The explosions became denser and denser.
They were no longer isolated detonations occurring one after another. Instead, they had become a continuous chain of blasts, like countless firecrackers exploding endlessly in the distance.
But those were not firecrackers.
Those were explosive tags.
Explosive tags buried earlier by Konoha along the defensive perimeter.
And now someone was triggering them.
Which meant only one thing.
The enemy had arrived.
Sarutobi Sosuke stood atop the high platform with a face pale as paper. Listening to the explosions drawing closer and closer, his lips trembled repeatedly before he finally moved.
But he did not move toward the defensive line.
Instead, he turned and rushed directly into his tent.
Several seconds later, he ran back out again.
In his hand was a thick bamboo cylinder.
An emergency flare.
Three times larger than ordinary signal flares.
At this moment, Sarutobi Sosuke finally performed the first truly sensible action he had taken since arriving at Mount Kikyo.
Calling for reinforcements.
He yanked the ignition cord at the bottom and raised the cylinder high overhead.
WhooshββββBoom!!
A gigantic red flare shot into the night sky before exploding over three hundred meters above the camp.
Unlike ordinary signal flares that only formed small points of light, this flare illuminated the entire sky crimson.
It looked as though someone had splashed an entire basin of blood across the heavens.
The scarlet light poured downward, turning everyone's faces red and staining every shadow on the ground crimson as well.
The flare was bright enough to be seen from dozens of miles away.
Sarutobi Sosuke threw the empty launch tube aside and roared loudly:
"Where are the Yamanaka Clan members?! Where are they?!"
Someone in the crowd immediately raised a hand.
"Here!"
"Quickly use the Mind Transmission Technique to notify Konoha! Hurry!!"
The Yamanaka Chunin had already crouched on the ground while rapidly forming seals, veins bulging violently across his forehead.
"Mind Transmission Technique!!"
His body suddenly stiffened completely.
Several seconds passed before his eyes abruptly snapped open again while he gasped heavily for air.
"Tra... transmitted!"
Sarutobi Sosuke immediately shouted back:
"What did you send?!"
The Yamanaka Chunin wiped sweat from his forehead while breathing heavily.
"'Mount Kikyo... Sunagakure... attack.' Only those three words. I didn't have enough Chakra..."
This time Sarutobi Sosuke did not scold him.
Instead, he immediately turned and roared again:
"Summoning beasts! Who has summoning beasts?!"
One Jonin instantly bit his thumb and slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof!
Three Ninja Hounds burst from the smoke.
"Ninja Hounds! Go! Deliver the message back to Konoha immediately!"
The hounds lowered their noses to the ground briefly before instantly turning and sprinting toward Konoha.
Their figures disappeared into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, another Jonin had already formed hand seals while pressing his palm against the ground.
"Ninja Hawk! Go!"
A hawk burst from the summoning smoke and shot directly into the night sky with powerful wingbeats.
Sarutobi Sosuke watched the Ninja Hounds and Ninja Hawk vanish into the darkness before finally exhaling deeply.
The emergency flare had been launched.
The Mind Transmission Technique had transmitted three words.
The Ninja Hounds and Ninja Hawk were already en route.
Everything possible had already been done.
The message would definitely reach Konoha.
As for when reinforcements would arrive...
He neither knew nor had the ability to control that anymore.
Sarutobi Sosuke slowly turned his head toward the Mountain Ridge.
The explosions had drawn even closer now.
Flashes of firelight flickered continuously at the horizon.
He clenched his fists tightly and took a deep breath.
Then, immediately afterward, he stopped acting like a normal human being again.
Sarutobi Sosuke turned around toward the assembled camp and issued an order nobody expected.
"All forces retreat immediately!"
His voice exploded across the clearing.
Everyone froze.
The people running toward the defensive line stopped moving.
The people crouching to bury explosive tags stopped as well.
Even those distributing Kunai froze where they stood.
Everyone slowly turned their heads toward him with expressions of disbelief.
"I said retreat!! Withdraw toward Konoha immediately!! Right now!!"
Sarutobi Sosuke shouted louder and louder, as though attempting to convince everyone else.
Or perhaps convince himself.
"There are three thousand enemies and we only have one thousand troops left! This battle cannot be won! Fighting means certain death!"
"If we retreat now, we still have a chance to survive!"
He screamed his explanation desperately.
But not a single person moved.
Sarutobi Sosuke immediately panicked.
He jumped off the high platform and grabbed a nearby Chunin by the arm.
"What are you still standing around for?! Run!!"
The Chunin stumbled from being yanked but quickly regained his footing.
Yet he did not run.
Instead, he stared directly at Sarutobi Sosuke.
"We cannot retreat."
A furious roar suddenly exploded from the crowd.
Choza charged out from the front ranks of the 7th Battalion.
In several large strides, he reached Sarutobi Sosuke, shoved the Chunin aside, and stood directly face-to-face with him.
Choza was massive.
Sarutobi Sosuke had to raise his head to meet his gaze.
"We cannot retreat!!"
Choza repeated those words again.
His thunderous voice caused the ears of everyone nearby to ring violently.
Sarutobi Sosuke instinctively stepped backward.
"You..."
"Remaining here and using the defensive fortifications while holding out until reinforcements arrive is our only chance!"
Choza stepped forward aggressively.
"If we retreat now, maybe the fastest people will survive. But every Chunin and Genin will die on the road!"
Sarutobi Sosuke's expression changed instantly.
But Choza continued pressing forward relentlessly.
"And even if not everyone dies, have you thought about what happens once three thousand Sunagakure Ninja enter the heartland of the Land of Fire?!"
Sarutobi Sosuke's lips trembled violently.
