"No, don't kill me, Lord Sakumo, you once saved my life, have you forgotten?"
Listening to the plea of the Leaf ninja before him, Hatake Sakumo's eyes remained devoid of emotion.
He drew his short blade, and the Leaf ninja instantly lost all signs of life.
Unlike Uchiha Fugaku's flamboyant fighting style, Hatake Sakumo's attacks followed only one principle—
Speed, precision, and ruthlessness!
Using the least amount of stamina and the simplest methods to kill the ninjas blocking his path was the essence of his swordsmanship.
Ninjas from other villages were fine; after all, the renown of Konoha's White Fang had spread throughout the ninja world during the Second Great Ninja War.
But for the Leaf ninjas, this was their first time facing Hatake Sakumo in a life-or-death battle.
They hadn't felt much when they were allies, but now that they were enemies, they realized just how terrifying the White Fang, who struck fear into his foes, truly was.
No matter how many of them there were, no matter what methods they used, they seemed unable to stop his fierce attacks from reaping their lives one by one.
A strange sense of unwillingness surged in the hearts of all the Leaf ninjas.
Why!
Hatake Sakumo was clearly a ninja from their village, yet now he had become a sharp blade slaughtering them!
And the Uchiha clan... their powerful Kekkei Genkai had now become an insurmountable mountain on the battlefield.
They were all originally on their side, and they had protected them countless times before... why had things turned out this way?!
------
------
"Damn it, why is it like this?"
At the rear of the Allied Shinobi Forces, Shimura Danzo slammed his hand on the table in a fit of rage.
The faces of the other ninja village commanders were also gloomy.
Initially, they thought the Hidden Cloud Village was crazy for sending five ninjas to intercept them.
But they never expected that such an absurd thing—five people resisting ten thousand—would actually happen!
The Eight-Tails continuously fired Tailed Beast Bombs from a distance, while the Third Raikage, Ay, Hatake Sakumo, and Uchiha Fugaku used the chaos created by the Tailed Beast Bombs to charge through the crowd.
Ten thousand Allied Shinobi Forces had actually been held back by them.
And now that the battle had progressed, many had already lost their will to fight.
It was important to remember that nearly ten thousand Cloud ninjas were still watching the battlefield, poised to strike!
"Everyone, if we continue to harbor the idea of conserving our strength, we are bound to suffer a crushing defeat in this battle."
"What do you all think?"
Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, the other commanders silently nodded.
Shimura Danzo coldly stated, "Our Konoha will send Orochimaru and thirty Jonin into battle, including sixteen elite Jonin. What about you?"
The Hidden Mist Village's Gengetsu immediately said, "I also brought over a dozen elite Jonin, three of whom possess the Shikotsumyaku, Water Release, and Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, respectively."
Ebizo of the Hidden Sand Village also said in a deep voice, "Our village will also send ten elite Jonin."
Huangtu, in the corner, saw everyone's gaze turn to him and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Our Hidden Stone Village doesn't have as much strength as you all. Sending a thousand ninjas to participate in the battle is already our best effort."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately showed looks of disdain.
Bringing only a thousand old, weak, sick, and disabled ninjas and daring to say it was their best effort?
They truly had no shame.
However, since Huangtu had already said so, there was nothing others could do.
Ultimately, they were only temporarily allied; they couldn't force others to do anything.
Finally, Shimura Danzo slammed his hand on the table: "Then it's settled."
"Meeting adjourned!"
After the meeting, the top combat forces brought by each village were all deployed to the battlefield.
The addition of dozens of elite Jonin immediately had a noticeable effect.
"Ninja Art: Hiding in Mist Jutsu!"
Thick fog spread, engulfing the entire battlefield.
Immediately after, a ninja wearing sunglasses extended both hands: "Secret Technique: Insect Juju Jutsu!"
"Secret Technique: Insect Orb!"
A large number of parasitic insects spread throughout the Hiding in Mist Jutsu, instantly engulfing Ay.
Seeing this, Ay snorted coldly.
The combination of the Hiding in Mist Jutsu and the insects greatly hindered his perception, making it difficult for him to charge recklessly as he had at the beginning.
Especially the sheer number of insects.
They adhered to his body, constantly devouring his chakra armor.
While they still couldn't pose a threat to him, they doubled his chakra consumption.
"No, I must break through."
Ay instantly made a judgment, boosting his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to its maximum, but a net had already been cast around him.
The Aburame clan, the Inuzuka clan, the Hozuki clan... the elite Jonin of these three clans, combined with the surrounding elite ninjas, still couldn't defeat Ay, but they successfully held him back.
"Hiding in Mist Jutsu..."
"Hmph!"
Uchiha Fugaku snorted, though his face showed no great fear.
Although the Hiding in Mist Jutsu was highly effective against the Sharingan, he was confident that he could eliminate any opponent the moment they appeared.
Just then, a ninja wearing a Hidden Mist Village forehead protector charged out with a large sword.
Uchiha Fugaku immediately drew his long sword and stabbed it into the opponent's body, but the part that was stabbed strangely turned into a puddle of water.
"Is that the Hozuki clan's Hydrification Jutsu?"
Uchiha Fugaku sneered, "It's a good opportunity to show you the results of my training during this period."
The sound of a thousand birds chirping echoed, and Uchiha Fugaku's entire body was enveloped in lightning.
Chidori Stream!
Struck by the lightning release, the Hozuki clan ninja's body instantly froze in place.
Uchiha Fugaku swung his long sword, directly splitting the ninja in front of him in two.
At the same time, two grim-faced Leaf ninjas surrounded Uchiha Fugaku from front and back.
"Hyuga clan ninjas..."
"Do you two really think you can stop me?"
Upon hearing this, the two Hyuga clan ninjas sneered, "This is our home ground. Today, we will use your life to prove that the Hyuga clan's Byakugan is the strongest Kekkei Genkai!"
Although the Sharingan was powerful, how much strength could it exert under the hindrance of the Hiding in Mist Jutsu and the various ninjas?
Their Byakugan, however, was completely unaffected!
Looking at the confident Hyuga ninjas, Uchiha Fugaku threw his head back and laughed, "Hahahahaha... Then let me see if your strength is as tough as your words."
Uchiha Fugaku actively charged forward, engaging in a fierce battle with the two Hyuga clan ninjas.
On the other side of the battlefield.
Hatake Sakumo continuously leaped through the crowd, dodging the Shadow Imitation Jutsu cast by the Nara clan ninjas on the ground.
At the same time, he had to be wary of the Yamanaka clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu, which was lurking nearby.
On this kind of battlefield, once he was controlled, even for a second, his life would be instantly taken.
Hatake Sakumo wanted to first kill the Nara clan and Yamanaka clan ninjas, but the Akimichi ninjas, who had already consumed the secret pills, were blocking the very front.
Outside, nearly a hundred ninjas were gathered, providing them with key protection.
In addition to this, there were also Shikotsumyaku wielders who could cover their bodies with bones.
Although he was still continuously reaping the lives of his enemies, Hatake Sakumo could feel that the circle surrounding him had begun to slowly tighten...