Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

In reality, Sunagakure didn't need Rasa, the village leader, to personally take the field. Although their village didn't have as many double-flowered red-ranked soldiers as Konoha, they still had quite a few. If you include Chiyo, Sasori's parents, and Shinto, that makes three. Rasa was just a red-ranked soldier at the moment. The ideal choice was for him to stay in the village, guard the rear, and develop stealthily. Just like in World War I and World War II, Shamon and Sunagawa guarded the rear, leaving the front lines to Chiyo and Shinto. However, in the later stages of World War II, because Sasori's father was stabbed in the back, Shinto went berserk and even killed his own people. Sunagawa was afraid that he would squander all of his village's men, so he took his place and went to the front lines to lead the troops to fight against Konoha.

However, Rasa is different. He was originally groomed to be the village head, so his reputation wasn't very high to begin with. What he needs most now is to build up his reputation to solidify his position as Kazekage, and war is the best way to do that. If he can perform well in a series of major battles and get a few MVPs, and if he can also bring a lot of benefits to the village from the war like Sunagawa, then his position as Kazekage will be as secure as a rock. Otherwise, like now, just a month after he took office, he simply can't command many clan heads who have been in power longer than him. Chiyo can support his rise to power, but she can't protect him forever. In the end, it all depends on himself. The power he holds in the Anbu is still because his grandfather was the previous head of the Anbu.

Therefore, he must personally lead the team to fire the first shot in this war.

"Sigh...! I wonder how many people will come back alive this time."

Chiyo stood on the high platform of the Kazekage Tower, looking down at the scene below, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Although she had experienced this scene too many times, she still felt a little sad every time. Perhaps it was because she was getting older that she felt more and more emotional.

"War always results in death. Those who live by the sword always have one foot in the grave. Life and death are preordained, wealth and status are determined by fate. If Sunagakure were on Konoha's soil, we wouldn't even be thinking about war. Let's take it easy..."

Masato comforted Chiyo after hearing her sentiments.

This war was started by your precious grandson; he has committed a terrible sin!

"Huh? Why doesn't the old leader send you to be the Kazekage's grandson?"

Just as Masato finished comforting him, he saw his former leader in the Anbu, the previous Anbu chief who had been retired at home for over ten years, walking towards him with faltering steps.

Although he had been living at home for over ten years, his health had deteriorated significantly due to various hidden injuries sustained in his youth. These injuries were gradually starting to surface. In addition, the sacrifice of his son had caused him great distress. As a result, the old leader's health was declining day by day. Although he didn't want to be like Mei Chuan Baidi, lying in bed all day waiting for his mortal enemy, Zhen Dou, to die with him, he hadn't left the house for many years. It was only now, with his grandson, the Kazekage, going to the battlefield, that he came to see him off.

"Luo Sha has gone to the battlefield, so I'm counting on you to take care of him. Sigh, at least his father was already married and had children when he went to war. This kid is too stubborn; he insists on waiting until the war is over before marrying Jia Lu Luo..."

Having been in politics for decades, he had developed an extremely thick skin and had nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, Chiyo was his cousin, so he didn't feel embarrassed at all and went straight to using his connections.

663. Impulsiveness is truly the devil!

"Hey! Old leader, what are you saying? Rasa is destined for greatness. This is his time to make a name for himself. With a flick of his finger, those Leaf Village scum will be reduced to ashes. Everything will be fine! Don't worry, I won't go to fight White Fang this time. I'll stay by Rasa's side 24/7. You can rest assured."

Seeing his old leader's furrowed brows, Shinto comforted him. To be honest, he also felt somewhat guilty towards his old leader. Back then, Rasa's father ran away to go to the battlefield with him, but he forgot about that kid because his younger brother was stabbed. As a result, that kid didn't know when Rasa's father died on the battlefield. Seeing his old leader getting older and older, he really felt bad. However, the fat cat's chosen one, Gaara, hasn't even been born yet, so how could anything happen to him? But to comfort his old leader, he patted his chest and assured him.

