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As the Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, moved to confront Hanzō, their final orders were relayed to the rest of the Second Division.

"A full retreat? Relying on the terrain to hold off both Sunagakure and Amegakure?!" Aizen raised an eyebrow upon hearing Minato Namikaze's words.

"That's right, those were Lord Orochimaru's final instructions before they left. We must do our utmost to protect our base camp," Minato replied solemnly.

"Understood. Don't worry, I will do my best to carry them out," Aizen nodded thoughtfully, offering Minato a reassuring smile.

"Alright!" Minato acknowledged, then said to Aizen with a serious expression, "Aizen, you... you must survive this war!" As he spoke, Minato gritted his teeth, a heavy weight pressing on his heart. He had faced countless crises since entering the battlefield. Each time, someone important was lost. He couldn't bear to lose anyone else. The only solace was that, due to Kushina Uzumaki's significance, she was exempt from this mission. And even if the Second Division were to fall, there would undoubtedly be powerful shinobi to escort her to safety. That was the only thing bringing Minato any comfort.

Hearing Minato's words, Aizen was momentarily taken aback, then smiled. "Don't worry, I won't die!" When it came to self-preservation, as long as he didn't encounter any Kage-level opponents, Aizen was confident in his numerous abilities.

Minato nodded firmly and quickly departed.

"A full retreat, huh? This war, it all depends on who emerges victorious first," Aizen muttered to himself, watching Minato's retreating figure.

Meanwhile, the First Division in the distance had also received the latest update from the Second Division.

Bam! Upon receiving the news, Zashi flew into a rage and smashed his teacup on the table!

"Explain yourselves! How did a Sunagakure force of this size slip past us unnoticed? Are our intelligence ninja incompetent? How could such a massive movement go undetected? Especially the Hyuga clan! Two thousand Sunagakure shinobi vanished, and they didn't notice anything amiss? Are they all blind?!" Zashi roared at the ninja who had delivered the information, causing him to collapse to the ground, trembling in fear.

"Calm yourself, Zashi. It's pointless to dwell on this now. Even if we want to assign blame, it'll have to wait until after the battle. The key question is, what do we do next?" Sakumo Hatake intervened calmly. At this moment, only he dared to address the enraged Zashi.

Hearing Sakumo's words, Zashi took a deep breath and gradually regained his composure. "You're right, Sakumo. I apologize for my outburst," Zashi said remorsefully.

Then, he carefully reviewed the information in his hand. Seeing that Orochimaru and the others were determined to hold their ground, a glint appeared in his eyes.

"Relay my orders! The entire army will switch from defense to offense! Attack the Sunagakure forces with everything we've got!" Zashi commanded fiercely.

The terrified ninja quickly scrambled to his feet and rushed out to transmit the order.

"Sunagakure! Amegakure! Who will ultimately perish remains to be seen!" Gazing towards the distant sky, Zashi eyes were filled with icy determination.

Sunagakure responded swiftly as the Konoha First Division launched their full-scale assault. Countless Sunagakure shinobi defended against Konoha's relentless attacks with unwavering resolve. For a time, the two sides were locked in a fierce and bloody stalemate!

Meanwhile, at the Sand Shinobi army's central command tent.

"Sister, Zashi's response was swift. When he learned that we had secretly sent our troops to the Konoha Second Division's battlefield, he immediately mobilized his entire force to attack us." Ebizo said with a worried expression. Their Sand Shinobi forces were already weaker than Konoha's First Division. Especially now, with two thousand ninja missing, the gap between the two sides had widened even further.

"Alas, at this point, we've done all we can to reach this situation. The rest is up to fate! In this war, if we can prevent the destruction of the Konoha Second Division, we'll have a chance to continue fighting. If we collapse first, Konoha will be the victor of the Second Shinobi World War," Chiyo said with a sigh, her face filled with helplessness.

"Yes, we two old bones. have done our best!" Ebizo echoed with a weary sigh.

As he spoke, Ebizo's gaze drifted towards a tent in the distance. Inside, strange humanoid puppets stood eerily. There were precisely two thousand of them.

These weren't ordinary puppets, but rather Human Puppets, a forbidden technique of puppetry! As the name implied, these puppets were crafted from actual human bodies. These puppets retained the chakra they possessed in life. Under the control of a puppet master, they could still wield the strength they had when alive.

These puppets were made from the bodies of Sunagakure shinobi who had fallen in the past six months.

Of course, these puppets couldn't serve as Sunagakure's main fighting force. Even if they deployed all their puppet masters, they couldn't control even a tenth of these Human Puppets. Their primary function was to deceive Konoha's reconnaissance ninja! These puppets were nearly indistinguishable from living humans, possessing chakra signatures. Even the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan couldn't detect any abnormalities.

Sunagakure had used this method to mislead the intelligence ninja of the Konoha First Division! They had gradually transported their remaining forces to the Second Division's location in small groups over several months, completing the transfer undetected.

Just as both sides of the Second Shinobi World War were preparing for a decisive showdown, the Second Division's forces had begun to disperse and establish defensive positions. Aizen was among them.

However, unlike the many passionate shinobi ready to lay down their lives, Aizen, the cunning fox, used the Water Body Substitution Technique to sink into the ground and stealthily made his way towards a nearby river.

This river served as a vital water source for the Konoha Second Division. It was also the perfect hiding spot for Aizen, allowing him to utilize the Body Substitution Technique and conceal himself completely during this war!

What? You want me to fight for Konoha? I'm not a fool. According to the original story, Konoha is destined to emerge victorious in the end. Can't I just reappear after the war is over? Aizen thought to himself.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Binding!" But just as Aizen shamelessly prepared to prioritize his own survival, a voice boomed from above!

Countless golden sand particles surged towards Aizen like a relentless tide!