Chapter 476: I'm Sorry, I'm Late
Within the country of fire.
On a certain tree.
Aoba stood quietly on the top of the tree.
His entire body did not emit any aura, as if he had fused with nature. In this noisy and murderous environment, he seemed out of place.
Below the branch was the battlefield.
Iwagakure ninjas seemed to have gone crazy as they continuously attacked Konohagakure ninjas.
At this point in time.
Iwagakure ninjas were essentially stronger and more well-trained. They had a huge advantage against Konohagakure ninjas, even in dense forests that were not particularly suitable for performing earth-release ninjutsu.
"Retreat!"
The eyes of Konohagakure ninjas flashed with despair. When they received the order, they did not fight Iwagakure ninjas to death. Instead, they fought and retreated.
The main tendency was not to fight, but to retreat. Avoid fighting as much as possible and retreat.
Such a battle strategy had been very effective before this, but this time, Iwagakure ninjas did not retreat because of a slight advantage but continued to attack them.
The sudden change made them very uncomfortable.
So much so that they caused many painful losses.
"What happened to Iwagakure ninjas? We have retreated so much, why aren't they going back yet?"
"Are all Iwagakure ninjas crazy?"
"What should we do now? Should we continue to retreat or fight?"
"How are we going to fight this group of mad dogs?!"
"..."
Konohagakure ninjas fought and retreated. They were still complaining and communicating with each other. The changes that happened in this battle were unexpected to them, so they did not make enough preparations.
Of course.
Not only were these ninjas unprepared.
Even the Konohagakure army commander, Konoha White Fang Hatake Sakumo, had not expected this.
At this moment.
Hatake Sakumo's face was deathly pale. There was almost no color on it. His face was filled with panic. He had a lot of personal and team experience, but this was the first time he was managing a ninja army.
Not only that.
Most importantly.
Hatake Sakumo's psychological quality had never been very good.
He was more concerned about the opinions of the people around him.
Just as Iwagakure ninjas were constantly charging forward without any signs of retreating, he realized that this time, Iwagakure was planning to launch a total attack.
This was a complete mistake in his decision.
Now, in the face of the surging Iwagakure ninja army, he could resist a few people by himself. But after all, not everyone had the same ability as him. No matter how strong he was, he had to watch one ninja after another fall beside him.
This scene made him clench his teeth tightly. His gums were about to burst out with blood. His heart was extremely broken, but he could not think of a solution at the moment.
He wanted Konohagakure ninjas to retreat quickly and leave this place quickly. However, Iwagakure ninjas were chasing after him, not giving him any chance at all. The more they retreated, the more passive the situation became. It made the battle situation a one-sided trend.
But...
If he were to issue an order now.
If Konohagakure ninjas were to retaliate.
Then there was another situation.
Right now, Konohagakure ninjas had already suffered heavy casualties. If they continued to fight, there was no need to think about it, it would cause even more tragic results.
As a result...
Hatake Sakumo was in a dilemma!
They couldn't advance.
They couldn't retreat.
For a moment, he didn't know how to make a choice.
Right now, he wished he could have a pair of wings and leave this place with Konohagakure ninjas. However, he also understood that escaping was not a good choice. It was just that the current situation was too passive, and it was close to becoming an unacceptable result.
"Kill!"
At this time, the commander of the Iwagakure ninja Army, Michiru, shouted angrily. His mind was very active, and he had clearly caught the key point of the matter. He understood that Konohagakure ninjas were already in a state of collapse.
If they wanted to win now, they had to attack brazenly and take advantage of the current situation to kill their way through.
Previously, he had been cautious.
Now that he had continuously obtained information from Midoritsuchi and Kitsuchi, Michiru no longer hesitated. He no longer had any distractions. He even led Iwagakure ninjas to burst out with a strong desire to attack. It was the time to be imposing.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"..."
