Before Konoha launched its attack, the key figures of Yugakure had already gathered in a sealed chamber. After all, the intelligence from Kumogakure was something they had sold privately themselves; no one understood what was happening better than they did.
The way small ninja villages survive is by playing all sides—keeping a flexible posture and swaying with the situation—yet never offending any one great power to the point of no return.
At this moment, it was once again time for them to make a choice.
The leader of Yugakure was usually not the strongest person in the village, but rather a highly respected elder chosen by consensus.
As a result, the leader's strength might only be at the level of a chūnin or genin, or even that of an ordinary person.
At present, the acting leader was a gray-haired old man. He said to the village's strongest jōnin, "Chizō, keep our people in line. Do not let them get involved in the fighting. Whatever Kumogakure wants to take, let them take it. There is no need for pointless sacrifices."
Chizō did not object, but he still asked with concern, "Leader, is this really all right? Won't this offend Konoha's side?"
The leader shook his head. "No. You don't understand the style of that Third Hokage. He won't blame us for not taking part in the battle. On the contrary, if we assist Konoha, we gain nothing and instead offend Kumogakure to the death. At that point, we wouldn't be able to bear their retaliation."
"But some of our comrades are already planning to follow Kumogakure and break out. Should I step in and stop them?"
"There's no need. Let them go. Those fools who can't see the situation clearly still fantasize about joining Kumogakure, never realizing that they are nothing more than cannon fodder to them."
"But they're still comrades from the village!"
The leader let out a long sigh. "Chizō, when it's time to give something up, you have to give it up. This is the helplessness of small ninja villages. Perhaps after this war, we should rethink our path of development."
"I've finally seen it clearly: for small ninja villages, trying to develop real strength is simply impossible. The Five Great Ninja Villages will not allow it, and the funding from the daimyō's side is being cut year after year.
"Maybe having no strength at all would be better than being stuck in this neither-here-nor-there state. At least then we wouldn't be forced into impossible choices. After the war ends, cut ties with those lunatics of the Heretical God cult as well. After so many years of experiments, there have been no results—there's no need to keep supporting them."
"Yes, Leader-dono!"
Ninja movements were always swift. This wasn't moving house—there was no need to pack large bundles. As long as they carried enough ninja tools, that was sufficient.
As for wealth and valuables, Yugakure was so poor they were practically down to the shirts on their backs. Anything of value—along with ninjutsu and other resources—had long since been packed up and hauled back to the village.
...
After receiving the order, all the Kumogakure ninja quickly gathered together, mixed in with a group of Yugakure ninja who intended to go down the same road with them to the bitter end.
Teoshi glanced at them and thought to himself, Good dogs. Since they were willing to come along, all the better—he would make good use of them.
"Move out."
At the command, the Kumogakure ninja charged toward the east of Yugakure like wolves released from a cage, a vast, surging mass. Ordinary Yugakure residents who didn't know what was going on even thought those dark-skinned barbarians were about to launch some major operation again.
Some people saw their own children following along and even shouted to ask whether they were coming home for dinner that night.
They might come back—maybe. But if these people could still eat by then, it would be nothing short of a corpse coming back to life.
The ones following Kumogakure were all people who had had enough of their own village's weakness, determined to follow the powerful Kumogakure and become citizens of a great nation.
Yugakure wasn't large. After the force left the village, Teoshi looked over the terrain outside and said to Troy, "We split into two groups. I'll take some of our comrades and the Yugakure ninja east. You lead the rest northeast—don't take the main road."
Troy did not object. "Fine. Then be careful. I'll wait for you at the coastal outpost."
"Idiot. Don't go to the coast. The contingency we left there has definitely already been destroyed by Konoha. Are you taking your men into the sea to feed the fish?
"Look for a chance to break through to the north. The redeployment of Konoha's main force in the north can't be concealed for long. Once the Raikage-sama finds out, he'll definitely come to provide support."
"I understand. You have to catch up."
"Don't worry. I won't die that easily."
After confirming it, the two immediately split into two routes and broke out separately.
After wiping out the outer defensive line to the east of Yugakure, Konoha's encirclement force quickly concentrated and surged toward Yugakure.
They had to concentrate, because Yugakure's terrain was very special: it lay in a valley enclosed by a ring of abruptly rising rocky mountains. The steep peaks all around formed a natural barrier, and the long, narrow passes between those mountains were the roads that connected Yugakure to the outside world.
