Fuguki Suikazan thought to himself—
Could it be that Jinin Akebino was secretly causing trouble, hoping this operation would fail so the village would punish him?
But Suikazan felt that Jinin Akebino did not have that much nerve.
Before Genjiro could answer, a figure rushed toward them at astonishing speed.
"Lord Genjiro, bad news!"
"What is it?"
"The main army was suddenly attacked and has already collapsed. There's no way to organize the offensive anymore."
"What?"
Genjiro's eyes widened.
"How is that possible? Who attacked them? There were over five thousand shinobi there, with both Hozuki Yunwu and Jinin Akebino leading them. Who could make them collapse?"
"Not a person."
"Not a person? Then what was it?"
"A bird."
"A bird?"
Genjiro felt even more baffled.
"Yes—a giant bird circling high in the sky, laying eggs. Once those eggs hit the ground, they exploded with immense power. In a very short time, we suffered close to a thousand casualties."
Genjiro's face darkened.
Even now, he still found the Kirigakure shinobi's report difficult to believe.
But there was one thing he was sure of.
The Kirigakure main force probably truly could not come anymore.
This all-out offensive had failed.
And not only had it failed—
Their own side here would now be caught in a counterattack from the Sunagakure army.
"Retreat!"
At Genjiro's command, the Kirigakure shinobi immediately turned and fled.
The sudden change caught the Sunagakure shinobi off guard for a moment.
But very quickly, they realized that something must have gone wrong with the Kirigakure main army.
"Chase them!"
The Kirigakure shinobi ran in front.
The Sunagakure shinobi pursued behind.
Fuguki Suikazan found the scene strangely familiar, as if he had experienced it not long ago.
"The last time, the ambush on Pakura failed, and I had to flee in disgrace."
"This time, the operation failed again."
"My plan clearly had no flaws. Every failure happened because of outside factors, as though something in this world is deliberately opposing me."
"Damn it!"
"My luck is unbelievably bad!"
Only after sacrificing several hundred elite Kirigakure shinobi did Genjiro and the others finally shake off the Sunagakure pursuit.
But every single face was grim.
An operation that everyone had believed should succeed—
Had not only failed, but failed thoroughly.
Even though Kirigakure's strength far surpassed Sunagakure's.
At that moment, Jinin Akebino and Hozuki Yunwu returned to camp with part of the remaining force.
Fuguki Suikazan glared furiously at the two of them.
But before he could say a word, Jinin Akebino shouted first.
"Lord Genjiro, Fuguki Suikazan sold out the village and colluded with Sunagakure. Please execute him at once!"
Suikazan's eyes bulged wide. He pointed at Jinin Akebino, trembling with rage.
"Jinin Akebino, you're talking nonsense!"
"Lord Genjiro, he's slandering me! He's framing me!"
Genjiro looked toward Jinin Akebino and slightly raised his chin.
"What exactly happened on your side?"
Jinin Akebino quickly began explaining.
"Lord Genjiro, just as your order arrived and we were preparing to move, a gigantic bird—most likely Sunagakure's summoning beast—appeared above us."
"That summoning beast could drop explosive eggs of tremendous power."
"Our people just happened to be standing extremely close together at the time, so when the explosions fell, they caused catastrophic casualties."
"Over a thousand shinobi died directly in those blasts."
"Even more were injured."
"That summon kept circling in the high sky. I organized shinobi to attack it, but it was flying too high. Our attacks simply couldn't reach it."
"We could only watch helplessly."
Jinin Akebino's eyes were bloodshot.
"Lord Genjiro, this is not Yunwu's fault or mine. Suikazan definitely sold out the village!"
"Otherwise, this is far too much of a coincidence."
"How could Sunagakure have known our location?"
"How could they have known our timing?"
"And yesterday, when I proposed moving early, why did Fuguki Suikazan insist on stopping me? Now I understand. He was just buying time for Sunagakure!"
Suikazan hurriedly defended himself.
"That was because I had planted an insider inside Sunagakure. With the insider's help, it was precisely why we were able to enter the rear of the Sunagakure army so easily and carry out the ambush."
At that moment, Ao, standing to the side, voiced his doubt.
"Senior Suikazan, from beginning to end, I never once saw any insider."
"Could you tell me who it was?"
Jinin Akebino bared his teeth in a grin.
"Fuguki Suikazan, what more do you have to say now?"
Suikazan was so frantic he looked ready to leap into the air.
"If there hadn't been an insider, do you think Sunagakure would have had so few scout shinobi? Kid, if you don't understand, then keep your mouth shut. My loyalty to the village is absolute."
He turned to Genjiro.
"Lord Genjiro."
"I absolutely did not betray the village. Everything I did was for the village. If I've spoken even one false word, then let me die a miserable death. I can swear it."
Jinin Akebino said flatly, "If oaths were useful, what would shinobi even be for?"
Genjiro fell silent for a moment.
"That's enough for today. The operation has already failed. There's no meaning in arguing further."
"The priority now is to determine exactly what that summoning beast is."
...
...
"Kazekage-sama!"
Pakura's face lit up when she saw Rasa, and she immediately jogged over.
Another figure followed just behind her, but after seeing Rasa, did not dare come too close.
It was Pakura's disciple, Maki.
Rasa glanced at Maki, then quickly withdrew his gaze and turned back to Pakura.
"Pakura."
"Let me introduce someone."
Rasa pointed to Yata Crow circling high above.
"This is the summoning beast I obtained recently—Yata Crow. Its strength is decent, and it's extraordinarily fast. With it, the pressure on you at the front lines should be a little lighter."
Rasa could clearly see the exhaustion on Pakura's face.
But there was no helping it.
Sunagakure truly had no one else to spare.
The two entered the camp tent, where Pakura reported on the situation at the front lines, while Rasa also told her about affairs in the village.
Soon after—
Several intelligence shinobi arrived at the entrance.
Only after reading the reports they brought did Rasa finally understand why so many Kirigakure shinobi had been gathered so densely in that place.
Rasa looked outside and narrowed his eyes.
"If I hadn't happened to obtain Yata Crow—and if I hadn't happened to come to the front at just the right time—then Sunagakure's army would have suffered a crushing blow this time."
"Since they've come at us, then we should return the favor."
"In that case... Dream Card, activate!"
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