Moreover, that last remark, though not revealing too much, made Kitsuchi feel extremely uncomfortable inside.
Is Konoha Lightning Fang really after the Eight-tailed Jinchuriki?
That makes some sense; the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki poses the greatest threat on the battlefield. If they don't have a single Tailed Beast Jinchuriki on their side, the war would be at a stalemate. With the power of Konoha Lightning Fang, they might even counterattack and drive them out of the Land of Fire.
But why would searching for the Eight-tailed Jinchuriki lead them to the Hidden Rock Camp?
Could it be from interrogating the Hidden Cloud Ninja? Konoha Lightning Fang has the Mangekyo Sharingan, could it be that the Hidden Cloud Ninja told the patrolling ninja about their resting camp, suggesting it was where Killer Bee was resting, deliberately misleading the ninja infiltrating Konoha to attack them?
The Hidden Cloud Ninja might not know if Konoha's ninja would infiltrate, but they could give orders in advance. If Konoha's ninja did infiltrate, it would reduce the risk of capturing the Eight-tailed Jinchuriki. If not, they could pretend nothing happened....
'Is this the Hidden Cloud's tactic?'
Kitsuchi clenched his fist, his heart burning with rage as he thought; these were merely his personal speculations, but the expressions on Konoha Lightning Fang's face, and the fact that their camp had just been built, with their patrols outside.
The place was rather secluded, not left by previous Konoha ninja, so how did they find it?
"Mr. Kitsuchi...."
A Hidden Rock Ninja came forward, his face heavy as he said to Kitsuchi, "Even among the three patrol teams, one team has perished, and we have a total of only fifteen men left...."
"How many?"
Upon hearing the number, Kitsuchi almost passed out.
They came with a total of sixty-six, now only fifteen remain; nearly fifty were killed in the recent attack?
"Konoha! Lightning! Fang!"
Kitsuchi was so enraged he nearly ground his teeth to dust; they brought Hidden Rock elite ninjas to help the Hidden Cloud, but Roshi and Han were first killed on the battlefield, then Konoha Lightning Fang attacked and killed so many elite ninjas.
They suffered a disastrous loss.
With the Hidden Cloud situation, they suffered such heavy casualties, and the surrounding area still belongs to Hidden Cloud. Even if Kitsuchi wants to investigate, it's entirely impossible....
Soon, A, who came back empty-handed, returned to the Hidden Rock camp. Seeing only about a dozen Hidden Rock, he felt an ominous sensation and hurriedly asked, "Mr. Kitsuchi, what about the other Hidden Rock friends...."
"We will depart back to the Land of Earth tomorrow; this mission is now over."
After saying this, Kitsuchi instructed the rest of the Hidden Rock to gather the bodies and take them all back; the body of a ninja is also a valuable asset, as the chakra pathways and remnants can be studied for ninjutsu.
With the ability, one would certainly carry their ninja village members' bodies away; if it were like last time's Konoha defeat, with no power to retrieve the bodies.
"Kitsuchi...."
A spoke, wanting to call out, but didn't know what to say. The Hidden Rock had already sacrificed greatly for this war, with over sixty people reduced to this.
If he continued to hold Kitsuchi and not let him return, they'd certainly fall out with Hidden Rock. But if Kitsuchi went back, what would happen to his father?
'Must send a message to father, telling him to seize the opportunity to return quickly!'
A couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but he felt Kitsuchi had a hostile look when looking at him; yet this time, it was Konoha Lightning Fang who attacked the Hidden Rock, not the Hidden Cloud.
Elsewhere.
Uchiha Yoichi was taken from the Hidden Cloud camp by Ichikishimahime, flying directly into the sky just now, so the ninjutsu from the Hidden Cloud didn't harm him.
As for Yamanaka Kensuke and Hyuga Shinichi, when Uchiha Yoichi took action, they climbed inside the Summoned Giant Snake's stomach, then burrowed underground to escape.
"Heh, humans, this time you've witnessed the might of our Ryuchi Cave. Even if swaggering right past your humans, you'd never notice...."
"I saw it clearly, your Immortal Technique is useless in front of Dojutsu Type Bloodline!"
