After resting at Night-Cry Sand Sea for ten days, Danzo's army moved! Following another twelve days of rapid marching, they reached Moon Lake. Without the slightest hesitation, they immediately launched an assault on Sunagakure's bunker complex. And this was no small-scale attack—no probing, no reconnaissance. They sent out their elites from the very start, charging in headlong like reckless fools.
Keiko was somewhat puzzled. Danzo had held himself in at Night-Cry Sand Sea for ten days just to come up with this? A street brawl? Strike first for the advantage? Keiko could not make sense of it, so he picked up his telescope and carefully observed the battlefield.
From Keiko's experience, Konoha was definitely not putting on a show with a feigned attack this time. Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and even Tsunade, whom he had never met, had all appeared on the battlefield. Konoha had traveled a long way, but they had the advantage in numbers. Sunagakure had fewer people, but its forces were well-rested and had a relatively complete defensive system. For a time, neither side could gain the upper hand.
"Summoning Technique!"
Three thunderous shouts rang out, followed by three enormous clouds of white smoke.
As the smoke dispersed, a gigantic toad, a gigantic snake, and a gigantic slug appeared on the battlefield. The ninjas of both sides, who had been tangled together in battle, all raised their heads to stare at the three massive summoned beasts. For a moment, the Konoha ninjas erupted into excited cheers.
"Damn it, that's playing dirty!" Without wasting a second, Keiko swiftly pulled out two scrolls and released Iron Sand.
"Magnet Release: Gundam Technique!"
A black giant appeared behind Sunagakure's lines, standing no shorter than the three summoned beasts. It resembled an ancient general, clad in beast-faced armor, wearing a princely helmet, and wielding a Sky-Piercing Halberd. It looked incomparably imposing and mighty.
"Hey! Don't run! Watch Lu Bu take on three heroes!" Keiko let out a strange cry and commanded the Iron Construct forward, where it clashed with the Three Legendary Ninja. Sunagakure's ninjas were instantly fired up, and cheers rang out everywhere.
"Did you see that? Add this technique to the plan as well!" Danzo looked up at Keiko's Gundam.
"Yes. The plan will probably need adjustments. This technique looks troublesome." Nara Shikacho stared fixedly at Keiko, his gaze seeming as though it wanted to bore straight through the enormous Iron Construct.
"You have seven days."
"That's enough."
"Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!" Jiraiya and Gamabunta unleashed their combination technique. A massive blast of flaming oil came crashing toward them with overwhelming force. "Lu Bu's" left side was instantly swallowed by a sea of flames.
Keiko calmly controlled the Iron Sand, making it tumble and spin. The armor on "Lu Bu's" left side seemed to vanish at once. The burning Iron Sand covered in oil had been separated out and gathered into a blazing iron ring in its hand, which it then hurled backhandedly at Tsunade.
The flaming ring struck Katsuyu squarely. The enormous slug swiftly split into countless smaller slugs, then reassembled nearby. It immediately spat a mouthful of powerful acid at "Lu Bu." With a sizzle, white smoke rose from "Lu Bu's" body.
"Damn, I overlooked that." Keiko gritted his teeth. Iron Sand really had no good way to deal with acid. He could only avoid it.
Instead of retreating, Keiko pressed forward. The Iron Construct "Lu Bu" swung its Sky-Piercing Halberd and thrust it straight at Katsuyu, forcing the slug to split apart once more and preventing her from continuing her Tongue-Tooth Sticky Acid attack. At that moment, Orochimaru rode Manda forward. In just a few moves, Manda coiled around "Lu Bu" and opened its bloody maw toward Keiko.
In a flash, "Lu Bu" seized Manda by the neck with its left hand. Orochimaru leaped down, Kusanagi Sword in hand, and lunged straight at Keiko. Seeing Orochimaru attack, Keiko showed no fear whatsoever. An Iron Sand nunchaku instantly formed in his hand, and he shrieked as he charged at Orochimaru!
Thus, Keiko fought the Three Legendary Ninja alone without falling behind in the slightest. One against three, he spun like a windmill, fighting until the heavens dimmed and the sun and moon lost their light. The surrounding ninjas all voluntarily moved aside, clearing the battlefield for fear of getting dragged in. The battle lasted from daylight until dusk before both sides sounded the retreat.
