The battle began

Sure enough, at dawn the next morning, just as the sky began to brighten, violent explosions rang out in the distance.

The war had officially begun!

"Damn it! They prepared in advance?"

Kitsuchi stared grimly at the Konoha Army advancing nearby and spoke in a low voice.

"Then let's fight them head-on!"

Higashishibito frowned before speaking.

They had thought they could raid Konoha at first light, when everyone was least alert, and catch them off guard.

They had never expected Konoha to station so many scouts and set so many traps along the route.

Their surprise attack had turned into a head-on battle in an instant. It seemed Konoha had someone capable on their side!

"Kitsuchi, couldn't you wait any longer? Was the gift I gave you last time not enough?"

Orochimaru called out to Kitsuchi, who stood at the very front of the opposing Iwa Shinobi Army.

Meanwhile, he made a series of gestures behind his back. Clearly, the tactics they had spent so long practicing for this day could finally be put to use.

"Hmph! Orochimaru, I told you I'd make you pay, and today-"

Kitsuchi had been ready to launch into a long speech at Orochimaru, but the enemy's ninjutsu cut him short.

"Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!" ×1,000

"Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!" ×500

"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!" ×1,000

The instant Orochimaru gave his signals, the Konoha ninja had begun preparing their Combined Ninjutsu.

In an instant, wind fed the flames, and flames fueled the wind! A sea of fire swept across the battlefield toward the Iwa Shinobi Army.

All of it was meant to catch the Iwa Shinobi off guard.

"Damn you, Orochimaru! Have you no honor?! Defend! Defend!"

Faced with the all-consuming flames, Kitsuchi was both shocked and furious. It had happened last time, and now he had fallen for it again. His fully healed shoulder suddenly began to ache once more.

"Earth Release! Earth-Style Wall!" ×3,000

"Earth Release! Earth Flow Rampart!" ×50

The Iwa Shinobi Army reacted swiftly, deploying defensive ninjutsu in time. But a reactive defense could hardly match a prepared attack, and some of their ninja were inevitably injured or killed.

This was also Iwagakure's weakness. Unlike Konoha ninja, who generally trained in five elements ninjutsu, the Iwa Shinobi were constrained by their terrain and mostly specialized in Earth Release ninjutsu. That left them with no choice but to take the beating.

Otherwise, they could all have used Wind Release to blow the flames back!

"In that case, I'll give you a fine gift of my own!"

Higashishibito clearly could not tolerate this.

He stepped forward decisively and rapidly formed hand seals behind the earthen walls the Iwa Shinobi had raised. The sheer number of seals made it clear that this was an advanced ninjutsu.

"Earth Release! Opening Earth Rising Excavation!"

Higashishibito roared the technique's name and aimed both hands at the ground. It was the S-Rank Ninjutsu, Opening Earth Rising Excavation! His expression made it clear that even he struggled to use it.

Every Konoha ninja suddenly felt violent tremors beneath their feet.

"Get out of the way!"

Sensing the changes in the earth, Jonin Moonlight urgently shouted a warning.

The ground shook violently. Then, as though a volcano had erupted, jets of lava burst from the earth, inflicting heavy losses on the surrounding Konoha ninja.

"Damn it!"

Seeing the ninja he had brought from Konoha suffer such heavy casualties before the fighting had even properly begun, Orochimaru flew into a rage.

"Chihane!"

But his greatest weakness was his lack of large-scale, long-range offensive ninjutsu. For the moment, he could only roar in frustration and call for Chihane to charge over.

Chihane had never seen Orochimaru so furious, but seeing the people he had laughed and chatted with just yesterday,

Now reduced to corpses, he too was filled with rage and charged out at the forefront. Leading the way, Chihane shattered the Iwa Shinobi's earthen barrier with a single slash.

The melee had officially begun!

Ninjutsu crisscrossed the battlefield, and shuriken flew everywhere. Lives were lost every second.

The most outstanding fighters on the battlefield were undoubtedly Chihane and Minato Namikaze. Chihane kept his eyes on the Iwa Shinobi, killing anyone wearing a jonin's vest.

The battle had barely begun, yet he had already killed two Iwa jonin.

And Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique was practically made for war!

Within the range of his custom-made shuriken, jonin, chunin, and genin alike were all killed in an instant, without exception.

He darted from one shuriken to another, leaving only dazzling yellow flashes behind.

"Damn it!"

Seeing Chihane and Minato Namikaze slaughter the Iwa Shinobi in droves, Kitsuchi could no longer stand by. After taking one look at Minato Namikaze's speed, he decisively followed his instincts and charged toward Chihane instead.

After all, a tank chasing an agile assassin would only get toyed with.

Higashishibito, meanwhile, set his sights on Minato Namikaze as he flashed across the battlefield.

"Chihane Hatake!"

Kitsuchi roared Chihane's name as he charged toward him.

Hearing Kitsuchi's voice, Chihane abandoned the opponent before him. A red gleam flashed in his eyes as he charged straight at Kitsuchi.

"Earth Release! Fist Rock!"

"Three-Sword Style! Oni Giri!"

The blades collided with the massive stone fist, unleashing an enormous shock wave that sent every ninja nearby flying.

Before those ninja could even hit the ground, the ninjutsu and shuriken flying through the air killed them all.

This was a battle between the strong. The weak could not even withstand its aftershocks.

Within a few breaths, the blades and stone fist had clashed several times.

The surrounding ninja all kept a safe distance of several dozen meters, avoiding death from the shock waves.

The blades and stone fist collided once again!

Clearly, Chihane and Kitsuchi intended to keep fighting head-on. Neither gave an inch as they traded slash for punch.

The two reached a stalemate, but the veins bulging on Kitsuchi's hands and his flushed face showed that he was not nearly as comfortable as he appeared.

Clang!

With a sharp, ringing crash, Kitsuchi pushed with all his strength, forcing some distance between his fist and the swords.

"Earth Release! Yellow Spring Swamp!"

Kitsuchi knew he could not match Chihane in strength, but he still had ninjutsu. He was, after all, a ninjutsu specialist.

Kitsuchi used his technique to turn the ground beneath Chihane into a swamp, making him sink deeper every time he put force into a swing.

He then used the Light-Weight Rock Technique, controlling a rock beneath his feet to stand in the air and hammer down at Chihane again and again. For the moment, Chihane could only take the attacks as he sank ever deeper.

"Eight Gates of Death! Gate of View, open!"

There was profound terror in the face of death!

Chihane had never expected this thick-browed, wide-eyed brute to outwit him. Yet the danger had put him on the defensive, leaving him no choice but to force open the sixth of the Eight Gates of Death-the Gate of View!

A powerful blue aura erupted from Chihane's body, blasting away the mud surrounding him in the swamp. With the enhanced strength of the sixth gate, he drove Kitsuchi back with a single slash.

Chihane swiftly leaped out of the mud.