Minato wasn't surprised by this. He solemnly said, "Is it an attack on the Sand's encampment?"
Orochimaru nodded, "Hehe, nothing gets past Jōnin Minato. Your command ability and analysis of the battle situation are both extremely excellent."
Orochimaru pointed to the map placed on the sand table and said, "We've been shrinking back into the interior of Mount Kikyo. The Sand haven't been able to break through for a long time, and now they're getting anxious."
"According to intel from spies we planted behind the Sand's lines, not long ago, their water route was suddenly attacked. They suffered heavy casualties. It's speculated that it was the Mist."
"The Sand can't stay here and continue this stalemate with us for too long."
"The more it drags on, the more desperate they'll get. They'll launch a fierce assault. This is an extremely dangerous situation. After all, Mount Kikyo is too close to Konoha. We can't afford to defend here for long."
"So I need to make use of your mobility to harass the Sand, force them to stretch thin responding to you, and stop them from focusing all their strength on the frontlines."
Minato nodded and simply said two words, "We understand."
Orochimaru looked at Minato with some surprise. In the Sand's camp, there were at least three strong individuals stationed, he himself found them quite tricky to deal with.
Even though Minato had Flying Thunder God, that didn't guarantee absolute safety.
After all, when given time to prepare, all the villages had various countermeasures against space-time ninjutsu.
For example, now that Konoha's Yellow Flash was famous, the area surrounding the Sand's camp had all sorts of barriers restricting spatial movement.
But what Orochimaru didn't know was that, although such barriers could seal space, they only affected the same space.
If a non-existent alternate space was introduced, many restrictions could be bypassed.
With Obito around, their spatial control was vast. He could even exploit this point in reverse, catching the enemy completely off guard.
Seeing Minato so confident, Orochimaru smiled and said, "Interesting. Then get ready, we depart immediately."
"If the Sand's camp is attacked, I'll coordinate an assault from my side. I won't let you fall into danger."
Minato nodded and said, "Understood."
After speaking, he and Obito, Kakashi exchanged a glance and disappeared with Body Flicker.
After Orochimaru and the other two left, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
It was strange, at the start of the Battle of Mount Kikyo, he had felt immense pressure.
Singlehandedly holding off the attack of three Kage-level fighters, he felt as if he could collapse at any moment.
But ever since Minato's team arrived, the situation felt firmly under control.
———
In the Sand's encampment, in a similar military tent.
A group of high-level Sand ninja were holding a meeting.
Elder Chiyo held several intel reports in his hand, his gaze flickering.
"Just received word. The A-B combo from the Hidden Cloud has already departed, heading toward Konoha."
"Onoki also seems to have left his village. He'll either appear on the frontlines against the Third Raikage A or launch a surprise attack on Konoha."
"The pressure Konoha is facing is no less than ours, perhaps even greater."
Everyone sighed in relief. After so long being unable to break through, they were all somewhat fatigued.
The most exhausted among them was Rasa.
He was beginning to regret launching the attack on Konoha.
He asked, "Do we still need to keep fighting this war?"
Elder Chiyo said, "You were too impulsive. When we held off the Cloud's attack, it was thanks to our terrain advantage. But attacking Konoha is an entirely different matter."
"Konoha has the strongest foundation of all villages. Even if they lost the White Fang, they gained a new Flash."
Chiyo nodded, still with lingering fear, "Luckily, Tsunade developed hemophobia and can't appear on the frontlines, otherwise she would be even harder to deal with."
Elder Chiyo said, "Even her disciple Rin is already a major headache."
"Unfortunately, we lack speed-type experts suited for ambushes. We can't carry out decapitation strikes. Otherwise, we would've prioritized taking out their medical ninja."
Rasa's expression showed a trace of worry, "We don't have any, but they do. That Flash who moves freely on the battlefield, and his teammates like Obito, they all use that jutsu."
"Just Minato alone ties down the three of us. We don't dare leave the camp easily. It's really infuriating."
Elder Chiyo shook his head, "There's no point complaining now. We need to be on guard against a sneak attack. The Mist have already come. Let's hope our rear forces can hold them off."
Chiyo grew concerne, "If they send the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and a large force, we won't be able to withstand it."
Elder Chiyo said mockingly, "The Mist probably has their eyes on Konoha. After all, if they had a choice, who would care about this piece of Sand territory? We don't need to worry about that."
"All we need to do is outlast Konoha."
Rasa and Chiyo both nodded.
At this moment, suddenly, a Sand ninja burst into the tent.
"The sensory barrier detected enemies, ENEMY ATTACK!"
Everyone inside was shocked and instantly stood up.
Although they had been on guard ever since learning of Minato's information, now that it was really happening, they still felt dread.
Rasa immediately ordered, "Have the Sealing Team get ready. Seal off the surrounding space, at all costs!"
"Konoha's Yellow Flash is too dangerous, we must trap him here!"
As Rasa's command fell, the Sand shinobi began moving quickly.
The moment everyone Body Flickered out of the tent—
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A series of explosions from explosive tags sounded in multiple locations.
"Damn it!", Elder Chiyo cursed and immediately ordered, "Everyone group up! Avoid being isolated! The enemy is capable of extremely lethal one-on-one strikes!"
As he spoke, he opened a scroll he carried with him and summoned his puppets from inside, controlling them to begin sensing the area.
Very quickly, he pinpointed the direction, "Southeast! Seal the space, we're heading there!"
After that, he led the charge toward the enemy.
WHOOSH!
Dozens of jōnin followed Elder Chiyo, bursting forth with speed.
This formation was luxurious. Even if a Kage was surrounded like this, they'd likely fall.
Soon, they reached the spot they had just sensed.
However, it was already empty.
Elder Chiyo's eyes narrowed in disbelief.
"Impossible. This space has already been sealed. Even Minato can't just retreat freely in a sealed space. If he tried to force his way out, our forces were all around, it's impossible that no sound was made!"
"They must still be nearby. Search!"
The group of jōnin obeyed and began a thorough search of the area.
However… they found no one, not even a hair.
Rasa's expression was grim. If they let the enemy get away this time, they'd fall into an extremely passive position.
The enemy didn't even need to do much. Just a few harassing attacks like today every day would push their nerves to the breaking point.
But how had the enemy infiltrated the heart of the Sand's base, planted explosive tags, and escaped even under space-sealing barriers?
As Rasa pondered this question, suddenly, the surrounding space twisted.
A golden flash had already appeared in front of Rasa.
In his hand, a Rasengan spun rapidly, smashing toward Rasa!
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