"Worthy of the Three Legendary Ninja personally named by Hanzo of the Salamander. I've never seen opponents this difficult to deal with—so many tricks, such fast recovery, and such incredible endurance! To think there were people like this among my peers. I still underestimated the heroes of the world." Keiko wiped his neck with a hot towel and could not help sighing.
"Yes, three very promising young people. You could handle two, but three was a little taxing for you, wasn't it?" Chiyo said kindly as she looked at Keiko.
"Garukei! Come in."
"Third Kazekage, what are your orders?" A young ninja carrying a giant iron fan entered the main tent. He was Karura's cousin, the second son of Sunagakure's Iron Fan Clan. He was capable and efficient, and his Three-Star Fan Technique was quite impressive.
"Go to every camp and select five hundred elites. Tonight, we launch a night raid!"
"A night raid?"
"We're tired, but damn it, Konoha's ninjas aren't made of iron either. Tonight, we'll burn down their main camp and freeze them to death!" Keiko said with a cold grin.
"I feel Keiko is harder to deal with than Hanzo of the Salamander! I feel like I've almost gone all out, yet he still seemed at ease," Jiraiya said.
"His close combat and taijutsu are not weak either," Orochimaru said.
"His chakra reserves are unfathomable. If the three of us hadn't attacked from multiple angles, his Iron Sand might have shown even more variations. Any one or two of us alone would definitely not be his match. You two didn't lose unfairly last time." Tsunade looked at Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
"Mhm." Without even raising his head, Nara Shikacho rapidly wrote something in his notebook. After a long while, he looked up and asked Tsunade, "Do you think Lady Katsuyu's Tongue-Tooth Sticky Acid affects that Iron Construct?"
"Yes, absolutely. After Keiko's Iron Construct was hit by Katsuyu's acid once, he kept avoiding Katsuyu's attacks!"
"Mhm. During tomorrow's battle, I hope you can make Keiko use as many techniques as possible. I need to calculate the total amount of his Iron Sand. I'll be relying on the three of you." Shikacho gave the Three Legendary Ninja a slight bow, then turned and walked out of the main tent.
"Report! The enemy is launching a night raid!"
The Three Legendary Ninja exchanged glances, immediately rose to their feet, and rushed out of the tent. Outside, flames already filled the night.
The night raid's results were not as good as expected, thanks to Danzo's strict command and the Konoha ninjas' disciplined training. Their transition from defense to counterattack was extremely swift. After burning down a third of the tents, Keiko saw that things were turning unfavorable and immediately withdrew.
But early the next morning, Danzo ignored everyone's exhaustion and continued attacking Sunagakure. He even took to the field personally to raise morale. Left with no choice, Sunagakure had to send out all its forces. Even Elder Ebizo, who had come to deliver supplies, was forced into battle. There was no helping it—there were simply too few experts available to stand guard.
Who would have thought that by the third day, Konoha's offensive would remain unchanged? Their attacks disregarded life and ignored losses, making Keiko feel there had to be some scheme behind it. Sunagakure was fighting on home ground, with favorable terrain and advantageous defensive fortifications. Over the past three days, Konoha's losses had far exceeded Sunagakure's, but the relentless attacks had still left Keiko utterly exhausted.
"Garukei! Gather a thousand brothers tonight. Go beat gongs and drums, howl and shout outside Konoha's camp gate. If they come out, retreat. If they sleep, keep making noise. Anyway, if Danzo gets any sleep tonight, then neither will you!" Keiko angrily assigned Garukei his task.
After such harassment, Danzo indeed became much more restrained. Konoha's army retreated thirty li, raised a truce banner, and did not send a single person toward Sunagakure's defensive line again.
"How many days has it been?"
"Three days."
"Not a single movement?"
"Not a single movement."
Keiko sucked at his teeth.
"I think that old turtle Danzo isn't holding in any good ideas."
"Forget him. Elder Chiyo, I'll have to trouble you with a trip. No supplies, no water—I'd like to see how many more days he can hold out!" Keiko slammed a fist down onto Hidden Leaf Camp on the map.
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