Anyway, Sasori's parents didn't go to the battlefield, so they can take care of Rasa. Besides, Rasa's talent is much higher than his father's. He was already a Red Staff member by the time he was ten, and he'll be a Double Flower member in a year or two. As long as he fights White Fang one-on-one, no one in Konoha can threaten him. After all, Konoha is fighting on all sides and also has to defend against harassment from those small ninja villages. Where do they have so many high-end combatants? One White Fang with one or two Red Staff members is about right.

"Teacher, why don't you let me go too? I'm really good now!"

Just as Masato finished comforting his old boss, Conan's father, who had just become a father, immediately ran over with a bitter face, looking so excited that he almost glowed green.

Although he had already taken the position, he thought that his years of hard work in practicing the Eight Gates Formation would finally allow him to shine on the battlefield. But damn it, he wasn't on the list. Even his weak father-in-law could participate, while he could only stay in the village and guard the house.

"boom!"

"You're strong my ass! Come talk to me when you've opened the Seventh Gate. You're still young, the ninja world is too complicated, you can't handle it. Rasa only went in personally to boost his stats and establish his authority, what the hell are you doing here? (▼へ▼メ)"

Shindou punched the kid in the head and said irritably.

It wasn't that he didn't want this kid to participate, but not now. The first wave of real battles was the fiercest and the most intense. This kid had only opened the sixth gate. What if this little brother saw his comrades being killed and was influenced by the atmosphere, lost control, and recklessly opened all six gates, acting like a real man for five minutes before collapsing? That would be dangerous. The Eight Gates Formation is suitable for one-on-one battles, not for group battles. Opening all six gates and failing to defeat the big boss while clearing a few mobs before dying would be a huge loss.

At least that green-skinned guy (Kai Dai) managed to earn the title of strongest genin by defeating a few of the Seven Swords of Kirigakure...

Zhen Dou plans to wait until the later, more protracted battles when everyone is grinding against each other before letting this kid go into battle to rack up some stats. By then, everyone won't be fighting as hard, and even if this kid gets carried away and opens six gates to kill a few small monsters and gets crippled, he can still cover for him.

This kid definitely can't be on the field for the first wave of battles, since the atmosphere in the first wave is just too intense.

In fact, the most people who die in war are often the first ones, and they are almost always infected by the intense atmosphere of war, rushing too far forward and fighting to the death. If you are a little sneaky and target the weak, the battlefield is so chaotic that you won't be targeted by anyone except when the general is fighting one-on-one. So as long as you are quick-witted and sneaky, you can basically survive the battlefield.

Why did Luo Sha's father die?

While his talent may not have matched that of his son, it was still quite good, making him a solid elite Jonin. However, due to the atmosphere of war, he became too engrossed in serving his country and charged too far ahead, ultimately running out of steam and being killed. After all, team battles are different from ninja squads fighting off enemies.

Why would Mada, the captain of Sunagawa's guards, have a disability certificate? It's because he's not very quick-witted. He got carried away with his actions and started acting out of character, charging into the crowd and attacking everyone he saw. In the end, he got ganged up on and beaten up. If Sunagawa hadn't discovered him in time, Mada would have been finished.

In short, impulsiveness is the devil!

Conan's father is talented and gifted, but like Mada and Rasa's father, he is too genuine and easily loses his temper. Therefore, Ebizo and Rasa did not let him play when choosing the lineup. They had raised their precious child for so many years and hoped that he would play a key role. Ebizo was reluctant to let him die.

As for the little sister Yekura who was doing very well in the Anbu, Ebizo was even more reluctant to let her go. The village had only had one Scorch Release in decades, and she was the face of the village. How could he let her go to the battlefield? At most, he would let her go with "Conan's dad" to farm some stats in the mid-to-late game.

It seems that Yekura, being a clan ninja, obeys the village's arrangements, unlike this kid who came to him and made a scene.

