White Fang

Hatake Sakumo swung the White Fang Shortsword in his hand, its concentrated blade light like a sheet of white cloth.

The Dual Blade Puppet was steadily driven back.

Chiyo threw several kunai to keep him occupied, but Sakumo knocked them away with a few slashes. Still, this spared the Dual Blade Puppet from being destroyed.

Naturally, Chiyo had more tricks up her sleeve. Like the Uchiha’s shuriken manipulation, the kunai she threw were connected by threads invisible to the naked eye.

If Chakra threads could be used to control puppets, how much easier would ordinary threads be?

The threads formed a massive net that descended upon Hatake Sakumo. The net was imbued with sharp Wind Chakra; if a ninja’s fragile flesh came into contact with it, the outcome was obvious.

Yet the instant the threads touched Sakumo, Chiyo sensed that something was wrong from the feedback traveling through them.

Sure enough, as the smoke dispersed, it revealed a wooden log cut into several pieces.

Behind me! Chiyo possessed immense combat experience and immediately controlled the puppet beside her to use Machine Light Shield Seal.

"Konoha Style Swordsmanship: Lightning Flash."

White lightning clung to the blade, radiating a dazzling glow.

Sakumo slashed toward Chiyo with an aura that seemed capable of cleaving through anything.

Under the blade light, one Chakra shield after another shattered. Only after breaking through the Minotaur Puppet’s Chakra shield was the attack finally stopped by Father’s Chakra shield.

Father and Mother opened their chests and fired rows upon rows of poisoned needles at White Fang.

At such close range, there was absolutely no time to form hand seals and use a defensive ninjutsu.

Unmoved, Sakumo merely swung his sword so densely that not a drop could pass through. He deflected every poisoned needle and even had enough leeway to send some of them flying back at Chiyo.

Hatake Sakumo’s speed was not limited to his movement. His sword was even faster!

Chiyo leapt several times to evade the poisoned needles Sakumo had returned. By then, Hatake Sakumo had already been entangled by several of the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu that specialized in close combat.

Of the remaining puppets, three did not launch long-range attacks from the outskirts.

Instead, they formed a triangular formation and successively activated the mechanisms of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, unleashing Three Treasures Crushing Wave to create a powerful tornado in an attempt to draw Hatake Sakumo inside.

Sakumo slashed out a blade strike, forcing back a puppet that had closed in on him, then flashed away with lightning speed.

Sakumo’s speed exceeded Chiyo’s expectations. Her ultimate move missed.

Sakumo quickly regained his footing, but rather than charging straight in, he calmly formed hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Raging Thunder Tiger!"

Unlike the blue fierce tigers other ninjas created with this technique, the immense amount of white Lightning Chakra gathering around Sakumo condensed into a White Tiger taller than a person!

The White Tiger let out a roar toward the sky and pounced at Chiyo, with Sakumo following closely behind it.

Chiyo did not send her puppets forward immediately. Instead, she used Wind Release: Beast Wave Gale Palm to clash head-on with the Thunder Tiger.

No matter how skilled Sakumo was with Lightning Release, Chiyo’s Wind Release happened to counter it. The beast-paw-shaped Wind Bullet and the White Tiger vanished simultaneously upon impact, but several puppets that had rushed forward under the cover of the ninjutsu charged at Sakumo from behind the Gale Palm.

One puppet swung a great blade at Sakumo. Unable to evade in time, Sakumo took the hit.

With a bang, smoke dispersed. Sakumo had turned into a wooden log covered in Explosive Tags.

With a thunderous boom, the surrounding puppets were blasted into ruin.

Using the White Tiger’s massive body as cover, Sakumo had prepared the Substitution Technique in advance. The frontal assault had merely been a feint to draw the enemy’s attention.

"Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage Technique!"

Unexpectedly, Sakumo chose to attack from underground. At such close range, Chiyo had no chance to use defensive ninjutsu!

White blade light swept upward. Amid a pained scream, an arm spraying blood fell from the air.

Even with Chiyo’s extensive combat experience and extremely swift reactions, she could only avoid the vital point of her heart. One of her arms was still severed by Sakumo.

Yet strangely, though Chiyo’s expression was twisted in pain, her trembling lips curved into a smile.

"I’ve got you, White Fang! Come repent in the Pure Land with this old woman!"

Chiyo’s face was filled with madness as she tightly grasped Sakumo with her remaining hand. She had used herself as bait, certain that White Fang would take it.

"Puppet Technique: Three Treasures Crushing Wave!!"

Using herself as a restraint, Chiyo clung tightly to Sakumo. Given Sakumo’s speed, Three Treasures Crushing Wave was too slow to activate; he would usually escape the moment it began.

Chiyo had already resolved to perish together with the enemy who had killed her son and daughter-in-law!

