Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

“…”

Although the fighting among the younger members was fierce and the casualties were heavy, the most outstanding moment, apart from the one-on-one duel between Shiki and Sakumo, was the clash between Rasa and the Archmage, the leader of the Aburame clan. The Aburame clan leader, a veteran Red Rank 100 of Konoha and the grandfather of Shino Aburame, one of the future Konoha Twelve, is currently at the tail end of his career, and his condition has begun to decline. In terms of strength, he cannot compare to the young and strong, unmarried Rasa. However, his combat experience is far superior to that of the young Rasa. Although Rasa is still in the rising phase of his career and has not yet reached his peak, once he does, he will definitely be a Double-Rank Red Rank 100, and defeating the Aburame clan leader will be easy for him. After all, although the Aburame clan leader has more combat experience than Rasa, the difference in their levels is an insurmountable disadvantage.

However, the young Rasa was merely a low-ranking member of the Red Pole faction. While stronger than the leader of the Aburame clan, the difference was minimal. Having been Sunagawa's obedient son for years, he had little combat experience and was constantly being held back by the Aburame clan leader's various secret techniques. He hadn't racked up many kills since the start, only managing a few with a single powerful attack at the beginning. Although the gold dust was dense and destructive, the Aburame clan's insect-based secret techniques were numerous. Looking at the swarms of insects, Rasa felt his scalp tingle; his trypophobia was triggered...

"careful....."

"Pfft!"

"Zhihui, are you alright?"

"Phew... It's alright, Lady Shinku. This can't go on, too many of our people are poisoned."

After Yuhi Shinku used a kunai to wipe the neck of the Sand Ninja who was about to ambush Aburame Shiki, she asked...

Meanwhile, Aburame Shiki was already panting heavily. Looking at his companions, one after another, who were critically wounded and falling to the ground, he wiped the blood-soaked sweat from his brow. His face was pale, and his lips were turning purple. He too had been poisoned. He had been slashed by the Sand Village puppet, but he hadn't died from the poison only because his insects were constantly sucking it from his body. A large number of insects inside his clothes had already been poisoned. If this continued, he would either die from the poison or be drained of all his blood…

The puppeteers of Sunagakure are disgusting. Once poisoned, although the poison may not take effect immediately, it is best to lie down and not move to slow down the blood flow. However, the toxins in the blood flow very quickly, and it is impossible to detoxify by sucking out the poisoned blood. It can only slow down the onset of the poison. The way he does is to keep the insects sucking out the poisoned blood from his body, which can only slow down the onset of the poison while keeping him moving.

However, while the Aburame clan can use this technique, others don't have insects to help absorb the poisonous blood. If this continues, even more people will be poisoned. He now understands how terrifying the Sand Village puppeteers are; they are simply weapons of war.

"...There's no other way, we'll move to the place where Sakumo and the Golden Lion are fighting."

As Yuhi Shinku watched his comrades fall one after another, either slashed or poisoned, he realized that although he hadn't killed many Sand Ninja, they weren't his own people, so he didn't care how many died. Almost all of his fallen comrades were his Chunin squad's underlings, so how could he not feel sorry for them? Then he looked at the battlefield in the distance where Hatake Sakumo was fighting Golden Shiki, where swords flashed and energy clashed. He came up with a plan: they would move to the vicinity of that battlefield and use Golden Shiki's chaotic sword energy to cut off the Sand Ninja's supply lines.

"Hiss...! Do we really have to go over there? (⊙_⊙)"

Aburame Shiki followed Yuhi Makoto's gaze and instantly inhaled the chill around him, nearly causing his sunglasses to fall off.

He had been busy killing people and was so caught up in the intense atmosphere that he hadn't paid much attention to the battle between the two legendary figures. Now, looking around at the dense array of sword energy, accompanied by sharp cutting sounds as if space itself was being cleaved, it made his scalp tingle. Looking at the cool figure in the center, constantly moving nimbly, he really wanted to know how Lord White Fang could still be so skillful under such a dense attack.

If so many of them moved there and ended up in a one-on-one situation, they would either be poisoned or killed by the dense sword energy.

Yu Nu Zhihui felt a little uneasy...

669. A massive verbal battle scene

"...This is the only way. Until the conflict between Sakumo and Shiki is over, this is the only option."