When Iwagakure ninjas heard Michiru's words, they also began to shout. One after another, they roared loudly, instantly causing the killing intent emitted by their whole body to become even stronger, and their momentum instantly rose to a new peak.
In a short time.
The imposing aura of the Iwagakure ninja army and the Konohagakure ninja army formed a sharp contrast.
The confidence of Iwagakure ninjas multiplied, and with the intent to take revenge for their Tsuchikage-sama, they completely erupted with combat strength that exceeded their own. Almost everyone believed that they could obtain the final victory.
On the other side.
Konohagakure ninjas were in a mess. Seeing their fallen comrades and facing the enemies' powerful attacks, they all felt that they were in a desperate situation.
In this situation.
Almost everyone was clear.
Konohagakure suffered a crushing defeat.
The most important thing was...
Konohagakure could no longer afford to lose.
The reinforcements didn't come at all, or there were none at all. If this group of people died, then the students of the ninja school would have to participate in the battle.
It turns out...
According to the original trajectory of this group of people...
They had indeed died on this battlefield!
...
On the tree.
Aoba quietly watched the situation in front of him.
The eyebrows behind the mask were slightly furrowed.
"Isn't it a little too much?"
Aoba muttered to himself. After his intervention these few times, he gradually understood one thing.
Not every arrangement would go according to the plan in his mind.
This was also the reason why being the mastermind behind the scenes was a difficult job.
At first, he wanted to keep the situation in the ninja world in stable situation. This way, he could successfully delay until Minato returned. However, Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure did not dare to attack the other side easily; while Kumogakure and Kirigakure were also holding each other back.
If things go on like this, not only would it not provide Minato with room for him to play, but it will also lead to burnout due to long-term procrastination. In the end, it was very likely to turn into peace talks and enter a new round of stable development period.
There must be a breakthrough point!
And this breakthrough must be just right!
This was a very difficult thing!
The breakthrough point of the Third Ninja World War in history was the sudden disappearance of Third Kazekage, which directly caused Sunagakure's strength to be greatly reduced, resulting in a strong imbalance in strength.
The breakthrough that Aoba created now was to attack the Third Tsuchikage, causing the dissatisfaction of Iwagakure ninja, and then attack Konohagakure to break the current stable deadlock.
But...
Aoba looked at the battlefield in front of him.
The deadlock was broken.
It was just a little too much.
It was about to wipe out all of Konohagakure's ninjas.
And it was not time for Minato to return.
This kind of timing was really too bad!
Aoba raised his hand and rubbed his temples. At this moment, he was thinking quickly. He was thinking about whether he should take action to settle the problem here. After all, once these ninjas were dead, then Konohagakure's combat strength would reach a state of extreme deficit.
"Eh?"
However.
Just at this time.
Aoba's pupils shrank.
Doubt first appeared in the depths of his eyes, and then turned into a little light. The corners of the mouth behind the mask slightly curled up, revealing a knowing smile.
"Kushina is back!"
"Looks like Minato is back!"
"The timing is perfect!"
"The blind cat has run into a dead rat!"
"Perfect!"
Aoba said to himself proudly. He had just felt that this was the best chance for Minato to return. If Minato came earlier, he wouldn't be of use. If he came later, he wouldn't be able to quench his thirst.
But Minato just happened to return at this time!
This was simply too perfect!
Aoba didn't release all of his perceptions, and there was no way to recognize which one was Minato, but he could clearly feel Kushina's chakra.
It was not because there was something special about the nature of Kushina's chakra.
There was a very simple reason.
Large!
Kushina had a huge amount of chakra!
Aoba had felt it once before Kushina left. Among the many Konohagakure ninjas, the ninjas' chakra was like the stars in the sky, but Kushina was like the sun among these people, completely revealing herself.
This was not just because Kushina was the Kyuubi Jinchuriki!
Kushina herself was a member of the Uzumaki Clan, and she was a pure-blood one. When she was the same age as Naruto, she had much more chakra than Naruto.