At that moment, the Third Kazekage, drawn by Chiyo’s scream, abandoned his struggle with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others. Flapping wings formed from Sand Iron, he flew above Chiyo. Several hands made of Sand Iron grabbed Chiyo, trying to save her.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya, who had been pursuing the Third Kazekage, immediately attacked the three puppets casting Three Treasures Crushing Wave.

One was smashed apart by the Adamantine Staff, one was bound by Jiraiya’s hair, and the last was pinned beneath Gamaken’s butt.

While Chiyo was restrained by the Third Kazekage’s Sand Iron, Sakumo flashed his blade, intending to sever Chiyo’s remaining arm so he could break free. However, he was blocked by Sand Iron split off from one of the Sand Iron arms.

Sparks flew everywhere. The shield made of Sand Iron was cut in half, but it bought time.

With the Third Kazekage and the others interfering, Chiyo’s momentum faltered. Her arm, exhausted after its initial burst of strength, weakened, allowing Sakumo to break free.

The Third Kazekage controlled Sand Iron to bind Chiyo. After handing her over to a Sunagakure Jōnin who had just fought desperately to kill a Rain Ninja, he flew into the sky and shouted:

"Sunagakure ninja, retreat! I’ll cover the rear."

Covering the rear was the responsibility borne by those who carried the name of Kage. Whether it was the Second Hokage, the Third Raikage, or the current Third Kazekage, all were the same.

The Third Kazekage had decided to wage war against the Land of Rain to seize resources. Though Sunagakure had acquired considerable supplies, its ninja had also suffered heavy losses. As Kazekage, he bore no small share of the responsibility.

"Magnet Release: Sand Iron World Law!"

Countless branches formed from Sand Iron shot toward the Rain Ninja and Konoha Ninja. This large-scale ninjutsu successfully bought the Sunagakure ninja an opportunity to flee. Orochimaru, who had been pursuing the One-Tail, was also blocked.

With a flying ninjutsu, so long as he was not determined to die, the Third Kazekage still had a good chance of escaping even while covering the rear.

None of Konohagakure’s powerhouses present possessed particularly strong anti-air capabilities. The Third Kazekage only needed to stall for a while, allowing Sunagakure to escape to a safe distance.

Sand Iron and raging winds ran rampant across the battlefield.

The Third Hokage, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya jointly unleashed a combination ninjutsu. The Third Hokage spewed fire, Orochimaru released raging winds, and Jiraiya spat oil, creating an unprecedented sea of flames that surged toward the Third Kazekage.

The Third Kazekage could not evade such an enormous attack. He drew in Sand Iron and formed a massive cube gleaming with metallic luster to block it.

Molten Iron, glowing red-hot, flowed down continuously. Molten Iron was not magnetic, and the Third Kazekage could not control it.

Perhaps heaven had not forsaken Sunagakure. At that moment, a force of Sunagakure ninja appeared on the horizon.

These were reinforcements urgently mobilized from Sunagakure. Leading them was Chiyo’s younger brother, Sunagakure’s intelligence chief, Ebizo.

"Konoha’s White Fang!"

Ebizo was not surprised to see Sakumo. Clearly, he already knew that Konoha’s White Fang had been deployed.

He had already seen that Chiyo was severely wounded. If she did not receive treatment promptly, her life might be in danger.

Therefore, he abandoned any thought of fighting White Fang to the death. After directing his troops to receive the defeated Sunagakure forces, he left at once. Next, he needed to inspect Chiyo’s injuries.

The Third Kazekage flapped his iron wings high in the sky, repeatedly using Sand Iron to block the Konoha Ninja who wanted to give chase. Once he saw from above that the Sunagakure ninja had gone far enough, he swept his wings and departed.

Some Konoha Ninja suggested pursuing them, but the Third Hokage refused.

Konohagakure had already achieved tremendous results. Continuing the pursuit would drive the despairing Sunagakure ninja into a desperate counterattack. If that happened, both sides would suffer devastating losses. The Third Hokage understood the principle of not pursuing a cornered enemy.

Three thousand Konoha ninja had gone into battle in this fight, but more than two thousand survived.

Sunagakure’s formation had first been disrupted when Orochimaru drove the One-Tail through them, and then White Fang, who entered the battlefield afterward, slaughtered his way through them. They had already lost more than half their forces.

Achieving a one-to-two casualty ratio without Tsunade present was already an exceptionally rare and resounding victory.

Next came the time to clean up the battlefield. As Deputy Commander, Orochimaru not only had a mountain of work before the battle, but plenty to keep him busy afterward as well.

Treating the wounded, tallying the ninja’s battle merits, and finding a way to skim a share from the spoils—falsifying accounts was also a mentally and physically taxing job. Thus, Orochimaru quickly threw himself back into his busy work.