Final Battle

"Huh? Fugaku, the wound on your left hand..." Jin panted heavily, staring curiously at the scar on Fugaku's left arm.

Fugaku put on a cool act. "Yeah. I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't said anything." Just then, Minato rushed over as well and looked at Jin with a smile. "That was amazing. Jin, you're practically a natural-born tactical expert."

"That was unbelievably cool! That combo move you just used, I hereby name it: Water Lightning: Flowing Network Lightning Flash Thousand Arrows Zero Style." Minato praised him in an extremely chunibyo way.

"Hah... it was nothing, really. Mainly, that last strike used up most of my chakra," Jin said, embarrassed. And with his chakra running low, Jin's Sharingan closed as well.

"Fugaku, can you use the Sharingan to peek at their intel? Don't miss anything useful." At that moment, Minato looked at the jonin who was foaming at the mouth and barely conscious as he spoke.

"Not a problem." For Fugaku, who had the three-tomoe Sharingan, this was as simple as having to take off your pants to take a dump—a matter of course.

"Jin, go..." Minato made a throat-slitting gesture. Jin reluctantly took the ninja sword from Fugaku and looked at the two chunin who had been shocked unconscious on the ground.

"Try to be born into a better life next time..." Jin murmured, then raised his blade and cut the two chunin's throats. Though compared to the first time, the feeling was not quite as intense.

But the Sharingan that surfaced on its own still betrayed him... By the time he calmed his emotions, Fugaku had also extracted the jonin's intel and told Minato.

Minato analyzed it in his mind, then said, "Let's go, Jin. We need to hurry back. Hidden Sand may be making a big move."

"Aw~ Can't we rest for a bit? I'm only a seven-year-old kid, okay?" Jin complained, but his feet did not stop for even a moment.

"Want me to carry you with the Flying Thunder God?" Minato turned back and teased him. The moment Jin heard that, he hurriedly sped up and ran in front of Minato. "Minato, I suddenly feel full of energy."

Hidden Leaf Command Headquarters

Yoshi Nara and Sakumo looked at the sand table together, analyzing it.

"If Hidden Sand really is preparing to decide everything in one final battle, then it should be within these next two days," Yoshi Nara said in a low voice. "Otherwise, such a large movement of supplies makes no sense."

"I wonder who the enemy's commander-in-chief will be this time?" Sakumo guessed, but a figure had long since surfaced in his mind...

"Lord Sakumo, Lady Tsunade's side has already adjusted and produced an antidote against Hidden Sand's poisons." A faint smile appeared at the corner of Yoshi Nara's mouth. "I believe that no matter what, our strength will definitely be greater than theirs."

"Have the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan send more people out to scout. I have a feeling... the great battle will happen in these few days..." Sakumo arranged each matter calmly and methodically.

After Yoshi Nara left the tent, Sakumo finally relaxed slightly, sat in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest...

Two days later

Hidden Sand launched the first attack under Chiyo's lead. Although the Hidden Leaf side had prepared in advance, the Sand Ninja's surprise assault still threw Hidden Leaf into some chaos.

Fortunately, Sakumo and the Three Ninja arrived and stabilized the situation.

"Ninjutsu: Summoning Technique!" ×3

Three great clouds of white smoke appeared on the battlefield. When the smoke dispersed, three enormous creatures could be seen standing in the middle of the battlefield.

"Lady Tsunade, has war started again?" Slug said in a soft, gentle voice.

"Yes!" Tsunade was full of spirit. "Slug, split up and go heal our ninjas."

"Orochimaru! Why did you summon me again!" A giant snake flicked its tongue, full of resentment.

Snake Uncle's eyes were lifeless, and he said without any expression, "Keep spouting nonsense and you can die with them."

"Hmph!"

"Ohoho! It's the long-lost combo again! Bunta, let's go!" Jiraiya excitedly jumped around on Bunta's back and shouted, "Let the great Jiraiya end this conflict!"

"Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"

"Sakumo, come out and die!"

Chiyo controlled her puppets and looked at the man not far away with a face full of hatred.

"People die every moment in war. All I can say is that your son and daughter-in-law were unlucky to die under my blade." Sakumo flickered onto the battlefield, his face utterly expressionless.

"Damn you!" Chiyo could no longer hold back. "White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppets!"

Ten puppets appeared in the air, and under Chiyo's control, they charged straight at Sakumo.

Sakumo drew White Fang without the slightest panic, weaving between the puppets with ease. "Puppet masters are rare, but puppet masters who can only control puppets are trash."

"Sakumo! You've gone too far!" Chiyo controlled one puppet to chop at Sakumo's head, but Sakumo dodged it with ease. Before he even landed, another puppet appeared behind him and began releasing poisonous mist.

"Sakumo, die here! This is a poison I specially prepared for you, hahahahahaha!" Chiyo laughed wildly, but as she laughed, her smile froze.

The puppet releasing the poison had already been cleaved in two by Sakumo's blade. As for Sakumo... he was still perfectly unharmed as he fought the puppets, even pressing closer and closer toward her.

"You! Why are you still standing!" Chiyo's voice trembled slightly. Shouldn't the murderer who killed her son and daughter-in-law have collapsed by now? Shouldn't he be dead? Why?!

"Because I'm here!" Tsunade body-flickered above the many puppets, mustered all her monstrous strength, and smashed a punch into the ground... The earth within a radius of four hundred meters instantly cracked, then began to collapse.

"La... Lady Tsunade? It's you!" Chiyo's face was filled with shock. The poison she had carefully prepared had been broken by this person before her eyes!

"You're a hundred years too early to use poison in front of me!" Tsunade folded her arms and mocked her. That made Chiyo so angry she nearly ascended on the spot, and at the moment, four of her ten puppets had already been damaged...

"You forced me to do this!" Chiyo sneered. "Secret Technique: Human Body Sae Art!"

Chiyo withdrew her puppets, then instead connected the chakra threads from her fingers to the backs of several Hidden Leaf ninjas. "Since you broke my puppets, I'll use your Hidden Leaf ninjas as my puppets!"

Tsunade naturally knew this forbidden technique. A body used as a puppet would, at best, have its internal organs, meridians, and tendons damaged; at worst... it would be reduced to ashes. Seeing this, she could not help cursing, "You old hag Chiyo! You're truly despicable!"

After a brief moment of thought, Sakumo came up with a countermeasure. He stopped Tsunade, who had just been about to rush over and beat Chiyo senseless, and whispered, "I'll find a chance to cut the chakra threads. In a moment, you..."

Tsunade nodded. Sakumo's right foot suddenly kicked off, and his whole body shot out like a cannonball. Chiyo controlled one Hidden Leaf ninja to intercept him while manipulating another Hidden Leaf ninja to attack from behind.

Sakumo suddenly spun backward. The White Fang short blade knocked the kunai into the air, then followed the momentum to grab the opponent's hand and throw him toward another controlled puppet.

"Hmm? Is Sakumo planning to..." Chiyo clearly did not understand what Sakumo was trying to do, but with her many years of combat experience, she could still tell that Sakumo was up to no good.