The Joy of Picking Up Bargains

He was about to continue his reprimand when he noticed his subordinate had suddenly gone silent, prompting him to turn around.

The sight that met his eyes caused his pupils to constrict violently.

In his view, countless Konoha ninjas were surging rapidly toward Kikyo City, and the genin beside him was already frozen in terror.

"Enemy attack!"

There was no time to think; the captain shouted at the top of his lungs.

Just as he reached for the signal flare in his pouch to fire it, the Uchiha Clan, serving as the vanguard for Konoha, had already scaled the city walls in a few leaps under the leadership of Uchiha Tayama.

A flash of a blade streaked by, and a severed arm danced through the air, still clutching the signal flare that had just been triggered.

However, the flare did not detonate in the sky as the Sunagakure captain had intended; instead, it exploded right at the edge of the wall.

The next second, a blade sliced through his throat.

Uchiha Aoba, who had been a step behind, would not let this opportunity to claim a kill slip by.

As the Sunagakure captain closed his eyes, his face twisted with resentment, and he could hear a faint whisper in his ear: "Tsk, you almost pulled it off."

Although the signal flare failed to detonate in the sky as hoped, preventing the frontline Sunagakure positions from receiving a warning, it was enough to wake every Sunagakure ninja within Kikyo City.

This ensured that some would not be slaughtered by Konoha ninjas while completely caught off guard.

The surprise attack plan devised by Orochimaru could not be called a complete success, nor could it be called a failure; by the time Sunagakure began to organize a counterattack, all the Konoha ninjas he led had already breached the city.

The entire Kikyo City was plunged into a battlefield, with the civilians inside all bolting their doors, hiding under beds or tables, and trembling in fear, terrified of becoming victims of a disaster they had no part in.

But this was inevitable.

With the war taking place within the city, even though Konoha and Sunagakure tacitly agreed to avoid civilians, the flying ninja tools and ninjutsu would inevitably cause collateral damage.

Orochimaru stood on the roof of the highest building in Kikyo City with a cold expression. Logically, if he were to join the battle, the siege—which already held the advantage—would surely turn into a completely one-sided affair.

However, he did not make a move.

Because he had to conserve his strength to guard against the One-Tail Jinchuriki, who could appear at any moment.

Meanwhile, at the Sunagakure frontline positions.

Jiraiya, acting as a feint, was leading over four hundred Konoha ninjas, fighting while retreating.

This strange offensive tactic left Rasa, the frontline commander of Sunagakure, deeply puzzled.

Such a clumsy lure—who did they think they were looking down on?

In Rasa's view, this move by Jiraiya was clearly a setup for an ambush somewhere ahead, waiting for him to lead his men into it before joining forces with Orochimaru to deliver a fatal blow.

"Hmph, low-level tactics."

Rasa thought to himself, unable to help but sneer.

Regardless of anything else, he was a man destined to become the Fourth Kazekage; he would not be easily fooled.

Because of this, he didn't even have the desire to launch an attack, merely sending a few scattered men to defend while watching Jiraiya mess around.

However, this move of his was just right for Jiraiya.

If the situation hadn't been so inappropriate, Jiraiya would have wanted to give a thumbs-up for Rasa's cooperation.

Stall, keep stalling; he was waiting for good news from Orochimaru.

But Jiraiya didn't intend to keep up this charade forever. He knew Rasa wasn't a fool, and if he kept playing this game, the opponent might eventually figure something out.

Only by mixing truth with falsehood could the plan be carried out perfectly.

So, Jiraiya calculated the time in his heart, and when he felt the moment was right, he quickly formed hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

With a loud 'bang', a giant toad holding a pipe appeared on the battlefield.

Rasa, who was about to return to camp in the distance, saw this, and his face instantly darkened.

"Damn it, Jiraiya! You're playing for real!"

Jiraiya leaped onto the toad's head, and upon hearing this, he couldn't hold back his amusement and laughed.

"Gamabunta! Spit oil!"

"Understood!"

A deep voice boomed across the battlefield.

"Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"

Facing the scorching Fire Style rushing toward him, Rasa wore a grim expression, waving his hand to block the front with a massive wall of gold dust.

The high heat caused the air to distort slightly.

However, when the heat dissipated and Rasa retracted his gold dust, intending to lead his team forward to engage Jiraiya, there was no longer any sign of the Konoha ninjas.

Seeing this, Rasa felt a sudden thud in his heart, and a strong, ominous premonition emerged.

At this very moment.

A disheveled Sunagakure ninja covered in blood stumbled toward them, reporting with grief and indignation.

"My lord, Orochimaru is leading a large force in a surprise attack on Kikyo City!"

"What did you say?"

Rasa grabbed the man by the collar and hauled him up to his face, his expression grim. "Why are you only reporting this now? What were the patrol guards doing? And what about the jinchuriki?"

The Sunagakure ninja who had come to report flushed red. "The city is crawling with Konoha ninjas. I only managed to escape and report to you thanks to the desperate cover provided by the others."

"As for the jinchuriki, Bunpuku, he transformed into his tailed beast form shortly after I left Kikyo City. Judging by the activity in the city, Orochimaru of Konoha is currently engaged in battle with him."

Rasa didn't have time to think. He released the ninja and immediately ordered, "Everyone, follow me to reinforce Kikyo City. The city must not fall into the hands of Konoha."

"But my lord, what about the camp?" a Sunagakure jonin asked with concern.

Rasa glared at him.

"What time do you think it is to be worrying about the camp? If we lose this place, we can always start over."

"Once Kikyo City falls into the hands of Konoha, never mind whether this war can continue—Konoha could lead an assault into the Land of Wind at any moment, and our entire Sunagakure would be forced into an incredibly passive position."

As his words faded, Rasa finally realized the truth.

"Very well, Jiraiya! You truly live up to your name as one of the Sannin of Konoha. So this was your plan all along."

"I, Rasa, will remember this grudge!"

"ROAR!"

A piercing roar echoed outside Kikyo City.

Orochimaru's expression was grave as he stood atop the head of Manda, constantly maneuvering to evade the transformed jinchuriki.

Meanwhile, inside the city.

Uchiha Aoba was trailing behind his clansmen, frantically scavenging for scraps.

At this moment, there was no trace of the ferocity he had shown yesterday when he single-handedly charged into the enemy ranks.

It wasn't that Uchiha Aoba didn't want to fight like that; when he first entered Kikyo City, he had actively sought out Sunagakure chunin to battle, but his momentum was halted the moment he was targeted by a Sunagakure jonin.

Fortunately, the opponent was only an ordinary jonin, and Uchiha Aoba managed to take him down at the cost of only minor injuries.

It was only after that encounter that Uchiha Aoba stopped attacking proactively.

Then, he experienced the joy of scavenging. With a single slash, he would gain 0.1 or 0.5, easily increasing his fusion rate.

The feeling was nothing short of exhilarating.