113 Something is not quite right.

The chaotic melee continued, with all sides vying for control over Tsunade. The Konoha ninja were there to protect her, while the Cloud ninja also needed her alive. Although their objectives overlapped, they remained fundamentally at odds and incapable of working together.

Sasori’s intent was far simpler: he wanted Tsunade’s life. Had the Cloud ninja not interfered, he would have even commanded his human puppets to bypass them. However, after several failed attempts, Sasori realized the Cloud ninja were being quite troublesome, consistently disrupting his attacks at critical moments. Losing his patience, he decided to stop holding back and use his puppets to grind the lives of every ninja on the battlefield into dust.

As the fighting dragged on, the pressure on both the Leaf and Cloud forces intensified. The human puppets, devoid of blood or tears, possessed only flesh and a chakra core; they never grew weary, making them perfect tools. The same could not be said for the human combatants. As their vitality and spirit waned, their fighting efficiency plummeted.

The Konoha team, in particular, faced immense pressure and had already lost another jonin to severe injury. Had it not been for the Hyuga clan’s defensive prowess and the Byakugan’s ability to assess the situation, allowing them to patch holes and sacrifice minor pieces to save the whole, the situation would have collapsed long ago. They held on only by clinging to a sliver of hope: surely, Lord Orochimaru must be nearby. Once he arrived, the tide would turn. Every Konoha ninja present had experienced the war against the Cloud and held no doubt regarding Orochimaru’s strength.

"Shisui, I told you earlier—we must wait a little longer."

Orochimaru wore a smile, yet his eyes were cold as ice, casting a chill over everyone present. Just moments ago, Shisui had ignored his orders and attempted to charge out to provide support. Had it not been for Tanishin-jaki using senjutsu to exert absolute control over the area and stopping Shisui in time, they would have been exposed.

With his feet sunk into the earth to hold his position, Shisui looked at Orochimaru with a grim, unwavering gaze. "If we don't go out now, Kakashi and the others will die."

During the war against the Cloud, his life had been saved by Kakashi; he could not stand by and watch him march to his death. While personal loyalty played a role, Shisui fundamentally disagreed with Orochimaru’s approach of sacrificing their own to let the enemies batter each other into exhaustion. The strategy of the "praying mantis stalking the cicada" might be effortless, but Kakashi and his comrades were not cicadas—they were human lives, companions of the village. The other three jonin shared his sentiment, though they lacked Shisui’s boldness to express it.

"You stubborn brat, things are not as simple as you think."

Sensing the clear resolve in Shisui’s eyes, Orochimaru shook his head. This was the disadvantage of his reputation; in their eyes, saving only Tsunade while watching Kakashi and the others perish—and allowing the bounty hunters to trade blows with the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki—was exactly the kind of thing he would do. But this time, he truly had no such intention.

The reason he had not yet intervened was that the battlefield unfolding before him was vastly different from what he had imagined, riddled with too many suspicious details. The most glaring was that no one seemed to care about Shizune Kato. The two S-rank defectors could be excused—they were there for Tsunade’s life, and once they knew of her hemophobia, Shizune’s utility became negligible. But what of the Cloud ninja? Did they truly believe that mere threats based on her "hemophobia" would force Tsunade to heal the Fourth Raikage? Even if she did, without other leverage, were they not afraid she might take the Raikage down with her?

Orochimaru did not believe the Cloud could be so shortsighted, nor did he believe the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki could be. During their last encounter, Orochimaru had discovered that Killer Bee, despite his boisterous exterior, was incredibly meticulous and possessed a sharp understanding of the tactical situation; he was not a typical brute easily provoked into a mindless frenzy. Furthermore, the strength Killer Bee displayed in this melee was highly questionable. Though he had single-handedly held off the S-rank defector Kakuzu and caused enough interference for Sasori to force the latter to use the Third Kazekage puppet for protection, something felt fundamentally off.

If Kakashi and his team could hold out a little longer, he would have more time to discern the truth. As for their lives, Orochimaru had the confidence and the ability to preserve them. To Shisui, the injuries appeared critical, but to Orochimaru, it was no different from stubbing a toe—painful and swollen, but far from fatal. Orochimaru glanced at Shisui once before averting his gaze; he had no time to argue, as he needed to focus on the shifting battlefield.

However, reality rarely aligned with one's desires. The situation began to deteriorate once more.

Another Konoha jonin, exhausted and unable to compensate, was struck by a senbon from a human puppet. His face immediately turned a sickly, bruised black; he had been poisoned and lost the ability to fight on the spot. Even the best ninja were bound to slip eventually. Unlike the Cloud ninja, who were masters of Lightning Release, the Konoha team relied on a combination of ninjutsu and physical combat against the puppets, and lasting this long was a feat in itself.

"Eight Trigrams Palms: Great Rotation!"

*Whoosh...*

In an instant, Hyuga Hizashi became the center of a vortex, spinning rapidly to unleash the absolute defense of the Gentle Fist. Senbon, kunai, and puppets—everything surrounding the Konoha team was repelled by the devastating technique. The force of the move was so great that it cleared a small void on the battlefield.

Hyuga Hizashi panted heavily, feeling no sense of triumph. The technique had not drained him completely, and his chakra was not yet at its limit, but without his comrades to cover him, he would have to rotate like a perpetual motion machine to survive—and that was impossible. They could no longer hold on.

Sasori, inside the Hiruko puppet, understood this well. The moment the Konoha jonin was poisoned, he shifted to maximum effort, unleashing a surge of overwhelming combat power. For most ninja, battle was a one-on-one action game, but to him, it was merely a strategy-based tower defense. Through the preceding skirmish, Sasori had mapped the limits of the Cloud ninja's capabilities. He diverted just enough puppets to keep them entangled while committing the rest of his strength to crush the Konoha team.

Hyuga Hizashi was forced to use "Great Rotation" once again to intercept the enemy, his heart sinking into despair. He could manage the technique once or twice more, but the puppets were tireless, seemingly infinite.

"Lord Orochimaru, why have you not arrived yet?" Hizashi lamented inwardly. "Neji... I fear I will break my promise this time..."

Yet, at this moment of absolute despair, Tsunade, who had stood motionless until now, suddenly moved. She scanned the circle of enemies, a fierce glint in her eyes. Suddenly, she jammed two fingers into her ears and nostrils, and blood gushed from her orifices. But that was not enough; blocking her sense of smell and hearing was mere child's play, and the pain was negligible. Tsunade reached into her robe and pulled out a row of silver needles, driving them directly into the acupuncture points of her brain.

The pain was like molten lava flowing through her nerve endings.