111 Steve Chapter 110

As they had located the Sand Village's base, Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze decided to launch a swift assault. According to their plan, dealing with the Jinchuriki wouldn't be too difficult, but if the Tailed Beasts went berserk, it could become troublesome.

Nara Shikaku, Konoha's strategist, shared the same concern, and so they collectively decided to immediately attack the Sand Village to prevent them from relocating.

They feared the Sand Village might change their position, especially after the recent incident where their Jinchuriki went on a rampage, causing a significant commotion. If the Sand Village was sensible, they would try to move their forces.

Soon, the ninja from Konoha began their move. Although it was a surprise attack, they anticipated the Sand Village would have some tactics prepared. Nara Shikaku proposed that Orochimaru lead the main force in a frontal assault. By now, the enemy was likely preparing to retreat. The idea was to disrupt the enemy's formation and rhythm by pressing forward with the main force. If the enemy resisted, they would engage them head-on.

The Sand Village didn't deploy all their aces this time; elite shinobi like Chiyo were still guarding the village. On the other hand, with Orochimaru, a Sannin-level powerhouse, leading the frontal attack, Konoha couldn't be at a disadvantage.

Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze assembled a special assault team. His high mobility made him the ideal leader for this squad. Their mission was to execute a decapitation plan, infiltrating the battlefield from the southeast. They aimed to locate and seal any potential Jinchuriki, create chaos, and take the opportunity to attack the Sand Village's command structure.

The battle between the two sides commenced swiftly.

The first to encounter the enemy was Minato Namikaze's assault team. They spotted the enemy's logistics team retreating towards the Land of Wind along a small road while transporting supplies. The enemy's team consisted of around a hundred people.

With the help of the Hyuga clan's reconnaissance, Minato observed that there were no other ninja guarding the area. So, he signaled his ninja to launch an ambush on the logistics team.

As they dealt with the logistics team, loud explosions echoed from the main battlefield nearby, signifying the full-scale clash between the main forces of both sides.

Oddly enough, the Sand Village seemed somewhat hesitant in their approach. Orochimaru hadn't even made a move yet, and they were continuously retreating. This peculiar behavior puzzled Nara Shikaku.

"Orochimaru-sama," Nara Shikaku approached Orochimaru after some time in battle, "something is not right with the Sand Village. They don't seem interested in fighting back. I suspect their Jinchuriki might be experiencing some issues."

"Yes, it seems so," Orochimaru replied, not one to be fooled. "Is it because of their previous rampage? The Jinchuriki might temporarily lose control over the Tailed Beast?"

"I'm not sure, but this might be an opportunity," Nara Shikaku suggested.

As they were discussing this, suddenly, from a distance, a wicked and brutal chakra erupted, followed by a massive explosion. A gigantic creature appeared in the center of the battlefield.

In that moment, a terrifying aura swept through the entire battlefield. Almost all the ninja stopped their actions and turned to look at the enormous figure. This creature looked extremely ferocious and menacing, with its tall, sandy yellow body covered in black-blue inscriptions and a massive tail raised high.

Thick, viscous chakra overflowed from its body, exuding a sense of brutality and fury.

"Is that… Shukaku?" Nara Shikaku couldn't help but furrow his brows upon witnessing this scene. "They released the Tailed Beast just like that? Are they willing to sacrifice their own people's lives?"

"No, perhaps it lost control again," Orochimaru suggested, eyeing the Tailed Beast with interest.

As if in response to their conversation, the creature let out a piercing and sinister laughter, making everyone shudder. Its voice sounded like nails scratching a blackboard, creating an uncomfortable sensation.

"Foolish shinobi! I'll tear you all apart! You shall perish!"

Before anyone could react, the Tailed Beast launched an attack. It slammed its hand on the ground, causing all the Sand Village and Konoha ninjas engaged in battle to disappear instantly. In their place, a deep pit in the shape of a claw was left, filled with a mixture of blood, flesh, and soil. Only fragments of clothing remained, proving that someone had died in there.

Seeing the Tailed Beast, Orochimaru knew he couldn't stand idly by any longer.

