After taking out the two bloodline-limit clan ninja, Uchiha Yuan let out a long breath.
This battle had actually been relatively easy for him. The Kaguya clan's Shikotsumyaku primarily relied on taijutsu to be effective.
However, the dynamic vision of his Sharingan combined with the swordsmanship he'd just learned directly countered the Kaguya clan's fighting style.
Ironically, it was the Yuki clan's Hoshi who was harder to deal with. The Yuki clan's Ice Release was both offensive and defensive. Especially her Ice Release Secret Technique: Frozen Snow, which didn't require hand seals to create ice walls—it completely neutralized his Fire Release.
That's why Yuan decided to play a reverse trap—he intentionally let his feet be frozen by Frozen Snow, luring Hoshi into dropping her guard. Then, he used instant teleportation in front of her, and Sharingan genjutsu to immobilize her, and landed a killing blow.
The only downside was how brutal the scene had been. The amount of blood loss still made Yuan feel uncomfortable even now.
Trying to shift his focus, Yuan glanced at his status panel.
To his surprise, after killing those two, his attribute points had increased by four.
Could it be that eliminating bloodline-limit users gives more attribute points?
Unfortunately, there were no other bloodline-limit ninja nearby to test this theory. He'd have to wait for another chance to verify it.
Yuan then turned to check on Shibi Aburame.
Shibi had also finished his battle against the Mist Jōnin.
As expected, Shibi had won. Judging by his condition, he didn't seem to be injured—it must've been a one-sided fight.
Finally, there were Hyuga Asana and Yamanaka Kagetsu. The two had already taken down two enemies and were facing the remaining two Chunin. Yuan originally wanted to step in and secure a kill, but Shibi stopped him.
Shibi felt Kagetsu lacked combat experience. This was a rare opportunity to train him.
Since Shibi had spoken, Yuan didn't interfere. He followed Shibi to the water source.
Upon inspection, Yuan found it to be a large pond formed by spring water gathered from the surrounding mountains. It held a significant amount of water, roughly equal to Konoha's two main sources.
Shibi took a small bottle from a sealing scroll and poured its contents into the water.
"Sensei, is that poison?" Yuan asked.
"It's a type of poison, yes. This was prepared by Lady Tsunade before she left the village. Anyone who ingests it will suffer full-body weakness and become unable to use ninjutsu—but it's non-lethal."
"Only this type of poison? Why not use something more deadly?"
"This one lasts a very long time. Just this one bottle will make the pond's water undrinkable for six months.
Such long-acting poison is best for slowing the pace of war and buying us time.
Yuan, as it stands now, we don't need to win against the Mist. They only joined because they saw Konoha fighting on multiple fronts and hoped to carve out a piece of the pie. We just need to stall them.
Once the other fronts reach a conclusion, the fate of the Bear Country battlefield will be decided.
If we win, the Mist will retreat on their own. If we lose, this front will turn into a total war—a fight to the death."
After hearing Shibi's explanation, Yuan finally understood. He had sensed all along that the village didn't prioritize the Bear Country front—now it made sense.
Compared to other fronts, this one had the least impact on Konoha.
Because the Land of Water is isolated overseas, the Mist couldn't launch a full-scale invasion. They needed the Bear Country as a bridgehead for further action.
As long as Konoha held the Bear Country, the Mist posed no threat to the Land of Fire's heartland. All they had to do was hold the line until the other battles concluded.
Most likely, Orochimaru had been ordered to delay the Mist, which explained Konoha's passive stance.
"Asana and Kagetsu are done too—let's regroup," Shibi said, snapping Yuan from his thoughts.
Yuan turned to see Hyuga Asana and Yamanaka Kagetsu had indeed defeated the remaining Mist ninja.
After regrouping, Yuan looked over Asana to make sure she was unhurt. Only then did he relax.
Kagetsu had some injuries, but nothing serious—a simple treatment would suffice.
"Sensei, are we heading to destroy the Mist's supply line now?" Yuan asked.
Shibi nodded and pulled out a map. Pointing to a gorge, he said, "Most of the Mist's eastern supply lines run through forests and plains—except for this one narrow terrain here, which passes through a gorge.
Our next objective is to block the gorge and cut off their supply route."
"Block the gorge? But none of us know Earth Release. We can't rely on Kagetsu's Earth Wall, can we?" Yuan frowned.
"Earth Wall definitely won't cut it. Blocking a gorge on this scale would take the Hokage's power.
So instead of Earth Release, we'll use the mountains on both sides of the gorge."
"Sensei, you mean we're going to cause a landslide and bury the gorge?" Hyuga Asana asked.
"Exactly. That's what Lord Orochimaru instructed me to do."
(To Be Continued...)