"Naruto: Ice God"Chapter 150: Fierce Battle, Hiruzen Sarutobi
Standing atop the Kazekage Building, feeling the yellow sand blow across his face, Rasa frowned deeply.
Everything was proceeding smoothly—Pakura's death had secured peace with Kirigakure.
Large quantities of supplies had already arrived at the front lines, and Sunagakure's most elite shinobi were now gathered around Kikyo Mountain.
Konoha had just concluded its war with the three great hidden villages—this was their most vulnerable and complacent moment.
But—
"The Legendary Sannin, the Yellow Flash, the White Reaper... Konoha's talent never ceases to emerge."
It was always like this. Every time Konoha's enemies believed the village had lost its sharp claws, a new star would rise.
At this point, overthinking was useless.
Forcibly swallowing the fine sand blown into his mouth by the wind, Rasa revealed a resolute expression.
"Begin the war!"
...
Sunagakure's maneuvers hadn't escaped Konoha's notice. Sakumo had received word early on about Sunagakure gathering forces around Kikyo Mountain.
Realizing the enemy might be planning something significant, Sakumo quickly made his decision.
He ordered reinforced defenses at Kikyo Mountain while dispatching a respected and experienced commander.
Then he received a letter from Sunagakure.
Sunagakure claimed that the Third Kazekage had died in a Konoha assassination and demanded a satisfactory response from Konoha.
I'll give you a response to kiss my—!
This blatantly false accusation nearly made the usually good-natured Sakumo curse out loud.
However, the second diplomatic letter from Kumogakure pushed him past "nearly"—he actually did curse: "Bastards!"
Kumogakure declared their support for Sunagakure's claims, demanding that Konoha hand over the assassin and compensate Sunagakure, while announcing their support for Sunagakure's use of force to protect their rightful interests.
So the Third Great Ninja War was supposed to be over, but now they were launching a war DLC?
Fortunately, Kikyo Mountain already had contingency plans in place. The only remaining concern was Kumogakure.
Sakumo calculated in his mind.
His only worry now was whether Kumogakure would join forces with Sunagakure for a combined assault on the Kikyo Mountain stronghold.
That commander alone wouldn't be sufficient.
Jiraiya and Tsunade had already left the village, Feng Bai had begun his training, and even if he were present, it wouldn't help much—the boy was still young and lacked experience commanding large-scale operations.
Sakumo was left with only one choice.
"Is there something you need, Fourth Hokage?"
Orochimaru, Director of Konoha's Scientific Research Bureau, looked at Sakumo with obvious displeasure.
He had finally finished establishing the research bureau and was eager to dive into his scientific pursuits, only to be summoned to the office by Sakumo's order.
"My apologies, Orochimaru, but right now I truly cannot give you time for research."
Sakumo looked at Orochimaru with genuine regret.
"Hmph, so Sunagakure has made their move, haven't they?"
Seeing Sakumo's sincere apology, Orochimaru forcibly suppressed his irritation and coldly guessed the source of the disturbance.
Now it was Sakumo's turn to be surprised.
"It's simple—at this point in time, the only ones with both motive and capability to pull this off are Sunagakure." Orochimaru flicked his tongue out like a venomous snake sizing up its prey.
Sharp as always.
"I'm concerned Kumogakure might join Sunagakure at Kikyo Mountain, so..."
"I understand—support Kikyo Mountain, correct?"
Orochimaru nodded and strode directly out of the office.
Since the objective was clear, he needed to act quickly, crush the enemy, and return to his research life as soon as possible.
...
War came faster than expected.
That very afternoon, Sakumo received another letter from Sunagakure.
Rasa had timed it perfectly—approximately ten minutes after the diplomatic letter was delivered, he personally appeared on the Kikyo Mountain battlefield, commanding Sunagakure forces in their assault on Konoha.
He had expected this move to catch Konoha off guard, but was shocked to see an incredible figure on Konoha's front lines.
Clad in full battle gear, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood at the forward position, watching the tide of Sunagakure shinobi surge toward them. The former Hokage formed a single-handed seal and summoned a giant shuriken.
Hurling the massive shuriken toward the Sunagakure forces, Hiruzen charged from his position, his hands continuously forming seals as he ran: "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A substantial number of giant shuriken devastated Sunagakure's charging formation, tearing through both flesh and puppets with overwhelming force.
When the giant shuriken lost momentum and fell to the ground, and the Sunagakure shinobi attempted to reform their attack formation, the previously solid ground beneath their feet suddenly became soft.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The sudden swamp swallowed many Sunagakure shinobi who couldn't react in time. The puppets fared better, able to escape through their controllers' skillful manipulation, but the shinobi fighting with their bodies could only watch helplessly as they sank deeper and deeper.
"Don't think you'll succeed!"
A white puppet suddenly appeared beside Hiruzen Sarutobi, slashing out with a blade, only to be nimbly dodged.
"It's been a long time, Chiyo."
Recognizing the puppet's characteristics, Hiruzen identified his opponent.
Chiyo, her identity exposed, didn't acknowledge his greeting but continued controlling her puppet to attack Hiruzen.
A shinobi who mastered large-scale destructive jutsu contributed too much to warfare—she had to keep him too busy to focus on the battlefield.
While Hiruzen concentrated on dealing with the puppet before him, two puppets wielding ninja blades struck from the shadows, piercing him through.
"Did we get him?"
Chiyo frowned, somewhat uncertain as she muttered to herself.
"What do you think?"
Hiruzen's voice sounded behind her. Chiyo had no time to turn around and frantically manipulated her pinky finger.
"Earth Release: Great Mud River!"
The ground beneath her feet transformed into a mud river, carrying Chiyo away toward the distance.
The Hiruzen who had been pierced crumbled into a pile of earth, revealing his identity as an earth clone.
Forcibly bracing against the current, Chiyo was about to counterattack when Hiruzen interrupted: "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Mechanical Light Shield Seal!"
A puppet burst from the earth, deploying a shield to block the scorching fire dragon.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Seeing his Fire Dragon Flame Bullet blocked, Hiruzen repeated his earlier tactic, attempting to smash through the defense with giant shuriken.
"Three Jewels Suction Crushing!"
Three puppets formed a triangular formation, trying to absorb and destroy the Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu, but Hiruzen was still throwing giant shuriken—their tremendous momentum, enhanced by the suction force, smashed Chiyo's three puppets to pieces.
"Impossible!"
Watching three of her puppets lose function, Chiyo panicked slightly.
To avenge her son and daughter-in-law, she had immediately deployed the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets—masterpieces representing the pinnacle of puppet technique, inherited from the puppet master ancestor Monzaemon. Yet Hiruzen had easily destroyed three of them.
Scrambling out of the Great Mud River, Chiyo rolled on the ground, trying to lure Hiruzen into attacking her.
However, he didn't take the bait, instead cautiously using ranged jutsu: "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
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