chapter 76 part 2
However, if it wasn't an enemy invasion, then did Ryoma and Orochimaru fight? That would be far too absurd.
"Hiashi, did you see clearly?" Fugaku asked, disregarding the other Ninja from both clans present.
Hiashi didn't even blink. "I didn't even look. This matter is irrelevant to my clan, and irrelevant to the war. I will await Lord Orochimaru's command."
This composure, as steady as an old dog, and his indifference to conflicts among the higher-ups, made Fugaku take a deep breath, unsure what to say.
He truly couldn't get along with the Hyuga Clan's presumptive Clan Head, preferring to interact more with the Senju Clan members.
Fugaku walked to a distant spot and closed his eyes.
Sharingan, activate!
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan couldn't compare to the most common Byakugan in terms of long-distance vision or X-ray vision, but it had no problem discerning Chakra from afar.
Then Fugaku saw many clumps of Chakra. The one standing should be Orochimaru, across from him sat a person, and another was seated beneath that person.
"So that's it. While this is unusual, if I'm not mistaken, it must be Tsukasa Kaede. He's one of the only two people in the Village capable of Space-Time Ninjutsu. Only Space-Time Ninjutsu could instantly traverse layers of defenses and appear in the Main Camp from a long distance."
Fugaku immediately concluded that Tsukasa Kaede had arrived for some unknown reason.
He didn't suspect Minato Namikaze because Minato Namikaze never engaged in such irregular actions, especially appearing in the core area of Konoha's forces at the drop of a hat, let alone engaging in combat.
Fugaku immediately deactivated his Sharingan. Remotely probing the Main Camp was a serious violation for Konoha Ninja.
...
At the same time, the Iwagakure forces.
Onoki finally received good news: Roshi had woken up.
The bad news was that Roshi's report on the Land of Hot Water campaign was completely different from Onoki's expectations.
"He actually used Lava Release to activate the Underground Volcano, severely damaging Konoha's forces? Kato Dan stayed behind alone to cover their retreat, buying time for the others?"
Seeing this, Onoki secretly nodded. Everything was perfectly reasonable.
But as he read further, his expression turned as if he'd eaten something foul.
"What do you mean, successfully killed Kato Dan? Kato Dan is alive and well, a Konoha hero, yet Roshi claims to have killed him?"
Onoki pondered repeatedly, finally focusing his gaze on Tsunade and Tsukasa Kaede.
Tsukasa Kaede took over from the deceased Kato Dan, staying behind to block Roshi, and even used the corpses of several Explosion Release Bloodline Limit users for suicidal attacks?!
"...Those bastards from Konoha took all the corpses left behind by the Explosion Corps and Tsukasa Kaede turned them into war puppets!! He truly is a naturally evil Corpse Release brat!"
At this point, Onoki was mostly angry, but as he continued to read, he became utterly confused. Roshi claimed to have blown away half of Kato Dan's body with Scorching Stream Rock Technique, yet as far as Onoki knew, Kato Dan was perfectly fine and had safely returned to the Hidden Leaf Village.
Could Tsunade achieve such a feat? Where would she get such a large amount of missing body tissue? And after acquiring it, how would Tsunade stitch it back onto Kato Dan and resurrect him, making him no different from an ordinary person? "Tsunade doesn't possess such medical skill, and this isn't even within the scope of Medical Ninjutsu. So, it must be that Tsukasa Kaede after all."
A fierce glint appeared in Onoki's eyes.
Desecrating the corpses of Iwagakure Ninja to fight Iwagakure Ninja, and seemingly being able to restore Kato Dan using Corpse Release... Regardless of whether Tsukasa Kaede was controlling a deceased Kato Dan to stabilize morale, or if Tsukasa Kaede truly possessed a miraculous Resurrection Jutsu, it meant Tsukasa Kaede's threat was continuously escalating.
Tsukasa Kaede's Secret Technique was too bizarre, too dangerous, and too devastating to morale! Look, how long had Tsukasa Kaede been active? He was already able to control hundreds of corpses to besiege Roshi, the Jinchuriki. What would he become in a few more years? When the next Great Ninja War arrived, would Tsukasa Kaede be able to lead hundreds, even thousands, of zombies onto the battlefield, becoming a one-man army?
Onoki couldn't tolerate it. If there was any possibility, it would be best to find an opportunity to kill Tsukasa Kaede.
"There will be opportunities in the future. The great war will end, but smaller conflicts will continue forever! Issue my command: capitalizing on the enemy having just concluded the Land of Hot Water campaign, and before Tsunade and the others arrive at the Front Line, immediately launch one final full-scale assault. Regardless of whether we achieve results, the Village will withdraw its troops. Such a war has lost its meaning by continuing."
Onoki issued the order.
At this moment, Gari, the captain of the Explosion Corps, arrived to report that a Konoha squad had launched another surprise attack on them. The first squad of the Explosion Corps had been on alert and had already engaged.
"Toka Senju? Then kill her. This can serve as an embellishment for this final battle," Onoki commanded.
All Iwagakure forces began to move, layer upon layer. What appeared to be a full-scale deployment was, in fact, a pre-arranged formation. Each unit's task was assigned: who would lead the assault, who would provide support, and who would defend. As long as some progress was made, they could turn around and retreat in an orderly fashion at any time.
Konoha immediately responded, pouring out all its forces. The alert units moved first, and various defensive units also began to vigilantly guard the surroundings, preventing Hidden Stone Village from launching a surprise attack from behind.
Onoki charged at the very front, flying high into the sky, giving him an unobstructed view of Konoha's troop movements. This alone provided a tremendous advantage on the battlefield.
"Eight Trigrams Air Palm!"
A dozen Ninja from the Hyuga Clan raised their hands, striking towards Onoki.
But Onoki flexibly flew further away, easily dodging.
"These Hyuga Clan members. Killing them won't get us their Byakugan, but not killing them makes them as troublesome as flies. What a bothersome Bloodline Limit clan."
Onoki sneered, spread his hand, and was about to unleash Dust Release to sweep through Konoha's positions. In just an instant, he could clear out large swathes of empty space.
"Dust Release: Primitive World... Eh?"
Just as Onoki formed a ball of light in his hand, he saw dozens of peculiar figures appear in the distance. Each wore a toy-like mask, and their exposed skin was visibly decaying.
These figures were poised, ready to charge at the Konoha Ninja ahead, waiting only for Onoki to cast his Jutsu.
"...So that's how it is. I didn't expect the Hidden Leaf Village to push a guy like you to the Front Line again, Corpse Release brat! Kaedence you've come, stay here forever."
Onoki's eyes lit up. He immediately ordered the Explosion Corps to disregard other enemy forces and prioritize heading towards his location!