Moreover, the Kyuubi in her body was the complete Kyuubi, which was much stronger than the Kyuubi sealed in Naruto.
Right now, Kushina could be said to have surpassed Naruto in all aspects in terms of strength.
Just now.
Aoba was still hesitating about whether to make a move.
He then clearly felt a huge chakra appear. It suddenly appeared not far behind Konohagakure ninjas. Others would not notice such a sudden change, but for Aoba, it was like a huge light bulb lighting up in the night. It could not be more dazzling.
Kushina was back.
This meant that Minato was back as well.
This was something that Aoba could be sure of.
"I can watch a good show now."
Aoba once again restrained his aura. He knew very well that Minato had definitely grasped the Sage Mode when he returned this time. Then, in terms of perception, he was completely different from before.
If he didn't pay any attention to it.
It was very likely that Minato would discover him.
After all, Minato was very careful and could discover details that others could not.
Now that everything had been set up to this point
Then he absolutely could not expose himself in front of Minato.
After everything was settled and hiding his achievements and fame, Aoba's face behind the mask gradually showed a relaxed expression. He could finally return to the quiet life and leave everything to Minato.
...
Konohagakure battlefield.
The ninjas retreated quickly. At the same time, they were still attacking Iwagakure ninjas. They were all injured and almost everyone was mentally prepared to lose their lives. Despair gradually enveloped their bodies.
There was no way!
There was no way to break the situation!
This made them think of the previous Anbu army that was almost wiped out.
Now, they didn't dare to think about what would happen when the Iwagakure ninja army reached Konohagakure.
'Is this it?!'
Everyone couldn't help but think of this. The despair in their hearts had suppressed all the hope they had because they couldn't see any hope at all.
"No!"
Right at this moment.
Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, had a strong sense of unwillingness in his eyes. He could not allow this battle to fail miserably because of his wrong decision!
He could not fail to live up to Konohagakure's expectations.
They had to fight!
It had to change!
Once they lost, Konohagakure would be finished!
Instantly.
Hatake Sakumo took out two more kunai. Now, he was surrounded by four Iwagakure Jonin. He was too busy to take care of himself, and it was very difficult for him to break out of the encirclement.
Whoosh!
Another figure suddenly appeared.
This person was the commander of the Iwagakure ninja army, Michiru.
Michiru stared coldly at Hatake Sakumo.
"Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, I know that you are very powerful and we really can't do anything to you in a short period of time, but we will let you see with your own eyes how your Konohagakure ninjas died in front of you!"
Michiru's tone was very cold. His goal now was very simple. It was to destroy Hatake Sakumo's heart bit by bit through words.
He was very clear about the problem between Iwagakure and Konohagakure.
Iwagakure middle combat power was very strong.
But their top combat power was no match for Konohagakure.
Fortunately, none of the Sannin came this time. There was only one Hatake Sakumo, so it was not completely impossible for them to deal with him.
"Humph!"
Hatake Sakumo shorted coldly. He ignored Michiru's words and focused on dealing with the ninjas who were attacking him. His forehead began to be covered with fine beads of sweat.
These people could not do anything to him.
However, it was not easy for him to break out of the encirclement.
There was no way to support the ninjas who were continuously falling down.
The situation was extremely urgent.
Ding!
All of a sudden.
A clear and crisp sound entered everyone's ears, causing them to involuntarily look in the direction of the sound.
At the place where Konohagakure ninjas were fighting Iwagakure ninjas.
In front of the Konohagakure ninja army.
A strange three-pronged kunai suddenly pierced into the rock just in front Iwagakure ninja army. It protected the Konohagakure ninja army behind it. A special paper tag was tied to the kunai's handle, and the words "Sword of Shinobi's Love" were written on it.
The moment the kunai appeared.
A yellow-haired man appeared. He crouched slightly and grabbed the kunai's handle with his right hand. His face was cold and his body exuded a faint killing intent.
"I'm sorry, I'm late."
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