Chapter 360: Achieve Victory with Absolute Dominance!
In the advancing unit, a sensory-type shinobi suddenly halted, his brows furrowed. He quickly formed several hand seals, fully unleashing his perception abilities, attempting to detect any anomalies within the raging sandstorm.
However, after several dozen seconds, he shook his head, sighed, and hurried over to the vanguard captain, reporting in a low voice, "Captain, still no sign of anything."
The captain immediately stopped, scanning his surroundings.
The fierce winds whipped up dense clouds of sand, making it nearly impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.
The howling storm dyed the noonday sky a murky yellow, casting an oppressive darkness over the land.
In these harsh conditions, only their vanguard force—an allied unit of about a thousand shinobi—pressed forward with great difficulty.
The winds carried sharp grains of sand, striking against their forehead protectors and masks with a constant rustling sound, making every step feel heavier.
"Scan again!" The captain deliberated briefly before issuing a firm command. "Don't overlook any possible clue."
The sensory shinobi nodded, once again focusing his chakra, straining to detect any traces within the vast sandstorm.
"Captain, we've been searching for an hour, and there's still nothing."
Other shinobi in the unit began slowing down, scanning their surroundings cautiously. One of them finally spoke up, "Captain, could the intel be wrong?"
The captain frowned and responded, "The intel was verified through multiple sources. The Land of Snow's forces should be in this vicinity. Stay alert—we can't let our guard down."
According to their intelligence, there should have been a thousand-strong unit from the Land of Snow nearby. A force of that size couldn't just vanish into thin air.
After a while, with no results from the sensory shinobi, the captain sighed and turned to the communications officer. "Any updates from headquarters?"
"None."
"Then we keep moving. Once we reach Kazami City, I refuse to believe we won't find any trace of the Land of Snow's shinobi."
"Yes, sir!"
The unit resumed its advance.
But after covering just another kilometer, the expression of the sensory shinobi suddenly changed drastically. He rushed to the captain.
"Captain! There's an anomaly directly beneath us—over a thousand chakra signatures!"
"What did you say?!" The captain's face darkened. "Everyone, spread out and stay on high alert!"
At that moment, the ground trembled violently, sending sand and stones flying in all directions.
The forces of the Land of Snow burst forth from underground, launching a surprise attack on the shinobi alliance.
In an instant, blood splattered across the battlefield!
"Earth Release: Earthquake Core!"
A shinobi from the Land of Earth reacted swiftly, activating a powerful Earth Release jutsu. The ground split open, swallowing several unsuspecting enemies.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Another allied shinobi unleashed a massive fireball, engulfing a group of enemies in flames.
"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel!"
The alliance forces fought back with a barrage of techniques, countering the surprise attack from the Land of Snow.
But as the sandstorm cleared slightly, they realized their opponents were already regenerating from the surrounding sand.
"They're the Land of Snow's puppet forces! Use sealing tags!"
While engaging the enemy, the captain shouted back toward the communication unit. "Alert headquarters immediately! Watch for more ambushes from underground!"
"Understood!"
With the message sent, the captain turned his gaze back to the battlefield, gritting his teeth.
These puppets must have been buried in advance, lying in wait for them to arrive—this was how they had evaded the sensory shinobi's detection.
There had to be Land of Snow shinobi monitoring them!
It wasn't underground. And there was nothing nearby. That meant…
The sky!
He looked up, his pupils contracting sharply.
The Third Kazekage Puppet. Sasori of the Red Sand. Chiyo. And… Hyuga Miyuki.
Three powerful shinobi, each on par with a Kage. And a Kage-level puppet…
The captain's face turned grim, but as a member of the vanguard, he had already steeled himself for death.
He quickly composed himself, resolved to fight to the end, and charged forward.
—
"The vanguard has engaged a puppet army led by three elite shinobi."
At the joint command center on the border, Kitsuchi's expression darkened as he received the frontline report.
"Chiyo, Sasori, and Hyuga Miyuki… all experts in puppet techniques."
Unable to remain seated, he turned toward the unshaken Raikage. "I should head to the front. The vanguard won't stand a chance against them."
Raikage glanced at him. "As long as we, the Kage, remain alive, we are the backbone of the alliance. If you rush to the front and fall, it will only crush our forces' morale. Sit tight. They aren't that fragile."
Tsunade nodded calmly. "We've already sent reinforcements."
"…Understood."
Taking a deep breath, Kitsuchi forced himself to remain composed and sat back down to await further updates.
But waiting didn't bring any reassurance.
Suddenly, the sensory water sphere in the conference room began to shake violently.
A Yamanaka clan shinobi wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice heavy.
"A massive chakra disturbance at the vanguard's position! It's on par with the Nine-Tails!"
At the same time, a communication officer suddenly landed before the three Kage, his expression urgent.
"Lords! We've just lost contact with the vanguard!"
"The last report stated that Hyuga Miyuki was engulfed in a blue pillar of light—summoning a meteor!"
"…"
A heavy silence filled the room.
Raikage turned to Tsunade. "This phenomenon… it's that so-called Sanctification, isn't it? The technique Kakashi once saw the Second Mizukage use."
During the battle against Obito, Hozuki Gengetsu had displayed a similar power.
"It must be. But I never imagined it would be this terrifying."
Tsunade frowned. "If Hyuga Fuji's subordinates can all reach this level…"
"That's impossible." Raikage shook his head. "Chakra is finite. Even Hyuga Fuji doesn't have an unlimited supply—there must be limits."
"Regardless, blindly sending more vanguard units for reconnaissance at this point would be unwise." Tsunade stood up and looked at Raikage and Kitsuchi. "It's time to advance with the main force."
The two men exchanged glances and nodded.
With the decision made, they led tens of thousands of shinobi forward.
—
At the vanguard's location, a massive meteor had crashed into the battlefield, obliterating the surface. Only a handful of alliance survivors remained.
The puppets continued their automated repairs, executing the remaining shinobi.
"These self-repairing puppets are quite useful for mutual destruction strategies."
Standing amidst the wreckage, Hyuga Miyuki surveyed the one-sided battle, recalling Hyuga Fuji's orders.
"No need to hold back—achieve victory with absolute dominance."
(End of Chapter)