Advance, Advance

On the battlefield, Itachi's performance was not an isolated case. Similar scenes were playing out across the front lines, with even Jiangtai using his half-baked Sage Mode to move effortlessly among the enemies.

The Ghost Legion was caught off guard by the Allied Shinobi Forces's sudden offensive and had no time to react before their battle lines were forced to retreat step by step.

They are not a real army after all; they lack a unified command system and are driven entirely by the will of the Moryo.

Under the organized and layered attacks of the Allied Forces, the front-line troops were the first to succumb, and the middle-line troops were also thrown into congestion and chaos due to the long-range attacks of Ninjutsu.

"Now!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "Give the order: all troops advance! Maintain formation and advance steadily!"

"All troops—forward!"

The order was given across the battlefield. Seven thousand Allied Forces ninjas, like a moving wall, began to advance towards the other side of the canyon.

The attacking forces maintained Ninjutsu suppression, the Earth Style units constantly altered the terrain, and the Wind Style and Water Style units launched flanking attacks, giving the enemy no chance to breathe. The elite units filled the gaps, continuously penetrating deeper into the enemy lines to create chaos.

This straightforward, step-by-step tactic perfectly countered the Ghost Legion's rigid and inflexible offensive patterns.

With each step the Allied Forces took, hundreds or even thousands of Puppet were destroyed. The advance was incredibly fierce, and in just half an hour, they completely occupied the canyon and pushed the front line to the other side.

During this period, their biggest objective in this battle was naturally achieved.

This massive frontal attack finally succeeded in drawing the Ghost Legion's main attention.

In the Moryo's perception, a large number of the Ghost Legion suddenly lost all connection in the direction of the canyon. To it, this was undoubtedly a light in the darkness, exceptionally conspicuous.

Its five dragon heads turned towards the Allied Forces simultaneously, a hint of doubt flashing in its eerie green eyes, followed by anger.

"Roar--!"

The roar came from a hundred miles away. Following the will of the Moryo, the Ghost Legion, which was originally scattered across a vast area, began to gather towards the canyon.

Their objective became clearer—to completely annihilate this rebellious force.

This is exactly the effect the Allied Forces wanted.

While the main force steadily advanced on the front lines, drawing the enemy's attention, another force had already silently made its way towards the Land of Swamps.

On the dark purple earth, desolate and lifeless, at intervals one could see Ghost Legion silently marching, all heading towards the canyon battlefield with a remarkably consistent goal, resembling a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.

Looking up from the sky, an unusual group is swimming upstream, like fish swimming back to the source of the turbulent current.

This was the thousand-strong force led by Taiichi.

At this moment, they were moving quickly. Having learned from their previous breakthrough, Taiichi and his team were moving even faster this time.

A group of a thousand people may seem large, but against the backdrop of this vast land, they are just a small dot on the map.

Now this small dot is bypassing the routes taken by the Ghost Legion and heading straight for the border of the Land of Swamps.

As they ventured deeper into enemy territory, battle became inevitable, and that's when the power of a thousand-strong force became apparent.

The small groups of the Ghost Legion were wiped out in an instant; the enemies died without even seeing Taiichi and his companions.

As for the larger Ghost Legion that are truly difficult to avoid, the Assault Force can eliminate them in the shortest amount of time, and then quickly withdraw from the battlefield, leaving the Ghost Legion that follow without even a trace.

And so, the Assault Force made their way into the area where the demon was located without incident, until the Moryo's towering body appeared on the horizon.

"We're here again!"

The group stopped moving forward. Representatives from the three ninja villages of Kitsuchi, Chiyo, and Dodai approached Taiichi and heard him Taiichi to himself. The three exchanged a silent glance, and Chiyo, the oldest among them, stepped forward to ask what was wrong.

"Taiichi, what do we do next? At this distance, it'll be very difficult to sneak forward any further."

"It's not that difficult!" Taiichi's lips curled into a smile, a smile that sounded both confident and sarcastic. "Let's charge in with full force; we've already been discovered."

"What!"

Taiichi's words caused a commotion. Everyone looked around warily and at their feet, fearing that the Ghost Legion had already come knocking on their door.

However, since everyone here was an elite, they quickly calmed down, and all eyes turned to Taiichi, awaiting his orders.

"Everyone, there's no need to hide it anymore." Taiichi's smile widened, and his whole body trembled slightly, a sign of excitement before the great battle.

"The main force risked their lives to create this opportunity for us; now it's our turn to fight tooth and nail." Taiichi turned and looked around at everyone, his voice no longer restrained, but instead becoming even more impassioned.

"Gentlemen, follow closely behind me. I will lead the charge, straight to the Moryo's front."

