People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

Jiraiya was filled with excitement and immediately announced, "Excellent! Pass the word down that all Konoha ninja here should prepare for battle. We must drive them back to the Land of Wind before they can rest and regroup!"

Konoha and Sunagakure at the front lines are making intensive preparations for battle.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru also arrived at Sunagakure.

Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi appeared in front of the basement of the Kazekage Building.

After examining the area, Kabuto Yakushi reported to Orochimaru, "Lord Orochimaru, this is a barrier created by a sealing technique."

Orochimaru pressed one hand against the door, and a burning sensation immediately came from his palm.

"Heh, a fire-style barrier has been added..."

Orochimaru, his palm crackling with chakra, slammed his fist into the barrier: "Release!"

The barrier instantly dissipated, and the basement door opened automatically.

Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi entered the basement, where they were greeted by a large collection of ninjutsu scrolls from the Sand Village.

Orochimaru didn't even glance at the Five Elements Release scrolls in Sunagakure's collection, and went straight to the location where the sealing scrolls were placed.

Orochimaru picked up a scroll and examined it.

"The Sand Village's unique sealing technique uses cloth for sealing, but it's not very effective."

Orochimaru looked down on the sealing scroll and casually threw it on the ground.

Orochimaru was drawn to the name of a sealing scroll.

[Sealing Technique? Immortal Exorcism and Absorption]

It summons chakra chains that can extract chakra to seal the target, similar to the effect of the Uzumaki clan's Adamantine Chains.

An excited Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his lips: "Kabuto, we found it. Let's leave."

Just as Orochimaru and Kabuto were about to leave the basement, a figure appeared at the basement door.

"Who are you two?! Orochimaru?!"

Golden sand swirled around the man, making his identity self-evident: Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure.

Facing the strongest Kage in the village, Orochimaru showed no fear and said jokingly, "I thought you would personally go to the front line. As a martial arts expert, your desire to invade Konoha is well known. Maybe we can cooperate in the future."

"Hmph, who would cooperate with rats from the gutter like you!"

With a menacing expression, Rasa manipulated the gold dust, sweeping it towards Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"Words of Power? Rebuke!"

An invisible force forced all of Luo Sha's gold dust back.

"Don't be too confident. Don't underestimate Konoha. Even if you lose the Uchiha, Konoha is not a place you can invade at will."

Orochimaru and Kabuto's figures slowly disappeared into the ground.

Kazekage Rasa frowned and paused to think. Orochimaru was a rogue ninja of Konoha, so was his purpose in appearing here for Konoha, or was it merely to steal ninjutsu?

Having come up with no solution, Kazekage Rasa resealed the basement and returned to the Kazekage's office.

Not long after, Yura, a Jonin from Sunagakure, rushed into the office looking flustered.

"Lord Kazekage, something has happened!"

Luo Sha frowned and asked, "What happened?!"

"Reports from the front lines: The frontline ninja forces suffered heavy losses and have now retreated to the border of the Land of Fire for rest and reorganization!"

Rasa's face was filled with disbelief: "How is this possible? Chiyo and Ebizo both went to the front lines, how could they have suffered such heavy casualties?!"

"According to intelligence, it was attacked by a ninja with a bloodline limit who manipulates blood."

Rasa slumped into his chair, recalling Orochimaru's words: 'Even without the Uchiha, Konoha isn't a place you can invade at will.'

Rasa looked resentful: "Damn it, I never thought that even though Konoha lost the Uchiha clan, it still has ninjas with bloodline limits that can manipulate blood. Is Konoha really blessed by the heavens?"

"Yura, invite all the advisors over."

A short while later, four people appeared in Fengying's office.

These four people are all current advisors of Sunagakure.

After recounting everything that had happened at the front, Luo Sha asked, "What are your thoughts, advisors?"

After a discussion, one of the advisors said, "Right now, almost the entire ninja world is thinking of taking a piece of Konoha's territory, and they see us as the vanguard. We need to change this situation and let the other ninja villages go first, so that Konoha's fighting strength is depleted, and then our Sunagakure will take action."

Another advisor objected, "But it's clear that the other ninja villages are just waiting for us, Sunagakure, to stir up trouble."

"Currently, only one of the five great ninja villages has not joined this war. We can force them to join, making the situation even more chaotic. In this way, the other ninja villages will feel that there are too many hunters vying for Konoha's territory, and they will definitely take the lead."

Rasa tapped his index finger rhythmically on the table: "Kirigakure, huh...?"

Chapter 215 Luo Sha's Conspiracy

Rasa considered the feasibility of dragging Kirigakure into this war.

However, one of the advisors felt it was unlikely to be feasible: "Ever since Mei Terumi, the Mizukage of Kirigakure, ended the reign of terror in the Village of the Bloody Mist, she has pursued a policy of peace. To get them to join this war, they would have to see huge, immediate benefits."

In the Kazekage's office, the advisors of Sunagakure were once again engaged in a heated discussion about how to get Kirigakure to join the war.

Luo Sha did not participate in the discussion, but listened to the advisors' discussion and considered the solutions.

Seeing that the advisors were getting heated and were on the verge of arguing, Luo Sha interrupted them at the right time.

"That's enough! I already have a plan!"

The four advisors immediately fell silent.

Rasa began to explain his plan: "I will send a ninja to Kirigakure to seek an alliance treaty with the Mizukage."

One of the advisors interrupted Rasa: "Lord Kazekage, how could this possibly succeed?! Putting aside whether Kirigakure, who is currently seeking peace, will ally with us, we have already forged an irreconcilable hatred with Kirigakure during the Third Shinobi World War. This alliance treaty has no chance of succeeding."

