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The accuracy and destructive power of certain techniques are naturally not to be underestimated. In short, Haori has basically knocked out the Sand Village's national strategic deterrent weapon in front of everyone.
Blasting a Tailed Beast looks pretty impressive, making Haori seem incredibly powerful. But in reality, Kushina deserves most of the credit.
Shukaku was bound by her Adamantine Sealing Chains. In that state, the Tailed Beast was under the suppression of Uzumaki chakra. Shukaku was in a super-live-target state, unable to move, dodge, defend, attack, or recover.
So Haori got a lucky break.
Otherwise, if Shukaku had unleashed a Tailed Beast Ball or something like that, Haori would have been toast.
On the battlefield between Leaf and the Sand Village, Shukaku, the most powerful combatant, won't be able to recover for a while. Not only that, the Sand shinobi are now facing the danger of losing Shukaku.
With the right tools, a sealing expert like Kushina, who now has her hands free, could seal the Tailed Beast away.
So, the cunning Chiyo immediately gave two orders to the Sand shinobi: first, recover Shukaku immediately, and second, eliminate the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki.
She is the highest commander of the Sand shinobi on this battlefield.
With Leaf shinobi arriving in large numbers, the power balance between the two sides is gradually evening out. In fact, the Sand shinobi's momentum has been completely checked. Soon, they may become the weaker side.
After all, the scene just now was quite morale-boosting for Leaf shinobi.
The opportunity to kill Tsunade and destroy Leaf's headquarters, their primary strategic objective, is now impossible. So Chiyo immediately changes the objective. The top priority is now to recover Shukaku, and the secondary priority is to kill Kushina.
Of course, it would be even better if they could capture Uzumaki Kushina alive, but that's obviously very difficult to achieve.
"Don't you Sand shinobi have a clear objective?" Tsunade asked Chiyo with a sarcastic tone, separated by dozens of puppets.
Tsunade's face is pale. This is not only because of the intensity of the battle but also because she's trying to control her blood phobia.
She's trying very hard.
But at this point, she can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The casualties among the combat and non-combat personnel at headquarters are unavoidable after the Sand shinobi's surprise attack, but now that the frontline shinobi have returned, headquarters can be saved. As long as the command structure is intact, it won't cripple Leaf's overall combat strategy.
But no one expected that the one who played a key role would be the little brat who followed Kushina. Haori's performance on the battlefield in the last minute, if not turning the tide, was definitely a one-man show.
Tsunade is surprised by Haori's power, but it's good news. She can't be too picky at this point. Every increase in Leaf's combat power means an increase in their chances of victory.
With Shukaku out of commission, the Sand shinobi are at a loss for what to do. After receiving Chiyo's orders, they almost instinctively charge towards Kushina's side.
Driven by their goal of eliminating the Jinchuuriki, the Sand shinobi are charging blindly, leaving their backs completely exposed.
The general situation on the battlefield is this: Haori, Kushina, and some Leaf shinobi are in the innermost circle. The Sand shinobi in the next circle are attacking them, and the Leaf reinforcements in the outermost circle can easily harvest the lives of these Sand shinobi who have their backs turned.
So, after Chiyo's order, the casualty exchange ratio completely reverses.
Chiyo's arms naturally extend forward, her invisible chakra threads connecting to the Puppet Ten, the group of puppets separating her from Tsunade.
Her gaze first sweeps over the slowly regenerating Shukaku, confirming that Leaf isn't making any moves against it, before turning back to Tsunade. "Your young man is quite impressive. The situation on the battlefield is constantly changing. It seems our first objective is no longer achievable. But if we can eliminate the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki, the strategic significance of that, compared to destroying this headquarters, is even greater."
The original Sand Village plan was to take out Leaf's headquarters first, then calmly recover Shukaku, and then turn to deal with the leaderless Leaf main force. But now, the plan has gone awry. Before they could succeed, Leaf's vanguard had already turned back.
Chiyo herself actually disagreed with deploying Shukaku on the battlefield, but the Fourth Kazekage insisted. After making such a desperate decision, Chiyo, as an advisor, couldn't disagree with the new Kazekage's authority for the sake of his credibility.
Now it seems bringing Shukaku out was a mistake.
Fortunately, the Sand Village made a misjudgment, and Leaf did too.
Besides destroying the headquarters, there is now a simpler, more strategic goal that can be achieved: the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki.
That kid who charged in to save the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki, while she doesn't know what technique he used to scatter Shukaku, but his strength is definitely not to be underestimated. It reminds her of the White Fang of Leaf during the Second Shinobi World War.
Such a threatening target must not be allowed to grow up. Now, let him be destroyed along with the Jinchuuriki.
"I have to say, you guys are both clever and foolish for leaving the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki here."
Kushina has indeed played a crucial role since the start of this battle. It's because of her that Shukaku's massive destructive actions haven't been carried out. But as the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki, she herself is a valuable target. Leaving the Jinchuuriki right under the enemy's nose is fundamentally unwise.
The Sand Village meticulously planned the attack on Leaf's headquarters. It hasn't failed yet, and it cannot fail. They have paid too much for this operation.
Now, the Sand Village has two choices: first, conserve their remaining strength and retreat quickly, or second, go all out.
They choose the second option. Because the Sand Village is like a gambler who has lost half his chips, and there is still a clear chance of winning the game, they naturally put all their chips on the table.
"No matter what, you're about to lose." Tsunade says, but in reality, she's quite worried about Kushina's situation. But it's almost impossible to deal with Chiyo in the short term.
So, she gives an order.
Only five short words.
"Sealing Squad!"
"Shukaku!"
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