The three Kage watched with full confidence as the army of "civilians" drew near. These people hardly looked like soldiers; if anything, they resembled a horde of refugees.
Just look at their clothing—tattered and ragged, with huge, bulging muscles rippling beneath the torn fabric...
"Wait a minute... huge, bulging muscles?!" The three Kage's eyes widened in shock. "How... how can ordinary people possess such powerful physiques?!"
But by then, there was no one left to answer their questions... because the first wave of Serpent-Cursed Soldiers had already crashed violently into the combined forces of the three nations!
"BOOM!!!"
Nearly a hundred ninjutsu techniques were unleashed simultaneously, their terrifying power nearly tearing the entire land apart.
Had these been normal people, they would have been pierced through by flying debris and killed instantly.
Yet the Serpent-Cursed Soldiers moved with the agility of apes, leaping and twisting effortlessly amidst the exploding earth and rubble...
"Damn it, what is going on?!" The commander of the Allied Forces gritted his teeth and roared, "Don't just stand there! Use Fire Release immediately! Keep these civilians back with fire!"
"Fire Release: Great Flame Arrow!"
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Wall Jutsu!"
Scorching flames roared upward, forming an impenetrable wall of fire.
Hah...
Having cast two techniques in quick succession, the shinobi panted heavily. "There we go... there's no way those civilians are getting past that."
Without realizing it, a faint trace of fear had already crept into their hearts regarding these supposed commoners.
But before they could even catch their breath, the thick wall of fire suddenly rippled and warped. A strange human silhouette slowly emerged from within the flames.
And then...
"Pfft!"
With a soft burst of sound, a Serpent-Cursed Soldier—barely clothed—shot straight through the fire.
Its skin was charred black all over, yet even so, dark curse marks could clearly be seen writhing beneath the surface.
It looked as if the marks were not merely drawn on their skin, but etched deep into their very flesh and bone...
"Mo... Monsters!"
The shinobi stood frozen, eyes wide in horror. They were instantly overwhelmed as wave after wave of Serpent-Cursed Soldiers swarmed over them, snapping their necks or tearing out their throats with their teeth.
"Counterattack! Stand your ground and counterattack!"
The Allied commander desperately tried to rally his troops, but it was hopeless against the ferocious assault of this endless, fearless army.
The defensive line held for less than thirty seconds before collapsing completely.
The Serpent-Cursed Soldiers charged forward like wild beasts that knew no fear—slamming into enemies with their bodies, clawing with their hands, and biting with their fangs!
"Dammit... what in the world are these things?!"
Before long, the retreat had reached the very feet of the three Kage. Hiruzen Sarutobi reached out and snapped the neck of one attacker, staring intently at the curse mark left behind.
"I can sense the power of senjutsu here... and it feels like the energy from Ryūchi Cave..."
At that realization, Hiruzen fell silent. To his knowledge, only his brilliant student, Orochimaru, possessed the means and the knowledge to access Ryūchi Cave.
Could it be... Orochimaru is behind all of this?!
Even if that were true, Hiruzen knew better than to speak it aloud. Such news would be disastrous for Konoha.
Furthermore, there was no time to assign blame now; the priority was survival.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Three massive fire dragons erupted from Hiruzen's mouth, surging forth under his command.
They coiled through the ranks, swallowing Serpent-Cursed Soldiers one by one and reducing them to ash.
Beside him, the Tsuchikage and Kazekage also joined the fray!
With the three Kage fighting at full strength, they managed to halt the advance for the moment, buying enough time for the rest of the shinobi to retreat.
However... there were fifty thousand Serpent-Cursed Soldiers in total.
Without a method to remove the curse marks, it was simply impossible for mortal power alone to stop them forever.
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