Chapter 48: One-Tail Jinchūriki

The Water Escape Team was dispatched to breach the sand wall, joining forces with the Earth Escape Team to enhance the power of the Earthly River. The melee troops followed closely behind, charging forward and swiftly overwhelming the Sunagakure camp.

The combination of sand and water significantly increased its weight, making it much harder for Garura to control the sand. Eventually, it was destroyed by a mudslide, and the alluvial gold wall behind it was also washed away.

Fortunately, Setsu and Garura successfully blocked most of the initial attacks from the Konoha ninjas.

However, the traps and fortifications set by Sunagakure were destroyed.

Next, the battle escalated into a fierce hand-to-hand combat between the Konoha and Sunagakure ninjas.

"Jiraiya, Tsunade, let's go!" Orochimaru called to his two companions as he stared at the Sunagakure ninjas preparing for battle, charging forward to lead the charge.

"Magnetic Escape·Private Gold!"

Setsu raised his hand as he observed the mass of Konoha ninjas rushing toward him. A large chunk of placer gold flew out and turned into sharp thorns.

"Psychic Art·Threefold Rashomon!"

Orochimaru's cold, snake-like golden vertical pupils scanned the battlefield, immediately identifying the most dangerous ninjas from Sunagakure. He summoned three Rashomon gates to block Setsu's attack.

Garura, standing beside Setsu, saw this and summoned a giant ball of sand.

"Secret Technique: Sand-bound Coffin!"

Countless grains of sand transformed into sand snakes, writhing in the air as they lunged toward Orochimaru.

However, long strips of white hair scattered the sand snakes.

"Heh, this beautiful little lady from Sunagakure is your opponent~" Jiraiya's voice echoed, blocking Garura's attack with ease.

"Boom!"

Tsunade delivered a powerful punch to the ground, creating a massive crater. She then focused on Chiyo, who was controlling her puppet and charging toward her.

"Senior Gongdao, let's go!" Kato Dan shouted at his teammate, Mume Goto, as the two jounin sped toward Sunagakure's camp, becoming arrows in the Konoha phalanx.

The battlefield became filled with intensity.

Shurikens flew across the field, accompanied by explosive ninjutsu, while the air was filled with shouts of battle and the deafening sounds of continuous explosions.

It was a massive clash, with thousands—perhaps even ten thousand—people engaged in combat.

But this was no ordinary fight. It was a battle between ninjas possessing extraordinary power, with top-tier ninjas like the Sannin and Chiyo standing at the pinnacle of the ninja world.

Anyone witnessing such a scene for the first time would never forget it.

"Gudu."

Haruto heard the distinct sound of someone swallowing beside him. It was Furukawa, his teammate from the Inuzuka clan.

Truth be told, a team configured like theirs might only manage to protect themselves on the battlefield, praying they wouldn't encounter enemy jounin.

While they had some strength, they were still a relatively decent Chuunin team, a far cry from the powerful jounin or elite teams fighting nearby. But Haruto didn't underestimate himself. At their age, they had already demonstrated this much power. If they continued to grow, they could eventually become special jounin, and possibly even gain significant status in the village. If they kept progressing at this rate, Haruto believed his teammates, Ketasu and Kingsu, would most likely be promoted to jounin before they even reached adulthood.

But that was only if they could survive.

As time passed, the Konoha ninjas, led by Kato Dan and Mume Goto, began to gain the upper hand.

However, Sunagakure had strong reinforcements of their own. Several powerful jounin appeared one after another, halting Kato Dan and Mume's advance.

Despite this, Konoha still dominated the battlefield.

At the same time, deep within the Sunagakure camp, in a room at the lowest level, a monk with a long, white beard sat quietly, his Buddha beads in hand as he softly chanted scriptures.

He was praying for the souls of the young people of Sunagakure who had perished in the war.

Suddenly, the heavy iron door creaked open, revealing a Sunagakure ninja in a white turban.

"Old monk, it's time for you to take action."

"Amitabha," the monk muttered, his voice soft but steady. He rose, his hunching figure moving slowly as he exited.

In a moment, a deafening roar rang out across the battlefield.

Before the Konoha ninjas, there appeared a massive, yellow tanuki with blue and purple patterns across its fur.

Its size was so immense that it seemed as though a small mountain had risen before them.

"Damn it, it's Ichibi!" Orochimaru muttered under his breath.

His face darkened as he bit his thumb, forming seals with his hands.

"Psychic Art!"

A puff of white smoke erupted, and a massive purple snake materialized, coiling protectively around Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru, this time I want to…" The snake began, but Orochimaru interrupted.

"Shut up. You can eat whatever you want after the Sand Ninja has won the battle," he snapped, his tone venomous.

Setsu gritted his teeth and silently increased his chakra output, pushing the sand and gold under his control to fight against Orochimaru's assault.

"I will never let you pass!" Setsu declared, glaring at Orochimaru with unwavering determination.

"I'll kill you sooner or later," Orochimaru growled, his eyes glinting with malice.

Although Setsu's power was inferior to Orochimaru's, his control over the magnetic gold was formidable. Even as Orochimaru suppressed him, the gold dust continued to weave around him, tangling with the snake, making it difficult for Orochimaru to attack Ichibi.

Orochimaru couldn't break free at the moment, but it didn't mean there weren't other Konoha ninjas capable of dealing with the One-Tail.

"Psychic Art!"

With a great thud, a giant red toad appeared on the battlefield.

Jiraiya stood atop Gamabunta, directing the toad as it charged directly at the One-Tail.

Meanwhile, Karura was stopped by Mume Goto and Kato Dan, who had arrived just in time.

"It seems that the backup for the Sand Village is the One-Tail," the old head of the Nara clan observed, working with the Yamanaka clan's leader to coordinate the Konoha forces.

However, he was not yet prepared to deploy the reserve team.

At this stage, Sand Village had just released the One-Tail, but it was already being blocked by Jiraiya. The battle's outcome was still uncertain.

With strong reinforcements on their side, Konoha maintained an advantage. However, if the battle stalemated, that would be when the reserve troops would make their move.

Suddenly, the battlefield changed again.

A thick green smoke spread rapidly across the field. Many Konoha ninjas began to feel light-headed, exhausted, and many fell to the enemy's attacks.

The Sand Village ninjas had already taken antidotes before the battle began.

"Is this… poison?" Tsunade muttered as she deftly dodged an attack from Ten Kinmatsu, using her fine-scale extraction technique to rid herself of Chiyo's poison.

"This non-lethal poison is designed to be used on a large scale during battle, making it more cost-effective. However, it can definitely shift the tide of the conflict," Tsunade noted grimly.

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