"Could this be the fabled Sage Art?!"
Hatake Sakumo, who hadn't felt the humiliation of being covered in dust and ash for many years, stared at Tamayu floating midair, laughing maniacally, his expression dazed.
This experience was unbearably heavy, suffocating.
Before his very eyes stood his elite ninja forces—once symbols of bravery and glory—now reduced to scenes of mass death and carnage. Wails echoed across the battlefield.
Each cry was a blade to Sakumo's heart—a pain so deep he could barely keep himself together.
"Lord Sakumo!"
One of his loyal Jonin cried out in panic.
"Evacuate the front-line troops immediately! The rear units must start rescuing at once!"
Sakumo snapped back into focus and began issuing orders.
The other three fronts weren't spared either—each was reeling from devastating losses.
Amidst the chaos, exact casualty figures couldn't be determined, but even a rough estimate suggested well over a thousand had already fallen!
Even a medium-scale battle during the Great Ninja World War rarely exceeded a thousand casualties total.
The severity of this disaster stemmed from the tactics originally favored by the Ninja Clan Capital Corporations—and now adopted by Konoha's forces as well.
Unlike traditional small-unit skirmishes typical in the Ninja World, after Hyuga Soushu pioneered the use of mass ninja formations to conquer all directions unchallenged, Konoha quickly abandoned old-style dispersed squad ambush tactics in favor of formation-based warfare.
Although this approach maximized the firepower advantages of organized ninja forces, it carried one major drawback—the concentration of personnel made them vulnerable as a group.
Yet under normal circumstances, not even the strongest ordinary ninja would dare face hundreds or thousands of coordinated attackers head-on. After all, they were still human—one fireball jutsu straight to the face, and they'd be ash. Therefore, despite seeming simplistic, this tactic proved extremely efficient in actual combat.
Even against Mount Myoboku's Ninja Frogs, formation-based warfare gave Konoha superior firepower. Relentless barrages of ninja tools made up for any shortcomings in individual strength.
But this time was completely different when facing Ryuchi Cave!
From the beginning, Tamayu deliberately brought those Ninja Snakes into the Ninja World simply to sacrifice them!
Who could have imagined she would go so far—to unleash such decisive brutality that even at the cost of thousands of Ninja Snake lives, she'd deliver a devastating counterattack upon the ninja world?
After all, how many times could Ryuchi Cave afford such massive losses, no matter how large their snake numbers or how strong their foundations?
Therefore, stunned, Jiraiya came to see Tamayu's cruelty in an entirely new light.
[Now that's ruthless!]
Senior Fukasaku echoed in disbelief.
Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave had been ancient rivals, locked in a bitter feud for millennia—but even he never imagined something on such a grand scale!
"Sage..."
Jiraiya swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he asked, "How... how can this still be considered Sage Art?"
In his mind, although Sage Art was powerful, it shouldn't be this terrifying!
Moreover, if Ryuchi Cave possessed such strength, how had Myoboku Mountain, its bitter rival, managed to survive all these years?
After all, in their last brutal fight against Hyuga Soushu, Senior Fukasaku had barely escaped the battlefield by sacrificing half his life force!
Does Ryuchi Cave's power really surpass Myoboku by such a margin?
Jiraiya's mind spun into chaos, unable to fully comprehend.
"It used [Blood Sacrifice]."
Senior Fukasaku gazed at Tamayu, who floated in midair cursing angrily at the ninja below, and whispered, "Those ninja snakes that sacrificed themselves were just one of its tools for casting the technique."
"Blood Sacrifice?"
A chill ran down Jiraiya's spine!
That term was far too obscure!
Aside from what he had once heard about the Evil God Cult, Jiraiya had never encountered this word anywhere else!
And now, Ryuchi Cave—one of the holy places—actually resorted to using the flesh and blood of its own kind for [Blood Sacrifice]!
"[White Gale Technique]'s range shouldn't extend this far," murmured Senior Fukasaku. "It used the bodies of countless ninja snakes as a medium to channel the Sage Chakra!"
"This..."
Jiraiya felt his scalp crawl.
Could such a horrifying secret technique even be considered Sage Art?
Could someone who committed such vile acts truly be called a Sage?
With such brutality and savagery, could this being possibly save the Ninja World?
As for grand narratives like setting things right and restoring the old ways of the Ninja World, those thoughts had temporarily vanished from Jiraiya's mind.
After all, among the Konoha forces fighting in the southern front, there might be some dear old friends of his.
