Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

They've only ever dreamed about this kind of thing...

Now that the three-way battle has begun, it would be a bit much for Sunagakure to continue with their BBQ... So Shinto put down his BBQ equipment and had Sasori's father call in reinforcements to prepare for a fight with Konoha. If they didn't fight soon, he seriously suspected that Onoki and the Raikage might actually kick Sunagakure out of their ranks and then turn their attention to them. The situation here is too volatile; if they don't handle it well, they could lose everything...

"Kill! Kill!"

After Shinto's inspiring speech, the underlings below seemed to have been injected with adrenaline, becoming incredibly excited and eager to rush up and fight Konoha for three hundred rounds right now. As for the claim that they were only children, even if they were, their elderly parents would have already gone through the process of having a second child before they even got out!

Even if there are elderly people and young children at home, they would never step forward. The living conditions in the village are so poor that being a lackey would only make their family suffer. It would be better to take a chance while they are young and rise to a higher position so that their family can live a life of wealth and prosperity!

"...Captain Jie, why is Lord Shindou acting like a bunch of mules fighting..."

Roca, a rookie participating in such a large-scale team battle for the first time, was also excited by Shinto's words. However, he was somewhat cultured and realized that something seemed off. They were ninjas, not dwarfs. Did Shinto really have any effect?

"Ninjas and dwarf mules are essentially no different; they're all just trying to survive. And this kind of large-scale war is different from our usual ninja squad battles. While the strength of a ninja squad is crucial, in such a large-scale war, strength isn't the decisive factor. As the saying goes, swords have no eyes; what truly matters is the overall morale. Brother's words may be a bit rough, but they definitely boost morale..."

Seeing Roca's novice-like appearance, Handsome Scorpion's father calmed down his equally excited emotions and explained to Roca.

"Very good, no one stepped forward. I see fierce ambition in your eyes. Now, maintain this posture and formation, let's go!"

Shindou looked at his two spirited underlings, none of whom stepped forward, and with a look of satisfaction, he turned around, waved his hand, took out his golden greatsword, slung it over his shoulder, and led his underlings toward the Konoha camp.

"Oh! Kill!"

His underlings behind him echoed him in their excitement.

The scene was unusually harmonious. Since Sunagakure didn't yet have the means to standardize uniforms, and ninjas always wanted to be unconventional, resulting in a motley array of styles, it really looked like a short, stocky mule going to fight its friend...

It's strange, but the definition of a ninja is that they fight in a sneaky way, don't play by the rules, and are unpredictable. But in this world, apart from regular assassinations, ninjas always fight head-on. They are used like warriors. This is especially true in large-scale battles. Although they still use some ninja techniques, their fighting style is more like that of warriors. They never play any tricks or gimmicks. They just fight head-on!

Shinto has complained about this countless times, but it's a tradition that has been maintained in the ninja world for thousands of years. It's probably because the old man of the Six Paths and his two sons were irresponsible or lacked innovation. They only developed hand seals to release ninjutsu, but they haven't developed a suitable fighting style for ninjas. They are still using the head-on confrontation style from the samurai era.

Even if a ninja wins a war, their underhanded tactics will still be looked down upon...

.....

"Lord White Fang, the entire Sand Village has been mobilized!"

The mobilization of the entire Sand Village was bound to cause quite a stir, so as soon as the Sand Village set out, Konoha immediately received the news. After all, they had been monitoring the Sand Village's movements for so many days, and their drooling hadn't been for nothing. To be honest, the Sand Village's barbecue skills were truly amazing!

"They're here! Everyone assemble!"

Sakumo Hatake, who was sitting coolly in the main seat wiping his short blade, also turned his gaze and stood up seriously, speaking to the family leaders around him.

After the other three battlefields had already begun fighting, he and Nara Shika had already guessed that Sunagakure was definitely going to go to war this time.

275. Why does Master Shindou specialize in attacking the lower body?

"Stay calm. Although they outnumber us, there's nothing to be afraid of. They're all human beings with two arms and two legs, and they're no better than anyone else. There's nothing to be afraid of... When you charge into the crowd and start slashing, be quick and ruthless. If you can kill them, don't just injure them. Being soft-hearted will only hurt yourself and others..."

At the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, all forces from both sides were in position, ready for battle. Their eyes were fixed on each other as if searching for a suitable opponent. The tradition of the ninja world couldn't be broken: no fighting would be allowed before the two leaders had exchanged insults...

Compared to Konoha's uniform attire, Sunagakure's diverse and outlandish clothing stood out even more. However, after Shinto's impassioned speech, the underlings, who were initially quite excited, lost their enthusiasm upon seeing the Konoha army. Their hearts sank instantly. Had Konoha really put all their main force on their side?

More than 20,000 people!

