Two days later, the endless desert finally reached its end. What appeared before the Konoha troops was an ordinary village in the Land of Wind, with a population of about a hundred households. The Hyuga clan ninjas had scouted the area in advance. Under Tsunade's instructions, the Konoha troops bypassed the village, ensuring they did not disturb the civilians.
"It's Konoha's ninjas," a spy from the Sand Village reported. They had spotted the Konoha troops and immediately fled into the desert, disappearing from sight. Of course, they were able to leave without issue under Tsunade's orders.
After traveling for several more kilometers, the Konoha troops set up camp. This location was strategically chosen—it was far enough from the Sand Village to avoid provoking an attack, but close enough to prepare for a potential confrontation. Although the Konoha forces were composed of many elite ninjas, they lacked the numbers to launch a full-scale assault on the entire Sand Village. Tsunade's goal was clear: she intended to face the Sand Village troops here in battle.
The next day, as dawn broke, the sound of many footsteps on the sand signaled the approach of the Sand Ninja troops. The Hyuga clan sensory ninjas quickly detected their presence.
The assembly call sounded, and within minutes, more than 2,000 Konoha ninjas had gathered, ready to confront the incoming Sand Ninja forces.
On the vast expanse of sand, Chiyo spotted the dark mass of Konoha ninjas on the horizon. Her old, wrinkled face twitched slightly.
"They're waiting for us," said a woman with long brown hair and a graceful voice, standing next to Chiyo. She had a very beautiful face and carried herself with poise.
"It seems so," replied a red-haired man beside her. He had a handsome, resolute face, with extremely charming eyes and long eyelashes. These two were Sunae and Saburo, the most elite ninjas of the Sand Village—and Chiyo's daughter-in-law and son.
"What kind of tactics are they using?" Sunae asked, surprised.
After glancing at Chiyo, Saburo spoke in a deep voice, "I'm afraid this isn't a tactic, but a mockery."
Chiyo's face darkened at his words.
In fact, Saburo was entirely correct. Tsunade was using this display to mock Chiyo's tactics in the Sand Village. If the Sand Ninjas had succeeded with their sneaky attacks, it might have been a different story. But using underhanded tactics and failing repeatedly would only make other ninja villages laugh at them.
The Sand Ninja troops gradually approached the Konoha forces, and the tension between the two armies began to rise. The ninjas on both sides tightened their grips on their weapons, nerves on edge. When the distance between the two forces was less than 100 meters, Saburo, at the front of the Sand Ninja troops, raised his hand, signaling them to stop.
The Sand Ninja force was also over 2,000 strong, and within this close distance, thousands of ninjas on both sides exchanged angry and murderous glares. But no one made a move without orders from their commanders.
Tsunade's gaze was fixed on the middle-aged woman at the center of the Sand Ninja formation. Her previous anger had now subsided.
In front of both armies, Tsunade surveyed the scene, then locked eyes with Chiyo and smiled. "Haha, Elder Chiyo, it seems this time the Sand Village didn't try to ambush us."
Chiyo forced a smile and replied, "Invading another's territory—this is inconsistent with Konoha's usual stance on peace, isn't it? I recall that the First Hokage was strongly opposed to invasions. Why have you, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, forgotten your grandfather's teachings?"
The First Hokage had once pacified the chaotic world, distributing the tailed beasts to the five great ninja nations to prevent any one country from dominating and to use the power of the tailed beasts as a deterrent to maintain balance. However, this balance was quickly disrupted after the First Hokage's death.
"However, the First Hokage also taught Konoha's ninjas that any enemy who harms Konoha's people, the Land of Fire, or the village itself must be annihilated!" Tsunade retorted coldly. "Since you were the first to tear up the peace treaty, don't use the words of the First Hokage as an excuse!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Tsunade rushed towards Chiyo. Behind Chiyo, hundreds of Sand Ninjas began forming hand seals for a group ninjutsu attack, but Tsunade's speed was even faster.
"Boom!"
Before they could complete their jutsu, Tsunade punched the ground, sending cracks rapidly spreading towards the Sand Ninja camp.
In the camps of the two armies, a gully five or six meters deep and nearly a hundred meters long opened up, dividing the battlefield. Tsunade's punch was full of unreserved power, and it interrupted the hand seals of the Sand Ninja troops.
Behind Tsunade, the Konoha ninjas quickly formed their own hand seals.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Dozens of powerful jutsu intertwined and hurtled towards the Sand Ninja camp with immense force. But at that moment, an iron wall suddenly rose from the gully between the two armies. The wall was more than ten meters high and several dozen meters wide.
"What is this?"
For a moment, the Konoha ninjas who had rushed forward all halted, their jutsu striking the iron wall but only managing to shake it slightly. When the barrage of jutsu was blocked, numerous gates on the iron wall suddenly opened, launching a barrage of ninja tools directly at the Konoha troops.
"Be careful!"
"Ding, ding, ding!"
Dozens of Hyuga ninjas quickly appeared at the front of the camp, spinning rapidly to create chakra barriers that deflected the incoming ninja tools.
"Boom, boom!"
The iron wall trembled a few times before it began to shrink, ultimately being sealed into a scroll by a female ninja in the Sand Ninja camp. It was Sunae.
"It's a puppet!"
Sakumo narrowed his eyes slightly. The iron wall was actually an oversized defensive puppet. Typically, puppets were humanoid, but this wall-like puppet was something he had never seen before. But aside from Chiyo, who else could manipulate such a puppet?
"Haha, look at how you're dealing with just one puppet," Hyuga Tenki said, veins bulging around his eyes as he activated his Byakugan. The defensive puppet couldn't block his sight. The massive puppet had been controlled by more than a dozen Sand Ninja puppeteers, with Sunae leading them.
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