"For those who wear masks and carry out their duties with unwavering precision, you can always entrust them with your back."
This saying had spread widely throughout the Konoha camp in the Land of Rivers.
— — —
Within the Konoha encampment, this was the first time Danzo had been invited to a meeting by Tsunade.
"Impossible. I don't have enough manpower as it is," Danzo stated flatly, already expecting nothing good to come from Tsunade's request.
He had already transferred a hundred Root operatives to her, and over twenty of them had died. That loss alone made him grit his teeth in frustration, but there was nothing he could do about it.
And now, she had the audacity to ask for even more.
"I'll send you four hundred shinobi for the eastern front. You only need to transfer two hundred to my side," Tsunade countered, her tone suggesting that he was somehow getting the better end of the deal.
Danzo stared at her coldly. How could someone with such a pretty face be so infuriating? And so shameless on top of that.
The shinobi she wanted him to take in—those of civilian background—were barely competent. A Chunin might know one or two C-rank jutsu, while the Genin could only manage the Three Basic Techniques. Their fundamentals were abysmal.
Perhaps realizing that Danzo's gaze had turned particularly unpleasant, Tsunade grew impatient.
"I wouldn't be coming to you if I had a choice. Sunagakure's forces are pressing us harder and harder. The new shinobi we received are running around like headless chickens. If this continues, you and I might as well go back to Konoha and take responsibility for this mess."
"Sarutobi—"
"Don't mention that old man," Tsunade interrupted bitterly. "Look at the people he sent. After all this time, he still doesn't trust the Senju."
Her expression was complicated as she met Danzo's gaze, a hint of self-mockery in her tone. It felt strange—no, outright unpleasant—that she and Danzo were now on the same side.
She firmly believed that Hiruzen was using the battlefield to weaken the faction aligned with the Senju Clan. That was the only logical explanation for their current predicament.
What she didn't know was that Danzo had played a role in creating this situation himself.
After he had emptied Root's reserves for the war, Hiruzen's political instincts kicked in. He subconsciously felt that letting Root grow too powerful was dangerous.
At the same time, the battle on Orochimaru's front was dire, and the threat from Iwagakure was far greater than Sunagakure's.
Weighing all factors, Hiruzen had prioritized sending reinforcements to Orochimaru.
"I'll transfer you a hundred more Chunin and five Jonin," Danzo finally said, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "And we write a joint letter to Sarutobi."
— — —
Once their discussion was over, Danzo stood to leave.
"If things take a turn for the worse, send an emergency signal. You know your situation."
"I know, old man," Tsunade replied, her tone a bit irritable.
After Danzo left, she was hit with a strange realization. Working with him wasn't as unbearable as she had expected.
Which, ironically, was the worst part.
"What am I even thinking?" She shook her head, pushing those thoughts aside.
The arrival of a hundred elite shinobi meant fewer casualties among the civilian-born troops. That would take some weight off her shoulders.
Her turbulent emotions settled slightly.
— — —
In a canyon within the Land of Rivers, Sunagakure's main encampment was stationed.
"Lord Kazekage, our shinobi have already advanced within thirty kilometers of Konoha's camp. Their forces aren't as formidable as we thought. There's no need to wait—let's launch the assault now!"
This argument had been recurring for over a month in the Sunagakure command tent.
"Wait a little longer," Chiyo interjected. "The escort unit is already en route. They'll arrive in half a month."
Her opposition, however, had grown less forceful.
Konoha's forces were so underwhelming that even she was beginning to hesitate. Was it really necessary to wait for reinforcements?
Rasa glanced at the elder and slowly stood, his gaze filled with ambition.
"Reports from the Land of Fire confirm that most of Konoha's forces have been deployed to the Iwagakure front. It's time they learned the cost of underestimating Sunagakure… Prepare the troops. We launch the full-scale assault at dawn."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"
"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"
— — —
Sunagakure's assault was anything but subtle. Their forces advanced in full force, pressing forward without hesitation.
Tsunade received word immediately and personally led Konoha's troops to meet them head-on.
The battle erupted as soon as both sides clashed.
At first, the two forces were distinguishable. But as the chaos deepened, formations broke apart, and the battlefield devolved into a frenzy of slaughter.
There were no elaborate assassination techniques—only the sounds of steel clashing, jutsu detonating, and the dying screams of shinobi.
Each person selected their target, using whatever means necessary to eliminate them.
— — —
Tsunade descended from above, slamming the ground with devastating force. The resulting shockwave obliterated three of Chiyo's puppets in an instant.
"You're way too old to still be on the battlefield," Tsunade remarked, forcing herself to ignore the revulsion in her gut. Her sharp gaze locked onto the elderly puppeteer.
"Heh… To think that little brat from back then is now commanding troops on her own," Chiyo mused.
Tsunade was already thirty, but to Chiyo, she was still just a child.
Strange markings adorned Tsunade's face, and her chakra reserves were immense. It was clear she was using a secret technique. Chiyo immediately grew wary.
With a flick of her hands, more than a dozen puppets emerged around her.
Both women were high-ranking commanders and widely recognized as Kage-level combatants.
The surrounding shinobi instinctively backed away, unwilling to be caught in the crossfire.
Tsunade made the first move, dashing toward Chiyo with incredible speed.
Two puppets lunged to intercept her—but the moment they got close, she shattered them effortlessly.
Boom!
The puppet fragments exploded on impact, releasing a thick cloud of purple poison gas. Grass and vegetation withered instantly upon contact.
A dark figure burst from the mist—Tsunade, completely unaffected, rocketing toward Chiyo like a cannonball.
Boom!
A massive impact cratered the earth in a spiderweb pattern.
"Such a troublesome opponent," Chiyo muttered, using her puppets to yank herself away from the impact zone.
Watching Tsunade charge at her again, she swiftly maneuvered her puppets to maintain distance.
Tsunade's abilities were a terrible match-up for her. Her puppets and poisons had little effect, and her aging body was in no shape for close combat.
Though their fight appeared even on the surface, Chiyo was being relentlessly pushed back. She had already lost several puppets.
The chase led them toward the battlefield's edge.
— — —
Chiyo steadied herself after being blasted away by the shockwave.
Tsunade clicked her tongue in frustration.
"I told you—when you reach this age, you should be enjoying retirement."
Away from the blood-soaked battlefield, she finally exhaled.
"Cough, cough… I really am getting old," Chiyo muttered, dusting off her robes. "Youngsters these days have no respect for their elders."
Then, her gaze sharpened.
"For Sunagakure, I cannot let you leave this place alive."
With a wave of her hands, over twenty new puppets appeared.
Tsunade smirked.
"Good. I was thinking the same thing."
And with that, she charged once more.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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