Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

The wind blew from the direction of Sakurahara, carrying the smell of blood and gunpowder from a few days ago.

After selection, 4000 Konoha ninjas in their best condition, carrying ten days' worth of rations and bags full of ninja tools, lined up neatly in the camp.

Standing at the very front of the group, Yamanaka Chukyu's Heartbreak Boundary was like an invisible giant net, perfectly collecting and reflecting the emotions of the ninjas.

After a short period of venting, a hearty meal, and six hours of sleep, the Konoha ninjas' excitement had subsided, and their morale had reached its peak.

Having confirmed the army's morale, Yamanaka Hatsukyu nodded to Orochimaru beside him.

Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed with excitement: "Now that we're ready, let's set off."

"The road ahead is not going to be easy."

Yamanaka Chukyu laughed and said, "Orochimaru-sensei is overthinking it."

"The Cloud Village army was startled by our commotion during the day and lost several hundred elite ninjas, forcing them to retreat and strengthen their defenses."

"Their camp is indeed impregnable now, but the huge battle line is now empty. Four thousand Konoha ninjas can pass through without any problem."

Orochimaru grinned and said, "You're even more arrogant than me."

"But you do have the right to be arrogant. If I had your command ability, I would have destroyed Sunagakure in the Second Shinobi World War and become the Fourth Hokage based on my military achievements."

"Go ahead and do it. I've prepared enough communication snakes; you can command the entire army freely!"

Deeply moved, Yamanaka Hatsukyu nodded and said, "Orochimaru-sensei, I will not let you down."

"Please, teacher, please everyone, trust me, I will lead everyone... through the formation!"

His voice was not loud, but it was clearly transmitted to the ears of each ninja squad leader through the communication snake, calming the ninjas' anxiety and preventing the Konoha ninjas from losing their temper.

Not a single person in the huge group hesitated or showed any fear; only the one who gave Shan Zhong Chu Jiu a headache was eager to try.

Since the Battle of Sakurahara, when Yamanaka Hatsukyu led only thirty men to break through the rear of Kumogakure and burn the Kumogakure army's supplies, and then took over command from Orochimaru, once again achieving the miracle of defeating the enemy with zero casualties, he has become the god of war in the hearts of Konoha ninjas.

He is not Yamanaka Inoichi's younger brother, nor even Orochimaru's disciple, but the invincible "God of War" who protects all Konoha ninja from death.

His prestige even subtly surpassed that of Orochimaru.

Orochimaru is awe-inspiringly powerful, while Yamanaka Hatsukyu is reassuring.

After all, not only could Shan Zhongchu Jiu lead them to victory, but he could also ensure they lived to see that victory arrive.

"Set off!"

Orochimaru's command wasn't loud, but the unanimous response of the four thousand ninjas resounded through the heavens.

Then, the Konoha ninja fell silent and quietly set off, heading straight for the Cloud Village's position.

Under Yamanaka Chukyu's command, each squad of Konoha ninja dispersed, each taking their own specific route, heading straight for the Cloud Village army's defenses.

Without battle or conflict, the four thousand Konoha ninjas, like flowing water, silently infiltrated the defenses, moving among the hidden sentries of the Kumogakure ninjas.

The Cloud Village ninjas were not actually asleep; they were on high alert, fully prepared for a possible night attack from Konoha.

No one could have imagined that the Konoha army, numbering in the thousands, would execute infiltration tactics that are usually only used by small teams or even individual ninjas.

Therefore, although some perceptive ninjas noticed the anomaly, they were dismissed by their own common sense and immediately ruled out the correct answer.

The more I checked, the less I could find the cause of the abnormality. I could only conclude that I was too tired and had made a serious mistake in my perception.

However, the 4,000-strong Konoha army was not a squadron of 30 men; the sheer size of their army was enough to inspire fear.

Various unexpected situations arose frequently, surging towards Chu Jiu in the mountains like a tidal wave, completely exceeding his ability to cope.

So much so that even though he clearly "saw" the Cloud Village patrol team and predicted in advance that they would encounter the infiltrating Konoha squad, he was unable to coordinate their movement route no matter what he did.

So, he activated his final safeguard: "Orochimaru-sensei!"

"Heh, it really comes down to my skills."

Before Orochimaru's voice had even faded, his figure had already silently disappeared into the shadows.

A moment later, Orochimaru appeared more than a thousand meters away, among the patrolling Cloud Village ninja.

Suddenly, the Hidden Shadow Serpent Hand technique was activated, and countless large, black snakes surged out from his sleeves, coiling and tearing at the unsuspecting Cloud Village ninja.

Before the Cloud Village ninjas could even struggle, the Kusanagi sword was already drawn, its cold light flashing across their necks, separating their heads from their bodies, rendering them unable to utter a sound.

Before beheading them, Orochimaru noticed that something was wrong with the Cloud Village ninja team. There was an old man captain who was over 50 years old, and children who were obviously underage, but no strong young ninjas in their prime.

But his golden pupils were cold, and his hand holding the sword was steady, showing no hesitation whatsoever.

After confirming the deaths of all the Cloud Village ninjas, he manipulated a swarm of snakes to devour the enemy's corpses and bloodstains before coldly sheathing his sword and snakes and silently disappearing into the darkness.

"Oh ho ho ho, so when the Cloud Village ninjas die too often, they also send underage children and useless trash to the battlefield."

"The higher-ups of the Five Great Ninja Villages are all inhuman trash..."

Orochimaru's voice carried a hint of mockery, but he only allowed his student, Yamanaka Hatsuyu, to hear it.

Yamanaka Hatsukyu said with a smile, "Orochimaru-sensei should become a Hokage with humanity."

"As long as there is a Hokage like you, there is hope for the ninja world. It is not absolute darkness, nor a hopeless apocalypse."

Orochimaru's sadness vanished instantly: "You damned disciple, how could you even try to persuade me to take over at this time?"

"Seriously, all the emotions I worked so hard to build up are gone forever."

Shan Zhongchu chuckled to himself, but did not relax his control over the entire battlefield.

He located the movements of every Konoha ninja and every Kumogakure ninja, and directed the team captains to adjust their routes and speeds.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, moved through the Cloud Village army's defensive lines, using force to eliminate problems and enemies that movement alone could not solve.

Countless silent battles have broken out in the various wars of the ninja world.

But there has never been a silent battle in which four thousand ninjas infiltrated the enemy's six thousand ninja army and passed through unnoticed.

Before Yamanaka Chukyu executes today's battle plan, even the most insane Orochimaru would think the proposer is a madman if he heard such a suggestion.

Yamanaka Hatsukyu not only convinced Orochimaru, but also convinced the four thousand Konoha ninja that this crazy plan would succeed.

They were so convinced that they dared to gamble with their lives, to bet with the ninth day of the lunar month in the mountains.

I'm going all in!

The Cloud Village army did not realize they had lost until the Konoha army had infiltrated and regrouped.

After confirming their victory in the Silent War, the Konoha ninja were so excited that even Yamanaka Hatsukyu could hardly contain himself.

There's no way around it, the feeling of "I've already won, and you still don't know" is too suffocating, too addictive!