Chapter 210: Sasori's Mysterious Connections, Hanzo Floods Sunagakure!

Sakumo looked at Hanzo thoughtfully.

It was an interesting proposal!

Compared to Konoha’s other frontlines.

As an ally, although Amegakure could essentially be considered a branch of Konoha, nominally they still possessed greater autonomy.

The previous defensive strategy was hard to adjust because the core principle of “defense and counterattack” could not be changed.

Every front needed to maintain a buffer to ensure consistency and resilience; taking the initiative to attack was too risky.

But with the other fronts securing results, the situation had shifted.

Hanzo’s proposal could be considered “expanding on the results,” or it could be interpreted as “greedily advancing for merit”…

But the core issue was that the main force on the Sunagakure battlefield was Amegakure shinobi.

Even if something went wrong, it wouldn’t affect the Konoha shinobi on the other fronts now…

It was a realistic yet cruel fact.

Casualties among Amegakure shinobi and casualties among Konoha shinobi were fundamentally different matters.

Even though Hanzo and the Hokage referred to each other as “brothers,” this was a tacit, unwritten rule between both sides.

If Amegakure wanted to earn Konoha’s true recognition, they had to produce something convincing.

Sakumo Hatake’s eyes flickered.

He understood Hanzo’s intentions.

War was a challenge, but it was also an opportunity. It was the best chance for Amegakure to simultaneously elevate their “blood tax” and “military merits” to the next tier in Konoha’s eyes.

“Sunagakure’s troop deployment is actually still superior to ours.”

Sakumo Hatake pondered, “In terms of high-end combat power, they have the Third Kazekage, Chiyo, Rasa, Sasori, and Pakura. If you count the One-Tail, they still have us outnumbered.”

Hanzo waved his hand:

“Sasori and Pakura on the western front—those two Suna commanders are clearly at odds with the Third Kazekage. The Suna shinobi under their command have absolutely no intention of engaging in head-on combat…”

“This definitely isn’t an ambush. Over the past few months, they’ve had several opportunities to flank us. If they had acted, they might not have severely crippled us, but they certainly would have secured some results…”

“But they never did. We have reason to believe that there is internal disagreement within Sunagakure regarding this deployment. And there is one more crucial point…”

Hanzo looked at Sakumo and said in a deep voice:

“Even though that old hag Chiyo has appeared on the frontline battlefield, she hasn’t displayed much aggressiveness—and that’s even with you being here.”

Sakumo Hatake let out a dry laugh.

He and Chiyo indeed had history, as Sakumo had previously killed Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law with just two strikes of his blade…

For that old hag not to be triggered by his presence was indeed highly abnormal…

Nagato also spoke up:

“The Suna shinobi on the western front consist mostly of puppet masters. Their formations have long been primarily defensive; there are almost no offensive traps…”

“My Byakugan sees it very clearly. And even though they know I have the ability to see through things, they still haven’t adjusted. It’s almost as if they are openly showing their hand, telling our forces not to clash with these puppet masters…”

Hanzo subconsciously glanced at Nagato’s eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Even now, every time he saw the red-haired Nagato sporting one Byakugan and one Sharingan, it still made an old-school shinobi like him struggle to maintain his composure…

It felt suspiciously a bit too high-tech.

“So, my thought process is this…”

“Looking at the overall situation, the Third Kazekage is under immense pressure to attack this time. The relationship between Sunagakure and the Daimyo of the Land of Wind is tense, and they’ve long had numerous conflicts regarding funding…”

Ever since Amegakure became Konoha’s outpost and a transit hub for the entire shinobi world, coupled with the promotion of pill refining in the novel, the “Holy Land Pills” had become Konoha’s flagship product, gaining massive fame throughout the shinobi world.

The word-of-mouth reviews from the nobles of the Land of Fire also played a crucial role in this.