"...That would be a long time coming. By the time I open the seventh gate, the battle will probably be over. o(╯□╰)o"

"Conan's dad" said with a embarrassed expression, rubbing the big bump on his head.

"That's because you're too weak. Your teacher was already killing Jonin on the battlefield when I was nine years old, and you're a father and still can't open the Seventh Gate. Who can you blame for that? Don't tell anyone you're my disciple when you go out in the future. You'll embarrass me if you get killed one day. (▼へ▼メ)"

Shindou looked at his good-for-nothing disciple with annoyance. He was indeed a bit disappointing. Speaking of the Eight Gates, although the later gates are harder to open and forcing them open can hurt the body, with the visible physical talent of this kid, even if he can't match Green Skin Guy, he should be able to open the seventh gate, right?

But this kid was already able to open six gates when he was fifteen, and now he's almost twenty. Five years! Five years and he still can't open seven gates properly. That's a bit of a waste. The saying "the gentle embrace of a hero is his grave" is absolutely true.

Ever since this kid got into Miss Mao Chuan's car and bought a ticket, he's been completely stuck. At first, it was alright, since Miss Mao Chuan was pregnant, and this kid didn't dare to do anything reckless. He even slept with three bowls of water in the middle, one on each side.

So this kid used to expend all his energy on physical skills every day. But after Miss Mao Chuan gave birth to the child and experienced the taste of yin and yang harmony, he became completely addicted to ring toss and could never get out of it. Even his daily sweating decreased from ten hours to four hours, and sometimes he was so overworked that he didn't even work four hours. With such a work attitude, it would be a miracle if he could open the seventh gate. If it weren't for the Mao Chuan family providing him with special tonics every day, he probably wouldn't even be able to open the normal sixth gate now.

Zhen Dou saw it all and felt bad for him. He had worked so hard to trick the green-skinned guy into giving him the Eight Gates, and now this kid was wasting it. But there was nothing he could do. After all, it was his private life, and normal yin-yang balance wasn't illegal. His parents hadn't said anything, so he couldn't say anything either.

We can only hope that one day he realizes women are tigers, fully wakes up, and turns back from the wrong path—perhaps there's still hope...

664. The inherent fighting system of True Fighting

The Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, Rasa, personally led over 10,000 Sunagakure ninja to attack Konoha. The major ninja villages in the ninja world had been developing peacefully for ten years. Iwagakure, having exhausted its military resources, had a force of over 30,000 to 40,000. Kumogakure also had over 30,000 soldiers. Sunagakure, however, having pursued an elite strategy, actually had far fewer troops than during World War II, totaling only slightly over 20,000. However, these 20,000 were far more powerful than those during World War II; even their cannon fodder were top-tier. Therefore, although Sunagakure's initial vanguard only led a little over 10,000, this represented almost half of Sunagakure's strength.

The absurd idea of ​​the entire army bidding against each other was only done once during World War I by the Second Tsuchikage, which even led to Kirigakure raiding their base. So, no one has done it since. Unless they are desperate, each village will leave half of its people to guard their home. This time, it was only because Rasa wanted to boost his numbers and reputation that he brought so many people to bolster his reputation. If it were according to the normal procedure of Sunagakure, the ace core Shinto would lead a team of several thousand Sunagakure underlings to the border to wait for White Fang to arrive and have a one-on-one duel with him. With Shinto's 360-degree, all-around sword sea, as long as the terrain is narrow, the underlings on both sides would not be able to enter the arena and could only act as cheerleaders on the side.

After navigating the intense early stages, the strategy involves letting subordinates farm each other's stats in the mid-to-late game, leaving the outcome to chance. Then, they can look for opportunities to profit from other areas. This is the safest approach in Shinto's view, and it's part of his established system. Frankly, it's almost impossible to gain any advantage from the war with Konoha, given Konoha's strength. Unless one route is completely overwhelmed, allowing the others to directly attack the enemy's base, it's highly unlikely. Shinto has already realized that Konoha is the chosen village, blessed by fate. In the first two major wars, they always fell short. In the first war, Iwagakure almost crushed the Uchiha's defensive line, only to have their base raided by Hozuki Gengetsu.

