Uchiha Lan's Poisoning

"Hmph! Uchiha brat, I'll remember you!"

Chahachiro shot Uchiha Lan a venomous glare and decisively waved a hand.

"Black Ant, return!"

The Black Ant Puppet swiftly retreated, shielding Chahachiro.

Without the slightest hesitation, Chahachiro made several leaps and quickly vanished into the chaotic battlefield and the lingering poisonous fog with the Black Ant Puppet.

Seeing Chahachiro retreat, the several Chunin standing in front of him finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly turned to support the swaying Uchiha Lan.

"Captain! How are you?"

Uchiha Lan forced himself to retain his last shred of clarity as his Sharingan swept across the battlefield.

After the breach had been opened, Baiyun Zaojian's group had successfully broken through and was fighting its way out.

On Orochimaru's side, Manda seemed to have received some sort of command and had begun fighting while retreating. The entire raid appeared to be nearing its end.

"I... I'm fine."

He painfully forced out a few words, pulled out his last antidote pill from his ninja tool pouch, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"...Retreat...!"

Uchiha Lan clung to his last shred of clarity as his Three-Tomoe Sharingan painstakingly swept over the entire battlefield.

Baiyun Zaojian's Jonin unit, like a sharp blade, quickly opened a gap for a breakout.

Changes had occurred in the commotion surrounding Orochimaru at the center of the Hidden Sand camp.

The enormous Manda let out a deafening hiss. Its massive body no longer attacked with wild abandon, instead beginning a strategic fighting retreat; every sweep of its tail and spray of venom carried a clear intent to fall back.

"Orochimaru, fuck your mother, you—"

In the end, it dissolved into a cloud of white smoke.

Clearly, it could not hold on either. The combined ninjutsu of so many Hidden Sand ninja was no easy thing to endure. The entire raid seemed to have reached the point where it needed to be wrapped up.

Just as Baiyun Zaojian opened the breach and everyone began breaking out, a cold, slick voice clearly pierced through the clamor and rang directly in their ears.

"Everyone, retreat. I'll cover the rear!"

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Several Chunin were both startled and delighted. With one of the Three Legendary Ninja covering the rear, their chances of survival would rise greatly!

Before the words had even faded, several young Hidden Sand ninja attempting to flank them from the side had already unleashed Wind Blades and rushed toward Orochimaru with angry roars, their kunai gleaming with cold light!

"You're quite brave."

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Orochimaru did not even turn around. Several venomous snakes simply extended from his hand.

Several arm-thick venomous snakes shot out like lightning, biting their necks or vital points over their hearts with unerring precision!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Several dull impacts rang out almost simultaneously.

The three Hidden Sand ninja charging at the front suddenly stiffened.

And the "Orochimaru" before them was instantly sliced by the Wind Blades into several pieces of rotten wood.

Substitution Technique!

The Hidden Sand ninja had only just realized what had happened when their faces darkened and they collapsed to the ground, unable even to scream before the violent poison killed them instantly.

The whole process was suffocatingly fast, filled with Orochimaru's characteristic cold, precise, lethal style.

Facing the tide of pursuing Hidden Sand ninja, Orochimaru showed no fear. Instead, an expression of near-fanaticism and anticipation appeared on his face.

"Hehehe... Hidden Sand insects, since you want to chase so badly, stay behind... and have some fun!"

Orochimaru's low laughter spread like a demonic chant under the enhancement of chakra.

His hand seals were already complete, and he slammed his palms onto the ground!

"Summoning Jutsu: Ten-Thousand-Snake Array!"

Boom—!!!

The earth shook violently! Centered on Orochimaru, the ground within dozens of meters churned and split apart like boiling water!

Countless venomous snakes of every size, shape, and color surged from underground in an instant like an erupting black tide!

Densely packed and layered atop one another, their hissing tongues formed a symphony of death that made scalps tingle and souls tremble!

A snake tide! A true snake tide!

They were an unimaginably vast number of venomous snakes summoned from Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Sage Regions!

This sea of snakes instantly engulfed the several Hidden Sand ninja charging at the front.

Screams, the crunch of bones being crushed, the wet sounds of venomous fangs sinking into flesh... in an instant, they replaced the earlier battle cries, weaving together a hellish scene.

Wherever the snakes passed, living people were instantly swallowed, entwined, torn apart, and poisoned to death. Even struggling seemed futile.

This terrifying sea of snakes did not merely devour the pursuers—it formed a writhing, fearsome "wall of flesh and blood" that completely cut off the route of pursuit for all the remaining Hidden Sand ninja!

The Hidden Sand ninja stopped in terror, staring at the endless, hissing sea of snakes before them and the pale figure standing in its center like a demon god, their eyes filled with horror and despair.

Orochimaru alone, with a single technique, had changed the shape of the battlefield and bought the Konoha retreat force the most precious time and space!

They were even forced to keep using combined Wind Release ninjutsu to cut through the snakes before them.

All in all, though disgusting, it was very effective!

Five in the morning. Dawn was just beginning to break.

Konoha's frontline main camp, command center tent.

The heavy scent of medicine and blood mixed with the smell of earth, filling the air with oppressive tension.

Before the enormous sand table in the center of the tent, the atmosphere was so grave it seemed one could squeeze water from it.

Tsunade, who had rushed over at top speed, stood with her arms crossed, her worried brows tightly furrowed.

If not for the old Third Hokage begging and persuading her endlessly, how could someone with hemophobia who loathed war to the extreme possibly have come here?

Shikaku Nara stood at her side. Beneath his distinctive pineapple hairstyle, his eyes were deep, and his fingers unconsciously tapped the edge of the sand table, clearly lost in thought.

Several senior advisers and a protective force composed of Jonin and ANBU who had accompanied Tsunade were also standing inside the tent.

At that moment, the tent flap was violently thrown open, bringing in a gust of blood-scented wind.

An ANBU ninja appeared in a Body Flicker, dropped to one knee, and reported rapidly but clearly:

"Lady Tsunade, Lord Shikaku! Most of the raiding force has returned! The mission has been preliminarily completed. Three Hidden Sand logistical nodes were successfully destroyed, and an estimated three hundred or more enemy troops were killed or wounded."

"Our losses... twenty Chunin and fifteen Jonin, with more than twenty others seriously wounded. Captain Baiyun Zaojian has returned with the remaining troops. Captain Uchiha Lan is severely wounded and unconscious, and is being rushed to the medical unit for emergency treatment!"

"Lord Orochimaru has completed the rear-guard mission and has been confirmed safe. He is currently returning!"

The oppressive atmosphere inside the tent was torn open by the ANBU's urgent report, but the casualty figures that followed landed like heavy blocks of lead upon everyone's hearts.

Shikaku Nara's tapping fingers came to a stop, and his gaze deepened further.

"Understood. Go get some rest."

"Yes, Lord Shikaku!"

Honestly, achieving this kind of casualty ratio was already quite good. In war, even ordinary Jonin found it difficult to fully display all their strength.

When dozens of people formed a combined ninjutsu, it could be comparable to an S-rank technique. Even Jonin like him had to run. Not everyone was a freak like the Third Raikage or Madara.

Tsunade tightened her crossed arms, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force, as if trying to suppress the churning discomfort in her stomach.

That intense stench of blood was assaulting her nerves.