Many nobles developed an intense interest in the “Holy Land Pills.” Major hidden villages like Kumogakure and Iwagakure, where the Kage had good relationships with their Daimyos, could still control their nobles…

But the nobles of the Land of Wind had long since secretly sent representatives to the Land of Rain. They made contact with Hanzo and the Hyuga Main Branch stationed in the Rain capital, purchasing quite a few “Holy Land Pills” to take back at exorbitant prices…

Some of the Land of Wind nobles even hinted that this involved the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, their words heavily implying a desire to sever ties with Sunagakure.

It seemed they were worried that if Sunagakure one day betrayed the alliance, Konoha would purge them together in the aftermath of their victory. Thus, they secretly and subtly leaked a portion of the Kazekage’s movements.

Based on this, Amegakure’s preparations and defenses against Sunagakure were spot on.

Sakumo Hatake nodded:

“Sunagakure proactively betrayed their allies—that is an offense carrying a double penalty. If they lose the war, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind will absolutely use this incident to make a huge fuss. Overall, they won’t make things easy for the Third Kazekage.”

“But the puppet master faction cannot form a united front with the Kazekage, making him increasingly anxious lately. Coupled with the lack of progress on the Iwagakure and Kumogakure fronts, the Kazekage has effectively been pushed into a corner.”

“To think he’s pushing deeper and deeper into the buffer zone between the Land of Rain and Sunagakure, getting further away from their advantageous desert terrain. This is him abandoning his own geographical advantage.”

A sharp, fierce glint flashed in Hanzo’s eyes:

“And I intend to seize this exact opportunity!”

“Sakumo, now is the perfect opportunity to open the dam. Coordinated with sealing formations and Water Style, we can flood Sunagakure’s entire encampment in one fell swoop…”

“The Amegakure shinobi aren’t afraid of water. And a flooded environment will drastically weaken both their puppets and their sand manipulation jutsu, while simultaneously giving me a massive boost in strength!”

Sakumo gave Hanzo a surprised look.

He’s really going all out…

But it was indeed an excellent strategy.

“My proposal is that, riding the torrent from the opened dam, you and I will strike straight for the Third Kazekage’s central command tent. The two of us will strive to rapidly plunge their command structure into chaos.”

“It’s nothing more than the Kazekage and Rasa. Both of their Magnet Styles are inextricably linked to sand. In a flooded environment, those sand reserves they’ve brought won’t be of much use.”

“Nagato, prepare to deal with the One-Tail. Once Sakumo and I free up our hands, we’ll find a way to seal it inside your body. You know sealing jutsu, right?”

Hanzo asked.

On the current Sunagakure battlefield, Rasa, who had originally intended to make his son Gaara the One-Tail’s Jinchuriki, had temporarily abandoned the idea due to the urgent need for the One-Tail’s combat power.

Instead, he opted to cooperate with the One-Tail. Out of respect for its previous Jinchuriki, Bunpuku, the tanuki had agreed, and it had appeared on the frontlines a few times.

However, being outside of its vast desert element and having low synergy with the Suna shinobi, the One-Tail had yet to secure any strategic achievements thus far.

Nagato nodded:

“I know a bit about the Gentle Fist and the Sharingan’s genjutsu. As for sealing jutsu, Candidate Shio Uzumaki and Lady Mito have taught me quite a bit, and Lady Tsunade even passed on some tips for Monstrous Strength. Dealing with the One-Tail shouldn’t be too big of a problem.”

After losing the Rinnegan, Nagato felt that his strength actually progressed much faster.

First, his body was no longer burdened. Furthermore, the modifications the Rinnegan had made to his body allowed him to pick up ordinary ninjutsu, secret techniques, and his own kekkei genkai extremely quickly.

Although the Mind’s Eye of the Kagura hadn’t awakened, his sensory abilities were still top-tier.

He could already be considered proficient with the Adamantine Sealing Chains.

