Chapter 142: A New Mission - Dominating the Battlefield!
Tsukasa lay expressionless on the ground, staring at Manda without speaking.
Just as Manda had said, he had no chakra left and could not possibly defeat the serpent before him.
As a giant summoning beast from the three sacred lands, Manda was the strongest of Ryuchi Cave's summons. At full power, it could even suppress both Katsuyu summoned by Tsunade and Gamabunta summoned by Jiraiya.
Its relationship with its summoner was also completely different from that of a normal summoning beast and its master.
This giant snake from Ryuchi Cave was notoriously arrogant, conceited, and cruel.
Every time it was summoned, a living sacrifice had to be offered.
It didn't even give Orochimaru any respect, establishing an equal partnership with him instead. During the Sannin battles, seeing Orochimaru weakened, it had even threatened him. It also looked down on Kabuto Yakushi with complete disdain.
For this snake, betraying its summoner was as natural as breathing.
Not to mention that Tsukasa not only refused to give it a sacrifice but also wanted to use it for free—even going so far as to pull out a forty-meter flaming sword to beat it and use it as a shield.
This was simply intolerable!
In all its years, Manda had never encountered such a brazen brat!
However, after taking a tour of the battlefield with this kid and having a hearty meal, Manda didn't actually want to kill Tsukasa at this moment. It understood the value of a summoner who could provide such... opportunities.
If it wanted to strike, it would have done so already. There was no need for so much posturing, right?
In fact, it wanted to negotiate.
Manda was being generous. At this moment, it stared at Tsukasa, thinking that it would intimidate the kid first, then make its demands later, which would be perfectly reasonable.
"Hissss... Should I demand one hundred living sacrifices from this brat, or should I push for even more, like one hundred fifty?!"
Tsukasa understood that Manda probably didn't want to kill him right now, so he didn't bother giving it a friendly look.
But trying to extort something from him?
Impossible!
He was so broke he could barely afford ramen, let alone living sacrifices for Manda!
"If you're so tough, go ahead and eat me!"
In short, he had nothing to lose.
Soon, in the center of a charred, cratered battlefield, the snake and the man stared at each other.
Manda was waiting for Tsukasa to compromise.
Tsukasa was waiting for Manda to shut up and leave.
Neither was willing to back down first!
The standoff continued until—
A sudden rumbling of footsteps rang out, and a slightly youthful voice shouted anxiously:
"Shin'ya-san, that snake looks like it's going to eat Tsukasa!"
Soon, an equally anxious voice responded:
"Shisui, I see it!"
"Mingyi, Shoji, attack with me!"
The next moment, several shouts rang out simultaneously:
"Beast Human Clone: Fang Over Fang!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
With these shouts, Tsukasa's eyelids twitched involuntarily.
Before him, three ninja and a nin-dog suddenly appeared, followed by three jutsu erupting almost simultaneously. A whirlwind merged with raging flames, obscuring Manda's vision.
Then, two drill-like tornadoes shot forward, slamming into Manda's chin, knocking its massive head backward!
Caught off guard, Manda was struck hard. Before it could react, a tall figure leaped up, piercing through the sea of fire and wind, landing on top of Manda's head, and abruptly opened his eyes!
A pair of scarlet pupils, each with three tomoe, instantly locked onto Manda's gaze!
"Damn it! The Sharingan!"
"Another cursed Uchiha! Hisssss!"
Manda exclaimed, instinctively trying to close its serpent eyes.
But it was too late.
Shin'ya stared intently at the beast, and Genjutsu: Sharingan activated instantly, temporarily paralyzing Manda.
Tsukasa looked on in surprise as Shin'ya, who had hypnotized Manda, jumped down from above.
A hand patted Tsukasa's shoulder, accompanied by a concerned gaze.
"Tsukasa, are you alright?!"
Shin'ya instantly appeared beside Tsukasa and knelt down, looking at him with genuine worry.
He stared at Tsukasa, now the 'One-Armed Hero,' a flicker of shock crossing his eyes—a mixture of disbelief and deep regret.
For a normal ninja, losing an arm essentially meant the end of their career.
And this kid, to save them, was willing to pay such a heavy price, fighting against three hundred Sunagakure forces alone...
Tsukasa's brow twitched. Seeing the expression on Shin'ya's face shifting toward that same look Elder Setsuna had worn before, he nervously swallowed.
He immediately forced himself to sit up, casually gesturing at the bleeding wound on his severed right arm with his left hand, and hurriedly explained:
"Don't misunderstand! This... this can grow back on its own!"
"It has nothing to do with you!"
"What?" Shin'ya was taken aback, then activated his Sharingan to examine Tsukasa's right arm more carefully.
He discovered that, just as Tsukasa had said, on his severed arm, with the continued effect of his regeneration ability, flesh was slowly wriggling and regrowing. Even the bone fragments were quietly regenerating bit by bit.
The whole process was incredibly slow.
If he hadn't possessed the Sharingan, he might not have been able to detect it at such a gradual pace.
"That's... that's good."
