Hum! Uchiha brat, I remember you!
Chahachiro glared at Uchiha Ran with venomous eyes and resolutely waved his hand.
Black Ant, return!
The Black Ant Puppet quickly retreated, shielding Chahachiro.
Without a moment of hesitation, Chahachiro took a few leaps, plunging the Black Ant Puppet into the chaotic battlefield and the un dissipating poisonous fog, disappearing from sight.
Seeing Chahachiro retreat, the few Chunin blocking the front breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly turned to support the swaying Uchiha Ran.
Captain! How are you?
Uchiha Ran forced himself to maintain a shred of clarity, his Sharingan sweeping across the battlefield.
With the breach opened, Baiyun Zaojian's squad had successfully broken through and was fighting their way outward.
On Orochimaru's side, Manda seemed to have received some kind of order, beginning to fight and retreat at the same time. The entire raid seemed to be reaching its conclusion.
I... am fine.
He forced out a few words, fished the final detox pill from his ninja pouch, and shoved it into his mouth.
...Retreat...!
Uchiha Ran forced himself to maintain a final shred of clarity, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan laboriously sweeping across the entire battlefield.
Baiyun Zaojian's Jonin vanguard cut through like a sharp blade, quickly opening a gap for the breakout.
The activity on Orochimaru's side in the center of the Hidden Sand camp shifted.
The gigantic Manda let out a deafening hiss, its massive body no longer attacking with wild fury, but instead beginning a tactical fight-and-retreat. Every tail swipe and spray of venom carried a clear intent to withdraw.
Orochimaru, I f--k your mo--, blah blah--
It finally dissolved into a puff of white smoke and vanished.
Clearly, it could not hold out any longer; the combined ninjutsu of so many Sand ninja was no picnic. The entire raid seemed to have reached its conclusion.
Just as Baiyun Zaojian opened the breach and everyone broke out, a cold and slithery voice cleanly pierced the din, ringing directly in their ears.
Everyone, retreat. I will cover the rear!
Lord Orochimaru!
The several Chunin were both startled and delighted. With one of the Sannin covering the rear, their survival odds would increase exponentially!
Before the words faded, several young Sand ninja attempting to flank from the side unleashed wind blades, roaring as they lunged close to Orochimaru, their kunai flashing with cold light!
You guys are quite bold.
Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!
Orochimaru did not even look back, simply extending several venomous snakes from his sleeve.
Several arm-thick venomous snakes darted out like lightning, with pinpoint accuracy, biting into their necks or vital heart targets!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A few muffled impacts sounded almost simultaneously.
The bodies of the three Sand ninja who lunged to the very front abruptly stiffened.
Meanwhile, the "Orochimaru" before them was instantly sliced into several pieces of decaying wood by the wind blades.
Substitution Technique!
Before the Sand ninja could react, failing even to emit a scream, they toppled to the ground with darkened faces, instantly slain by the potent toxins.
The entire process was suffocatingly fast, brimming with Orochimaru's characteristic, precise, and fatal chilling style.
Facing the tidal wave of pursuing Sand ninja, Orochimaru not only lacked fear on his face, but instead revealed an expression bordering on fanaticism and anticipation.
Hehehe... Sand bugs, since you want to chase so badly, then stay... and play for a while!
Orochimaru's low laughter, amplified by chakra, spread like demonic music.
The hand seals were already complete, and he slammed his hands against the ground!
Summoning Jutsu: Ten-Thousand-Snake Array!
Boom--!!!
The earth trembled violently! Centered on Orochimaru, the ground within a radius of dozens of meters roiled and ruptured like boiling water!
Countless venomous snakes of all sizes, varying forms, and colorful hues surged wildly from underground like an erupting black tide!
Densely packed and layered upon one another, the hissing of tongues gathered into a scalp-tingling, soul-shuddering death symphony!
A snake tide! A true snake tide!
They were venomous snakes summoned from the Ryūchi Cave, one of the three sacred lands, in unimaginably massive numbers!
This wave of the snake sea instantly engulfed the few Sand ninja charging at the front.
Cries of agony, the cracking of crushed bones, the squelch of fangs piercing flesh... instantly replaced the previous battle cries, weaving together into a hellish spectacle.
Wherever the serpents passed, living people were instantly submerged, coiled, torn apart, and poisoned to death; even struggling proved futile.
This terrifying sea of snakes not only swallowed the pursuers, but further formed a writhing, daunting "wall of flesh and blood," thoroughly cutting off the paths of all subsequent Sand ninja in pursuit!
The Sand ninja stopped in terror, staring at the boundless, hissing sea of snakes before them, as well as the pale figure standing like a demon god at the center of the serpent sea, their eyes filled with shock and despair.
Orochimaru alone, with a single jutsu, altered the battlefield's landscape, buying the most precious time and space for Konoha's retreating forces!
To the point that they had no choice but to continue using combined Wind Release ninjutsu to carve through the snake swarm before them.
All in all, though extremely disgusting, it was exceptionally useful!
Five in the morning, dawn breaking slightly.
Konoha's frontline camp, command headquarters tent.
A heavy medicinal stench and bloody odor mixed with the earthy scent permeated the air, oppressive and tense.
Before the massive sandbox in the center of the tent, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed water could be wrung from it.
Tsunade, who had hurried over, crossed her arms, her melancholic brow locked in a tight frown.
If not for the old Third Hokage's fervent entreaties and exhaustive persuasion, how could she—a hemophobe with an extreme aversion to war—ever have come here?
Shikaku Nara stood at her side. Beneath his signature pineapple hairstyle, his gaze was deep, fingers tapping unconsciously against the edge of the sandbox, clearly deep in thought.
Several senior staff officers and the protection detail of Jonin and ANBU who had accompanied Tsunade also stood within the tent.
At that moment, the tent flap was violently jerked open, bringing in a bloody gust of wind.
An ANBU ninja appeared in a flash, dropping to one knee and reporting at a breakneck yet clear pace:
Lady Tsunade, Lord Shikaku! The raiding force has largely withdrawn! The mission is a preliminary success: three Hidden Sand logistics nodes successfully destroyed, and an estimated three hundred-plus enemy troops killed or wounded.
Our casualties... twenty Chunin and fifteen Jonin, with over twenty others severely injured. Captain Baiyun Zaojian has led the remaining forces back, and Captain Uchiha Ran is heavily wounded and unconscious, currently being rushed to the medical squad for emergency treatment!
Lord Orochimaru has completed the rear-guard mission, confirmed safe, and is on the way back!
The oppression inside the tent was torn open by the ANBU's urgent report, but the casualty figures that followed struck everyone's hearts like heavy lead.
Shikaku Nara's fingers tapping the sandbox paused, his gaze growing even more profound.
Understood, go rest.
Yes, Lord Shikaku!
To be honest, achieving this kind of casualty ratio was already quite good. In war, ordinary Jonin struggled to unleash their full strength.
Someone else's group ninjutsu by dozens of people might rival an S-rank jutsu; an ordinary Jonin like him had to run. Not everyone was a freak like the Third Raikage or Madara.
Tsunade's crossed arms tightened further, her knuckles turning slightly pale from the force, as though trying to suppress the churning discomfort in her stomach.
The intense stench of blood was irritating her nerves.
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