Solving the Sand Ninjas 1

Watching this scene, Li Yi did not continue his pursuit. After all, his own reserves were significantly depleted, and one should not chase a desperate foe; charging in now would likely lead to an ambush, which would be a miserable outcome.

"We won! We actually won!" Someone shouted, and suddenly, the Konoha ninja present began to cheer wildly. It must be known that before Li Yi arrived, their battles had always been stalemates, and at times they had even suffered losses, as the Second Kazekage was simply too ferocious, and they had no one on their side capable of contending with him.

Now that Li Yi had appeared and secured them a victory, they naturally erupted into cheers.

"Lord Li Yi is too strong! He heavily wounded the Second Kazekage. If it weren't for Lord Li Yi, I might have died at the hands of a Sand ninja just now!" one Konoha ninja said with fanatical fervor.

Another nodded excitedly. Li Yi's appearance had brought a turning point to their battlefield, which also meant that many of them would be spared from death.

Furthermore, it meant they could quickly end the war with the Hidden Sand Village; after all, no one liked war, and war meant death.

"Phew, Li Yi, how are you holding up?" Mitokado Homura arrived at Li Yi's side via Body Flicker and asked.

Li Yi shook his head and said, "The Second Kazekage is worthy of his title; I still let him get away."

Mitokado Homura took a look at him and patted Li Yi on the shoulder. "You've already done well enough."

Indeed, it was truly well enough. If not for Li Yi, they would have been suppressed by the Hidden Sand Village, but now, the situation had finally been reversed.

Meanwhile, on the edge of the Land of Wind, the Second Kazekage led his men as they retreated. Looking back over his shoulder, the Second Kazekage sighed. Li Yi had not pursued them, though considering Li Yi's ability to fly, it was debatable whether they could have truly stopped him anyway.

True, although the Second Kazekage had been defeated, he had made preparations. Here, he had not only arranged a contingency plan involving vast amounts of gold dust but also their Hidden Sand Village's ultimate weapon: the One-Tail Shukaku's jinchūriki.

"Bunpuku, come out," the Second Kazekage Shamon said with a sigh.

At that moment, a young monk slowly emerged from the sand. Looking at the Second Kazekage Shamon, he said, "Lord Second, you are heavily injured!"

The Second Kazekage Shamon said nothing, only replying, "I will have to trouble you for the time being."

Bunpuku nodded. As the ultimate weapon of the Hidden Sand Village, his strength was beyond doubt, and having been sealed with Shukaku since childhood, he had developed a good relationship with the beast over the many years.

Otherwise, it would not have been so easy for the Second Kazekage to study the Tailed Beasts.

Back at the Konoha camp, Li Yi was summoned to the main tent.

Inside, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Akimichi Kufū were all present. Seeing Li Yi enter, the three greeted him; the Li Yi of today was no longer the mere brat he once was, but a rare powerhouse of Konoha.

Moreover, Li Yi was already a squad leader in the Konoha Anbu, and based on his military exploits this time, becoming an Anbu captain would be more than enough.

One should not underestimate a Konoha Anbu captain; that was considered a high-ranking position. Currently, Konoha only had three major Anbu divisions, so becoming an Anbu captain meant holding real power.

"Li Yi, how badly is the Second Kazekage injured?" Mitokado Homura didn't waste time and asked straight away.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, "He should be heavily wounded. He won't be recovering for at least a month or two."

In that final exchange, the Second Kazekage had been aiming to kill Li Yi, only to end up taking the brunt of the force himself. Not only that, but he had also used his ultimate technique to extinguish Li Yi's flames, which must have consumed a massive amount of chakra. It was unlikely he would recover for several months.

Mitokado Homura was immediately overjoyed. The turning point of the war had arrived. They had been suppressed by the Second Kazekage for so long, but now that he was heavily wounded, the Sand ninja would surely retreat behind their borders, leaving the offensive to them.

"The Sand ninja still have the One-Tail that hasn't appeared yet," Utatane Koharu said solemnly.

They had been entangled with the Second Kazekage for so long without seeing the jinchūriki, and they feared that when they launched their offensive, the enemy would unleash the beast.

One should not underestimate a Tailed Beast; that was not something an ordinary person could handle.

The three then looked at Li Yi. They knew that Li Yi had already dealt with the Two-Tails jinchūriki, and the Two-Tails was a perfect jinchūriki at that. They assumed Li Yi must have the confidence to face the One-Tail as well.

After all, among all the Tailed Beasts, the One-Tail and Two-Tails were the weakest.

It could be said that the strength of the Tailed Beasts was truly ranked by the number of their tails. Look at the Nine-Tails; even when split in two, it could still thrash all the other Tailed Beasts, which proved the point.

Furthermore, the Nine-Tails was just unlucky to have encountered Uchiha Madara first, and then Senju Hashirama. If it had been anyone else, just look at the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama—the man known for his god-like speed—who was taken down by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who merely possessed a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra.

Therefore, once a Tailed Beast was unleashed, it was not something an ordinary ninja could handle.

"If the One-Tail appears, leaving it to me should be no problem," Li Yi said directly. He wasn't boasting; he truly wasn't worried about the One-Tail. Among all the Tailed Beasts, while the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails were strong, it wouldn't be easy for them to injure him either.

Even if Li Yi couldn't win, he could easily run away. As for the other Tailed Beasts, only those with specific elemental advantages—like the water-wielding Isobu, Kokuō's Boil Release, or the Six-Tails' corrosive acid—could pose a threat, but Li Yi wasn't just a brute; a ninja had to rely on tactics.

Hearing that Li Yi would take on the One-Tail, the three breathed a sigh of relief. With this, they had the confidence to crush the Sand ninja and resolve the conflict here.

After all, the Sand ninja had dragged them out for too long. If this continued, they would be in trouble once Iwagakure and Kirigakure recovered.

The three then began to discuss how to attack the Hidden Sand Village. Li Yi listened for a while before losing interest. In reality, there were no profound tactics involved; it was simply a matter of how to crush the enemy head-on without giving them a chance to flee back into the desert, settling the matter in one decisive battle.

After all, once the Sand ninja retreated into the desert, they would be truly difficult to deal with.

Why did no one attack the Hidden Sand Village? Why was it always the Sand attacking Konoha? It was because that place was nothing but desert—a place not even a dog would visit. Why bother attacking it? Supplies would be a nightmare, and if things went wrong, you could be ambushed by the Sand ninja.

Even if you conquered it, what then? Could you mine everywhere like Rasa? You would need to be a good miner, and without their sand-manipulation techniques, everything would be for naught.

Finally, Mitokado Homura and the others finalized their tactics, and they would begin their offensive tomorrow.