Chapter 77: An Unexpected Ambush

The upper echelons of Kumogakure were panicked.

Whenever Tutai thought of the current strength of Kumogakure, he couldn't help but panic: "We cannot let Orochimaru get close to Kumogakure; the village has already been hollowed out and has absolutely no strength to resist!"

Killer Bee jumped up and shouted: "Then what are we waiting for, hurry and chase Orochimaru!"

But some Cloud Ninja suggested: "Lord Raikage, since Orochimaru has circled behind us, it means that between us and Konohagakure, there is no longer a Konoha army blocking the way..."

The Fourth Raikage looked at him and asked: "What do you mean?"

"Can we charge directly toward Konohagakure, break through it, force the Third Hokage to surrender, and then order Orochimaru to stop the war?"

The Fourth Raikage was fiercely tempted, but after lowering his head in deep thought, he still shook his head: "No."

"Would Konohagakure be as empty as our Kumogakure?"

"Is the Third Hokage truly not a match for me?"

"Even if we successfully break through Konohagakure and force the Third Hokage to accept peace, would Orochimaru obey the order to stop?"

"If it were before, I would believe Orochimaru would obey orders, but Orochimaru has launched such a crazy offensive, how can I dare to believe he would listen to orders?"

"Perhaps Orochimaru would even use the peace agreement as an excuse to completely ruin the Third Hokage's reputation, and then smoothly become the new Hokage."

"Most importantly, I am the Raikage; I cannot gamble with the fate of Kumogakure."

"All forces, listen to my order: retreat! Pursue Orochimaru!"

"This time, I will definitely skin this dead snake!"

With the safety of Kumogakure at stake, the Cloud Ninja were all anxious; without needing the Raikage to urge them, they gave their all to travel at full speed.

In just a day and a half, at the cost of thousands of Cloud Ninja falling behind, the Cloud Hidden Army arrived in the Land of Hot Water.

Seeing the Cloud Hidden pursuers arrive exactly as Yamanaka Chujiu had predicted, the Konoha Ninja, who had rested for two days and built up their strength, knew that a new victory was within reach.

A Cloud Hidden Jonin with a hideous scar on his face led 300 Cloud Ninja as the vanguard of the entire army, walking at the very front.

When he saw the road passing through the hills ahead, he subconsciously classified it as a safe road.

Not only did he not arrange for Cloud Ninja to inspect the road, but he instead shouted: "Increase speed!"

"Intelligence shows that the Konoha army has stopped to rest; we will catch up to the Konoha trash immediately, hold on for me!"

"Once we catch up, kill them all ruthlessly; not a single Konoha ninja can be let go!"

The Cloud Hidden Jonin roared to boost morale and was the first to charge onto the hill road.

The Cloud Ninja behind followed closely, not noticing any abnormalities on the hills ahead at all, and even less able to imagine that it was a trap meticulously laid by the Konoha army.

After all, when everyone conducts an ambush, it is in favorable terrain like canyons, riversides, or bridges, attacking the enemy from a high position.

What sane person would ambush an enemy from a high position while hiding in the low-lying areas on both sides of a hill?

Launching an attack from low to high—once the enemy reacts, they can launch a counterattack from a high position; how is that any different from seeking death?

Yet it was precisely this impossibility that became the key factor in Yamanaka Chujiu's ambush—it was the "unexpected" that the enemy would never think of!

The small Cloud Hidden party passed through the hills safely and soon saw the Konoha army's camp, as well as the positions blocking the enemy.

The Cloud Ninja signaled to the main force behind while cheering loudly: "We've caught up!"

"Don't even think about entering the Land of Lightning, let alone dreaming of attacking Kumogakure!"

"Once the Fourth Raikage arrives, you will all die!"

The main Cloud Hidden force following behind, upon seeing the vanguard's signal, desperately increased their speed.

No one expected that a deadly ambush was waiting for them up ahead.

When the large force of over three thousand Cloud Ninja marched onto the hills, Yamanaka Chujiu decisively ordered: "Now, detonate!"

Boom—

Tens of thousands of Explosive Tags buried beneath the hills were detonated; the powerful explosion tore open the hills, and thousands of Cloud Ninja flew into the sky along with the sky-filling mud and rocks.

The explosion also destroyed the fragile support structures, and the mountain body, which had been hollowed out by Earth Style ninja, collapsed, swallowing hundreds of Cloud Ninja who had been stunned by the blast.

The main force of the Cloud Hidden Army was also split into front and rear sections; neither side had even a thousand people, making it impossible to withstand the subsequent surprise attack by the Konoha Ninja.

The Konoha Ninja lurking in the low-lying areas on both sides of the hills took action, and a dense barrage of Ninjutsu, Kunai, and Explosive Tags flew toward the chaotic Cloud Ninja.

Because of the distance, the results of the first wave of attacks were not great, but it confirmed to the Cloud Ninja that they had been ambushed.

The explosions, the landslide, the inability to look after both ends, plus the Konoha Ninja's advantage in numbers and stamina, meant the Cloud Ninja's mental state could no longer be maintained.

Sensing the panic spreading among the Cloud Ninja, Yamanaka Chujiu's Thought Threads spread out, stirring the emotions of the Cloud Ninja, amplifying fear and chaos as much as possible, and disintegrating their will to fight.

The effect was very obvious; the Cloud Ninja, who had always fought to the death without retreating, let out all kinds of screams like a girl cornered in an alley by a big man.

"It's over, we've been ambushed!"

"Run!"

"Retreat, retreat!"

"Only Lord Raikage can save us!"

"Move toward Lord Fourth Raikage!"

The Cloud Ninja wailed as they made chaotic choices.

Those blocked in the back wanted to retreat to regroup with the Fourth Raikage, who was bringing up the rear.

While those sealed in the front half could only bite the bullet and charge forward, attempting to break through the blockade ahead.

But no matter what choice they made, they were attacked by the well-prepared Konoha Ninja, pinned down on the open battlefield, and suffered terrible casualties.

Orochimaru and Yamanaka Chujiu did not directly participate in the battle; the master and apprentice stood side by side on the edge of the battlefield.

Yamanaka Chujiu monitored the battlefield through the Mind Severing Realm, from time to time mobilizing Konoha Ninja to block Cloud Ninja who might escape, killing and wounding the enemy as much as possible.

The strength of the Cloud Ninja was not poor; even though they were disorganized by the ambush and their morale was broken, they still maintained significant combat power.

Their struggle and breakout attempts forced the battlefield to constantly expand, and coupled with the large number of Cloud Ninja casualties, the efficiency of the Konoha Ninja in killing the enemy inevitably declined.

Even Konoha's own casualties began to increase.

Yamanaka Chujiu keenly sensed this and decisively issued the order: "Ambush operation terminated; now begin cleaning the battlefield and collecting equipment and supplies."

"Attention, from now on, it is strictly forbidden to attack Cloud Ninja who have surrendered; those who disobey this order shall die!"

"If you still have the energy, provide aid to all the wounded as much as possible."

Orochimaru asked curiously: "Yamanaka Chujiu, why do you want to save the Cloud Ninja?"

Yamanaka Chujiu replied with a smile: "Naturally, it is to weaken the combat power of the Cloud, while simultaneously increasing the combat power of our Konoha."

Orochimaru was even more curious: "Explain."

Yamanaka Chujiu nodded: "There is nothing to hide here, I might as well explain it to the entire army."