Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

The higher-ups at Yunyin panicked.

Tsuchida felt a pang of panic at the thought of Kumogakure's current strength: "We can't let Orochimaru get close to Kumogakure. The village has been completely drained; it has no power to resist!"

Killer Bee jumped up and shouted, "What else can we do? Go after Orochimaru!"

However, some Cloud Village ninjas suggested: "Lord Raikage, since Orochimaru has circled around to our rear, it means there are no more Konoha troops blocking our way..."

The Fourth Raikage looked at him and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Could we simply storm Konoha, conquer it, force the Third Hokage to surrender, and then order Orochimaru to stop the war?"

The Fourth Raikage was deeply tempted, but after pondering for a moment, he shook his head: "No."

Will Konoha become as empty as our Kumogakure?

"Is the Third Hokage really no match for me?"

"Even if we successfully conquer Konoha and force the Third Hokage to accept peace, will Orochimaru stop as ordered?"

"If it were before, I would have believed Orochimaru would obey orders, but given that he has launched such a frenzied attack, how can I possibly believe he would obey orders?"

"Orochimaru might use the peace treaty as an excuse to completely ruin the Third Hokage's reputation and then smoothly become the new Hokage."

"Most importantly, I am the Raikage. I can't gamble with the fate of Kumogakure."

"All troops, listen to my command! Retreat! Pursue Orochimaru!"

"This time, I'm determined to skin this dead snake alive!"

With the safety of Kumogakure at stake, all the Kumogakure ninjas were frantic and, without the Raikage urging them on, rushed to their destination at full speed.

In just a day and a half, at the cost of thousands of Cloud Village ninjas falling behind, the Cloud Village army arrived at the Land of Hot Springs.

Seeing that the Cloud Village pursuers predicted by Yamanaka Chujiu had arrived as scheduled, the Konoha ninjas, after resting for two days and recuperating, knew that a new victory was about to be achieved.

A Cloud Village Jonin with a hideous scar on his face led 300 Cloud Village ninjas as the vanguard of the entire army, walking at the very front.

When he saw the road ahead that went over the hill, he instinctively considered it a safe road.

Instead of ordering Cloud Village ninjas to inspect the road, he shouted, "Speed ​​up!"

"Intelligence indicates that the Konoha army has stopped to rest. We'll catch up with those Konoha scum soon. Hold on!"

"Once we catch up, we'll kill them all mercilessly! Not a single Konoha ninja will escape!"

The Cloud Village Jonin roared to boost morale and was the first to rush up the hill road.

The Cloud Village ninjas followed closely behind, completely unaware of anything unusual about the hill ahead, let alone realizing that it was a trap carefully set by the Leaf Village army.

After all, when people launch ambushes, they do so from advantageous terrain such as canyons, riverbanks, and bridges, taking advantage of their elevated position to attack the enemy from both sides.

Who would be a good person to ambush an enemy high above them from the depressions on either side of the hill?

If you launch an attack from low to high, the enemy can launch a counterattack from their superior position as soon as they react. What's the difference between that and courting death?

This very impossibility became the key factor in the ambush carried out by Chu Jiu in the mountains—an "unexpected" event that the enemy would never have anticipated!

The small Cloud Village team safely passed the hill and soon saw the Konoha army's camp and the positions blocking the enemy.

The Cloud Village ninjas signaled to the main force behind them while cheering loudly, "We've caught up!"

"You will not be allowed to enter the Land of Lightning, and you should not even dream of attacking Kumogakure!"

"When the Fourth Raikage arrives, you will all be dead!"

Upon seeing the signal from the vanguard, the main force of the Cloud Hidden Army, following behind, desperately increased their speed.

No one expected that a deadly ambush was waiting for them ahead.

As the massive force of over three thousand Cloud Village ninja marched up the hill, Yamanaka Hatsune decisively ordered, "Now! Detonate!"

Rumbling--

Tens of thousands of explosive tags buried beneath the hill were detonated, and the powerful explosion ripped the hill apart, sending thousands of Cloud Village ninjas flying into the sky along with a cloud of mud and rocks.

The explosion also destroyed the fragile supporting structure, causing the mountain hollowed out by the earth-style ninja to collapse and swallow up hundreds of stunned cloud ninja.

The main force of the Cloud Village army was divided into two parts, front and rear, with less than a thousand men on each side, making it impossible for them to withstand the subsequent surprise attack by the Konoha ninja.

The Konoha ninjas lurking in the depressions on both sides of the hill sprang into action, unleashing a dense barrage of ninjutsu, kunai, and explosive tags toward the chaotic Cloud Village ninjas.

Because of the remote location, the first wave of attacks did not yield many results, but it confirmed to the Cloud Village ninja that they had been ambushed.

Explosions, landslides, and the inability to defend themselves, coupled with the numerical and physical advantages of the Konoha ninjas, made it impossible for the Kumogakure ninjas to maintain their composure.

Sensing the panic spreading among the Cloud Village ninjas, Yamanaka Hatsukyu's thoughts subtly spread, stirring up their emotions, amplifying their fear and panic as much as possible, and undermining their will to fight.

The effect was very obvious. The Cloud Village ninjas, who were always determined to fight to the death, screamed in all sorts of ways, just like girls trapped in an alley by a big man.

"We're doomed, we've been ambushed!"

"Run!"

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"Only Lord Raikage can save us!"

"Let's emulate the Fourth Raikage!"

The Cloud Village ninjas wailed as they made a chaotic choice.

Those who were blocked at the back wanted to retreat and rejoin the Fourth Raikage who was covering their rear.

Those blocked in the first half could only grit their teeth and charge forward, trying to break through the blockade ahead.

But no matter what choice they made, they were attacked by well-prepared Konoha ninjas, pinned down on the open battlefield, and suffered terrible casualties.

Orochimaru and Yamanaka Hatsukyu did not directly participate in the battle; the two, master and disciple, stood side by side on one side of the battlefield.

Yamanaka Chujiu monitored the battlefield through the Heart Severing Boundary, occasionally mobilizing Konoha ninjas to block any Kumogakure ninjas that might try to escape, and doing his utmost to kill the enemy.

The Cloud Village ninjas are quite strong. Even though their organization was disrupted and their morale was shattered by the ambush, they still maintained considerable fighting power.

Their struggles and breakouts forced the battlefield to expand continuously, and coupled with the heavy casualties of the Cloud Village ninjas, the efficiency of the Leaf Village ninjas in killing the enemy inevitably declined.

Even Konoha's own casualties began to increase.

Yamanaka Chukyu keenly sensed this and decisively issued the order: "The ambush operation is terminated. Now begin cleaning up the battlefield and collecting equipment and supplies."

"Attention! From this moment forward, attacking any Cloud Village ninja who has surrendered is strictly prohibited. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

"If there is any capacity left, we will provide assistance to all the injured as much as possible."

Orochimaru asked curiously, "Hatsukyu, why did you save the Cloud Village ninja?"

Yamanaka Chukyu replied with a smile, "Of course, it's to weaken the fighting power of Kumogakure while increasing the fighting power of our Konoha."

Orochimaru became even more curious: "Explain."

Yamanaka Chujiu nodded: "There's nothing to hide. I might as well explain it to the whole army."