His gaze began darting around uncontrollably.
Yet in the very next second, he screamed hysterically:
"I am the commander! What I say is absolute!!"
"What you say doesn't matter anymore!!"
Choza roared directly back at him.
His entire body leaned forward aggressively while veins bulged from his forehead and neck.
Sarutobi Sosuke froze completely.
He instinctively stepped backward again, mouth hanging open without any words emerging.
Previously, every time he used his authority to suppress Choza, Choza had eventually fallen silent.
Every single time.
So Sarutobi Sosuke believed this situation would end the same way.
But this time, Choza did not back down.
He stood there with eyes wide as copper bells while his chest rose and fell violently like an enraged wild boar.
Sarutobi Sosuke retreated yet another step.
Then he turned to look at the surrounding crowd.
The battalion captains.
The Chunin.
The Genin.
Not one person spoke in his defense.
Everyone merely stared at him.
And those gazes were completely different from before.
There was no respect in them.
No agreement.
Only coldness.
A freezing cold scrutiny that evaluated him from head to toe.
Sarutobi Sosuke involuntarily shivered.
"I... I'm still the commander... you... you can't..."
"I propose something."
A voice suddenly interrupted from nearby.
Everyone turned simultaneously.
The speaker was the captain of the 5th Battalion.
A middle-aged Jonin around forty years old who was normally quiet and rarely spoke.
He stood among the crowd with a calm expression while speaking in a steady voice.
"I propose the immediate dismissal of Sarutobi Sosuke as acting commander."
He paused briefly.
"Captain Akimichi Choza of the 7th Battalion will temporarily assume command authority."
The entire clearing instantly fell silent.
Then the captain of the 3rd Battalion raised his hand.
"Agreed."
The captain of the 6th Battalion raised his hand.
"Agreed."
The captain of the 2nd Battalion raised his hand.
"Agreed."
The 4th Battalion.
The 8th Battalion.
The 1st Battalion.
One hand after another rose into the air.
Seven battalion captains.
Seven raised hands.
Sarutobi Sosuke stood frozen while staring blankly at those hands.
His face had become deathly pale.
"You... you can't... this is wartime... dismissing a commander requires unanimous agreement from all captains..."
His gaze finally landed upon the captain of the 8th Battalion.
The same person who had shared tea with him just yesterday.
But the captain of the 8th Battalion never looked toward him.
His hand remained raised steadily.
"Agreed."
Sarutobi Sosuke's legs weakened immediately.
He grabbed onto a nearby tent pole to keep himself from collapsing.
He opened his mouth, still wanting to struggle desperately one final time.
"I also agree."
Choza's heavy voice finally descended from directly above him.
Sarutobi Sosuke jerked his head upward.
Choza stood before him with one hand raised and eyes locked firmly onto him.
"Eight votes. Unanimous."
Choza lowered his hand and immediately turned toward the entire camp.
"From this moment onward, I will assume command authority."
He inhaled deeply before issuing orders in a heavy voice that struck like falling stones.
"All personnel return immediately to defensive positions. Deploy according to the first defensive strategy."
"7th Battalion will hold the frontline. 5th Battalion to the left flank. 3rd Battalion to the right flank."
"2nd Battalion standby at the second defensive line. 4th, 6th, and 8th Battalions will remain as reserves."
"Place every explosive tag in front of the first defensive line. Don't hold anything back."
"Take inventory of all shuriken, Kunai, and military ration pills. Redistribute supplies immediately if anyone lacks equipment."
"Medical Corps withdraw behind the second defensive line. Tear down the tents and clear the battlefield."
His commands came rapidly one after another.
Fast.
Yet perfectly clear.
Every battalion captain nodded immediately before turning and sprinting toward their units.
"7th Battalion! Move with me!"
"5th Battalion left flank immediately!"
"Medical team dismantle the tents now!"
The entire camp began moving once more.
But unlike before, there was no chaos.
Everything moved in a single unified direction.
Everyone was rushing toward their assigned positions.
Guy stood quietly at the edge of the clearing while watching Choza's broad back.
Choza's massive figure stood beneath the torchlight while his shadow stretched long across the ground.
He was currently speaking with the captain of the 2nd Battalion while gesturing toward various points along the defensive line.
After finishing, he turned around and finally noticed Guy.
"Guy."
Guy immediately walked over.
Choza looked him over briefly.
"Can you still fight?"
Guy tightened his grip around the hilt of his blade.
The split skin along his palm cracked further apart, allowing more blood to ooze out stickily.
"Yes."
Choza nodded.
"Stay behind me."
Guy froze slightly.
But Choza had already turned around and resumed walking forward.
After taking several steps, he suddenly paused and glanced backward at him.
"Don't charge too far ahead."
Only four simple words.
Then he continued forward again.
Guy stood silently while staring at Choza's broad back.
The torchlight illuminated the red armor covering Choza's body.
The armor already looked somewhat worn, and there was still a visible scratch across the left shoulder guard from the previous battle against Iwagakure.
Guy immediately followed after him.
At that exact moment, another explosion sounded from the distance.
Closer than before.
The ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.
But Choza's steps never faltered.
Neither did Guy's.
Throughout the entire camp, everyone was now sprinting toward their positions.
Nobody looked back at Sarutobi Sosuke anymore.
He remained standing beneath the high platform while leaning weakly against a tent pole, his face pale as death itself.
His lips continued trembling.
But no one cared what he was saying anymore.
In the distance, the explosions continued growing denser.
Firelight burned fiercely across the horizon, dyeing half the sky dark crimson.
And within those flames, deep inside the distant forest, one could already vaguely make out the twisted and ferocious faces of the Sunagakure Ninja.
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