Uchiha En and Kakashi's expressions turned serious after hearing Minato Namikaze's words.
"Minato-sensei, what are the arrangements from the Village?" Kakashi asked.
"Hokage-sama plans for me and my sensei to lead a team to Mount Kikyo. Orochimaru-sama will also be temporarily seconded. En, you and some of the strong members of your Uchiha Clan should also go," Minato Namikaze said.
Uchiha En frowned upon hearing this. Konoha sending these people didn't seem to be enough!
Because in his memory, the Battle of Mount Kikyo was not only initiated by Sunagakure but jointly by Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
Among the Sunagakure Ninja were Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, and the veteran powerhouses Chiyo and Ebizo, active on the battlefield.
On Iwagakure's side, Ōnoki was said to have suffered some losses at the hands of Kumogakure recently, but he should still be able to fight. Ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi, should not be underestimated either.
Besides that, Sunagakure also had the Ichibi Jinchuriki, and Iwagakure had the Five-Tails Jinchuriki. Jinchuriki were devastating weapons on the battlefield. Thinking about it, there was a clear gap in high-end combat power!
Minato Namikaze seemed to have seen Uchiha En's worries. He smiled and said, "En, you don't have to worry. We also have trump cards in this war."
Since Minato Namikaze said so, Uchiha En nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
"Minato-sensei, this should be our last battle with Sunagakure, right?" Kakashi asked.
"Probably! Sunagakure, regardless of winning or losing this time, will no longer be able to launch large-scale battles. It's just that our enemy will likely be more than just Sunagakure."
"More than Sunagakure? Are there others?"
"Yes, Iwagakure should also be involved this time. The specific situation can only be confirmed once new intelligence returns."
Konoha's intelligence system was generally excellent, and soon Konoha's Anbu confirmed the situation at Mount Kikyo.
The next day, the Uchiha Clan received orders from the Third Hokage. Uchiha Fugaku personally led the team, accompanied by Uchiha Chizan, Uchiha En, and Uchiha Yashiro. In addition, there were over a hundred Uchiha Clan Ninja.
The other clans and the Village's regular Ninja were the same. Under the Third Hokage's command, Konoha's Ninja gathered again and set off for Mount Kikyo.
Meanwhile, at Mount Kikyo, Ōnoki and Rasa had long been waiting for Konoha's arrival. This time, they were confident they could crush Konoha in terms of strength.
Ōnoki and Rasa simultaneously looked back at a figure behind them. With this person, their chances of victory would increase by at least one layer.
In fact, Ōnoki had been planning this war for a long time.
Previously, on the Land of Frost battlefield, after the Iwagakure Ninja surrounded and killed the Third Raikage, they were met with a furious counterattack from the Kumogakure Ninja.
In that war, out of over 10,000 Iwagakure Ninja, less than 30% survived, and Ōnoki and Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, were both severely wounded.
Fortunately, A had just taken over as Fourth Raikage, and with Kumogakure destroyed and the Village in turmoil, A chose not to pursue further in order to stabilize the Village's situation.
Ōnoki and the remaining Iwagakure Ninja were thus able to preserve their lives.
Ōnoki, having escaped with his life, held a deep hatred for the Kumogakure Ninja, but at this stage, Iwagakure no longer had the ability to fight Kumogakure again.
For Iwagakure now, the best option was to seize a wave of resources while the war was winding down.
Among the Five Great Nations, the wealthiest was undoubtedly the Land of Fire.
Ōnoki thought for a long time before finally deciding to team up with Sunagakure to deal with Konoha.
Given the current situation, if the fighting continued, Konoha would become the biggest beneficiary of this war.
Kumogakure, due to its Village being destroyed and the Third Raikage's death, was no longer in a mood to fight.
Kirigakure had always been a fence-sitter. Seeing the situation favorable to Konoha, it only left troops in the Land of Bears to prevent a sudden attack from Konoha, while its main forces were constantly retreating, clearly unwilling to continue fighting.
Allowing Konoha to be the ultimate victor of the war was something Ōnoki absolutely could not accept.
So, Sunagakure, which was still stubbornly resisting Konoha, became Ōnoki's only choice.
The reason Sunagakure was still holding on was that it could be considered the initiator of the Third Great Ninja War. After the Third Kazekage's disappearance, Sunagakure used it as an excuse to provoke the war.
Even if the situation was unfavorable now, Sunagakure could not surrender. After all, it concerned the Third Kazekage. Sunagakure started the war in the name of avenging the Third Kazekage. If they suddenly stopped fighting now, the morale of the Village would completely collapse.
In fact, Iwagakure and Sunagakure also had considerable grievances, but in this situation, Ōnoki had to swallow his pride and ask Rasa for help.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.
The war had reached a point where Konoha was dominant. If it continued like this, Konoha would be the final victor, and then Sunagakure's days would become even harder.
Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, was also well aware of this, so when Ōnoki proposed a ceasefire and a joint effort against Konoha, Rasa readily agreed.
After Rasa agreed to fight Konoha together, both sides immediately began discussing their battle plan.
However, as mentioned before, even if the two countries formed an alliance, they could not, or rather, it was impossible for them to fully trust each other.
It should be noted that just a few days ago, the two sides were still fighting to the death on the battlefield. Suddenly announcing a ceasefire and alliance would make anyone instinctively wary of the other party.
Even Rasa harbored a trace of vigilance towards Ōnoki, and only after Ōnoki revealed Iwagakure's biggest trump card to Rasa did Rasa completely relax.
Thus, the alliance between Sunagakure and Iwagakure was officially formed. After discussing the battle plan, Rasa and Ōnoki immediately went to appease the Ninja in their respective Villages.
To ensure that the Iwagakure and Sunagakure Ninja could fight the Konoha Ninja with peace of mind, both sides decided to choose Mount Kikyo as the battle location.
As soon as the Konoha army arrived at Mount Kikyo, Jiraiya immediately dispatched Hyuga and Aburame Clan Ninja to monitor the movements of the Iwa-Suna Allied Forces.
The war had not officially begun, but a tense atmosphere permeated the air.
On the Iwa-Suna Allied Forces' side, Ōnoki was making the final arrangements. In terms of war experience, Ōnoki was much more experienced than Rasa, so most of this war's decisions were based on Ōnoki's opinions.
"Rasa, let's move! Do as we discussed earlier."
"Good! We must win this war," Rasa said firmly.
With Ōnoki's command, the Iwa-Suna Allied Forces began to move, marching mightily towards the Konoha Camp.
On Konoha's side, as soon as the Iwa-Suna Allied Forces began their movement, the Aburame Clan Ninja discovered them and immediately notified Jiraiya in the Camp.
And in the Camp, Konoha had already prepared for battle.
Under Jiraiya's command, the Konoha Ninja rushed out of the Camp to meet the enemy, and the Battle of Mount Kikyo thus erupted.
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