"I never expected that the One-Tail would suddenly appear on the front lines. My calculations were wrong."
Hatake Sakumo said with a trace of disappointment.
They had not factored the One-Tail into their plans at the start. After fighting for over a year, the One-Tail had never once shown itself; who could have known it would suddenly emerge at the frontline camp tonight.
"It is my fault, Sakumo... If I had not been too rash, I wouldn't have alarmed the Tailed Beast."
Asuma Sarutobi said with undeniable regret.
He was already a cripple, his body's meridian channels completely pulverized by Rasa's Gold Dust.
His wife had suffered the exact same fate as him.
If not for the desperate slash White Fang landed on Rasa's chest, forcing Rasa to recall his gold dust for defense, the couple would likely have already been reduced to bloody pulp.
"Sakumo, leave us here and remember to complete the mission! This is a ninja's destiny... cough, cough..."
"Rest here for now. I'll go and return shortly."
"You're going to continue the mission?"
"No, a mission is a mission, and comrades are comrades. The Will of Fire means protecting Konohagakure and protecting our comrades. I won't abandon Leopard, even if I can tell he doesn't like me all that much."
"But... if you go to save him, what about the mission? Pakura and Chiyo will return soon. By then, killing the Kazekage will be completely impossible!"
"If Konoha's White Fang cannot protect Konoha's comrades, then how can he be called Konoha's White Fang? The White Fang is the sword of protection. My swordsmanship is my ninja way, and my ninja way is to protect every single comrade in Konohagakure!"
A sharp aura emanated from White Fang's eyes. A swordsman was powerful precisely because they condensed their conviction into an unyielding, indomitable Sword Heart that could cut through anything.
Asuma Sarutobi looked at White Fang's towering figure, feeling a body devoid of even a shred of strength, and said nothing.
He knew some inside information.
If the assassination succeeded, the Third Hokage would attribute the credit to him, molding him into a ninja whose renown rivaled that of the White Fang and the Three Ninja.
If the assassination failed, the Third Hokage and his faction would use it as a pretext to suppress Hatake Sakumo.
He hadn't thought much of it before; it was completely normal for capable individuals who stood out to face suppression.
Yet now he felt that his father was wrong.
A flash of white lightning streaked across the earth.
Hatake Sakumo was carrying Leopard on his back as he fled the Sunagakure camp, their direction moving opposite to that of Shin'nosuke.
The Fourth Kazekage, Chiyo, and Pakura had their attention drawn away by the rampaging Shukaku, which was the only reason he had been given the chance to rescue Leopard.
Leopard wore an Anbu mask, obscuring his expression, and did not utter a single word.
Three flashes of light pierced the air as Orochimaru appeared before them alongside Shikun Mitarashi and Minato Namikaze.
"What's the situation, Sakumo?" Orochimaru asked.
"Orochimaru, Shin'nosuke and the others are still on the other side!"
"Minato."
Orochimaru turned his head to look at Minato Namikaze beside him.
"Understood, leave it to me."
A flash of yellow light cut through the air, and Minato Namikaze vanished from before the group.
"Let's head back first."
The White Fang squad's mission had failed, and the Third Hokage's eldest son had been reduced to a cripple.
Not only had Shin'nosuke failed to meet the Third Hokage's expectations of becoming a ninja comparable to the White Fang and the Three Ninja, but he had instead suffered such a tragic end.
If Danzo made a move against Sakumo, the Third Hokage would likely offer tacit approval.
He would vent his anger onto the White Fang, even though he knew it wasn't the White Fang's fault.
Yet a father's love was never governed by reason.
Still, this temporarily had nothing to do with Orochimaru.
The White Fang had inflicted injuries upon the Fourth Kazekage, and his combat capability would inevitably be compromised.
The rampaging Tailed Beast had caused massive devastation to Sunagakure's encampment, and quite a few ninja had perished in the chaos.
This was the absolute best timing for a decisive battle!
No matter how rushed the timing was, Orochimaru made a prompt and decisive choice, rallying all remaining forces-even dragging Hatake Sakumo along-to launch an assault on the Sunagakure encampment while seizing this very opportunity.
