What Did You Say?

"Our battle against Sunagakure is not over yet!"

The sudden shout of a Konoha ninja broke the silence that had fallen over the battlefield after Chiyo's death.

Like a spark in a powder keg, those words ignited an explosion of renewed energy among the ranks of Konoha.

The change was palpable. The Konoha shinobi, who moments before had been watching in shock as a legend fell, now stood with fierce determination in their eyes.

With Ebizō and Chiyo out of combat, Sunagakure's numerical advantage had become insignificant.

In stark contrast, Sunagakure's ranks descended into chaos. Panic spread, infecting each ninja with fear, despair, and helplessness. The loss of their most respected leaders had broken their fighting spirit.

The battle line, previously static, began to undulate and retreat.

The Sunagakure ninjas, overwhelmed not in numbers but in morale, yielded ground to Konoha's relentless advance. To any observer, the outcome of the battle was already written.

Amidst this chaos, Rasa watched everything with rage. Internally, he cursed Chiyo and Ebizō. "DAMNED STUBBORN OLD FOOLS!"

"Their obsession with revenge has cost us everything. They couldn't defeat the White Fang, and now they couldn't even handle his apprentice. What a waste!"

But as the battle crumbled around him, a spark of cold calculation lit up in his eyes.

"If I manage to escape and return to Sunagakure," he reasoned, "I'll still be the Kazekage, and all the blame for this defeat will fall on Chiyo and Ebizō's corpses." A bright smile formed on his lips. "And without them to challenge my authority, I'll be the absolute ruler of Sunagakure. Perhaps this defeat isn't so bad after all..."

With this resolution burning in his chest, he made his decision. It was time for a strategic retreat.

"Magnet Style: Sand Waves!"

Rasa's chakra exploded, manifesting in a golden storm of magnetic sand. The wave of destruction rushed towards Orochimaru, a perfect distraction to cover his escape.

Orochimaru, caught off guard by the sudden ferocity of the attack, was forced to retreat dozens of meters.

"ANBU, cover me!" Rasa's order sounded.

In an instant, the battlefield transformed. Dozens of Sunagakure ANBU ninja abandoned their positions, moving as a unit towards Orochimaru and Luo Lei.

Catching Rasa's intention, Orochimaru reacted quickly. "Mandara no Jin!" he roared. Countless snakes sprang from his mouth.

But Rasa was already on the move. With a final glance at Luo Lei, fear and resignation in his eyes, he spat out a final order: "RETREAT!"

In a flash of golden sand, the Kazekage disappeared underground, abandoning his troops to their fate.

Luo Lei observed his flight calmly. His eyes scanned the ground. "Clever," he murmured, looking at the tunnel reinforced with gold dust tens of meters underground. "All planned in advance."

His attention then turned to the remaining ANBU, a cold smile curving his lips. "You want to cover your Kazekage's retreat? Fine, I'll give you a worthy death."

What followed was a carnage of epic proportions.

Moving like a specter of death, his sword a blur of white light cutting through everything in its path. Each movement was a death.

An ANBU Jōnin barely had time to shout "Block-!" before Luo Lei's sword pierced his neck. His head separated cleanly from his body, a jet of blood marking its trajectory in the air.

Luo Lei became an afterimage, appearing and disappearing among Sunagakure's ranks like a ghost. His sword was synonymous with death.

A Chūnin tried to form seals, only to see his hands separated from his wrists before he could complete the technique. Another ANBU, recognized as one of Sunagakure's strongest, managed to launch a fire jutsu, only for Luo Lei to pass through it as if it were an illusion, impaling him with his sword.

The massacre continued, relentless. Jōnin, Chūnin, even ANBU of almost Kage level, all fell before Luo Lei's unstoppable blade. Their bodies piled up on the ground, creating a mountain.

The Konoha ninjas, emboldened by the spectacle, redoubled their attack. "Kill them all!" they shouted, their bloodlust fueled by Luo Lei's brutality. "The Kazekage has fled! They're lost!"

Sunagakure's resistance, already weak, crumbled completely. The battlefield became a slaughterhouse, with Luo Lei as its main butcher.

But suddenly...

"I surrender! Please don't kill me!" shouted a Sunagakure chūnin, falling to his knees. His hands shook violently as he raised them above his head. "I have a family... children... please..."

Next to him, a Jōnin dropped his weapons. "...It's enough," he murmured. "We've lost. There's no point in continuing to fight."

Even the ANBU, Sunagakure's elite, began to lay down their arms. "The Kazekage has abandoned us," said one, his cracked mask revealing an eye full of despair. "Perhaps if we surrender, Konoha will treat us with honor."

The wave of surrenders spread like wildfire, with more and more Sunagakure ninjas throwing down their weapons and begging for their lives.

But Luo Lei, far from showing mercy, sketched a cold smile.

His eyes, glowing with a crimson radiance, fixed on the surrendered ninjas. "If surrender were useful," he murmured.

"Why would a war break out in the first place?"

As soon as his words fell, his eyes lit up with a blinding intensity.

FZZZZT! FZZZZT!

The first lightning bolt struck a group of chūnin who had just thrown down their weapons. In an instant, their bodies vaporized, leaving only silhouettes of ash on the ground.

BOOM!

Another lightning bolt struck a Jōnin who was begging for his life. His body exploded in a cloud of blood and steam, the intensity of the heat causing his bodily fluids to boil instantly.

An ANBU tried to form seals for a last desperate defense. The lightning pierced his hands, melting them into an unrecognizable mass of flesh and melted bone before piercing his chest.

"No! Plea-" Another ninja's cry was abruptly cut off as the lightning cleanly severed his head from his shoulders. The wound cauterized instantly from the intense heat.

The massacre continued relentlessly. Bodies exploded, disintegrated, or were split in half.

The Konoha ninjas, witnessing this carnage, were paralyzed with horror. Many felt their legs weaken, unable to process the brutality of what they were witnessing.

"Lord Luo Lei!" a Konoha Jōnin finally shouted. "They've surrendered! You can't massacre them like this!"

Another ninja, an ANBU loyal to Hiruzen, dared to raise his voice. "The Hokage has always said we must treat prisoners with humanity. It's what distinguishes us as the Number One Ninja Village in the world!"

"That's right!" another joined in. "Prisoners must not be tortured or killed! We must demonstrate our moral superiority!"

Their voices, though trembling with fear, were charged with a conviction born from years of indoctrination in Konoha's ideals.

However, Luo Lei seemed more amused than annoyed by these protests.

An evil smile formed on his lips as he slowly turned to face the Konoha ninjas.

"Tell me one thing... who exactly is going to stop me?"

________

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