"Chiyo, Kitsuchi, Dodai, Kakashi, while I fight the Moryo, you must do your best to hold back the Ghost Legion and prevent them from hindering my battle. I will also try my best to steer the battlefield away from you."

"Everyone!" Taiichi last time, then turned back to face the Moryo, raising his hand and waving it forward, "Follow me—"

Kill!"

"Kill----!"

"Kill----!"

"Kill----!"

Although there were only a thousand people, their shouts had the momentum of ten thousand.

Taiyi instantly moved forward, his right hand moving from left to right in a sword-drawing posture, then pulling back to form a chakra lightsaber. As chakra was injected, the lightsaber rapidly grew longer and thicker until it extended to three meters before stopping.

At this moment, Taiichi took the lead and charged into the Ghost Legion's ranks.

He brandished an exaggerated longsword, without any fancy moves or advanced Ninjutsu; he simply slashed and hacked.

Left slash.

Chop to the right.

A sweeping back strike.

The attack was repeated over and over, but this simple attack, combined with the extremely sharp light blade and the increased speed, was like a tiger among sheep.

No!

It's even more exhilarating and exciting than a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

It was as if they were entering an empty field; the well-organized Ghost Legion did not hinder Taiichi's charge in the slightest.

Taiichi's pace didn't slow down at all, cutting through one Ghost Legion after another.

Taiichi took the lead and launched the first charge. This action was like a shot of adrenaline to the hearts of the Assault Force. When they saw Taiichi's heroic performance, their morale soared.

As Taiichi clashed with the Ghost Legion, the Assault Force also launched a collective charge.

They formed an Arrowhead Formation, with Chiyo, Kitsuchi, Dodai, and Kakashi as the arrowheads, using the gap created by Taiichi as the breakthrough point, and plunged fiercely into the Ghost Legion.

Kakashi's White Fang Short Sword is enveloped in lightning. Each swing creates an arc of electricity. Wherever the blade passes, it's like a hot knife through butter, flowing smoothly. Even those touched by the electric arc will twitch and temporarily lose their ability to move.

Kitsuchi was no longer as honest as before; his round face was full of ferocity. His hands were covered by rocks, which was Earth Style: Rock Fist Technique. It was just an ordinary C-rank Ninjutsu, but in Kitsuchi's hands, it was like a heavy hammer.

The solid, heavy Rock Golem was easily crushed by a mere graze or sent flying by a single impact from the Rock Fist; it was utterly powerless against it.

Chiyo was not to be outdone, unleashing her strongest attack: the White Secret Technique - The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets.

Ten Puppet of different styles combined in mid-air with a series of "click-clack" sounds. Five of them, after a complex mechanical combination, transformed into a larger Puppet, which stood at the forefront of the formation like a giant chariot.

Two large war scythes extended from each side of its body, and with a whoosh, all the Rock Golem that approached were cut into pieces.

The other five Puppet stood guard beside Chiyo, protecting her safety at all times.

The entire force of a thousand men advanced with unstoppable momentum, each displaying their unique strengths. Wherever they went, the Ghost Legion's formation was constantly torn apart and disrupted.

Despite the continued influx of Rock Golem from all directions, their clumsy movements and monotonous attacks proved utterly ineffective against these battle-hardened elites.

The team maintained a tight Arrowhead Formation, and although the ninjas from each village had different fighting styles, they cooperated seamlessly.

The Earth Style from Iwagakure shielded everyone from ranged attacks, the Puppet Wind Style from Sunagakure restrained the enemies, the Lightning Style from Cloud Village paralyzed the group of enemies, and the Water Style from Mist Village created mud on the ground to slow down the pursuit.

Each wave of attack was quickly neutralized, and the advance of the Assault Force was not slowed down much.

Taiichi charged at the forefront, his three-meter-long Light Blade like a scythe of Death God, each swing unleashing a burst of blade energy, its true attack range far exceeding three meters.

He cut all the Puppet along the way in half at the waist.

While attacking, Taiichi also had time to keep an eye on the battle behind him. He saw that although the Assault Force were brave, the vanguard was under increasing pressure as more and more Ghost Legion surrounded them, and the overall formation began to slowly compress.

He knew he needed to put in even more effort.

"Then—let me clear a path for you a little longer."

Taiichi muttered to himself, his right hand slashing incessantly, his left hand forming Ram Seal upright in front of his chest. He took a deep breath, and the air around him began to surge wildly. The next moment—

Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves!

"Buzz----!"

A low hum could be clearly heard even by the Assault Force he had left behind. Many of the team members looked up in surprise and turned their gaze to the figure that was clearing the way for them deep within the enemy lines.

