Winning or losing wasn't embarrassing. It was whoever was missing who ought to feel embarrassed.
Fact: Danzo, Orochimaru, and Tsunade had suffered a crushing defeat against the Sand Ninja.
Another fact: White Fang, Orochimaru, and Tsunade had routed the Sand Ninja.
What a tough mystery. Whose fault could it possibly have been?
Cheers first rose from the battlefield's left flank.
Hatake Sakumo had slain Lanluo and Shayin in battle, killing the commanders of the Sand Ninja's flank.
The gifted puppeteer couple who represented the future of Sunagakure's Puppet Technique had died at the hands of the White Fang of Konoha.
The flank collapsed first, destabilizing the Sand Ninja's center as well.
The Third Kazekage could suppress Orochimaru, but he couldn't kill him.
He had already killed Orochimaru four or five times and was starting to feel numb.
Summoned snakes and snake corpses littered the ground. No matter how badly Orochimaru was injured, he would emerge from some giant snake's mouth completely unharmed.
The Third Kazekage specialized in physical attacks with sand iron, and physical attacks were what Orochimaru feared least.
Atop his cloud of iron sand, the Third Kazekage grew uneasy.
Looking into the distance, he saw Hatake Sakumo charge into the Sand Ninja with his extraordinary Body Flicker Technique and swordsmanship, mowing down their lives like grass as he led the left flank forward.
Orochimaru emerged from a snake's mouth again and lazily eyed the Third Kazekage, his gaze seeming to say, Come on. Kill me another three hundred times.
The Third Kazekage looked toward the other flank, but the thick smoke characteristic of Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags blocked his view.
Things were going terribly. A Sand Ninja squad commander chased Kawadera Uchiha, roaring, "**Coward! What skill is there in picking on Genin? Fight me one-on-one if you've got