[T/N: š HAPPY NEW YEAR chaps! š May this year be Healthy and Productive for you! Enjoy~]
Faced with such a terrifying and horrifying Susanoo, Chiyo understood things very clearly in her heart.
At this very moment, their Sand side had no chance of victory at all and simply could not continue this battle anymore.
So, without the slightest hesitation, Chiyo took out a mysterious scroll from her person with the character "Sand" written on it.
Immediately after, she deftly unfurled the scroll, slammed her palm onto it, and then forcefully threw it into the air.
In an instant, massive amounts of sand poured out of the scroll like a waterfall, endlessly cascading down.
At the same time, many ninjas within the Sand Village began forming hand seals to cast techniques.
The sand falling from the sky, under their control, all transformed into densely packed, razor-sharp sand needles.
Like a torrential downpour, they shot fiercely toward the Konoha ninjas below.
Sand Needle Rain!
The attack surged forward like raging waves, covering an area so vast it made people gape in shock.
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this was nothing more than an attempt to stall the Konoha ninjas' advance in order to buy precious time.
Those under Rengoku's command were all elite clansmen tempered through countless battles, and they absolutely could not be allowed to die here in such a muddled way.
Thus, he drove Susanoo forward, his figure leaping violently as he charged straight to the front of the Konoha forces.
In the next instant, countless sand needles came crashing down like a blanket from the sky, densely striking Rengoku's Susanoo and producing crisp, pleasant clanging sounds.
Seeing that Rengoku was held in place, Chiyo decisively shot a conspicuous signal flare into the sky.
After receiving the order, the Sand Village forces moved swiftly, picking up the bodies of nearby fallen comrades.
Then, without looking back, they rapidly retreated in the direction they had come from.
At the same time, the Sand side did not forget to smash all kinds of ground spikes and poison thorns into the earth along the way.
This was done to slow down the Konoha ninjas' pursuit.
For a time, the entire battlefield was filled with flying dust and utter chaos, and the distance between the two sides gradually widened.
The Sand Needle Rain finally came to a stop, and the sand-filled sky slowly cleared.
Rengoku calmly withdrew his Susanoo, as though the fierce battle just now had been nothing more than a trivial interruption.
He did not choose to pursue the Sand ninjas who had fled in panic.
Instead, he made hand signals, indicating for his companions to rest briefly where they were.
In just this short amount of time, the battlefield had already become a complete mess.
The Sand side suffered tremendous losses. By rough estimation, more than three hundred ninjas had already lost their lives, and the number of wounded was simply beyond counting.
Many Sand ninja corpses lay scattered across the ground.
The vast majority of them had been cut down by Rengoku's overwhelming Susanoo, with only a small portion dying at the hands of Konoha ninjas.
By comparison, Konoha's situation was much better. Although quite a few people were injured or even poisoned during this intense battle.
Fortunately, not a single person lost their life because of it.
The key reason lay in the complementary cooperation between the Hyuga clan and the Kagura Mind's Eye, the two working together in perfect harmony.
They firmly controlled the Sand side's vision and information. As a result, even though the Sand ninjas vastly outnumbered Konoha.
At the very start of the battle, before they even had time to form up properly, they slammed head-on into Konoha's fully prepared forces.
If Sand had disregarded everything and forced an all-out encirclement, they might indeed have managed to trap all of Konoha's troops.
But the problem was that when facing Rengoku's astonishingly powerful Susanoo, which was still constantly evolving, they were completely helpless.
Continuing to attack would only further increase their own casualties, and such immense losses were simply unbearable for Sand.
After weighing the pros and cons, Sand's commander made a decisive call and gave the order to retreat.
In the past, Rengoku had always been extremely cautious in using his pupil power, and the number of times he used Susanoo could be counted on one hand.
But now that Rengoku possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, there was no need to worry about pupil power consumption at all.
He only needed to keep fighting while letting his eyes gradually adapt to the changes in Susanoo.
The war had only just begun. The real spectacle was still to come.
Everyone from Konoha adhered to a steady and solid combat style. In the rear area of the forces, medical tents had already been set up one after another.
These tents were equipped with professional medical personnel and ample medical supplies.
Their purpose was to provide timely and effective treatment for ninjas injured in battle and to quickly detoxify those who had been poisoned.
Although the poisons used by the Sand Village were extremely troublesome and vicious.
Thankfully, Tsunade and Orochimaru had shown foresight early on and had prepared a considerable quantity of special antidotes in advance.
And Tsunade herself was with the team. As long as the poison was not instantly fatal, she could keep people alive.
Most people had merely lost their fighting capability temporarily. With proper treatment and rest, they would soon be able to rejoin the battle.
Inside a separate medical tent, Karin stretched out her pale, slender arm, "Shishou, hurry and recover a bit!"
The battle just now, relatively speaking, had not been all that intense.
So at this moment, Rengoku's pupil power and chakra were both still extremely abundant.
However, faced with his disciple's concern, Rengoku gently reached out and slowly lowered Karin's sleeve.
"I don't need recovery."
Karin shook her head and rolled her sleeve back up again, "No, this is a ninja war. Shishou has to stay in the best condition at all times."
Her ability did not just heal injuries, it could also restore chakra.
Rengoku looked at Karin's fair arm, but in his mind, he thought of how it looked in the original timeline, covered in bite marks.
He lightly patted Karin's hand, "Keeping it white and tender like this is good. Bite marks don't look nice. When we get back, let Orochimaru study it. There should be a way to use your ability without biting you."
Karin blinked. She actually did not mind Rengoku leaving bite marks on her.
In fact, having her master's bite marks on her body gave her a strange sense of joy.
"It's fine, you know. They'll fade after a while."
Rengoku affectionately patted Karin on the head, "I know you care about me, but I have a lot of chakra. I don't need treatment."
Karin looked at Rengoku and asked seriously, "Shishou, how old do you think I need to be before I count as grown up?"
Rengoku laughed, "Why are you thinking about growing up? Being grown up isn't as happy as you are right now."
Clinging to Rengoku's arm, Karin said coquettishly, "If I grow up, I can become Shishou's bride."
Rengoku burst out laughing, "Little brat, you're only eleven years old. Who taught you these weird ideas?"
"Hokage-sama," A voice suddenly called from outside.
"I'm coming!"
Rengoku replied to the voice first, then turned back and flicked Karin on the forehead, "Only after you're an adult does it count as truly grown up."
"Ow!"
Karin covered her forehead in pain, but as she watched Rengoku leave, her eyes were slightly dazed.
āāāāāāāāāāāāā
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
š„³Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.š„° You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.