It was akin to finally removing training weights and beginning normal cultivation…

“Hmm…”

“If we are attacking the Third Kazekage’s main camp, then I propose we have Konan lead a line-filling detachment to stand off against Sasori and Pakura’s formations. Let her use explosive tags to make a lot of noise…”

Sakumo Hatake pondered aloud:

“The Kazekage is the Kazekage, after all. If he comes under attack from us, Sasori and Pakura would inevitably rush back to reinforce him if their own frontline isn’t under pressure.”

“We need to give them an excuse to delay their reinforcements. Konan’s abilities are perfectly suited for this. Firing explosive tags and puppet jutsu into the empty air will still create a very intimidating spectacle!”

Hanzo’s eyes lit up. “Great proposal!”

Nagato listened in a daze.

Was there really this much nuance to fighting a war?

Just giving the enemy an excuse to throw the match, huh!

“Lord Sakumo truly lives up to his title as a Konoha Committee Member…” Nagato sighed with genuine admiration.

“Then it’s decided! Pass down the order: open the floodgates immediately, all forces move out!” Having sorted through the logic of this battle, Hanzo decisively waved his hand.

Amegakure urgently needed Sunagakure as a stepping stone, using these traitors to elevate themselves and gain an even higher degree of recognition within Konoha!

The Sunagakure frontline, western side.

“Lord Sasori!”

“The Amegakure forces have gone mad! They opened the dam, and it looks like they’re using Water Style to guide the flow, flooding the entire frontline…” A Sunagakure Jonin puppet master rushed over, reporting frantically:

“Lord Kazekage orders you to abandon your position immediately and return to engage the enemy!”

“A message also came from Lord Rasa, ordering Lady Pakura to take the southeast route and purge any infiltrating Rain shinobi along the way!”

The Suna puppet master held an intelligence scroll in his hand.

Sasori yawned and waved his hand unhurriedly. “Don’t panic…”

But Pakura, standing beside him, abruptly jumped to her feet. “Don’t panic?! The Rain shinobi are already attacking! To go to such lengths as to flood their own territory—this is definitely an all-out assault!”

In Pakura’s simple value system, while Rasa and the Kazekage’s decisions were certainly flawed, they were still Sunagakure shinobi. If they were under attack by the enemy, she had to go help them out.

Sasori cast a speechless glance at Pakura.

This woman possessed a certain degree of strength but lacked brains. The reason Sasori had Chiyo assign her to his camp was that, once he became Kazekage, he was always going to need a reliable workhorse to do the heavy lifting…

Pakura was clearly a suitable candidate.

“The southwest route…”

Sasori pondered, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. “I feel like something is up here, something isn’t right. Did Rasa say to purge the infiltrating Konoha shinobi? How many troops is Pakura supposed to take?”

The Jonin puppet master replied:

“The intelligence scroll states that Lady Pakura should go alone. That route isn’t Amegakure’s main line of attack; it’s likely a flanking force targeting our side.”

Sasori chuckled.

It sounded plausible enough, but he still felt something was off…

“I’m enough on my own!”

Pakura furrowed her brows deeply:

“The battle reports from the Kumogakure and Iwagakure fronts have come in. Konoha’s strength far exceeded the Kazekage’s estimates, and now even Amegakure is launching a counterattack…”

“I said it ages ago, we shouldn’t oppose Konoha like this. We were already allies and had a foundation for cooperation. Why did we have to go out of our way to provoke them?!”

“Hold on a second, let me ask for you.” Sasori shrugged and pressed a spot on his arm.

His body was currently half-puppet. On his elbow, he had a White Zetsu communication module installed by Madara Uchiha. It was similar to Konoha’s telepathic communications, but based on biotechnology.

The Gedo Statue combined with White Zetsu was just far too versatile.

“Hello, Mr. A-Huo? It’s Sasori…”

Sasori spoke as if no one else was in the room:

“Would it be convenient for you to check Amegakure’s attack routes for me? We’re experiencing a situation on the frontlines here…”

“I have a puppet master next to me under my Memory-Concealing Sand Technique, and Pakura.”