Kurenai Yuhi said with a hint of helplessness, "Under normal circumstances, with such heavy losses on both sides, it would be normal for either side to retreat. But this is only the first wave of the battle. Although they have shown their unique characteristics and style, it's a bit embarrassing that both commanders have already retreated before their duels are even over. Normally, losing face wouldn't matter. Although he is Sakumo's second-in-command and has some fame in the village, he is still a second-tier figure in the ninja world and his status isn't that high. But this is the first battle of the battle. If they retreat now, it will be a disgrace to Konoha. So this wave must be held until both commanders' duels are over."

Moreover, it wasn't just them who couldn't hold on; the Sand Village was even less able to. Although they suffered heavy casualties in the previous battle, the Sand Village wasn't much better off. They could afford to wear it down, but the enemy certainly couldn't. Their 10,000-plus men weren't a lot for the village, but the enemy's 10,000-plus men represented half of the village's strength. So, he was betting that the Fourth Kazekage wouldn't continue to fight them head-on. He had just taken over and naturally wanted to save face. By retreating to the other battlefield, they could give the Fourth Kazekage a way out. Now, it was just a matter of whether the Fourth Kazekage would take the bait.

"Quickly, move them there."

After nodding, You Nu Zhihui shouted loudly and then retreated while fighting, moving to the edge of the two big shots' PK. The surrounding henchmen followed suit and slowly moved their positions.

"Swish swish swish!!"

"Holy crap! Lord Shindou, stop cutting! It's one of our own... Ah!"

"Ah, ah, ah..!"

"...Get out of the battle!"

"Idiot, don't go over there, do you want to get hacked to death...?"

The Sand Ninja, seeing the Konoha ninja fighting and retreating, instantly felt a surge of domineering power, their pursuit becoming increasingly fierce. However, they unwittingly stepped into the midst of the two big shots' sword-wielding battle, and were instantly struck by several unexpected sword energies. The underlings behind them widened their eyes and quickly stopped in their tracks. A few of the lucky underlings who were touched by the sword energies seemed to be frozen in place, as if their pupils had been pressed pause, their lips trembling, feeling as if their souls had left their bodies.

So close, just a tiny bit more....(?Д?)ノ

"Don't go any further! Everyone, stand back one hundred meters!"

At this moment, the importance of seasoned veterans became apparent. The Kazekage clan chief, who had fought against Shinto, and several other clan chiefs emerged from layers of bodyguards. Upon seeing that some of their underlings who had been killed by sword energy before they could stop were from their own clans, they were immediately furious and organized their forces. Since Kazekage and Shinto were currently engaged in a one-on-one duel, they were in charge.

Damn it, they still vividly remember the scene of Shinto's outburst during World War II. They knew that the deaths of these underlings were in vain. Too many people were mistakenly killed during World War II because of Shinto's outburst. In order to protect the overall situation, the Third Hokage concealed the truth and made those underlings who were mistakenly killed by Shinto without getting much data to build village flags. Their family also received the hero's sacrifice compensation as usual.

But there are only a few people like this now. Compared to the sacrifices in this war, it's nothing. Those who are so careless and confused that they get killed by mistake are lucky to even be allowed into the cemetery...

"Damn it, those bastards in Konoha are so despicable... Come on over and let's have another one-on-one fight! (▼he▼メ)"

"That's right, a bunch of bastards, come and continue if you dare...(╬￣皿￣)"

“…”

The Sand Ninja ninja also had a fiery temper. Across the chasm that divided the battlefield in two, he pointed at the Konoha ninja on the other side and unleashed a torrent of spittle, spraying it like raindrops onto the Konoha side.

"Damn it, you Sand Ninja bastards, come at me if you dare! I'll give you my hands and feet! (╬◣д◢)"

"Yeah, come on over here if you dare, I'll take on ten of you! ヽ(#`Д′)?"

"We're standing right here waiting for you. Come on over if you dare!"

"..."

When the Konoha heard the Sand Ninjas hurling insults at them, they got angry too.

Oh my god, these Sand Ninja bastards are actually fearless and dare to talk back to Konoha. Don't they know that Konoha is the source of all the best talkers?

From a young age, their teachers taught them that they could lose a fight, but they must win a verbal battle!

Once someone started it, the Konoha ninjas also began to glare angrily at the Sand ninjas on the other side of the chasm and retort. Even the Konoha ninjas who were poisoned and carried over by their comrades got excited. They thought, "I can't fight, but I can at least talk back, right?"

"Come here!"

"Come here!"

“…”

"Come here!"

"Come here!"

"..."

