Chapter 157: Reinforcing The Main Battlefield
Yoru had never gone to clash head-on with Rasa before because Rasa could use Gold Dust Great Burial to capture him, fearing capture.
The snake puppet focused on capture posed some threat.
After dodging continuously several times, the snake puppet kept circling around him.
He used a hand blade to sever the snake puppet, but to his surprise, the snake puppet, now in two sections, could still continue acting under the control of the chakra threads.
Three snake puppets coiled around Yoru from different angles.
Severing the snake puppets had poor effect, so Yoru ignored the puppets and quickly formed hand seals.
Before he was completely trapped, Yoru had already completed the ninjutsu.
“Water Style: Water Severing Wave!”
A water line shot out from his mouth, first slicing open the snake puppet in front of his chest, then cutting toward Tuoci’s wife not far away.
Tuoci’s wife had been worn down too much by Hatake Sakumo, her energy depleted and strength insufficient, unable to dodge in time.
Before dying, she began to suspect that twenty years of effort was too restrained; she had never felt as powerless as in this moment.
Half of her body was sliced open, falling in two directions.
“Ah! Aaaah!”
Tuoci caught a glimpse of his wife being killed and fell into madness.
Yoru quickly retreated to a distance.
Tuoci took out his final scroll and unsealed his last 20 puppets.
Along with the original puppets, all puppets attacked Hatake Sakumo.
Facing Tuoci’s bluff, Hatake Sakumo remained undaunted and charged directly into the puppet group.
The white blade aura was like terrifying fangs, tearing apart puppet after puppet.
Yoru thought to himself that his Absolute Defense Copper Light countered puppets, but Hatake Sakumo’s White Fang countered puppets even more.
The puppets’ strength ceiling was too low, easily shattered by the White Fang.
Even several all-iron puppets could not resist the White Fang’s refined Lightning Release blade aura.
After persisting for a minute, Tuoci himself was struck by the blade aura, his body splitting into two halves as well.
Hatake Sakumo waved his hand toward the strategist, who upon seeing this shouted loudly:
“Fire the signal flare! Sand Ninja commander is dead! Charge!”
Sand Ninja Deputy Commander-in-Chief Tuoci died on the bank of the White Wild River.
This was the highest-level ninja death in this war.
The Puppet Master Genius certified by the Second Kazekage, the son of Hidden Sand Village advisor Chiyo, the nephew of advisor Ebizo, Tuoci—who was seen as the village’s present and future—died.
Tuoci’s death was a huge blow to Hidden Sand Village, so huge that… converted to Konoha terms, it was almost equivalent to Tsunade dying in this war.
Equally noble status, equally powerful strength, equally young and promising.
Imagine if Tsunade died at the hands of Sand Ninja—how furious many in Konoha Village would be.
Yoru returned to the squad and said:
“Let’s go, follow the charging troops to record the battle situation.”
Fox Squad arrived at the shore of the White Wild River.
Yoru saw Hatake Sakumo standing beside a corpse, his expression pained.
That was one of his friends.
After grieving for two seconds, he held the White Fang and charged toward the dense area of Sand Ninja.
In the white blade aura, Lightning Release chakra condensed into a brilliant white blade aura.
Both people and puppets shattered.
Yoru watched with envy, wondering why his first attribute chakra was Earth Release.
If it were Lightning Release, would it have such terrifying killing power?
The key was how cool it was—compared to the Copper Turtle, ten people would choose the White Fang.
But if he produced a White Fang blade aura, it would be hard to explain.
He couldn’t force Hatake Sakumo to admit he had an illegitimate son, right?
At that imprudent age, did Hatake Sakumo also commit the mistake all Konoha men would make?
Hatake Sakumo seemed like an upright man; better to say it was Hatake Sakumo’s father having a late-life illegitimate son.
Yoru retracted his thoughts and continued observing the battle.
Hatake Sakumo’s elite subordinates were responsible for chasing and gathering Sand Ninja, while he himself used the White Fang Short Sword to harvest the lives of Sand Ninja.
