Chapter 81: A War Between Two Rabble Armies
The Shinobi Alliance entered the desert region from the direction of the Land of Lightning, while the Akatsuki advanced from the direction of the Land of Fire.
At this point in time, sneaking attacks on the various hidden villages had become meaningless. Apart from Kumogakure, all other villages had already evacuated their civilians, leaving only empty shells behind.
It could be said that this time, the hidden villages had committed all their forces. The reason for such unity was that the Akatsuki had the capability to annihilate any single village on its own.
Although both sides had massive numbers of troops, their marching speed was extremely fast. Not to mention the Shinobi Alliance, the one hundred thousand White Zetsu controlled by Kabuto reached the vicinity of the battlefield in just over ten hours.
The main battlefield consisted of vast stretches of desert and Gobi terrain, which served as the border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire. If Kumogakure and Konoha ever went to war, this would be the buffer zone.
On both sides of the desert and Gobi were large forests. Entering the forest on either side meant crossing into the territory of the Land of Lightning or the Land of Fire.
Before both forces reached the desert zone of the main battlefield, they had already clashed in the forest areas on the flanks. This was because some White Zetsu had crossed the desert and arrived at the forest on the edge of the Land of Lightning.
White Zetsu could disguise themselves as others, and this advantage would naturally be reflected in the war.
Whoosh, whoosh...
Dozens of figures darted through the forest. These were shinobi from the Shinobi Alliance, serving as the vanguard.
Hundreds of White Zetsu emerged from the ground, all identical in appearance—short, pale green hair, pale skin, and faint spikes visible on their bodies.
These White Zetsu suddenly appeared, blocking the Shinobi Alliance's vanguard. Without any words exchanged upon meeting, they directly engaged in combat.
Although the White Zetsu clones had a numerical advantage, their abilities were singular. As soon as they clashed with the Shinobi Alliance, they fell into a disadvantage.
Even so, ten minutes later, hundreds of corpses lay on the ground. The Shinobi Alliance's vanguard was completely wiped out—there were simply too many White Zetsu.
The surviving hundred or so White Zetsu began processing the bodies of the fallen shinobi. After a moment, dozens of White Zetsu disguised as the Shinobi Alliance's vanguard appeared. Each of them bore "injuries" and quickly dispersed. They intended to infiltrate the main force by posing as scattered remnants of the vanguard.
It didn't take dozens of White Zetsu to infiltrate the enemy ranks; even a few White Zetsu blending into the Shinobi Alliance's main force could cause significant disruption.
White Zetsu could not only disguise their appearance but also mimic chakra fluctuations. This meant that sensory-type shinobi couldn't detect them at all.
Leaving aside how many shinobi the White Zetsu clones could ambush, just the spread of this news would deal a massive blow to the Shinobi Alliance's morale, making the shinobi on the battlefield suspicious and distrustful of one another.
Of course, the skirmishes in the forest were only minor clashes. The true battlefield lay in the desert.
Sand swept through the air as a vast, imposing force of the Shinobi Alliance entered the desert. This was the Second Division of the Shinobi Alliance—the Close Combat Joint Unit. Their main objective was to block the enemy's frontal forces, specifically the White Zetsu clones, so they entered the battlefield first.