Chapter 292: Facing Sasori of the Red Sand
"Lord Madara, Lord Madara!"
In a hidden underground base in the Land of Grass, White Zetsu rushed toward the stone throne, joyfully reporting to Uchiha Madara, "Obito has gone to the battlefield."
"He's finally out." Madara let out a long sigh of relief. He had been close to personally abducting Obito from Konoha. "Where is that brat now?"
White Zetsu replied, "He's on the Konoha–Kumogakure front, accompanied by Hatake Kakashi and the girl he likes—Rin."
"Don't touch that girl yet," Madara ordered. "Infiltrate Obito's body yourself and ensure he is seriously injured, then bring him to me. This time, I want no mistakes like with that brat Li Yao."
Madara suspected that Li Yao had escaped his control not just because he switched bodies during possession, but also due to a possible overintegration with White Zetsu's cells. Li Yao may have sensed the cursed seal on his heart in advance, which allowed him to act before being taken over.
Otherwise, unaware of the cursed seal's presence, Li Yao wouldn't have turned on him so decisively.
This time, Madara would ensure Obito didn't fully integrate with White Zetsu cells—just enough for White Zetsu to control his life and death, preventing any chance of rebellion.
"I understand, Lord Madara."
White Zetsu shivered at the mention of Li Yao. That man was terrifying. They couldn't afford any mistakes with Obito.
White Zetsu immediately relayed Madara's instructions.
The White Zetsu clones monitoring Obito began to move.
The next day…
Land of Rivers.
In Orochimaru's stronghold, the Lightning Release clone—Sakumo —suddenly opened his eyes. Through soul perception, he sensed Sasori approaching from twenty kilometers away, leading a team of Suna-nin.
"Let's see today if your Iron Sand Thunder Realm can withstand my Decay Lightning."
He smiled inwardly, then closed his eyes again and pretended to sleep.
Twenty kilometers out—
Sasori stared ahead, eyes focused, as if he could already see Sakumo inside the enemy base.
"Lord Sasori, we've received word from our comrades in the Land of Fire—Konoha has dispatched a hundred-man reinforcement unit to support Orochimaru, led by none other than the former Konoha Sakumo , Hatake Sakumo."
Sasori had received that intel this morning—and had immediately departed with a small squad.
As an eternal puppet, vengeance for his parents was one of the few obsessions he still clung to.
Joining this war was his chance to exact revenge with his own hands.
Now that Sakumo had appeared, he wasn't going to wait another moment.
"What?!"
"That idiot went straight for the enemy's base with just three men, trying to kill Sakumo himself?!"
Elsewhere in a Suna base, Pakura received the same intel and grew visibly irritated.
Sasori had stolen her glory for the past year, and though she had tolerated it for the team's sake, his current recklessness infuriated her.
"What do we do, Lady Pakura ?" a nearby Suna-nin asked anxiously.
Sakumo was infamous for nearly single-handedly terrorizing Suna during the last Great Ninja War. Even the Fourth Kazekage's rise to fame came from surviving a fight with him.
Such was his fearsome strength.
Now, with both Sakumo and the Wood Release-wielding Orochimaru present, Sasori might be strong, but facing both alone was incredibly dangerous.
"There's no time to support him now," Pakura said, shaking her head.
Their outposts were spread too far apart. Besides, with Sasori's abilities, unless the enemy had an instant kill method, he was unlikely to fall easily.
Rather than rushing to his aid, this was the perfect moment to launch an all-out assault and relieve the pressure on him. If Sasori could hold off both enemies, they could deal a heavy blow to Konoha.
They had to act before Sakumo pinned her down in the future. A war of attrition would be disastrous for them, especially with limited supply lines.
They needed to maximize damage now to maintain their current momentum.
"Relay my orders: all outposts initiate the offensive. Once past the border, converge on my and Sasori's location."
"Yes, Lady Pakura !" the Suna-nin replied and departed to carry out the order.
Back at Orochimaru's stronghold.
It didn't take long before Konoha's sentries spotted Sasori's approach and quickly reported back.
The base alarm blared.
Everyone stirred awake.
Sakumo and Orochimaru emerged from their adjacent tents almost simultaneously.
"I'm counting on you, Sakumo-kun," Orochimaru said with a smile.
"I'll do my best," Sakumo replied with a calm grin.
The two stepped into the center of the base. The entire unit—just twelve in total—had assembled before them.
True ninja warfare rarely involved massive armies. Instead, battles played out as a series of small, localized skirmishes involving squads of a dozen or so.
Large-scale formations were vulnerable to devastating jutsu. Techniques like Iron Sand Thunder Realm or Deep Forest Emergence couldn't be countered by standard combination tactics. Gathering too many people in one place only increased the risk of annihilation.
That's why the battlefield between Konoha and Suna had been divided into multiple small outposts. Each held by around ten shinobi, forming a vertical network of defense, constantly clashing and maneuvering.
"Notify our allies in other outposts to avoid my combat zone. Stay alert for any large-scale Suna offensives. Track their movements in real time—don't let them breach our rear lines."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!"
The orders were standard—but with Sakumo now present, the situation was different.
Once the messages were dispatched, only Orochimaru, Sakumo , and three others remained behind to manage communications.
"Sakumo-kun, let's go."
"Mm."
Sakumo nodded and followed Orochimaru, heading directly toward the Suna force.
BOOM BOOM…
From a distance, the rumble of Sasori's Iron Sand Shukaku echoed across the field. Both Sakumo and Orochimaru sensed it.
"That little brat…"
Orochimaru instantly realized—Sasori wasn't attempting a sneak attack. He was boldly announcing his presence, inviting a fight.
"Sakumo-kun, that kid's Iron Sand Thunder Realm is extremely fast, has piercing power, long range, and wide area coverage. You'll have to pick your moment carefully," Orochimaru warned.
Sakumo nodded confidently. "Don't worry. I haven't slacked off all these years. You don't need to worry about my safety."
"Then I'll look forward to seeing the fruits of your training," Orochimaru replied with a grin. He created a Wood Clone and used Wood Release to sink into the ground.
(END CHAPTER)
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