Chapter 105: Orochimaru Strikes

Shimura Danzo's protest was suppressed.

Danzo and the Third Hokage erupted into a fierce argument, which ultimately ended with the classic scene of "You regret," "I am the Kage," and "Bang."

After Sarutobi Hiruzen drove Shimura Danzo away, he only felt exhausted, rubbing his temples as he said, ""

"Never mind Danzo, just execute the plan we all discussed."

"Homura, you closely monitor the situation on the East Front and report to me at any time."

"Koharu, you and Shinnosuke work together to strengthen Konoha's defenses to prevent Orochimaru and Yamanaka Chujiu from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble."

"Sarutobi, Utatane, Mitokado... and the Elders of the Shimura clan, please do your best to win over more Konoha ninja and consolidate our supporters in the village."

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and the Elders of the four clans responded in unison.

At this time, Orochimaru and Yamanaka Chujiu had already reorganized the Konoha army.

Eight hundred elite ninja served as the backbone, with each person responsible for two to three squads, turning the five thousand seven hundred Konoha ninja into a fully controlled army.

Marching was training; the massive force moved in a grand, imposing manner, heading east all the way.

Yamanaka Chujiu ran back and forth within the ranks, discovering problems of organizational disharmony through observing emotions, and provided solutions at the first opportunity.

His work was highly effective; when the scenery along the way slowly changed from dense forests to plains covered in sparse woods and shrubs, the Konoha army's formation was already extremely orderly.

As the ninja walked, they also displayed a unified aura of strength.

By this point, the Konoha ninja understood Yamanaka Chujiu's intentions and learned to adjust themselves.

Yamanaka Chujiu devoted his main energy to thinking about the situation on the East Front.

According to the intelligence obtained by Orochimaru, the total number of ninja from Kirigakure invading the Land of Fire this time reached eleven thousand.

The Kirigakure army was led personally by the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, but the command was extremely chaotic, lacking unified coordination, and the Mist Ninja were almost fighting on their own.

Moreover, Kirigakure had resumed the "Blood Mist Village" policy, leading to numerous internal conflicts.

Some Mist Ninja wanted to seize more resources, some were secretly plotting to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage, and the strongest Mist Ninja wanted to make a name for themselves.

The vast majority of Mist Ninja didn't want anything at all; they only wanted to save their own lives, so they always did the bare minimum in battle.

Fortunately, the eastern part of the Land of Fire bordered the sea, with dense rivers and lakes and vast water areas, which was very favorable for the Mist Ninja to utilize the advantages of their Water Style Ninjutsu.

Even more fortunately, because Shimura Danzo had abandoned his post and returned to Konohagakure to fight for power and profit, the Konoha ninja also lacked unified command.

Both sides were fighting blindly in chaos.

But even when "chickens peck at each other," there is a difference in strength.

Overall, the Konoha ninja were fewer in number, at a disadvantage in terrain, and clearly weaker than the Mist Ninja.

Coupled with the fact that the strongest Uchiha and Hyuga were heavily countered, they were beaten back step by step by Kirigakure, lost numerous strongholds, and had now been pushed back more than one hundred kilometers into the interior.

"Teacher Orochimaru, from the intelligence, the situation on the East Front is much more severe than I imagined."

Yamanaka Chujiu complained to Orochimaru: "The chaos of the Konoha ninja's retreat, too many supplies left in warehouses, and the subsequent replenishment failing to keep up have led to a desperate situation of lacking medicine and food, with morale collapsing."

"It is all Shimura Danzo's fault!"

Orochimaru asked: "Chujiu, just say it directly, how are we going to win the war."

Yamanaka Chujiu smiled: "Hehe, it's very simple."

"You go one step ahead, arrive at the front line early, and take over the command of the Konoha army; I believe you can instantly solve the problems of collapsing morale and the lack of unified command."

"However, the East Front has much water, which is favorable for the Mist Ninja to utilize the advantages of their Water Style Ninjutsu; we cannot fight them there."

"So you shouldn't hold your ground either; just lead the Konoha army to retreat, lure the Mist Ninja away from their most favorable terrain, and then here..."

Yamanaka Chujiu took out a map and pointed to a location called Cuilingsen, saying: "We will set a big trap, annihilate the main force of the Mist Ninja in one fell swoop, and then launch a large-scale counterattack."

Orochimaru nodded in approval: "The plan is very thorough, so let's execute it accordingly."

"I will go to the front line to rally the Konoha ninja, and you set the trap in Cuilingsen, waiting for me to lure them into jumping in."

"Yes, Teacher Orochimaru."

The East Front was already a living hell.

Everywhere were the embers of smoke, and everywhere one could see broken ninja tools and cold corpses.

The grass had turned into scorched earth, clear water was dyed dark red with blood, and the air was filled with the smell of blood and smoke.

The Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure only demanded attacks but provided no tactical command, and the Konoha ninja's commander, Shimura Danzo, had been gone for nearly two months.

The ninja from the two great ninja villages were just fighting in a messy heap like this, having fought a terrible war for a month.

Relying on their large numbers, sufficient supplies, and excellent equipment, the Mist Ninja finally gained the advantage on the battlefield, forcing the Konoha ninja to retreat step by step.

The Mist Ninja launched attacks aggressively and continuously, compressing the living space of the Konoha ninja, wanting to completely wipe them out.

"Captain, there are too many Mist Ninja, we can't hold on!"

The young Konoha Genin's voice trembled, blood flowed continuously from his wounds, and his face was full of fear.

The Konoha Chunin leading the team had a pale face and said unconvincingly: "Everyone, hold on a little longer, the village will definitely send reinforcements!"

"Regardless, we cannot give up; even if we die, we must die with dignity!"

But his encouragement was useless because the reality was too absurd.

Who could have imagined that while Konoha ninja were fighting in the Land of Fire, and before the Mist Ninja had even cut off their retreat, they would actually face a situation where supplies were cut off.

And it had been cut off for a month!

No matter how brave and powerful the Konoha ninja were, there was no way they could defeat the Mist Ninja while hungry and empty-handed.

The Mist Ninja's attacks became more and more fierce.

A Konoha ninja was accidentally struck in the chest by a Mist Ninja's Kunai, fell to the ground, struggled a few times, and then stopped moving.

Another Konoha ninja was hit by a Mist Ninja's Water Style Ninjutsu; the powerful water pressure crushed his bones, and he quickly lost his breath.

As their companions fell one by one, the Konoha ninja had no choice but to retreat.

The despair in their eyes grew increasingly thick.

Perhaps, they really could not wait for reinforcements any longer.

Just at this moment, a figure like a ghost appeared in the center of the battlefield.

Black long hair danced in the wind, and cold killing intent flashed within golden vertical slit pupils; it was Orochimaru, who had arrived alone ahead of the others.

He did not waste words, directly body-flickering in front of a Mist Ninja, his chakra transforming into a venomous snake that fiercely bit the Mist Ninja's neck, injecting a lethal poison.

"Who?!"

Seeing this, the Mist Ninjas stopped their attacks one after another, looking at Orochimaru with vigilant gazes, their eyes full of surprise.

The young Mist Ninjas had never seen Orochimaru, nor had they expected that he would actually charge into the battlefield alone.

But how could the Konoha Ninjas possibly not recognize Orochimaru?

The despair in their eyes vanished in an instant, courage filled their hearts, and they shouted ecstatically:

"It's Lord Orochimaru!"

"Konoha's reinforcements have arrived!"

"Long live Lord Orochimaru!"