Heart of Steel Half-Morph Sword Saint, Madara is willing to call me the strongest

According to the intelligence sent back by Konoha's front-line reconnaissance team, the resumption of the war is inevitable.

The ninjas of the Iwagakure Village are already gathering on a large scale and are almost complete.

And their target is clear, it is the Fire Nation.

After two years of rest, Iwagakure seemed to have recovered from the losses in the early days of the Third World War and was preparing to launch a war against Konoha again without hesitation.

The battle plan in Uchiha Yi's hand was personally drawn up by the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The battle plan was very clear, which was to take the initiative to destroy the enemy's combat forces before Iwagakure invaded the Land of Fire and push the battlefield into the territory of the Land of Earth.

At the beginning of the Third World War, the Fire Nation's strategy against Iwagakure was passive defense, which resulted in a large amount of the Fire Nation's border territory being occupied and causing great losses.

As the first ninja village in the first major country, Sarutobi Hiruzen obviously can no longer accept the passive defensive strategy.

This time it will be Konoha's counterattack.

……

As night falls, the streets of Konoha Village appear particularly quiet under the caress of the moonlight.

But beneath this silence, an undercurrent is quietly surging.

Nearly three hundred elite Konoha ninjas dressed in uniform had gathered in a hidden open space.

All around, several ninjas skilled in illusion moved their fingers slightly, and invisible illusions had already been set up, covering the entire gathering place tightly to prevent hidden spies from obtaining intelligence.

Among the solemn crowd, one group of figures stood out as particularly eye-catching.

They were wearing the iconic uniforms of the Konoha Police Force and were none other than the Seventh Team led by Uchiha Yi.

In this operation, Uchiha Yi went out with his Seventh Squad. Also participating in the operation were three other squads of the police force, all led by elite jonin from the clan.

It is said that the dispatch of the Konoha Police Force this time was initiated by the clan leader Fugaku and applied for by the village's top leaders.

Although Uchiha Yi was not very clear about why Fugaku did this, it was most likely to gain the right to speak after the war and divide the benefits.

"It looks like they've assembled."

Suddenly, a cold voice broke the silence of the night.

The one who spoke was the commander of this operation, Orochimaru, one of the three ninjas.

His voice was very cold, as if mixed with wind and snow.

"Our goal is very clear. We will invade the Land of Earth, destroy the main combat forces assembled by Iwagakure, and push the battle line into the Land of Earth."

"Many people will die in this battle. If you don't want it to be your turn, then kill all the enemies."

As Orochimaru's cold words came out, the air seemed to freeze, and everyone's nerves were instantly stretched to the extreme.

Then, without any extra speeches or loud slogans, the combat force of nearly 300 people disbanded silently like ghosts.

It would be easy for such a large number of ninjas to be exposed when acting together, so the combat force was divided into numerous small teams, which would reunite after advancing to the border of the Land of Earth.

Following the pre-planned route, the teams disappeared into the night quickly and orderly.

Uchiha Yi nodded to the ten team members behind him, and then led everyone to blend into the torrent surging in the dark night.

Their figures gradually blurred, leaving only faint chakra fluctuations, gently rippling in the air.

……

After a day and night of rapid travel.

Nearly three hundred elite ninjas arrived at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth.

"Well then, let's begin the battle plan!"

Standing at the front of the crowd, Orochimaru made a 'forward' gesture.

"Whoosh whoosh—"

No one tried to hide their tracks anymore and they rushed towards the territory of the Land of Earth at a very fast speed.

When they arrived at the border area, there were reconnaissance ninja teams everywhere. It was impossible to hide the traces of a force of nearly 300 people.

After entering the territory of the Land of Earth, the combat troops did not encounter too many obstacles along the way.

After seeing such a large number of Konoha ninjas, the few stationed Iwagakure ninjas wisely chose to retreat.

The topography of the Earth Kingdom is completely different from that of the Fire Kingdom. The land is a thick yellow-brown color and natural resources are scarce.

There was a dry smell in the air, which was in stark contrast to the moist forest of Konoha.

This is also the reason why the four major countries have always coveted the territory of the Fire Nation.

Unlike the rich Land of Fire, the geographical environment and resources of the other four countries are obviously backward, especially the Sand Village, where the living environment is even more difficult.

Two hours later.

The Konoha combat force led by Orochimaru arrived at the foot of a dark brown valley.

The place is surrounded by towering cliffs, which seems to have naturally formed a strategic location.

At the front of the team, the reconnaissance team sent out in advance came rushing over.

The leader of the reconnaissance team was a jonin from the Hyuga clan. His tone was solemn as he reported, "Report! Lord Orochimaru, a large force from the Iwagakure Village was discovered at the valley exit five kilometers ahead. There are nearly two hundred of them, and they are fully equipped. It looks like an ambush that was set up long ago."

Hearing this, Orochimaru sneered, his eyes flashed with a cold light, "It seems that they are indeed waiting for us. Now that we have been discovered, hiding has lost its meaning. Iwagakure has chosen to meet them head-on, so we don't have to be polite."

Orochimaru's voice was calm but revealed an unquestionable determination.

The senior ninja frowned, clearly worried about this frontal assault strategy, "Lord Orochimaru, the other side has a large number of people, if we fight head-on..."

"Hard fight?"

Orochimaru interrupted him with a slight sneer on his face, "Yes, that's right. We are in the Land of Earth, and we don't know the terrain and environment as well as our opponents. We can't match the Iwagakure in terms of equipment and supplies. What we want in this battle is to strike the opponent head-on and quickly. Dragging it out will only give the opponent more time to prepare."

"I see, I was talking too much."

After hearing Orochimaru's analysis, the Hyuga clan's jonin nodded, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.

Orochimaru showed a cold expression on his face, and said expressionlessly: "Prepare for battle."

As Orochimaru finished his words, the originally silent valley was instantly shrouded in a tense atmosphere of preparation for battle. The ninjas participating in the battle took out their weapons and prepared for battle.

According to the tactics deployed by Orochimaru, the entire combat force was divided into several groups.

The mission of Uchiha Yi's team was to get around the enemy's flank in advance and, under the cover of the main combat team, prepare to deal a fatal blow to Iwagakure.

At the same time, five kilometers away, in a desolate hilly terrain, nearly two hundred Iwagakure ninjas in dark brown uniforms were gathered.

Leading the group was Iwagakure's front-line commander, Masazo Ishioka.

"Master Shozo, the ninjas from Konoha are approaching us!"

"What about the quantity?"

"About 300 of them, led by the Sannin Orochimaru!"

After hearing the report from the sensory ninja, Ishioka Masazo did not show the slightest sign of fear. Instead, a fierce murderous intent appeared on his face.

The body of the perceptive ninja who was reporting trembled slightly. He was frightened by the cold murderous intent emanating from Ishioka Masazo, and all his muscles tensed up.

"Snapped!"

Ishioka Masazo slammed the rock beside him with his right hand, a cold look flashed in his eyes: "Very good, this time Konoha will suffer a big loss."

"Everyone, prepare to fight!"

Ishioka Masazo waved his hand behind him.

"Yes!!"

One voice after another was heard, accompanied by an unknown number of figures, exuding an astonishing sense of murderous intent.