The situation was similar during World War II; Ohno was the first to withdraw, leading to the end of the war. After the great war, the development of each village clearly regressed by four or five years, and they didn't gain any benefits from Konoha. If Sunagawa hadn't led his men to raid the Land of Water during World War I, and if his underlings hadn't tied up Nawaki and made a deal with Konoha during World War II, leading a team to raid the Land of Earth, Sunagakure's conditions would have been even worse than other villages.

Moreover, Sunagakure currently has the fewest troops, so it's not appropriate for them to go head-to-head with Konoha, who has a large and powerful army, right from the start. However, the current commander-in-chief is Rasa, who is the Kazekage and the Kazekage who needs to boost his stats the most. He is also the grandson of his former leader, so he can't say too much. After all, Rasa's life isn't very good right now, and it wouldn't be good if he questioned Rasa again. This time, he's only here to act as a high-level henchman to help Rasa hold off White Fang. The rest of the battle will be handled by Rasa.

However, not long after Sunagakure set off, a force of over 15,000 men from Konoha, led by White Fang and including Aburame, members of the three clans, and a group of Konoha underlings, also marched towards the Sunagakure battlefield. Although the battle had not yet officially broken out, the atmosphere had already reached its peak.

Just as Sunagakure and Konoha set off, Onoki, naturally, was never one to lag behind, especially since grabbing attention was his specialty. Before either Sunagakure or Konoha even reached the battlefield, Onoki personally led his son, Tsuchiki, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, and over 30,000 Iwa ninja underlings, marching proudly towards the battlefield. Their prowess was unparalleled, leaving the various high-ranking members of the village bewildered. That's over 30,000 Iwa ninja! That's almost three-quarters of Iwagakure's strength! What was Onoki doing? Hadn't he learned his lesson from the previous battle?

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi was agonizing over the lineup Onoki had put together. He and Onoki were old rivals, and every time they faced that red-nosed guy from Konoha, he seemed to have taken some kind of super-powerful drug. Had he taken some kind of red potion this time?

However, facing the lineup deployed by Onoki, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't dare to be as aggressive as he was against Sunagakure. Instead, he sent his traitor Jiraiya with Inuzuka, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and 20,000 peripheral troops, hoping to use their home-field advantage to keep Iwagakure at the border. After all, Kumogakure was still observing, and Kirigakure hadn't entered the fray yet. He really didn't dare to send too many troops. Who knew how powerful Kirigakure, who had been quietly developing for thirty points, really was? What if they sent forty or fifty thousand at once...? His heart might not be able to handle it.

"Lord Shinto, do you think... Onoki is plotting something? Bringing over 30,000 men at once, is he not going to do what he did in World War I?"

Within the Sunagakure forces, upon learning of Onoki's lineup, Rasa took a deep breath. He was still a newcomer, having little contact with Onoki and his ilk, and a complete novice in warfare. Therefore, he had been cramming on information from World War I and World War II. What impressed him most was the battle in World War I where the Uchiha clan single-handedly fought against the entire Iwagakure clan. That battle was arguably the main culprit for the Uchiha's decline and also the most crucial turning point of World War I. Because all of Iwagakure's forces were on the battlefield, their internal weakness allowed Kirigakure to raid their base. It was also one of Shinto's signature battles. However, since then, especially after Onoki's rise to power, no village in the ninja world had ever again committed all its forces to the battlefield. Onoki was also known for his cunning; during World War II, when everyone had a truce for over twenty years and their strength was even greater than it was now, he hadn't acted so recklessly. Now, he dared to lead three-quarters of his forces into battle—had he really become senile? And what if there was some other conspiracy?

"...That old cunning fellow is really cunning. I bet he's up to no good. Just you wait and see. Onoki is an ambitious man. He's definitely planning to scheme against someone again."