The two sides' underlings got more and more into trash-talking, each one rolling up their sleeves, looking like they were ready to unleash their ultimate move and wipe you out, all bragging and spewing insults, making the intensity comparable to the previous team fight.

A major verbal battle has officially begun...

"...(⊙_⊙)"

".....(⊙_⊙)"

Yuhi Makoto, Aburame Shiki, and the others stared at each other, completely bewildered, as the scene that had gone from friendly banter to verbal sparring turned into a huge spectacle. The change in tone was so sudden that they couldn't quite process it.

Although Kurenai Yuhi was born into a small family, her parents emphasized education from a young age, cultivating her into a polite and humble person. Even though she was born in Konoha, she was never influenced by the village's negative atmosphere and therefore has no talent for verbal sparring. In her over twenty years since debut, she has never engaged in a verbal battle, making it impossible for her to integrate into the fight; she can only silently cheer on her comrades who are striving hard...

The members of the Aburame clan all wore cool little sunglasses, exuding the aura of high-ranking members of the organization. Their verbal sparring didn't fit their persona, so they could only watch helplessly as the two sides engaged in a passionate exchange of insults.

......

"Magnetic Release: Golden Sand Waves!!"

"The Spinning Technique!!"

"Bang bang bang...!"

"Damn it! I haven't even swiped it yet! Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

Another wave of spells... oops! After the clash of ninjutsu, Rasa gritted his teeth and glared at the middle-aged Aburame clan leader opposite him, who was still wearing sunglasses and acting all high and mighty. They had fought to this point. After all, he wasn't a member of the Uzumaki clan. Although awakening Magnet Release gave him more chakra than the average person, their chakra was already running low. He could tell that his opponent was weaker than him, but his combat experience was far superior. And his taijutsu was so-so. He didn't dare to fight this guy in taijutsu, so he could only exchange ninjutsu with him.

But then, seeing his underlings engaged in a heated exchange of insults not far away, he suddenly remembered something very important: he'd been so busy fighting this guy that he hadn't even managed to farm any stats yet...

670. Onoki, with his black nose and ponytail sticking out, went up.

On the way here, he had already devised his tactics. First of all, the enemy's commander-in-chief was White Fang, who was the commander-in-chief of their Sunagakure. According to the tradition of the ninja world, it is usually soldier against soldier, general against general, and king against king. However, although he had already become the Kazekage, his level was still far below White Fang's, so he would not fight White Fang one-on-one. He was indeed the Kazekage and the commander-in-chief of the team, but according to seniority, he was White Fang's junior, having debuted decades later than White Fang. It was not shameful for him, as the commander-in-chief, not to fight White Fang one-on-one. Besides, there was also Lord Shinto.

Moreover, given White Fang and Shinto's habits, the two of them would definitely go off to fight one-on-one, which would be the best option for both sides.

He had also seen Konoha's lineup this time. There was one double-flower red stick and two red sticks. One of them was the head of the Aburame clan, who was over fifty years old and didn't have any special bloodline, so he was just a low-ranking member in his prime. As for the other one, Yuhi Shinku... although he was also a red stick, he really looked down on Konoha's red stick. He was just a genjutsu user and was useless in large-scale team battles. If he wanted to boost his stats, the opponent couldn't defend against him at all.

Once the fight begins, White Fang will have a one-on-one duel with Shinto. He just needs to break through the defense of the Aburame clan leader. He has only been in the industry for a few years and is still in the rising phase of his career, not even at his peak yet. Meanwhile, the Aburame clan leader is already at the tail end of his peak. With this disparity, he is confident that he can break through the Aburame clan leader's defense and win the entire match in a one-on-one duel between the two ace players.

If he can rack up three MVPs in a row at the start of the game, his fame and reputation will skyrocket. He'll be able to secure his position as Kazekage back in the village, and after the war, he can marry Karura, have a football team, and reach the pinnacle of his life...

But the reality was somewhat different from what he had expected. White Fang went to fight Shinto-sama one-on-one, just as he had anticipated.

If he could break through the Aburame clan leader's defense, a few servings of gold sand would be enough to secure the MVP title. However, he never expected that the Aburame clan leader would be so resilient, managing to defend against him despite his old age. Even though he was clearly not as strong as him, he managed to stop him every time.

He figured he might as well defend against it. After all, his opponent's combat experience far surpassed his own, and he could sense that. There was nothing he could do about it; combat experience could only be honed over time, and there were no shortcuts. So, he planned to use his youth, vitality, and energy—which far exceeded that of the old man—to wear him down, and then take over the entire arena.