Pakura was stunned.

What was he doing?

A-Huo’s voice echoed in Sasori’s mind:

“Sakumo Hatake and Hanzo are rapidly advancing from the southwest. They’re likely aiming straight for the Third Kazekage.”

“Troops have also been dispatched towards your position, but they’re just a line-filling detachment.”

“Nagato is pushing through with their main force. You need to be careful; this Konoha… Rain shinobi, whatever, this Uzumaki Clan shinobi is much stronger than you think. Don’t cross paths with him.”

“Hanzo and Sakumo Hatake have also received varying degrees of enhancements. I suggest you hold your ground and make a lot of loud noise. Wait until they’re fully engaged in combat before you head over and put on a token show of support…”

Sasori nodded. “Is everything going well on your end lately?”

“Everything’s fine. Your uncle and aunt are very happy working here. We recently got an interesting new kid too. You guys can get to know each other when you have time; maybe you can collaborate on operations in the future.”

A-Huo said with a laugh.

At that moment, the newly modified Obito was sweating profusely as he did one-handed pushups, beginning his rehabilitation.

Kinkaku watched him strictly…

“A new partner? I’m looking forward to it.”

Sasori smiled and hung up the White Zetsu module call.

Pakura stared blankly at Sasori.

She suddenly felt that this man in front of her had become incredibly mysterious…

“Who were you just talking to?” Pakura asked subconsciously.

“Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t. The water runs deep here, deep enough to drown you faster than Amegakure’s floods…”

Sasori said meaningfully:

“I asked around. Hanzo and Sakumo Hatake are exactly on the route Rasa arranged for you. Heading out there without a single shinobi to back you up, knowing your personality, you would definitely engage them. And then you could just wait for death.”

“I reckon Rasa used his sand manipulation to sense their movements, and he wants to use their hands to kill you. After all, the way you talk normally is just too annoying…”

Dark lines covered Pakura’s face:

“How is that possible? Even though Rasa and I have friction, he wouldn’t betray me! We’re both Sunagakure shinobi, after all…”

“It’s a miracle you’ve survived to this day…” Sasori shook his head, remarking sarcastically:

“What kind of moral bottom line could a man possibly have when he’s willing to sacrifice his youngest son just to curry favor with the Kazekage? Low-level shinobi follow rules, but for the higher-ups, betraying each other for personal gain is the norm.”

“If you don’t believe me, then go throw your life away. People who are too stupid are useless for work anyway.”

Pakura was left utterly dumbfounded by his words.

“I’ll believe you for now…”

“Who exactly were you talking to? Did you betray Sunagakure and contact an organization outside the village? Sasori, you’re Elder Chiyo’s grandson, you can’t do things like this!”

Pakura advised earnestly.

Sasori looked at Pakura as if she were an endangered animal and couldn’t hold back a laugh.

What a traditional and pure mind…

“There’s no harm in telling you.”

“I was contacting Lord Shamon, the Second Kazekage. Don’t go blurting this out, but you must realize that the Third Kazekage’s proactive offensive strategies run completely counter to Lord Shamon’s philosophy of conservative development.”

Sasori casually fabricated an excuse.

They were both Second Kages, so the Second Kazekage and the Second Hokage were more or less interchangeable in this context!

Besides, Sasori was also planning to discuss things with Tobirama Senju. They were both high-level shinobi who dabbled in scientific research. Wouldn’t it be great to find an opportunity to use the Edo Tensei on Shamon?

Researching puppet jutsu together would provide far more common ground than those two Kumogakure meatheads…

Under the counsel of A-Huo and the other Kage, Sasori was now raising the banner of the Second Kazekage Shamon. He argued that the development of puppet masters and sand manipulation jutsu was meant to wage defensive positional warfare in a desert environment, forming an impenetrable iron barrel defense.

Taking the initiative to attack was a betrayal of Shamon’s vision for Sunagakure!

