After learning that the Yuki Clan head was leading his forces out of the snake formation, the Kaguya Clan head desperately led the Kaguya Clan in blocking Orochimaru and Konoha's main force, which was about to reach the battlefield, hoping to buy the Mist Ninja more time to break out.
At the same time, bloodline-limit shinobi among the Mist Ninja, such as those with Steel Release and Swift Release, also stayed behind with the Kaguya Clan to cover the retreat.
Once Konoha's main force arrived at the battlefield, Orochimaru released the outer snake formation and let everyone out. However, the Mist Ninja rearguard caused Konoha tremendous trouble.
The bloodline-limit shinobi who had stayed behind were not necessarily stronger than Konoha's elites in combat, but every one of them was astonishingly good at staying alive. They either had extremely high defenses or were exceptionally fast, making them difficult to deal with quickly. Meanwhile, more and more Mist Ninja were breaking free of the snake encirclement to the east, and Orochimaru's expression grew increasingly grim.
"Why are you only arriving now?" Orochimaru demanded as he sent a Mist Ninja flying with the Kusanagi Sword. In this kind of chaotic melee, he was personally more efficient than Manda, so they had split up.
As White Fang severed the bone blade in the Kaguya Clan head's hand with his short sword, he said in a low voice, "We had intended to wipe out the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in one stroke, but we didn't expect them to change directions and flee. That delayed us for a while."
"Interesting!" The Kaguya Clan head tossed aside the bone blade White Fang had cut apart, then drew a brand-new bone sword from his chest. With a savage grin, he said, "Since you arrived so quickly, White Fang of