บท 123: Chapter 123: Superweapon

"The Sand Ninja will probably have a headache for a long time after this!" Tsunade remarked.

If you can't even see your enemy, you're the first to die. Anyone in that situation would be extra cautious during their next attack.

"Not just for a long time," Orochimaru added, a cold smile forming on his lips. "They'll be hesitant to make any move until they come up with a solid counter-strategy. But first, let's finish off the rest of their puppet squad and make sure they never forget."

With that, Orochimaru pressed his hand to his ear, activating his wireless communicator. "Inuzuka Tsumugi, Uchiha Fugaku, take your teams and rendezvous at the designated point."

"Understood!" came Fugaku's swift reply.

"Got it!" Tsumugi confirmed.

*Swish, swish, swish!* Orochimaru leapt down the mountainside, leading his team into the action.

His tactics were straightforward. He divided the 28 ninja into two squads. Each squad had eight Uchiha with activated Sharingan, operating in pairs as snipers. One member from the Aburame, Hyuga, and Inuzuka clans provided reconnaissance and sensory support, while Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade ensured that any enemy getting too close would be swiftly dealt with. The other team, led by Hatake Sakumo, followed the same pattern.

It must be said that ninja had an incredible capacity for learning, particularly the Uchiha clan, whose aptitude for quickly mastering new techniques was almost ridiculous. They didn't need to be taught how to fight or sneak; those were basic ninja skills. All they had to do was learn how to operate the sniper rifles, and the Sharingan made this process much faster.

Elements like wind direction, weather impact, and bullet trajectory were normally complicated, but with the Sharingan, the Uchiha could grasp these nuances after only a few shots, enabling them to make increasingly precise strikes.

While dashing through the forest, Jiraiya suddenly spoke up, his tone serious. "Orochimaru, this weapon is impressive, but it has some clear weaknesses."

As a highly skilled ninja, it was only natural for Jiraiya to analyze new tactics and think of counters. He had been mulling over this new weapon's potential downsides since the first ambush.

Orochimaru nodded in agreement. "Of course. Against ordinary shinobi, it's deadly. But against more experienced ninja, there are indeed limitations. After a few uses, the enemy will adapt."

Jiraiya furrowed his brow as he thought it through. "Exactly. This thing is only useful for ambushes. You need a clear line of sight and prior knowledge of the enemy's position. If the terrain has too many obstacles, the snipers won't have time to aim, especially with how fast we ninja can move. Add in the fact that ninjas can use smoke bombs or clones to confuse their attackers, and—well, the rifle won't stay as effective for long."

Orochimaru nodded again. "Which is why we can only use this advantage a few more times before the Sand Ninja figure out a strategy to counter it."

In the following days, Orochimaru's and Hatake Sakumo's teams continued to ambush the Sand Ninja forces that entered the Land of Rain. The enemy couldn't see where the attacks were coming from, leading to several casualties. The long-range combat caused chaos within the Sand Ninja ranks, and whispers spread among their forces about a new, deadly weapon Konoha was using, one that had unprecedented range and lethality.

Rumors circulated that Konoha had developed some kind of "superweapon" that allowed them to kill from beyond the normal combat range. As a result, the Sand Ninja became hesitant to engage in open areas with clear sightlines, as these places had proven to be death traps.

Where did Orochimaru get the locations for these ambushes? Three of the main attack routes were provided by the Third Hokage, while the others were discovered through the perceptive abilities of his reconnaissance teams.

---

On the border of the Land of Wind, at the Sand Ninja's military base, the atmosphere was tense. Outside the command tent, the bodies of fallen Sand Ninjas lay in neat rows, each one a victim of Konoha's unseen snipers.

The Third Kazekage, widely known as the strongest Kazekage in history, stood among them, his expression grim. His frustration was palpable, he hadn't even seen the enemy, yet so many of his men had died.

"This is absurd!" he growled. "I've been on countless battlefields, but never one as strange as this."

"It seems Konoha has developed a new weapon," a middle-aged woman beside him said, her tone equally solemn. She was dressed in a robe and held a bullet in her hand, carefully inspecting it.

The Third Kazekage narrowed his eyes. With a flick of his wrist, the bullet was pulled from her hand and floated in the air in front of him, held in place by his magnetic release technique. After examining it for a moment, he sent it flying toward a nearby mound, where it hit with a faint crack.

The Kazekage frowned deeply. "With my Magnetic Release, I can control its trajectory, but the impact power is minimal. This kind of thing can only penetrate at short range. For it to kill at long range… it has to be under 200 meters. But the reports say these attacks are happening from at least 800 meters."

The woman next to him, Chiyo, nodded in agreement. She was one of the most respected elders in Sunagakure, a top-tier puppet master and the grandmother of Sasori of the Red Sand.

"Yes, the distance and power don't match," Chiyo said thoughtfully. "But beyond the weapon, there's something even more concerning."

The Third Kazekage turned to her, sensing the weight of her words. "What do you mean?"

Chiyo's expression darkened. "It's the speed of Konoha's medical response. Several of our scouts reported that even severely injured Konoha ninjas were back in action within minutes, not days. Their healing capabilities seem far beyond what we've encountered before. The only time I've seen something like this was with the First Hokage."

The Third Kazekage's eyes flashed coldly at the mention of the legendary Senju Hashirama. "Are you saying that Konoha has developed a method similar to the First Hokage's healing abilities?"

Chiyo nodded gravely. "It's possible. Combining that kind of regenerative power with this new weapon… It's a troubling development."

The Third Kazekage clenched his fists. "If that's true, Konoha could pose an even greater threat than we anticipated."