Chapter 93: A Victory That Cannot Annihilate the Enemy

The Moon Ninja's temporary leader shouted in terror: "Not good! Konoha Ninja are attacking from behind!"

He first sent Moon Ninja to notify the Cloud Ninja ahead, then tried to organize the Moon Ninja to counterattack.

The counterattack attempt quickly failed, and he tried again to organize a defense.

But the Moon Ninja forces had already fallen into chaos by then; his successive, different orders not only failed to organize the Moon Ninja, but instead intensified the chaos.

The Moon Ninja were bewildered by completely contradictory orders, and in the end could only flee with the crowd, soon no longer hearing the commander's orders.

Yamanaka Chujiu saw the Moon Ninja in total rout, and felt not a shred of pity in his heart.

He calmly commanded: "We have already routed the Moon Ninja; next, drive them forward, let them become the first wave to crash into the Cloud Hidden!"

"Once they are slaughtered by the Cloud Ninja, the Cloud Hidden's formation will inevitably fall into chaos, and their chakra and weapons will be greatly depleted; then we attack the weakened Cloud Hidden!"

The Konoha Ninja understood Yamanaka Chujiu's intent and changed their approach from killing to the last, deliberately leaving a slim chance of survival for the Moon Ninja, forcing them to flee toward the other end of the canyon.

The surviving Moon Ninja, lost in the chaos, could only run blindly forward, completely unaware of what lay ahead.

But the Konoha Ninja would not allow them to scatter; whether the Moon Ninja tried to climb over the mountains or cross the river, they would be cut down by the Konoha Ninja first.

In the end, the Moon Ninja had nowhere to flee and could only be forced forward, fleeing toward the Cloud Ninja.

The road through Thunder Canyon was narrow; the fleeing column of Moon Ninja grew more and more packed, moving faster and faster, forming a human tide like a flood.

In such a torrent, even ninja could not control themselves; some were even pushed down by their own people and trampled to death on the ground.

The Moon Ninja who died from being trampled after falling actually outnumbered those slain by the Konoha Ninja.

One could see how miserably the Moon Ninja were being driven, and how panicked they had become.

When the rolling human tide appeared within the Cloud Ninja's line of sight, they actually failed to notice in time because they had not posted any rear guards.

It was not until the Cloud Ninja heard the commotion behind them that they discovered the Konoha Ninja were driving the Moon Ninja, already charging to within three hundred meters of them.

The Moon Ninja shouted:

"Get out of the way!"

"Save us!"

"The Konoha Ninja are killing their way from behind!"

The Cloud Ninja shouted:

"Don't come over here!"

"Don't charge over, don't disrupt our formation!"

"All of you, scatter to both sides, scatter!"

"Anyone who dares to charge the Cloud Hidden Army will be killed without mercy!!"

But how could a rolling tide of people be stopped? They couldn't even turn; even knowing that going forward meant being attacked, the Moon Ninja could only charge toward the Cloud Ninja.

Because anyone who tried to turn or stop was instantly pushed down by the human tide and trampled into a pulp.

The Cloud Ninja watched the Moon Ninja being pushed down and trampled to death one by one, with a mist of blood drifting up, and the human tide still unable to stop; they finally realized the enemy had no control over themselves.

Without hesitation, they launched their attack; kunai, shuriken, and Lightning Release ninjutsu rained down densely on the Moon Ninja's front ranks, splashing fresh blood and sending severed limbs flying.

But they had decided too late; it was already too late to stop the Moon Ninja's charge.

Boom—

Accompanied by a tremendous crash of bodies, the Moon Ninja's torrent slammed into the Cloud Ninja's ranks.

The Cloud Ninja's rear guard formation was instantly smashed apart; no one knew how many had died.

The enormous sound shook the battlefield, and Orochimaru instantly understood that Yamanaka Chujiu had circled back.

He clapped his hands together and once again summoned Manda and other giant snakes.

"Manda, charge over there and clear a path for the Konoha Ninja!"

