Chapter 47: Orochimaru Arrives Early

Yamanaka Chujiu and Orochimaru had agreed on ten days, and it was now the fourth day.

He silently calculated the speed, added the time delayed by the harassment tactics implemented along the way, and concluded that they would retreat to Sakurahara by the ninth day.

Yamanaka Chujiu made up his mind and ordered the Konoha Jonin: "Accelerate the retreat!"

"Do not contend for a momentary victory or defeat with the enemy; trade space for time, wait for the moment when the enemy's strength wanes to the point where they can be defeated, and then engage the enemy in a decisive battle!"

The Konoha Jonin replied in unison: "Yes! Lord Orochimaru!"

Over the next five days, no major battles broke out between the two sides.

The Konoha army seemed to have grown eyes, always able to retreat one step faster than the Cloud Hidden Army, letting them see the traces but never touch a single hair.

The Cloud Hidden Army immediately launched a full-speed pursuit, and they simultaneously launched a grand detour tactic of flanking and encircling from both sides.

But the Super Reconnaissance Secret Technique that the Fourth Raikage speculated about was real; as long as any Cloud Ninja accelerated to break away from the main force, they would inevitably be met with a precise ambush by the Leaf Ninja.

The Konoha Ninja were like ghosts, hiding in corners ignored by the Cloud Ninja, launching unexpected surprise attacks.

Sometimes it was a surprise attack by a Jonin squad, specifically to burn the carried provisions and ninja tools.

Sometimes it was a Genjutsu prepared in advance by an Illusion Squad to disrupt judgment and kill the leading Jonin.

Sometimes it was dozens of Konoha squads uniting to surround and completely annihilate Cloud Ninja on the march.

Every action of the Konoha Ninja was precisely targeted in terms of Ninjutsu, numbers, and equipment configuration, achieving maximum restraint in terms of attributes.

The tragic casualties and zero results made the Fourth Raikage furious, and at the same time, he could not help but feel a chill; he honestly gathered the Cloud Hidden Army into a group and accelerated as much as possible on the basis of seeking stability.

On the ninth day, on the road one hundred miles from Sakurahara, a short ambush broke out.

Three squads of Konoha Ninja hid underground on both sides of the road, waited for two full days, and waited for the Cloud Hidden Army's supply unit.

In this ambush, the Konoha Ninja didn't kill a single person; they used Fire Release to ignite the supply vehicles and then retreated at the fastest speed.

"Damn it! These Konoha ninja hide and seek like rats; it's so annoying!"

The Cloud Hidden Jonin who rushed to the rescue looked at the burned supply vehicles, his whole body trembling with anger.

His subordinate Chunin frowned and said: "Captain, our supply line is getting longer and longer; we have been ambushed by Konoha Ninja all along the way for over five hundred kilometers."

"If this continues, our food and ninja tools won't last until Konohagakure."

This was already their fifth rescue mission today, and the number of attacks encountered along the entire supply line was shocking.

It is said that the Cloud Hidden Army has already lost two-thirds of its supplies.

Not to mention precious materials like Explosive Tags, Shuriken, Kunai, and medicine, even the most basic rice was not enough to supply the whole army.

The higher-ups said this was a rumor, but the reduction in food for Genin and Chunin was an undeniable fact.

The Konoha Ninja could not be caught, they were constantly being attacked, and they couldn't even get enough to eat; the morale of the Cloud Hidden Army suffered a huge blow.

Another elite Chunin frowned: "Orochimaru's command ability is too exaggerated; he can turn guerrilla warfare into something flawless. I simply cannot imagine how much the Rock Hidden and Sand Hidden suffered back then."

The Chunin couldn't help but ask: "Then what should we do?"

"Continue forward, and we will be subjected to more frequent sneak attacks, and supplies will become scarcer. Stand by in place, and what awaits us will be reinforcements from Konohagakure."

The Cloud Hidden Jonin fell into silence.

After a long time, he said: "I don't know, but Lord Fourth Raikage must have a way."

In fact, the Raikage had no way; he just knew that giving up halfway was more dangerous, so he could only bite the bullet and continue forward.

This squad of elite Cloud Ninja was his effort to strengthen the protection of the supply line.

But that was all the Raikage could do; he and Tutai were also in a dilemma.

The further forward they went, the longer the supply line would be stretched, and the easier it would be to be ambushed.

But if they further strengthened the protection of the supply line, it would be equivalent to dispersing the main force.

Not only would it weaken the power to suppress Konoha from the front, but it would also be easy for Orochimaru to surround and annihilate the guard troops.

The reason for continuing forward was that the Fourth Raikage believed in the Third Hokage.

That's right, he believed in the timidity and cowardice of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Although the Third Hokage himself was not afraid of death, he was afraid of Konohagakure being attacked by enemies, afraid of the villagers of Konohagakure being slaughtered, and afraid of the village he had fought for his whole life being destroyed by the flames of war.

The Fourth Raikage believed that every step he took forward increased the pressure on Hiruzen, and soon he would snap and crudely interfere with Orochimaru's command.

When a ninja army has two supreme commanders, its combat effectiveness is weakened by more than just a little.

Especially since the combat effectiveness that Orochimaru had forcibly raised with his superb command art would be halved the moment it was interfered with by the Third Hokage's orders.

The Fourth Raikage only needed Orochimaru's command to be less smooth; as long as he could catch a single tail, he could completely annihilate these 4,500 Konoha Ninja within a day.

As long as he could catch a tail, that would be enough!

The Fourth Raikage thought this, not realizing that he was actually afraid; he had been scared by the tactical command of "Orochimaru."

And he couldn't help but be afraid; he had taken over the command of the Cloud Hidden Army for five days, and his orders had been resolutely executed, but he just couldn't catch a single Konoha Ninja.

Even if he attacked personally, he could only see the traps and ambush traces left behind after the Konoha Ninja had retreated in advance.

The entire Konoha army seemed to have turned into ghosts; they were clearly just a few kilometers away, but no matter what, they could not be found, let alone caught.

In the last two days, the Cloud Ninja all said that the only chance they had to see the Konoha Ninja was when they fell into an ambush circle and the Konoha Ninja launched an attack.

No one said they were afraid, but everyone knew they were afraid.

It was like the first time a ninja encountered Uchiha Obito; he was clearly visible and could be injured by him, but he could never be hit.

That wasn't even fear, but a kind of despair that made one doubt life and doubt whether they were real.

But the Fourth Raikage had not given up yet; he was enduring, waiting for a chance for a one-hit kill.

However, the opportunity for battle that Yamanaka Chujiu was waiting for arrived one step earlier than the Fourth Raikage's.

Yamanaka Chujiu's teacher, Orochimaru, had arrived from Konohagakure one day early.

In the middle of the night, Yamanaka Chujiu was reviewing the battles of the past few days and several future counterattack plans when a familiar laugh suddenly reached his ears.

"Oh hehehe..."

For a moment, he thought there was a problem with the snake skin on his body; he clearly hadn't laughed, so why did a sound come out?

But the next moment, Yamanaka Chujiu realized what was happening.

It was not that he was using Orochimaru's skin to imitate Orochimaru's laugh, but that Orochimaru had truly come.