Truthfully, it had always been thanks to his teacher and close friends protecting him and standing up for him that he hadn't yet been publicly hunted down by the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation.
But after today, there would no longer be room for ambiguity or excuses.
Jiraiya understood this perfectly.
And that was exactly why despair carved deeper into him.
"Let's go back."
Sighing deeply, Senior Fukasaku stamped his foot and leapt onto Jiraiya's shoulder, then gently ruffled his messy hair. "Let's return to Myoboku Mountain and take a rest. Put all this aside for now."
"I..."
Jiraiya opened his mouth but hesitated.
Yet in the end, he chose not to speak his thoughts aloud, silently lowering his head.
Shaking his head once more, Senior Fukasaku sighed again.
Then, he directly activated the Reverse Summoning Technique, instantly taking Jiraiya back to Mount Myoboku.
"Huh!"
Tamayu hovering in midair happened to notice the sudden retreat of Jiraiya and Senior Fukasaku.
Seeing this, fury immediately surged within him!
The direct escape of that human and toad from Myoboku had completely ruined Tamayu's plans for further action!
After all, the consumption required for Sage Art was already enormous. Especially after expanding the attack range through [Blood Sacrifice] of one's own kind, the consumption of Sage Chakra skyrocketed exponentially!
So after unleashing two massive Sage Arts back-to-back, Tamayu was completely drained.
If she still had any energy left, she wouldn't be floating up here just cursing the ninja below like this.
Moreover, even after some time had passed, the ninja on the ground were still in complete disarray. They had barely managed to form a basic counter-strategy, but such tactics were meaningless against the flying Tamayu.
However, ever since the human and frog had departed from Mount Myōboku, Tamayu had effectively lost her protective measures during post-battle recovery. If she continued fighting recklessly, she might suffer unexpected injuries due to unknown circumstances.
Therefore, after letting out a torrent of curses, Tamayu immediately returned to the Ninja World using the Reverse Summoning Technique!
[Ryūchi Cave!]
Staring at the now-empty sky, Hizashi Hyuga gritted his teeth in frustration!
His Eastern Ninja Force had always been lean in numbers, and this time countless ninja had either been crippled or killed outright by the White Gale Technique. These heavy losses only deepened the resentment already held by Hiashi Hyuga, who had always sought to preserve his forces.
"Report to Central Command Post!"
Hizashi summoned a messenger ninja and forced words through clenched teeth: "Confirmed—That freakish serpent monster from Mount Myōboku used Sage Techniques that caused tremendous damage to our division!"
"Additionally: Investigation has confirmed that Konoha missing-nin Jiraiya has defected to the enemy and now serves as its subordinate; therefore, based on his unforgivable crimes, recommend all-Ninja-World wanted status!"
"Further: Request tactical instructions from Central Command Post!"
After speaking, Hizashi wearily waved his hand, signaling the messenger ninja to proceed with the report.
Although the timing of Tamayu's disappearance from the skies seemed suspicious, at least it was no longer visible. Everyone, including Sakumo Hatake, dared not show even the slightest carelessness. Besides carrying out necessary rescue operations and putting out residual snakes, each of them secretly sent intelligence reports to their respective clans or factions.
Deep within a secret experimental base outside Hakone Prefecture, Orochimaru swirled the pale red liquid inside his test tube while gazing at it thoughtfully.
Approximately five minutes earlier, those Hyūga ninja and Uzumaki clan members who had been assigned to the laboratory had excused themselves one after another, disappearing without return. At that point, Orochimaru already realized something was wrong.
Still, he didn't attempt to escape by any means.
Because doing so would be a complete waste of time.
"You're late."
Another minute later, ripples of sealing barrier chakra finally spread outward like waves, completely engulfing the laboratory.
Before that, only a sensing barrier designed for detecting abnormalities had existed.
Following this, ninja hidden in every direction suddenly revealed themselves, forming countless chakra fluctuations surrounding the lab entirely.
Moments later, loud, hurried footsteps echoed from the direction of the main entrance.
Bang!
The first to step into the lab was Takahiro Uchiha, Soushu's intelligence director.
Behind him rushed squadrons upon squadrons of fully armed Uchiha ninja and Byakugan ninja.
They were all displaying their Kekkei Genkai without exception—eyes, some bloodshot and others pale, locked onto Orochimaru.
But that wasn't all.
After the ninja from the two powerful clans entered the laboratory, six Uzumaki ninja with topknots followed closely behind, entering amidst a group of Jonin guards.
