CHAPTER 152
The Konoha army quickly advanced toward the front lines.
The battlefield was located in the central plains of the Land of Rice Fields, a vast open expanse.
Although it was nominally part of the Land of Rice Fields, during the Third Shinobi World War it had long since become a tacit battlefield shared by Konoha and Iwagakure.
Small nations had no right to refuse involvement in a Shinobi World War.
Moreover, the Land of Rice Fields had always been a fence-sitter.
Its allegiance constantly shifted between Konoha and Iwagakure.
The outcome of this battle would determine its future.
Would it continue leaning toward Konoha?
Or would it fall completely under Iwagakure's control?
When Konoha's forces arrived at the designated battlefield, they immediately saw a sea of dark figures stretching across the distant horizon.
Countless Shinobi gathered together while banners fluttered in the wind.
A suffocating killing intent swept across the plains.
As the distance between both armies steadily closed, the Konoha forces finally saw the person leading the Iwagakure army.
It was a short old man.
Yet the pressure radiating from him was astonishing.
He floated high in the air.
Dressed in the robes of the Tsuchikage, his aged face was covered with wrinkles, but his eyes remained incomparably sharp.
His distinctive bulbous nose and neatly trimmed goatee immediately revealed his identity.
"It's... it's the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki!"
"Lord Tsuchikage is personally leading the army?!"
The Konoha ranks immediately erupted with suppressed gasps.
The confidence they had regained because of Orochimaru's presence inevitably wavered once more.
Standing before them was the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of the Two Scales.
One of the Five Kage.
Behind him stretched more than six thousand elite Iwagakure Shinobi as far as the eye could see.
Meanwhile, Konoha barely fielded over three thousand.
Even with Lord Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin...
Could they truly win this battle?
The morale that Akimichi Torifu had painstakingly raised began to fluctuate again.
The disparity in military strength between both sides was simply too great.
However...
This was precisely the effect Ōnoki wanted.
The reason he had personally come to the battlefield...
Was because Iwagakure's forces had already completed their mobilization.
With his ability to fly using Earth Release: Ultra-Lightweight Rock Technique, he possessed exceptional strategic mobility.
He intended to strike Konoha before they could fully reinforce their position.
Even if Konoha had anticipated retaliation and made preparations...
There was simply no way they could mobilize enough troops to match Iwagakure in such a short period of time.
This battle...
Was not merely about raising Iwagakure's morale.
Ōnoki intended to completely annihilate Konoha's frontline forces stationed in the Land of Rice Fields.
The distance between the two armies steadily shrank until both sides faced each other less than one kilometer apart.
Ōnoki alone floated into the sky.
From above, he coldly overlooked the Konoha army.
His voice, amplified with Chakra, echoed across the entire battlefield.
"Orochimaru."
"Didn't you tell me that if I wanted Roshi's corpse..."
"...I should come and take it myself?"
"Now..."
"I have come."
Standing at the forefront of Konoha's formation, Orochimaru's expression darkened.
He hadn't expected the Tsuchikage to personally appear...
Nor had he expected him to arrive so quickly.
"What a reckless old man..."
Orochimaru muttered quietly.
Konoha's reinforcements still required at least half a day before reaching the battlefield.
For now...
His only option was to buy as much time as possible.
Orochimaru slowly stepped forward.
Looking directly at Ōnoki in the distance, his long tongue slowly licked across his lips before he let out a cold, hoarse chuckle.
"Ōnoki..."
"You old fossil."
"You actually came to the front lines yourself."
"Aren't you afraid your old bones will fall apart if you're not careful?"
"Is a mere corpse really worth making such a grand appearance?"
Ōnoki's expression remained completely unchanged.
Iwagakure currently held an overwhelming numerical advantage.
Naturally...
He had no interest in wasting time exchanging meaningless words.
He didn't even continue demanding Roshi's corpse.
Three full days had already passed.
That was more than enough time for Orochimaru to thoroughly examine Roshi's body.
Demanding it back now carried little practical meaning.
The words he had spoken moments ago...
Were never meant for Orochimaru.
They were meant for everyone present.
As the Tsuchikage, personally entering battle before the other Kage had done so could easily become a source of criticism.
But now...
Thanks to Orochimaru's earlier challenge...
He possessed a perfectly legitimate reason to act.
"Enough."
Ōnoki's voice was completely devoid of emotion.
"The moment you killed Roshi..."
"You should have prepared yourselves to face Iwagakure's wrath."
Immediately afterward, his voice rose sharply.
He issued his final order to the countless Iwagakure Shinobi behind him.
"Sons of Iwagakure!"
"For Roshi!"
"For the glory of Iwagakure!"
"Advance!"
"Kill them all!"
"Kill!!!"
Accompanied by earth-shaking battle cries, more than six thousand Iwagakure Shinobi surged forward like a bursting flood.
They charged toward Konoha's position with overwhelming momentum.
The immense visual impact of that endless black tide...
Combined with the crushing psychological pressure...
Was enough to make one's breathing become difficult.
Among that overwhelming force...
The greatest source of pressure naturally came from the short figure flying at the very front.
Arms folded across his chest.
Expression utterly indifferent.
The Third Tsuchikage...
Ōnoki himself.
Watching the overwhelming Iwagakure army charge forward like a tsunami, a cold gleam flashed through Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils.
He knew there was no alternative.
The enemy clearly intended to exploit their overwhelming numerical superiority and crush Konoha before reinforcements could arrive.
Orochimaru wasted no further words.
His hands rapidly formed seals before slamming heavily onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Bang!!"
A massive cloud of white smoke erupted before Konoha's army.
An overwhelming pressure descended upon the battlefield.
Before the smoke had completely dispersed...
An enormous purple-scaled snake head slowly emerged.
Its icy vertical pupils looked down upon the countless Shinobi below as though they were insignificant ants.
"Orochimaru."
"You summoned me again."
"This time..."
"You'd better have enough sacrifices."
"Otherwise..."
It was the same familiar opening.
Manda's deep, hoarse voice echoed across the battlefield, filled with greed and impatience.
Orochimaru interrupted him before he could finish.
His slender finger pointed directly toward the charging Iwagakure army.
His voice remained calm and cold.
"Everything in front of you..."
"Eat as much as you like."
A cruel and excited gleam immediately appeared within Manda's vertical pupils.
"Hehehe..."
"Now that's more like it."
The giant serpent could already imagine the feast awaiting him.
After all...
Back at Mount Kikyo...
He had eaten quite well.
However...
Before Manda's enormous body had completely emerged from the summoning smoke...
Before he even had the chance to move...
A dazzling white beam suddenly erupted from the Iwagakure formation without any warning.
Its brilliance was so intense that it seemed to surpass the limits of ordinary vision.
Its target...
Was none other than the newly summoned Manda.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Ōnoki made his move.