Every slash took down at least five Sand Ninja, bisecting them at the waist.
Konoha Unit kept chasing and killing.
On the surface of the White Wild River floated full of corpses and puppet fragments.
On the shore of the White Wild River lay full of corpses and puppet fragments.
They chased all the way to the estuary of the White Wild River.
The last few dozen Sand Ninja escaped onto a small boat.
They looked back at the shore, where Leaf Ninja stood in long rows on both left and right, extending from the White Wild River estuary outward.
The number of Konoha ninja was so great.
Over 500 Sand Ninja elites were nearly all killed or wounded.
Over 600 Konoha ninja, yet still more than 400 remained.
A crushing defeat—the Hidden Sand Village’s flanking raid was a one-sided crushing defeat.
Just when the twenty-plus Sand Ninja thought they were miserable enough.
A white blade aura flashed past.
The boat was split in two, and some unlucky Sand Ninja were split in two along with the boat.
The two halves of the corpses fell, two pairs of eyes staring at each other, pupils reflecting their other eye.
Yoru watched Hatake Sakumo’s brilliant blade aura kill the last Sand Ninja, shaking his head nonstop.
Purple Cat hurriedly asked: “Captain, is there a problem?”
“No problem,” Yoru said:
“If it were me, I would let these twenty-plus go back.
Kill them all, who will prove one’s strength? Traveling at night in brocade clothes—others can’t see.
Better to let them go back, live in fear their whole lives, and tell everyone about Hatake Sakumo’s power.”
Purple Cat lowered her head and wrote: “Anbu Fox Captain suggests not killing them all, leave a few to spread terror.”
“Right, add this sentence: Hatake Sakumo Deputy Commander has very strong strength, but doesn’t understand the human heart.”
Hatake Sakumo sheathed the short sword on his back, scanned the two rows of Konoha ninja on the shore, found Copper Fox, and body flickered to appear beside Copper Fox.
“Copper Fox, I think I should gather elites to support the front battlefield; the enemy can no longer sabotage our rear.”
Yoru said: “Deputy Commander, you have decision-making authority; I support your decision.”
“Good!”
The strategist had reported to Hatake Sakumo on the road that in this battle, Anbu’s Copper Fox acted twice.
The first time helped the Water Style Brigade occupy the upper reaches of the White Wild River, making the tactic of using the flood peak to drive away the Puppet Master effective.
The second time killed Tuoci’s wife, easing the pressure on Hatake Sakumo.
Both actions were at the most critical moments, establishing advantage for Konoha.
Copper Fox’s strength gained Hatake Sakumo’s recognition.
Over 400 Konoha ninja—Hatake Sakumo selected 100, the rest to clean the battlefield, treat and transport poisoned Konoha ninja.
The 100, plus Anbu Fox Squad, headed straight for the main battlefield.
It took two hours on the road; Yoru saw the distant main battlefield.
The most striking sight on the battlefield was the four commanders from both sides rampaging.
Sand Ninja Commander-in-Chief Ebizo possessed Hidden Sand Village’s strongest Wind Release.
On his left and right sides, each had a 100-meter-high tornado, and within dozens of meters around, no one could enter.
Sand Ninja Deputy Commander-in-Chief Rasa stood atop a Gold Dust sand mass, floating mid-air.
Beneath him was a dozens-of-meters-high Gold Dust Wave.
Konoha Commander-in-Chief Nara Shikaku was beside the Expansion Jutsu-enhanced Akimichi Yamashiro.
Akimichi Yamashiro had lost one arm, wielding a dozens-of-meters-long iron club with one hand; every swing caused the earth to quake.
Konoha’s Deputy Commander Tsunade stood atop the slug.
The slug spat acid, clashing against Rasa’s Gold Dust Wave.
After scanning the battlefield, Hatake Sakumo said:
“Left, center, and right wings are all in stalemate, evenly matched. Follow me; we’ll start penetrating from the left wing!”