Although Shin'ya didn't fully understand, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"If something happened to you, I wouldn't know how to face the Great Elder!"
He looked at Tsukasa with lingering concern, remained silent for a moment, and reluctantly admitted:
"Kid, I'll acknowledge it—you're strong. Even stronger than me!"
"But please, don't do such reckless things in the future!"
Shin'ya surveyed their surroundings with a heavy heart, taking a deep breath at the devastated battlefield ruins in the night wind.
"This is far too dangerous!"
At that moment, wildfires raged across the desert ruins, bathed in the soft glow of the full moon.
Everything on the battlefield was ablaze, heavy black smoke billowing toward the sky, scattered rubble and kunai littering the ground.
Flames danced, flickered, and swayed in the night, illuminating the gruesome corpses beside them.
Two massive craters left by the explosions were enough to send chills down one's spine.
Tsukasa, the one who had caused all of this, watched the scene with conflicted emotions.
Only now, seeing these ruins, did he truly understand the terrifying power he wielded.
This was what it meant to be a ninja. This was war.
Once on the battlefield, there was no turning back.
If he hadn't been here today, everyone around him would have died here.
Including Uchiha Shisui. Including Uchiha Shin'ya. Including the entire Konoha assault force!
Tsukasa let out a heavy breath, avoided Shin'ya's gaze, and didn't answer him.
Instead, he immediately looked to the other side.
As the entire Konoha assault force arrived, the Root ninja who had given the orders also approached.
At this moment, he stood not far from Tsukasa, staring at him with fanatical eyes.
Tsukasa was silent for a moment, unsure of what to call him.
"Um..."
Fortunately, this Root ninja was perceptive. The moment their eyes met, he immediately stepped forward, kneeling before the slumped Tsukasa, his hand on his chest.
"Lord Shura, my name is Tori!"
Tsukasa was momentarily dazed before remembering that he did indeed have the codename 'Shura' in Root.
He shook his head, his expression grave as he looked at the masked ninja, and asked in a deep voice:
"Tori, what exactly is Orochimaru's plan? Why did Aburame Ryoma send out that signal?"
He raised his still-mobile left hand, pointing to the wisp of red smoke ten miles away, and gazed coldly at Tori, the Root ninja wearing a red-patterned bird mask. He said in a chilling voice:
"You'd better not tell me this is a setup Orochimaru orchestrated to force me onto the battlefield!"
Upon hearing this, Tori immediately lowered his head and solemnly said:
"Lord Shura, Lord Orochimaru has already led his team to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage."
"I guarantee with my life that there will be no strategic problems!"
"I didn't know the mission ten miles away was being carried out by Lord Aburame Ryoma, but given Lord Orochimaru's tactical decisiveness, if they fired a red signal flare, it can only mean—"
Tori paused, then said gravely:
"They've truly encountered danger sufficient to warrant a red signal flare!"
Upon hearing Tori's words, Tsukasa frowned.
In his mind, Root under Shimura Danzo's control was frankly no different from a den of conspirators.
From the beginning, he had subconsciously suspected that Aburame Ryoma's release of red smoke during the mission was a pre-arranged scheme between him and Orochimaru, designed to create a crisis and force him into battle.
Orochimaru might be lurking somewhere, watching him, spying on him, waiting to slip out and salvage the situation when he was on the verge of death.
But these suspicions, combined with Sunagakure's proactive attack, their apparent prior knowledge of their movements and hiding places, and Orochimaru's delayed appearance—all felt extremely incongruous to him.
Now, Tori's words further confirmed the truth. At this moment, the one leading Root and commanding the battlefield was not Shimura Danzo, but Orochimaru.
The 'Cold-Blooded Commander,' Orochimaru!
At this time, on this battlefield, Orochimaru, reappearing as a strategist and commander, now displayed that same ruthless efficiency that struck fear into the hearts of enemy nations—willing to sacrifice everything to achieve his objectives!
For the sake of overall strategy, he ruthlessly abandoned the assault force, using it as a sacrificial pawn.
For the sake of overall strategy, he personally risked his life, leading a team to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage.
For the sake of overall strategy, he could certainly disregard even his disciple's life and death, no matter how much he valued that disciple.
Having already gone this far, why couldn't he abandon his subordinate, Aburame Ryoma?
Tsukasa took a deep breath, frowned in thought for a moment, then immediately looked up at Tori and asked:
"Did Orochimaru say what my mission would be after annihilating the three hundred Sunagakure forces?"
"Of course!"
Upon hearing this, Tori immediately raised his head and stared intently at Tsukasa, solemnly saying:
"Lord Orochimaru asked me to tell you—when you truly achieve victory, as a reward, this Konoha assault force before you will be under your command!"
"Then, according to your will, go and freely shape this Third Shinobi World War!"
Having said this, Tori took out a document from his robes, presented it with both hands, and amidst the wildfire-ravaged ruins, under the astonished gazes of all the Konoha assault force members, he solemnly proclaimed:
"The entire Konoha assault force will follow you—"
"Across the battlefield!"
End of Chapter 142
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