Over twenty thousand people—a dense, overwhelming sea of ​​heads. The uniform attire and perfectly aligned positions created immense psychological pressure on many of the underlings. Some rookies, standing on this stage for the first time, were overwhelmed with excitement, their legs trembling, lips pale, standing fearfully in the crowd. They desperately wanted to ask their leader, Shindou, if it was too late to step forward now, with their aging parents already struggling with a second child…

However, the veterans who had participated in the Rain Kingdom's chaotic battles, upon seeing the newbies around them, did not intend to tease them. They immediately calmed the newbies down and taught them their experience in fighting. Everyone has a first time, right? Wasn't their first battle in the Rain Kingdom just like that?

This guy got used to chopping things up after a while...

"Holy crap! White Fang, did you forget to wash your face this morning? Your eyes are still bogged down... Is Konoha really this disrespectful to its opponents? What the hell are you looking at?! Kill them all! (▼he▼メ)"

Shinto and Hatake Sakumo stared at each other for a few minutes. Hatake Sakumo probably hadn't had time to wash up in his morning rush, and when he saw that there was still a speck of sleep in Shinto's eyes, he instantly lost all desire to talk back. He looked furious, his Armament Haki activated, and he drew his greatsword, which was completely black, and charged forward.

Although I haven't read any military treatises, as a veteran player of nation-war games, I know that when outnumbered, the leader must never back down. Momentum is crucial. Even if you're spotted, you absolutely cannot safely revive. The fiercer the leader, the more ferocious the followers will be. If the leader doesn't lead the charge, dies, and then safely revives, and if the leader, already outnumbered, backs down, then the war is over—it's a guaranteed loss!

(⊙_⊙)?？ ？ ？

Sakumo Hatake was completely bewildered as he watched Shiki charge at him angrily. What... what does not washing his face have to do with respecting his teammates?

But didn't I wash my face before? I quickly wiped my eyes and indeed picked out a small black dot from one of my eyes. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't eye boogers at all, but rather...

"...Damn it, this is sand! Get it! (▼he▼メ)"

However, seeing the bewildered and surprised expressions of everyone around him, he immediately realized he had fallen for this bastard's trick, drew his family heirloom short blade, and led the charge.

This bastard is getting more and more cunning; he's even resorting to psychological warfare now...

"Ding ding ding...!"

Since it's a chaotic battle, no one who hasn't gotten carried away would be foolish enough to randomly spam sword energy even when their own teammates are watching. After all, this is a 1v1 team battle, not a free-for-all. The intention to spam sword energy and boost stats at the start would be too obvious and would inevitably be categorized by others.

Moreover, the number of people in Sunagakure is already smaller than that in Konoha. If they don't have a passionate leader to guide them and they're just focused on racking up kills or fighting the enemy's core members, who knows how many underlings will die or be injured after this battle? These are the future backbone of Sunagakure.

However, after the two leaders, Shinto and Sakumo Hatake, made contact, they engaged in a fierce and swift exchange of blows. Sakumo Hatake's godlike movement skills were on full display, and the two were extremely familiar with each other's attack methods. They knew which direction to strike as soon as the other raised his hand. The golden greatsword and the white short blade clashed repeatedly, producing... oops! Sparks flew as they collided. There was no scene of sword energy crisscrossing and blade light filling the sky as in legends, but this clash of basic swordsmanship and basic knife techniques was indeed full of hidden danger, with each move aimed at the opponent's vital points.

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter..."

"Fire Release: Fireball Technique..."

"Earth Escape - Earth Rising Spear"

"Water Escape·Water Formation Wall..."

"..."

After the two sides clashed, the scene became incredibly chaotic, with all sorts of ninjutsu flying everywhere, resembling a grand fireworks display. Of course, judging from the level of the ninjutsu they unleashed, these guys were clearly battlefield novices. Participating in such a large-scale event for the first time, their blood was boiling, their minds were clouded, and they were releasing ninjutsu almost instinctively, completely ignorant of the art of endurance. These kinds of novices are commonly known as cannon fodder in war; when their pitiful chakra reserves are exhausted, that will be the day they are harvested...

"puff!"

"Hmm? Lord Shinto isn't getting worked up this time? (⊙_⊙)?"

After a seasoned veteran of war slit the throat of a Konoha newbie with a kunai, he subconsciously looked toward the center of the battlefield where the two big shots were fighting. He saw that the two big shots were having a fierce battle of basic skills. Although the fighting was quite intense and every strike was accompanied by sparks, the lack of familiar sword energy made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

People are just so despicable...

"puff!"

"Wow, it's true, Shinto-sama isn't using sword aura anymore... But why does Shinto-sama always focus on attacking the lower body... Aren't Shinto-sama and White Fang on good terms? (⊙_⊙)?"

When this seasoned Sand Village veteran's companion got a kill in the same way, he subconsciously looked towards where the two leaders were facing off. Just as his companion had said, Shinto-sama wasn't getting cocky anymore. But this focus on the lower body seemed a bit... underhanded!

It's completely heading towards making someone useless.