Uchiha Yoichi's words silenced Ichikishimahime, then the snake eyes glared at him angrily, continuing, "You said you'd owe me a favor this time. I want it now...."
"We can talk after we leave here, I'm not going to renege, what's the rush."
Uchiha Yoichi interrupted, mentioning the tightly hugging loli snake, constantly feeling a soft bundle being squeezed, coiling around him like a snake.
Most importantly, why does this snake have a fragrance? That shouldn't be....
After being released by Ichikishimahime to Orochimaru's side, Ichikishimahime triumphantly floated beside Uchiha Yoichi, putting her hands on her hips, saying, "Now, let's talk about my favor. I want to absorb your.... Hey, why are you sealing?"
"I'll repay your favor next time we meet, contract dismissed!"
Uchiha Yoichi directly dismissed the Summoning Jutsu, sending Ichikishimahime the loli snake back, not wanting to repay a summoned beast favor in front of others, it would be embarrassing.
Orochimaru asked, "Mr. Yoichi, how did it go?"
"Very smoothly, I estimate that only one-fifth of the Hidden Rock survived, and before my clone dispersed, I subtly sowed discord between the Hidden Rock and Hidden Cloud, let's see if they believe it."
"That's as good as completing the mission perfectly; we shouldn't see the Hidden Rock on the battlefield anymore. As for the discord between the Hidden Rock and Hidden Cloud, that'll depend on luck."
Orochimaru said with a smile; their goal was to stoke discord between Hidden Rock and Hidden Cloud, but human nature is challenging to control. This result already exceeded expectations.
Truly worthy of Konoha Lightning Fang, seemingly without a failed mission!
Soon after, the four headed straight for the Konoha camp, arriving just as dawn broke.
Upon returning, Orochimaru, Uchiha Yoichi, and the others went directly to the command tent. Tsunade, Hatake Sakumo, and Mitokado Homura had waited all night, with Hatake Sakumo ready to mobilize for war, supported by Tsunade, while Mitokado Homura opposed.
"The mission was a great success; we shouldn't see any more Hidden Rock on this battlefield....."
Uchiha Yoichi recounted the mission's process, leaving those in the tent shocked, especially Mitokado Homura.
Infiltrating a camp of nearly three thousand people, then nearly wiping out dozens of Hidden Rock, finally retreating unharmed.
All of this, accomplished by Uchiha Yoichi alone!
As for Ichikishimahime, a summoned beast is always considered part of the owner's strength. If you can summon it, it's part of your power.
And Uchiha Yoichi's capabilities increasingly confounded Mitokado Homura; on the Konoha battlefield, even when faced with severe defeat, Uchiha Yoichi didn't fail; instead, he killed two perfect Jinchuriki before leaving.
He single-handedly infiltrated a camp of thousands, slaying dozens of enemies, then retreating safely.
Never a failure in missions, terrifying Hidden Cloud ninja into fleeing at the sight of Konoha Lightning Fang....
If someone like this were to vie for the Fourth Hokage, Hiruzen, what would you do?
Mitokado Homura thought, as the battlefield situation greatly eased, he began considering internal village matters; currently, Uchiha Yoichi's only weakness might be his youth.
This matter needs discussing with Hiruzen upon return; if a Martial Arts Faction Uchiha becomes Hokage, they might betray Tobirama-sensei's will.
Hatake Sakumo didn't notice Mitokado Homura's concerns. After Uchiha Yoichi's report, he said, "You've worked hard, Mr. Yoichi, Orochimaru, you can rest now, I'll handle the rest."
Though due to injuries, Hatake Sakumo handed battlefield command to Mitokado Homura, putting his mind at ease for recovery was still difficult; Hatake Sakumo worried about too many things.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Senior Sakumo."
Uchiha Yoichi said, glancing towards Tsunade with a slight smile, then turned to leave the command tent.
'Rascal!'
Tsunade felt slightly irked by that smile, then also excused herself to rest; as she left, Orochimaru glanced at her departing back, shaking his head slightly in speculation.
Jiraiya, that guy, might not even dream of the chance.
Always mixed with toads, grinning all the time, if he finds out, he'd drag him for drinks in a heartbeat.