"Quite the show of force."
Though Orochimaru had witnessed many grand spectacles before, he still couldn't help but marvel at this massive gathering. "Frankly speaking, there was no need for so many people to attend."
Approximately forty Jonin from the two Dōjutsu Noble Families, six valuable Uzumaki sealing ninja, plus the unknown number of Shinsengumi ninja hiding in the shadows, along with the barrier enclosing the laboratory's perimeter—
In short, aside from Hyuga Soushu himself not being present, nearly all the elite forces of Hakone Prefecture city's mobile unit had gathered right here.
To be honest, even Orochimaru hadn't expected such a large-scale reception.
But this also indirectly signaled—one thing was clear, this time it was serious!
"We didn't have much choice; Ryuchi Cave has landed you in a huge mess, so we hope you will cooperate and understand accordingly."
Takahiro Uchiha's voice remained completely neutral, scraping across frosted glass and sending chills down the spine of anyone who heard it.
"Is that so? Could you at least tell me what exactly is going on?"
Orochimaru gently placed down the beaker in his hand, carefully organizing the items on the table and neatly stacking the scattered experiment manuals.
"You'll find out when the time comes."
Takahiro Uchiha didn't directly refuse outright.
But his attitude had already been made perfectly clear.
"Tsk tsk… I'm genuinely heartbroken to leave all this behind."
Orochimaru cast his gaze around the room, his eyes filled with reluctance.
"Rest assured, the organization won't let any enemy escape justice, nor will it wrong any innocent person."
Takahiro Uchiha continued, "Moreover, if one's conscience is clear, submitting to this investigation should be the best way to thoroughly clear oneself of suspicion."
"I wish to see Soushu-sama."
Orochimaru switched to using a respectful form of address.
"Honorable Lord Soushu is very busy."
Takahiro Uchiha indirectly refused again.
"Was it something done by Mount Myoboku or Ryuchi Cave?"
Orochimaru guessed.
"It was Jiraiya and Ryuchi Cave."
Takahiro Uchiha changed the wording slightly.
"What about Mount Myoboku?"
Orochimaru became somewhat curious.
"Mount Myoboku has long been marked for thorough purging."
A Uzumaki sealing ninja standing in the back row suddenly interrupted.
"Is that so…"
Orochimaru pretended to suddenly understand.
"Orochimaru Jonin, do you have anything else to say?"
Takahiro Uchiha cut off this meaningless conversation.
Orochimaru brought up his request once more.
"Please don't force us into a difficult position."
Takahiro Uchiha's tone showed absolutely no fluctuation.
"Not even giving me a chance to explain myself?"
Orochimaru's expression turned slightly regretful.
"That won't be necessary. We believe you'll eventually clear all suspicions, but please come with us first."
Takahiro Uchiha remained unmoved.
"Fine then."
Orochimaru raised his head, directly staring into Takahiro Uchiha's Tomoe Sharingan.
[Genjutsu: Makyou Kaou Technique!]
Takahiro Uchiha immediately activated the Sharingan illusion technique!
To his surprise, Orochimaru offered no resistance and instantly went stiff-bodied, his expression turning blank.
Then, two Uchiha Jonin stepped forward in unison, gripping Orochimaru's shoulder blades. At once, six Uzumaki sealing ninja initiated their secret jutsu.
[Adamantine Sealing Chains!]
Golden chains swiftly wrapped around Orochimaru's body, completely binding him.
Takahiro Uchiha then released the illusionary hold on Orochimaru.
"Please come with us."
After confirming Orochimaru was no longer a threat, Takahiro slightly shifted sideways to clear a passage.
"Make sure those people keep working on the experiments. I want updates later."
With that, Orochimaru turned and walked toward the lab entrance.
Meanwhile, far away in Konoha, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi received two reports that would cause him immense headaches.
The first was a mission report submitted by Sakumo Hatake, in which he frankly admitted his command errors had resulted in severe losses among Konoha ninja.
The second report was even more troubling.
Hyuga Soushu himself issued a wanted notice across the Ninja World and invited The Third Hokage to co-sign it.
Unsurprisingly, the wanted individual was none other than his former disciple, Jiraiya.
This presented an extremely difficult dilemma.
If he agreed to co-sign the warrant, Jiraiya's actions would be fully exposed, inevitably affecting Hiruzen himself as his mentor. But if he refused, no one could predict what Hyuga Soushu might do next.
After half an hour of hesitation, The Third calmly reached for his pen and signed the warrant.
Sigh...
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