Chapter 46: Even the Fourth Raikage Won't Be Able to Help When He Arrives

They say battle reports can lie, but the front lines cannot.

But sometimes, this statement is not necessarily correct.

Ever since Orochimaru arrived at the front lines to take over command, major battles have erupted one after another between Konoha and Kumogakure, with the result that the Cloud Hidden Army advances step by step, while the Konoha army constantly retreats.

Looking at the front lines, the Cloud Hidden Army is undoubtedly the victor.

But in the eyes of the ninjas on both sides, it is the Konoha army that firmly holds the upper hand, and even when they retreat, they do so with laughter and cheers.

How could they not be happy?

Every battle is a Konoha ambush on the Cloud Hidden, and every time they manage to leave the Cloud Ninja bloodied and mangled while remaining completely unscathed themselves.

Every advance of the Cloud Hidden Army relies on the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's Tailed Beast Bomb to blast the battlefield into ruins.

The world-shattering Tailed Beast Bomb does not just leave a few large craters on the battlefield, but directly alters the original terrain, yet it fails to achieve a single result.

So, how could the Konoha Ninja not be happy?

Now, every word out of their mouths is a calculation, tallying exactly how many lives the Cloud Hidden Army has paid for every thousand meters they advance.

They even loudly discuss how far the Cloud Hidden Army can push before all the Cloud Ninja die on the road of their own offensive.

The Konoha Ninja's morale is high, so the Cloud Ninja's morale is naturally low.

And the closer they get to Konohagakure, the lower that morale sinks.

Even the greatest contributor who broke through Konoha's defenses time and again, forcing Konoha to retreat, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee, has completely lost his smile at this moment.

He doesn't even have the mood to sing anymore.

It was not until the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure coordinated the follow-up reinforcements and finished arranging the long supply lines, arriving at the very front of the battle, that the morale of the Cloud Hidden Army was finally restored.

After understanding the war situation, the Fourth Raikage did not blame his younger brother or his subordinates.

He looked at the battle reports with deep emotion: "I originally thought that after the Nine-Tails Incident and the loss of the Fourth Hokage, Konoha would become vulnerable, but I never expected Orochimaru to be this formidable."

"Konoha's frontal defense is firm and resilient, while their left and right flanks constantly launch sneak attacks; speaking of which, these are all old tactics of the Ninja World wars, but for Orochimaru to achieve total victory is truly inconceivable."

"The problem is how he ensures every sneak attack succeeds, while our ninjas' sneak attacks inevitably fail; this is too abnormal."

Killer Bee asked: "Big Brother, could it be a spy?"

The Fourth Raikage shook his head: "A spy could steal war plans, but all intelligence has a lag; it is impossible to guarantee total victory."

"I suspect Konoha has a special reconnaissance method, a secret technique with stronger observation capabilities and a wider range than the Byakugan or Kikaichu."

Killer Bee was dumbfounded: "This, what should we do?"

The Fourth Raikage sneered: "It's simple, your method, brother, is the most correct one."

"The reason we haven't been able to completely break Konoha's defenses is because your power alone is not enough; add me, the Raikage, and we will certainly force Orochimaru to show himself."

The Fourth Raikage clenched his fists and said fiercely: "As long as this stinking snake dares to appear, I will beat him to death in front of everyone!"

"Once Orochimaru is dead, not only will the Konoha Ninja before us collapse, but Konohagakure will no longer have any Shadow-level Ninja capable of holding the overall situation together!"

Tutai reminded him: "Lord Raikage, I must remind you, do not be too optimistic."

"The nearly sixty-year-old Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen is not a concern, and Shimura Danzo is a rat in the sewer, but the Konoha Sannin are currently in their prime."

"If you kill Orochimaru, you will inevitably enrage Jiraiya and Tsunade, who are wandering outside, and they will certainly return to Konohagakure."

"At that point, there will be two more powerful Shadow-level Ninja, and the pressure we face might be even greater."

The Fourth Raikage: "..."

"Tutai, the truth you speak... is really annoying!"

Tutai bowed respectfully: "This is my duty, Lord Raikage."

The Fourth Raikage chuckled: "Good, you did right."

"But Orochimaru still must be killed."

"Whether it's Jiraiya or Tsunade, even if Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo come together, I, the Fourth Raikage, do not fear them!"

The arrival of the Fourth Raikage greatly boosted the morale of the Cloud Ninja.

And the surge in the Cloud Ninja's emotions was immediately captured by Yamanaka Chujiu, who immediately concluded that the Fourth Raikage had arrived.

Facing the perfect jinchuriki Killer Bee, he could command the Konoha Ninja to create positions, using battlefield maneuvering to keep him off-balance and limit the effectiveness of his combat power.

But adding a Fourth Raikage with maxed-out speed, defense, and attack exceeded the scope of what his tactics could handle.

Yamanaka Chujiu could not help but stick out his tongue, licking his own cheeks, eyes, and forehead.

In a chilling realization, he hurriedly pulled his tongue back.

Yamanaka Chujiu gathered the Konoha Ninja in the name of Orochimaru to inform them of the intelligence that the Fourth Raikage had reached the front lines.

In front of Yamanaka Chujiu, dozens of Konoha Jonin collectively gasped.

The sound of their intake of breath was so loud it startled them.

In this era where Shadow-level Ninja are the pinnacle, the Fourth Raikage is a top-tier monster.

He and his father, the Third Raikage, broke the curse of ninjas being "glass cannons," gaining monster-like defensive power through the 【Lightning Release Chakra Mode】.

Even if hit by Ninjutsu or having Explosive Tags detonated against their bodies, they could not tear the skin of these two monsters.

In the current Ninja World, only the 【Dust Release】 of the Third Tsuchikage Onoki can break through the defense of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

The two generations of Raikage not only have strong defense, but their attack power is also enough to kill any ninja, and they possess an unrivaled advantage in speed.

Only the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, known as the Yellow Flash, could crush the Raikage in speed.

Back then, the reason the Cloud Hidden Army ceased hostilities was because the Fourth Hokage took on the AB Combination alone.

The Hokage could not break the Raikage's defense, and the Raikage could not touch the Hokage; neither could do anything to the other.

Only Killer Bee, having taken ten 【Rasengan】s and being beaten until he couldn't get up, became the hostage that forced the Fourth Raikage to give up.

But the Fourth Hokage has already sacrificed himself; can Orochimaru beat the Fourth Raikage?

Yamanaka Chujiu does not know if Master Orochimaru can do it, but he knows he certainly cannot.

The Fire Cloud Evil God once said: "Of all the martial arts in the world, only speed is invincible!"

In the face of the Fourth Raikage's extreme speed, even if his Mind Severing Realm could sense him, there was no way to evade the opponent's pursuit.

"It's no use, I can't do it alone no matter what!"

"Even if I launch the logistics raid in advance, I can at most mobilize one of the AB Combination, and my Clone cannot sustain the Mind Severing Realm; there is absolutely no room to resist."

"I need a truly ruthless character who can hold off the Fourth Raikage head-on and create an opening for me to execute my tactics."

"For example, Master Orochimaru..."