Rasa waved his hand and said, "Of course I know that this alliance treaty cannot be successfully concluded. Let me finish speaking first. The ninja sent to Kirigakure must be sacrificed."

If that ninja dies within Kirigakure's territory, we will have a reason to declare war on Kirigakure. However, if we go to war with Kirigakure, it will be unacceptable to Kumogakure and Iwagakure, because they need Sunagakure to keep Konoha occupied.

Therefore, Kumogakure and Iwagakure will definitely try to persuade me. At that time, we can unite with Kumogakure and Iwagakure, and the three great ninja villages can put pressure on Kirigakure at the same time, so Kirigakure will have no choice but to join the war.

At that time, Kirigakure, forced to join the war, will have to act as the vanguard and choose to fight Konoha, thus greatly reducing the pressure on Sunagakure.

After some consideration, the consultants concluded that Rosa's proposal was feasible.

"So which ninja should be chosen to sacrifice? This ninja's status cannot be too low. On the contrary, the more important the status in Sunagakure, the better. Otherwise, Kirigakure will not fall for it at all."

Rasa said with a somewhat sinister look in his eyes, "Scorching Release? Pakura!"

The four advisors looked at Luo Sha with some shock, not expecting that Luo Sha's choice would be Ye Cang.

In terms of influence and status, Yekura is superior, and can even be compared with Rasa, who is the Kazekage.

During the Third Shinobi World War, the villages of Sunagakure and Iwagakure were constantly at war. Pakura became a hero of the village after successfully uncovering and thwarting Iwagakure's plot and saving the lives of many ninjas.

Furthermore, in the battle against Kirigakure, Pakura used her unique bloodline limit, Scorch Release, to kill a large number of Kirigakure ninjas. It can be said that the Kirigakure ninjas hated Pakura to the core.

Most importantly, compared to the ambitious Rasa, Pakura advocated peaceful development and always hoped that Rasa would give up invading Konoha. In fact, in order to stop Rasa from invading Konoha, Pakura, as a powerful force in Sunagakure, disobeyed orders and did not go to the front line to fight. This action touched Rasa's bottom line.

After careful consideration, the four advisors felt that it was reasonable for Rasa to choose to sacrifice Yekura.

The four advisors agreed to Rasa's plan. In the current situation, the entire Sunagakure village needed to unite as one. Choosing to disobey orders like Yotsuba would destabilize the morale of the Sunagakure army.

Moreover, Pakura, who is unwilling to fight, is of no value. Sacrificing Pakura now would only benefit Sunagakure.

Yekura was summoned to the Kazekage's office and found Rasa and all the advisors there, which puzzled her.

Ye Cang respectfully inquired, "Lord Kazekage, is there anything I can help you with?"

Luo Sha said gently, "Ye Cang, I know you yearn for peace and are unwilling to go to the front lines to fight, so I will not force you."

Yecang looked at Luosha in surprise, feeling that Luosha seemed to have changed completely.

"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Fengying."

Rasa then said, "However, our Sunagakure village is currently severely understaffed, so I would like to assign you a task."

Rasa solemnly announced, "Yakura, in the name of the Fourth Kazekage, I entrust you to go to Kirigakure and find the Mizukage to conclude a peace treaty with Kirigakure."

Yekura asked in surprise, "Didn't Kirigakure not participate in this war? Why did they go out of their way to conclude a peace treaty?"

Rasa explained, "If Kirigakure and Konoha form an alliance, it will be very disadvantageous for Sunagakure. Therefore, we need to conclude a peace treaty with Kirigakure to ensure that Kirigakure will not join forces with Konoha to attack Sunagakure. Since you are unwilling to participate in the battle, we hope that you can also make some contributions to Sunagakure, since we are currently severely short of manpower."

Ye Cang nodded: "Alright, I'll set off right away."

After Yekura left the Kazekage's office, Rasa's gentle expression vanished, and he said expressionlessly, "Get ready. Send two Anbu ninjas to track Yekura. As soon as news of Yekura's death comes out, we will join forces with Kumogakure and Iwagakure to put pressure on Kirigakure!"

The entire ninja world is now in turmoil.

The Sand Village ninja forces at the front line, under Chiyo's command, retreated from the border of the Land of Fire to the Land of Rivers for temporary defense.

Faced with the impregnable defenses of Sunagakure, Jiraiya launched several attacks, but failed to repel the Sunagakure ninja forces.

Jiraiya failed to defeat Sunagakure immediately, leading to a stalemate and disrupting Nara Shikaku's plans.

The Hidden Cloud Village also discovered that the main force of the Hidden Leaf Village was fighting against the Hidden Sand Village, so they once again began to approach the border of the Land of Fire and engage in battle with Kakashi's forces.

Meanwhile, the frequency of Iwagakure's harassment of the Land of Fire has increased significantly.

However, none of the three great ninja villages were willing to launch a full-scale attack on Konoha first. The more they took the lead, the greater their losses would be, and the less they would ultimately share the spoils.

Currently, they are merely testing each other, with each of the three ninja villages hoping to gain the greatest benefit with the least loss.

Under these circumstances, the entire battle situation strangely reached a balance.

The three great ninja villages are waiting for their chance. Whichever village loses its composure first will be the first to face a real war.

Meanwhile, Konoha was waiting for an opportunity to find a breakthrough among the three great ninja villages and to find new hope in their desperate situation.

Chapter 216 Reunion with Minato Namikaze

Yosuke, who had left the Land of Mountains alone, passed through the Land of Bears and was now traveling by water to the Land of Craftsmen.

Before heading to Kumogakure, Yosuke needs to visit two people in the Land of Craftsmen.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

Minato Namikaze contacted Yosuke through a scroll and told him that he had found some information, asking Yosuke to go to the Land of Craftsmen to meet him.