The unruly Manda, who had been seriously wounded last time and had not received the compensation of several hundred people, now looked at Orochimaru with a glint of murderous light in his eyes.

But in the end, Manda still chose to obey, and cursing and swearing, led a group of giant snakes charging toward the Cloud Ninja.

It didn't know why, it just felt that Orochimaru was terrifying; if it dared to defy his orders, it would truly be done for.

With the rear thrown into chaos by the Moon Ninja and the front thrown into chaos by the Ryuchi Cave giant snakes, the Cloud Hidden Army's commanding Jonin finally reacted.

He slapped his thigh in frustration and shouted:

"Damn it! We've been tricked!"

It wasn't that the Cloud Hidden Army had caught the Konoha Ninja's tail; rather, they had been lured by Konoha into falling into a trap!

The Cloud Hidden Jonin roared in fury, wanting to lead the Cloud Ninja back to support the Moon Ninja forces and help them restore order and command.

As long as they shook off the chaos, the Cloud Hidden and Moon Ninja allied forces could, with their numerical advantage, fight the Konoha Ninja in a messy battle.

But how could Orochimaru possibly give him that chance.

He let out a cold laugh, leaped down from Manda's head, blocked the Cloud Hidden Jonin's path, and thrust the Kusanagi Sword directly at him.

The Cloud Hidden Jonin's hair stood on end; even with all his strength to resist, he was in mortal danger, surviving only thanks to his companions' cover, with no time left to command.

The Konoha Ninja seized the opportunity to intensify their attack, firmly pinning down the Cloud Ninja, not giving them any chance to restore order.

Under Yamanaka Chujiu's training, the four thousand Konoha Ninja deeply understood that numbers are only the foundation of strength; order and organization are the core of strength.

As long as they achieved order fighting disorder, preparedness fighting unpreparedness, victory was only a matter of time.

The Konoha Ninja went all-in with their full strength, like a tiger among a flock of sheep; relying on tacit coordination and fierce combat power, they continuously cut down enemy ninja.

Yamanaka Chujiu kept moving forward, his Mind Severing Realm also extending to the front, smoothly taking over command of the entire army.

When the Konoha Ninja at the front heard the familiar orders from the Communication Snake's mouth, their morale instantly soared, and their combat power rose another level.

Ninjutsu-type Ninja released ninjutsu according to orders, precisely picking off the commanders among the enemy.

Taijutsu-type Ninja covered their companions, pushing the Cloud Ninja aside.

The Konoha Ninja skilled in assassination had the best time of it; guided by Yamanaka Chujiu, they infiltrated the chaotic battlefield, easily harvesting Elite Jonin they originally could not handle.

The Cloud Hidden and Moon Ninja allied forces had completely fallen into chaos; Moon Ninja and Cloud Hidden were mixed together, no longer able to form any effective organization, and could only be slaughtered at will by the Konoha Ninja.

And the Konoha Ninja fought fiercer and fiercer, launching their ferocious assault with momentum like a rainbow, steadily driving the enemy into a desperate corner.

When the commanding Jonin of the Cloud Hidden Army was pierced through the heart by the Kusanagi Sword, the battle drew to its end.

The allied forces of the Cloud Hidden and Moon Ninja had lost—and lost utterly.

The Cloud Hidden Jonin gritted his teeth and gave the signal to retreat.

"It's the signal to retreat!"

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

"Stop entangling—retreat immediately!"

"Every one who can get away counts!"

Seeing the signal, the Cloud Ninja one after another abandoned resistance and began to scale the steep cliffs of Thunder Canyon.

Many others crossed the river channel at the bottom of the canyon, fleeing toward the cliffs on the other side.

Six thousand well-trained ninja, when there is hope, will gather together, coalesce into formidable fighting strength, and fight for the chance of victory.

Yamanaka Chujiu was able to use the terrain and their mindset to encircle them with a smaller force.

But once the ninja were utterly without hope, the ninja alliance instantly disintegrated into four thousand head of pigs scattering in all directions, and Yamanaka Chujiu could no longer dream of annihilating them all.