Kitsuchi naturally also noticed Tsunade's abnormality. A flicker of confusion passed through his eyes, then transformed into a sharp gleam.
'It seems the information from the spy is true...'
"Princess Tsunade, you don't seem to be in good condition. Full offensive, capture her!"
Since they dared to attack this medical base where Tsunade was present, they naturally had some degree of confidence.
And this confidence was that Tsunade's strength was impaired, fluctuating erratically.
With Kitsuchi's command, Iwagakure's offensive grew even fiercer.
Kitsuchi himself began to attack as well. His powerful Earth Release ninjutsu brought immense pressure to the Konoha side.
The situation began to tilt towards Iwagakure.
Although the Konoha side had superior numbers, the Iwa-nin who came were all elites. Despite resisting desperately, they were already at a severe disadvantage in strength. Moreover, with their core combatant Tsunade's condition deteriorating rapidly, their defensive line was in dire straits.
While fending off the enemy attacks, Sora calmly observed the battle situation.
However, Sora noticed that despite the perilous situation, although Tsunade's face showed pain and struggle, deep in her eyes there was no complete despair or panic. Instead, there was a hint of hidden anticipation?
'Just as I thought.'
'Tsunade isn't the type to wait for death passively. Knowing she has hemophobia, she still dares to hold out and wait for reinforcements. Besides considering the wounded, she must definitely have other reliance.'
Watching Tsunade, a thought stirred in Sora's heart. The reinforcements from the village wouldn't arrive so quickly, and the frontline troops and Jiraiya were definitely being held back by Iwagakure and couldn't make it either.
So, the reinforcements Tsunade called for weren't the conventional support troops from the frontline or the village?
A name instantly flashed across Sora's mind: Orochimaru!
As fellow Sannin, even though they later parted ways, during this period, they should still maintain a certain level of connection and understanding between them.
Especially when facing a common external enemy.
'That's right. Orochimaru's whereabouts have always been mysterious, but his strength is unquestionable. If Tsunade contacted him in advance, with his speed, he could indeed arrive at the critical moment.'
'This is Tsunade's real trump card!'
Having figured this out, Sora felt slightly more at ease and continued to slack off.
He no longer worried excessively about the battle situation collapsing. Instead, he focused more energy on protecting Tsunade and ensuring his own safety, while secretly guarding against attacks from Kitsuchi.
Even though, given Sora's true physical constitution and strength, Kitsuchi posed no threat at all, he was still far from reaching a level where he could stride unopposed across the ninja world.
Limited by his body's age, if he did not activate the Dragon Transformation form or the Eight Gates, his strength was at the Special Jonin level. However, once the Eight Gates were opened, it could elevate him to Jonin or even Elite Jonin standard.
If he fully transformed into the Azure Dragon form, Sora would have just stepped onto the threshold of Kage level.
And if he activated the "Azure Dragon Eight Gates" in this form, he estimated he could even touch the peak of Kage level.
Even so, trying to confront all the major hidden villages of the ninja world head-on with his own strength alone was still a pipe dream.
Unless one day, Sora could possess strength comparable to Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama, strength that could be called "godly," then he could truly match an entire hidden village by himself.
Furthermore, Sora knew that besides the Five Great Hidden Villages, there were quite a few sinister hands lurking in the shadows. Exposing his strength too early would only bring him into their sights prematurely.
Especially at this point in time, Uchiha Madara had likely already begun to push forward Obito's plan. The battlefield underground was probably already crawling with White Zetsu.
If he were considered a variable by Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu, who might choose to kill him before their deaths, that would be asking for trouble...
Therefore, Sora set a bottom line for himself: at most, he could only display strength close to Elite Jonin level.
And for now, he still chose to stay under the big tree of Konoha, developing discreetly.
After all, it's easy to find shade under a big tree. All Sora had to give was some time for mission execution. It just so happened that he currently needed time to improve his strength. As long as he didn't encounter Kage-level figures, these missions posed no threat to him.
...
The battle situation became increasingly unfavorable for the Konoha side.
The defensive line was compressed to the core area of the camp. Not many Konoha-nin were still able to fight, and each was injured.
Squad C Five's situation was also not optimistic.
However, Sora maintained a relatively intact state, but he deliberately controlled his performance, only displaying strength slightly higher than an ordinary Special Jonin, barely protecting a small area around Tsunade and Shizune.
'Tsunade's trump card... if it really is Orochimaru, given his personality and style of action, he would never show up early. He would definitely appear at the most critical moment, the moment that best reflects his value.'
'Now, it's about time. Any later, and Tsunade might really be in danger, which wouldn't align with his interests.'
While deflecting a shuriken aimed at Shizune with a kunai, Sora calmly analyzed.
Kitsuchi had personally joined the fray at this point. His target was clear: Tsunade, whose condition was obviously not right.
A huge rock fist smashed fiercely towards Tsunade's location with astonishing force.
"Protect Lady Tsunade."
Fox roared, trying to block with an Earth Style Wall. But facing Kitsuchi's tremendous strength, it was like paper, shattering instantly.
Just as Tsunade and Shizune were about to be buried under the giant rocks, Shizune closed her eyes in fright. Tsunade's body remained rigid due to the bloody scenes on the battlefield.
'Still not coming? Must you always cut it so close.'
Watching Kitsuchi swinging his fist towards Tsunade, Sora was extremely speechless inwardly. But he couldn't just watch Tsunade get seriously injured by Kitsuchi right in front of him. After all, his mission was to guard Tsunade.
"Eight Gates Release: Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit, Open."
Suddenly, intense green energy steam erupted from Sora's body. The ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch.
His originally somewhat weary aura instantly became ferociously violent. His speed reached an extreme, leaving an afterimage in his original spot.
"What."
Kitsuchi only saw a blur before his eyes. That Anbu wearing a monkey mask had already appeared in front of Tsunade. Facing his huge rock fist, he did not dodge or evade. Instead, he similarly threw a punch.
That fist seemed ordinary, but wrapped in the green steam, it carried an indomitable momentum.
Boom.
The two fists collided, producing a deafening roar.
An air wave centered on the two of them violently spread out, blowing everyone around them almost unable to open their eyes.
Crack.
Bang.
Kitsuchi's hard rock fist was actually shattered inch by inch by Sora's punch, turning into countless scattered flying rocks.
Sora himself pretended to grunt, squeezing out a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth. His body slid back several meters before barely stabilizing. At the same time, the green steam on his body rapidly dissipated, and his face also turned pale.
Anyone could see that taking Kitsuchi's punch, which carried the force of a thousand jun, had placed an immense burden on him.
But this shocking strike ultimately blocked Kitsuchi's fatal attack, saving Tsunade and Shizune.
The entire scene instantly fell into silence.
Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
A seemingly ordinary Anbu could erupt with such powerful strength, directly confronting Iwagakure's quasi-Kage level powerhouse Kitsuchi.
"Green Snake."
Besides Fox, who seemed thoughtful, Grey Wolf and Night Owl were both shocked and delighted. They knew Sora's taijutsu was strong, but they hadn't expected it to be this strong.
After all, Sora had never displayed the Five Gates of the Eight Gates Release in front of them.
Tsunade stared blankly at Sora, who was shielding her. Her pale face was full of shock.
As an expert in taijutsu and tremendous strength, she could better appreciate the power Sora erupted with in that instant.
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