“Lord Shamon? How could Lord Shamon still be alive? Didn’t he die of illness?” Pakura felt as though she had received way too much information today, her brain verging on overload.

First came Rasa’s betrayal, then Sasori’s mysterious intelligence network, and finally even the former Kazekage appeared…

Meanwhile, at this exact moment.

Just outside the frontlines overseen by Sasori, Konan, as if sending a secret signal, led Amegakure shinobi alongside Yahiko and unleashed a massive barrage of explosive tags at the Suna puppet defense encampment…

However, despite the deafening noise, the actual damage caused was minimal.

It was essentially a furious bombardment of an empty no man’s land.

Sasori quickly dispatched a puppet to investigate the situation and smiled knowingly.

“Look at this, Pakura.”

“Konoha truly lives up to its name! They can practically read my mind across the frontlines. They clearly don’t want to fight us either, so they’re giving each other a respectable excuse.”

“Pass the order to all front-line puppet masters: match their display of force! But remember, the goal isn’t to cause casualties. We just need to use our firepower to force them back!”

The vast majority of Sunagakure’s puppet masters had rallied around Sasori, recognizing this grandson of Chiyo and Ebizo as a puppet jutsu genius who had inherited the true teachings of the Second Kazekage Shamon…

In this moment, explosive tags and puppet mechanisms intertwined, unleashing unimaginably ferocious firepower!

They plowed through the unmanned frontlines over and over again…

Rasa and the Third Kazekage quickly received the intelligence reports.

They secretly thought that although Sasori hadn’t come as reinforcements, he was finally doing his part for them by pinning down the enemy’s elite forces!

“With the fighting being so intense over there, Pakura must be helping Sasori engage the enemy…”

“I suppose even a blind cat can find a dead mouse!”

Rasa narrowed his eyes.

He could only lament the missed opportunity…

“Lord Kazekage, should we retreat for now?”

“Hanzo has opened the dam. More than half of the frontlines are now submerged in water. Without a stable foundation of sand to connect them, the Third Eye has lost its surveillance capabilities…”

Rasa said in a deep voice.

But before the Kazekage could finish speaking, a blade of light laced with lightning sliced right through the central command tent!

“Hatake Kenjutsu: Storm Style: One-Sword Slash!”

The Third Kazekage manipulated his Iron Sand, barely managing to block the unimaginably sharp blade of light.

However, the Black Iron Sand shield that he had always boasted of as an absolute defense was easily sliced open by the attack, leaving a massive fissure!

The Third Kazekage’s face darkened.

Rasa frowned deeply and rapidly erupted with chakra.

Raising both hands high, the Gold Dust buried beneath his feet converged into a massive fist that he controlled as smoothly as his own arm, smashing outward toward Sakumo outside the tent!

But the feedback from the Gold Dust made Rasa’s heart tremble!

It was too heavy!

After being soaked by massive, unnatural quantities of water, the speed and precision with which he could manipulate the Gold Dust dropped by more than just a single tier…

“It seems the Iron Sand and Gold Dust we prepared as reserves will have to be temporarily abandoned…”

This same thought flashed through the minds of both Rasa and the Third Kazekage.

Their Magnet Style required a sufficient medium to use as manipulation material. Creating it with their own chakra was possible, but having reserves was always best.

They had been targeted by despicable enemies!

Capitalizing on the environment created by opening the floodgates, Hanzo guided the water currents and initiated an attack:

“Water Style: Starch Syrup Capture Field: Tobirama Modified!”

A massive volume of highly viscous liquid rapidly covered the battlefield.

“Who could an attack like this possibly hit?”

Accompanied by a sneer, a kusarigama lashed out from the smoke and dust at a bizarre angle, instantly hooking toward Rasa’s neck!

Rasa instinctively generated Gold Dust to block it, but Hanzo emerged from the water like a phantom, appearing right behind his back!

In his hand, he raised a high-speed spinning purple water wheel!