The air around him distorted, and then countless transparent and sharp Wind Blade shot out in a fan shape from him.

It wasn't just one or a few blades, but hundreds or thousands of vacuum blades compressed to their limit. They tore through the air with sharp whistles, sweeping in all directions like an invisible tide of death.

In an instant, the Ghost Legion within Taiichi radius of 100 meters suffered a devastating blow.

The Rock Golem was easily sliced into its torso by the Wind Blade, the cut surfaces as smooth as mirrors, before scattering into pieces on the ground.

Wherever the Wind Blade passed, hundreds of deep trenches were carved into the ground. The purplish-black earth seemed to have been violently grabbed by an invisible giant claw, revealing the grayish-white soil beneath.

This attack nearly wiped out all the enemies in front of the Assault Force, greatly reducing the pressure on them.

Upon seeing this, Kitsuchi immediately roared, "Charge! Follow Taiichi!"

The team erupted in a roar and seized the opportunity to advance at full speed.

Seeing this, Taiichi did not linger any longer. He raised his Light Blade again, and his figure moved like lightning as he sped toward the shadow that loomed like a mountain range at the edge of his vision.

This was repeated time and again, and the originally insurmountable distance was thus pierced by the Assault Force.

When Taiichi swung his hand and destroyed the last batch of enemies in front of him, the view in front of him suddenly opened up.

The Moryo are right there.

A colossal body, hundreds of meters tall, occupied the entire space. Five ferocious dragon heads slowly lowered, and ten eerie green eyes, like lights from hell, were fixed on Taiichi.

It was enveloped in a tangible Negative Energy, and the purplish-black mist flowed like a living thing, causing rocks to decay and air to stagnate wherever it touched.

The ancient, oppressive aura made the Strike Force broke through the Ghost Legion's barrier gasp for breath.

The initial joy of successfully storming in front of the Moryo vanished. Only then did they realize that the previous battles were merely an appetizer, and the main course was just beginning.

However, the next second, a strong sense of excitement appeared on everyone's faces. As top-notch ninjas, which one of them hadn't fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood? Not to mention that they were all war-loving and eager for battle, they were at least warmongers.

The previous battle had not satisfied them at all; many of them had not yet unleashed their true strength. Now that an even greater battle was about to begin, they were naturally delighted.

"Proceed according to plan!"

Chiyo's aged yet resolute voice rang out, though a closer listen revealed a slight wheezing, a testament to her advancing age and declining physical strength.

The Assault Force, upon receiving orders, quickly deployed without further command.

Kitsuchi led the elite troops of Iwagakure to form a defensive formation at the front, with layers of Earth Style Wall and Earth Style: Rock Pillar rising up to build the first line of defense;

Cloud Village and Mist Ninja were positioned on both flanks, with Lightning Style and Water Style techniques ready to be unleashed;

The Puppet Master of Sunagakure control Puppet to move around and cover for any weaknesses;

Shinobi from Konoha and other ninja villages filled the gaps in the formation.

In just over ten seconds, an arc-shaped defensive line formed a hundred meters behind Taiichi, firmly blocking the Ghost Legion that was closing in from both sides like a tide.

In the center of the battlefield, only Taiichi and Moryo remained, facing each other from afar.

In the spiritual realm, the Moryo roared even more wildly, constantly calling out "insects," "ants," and "despicable humans," with almost no repeated curses.

Taiichi ignored the Moryo and argued with the dying beast; that wasn't in Taiichi's nature.

He slowly straightened up, the Chakra Light Blade in his hand dissipated, then he took a deep breath and clasped his hands together in front of his chest.

The Rhombus Mark on his forehead suddenly lit up with a bright blue light, then transformed into blue patterns that spread from his forehead to his entire body. A vast, ocean-like Chakra surged out from the seal, transforming into visible blue flames that swirled around his body. The ground was cracked like a spiderweb by the sudden burst of energy.

Immediately afterwards, he closed his eyes and concentrated, and Natural Energy gathered wildly from all directions.

Sage Mode - Activated!

His eyes snapped open, golden light emanating from the depths of his pupils. His black hair moved without wind, and his aura rose once more. The Senjutsu Chakra, infused with Natural Energy, made the air tremble.

The five dragon heads of the Moryo rose simultaneously, and the curses in the mental world instantly froze, like a startled rabbit, momentarily speechless.

Then, even more enraged insults rang out again, and the five dragon heads danced wildly.

"Damn ant, do you think you can deal with me like this?"

Taiichi did not answer. He stepped back slightly with his right foot, his leg muscles tensed, and the ground beneath his feet collapsed with a roar, blasting open a crater several meters in diameter.

The next moment, his figure vanished from the spot.