The Time for the Decisive Battle

"I never expected the One-Tail to suddenly appear on the front lines. We miscalculated."

Hatake Sakumo spoke with some dejection.

They had not factored the One-Tail into their plans from the start. They had been fighting for over a year, and the One-Tail had never appeared. Who could have expected it to suddenly show up at the frontline camp tonight?

"It was my fault, Sakumo... If I hadn't been so reckless, I wouldn't have alerted the Tailed Beast."

Asuma Sarutobi spoke apologetically.

He was already a cripple. The meridians throughout his body had been crushed by Rasa's Gold Dust.

His wife had suffered the same fate.

If not for the slash White Fang had risked his life to land on Rasa's chest, forcing Rasa to recall his Gold Dust for defense, the couple would likely have been reduced to bloody pulp.

"Sakumo, leave us here. Remember to complete the mission! This is a ninja's fate... Cough, cough..."

"You rest here first. I'll be back soon."

"You're going to continue the mission?"

"No. A mission is a mission, and comrades are comrades. The Will of Fire means protecting Konoha and protecting our comrades. I won't abandon Leopard, even though I can tell he doesn't like me that much."

"But... if you go save him, what about the mission? Pakura and Chiyo will return soon. Once that happens, it'll be completely impossible to kill the Kazekage!"

"If Konoha's White Fang cannot protect Konoha's comrades, then how can he be called Konoha's White Fang? White Fang is a sword of protection. My way of the sword is my ninja way, and my ninja way is to protect every single comrade of Konoha!"

A sharp aura shone from White Fang's eyes. Swordsmen were powerful because they condensed their convictions into a Sword Heart that was indestructible and capable of cutting through anything.

Asuma Sarutobi watched White Fang's tall figure and felt the complete lack of strength in his own body. He said nothing.

He knew some inside information.

If the assassination succeeded, the Third Hokage would arrange for the credit to fall on him, molding him into a ninja whose renown rivaled White Fang and the Three Ninja.

If the assassination failed, the Third Hokage and the others would use it as an excuse to suppress Hatake Sakumo.

He had not thought much of it before. It was perfectly normal for capable people to be suppressed when they rose to prominence.

But now, he felt that his father had been wrong.

White lightning streaked across the land.

Hatake Sakumo carried Leopard on his back as they fled Sunagakure's camp. Their direction was exactly opposite to Asuma's.

The Fourth Kazekage, Chiyo, and Pakura had been distracted by Shukaku's rampage, giving him the opportunity to rescue Leopard.

Leopard wore an Anbu mask, his expression hidden, and did not say a single word.

Three flashes of light appeared, and Orochimaru arrived before them with Mito Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze.

"How are things, Sakumo?" Orochimaru asked.

"Orochimaru, Asuma and the others are still on the other side!"

"Minato."

Orochimaru turned to look at Minato Namikaze beside him.

"Mm, leave it to me."

A flash of yellow light streaked past, and Minato Namikaze vanished before their eyes.

"Let's head back first."

White Fang's team had failed its mission, and the Third Hokage's Eldest Son had become a cripple.

Not only had Asuma failed to fulfill the Third Hokage's expectations and become a ninja comparable to White Fang and the Three Ninja, he had instead ended up like this.

If Danzo moved against Sakumo, the Third Hokage would likely turn a blind eye.

He would take out his anger on White Fang, even though he knew it was not White Fang's fault.

But a father's love had never been reasonable.

For now, however, this had nothing to do with Orochimaru.

White Fang had injured the Fourth Kazekage, so his combat strength would certainly be affected.

The rampaging Tailed Beast had dealt a severe blow to Sunagakure's encampment, and many ninjas had died in the chaos.

This was the best possible time for a decisive battle!

No matter how rushed the timing was, Orochimaru made a swift decision. He gathered every remaining force, even bringing Hatake Sakumo along, and launched an attack on Sunagakure's encampment while the opportunity lasted.

A large number of Konoha Ninja poured out through Kikyo Castle's open gates and charged toward Sunagakure's encampment.

The moment Chiyo saw Hatake Sakumo, she gave up entangling herself with the One-Tail and charged at Sakumo without regard for her own life, determined to fight to the death.

The moment the rampaging One-Tail saw Orochimaru, terror appeared on his face. He also stopped venting his rage and turned tail to run.

Orochimaru still summoned Aoda, then created a Shadow Clone to stand atop Aoda and had Aoda pursue the One-Tail.

One-Tail: Don't come any closer!

This Shadow Clone still had quite a lot of Chakra. Orochimaru had allocated a massive amount of Chakra to it, enough to sustain it for quite some time.

The scene from the Second Ninja War in the Land of Rain had reappeared. Sunagakure's camp was thrown into disarray by the assault of two giant beasts, and the Konoha Ninja pounced on the opening.

Rather than becoming entangled with Pakura as he had last time, Mito Uzumaki joined Minato in slaughtering Sunagakure's ninja from opposite sides.

A streak of blue-violet lightning and a flash of golden light crisscrossed the battlefield without cease. No one could stop them; not a single opponent could last a round.

Orochimaru watched the two before him with a smile. Pakura had always been somewhat weaker than Chiyo, while Rasa had been seriously wounded by Hatake Sakumo. He wanted to see whether he could defeat the two of them alone.

Actually, there were three of them, but Shukaku had been chased into not daring to fight back.

If they judged by achievements, should he win this battle, Orochimaru would absolutely be qualified to contend for the title of the strongest in the ninja world.

Second only to Hanzo boasting that he had fought the Three Ninja to a draw.

Though that did not seem quite right? Orochimaru himself was one of the Three Ninja.

Now Hanzo would have even more to boast about. The stronger Orochimaru was, the more extraordinary Hanzo of the Salamander's record appeared.

"Damn you, Orochimaru. Was this your plan?" Pakura asked coldly.

"Only he could come up with such a terrifying plan. Every link connected to the next, with countless contingencies always prepared. Even if the assassination plan failed, there was a backup. He used the disturbance caused by the assassination to launch the decisive battle directly. As expected of you, Orochimaru!"

Rasa had been directing Sunagakure's forces during this period, and he admitted that Orochimaru had completely suppressed him in strategic command.

Even though he had only gained the upper hand by relying on their numerical advantage, he had believed that the gap between himself and Orochimaru in command ability was not that great.

But now, looking at his side's situation, Rasa admitted that he was far inferior to Orochimaru in this respect.

Orochimaru had been extending his long tongue to lick the corner of his mouth, but Rasa's words made him freeze, halting mid-motion.

Am I really that impressive? No... did I even come up with this plan?

I genuinely never expected things to turn out like this!

Seeing Orochimaru's interrupted movement, Rasa became even more convinced of his judgment.

To reverse the course of the battle and overturn the situation between both sides in a single night...

Orochimaru truly was a terrifying opponent!

Pakura, too, was startled by Rasa's words.

She had heard Rasa say before that while her command ability was inferior to Orochimaru's, the difference was not great. They were roughly on the same level.

Now it seemed that Orochimaru had deliberately shown weakness, all to seek an opportunity, seize the enemy's flaw, and deliver a fatal blow!

This bastard! He really was as dangerous as a venomous snake!

Then in their previous battles, had he perhaps not used his full strength?

In a situation like tonight's, however, he would definitely go all out!

But no matter what, they would have to fight it out.