Rain Country Battlefield — Sunagakure Frontline Base!
Bang!
Chiyo slammed the table, roaring in fury, "That little brat Tsunade actually broke my poison?!"
Below her, the Sand ninjas lowered their heads, not daring to speak as their commander raged.
Not long ago, Chiyo had received troubling news—Izawa Yūki's squad had gone missing. After investigation, Sunagakure scouts confirmed the worst.
The entire squad had been wiped out!
From the traces left on the battlefield, they reached a terrifying conclusion.
Konoha's most feared killing god—
The Crimson Demon, Yoru—
Had entered the war.
Even Chiyo, a veteran of countless battles, felt wary of him. Though he was just a junior in her eyes, his horrifying reputation and battle record made it impossible to ignore him.
An anomaly in the ninja world.
A disaster incarnate.
That was how other villages described him.
At first, after wiping out Izawa Yūki's squad, Yoru seemed to vanish again. Just as Chiyo was about to relax—
Disaster struck.
In recent days, Konoha's forces had intensified their attacks!
The relentless assault forced Sunagakure's troops into a defensive struggle.
What was worse—
The poison that had once guaranteed victory—
Was now useless!
A Sand ninja, seeing his poisoned kunai strike a Konoha opponent, had been overjoyed.
Victory.
Merit.
But before he could celebrate—
The Konoha ninja grinned strangely, pulled out a pale yellow liquid, drank it—
And immediately counterattacked, cutting him down in one strike.
The Sand ninja died with that excitement still frozen on his face.
As such incidents increased, Sunagakure realized something was wrong. Ebizō dispatched elite intelligence teams to investigate.
No secret lasts forever.
They uncovered the truth.
Chiyo's poison—
Had been completely neutralized by one of Konoha's Legendary Three—
Tsunade!
Chiyo nearly couldn't believe it.
She had studied poison for decades!
And that brat Tsunade—
How old was she?!
Yet she had dismantled her proudest creation so thoroughly!
"Big sister, this isn't the time to dwell on that," Ebizō said seriously, stepping forward. "With the poison neutralized, we're already at a disadvantage. We must request reinforcements immediately!"
Chiyo's face flushed red with humiliation.
Defeated so cleanly by a junior—
It was unbearable.
But she knew he was right.
Sunagakure's overall strength was already weaker than Konoha's. Their previous advantage had relied entirely on her poison.
Now that it was gone—
Konoha's morale had skyrocketed.
Sunagakure's morale, on the other hand, had plummeted.
Previously, when Sand ninjas attacked, Konoha forces would retreat at the mere threat of poison.
Now?
Konoha ninjas charged forward without fear.
The result—
Heavy casualties.
The frontline situation was rapidly deteriorating. Only the puppet masters were still holding the line.
But puppets weren't disposable.
Each one required rare materials and significant resources to create.
Sunagakure's puppet reserves were already limited.
Now, they were running out.
Konoha had also caught on to this weakness.
Instead of wasting effort locating puppet masters, elite Konoha ninjas began targeting the puppets directly—destroying them on sight.
Many puppet masters had already lost most of their arsenal.
And a puppet master without puppets—
Was nothing more than a cripple.
The frontline puppet reserves were nearly depleted.
Reinforcements were no longer optional.
They were necessary.
Otherwise—
The frontline might collapse within days.
And in terms of high-end combat power—
Sunagakure was severely outmatched.
At present, only Chiyo truly stood at the Kage level.
Ebizō and others were merely at the peak of elite jonin—not yet true Kage-level fighters.
Konoha, however, had Orochimaru and Tsunade—both nearing Kage level.
Two against one—
Even Chiyo couldn't guarantee victory.
And worst of all—
Yoru.
That man was already recognized as a Kage-level powerhouse across the ninja world.
A Kage-level fighter specialized in large-scale battlefield destruction.
In war—
His impact far exceeded that of an ordinary Kage.
Chiyo wanted to protest, but seeing Ebizō's stern expression, she swallowed her pride.
She trusted her brother's judgment.
"…Fine. Send for reinforcements," she said through clenched teeth.
—
Sunagakure — Kazekage Office!
"Chiyo has requested reinforcements. Her poison has been neutralized. Let's hear your thoughts," the Third Kazekage said, holding the intelligence report.
"What?! Chiyo's poison was broken?"
"That's impossible!"
"How could anyone counter something like that?!"
The elders erupted in panic.
"Enough!" the Third Kazekage barked. "This is a meeting, not a place for fear. We need immediate support for the frontlines. Elder Harada—how many troops can we deploy?"
Elder Harada, an older man with sharp eyes, spoke firmly, "Kazekage-sama, village recovery is mostly complete. We can deploy around 3,000 ninjas."
He hesitated before adding, "If we push our limits… up to 5,000."
The additional 2,000 were primarily stationed at the borders to guard against Iwagakure. Even though both villages were attacking Konoha, mutual distrust remained.
The village itself also required defense.
They couldn't commit everything.
The Third Kazekage paused before deciding.
"Send 3,000 reinforcements to the frontline."
He still didn't trust Iwagakure.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama!"
"Open the puppet arsenal!" the Kazekage commanded. "Launch a full assault on Konoha!"
The puppet arsenal—
One of Sunagakure's greatest foundations.
Inside were countless powerful puppets crafted by master puppeteers.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama!"
The elders responded in unison.
The war—
Was about to escalate.
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