He bit his fingertip and made a cut on his arm, activating the Summoning Jutsu. A massive purple serpent, his signature summon, Manda, appeared at his feet.

However, this summoning beast had a rather unpleasant personality. Upon seeing the Tailed Beast, Manda immediately began negotiating with Orochimaru, stating that it couldn't deal with such a powerful creature unless Orochimaru offered a reward, like 100 human heads.

Given the war-torn era they were in, human lives were not particularly valuable, so Orochimaru agreed without hesitation. Manda then rushed forward to confront the Tailed Beast.

The Tailed Beast noticed Manda's presence but wasn't sure what kind of creature it was. However, Manda's large size drew its attention, and it immediately attacked with a Tailed Beast Ball.

Manda quickly dodged the attack, and then, using its agility, coiled around one of the Tailed Beast's legs, winding around its stomach, and finally biting its neck.

In retaliation, the Tailed Beast, feeling the pain, furiously attacked Manda, clawing its body relentlessly. While most shinobi techniques couldn't harm Manda due to its scales, the Tailed Beast's assault caused significant injuries, and blood gushed out.

Feeling the pain, Manda instinctively loosened its grip on the Tailed Beast's neck but still wrapped around one of its hands, preventing it from continuing its attacks.

But the more Manda resisted, the angrier the Tailed Beast became. It came here to kill shinobi and vent its rage, not to wrestle with a stinky snake. With a sudden twist of its head, the Tailed Beast focused on Manda and gathered a deep purple sphere in its mouth.

"Ugh?!"

Seeing this, Manda felt all its scales stand on end, overwhelmed by an immense sense of danger.

Under the threat of death, Orochimaru, the bonds, the contract, the trusted allies—everything became inconsequential. Without even saying goodbye, Manda exploded into a cloud of smoke, retreating back to its lair, the Ryuchi Cave.

Next moment, the Tailed Beast Bomb detonated, hitting the Tailed Beast's own arm.

A tremendous explosion erupted, and a massive mushroom cloud slowly rose into the air. Even the Tailed Beast was blown away by the blast, with almost half of its body missing.

The ninja present suffered heavy casualties. Those closest to the explosion were incinerated, leaving no trace behind. Even those further away were severely injured, lying on the ground with blood flowing from their seven apertures. This single attack almost wiped out one-third of the battlefield's ninja.

The Tailed Beast, being a Tailed Beast, quickly got up from the ground, and sand rushed to its body, healing its injuries.

Seeing the numerous casualties on the ground, the Tailed Beast started laughing maniacally, delighting in the fact that those who dared to seal it away were finally dying. It began gathering chakra for another Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Triple Rashomon!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out, and three massive iron gates rose from the ground, blocking the Tailed Beast Bomb. However, the gates were quickly blown away by the ensuing explosion.

Nevertheless, the Triple Rashomon successfully absorbed a significant amount of the damage, ensuring that the Konoha ninja in the vicinity didn't suffer heavy casualties.

After releasing the Triple Rashomon, Orochimaru's brow furrowed.

Indeed, this Tailed Beast was challenging to handle. If only he and Minato were here, they could attempt to deal with it. However, with Konoha's ninja all around, the situation was precarious. The Tailed Beast's devastation couldn't be underestimated.

He even considered a temporary retreat.

Even though he might be able to hold off the Tailed Beast for a while to buy some time, it would be hard to prevent excessive casualties. With the significant number of forces invested by Konoha in the battle at Kikyo Mountain, even if they mutually destroyed each other, Konoha's loss would be greater. Moreover, Konoha could ill-afford such losses at this point.

But just as Orochimaru was weighing the options, he heard someone shouting around him, "Look! There's someone in front of the Tailed Beast!"

Instantly, Orochimaru's thoughts turned to Minato Namikaze.

"Finally caught up, huh, Minato..."

As he turned to look at the figure, Orochimaru was taken aback by what he saw. The person in front of the Tailed Beast had spiky black hair and was wearing the signature red armor. Orochimaru's entire body trembled, especially when he noticed the person's crimson eyes.

"Uchiha Madara? How is this possible?!"