The Harsh Desert of the Land of Wind

Before this, Konoha's victory was entirely due to Shiyu's intelligence and Shiyu own strength.

Now, due to Orochimaru's eagerness for quick success, his original advantages have vanished.

"Sigh, Teacher Hizashi, I was hoping to find a way to negotiate with Sunagakure and secure enough benefits for Konoha, but now it seems we still need to continue fighting," Shiyu said with some helplessness.

"A general in the field may disobey orders, and Lord Orochimaru also intends to use the current high morale to drive Sunagakure into a corner." Hizashi seemed to understand Orochimaru's feelings.

"Although their morale is high, Orochimaru is destined to lose this time," Shiyu said firmly.

"Hmm? Why are you so sure?"

"Weren't the main forces of Sunagakure wiped out by us?"

Nao and Kurenai also expressed some confusion.

"Boss, just tell me the reason. I'm not good at warfare. I only know that Orochimaru is quite strong and can protect himself without any problem," Kakuzu said.

Shiyu then said, "First, although the main force of Sunagakure has been defeated, the retreat was orderly and they did not lose command. Ebizo is more terrifying than Chiyo; he is skilled in stratagems, Orochimaru could easily be ambushed. Second, Orochimaru is too arrogant and self-righteous; his mentality can easily be exploited by Ebizo."

"Third, if Orochimaru's ninja forces are ambushed and surrounded, they could easily be wiped out without our supplies. And lastly, and most importantly!"

"Konoha is full of forests, and Sunagakure's environment and weather are extremely harsh, but Sunagakure has become accustomed to it—this is the advantage of timing. The One Line Sky is easy to defend but difficult to attack, Sunagakure firmly holds this advantage—this is the advantage of terrain. Once past the One Line Sky, we will reach Sunagakure. In this life-or-death situation, the Sand Ninja will definitely fight with all their might, united as one—this is the advantage of harmony!"

"We lack supplies, have high morale but lack intelligence, and have few combat personnel. The enemy has the advantage of timing, location, and manpower. I really can't think of any way Orochimaru can win."

Upon Shiyu's explanation, everyone immediately understood.

"So, what should we do?" everyone asked.

"We have no choice but to attack," Shiyu said.

Then Shiyu arrived at the Konoha front-line command post and addressed all the ninjas.

"All troops, heed my command!" Shiyu declared domineeringly, "Cross the desert! Attack the One Line Sky of Sunagakure! Rendezvous with Orochimaru, and together we'll take Sunagakure!"

"Good!"

"Marvelous!"

"Shiyu! Shiyu!"

"The Light of the Shinobi World!"

Upon hearing Shiyu's words, the ninjas under his command felt as if they had seen a pancake, and their morale soared considerably.

The Konoha Ninja, having witnessed Shiyu's cunning and strength in the previous battles, naturally obeyed him. Hearing Shiyu, they all believed victory was in sight and that this joint attack would annihilate Sunagakure.

However, in reality, Shiyu simply didn't want his subordinates to lose confidence; his true purpose this time was actually to rescue Orochimaru.

Immediately after, the main force of Konoha Ninja, led by Shiyu, crossed the Scorching Sand Wilderness and entered the southwestern Wind Desert.

In the desert, the environment is extremely harsh, with direct sunlight. If Shiyu hadn't prepared a large amount of water resources in advance, countless Konoha Ninja would probably have fallen due to the environment alone.

As they continued onward, Shiyu noticed that he could vaguely see the corpses of some Konoha Ninja.

"Investigate this," Shiyu ordered.

"Yes! Lord Shiyu!" the Konoha Jonin confirmed after investigation. "That's right, he's Konoha Ninja who serves Lord Orochimaru."

"Did it die of thirst?" Shiyu immediately used his observational skills and discovered that the guy didn't die of thirst at all; the surrounding sand was extremely soft and slowly fell to the ground.

"Wait!" Shiyu shouted immediately, but before one of the distracted Chunin react, he was already stuck in the sand.

"This is quicksand!!" Shiyu immediately warned.

The Chunin was completely unable to exert any strength and had no way to crawl out of the sand, so he immediately panicked.

"Don't struggle! Don't move!" Shiyu warned, Hizashi immediately struck out with an Empty Palm, creating a dent in the quicksand. Kakuzu 'Kakuzu also quickly grabbed the ninja and pulled him up.

"That Chunin was spared a life thanks to being saved."

"Everyone follow me, and don't stay more than one meter apart from me laterally!" Shiyu used her Scouting Eye to accurately avoid the quicksand area. Once you get stuck in the quicksand, it's very difficult to escape. Even if one foot is buried in the quicksand, it would take at least the strength to lift a car.

Therefore, Shiyu ordered his men to be extra careful, and they eventually managed to bypass the quicksand area. After traveling for a long time, the entire Konoha main force was exhausted.

"Let's set up camp! There won't be any enemies nearby." Shiyu surveyed the furthest distance but saw no signs of any living creatures. After issuing the order, he began studying the map in front of the campfire.

"Lord Shiyu, our supplies are running low," a Jonin reminded him.

"I understand, don't worry. I discussed it with Orochimaru a long time ago, and he will reserve some supplies for us." Shiyu also shared this good news with the Jonin.

"Get some rest. Tell everyone not to worry about supplies. Tomorrow we'll reach the Sunagakure's One Line Sky! Isn't our purpose here to take down the enemy?" Shiyu also looked like victory was in sight.

"Is that so! That's great! I think morale will definitely rise again!" The Jonin left happily.

Kakuzu and Hizashi naturally guessed. "Orochimaru probably wouldn't have left us any supplies!"

Shiyu smiled wryly, "That's for sure. I just don't want to disappoint them, otherwise, what morale would we have left?"

"I see. I understand now."

"According to the map, we should be able to reach the One Line Sky soon, and we should be near One Line Sky tomorrow." Shiyu then felt a strange gust of wind.

"No way," Shiyu was speechless. He used his observational skills to see a scene not far away, where the entire world was covered by sand and dust.

"We just passed through the quicksand area, and now we're facing another sandstorm?!" Shiyu immediately sounded the alarm.

"Attention everyone! A sandstorm is coming!" Hizashi and the Jonin relayed this message to everyone.

"Everyone who Earth Release! Use all your chakra to create Earth Wall to block it!" Shiyu summoned a giant Katsuyu with Summoning Technique, and then immediately used Split, so that a Katsuyu appeared on the bodies of thousands of Konoha Ninja.

"Everyone who knows Wind Release! Come forward with me and use Great Breakthrough! Let's find a way to blow the sandstorm back!" Shiyu said seriously.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!" Many Konoha Ninja cast the spell together, and a huge Earth Flow Wall was formed.