"Pfft!"
The Fire-Robe Rat burst out from the ground, but upon seeing Uchiha Fugaku's figure rise into midair, it burrowed back underground once more.
But Uchiha Fugaku knew that sooner or later, he would still have to land.
This was not the Land of Fire. This was the Land of Wind. They had already entered the desert region.
Aside from sand, there was only more sand.
There were no trees or anything of the sort that would allow him to stay away from the ground.
"Extremely strong resistance to flames, and this ability to burrow underground. In terms of combat style, he forms an enormous counter to me, even though my strength is clearly above his."
"But through the sneak attack, he injured me first…"
"How am I supposed to fight this?"
Uchiha Fugaku felt an intense headache.
Fortunately, the other Konoha shinobi had achieved a decent offensive advantage, and the Suna army was gradually retreating.
The Fire-Robe Rat's attacks against Uchiha Fugaku also slowed somewhat.
This let Uchiha Fugaku catch his breath slightly.
The Konoha shinobi were extremely excited.
"The Suna army can't hold on anymore! They're retreating! They're about to lose!"
"Press the advantage and pursue them! Kill them until not even a fragment of armor remains!"
"…"
Over these past days, these Konoha shinobi had all been holding in a breath of resentment.
As Konoha shinobi, as Konoha elites, they had grown up under the influence of the Will of Fire since childhood. They held extremely deep respect for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Yet Sunagakure had repeatedly published content in Ninja World Weekly that "attacked" Hiruzen Sarutobi.
They had interviewed Uchiha Yashiro, a Konoha traitor.
They had "forged" Kakashi's interview.
They had published Hyuga Hizashi's "fake suicide note."
"Sunagakure is too hateful!"
"They only know how to use such despicable methods to attack our Konoha and attack Hokage-sama!"
"I've wanted to teach them a harsh lesson for a long time."
Some Konoha shinobi had long wanted to fight a full battle against Sunagakure, defeat the Suna shinobi, and crush Sunagakure. And they possessed such confidence.
They felt that Konoha's strength, no matter what, was still above Sunagakure's.
No matter how strong Rasa was personally, he could not drive the entire village forward.
Sunagakure's weakness was deeply rooted in the hearts of Konoha shinobi.
Not everyone could accept that an opponent had grown stronger.
Some people clearly knew it, yet would stubbornly refuse to admit it.
But after the war truly broke out, they suddenly discovered that it was not like that at all.
Sunagakure was much stronger than they had imagined.
Even though Konoha held the advantage in numbers, and even though Sunagakure had to face both Konoha and Iwagakure at the same time, Sunagakure's mid-level and top-level shinobi were both above Konoha's.
Hundreds of Devil Fruits had given Sunagakure's chunin the strength of special jonin.
Jiraiya had been defeated by Rasa, badly injured, and crippled.
Orochimaru was actually unable to take down Pakura.
Another superior Devil Fruit had appeared.
…
This time, Konoha had dispatched many reinforcing shinobi. Although Uchiha Fugaku's performance had been poor, suffering a hidden loss at the hands of the Fire-Robe Rat, Konoha had finally gained a decent advantage.
This made the Konoha shinobi delighted.
But unlike those excited Konoha shinobi, Orochimaru faintly felt that something was wrong.
It was not that the Suna army was retreating too quickly or too decisively. Nor was it that the Suna army had decided to withdraw despite not being at a severe enough disadvantage. In Orochimaru's view, none of that meant much.
Rather, it was the direction of Sunagakure's retreat that was too fixed.
In the desert, no matter which direction they took, it should all be terrain favorable to Suna shinobi.
Yet Orochimaru discovered that these Suna shinobi clearly had better choices, but they always circled back toward one fixed direction. It was as if they wanted to lead Konoha's army over there.
"Have they set a trap?"
A Hyuga shinobi arrived in front of Orochimaru.
"Did you see anything ahead?"
"Reporting to Lord Orochimaru, no."
"What about underground?"
"Nothing either."
The Hyuga shinobi's answer slightly eased Orochimaru's vigilance. After all, the Byakugan would not lie. If it saw something, then something was there. If it did not, then there was nothing.
"Pass down the order. Continue the pursuit!"
Elsewhere—
A force of Iwagakure shinobi quietly left its original position, taking a detour toward the battlefield where Konoha's army and Sunagakure's army were engaged. Under Kitsuchi's leadership, they slowly approached.
Not long ago, Kitsuchi had received a message from his own intelligence shinobi, saying that Konoha's army had already gained the advantage, and Sunagakure's army was retreating.
Konoha had drawn a large number of shinobi from the village to support the front line.
Sunagakure had not made sufficient preparations.
Kitsuchi sent scout shinobi to investigate, and the situation they discovered was the same.
Thus, Kitsuchi made a decision.
He would seize the fruits of victory that should have belonged to Konoha.
It just so happened that the direction in which this Suna army was retreating gave Iwagakure's army an opportunity to intercept them.
A pleased expression appeared on Kitsuchi's face.
"Father always thinks I'm no good. Today, I'll prove it to him!"
"I, Kitsuchi, may not be that strong in terms of individual combat power, but being a shinobi is not merely about strength. It also depends on one's brain. If I seize this opportunity, I can deal Sunagakure a heavy blow."
"By taking prisoners and using them to threaten Sunagakure, we can obtain enormous benefits."
"Konoha's hard-earned result will become my harvest."
"Chiyo's side hasn't noticed. There has been no movement at all. By the time they discover it, it will definitely be too late for them to send support. Our Iwagakure shinobi have also investigated that area. There are no hidden forces there."
Pakura led the Suna army in retreat.
Orochimaru led the Konoha shinobi in pursuit.
Out of some instinct, Orochimaru sensed something was wrong, but still chose to trust the Byakugan.
Kitsuchi led the Iwagakure army to intercept.
On one hand, he had dispatched shinobi to investigate the path ahead. On the other hand, he had also seen Konoha's army continuing the pursuit. Even if he felt the opportunity had come somewhat easily, he did not grow suspicious.
And the reason for all of this was simply that Sunagakure's target from the beginning had been Iwagakure.
Of course, Konoha would also have worked.
It was merely because of the Byakugan's existence. Rasa felt that with the massive presence of the Sun Disk, the Hyuga clan's Byakugan in Konoha would too easily discover it. Once they saw it, they would become vigilant.
And once they were vigilant, they would not fall for the bait.
Thus, Rasa had deliberately placed the Sun Disk along the route where Iwagakure's army would intercept Sunagakure's army.
Iwagakure had no Byakugan, so they could not see it.
And because this portion of the Suna army was currently fighting Konoha's army, it was very difficult for Iwagakure to imagine that Sunagakure would still have the energy and intention to plot against them at a time like this.
Because no trap had been set for Konoha's army, Konoha's army continued pursuing.
And because Konoha's army continued pursuing, Iwagakure's army felt there was no problem.
"They're here!"
Atop a massive sand dune, Kitsuchi saw the arrival of Iwagakure's army, and his eyes lit up.
"Kill!"
At his command, large numbers of Iwagakure shinobi rushed out.
And at that moment—
"Sun Disk, activate!"
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