"Sanshōuo, break the enemy's ninjutsu first."
Hanzō began to give orders to Sanshōuo.
"Wow, wow."
Sanshōuo let out two loud cries, and its huge body was quite agile.
With a flick of its tail, it shattered the combined ninjutsu of the Konoha side.
"Wow, wow."
It was seeking credit from Hanzō.
Hanzō squatted down and stroked its head to show encouragement.
When Manda saw Sanshōuo, its face changed. This big guy was not easy to deal with.
"Damn it, Hanzō's summoned beast is so powerful."
From this single strike, Orochimaru could tell Sanshōuo was extremely powerful.
When Orochimaru went head - to - head with Hanzō, he knew why Hanzō was called the Demi - God.
The Konoha ninjas also clashed head - on with the Rain ninjas in close combat.
For a moment, ninjutsu filled the battlefield, and people kept dying.
Orochimaru drew his sword and clashed with Hanzō's kusarigama. After a few moves, he was at a disadvantage.
He also had to keep an eye on the poisonous gas spat out by Sanshōuo from time to time.
In this weapon battle, Orochimaru was extremely frustrated.
Seizing a gap.
"Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands."
Multiple snakes emerged from Orochimaru's sleeves and bit towards Hanzō. Some even attempted to wrap around him.
"Swordsmanship: Iai Beheading."
Hanzō sliced all the snakes in half with his sickle. Orochimaru's signature ninjutsu didn't harm him at all.
Taking this opportunity, Orochimaru retreated to Manda's head.
However, Manda's state was a bit sluggish at this time, and there were also more wounds on its body.
It had been poisoned. Even though it was a venomous creature, it could only hold out for a while. Orochimaru figured it wouldn't last much longer.
Biting several Rain ninjas with its head down, Manda swallowed them whole with its head raised.
"I can't hold on for long. You be careful."
After saying that, it continued to hold back Sanshōuo, preventing it from attacking the Konoha ninjas.
"Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes."
Orochimaru spat out a large group of snakes from his mouth and attacked Hanzō.
"Again. Can you, Orochimaru, only play with snakes?"
Hanzō didn't even move. The snakes were swallowed by Sanshōuo in one gulp and then burrowed into the ground.
When it emerged again, it headbutted Manda high into the air.
"Orochimaru, I can't hold on anymore."
Manda turned into smoke in the air and disappeared, returning to the Ryūchi Cave to heal its wounds.
"Without your summoned beast, you're even less of a match for me."
Hanzō raised his sickle and rushed towards Orochimaru.
At this time, Sanshōuo truly unleashed its powerful killing power on the battlefield.
It spat out a large amount of purple poisonous mist from its mouth, sweeping across the entire battlefield.
Immediately, some Konoha ninjas began to die, and even the powerful ones started to feel numb.
Gradually being massacred by the Rain ninjas, Orochimaru already knew the outcome of this war.
From the moment Manda disappeared. No, from the moment he charged up with the large troop.
The outcome of this battle was already decided.
"Earth Replacement, Break."
Orochimaru used ninjutsu to dodge Hanzō's attack and then turned around and led the Konoha ninjas who still had the ability to act to flee in large numbers.
Seven months ago, the Rain ninjas were massacred. This time, Konoha's losses were even more severe.
War spares no mercy for the weak. Konoha was once again filled with a large number of orphans.
"Chase them?"
Shinda appeared beside Hanzō of the Salamander, also wearing a gas mask on his face. Poison doesn't care if you're friend or foe.
"Forget it. Taking out the Hokage's disciples is a whole different ballgame."
Hanzō ain't ready to go all out against Konoha just yet.
It's normal for people to die in war, but taking out the Hokage's disciples is a whole different ballgame.
In terms of overall strength, the Land of Rain is still far inferior to the major countries.
"Kill them all and go back."
Hanzō issued the cruel order without a single ripple in his heart.
This is the price of war.
When Hanzō led the Rain ninjas away, it started to rain.
The downpour washed over the land. The rain that fell on the battlefield mixed with blood, forming red puddles.
The battlefield was strewn with Konoha ninjas. None of them survived, except for the dozen or so taken away by Orochimaru.
"Lord Orochimaru, what should we do?"
A dozen or so ninjas with varying degrees of poisoning all looked pale and moved sluggishly.
One of the ninjas with relatively mild poisoning asked Orochimaru, who had a gloomy face.
They were currently fleeing into the territory of the Land of Fire.
"Hanzō isn't chasing us. We're safe for now."
"However, we suffered a great defeat in this battle. We have to return to the village."
"You guys need to be treated as soon as possible."
Orochimaru still had a clear head. He didn't complain because it's a dog - eat - dog world, and the weak get pushed around, and he rarely trusted others' strength.
But at this moment, a thought flashed through his mind. If Kawaki was here, along with Jiraiya and Tsunade, would the outcome of this battle be different?
But there are no ifs in the world. Defeat was a foregone conclusion.
Orochimaru led the remaining Konoha ninjas and rushed towards Konoha Village without stopping.
On the way, three more ninjas with severe poisoning died.
The atmosphere in the whole group was extremely oppressive, and almost no one said a word along the way.
Due to their injuries, it took them four days to return to the village.
Fortunately, Orochimaru carried the antidote pills made by Tsunade to suppress the poison, so the remaining ninjas with mild poisoning managed to hold on until now.
The moment they saw the Village Gates Open, only one ninja was still standing beside Orochimaru. The rest all let out their last breath and fainted to the ground.
"Quickly arrange to send them to Konoha First People's Hospital."
Orochimaru instructed the Chunin at the gate.
These two Chunin couldn't possibly not recognize Orochimaru. They nervously went to call for help without even verifying his identity.
Orochimaru watched as the medical staff took away the injured ninjas before entering the village and walking towards the Hokage Building.
He was going to plead guilty. As the commander, he was duty - bound.
When he arrived at the Hokage Building, the Anbu quickly reported and led Orochimaru into the office.
"Teacher, we suffered a great defeat in this battle."
...
"I'm incompetent."
For the proud Orochimaru to say such a thing, the pressure this battle brought him was far more than what met the eye.
"Hanzō of the Salamander personally intervened?"
"No wonder. I underestimated him."
Instead of showing anger, the Third Hokage just looked gloomy and kept puffing on his pipe.
The atmosphere fell into silence for a moment.
The two Hokage advisors also kept quiet, not knowing what countermeasures they were thinking about.
"You can go down first. Let me think about it and then we'll talk."
After a long while, the Third Hokage put down his pipe, heaved a long sigh, and let Orochimaru go.
"Nemu, Yan, what do you think?"
After Orochimaru left, the Third Hokage asked for the opinions of his two advisors.
"We need to send more troops and keep this fight going."
"Our Konoha ninjas can't die for nothing."
Their words were different, but their goals were the same.
"Okay, I'll ask the Daimyō for supplies right away."
The Third Hokage's gaze turned cold and stern. He wouldn't be as lenient as before when asking the Daimyō for supplies this time.
Orochimaru walked out of the Hokage Building, his eyes a bit dull, and there were unconscious tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.
Only my own strength can be truly trusted.
He looked up at the sky. The sky of Konoha was so blue. A gentle breeze blew, and the leaves fluttered.
For a moment, Orochimaru was at a loss as to where he should go.
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