Shindou looked up at the sky, but he wasn't a mind reader like Onoki. How would he know what the old guy was up to? However, based on his understanding of Onoki, he knew that Onoki wouldn't make the same mistake twice, so Onoki must be plotting something.

He even thought it was very likely that they were setting a trap for Kirigakure or them. Although this jungle tactic was created by Hozuki Gengetsu, it was Shinto who popularized this tactical system, while Onoki suffered greatly under this system. So it was not impossible that Onoki wanted to set a trap for them now. Moreover, this trap was just a side effect. It didn't matter if they didn't succeed. If they did, it would be an unexpected bonus.

665. It was worth it for him to check the exam questions every year.

"Wow! Is this the battlefield from back then? Look, it's amazing! Something has split the battlefield in two!"

"This...it looks like it was cleaved out by a rock, look at that mountain too..."

"Is this for real? Someone could actually split such a huge battlefield in two?"

"This is outrageous! Teacher, who did this?"

"Idiot, you don't even know this? I really don't know how you graduated from school. This was carved out by Lord Shindou during the last World War, and it's a key question on the exam every year..."

"Sri Lanka No. 1...!"

The Sand Village team had arrived at the battlefield where they fought Konoha during World War II. What greeted their eyes was a massive, bottomless chasm dividing the battlefield in two. Time had passed, and the surrounding environment had changed completely from ten years ago. Only the sword mark left by Shinto's unleashed power remained unchanged. Listening to the exclamations of his underlings and feeling their admiring gazes, Shinto felt incredibly satisfied. It was worth it for him to go there every year to "check" the test questions...

"That's amazing..."

Even Luo Sha, who always had a deadpan expression and never showed his emotions, couldn't help but gasp when he saw the bottomless, huge sword mark.

This generation grew up listening to stories of Master Shinto, and since his father died on this battlefield, he was very interested in the events of World War II. The archives of the Kazekage-ro also contained materials from that era. While they mentioned that Master Shinto unleashed terrifying power after Master Jie was injured, splitting the battlefield in two with a single sword strike, those empty words couldn't adequately describe the sheer scale of the scene. Only by experiencing it firsthand could one truly grasp the terror of that sword strike and imagine just how intense the battlefield must have been...

He had heard adults boast about how strong Masato was since he was a child, but he never really understood what that strength meant. After he was taken in as a disciple by the Third Hokage and witnessed his master's strength, he thought that Masato must be about as strong as his master.

When he got older, his grandfather told him that Shinto's strength was number one in Sunagakure, and even in the entire ninja world, he was roughly number one. At that time, he naturally thought that his grandfather was just bragging to his old subordinate. He believed that Sunagakure was number one, but to say that he was number one in the entire ninja world was a bit of a boast. Although the "roughly equal to" sign was a bit understated and not too exaggerated, he still thought it was a bit of a boast.

But now, seeing this huge sword mark, I was completely shocked. It was hard to imagine that someone could unleash such an awesome attack. If this were to hit a person, who could withstand it? Even the Third Raikage, who was considered one of the strongest men in the ninja world alongside Shinto, would probably be instantly killed by this sword.

"Haha, so many years have passed, let's not talk about it. I'm not young anymore, I don't know how many more years I can play. The future belongs to you young people. Young man, work hard, the future is yours."

Shinto was very modest in words, but there was no modesty on his face. Instead, he looked at Rasa with the eyes of a father looking at his son and said something.

We've fought this war for half our lives, what's wrong with enjoying some back-scratching praise?

"......-_-||"

Luo Sha's lips twitched violently; he didn't know why, but every time he saw that look in someone's eyes, he felt like punching them...

.......

On the other side, on the third day after the Sunagakure forces arrived at the battlefield, the main force of Konoha also arrived. However, unlike the relaxed atmosphere on the Sunagakure side, the atmosphere on the Konoha side was more serious. From the big boss Konoha's White Fang to the outer henchmen, everyone had a serious expression on their face. The outer henchmen were serious because most of them were participating in a war for the first time, and they were inevitably affected by the atmosphere. In addition, looking at the huge chasm that divided the battlefield in two in the distance, they felt uneasy. They heard many of their senior teachers say that it was the Golden Lion of Sunagakure who cleaved it during World War II.

