Chapter 155: Decapitation Operation, Part 2
Orochimaru, licking his lips with an excited, sinister smile, held the ink-black sword Muramasa, which was wreathed with demonic fangs and faces along its blade. He suddenly shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
Behind him, twenty Konoha ninja, who had also cast off their black trench coats to reveal their elite Anbu gear, followed closely.
Orochimaru decisively used a secret Jutsu, injecting Chakra into all his muscles and using a special secret technique to greatly stimulate the activity of his entire body's musculature.
His running speed instantly nearly doubled. He truly resembled an arrow loosed from a powerful crossbow, quickly pulling away from the Konoha ninja behind him, and streaking like the wind and lightning directly toward Itō Heijō.
Orochimaru's rapidly moving body left three or four distinct afterimages behind him. His dark-golden eyes clearly saw the look of terror in Itō Heijō's eyes and the figures of Itō Heijō's bodyguards frantically rushing forward to intercept.
But they were too slow. Truly, too slow.
Orochimaru appeared before Itō Heijō in the blink of an eye, like a black whirlwind.
Itō Heijō was, after all, a Sand Ninja Jōnin. Even though Orochimaru used a secret Jutsu at no small cost, Itō Heijō still managed to seize the opportunity to unleash a Jutsu.
Earth Style: Earth Flow Rampart!
A narrow fissure suddenly appeared on the ground, and a solid, thick earthen wall rampart violently erupted from beneath the earth, standing firmly before Itō Heijō.
However, before Itō Heijō could relax, he suddenly heard two sharp, strange sounds, as if countless ghostly shadows and dead souls were weeping and wailing near his ears.
He hadn't misheard. That was the sound of the demonic sword Muramasa tearing through the air.
Orochimaru, standing before the thick earthen rampart, smiled wickedly. His right hand, holding Muramasa, instantly dissolved into multiple afterimages. With two low, muffled hissing sounds of cutting, two cross-shaped, ink-black blade lights flashed, and the heavy earthen wall rampart instantly collapsed with a crash.
Itō Heijō widened his eyes, staring blankly at Orochimaru, who stood behind the collapsed wall, sword in hand. He tried to run, but it was too late.
What he saw was already an afterimage. Orochimaru's true body, swift as a ghostly gale, had already swung his sword across Itō Heijō's neck and, in a mere instant, returned the sword to his side while standing behind Itō Heijō.
Pffft! A fountain of blood erupted. The head, whose face still held a look of disbelief, shot off, tumbling through the air before falling to the ground.
The final image of Itō Heijō's life was the constantly spinning world and that demon-like figure holding the sword with his back turned.
Shh, shh, shh. Orochimaru slowly walked forward. The terrified Sand Ninja bodyguards beside him, one by one, backed away, their faces pale, not daring to approach even a step.
Orochimaru came to Itō Heijō's severed head, elegantly crouched down, and grabbed the still-warm, bloody head with his left hand.
Slowly turning around, Orochimaru faced the entire raging battlefield. Concentrating Chakra in his mouth, his low voice, which carried a seductive magnetism, instantly spread across the entire field: "Itō Heijō is dead, dead, dead, dead, dead—"
The last word, "dead," thundered into the distance.
The entire battlefield—nearly two thousand ninja from Konoha and the Land of Wind—fell silent for a moment.
Time seemed to freeze. Everyone gazed at the tall, slender figure who stood in the brilliant sunlight, holding a bloody head, radiating a terrifying killing intent that pressed down upon the entire field!
This scene lingered in their minds for a long time, deeply etched into their memory.
In the next moment, Jiraiya and the others rushed to Orochimaru's side, forming a tight protective circle around him.
The side effects of Orochimaru's secret Jutsu exploded. He collapsed to the ground, his entire body trembling uncontrollably. Some muscle groups even showed large patches of blue and dark red bruising.
Orochimaru knew this was due to collective muscle fatigue, severe strain, and internal bleeding caused by dramatically stimulating muscle activity with the secret Jutsu.
Seeing this, Tsunade, who had been watching Orochimaru from the side, immediately rushed forward with concern. Pushing all her Chakra, she quickly began to treat Orochimaru.
She still instinctively let him lean against her soft thighs. She was still accustomed to watching his figure like this.
Orochimaru fell onto Tsunade's thighs and unconsciously passed out.
Tsunade gazed at Orochimaru's handsome, peaceful face, her hands glowing with pale-blue medical Jutsu. In that moment, she seemed to understand what happiness was.
Aftermath and War Strategy
On the main battlefield, the Sand Ninja, having lost their leader, immediately began to collapse. The Konoha forces entered a phase of victorious pursuit and slaughter.
From this moment on, the battle situation in the Third Battle Sector sharply reversed, progressing in a manner increasingly favorable to Konoha.
Orochimaru's prestige among the Konoha ninja in the Third Battle Sector became unmatched from this moment forward.
In the cruel environment of war, the shift in the scales of victory often has a surprisingly continuous, domino-like effect.
The rout in the Third Battle Sector undoubtedly had a significant impact on the battles in the other two major sectors.
Konoha's disadvantageous and passive defensive posture, which had persisted since the early days of the war, was instantly reversed.
However, the Second Wind Shadow (Kazekage) of the Land of Wind, Nagai Hōsai—acclaimed as the most strategically brilliant of the five Kage leaders—was not without reason for his title.
The negative effects and chain reactions caused by the Sand Ninja's defeat in the Third Battle Sector were nullified within three days by this profoundly clever Kage.
Nagai Hōsai decisively changed the entire direction and strategy of the attack on Konoha, consolidating the three-pronged attacking Sand Ninja armies into a single fist. Gathering all their strength, he delivered a heavy blow to Konoha.
Konoha likewise converged its forces. The battles on the entire Western Front gradually began to transition into a stable period, characterized by a steady chain of missions involving assassination and counter-assassination, reconnaissance, and counter-reconnaissance.
During the three-year stable period of the war, the Konoha Ninja Academy continuously supplied fresh blood to the front lines. Through the harsh training of battle, a large number of outstanding talents emerged.
With the input of this new generation's fresh blood, the smaller rebellious countries and forces surrounding Konoha were successively cleared out. Konoha finally freed its hands and began to take the leading role in the Second Great Shinobi War.
At this point, another major event occurred, bringing a crucial turning point to the Second Great Shinobi War!
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