Chapter 258: Crouching Dragon and Rising Phoenix
After Dan's death, Orochimaru, perhaps devastated by the loss of his friend or perhaps by other factors, suddenly changed his behavior and became elusive.
Konoha's leadership had no choice but to send the semi-retired Akimichi Choza to the Land of Rivers front as commander and transferred Sasuke to the frontline mobile support force. As for the defense of the Land of Mountains, this was left in the hands of Elder Homura.
"Sasuke-sama! Are we going to give up this great situation that we fought so hard for?"
How could the Umino team leaders accept this? Wasn't Homura trying to steal the credit? With Iwagakure and Kumogakure on the verge of a confrontation, holding the Land of Mountains would, in effect, be Iwa's strangulation.
"Orders, gather, support the Land of Rivers front!"
Sasuke, after a long silence, studied the dispatch orders. Finally, he gave the order to gather. Dan had died, the Sannin had begun to retreat, Mito had passed away, and Minato's young talent had not yet matured. Even Choza had been sent to the front, which clearly demonstrated the dire situation on the Land of Rivers front.
Choza was a contemporary of Hiruzen's. Although he had not perished like Kagami during the previous war, he had taken a red chili pill and remained in a state of semi-retirement, never fully recovering his strength. The fact that even he was deployed spoke volumes about the immense pressure the Suna corps was under.
Losing the Land of Mountains meant simply losing the opportunity to cut off Iwagakure's supply lines. However, if the Land of Rivers fell, the Sand shinobi could advance directly to the heart of the Land of Fire, with disastrous consequences.
The Umino forces continued to operate efficiently. Although filled with resentment, they quickly gathered and prepared to evacuate the traps in the Land of Mountains.
At almost the same time, Homura arrived at the front with a force composed of the Hokage's direct ANBU and Konoha's clans. Observing the easily defensible terrain and the explosive talismans that were still in the fortifications, he showed a satisfied smile: "Hmph, the Umino family fishmonger knows how to choose his spot well. No wonder he can use less than five hundred soldiers to resist a much larger Iwagakure."
Very proud, he believed he could easily reap the rewards of victory and began giving orders: "Notify the Takigakure allies to send more people to cooperate with us to drive out the Iwagakure ninjas."
However, he gravely underestimated Iwagakure's strength and the amazing combat power of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi, and overestimated Takigakure and his own command ability.
Upon learning that the White Blood Demon had left the Land of Mountains, Roshi launched a new counterattack, advancing directly into the Daimyo's prefecture. However, Homura had the audacity to attack, and both forces collided.
While Sasuke's troops arrived in the southwest of the Land of Fire, news of the disastrous defeat in the Land of Mountains arrived.
"Homura is a disaster! Not even a pig would have lost its defenses so quickly!" Sasuke thought, stunned. Danzo was already a master, but he didn't expect Homura, a rising star, to be even more capable of throwing a tantrum.
With the fall of the Land of Mountains, the combined forces of Konoha and the Taki-nin were forced to retreat to the Land of Taki. After the conquest, Roshi extended the war to their territory.
Takigakure's leader, furious, immediately sent a severe letter of protest to Konoha. He accused Homura of command errors and of rejecting their defensive strategy, which led to the almost total annihilation of their elite troops. He strongly demanded that Konoha severely punish those responsible. In their letter, they generously praised the exceptional skills and cooperative spirit of the "Azure Flash" and directly demanded that if Konoha still considered them allies, they must send Sasuke back to take full responsibility.
This letter was a resounding slap in the face to Konoha's higher-ups, especially Hiruzen and Homura.
However, Hiruzen rejected the demands and, instead, sent Danzo to replace Homura. He also demanded that the frontline mobile support force be quickly deployed to the River Defense Line to resist Sunagakure's attack.
When Sasuke returned to his old meeting places, he was greeted by the smell of blood and disinfectant. Laments echoed throughout the camp, and outside the tents, ninjas with purple faces and ulcerated skin were seen.
"Sasuke-sama! You're finally here!"
A blood-soaked, fat chunin staggered towards him. Sasuke recognized him as Akimichi Choza, Torifune's cousin.
"Where is Lord Torifune?"
"In the central command tent. My uncle has also been poisoned and is barely being kept alive with a secret medicine."
Sasuke's heart sank, and he ran to the tent. He pulled back the curtains, and a strong smell of disinfectant filled the air. Torifune lay on a simple hospital bed; his once rosy face now had a purplish-gray hue.
"Lord Torifune!" he called in a low voice.
The Akimichi struggled to open his eyes. "Sasuke, you're here, that's good," he said weakly, pointing to a scroll on the table. "The battle situation is ready. I'll hand it over to you now."
Sasuke took the scroll and said in a grave voice: "Don't worry about your wounds. I will take care of everything."
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