Is this even human? How could human beings create such a huge chasm?

Just thinking about the possibility of it hitting them would be like sending themselves to their deaths...

Sakumo Hatake, however, was serious about the things his underlings were worried about. He had been fighting Shiki for decades, and he knew the guy's moves perfectly well. Although the sword energy was powerful, it was useless if you weren't hit. He was very confident in that. Moreover, once the fight started, he would immediately pull the guy away from the battlefield. The rest was up to his underlings.

What troubles him most are the puppeteers of Sunagakure. In war, they are practically like fathers. During World War II, they went to great lengths to deal with the puppeteers' poison, even with Tsunade present. Now, without Tsunade, they are even more exhausted.

Since leaving Konoha, he has been thinking about how to deal with the puppeteers of Sunagakure. If he doesn't have a way to deal with the puppeteers, even if he holds off Shiki the Golden Lion, it won't be enough. No matter how many subordinates he has, they won't be enough for the Sunagakure ninja to cut down. But he still doesn't have a good solution. But that's not surprising. Dealing with the puppeteers of Sunagakure has been the biggest problem in the ninja world for decades. Unless they develop an antidote for the poison in their puppets, they can only rely on killing people.

This was clearly not what he wanted to see, and the village, to prevent the Hidden Mist Village from encircling him, couldn't afford to spare too many men. Didn't they see that Jiraiya had to lead 20,000 men to directly confront Onoki's 30,000-plus? So, when he left the village, he sent men to contact Tsunade, hoping that this spendthrift woman hadn't been completely bewitched by Shiki and, out of respect for him as her former captain, would come to the Sand Village battlefield to help him deal with the puppeteers' poison. However, there had been no response yet, and his underlings who went to find Tsunade hadn't returned. He was also unsure if his underlings had been killed by Tsunade. Remember, when Jiraiya went to find Tsunade, he not only couldn't dissuade her but was also beaten and suffered internal injuries before fleeing back...

"Is Sakumo really worried about those puppeteers?"

Seeing that Hatake Sakumo was sitting in the center, deep in thought and silent, Yuhi Shinku asked, "You're a veteran of war, so you naturally know what Sakumo is worried about. The puppeteers of Sunagakure might not be very useful in normal times, and their combat power isn't particularly formidable unless they reach the level of Chiyo. However, in large-scale group battles like war, they are definitely a deadly weapon. They are also worried, but as the commander, Sakumo faces much greater pressure than they do."

666. The Golden Lion's ventriloquism is truly amazing.

"Sigh, the enemy's puppeteer force is really too troublesome. If we start fighting before we can deal with their poison, our casualties will be huge."

Sakumo Hatake shook his head helplessly. He had sent people to look for Tsunade since he set off, but they hadn't returned, and there was no news of her. He even suspected that Tsunade might have been seduced by that Golden Lion Shiki. After all, he was the captain who led the "Three Legendary Sannin" out of the ranks; he wasn't even giving her that much face...

"Yes, now the village has to be wary of Kirigakure and Kumogakure, especially Kirigakure..."

The head of the Aburame clan next door also frowned deeply. To be honest, he'd rather fight the muscular brutes of Kumogakure, like during World War II, than confront Sunagakure. Those muscular men, while fierce, relied almost entirely on physical strength and lacked technique. Sunagakure, on the other hand, was a group of vicious puppets; even their insects could take them down. They were utterly disgusting. These days, raising insects isn't easy either; raising too many could disrupt the village's ecological balance. With the First Hokage gone, reforestation wasn't easy either…

"Lord White Fang, the Kazekage and Golden Lion are leading Sand Ninja towards us."

While everyone was having a headache over the puppeteers of Sunagakure, a henchman ran to the barracks and said something.

"...Sigh, prepare for battle."