In his mind, in this first battle, the number of people on both sides was about the same, and this fight was going to be quite big.

But now, this old man's old arms and legs are still strong and haven't fallen down yet. That's not all. Those despicable bastards from Konoha actually moved the battlefield to the vicinity of the battlefield where White Fang and Lord Shinto were fighting one-on-one, making it impossible for the Sand Village ninjas to rush over in a large number. If they rushed over in a small number, they would just be sending their own people to their deaths.

That would have been fine. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation for being a schemer wasn't widespread, he had often heard his teacher and Lord Kaizo mention Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation for being a schemer. As the saying goes, "one is influenced by one's company," so it was normal for Konoha to come up with such despicable methods. However, what happened next surprised him. The fight between the two sides' underlings was canceled. One side was too afraid to go over, and the other side was too afraid to come over, turning a proper large-scale team battle into a verbal battle.

What the hell is he supposed to do?

If he hadn't taken power yet, he could have completely disregarded martial ethics. After weakening the Aburame clan's leadership, he could have simply given those Konoha underlings a few blows of gold dust, and that would have been enough. The methods were despicable, but if it boosted his stats, it wouldn't matter.

But things are different now. He's the village chief of Sunagakure, the Kazekage of the First Generation. His death will be recorded in history textbooks, representing not only himself but also the image of the entire village. If his underlings hadn't even started fighting, and he suddenly attacked, wouldn't his unsportsmanlike conduct be ridiculed and recorded in ninja history for posterity to criticize? The Fourth Kazekage's lack of sportsmanship—while others were criticizing, he was attacking—that's definitely a black mark on his history, a stain not only on his legendary career but also on Sunagakure. How could he do something so despicable?

What face will his grandfather, his future wife, his future children, and his descendants have to show themselves then?

But if he can't rack up stats, there won't be an MVP award. While we don't yet know whose stats are the best, it definitely won't be him...

Thinking about these things makes Luo Sha feel as uncomfortable as if he has eaten shit.

........

"Get out of here! Go and kill those bastards from Konoha! ヽ(#`Д)?"

The Sand Village and the Leaf Village have already started their war. On the other side, the more than 30,000 Iwa ninja led by Onoki had just reached the border of the Land of Earth when they were blocked by Jiraiya. However, Onoki was quite arrogant this time. He didn't rest or give his subordinates any special treatment after arriving at his destination. When he heard that the Leaf Village leader was Jiraiya, the disciple of his old rival Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was always being deceived while wearing the white hair of the Hatake clan, he didn't say a word. He immediately turned black-nosed, stuck out his braid, and charged towards the Leaf Village camp with more than 30,000 of his men, looking murderous.

Onoki was furious. He had fought Hiruzen Sarutobi for so many years. Although he wasn't as concerned about his reputation as the Raikage, the thought of that short, lecherous monkey Hiruzen Sarutobi, who didn't come to his home to play the hero but instead sent his disciple to ambush him, made him feel even worse than when he found out that the short, lecherous monkey had a second child.

It's like treating someone as a lifelong enemy, only for that person to completely disregard you and send their disciple to fight, even if that disciple is also a high-ranking official. Is that the same thing? Is this bastard showing off how awesome his disciple is? (▼へ▼メ)

Anyway, Ohnoki was really annoyed.

"Lord Jiraiya, Onoki has led his men and is attacking!"

"Holy crap! Has that old man Onoki taken some kind of superpower? He's already started fighting as soon as he arrives! Go get reinforcements, let's go! Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

Back in the Konoha camp, Jiraiya, who was working on his second masterpiece and hadn't had time to gather material due to the war, was struggling to come up with any inspiration when he heard his subordinate's words. He jumped up. They had been there for almost a week, waiting for the Iwagakure to arrive. He thought he should still have time to work on his next masterpiece, since a large group of Iwagakure ninja had been traveling day and night, and even if they arrived, they would need to rest and recuperate, so there wouldn't be any fighting for a while. But yesterday he hadn't received any news of the Iwagakure's arrival, and now he had just received news that they had only arrived today. This Onoki wasn't playing by the rules; they started fighting as soon as they arrived.

671. Lao Zi: So this is how good I am at fighting!

"Charge! Kill those bastards! Slay a hundred of them and I'll put him on the throne! ╬?д?╬?"

"Dust Release: Particle Style! ヽ(#`Д′)?"