"This is probably what they call 'plastic brothers'..."

After pondering for a while, his companion said uncertainly...

...

"Shadow Manipulation Technique!"

"Puff puff!"

"This is bad..."

Nara Shika, with his family's secret techniques, was also the most relaxed one on the battlefield. He controlled a dozen or so Sunagakure underlings around him with dozens of shadow tentacles to help him boost his stats, ignoring the tearful expressions of those underlings he controlled. As a traditional point guard, boosting stats was not his goal. His main responsibility was to read the situation on the court and organize the team's offensive rhythm.

276. Conqueror's Haki awakens, splitting the sky in two.

When he saw the two generals clashing in the center of the battlefield, Shiki focused his attacks on Sakumo's lower body, which immediately made him realize Shiki's cunning intentions. The Hatake clan naturally has less mana than normal people, but Sakumo's ten-pack abs speak for themselves. If the two were to really clash in terms of basic skills, Sakumo wouldn't even be out of breath even if they fought for ten days or half a month.

However, Shiki always attacks Sakumo's lower body, forcing Sakumo to maintain a half-squatting posture every time he blocks his attack. This half-squatting posture consumes the most physical strength, about twice as much as a normal movement. In other words, Sakumo consumes more than twice the physical strength of Shiki every time he attacks Shiki. Even if Sakumo has abs all over his body, he can't last long if he keeps going like this!

The Golden Lion's tactics are truly intricate!

Such a minute detail would go unnoticed by most people. If he hadn't recently become obsessed with tennis and watched some similar methods of using topspin to wear down the opponent, he wouldn't have noticed this detail at all. He would still simply believe that Shiki was aiming to cripple Sakumo, even though Shiki's attack speed wasn't actually that fast...

Shinto, who was focusing on Sakumo Hatake's lower body techniques, didn't think as much as Nara Shika. He wasn't even interested in tennis... His main goal in targeting Sakumo Hatake's lower body was to cripple his knees, leave him confused and aimless for two years, and then have him switch careers to play basketball with Coach Anzai... Sakumo Hatake's footwork was incredibly flashy, like a dream walk; even Observation Haki couldn't catch his next move. Ninja wasn't for him; he should just play basketball...

Goodbye, athletic boy!

......

"Willow Leaf Flowing!"

"Shuashuashua...!"

"Aaaaaah...!"

"Hey! Watch out!!!"

"what!!"

"Huh? Holy crap! You damn Konoha genin! You're asking for it! (-"-Angry)"

"Get out of my way, White Fang!"

"boom!!!"

"Bang bang bang...!"

Just then, a series of screams, along with Yusa's screams and Sasori's father's screams, suddenly reached Masato's ears. His heart clenched inexplicably. Despite the several stabs from Hatake Sakumo, he pushed forward towards Sasori's father and saw Yusa looking at him with a terrified expression. Dozens of the bodyguards he had arranged were already lying around them, and a Konoha genin had a knife stuck in Sasori's father's abdomen.

Upon seeing this scene, Shinto's mind went blank for a moment. A surge of intense anger combined with heartache seemed to have touched something. After forcing White Fang back with his sword, a powerful aura erupted from his body. Under the impact of this aura, all those below the level of Jonin within a hundred miles, whether they were Konoha underlings or Sunagakure underlings, were all knocked to the ground with their eyes rolling back.

Ding ding ding! Conqueror's Haki awakens!!

Even though the Jonin didn't collapse or roll their eyes, they felt an immense pressure on their minds, making them extremely uncomfortable. They looked at the Golden Lion with horror, whose eyes had turned red and whose anger had erupted.

"Hiss! This....Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

Even the high-ranking members of Konoha who weren't greatly affected were shocked by the sheer power of this guy's aura; he had actually taken down so many people with just his aura.

This is ridiculously strong!

"You damn genin! I'll kill you! Zanpakuto!! (「▼皿▼)"

"when!"

"boom!"

"what!"

In a fit of rage, Shinto unleashed a massive sword aura at the Konoha genin who, surprisingly, didn't even flinch under his onslaught. This genin, who had stabbed Sasori's father, was no slouch; he quickly raised his sword to parry. However, the sword aura from the sword imbued with Armament Haki was incredibly powerful. So far, only White Fang's family heirloom short blade could withstand it. The Konoha genin's sword snapped upon contact, and the aura slammed into his chest. Perhaps the genin was wearing a breastplate, for he wasn't torn to pieces by the massive sword aura. Instead, he screamed in agony as blood spurted from his chest and he was sent flying.

"Die! Lion God's Punishment! (▼皿▼#)"

Seeing that it wasn't a clean severance as he had imagined, Shinto stopped joking and instead unleashed an even larger, red-glowing sword aura.

"My God! The sky has been cleaved in two... (?｀?Д?′)!!

"This is probably the sword strike from the Land of Whirlpools... It's too powerful! (||?Д?)"