Vast numbers of Konoha Ninja poured out through the opened gates of Kikyo Castle, charging ferociously toward the Sunagakure encampment.
From the very first moment she laid eyes on Hatake Sakumo, Chiyo abandoned her entanglement with the One-Tail, throwing herself recklessly toward Sakumo with a vow to fight to the death.
From the very first moment the rampaging One-Tail laid eyes on Orochimaru, a look of terror appeared on its face. Abandoning its emotional venting, it turned tail and sprinted away at top speed.
Orochimaru summoned Aoda all the same, splitting off a shadow clone to stand atop the giant snake, and had Aoda give chase to the One-Tail.
The One-Tail screamed: Don't you come any closer!
That shadow clone still possessed a considerable reservoir of chakra; Orochimaru had allocated a massive amount of chakra to it, which was more than enough to sustain it for quite some time.
The scene from the past during the Second Ninja War in the Land of Rain repeated itself once more. The Sunagakure camp was battered into complete disarray by two colossal beasts, and the Konoha Ninja seized this exact opening to swarm forward.
Unlike last time, Shikun Mitarashi did not become entangled with Pakura; instead, he and Minato swept through the Suna ninja on opposing sides, unleashing a merciless carnage.
A blue-purple streak of lightning and a flash of golden light continuously crisscrossed the battlefield. Wherever they passed, nothing could block them, and not a single enemy could withstand them for even a single blow.
Orochimaru smiled pleasantly as he watched the two figures before him. Pakura's strength was already somewhat inferior to Chiyo's, and Rasa had been heavily wounded by Hatake Sakumo; he wanted to see if he could defeat these two with his own strength alone.
Well, technically three of them, though Shukaku was being chased so hard it didn't dare to fight back.
If achievements were measured by battle records, winning this single fight would undoubtedly grant Orochimaru the capability to contend for the title of current number one in the Shinobi World.
The second place would belong to Hanzo, who constantly bragged about fighting the Three Ninja to a draw.
Wait, was that even right? Orochimaru himself was one of the Three Ninja.
That would only give Hanzo even more to brag about; the stronger Orochimaru was, the more it highlighted just how remarkable Hanzo of the Salamander's achievements supposedly were.
"Damn you, Orochimaru. Is this your plan?" Pakura asked coldly as she glared at Orochimaru.
"Only he could ever come up with such a terrifying plan. Everything is linked ring by ring, and he always has countless backup plans. Even if the assassination fails, there's a contingency plan ready-launching a direct decisive battle by leveraging the chaos stirred up by the assassination. As expected of you, Orochimaru!"
During this period, Sunagakure's operations had been deployed by Rasa, and he admitted that he had been suppressed by Orochimaru in strategic command.
Originally, even when they held the upper hand merely due to a numerical advantage, he had believed the gap in command between himself and Orochimaru wasn't all that vast.
Yet now, looking at the state of his own side, Rasa had to admit that in this regard, he was far inferior to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru had originally been extending his long tongue to lick the corner of his mouth, but hearing Rasa's words, he froze and halted his movements.
Am I really that formidable? Wait, no. Did I actually come up with a plan like this?
I genuinely didn't foresee that a situation like this would ever occur!
Rasa watched Orochimaru's interrupted movement before him, and his conviction in his own judgment only grew stronger.
To be able to overturn the war situation and subvert the dynamic between both factions in the span of a single night-
Orochimaru truly was a terrifying opponent!
Pakura was equally startled by Rasa's words.
She had previously heard Rasa mention that while his command level might fall short of Orochimaru's, it wasn't far behind, placing them roughly on the same tier.
From the looks of it now, this had merely been Orochimaru feigning weakness to bide his time, all so he could seek an opportunity, seize an enemy flaw, and deliver a fatal blow!
This guy! He was truly as dangerous as a venomous snake!
If that was the case, had the opponent even been going all out during their previous battles?
In a setting like tonight, the opponent would undoubtedly go all out without holding anything back!
Yet regardless of how things stood, a clash between them was ultimately unavoidable.
Before you continue