The war had reached its fiercest point!
The special three-pronged kunai inscribed with Sword of Shinobi Love kept flying through the battlefield!
This flash of yellow struck fear into the enemy with his strength alone!
By now, the sky had begun to pale, and clouds gathered on the horizon as if rushing to market. Stained as though by blood, they took on a faint red hue.
The ground across the battlefield had been dyed deep crimson with blood... As it seeped into the earth, wisps of red energy were drawn by a mysterious force and drifted toward a single point.
After a whole night of fighting, Sunagakure had left hundreds of bodies behind and was slowly retreating from the battlefield in the Land of Rain toward its own borders.
Konoha's frontline forces had also lost more than a hundred people in this battle, with especially heavy casualties from the first wave of the surprise attack. Todō Akimichi, a jōnin, had been seriously wounded while holding off Rasa's assault.
But with Minato Namikaze leading them, Konoha's frontline forces were at the height of their strength. After a brief rest, they left some wounded behind along with a small guard force, while half the frontline troops pursued the retreating enemy, driving Sunagakure back at every turn!
They did not regain their footing until they reached the area near the border of the Land of Wind. Minato Namikaze then halted the pursuit, wary of falling for an enemy ruse.
At that moment, Rasa, Granny Chiyo, and several elite jōnin had gathered in the temporary command post.
The first clash with Konoha had ended in a draw. Although they had lost several hundred shinobi, it had all gone according to plan. Konoha's frontline forces had now been drawn out.
Once Pakura attacked Konoha's headquarters