correct answer.

"Elder Chiyo, there's no point talking to a sharp-tongued, truth-twisting man like Orochimaru. Pakura, let's attack together!"

The newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, declared that there was nothing to say to a petty man like Orochimaru. There was no need to bother with honor—everyone, attack together.

Pakura had long since grown impatient. With a wave of her hand, a massive cluster of high-temperature fireballs came howling toward them.

Pakura's fireballs were the power of her Kekkei Genkai, Scorch Release. Death came with a single touch.

Orochimaru fired a Water Dragon Bullet to meet them head-on, canceling out the fireballs. But immediately afterward, Gold Dust swept toward him like a tidal wave.

This was Rasa's "Magnet Release: Gold Dust."

"Summoning: Triple Rashomon."

Orochimaru summoned three gates of hell, blocking Rasa's attack.

Chiyo directed her Puppets to charge forward, and Orochimaru summoned Manda to fight them.

Pakura was about to continue attacking when a purple-haired figure appeared beside her without her noticing.

"I can't let you interfere with Lord Orochimaru. Your opponent is me!"

Blue-violet light flashed, and Shikun Mitarashi transferred Pakura elsewhere to fight.

Seeing several Puppets guarding Chiyo, Minato did not seek her out. Instead, he touched one nearby Puppet with each hand, transferred away two of the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, then returned.