Choosing such a site to build the village was on par with Takigakure and Hoshigakure.
Most small ninja villages were like this—powerless to construct large-scale anti-infiltration sensory barriers, they could only rely on the advantages of natural terrain to enhance their village's security.
Ninja could, of course, scale the mountains, but doing so would waste both time and stamina. Kumogakure would not choose such a method either.
...
Makoto's squad advanced in the middle of the formation, charging toward Yugakure, and soon spotted dense ranks of enemies surging in from afar.
Everyone's scalp went numb—the enemy outnumbered them several times over. With both sides confined to narrow mountain paths, this was not a battle that would be easy to fight.
Yet they had no choice but to hold. As long as they could hold for a short while, the main force from the south would arrive and launch an attack from the enemy's rear. Once that happened, everything would turn for the better.
They were already close to Yugakure. Makoto had naturally sensed that the Kumogakure forces had split into two routes, but he could not deal with that now. Those enemies would be handled by Konoha comrades advancing south from the north. What he had to consider was how to hold back the opponents directly in front of him.
When enemies meet on a narrow road, the brave prevail—my ass.
Even if they won in this situation, their own side would suffer heavy casualties. They had to find advantageous terrain for a counterattack.
And if there was none—then they would create it.
Just before the two sides were about to collide, Makoto shouted while running, "Sensei, focus on protecting those two. I'll go ahead and set up a favorable battlefield for everyone."
Without waiting for a reply, his entire body shot into the air. Propelled by Wind Release chakra, he flew at high speed, overtaking everyone and landing ahead of them, simultaneously entering Sage Mode.
Upon landing, he slammed both hands onto the ground.
Sage Art: Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall—Great Wall Technique!
A towering, thick wall of rock and earth erupted from the ground between the two sides, as if a mighty fortress pass had been erected in the valley in an instant.
On the side facing Konoha, several sloped ramps with steps were formed to allow their own personnel to climb the wall and defend it; battlements were even thoughtfully constructed on top.
On the side facing Kumogakure, the intent was far more malicious. Not only were there no ramps, the wall even jutted out with dense clusters of sharp earthen spikes.
If those Kumogakure brats had the ability, they could just attach chakra to their feet and climb up.
Makoto's mastery of ninjutsu shape transformation was displayed to the fullest in this Earth Release. He even had the spare attention to carve the dog head of Rocky the husky into the center of the wall as mockery.
The damage was minimal—but the insult was absolute. Even Kakashi would have approved.
The Kumogakure commander leading the force, Teoshi, was thoroughly disgusted by this ninjutsu. Which bastard came up with such a vile technique?
But they had already reached this point—there was no option but to press forward.
"Lightning Release—explosive tags ready! Blow that wall apart! Kill the Konoha ninja and charge through!"
He shouted loudly, while quietly retreating a few steps himself, pushing everyone else out in front to shield him.
On Konoha's side, the ninja were in far better spirits. They happily climbed onto the top of the wall and bombarded the enemies charging below from above.
For a time, explosive tags and ninjutsu interwove between the two sides, forming an absolute zone of death.
At this moment, the benefits of deep chakra nature training became apparent. More than that, this was Sage Art—how could it be destroyed so easily? Even lightning chakra overcoming earth was not enough.
Clods of earth and stone kept sloughing off the wall, but it simply would not fall. After a round of frenzied bombardment and paying the price of heavy frontline casualties, the Kumogakure forces had only managed to grind away the earthen spikes on the wall.
What was uncanny was that the dog head remained completely intact. It seemed Makoto had deliberately reinforced that spot.
Afterward, relying on their numerical advantage, the enemy used explosive tags and ninjutsu to suppress the Konoha ninja, then began charging upward along the smoothed wall and the mountainsides on both flanks.
What was absurd was that those at the very front all wore Yugakure forehead protectors. They led the charge, fighting with fierce resolve, as if they were determined to burn everything they had for a Kumogakure village they had never even been to—using their own flesh and blood to carve a path of survival for the "noble" Kumogakure ninja.
The Konoha ninja took cover behind the battlements, relying on the terrain to fight back desperately. But ninja were not ordinary human soldiers, and the battlements' protective capability was limited—after taking a few more explosive tags, they shattered.
Makoto moved along the wall, the wind blades of the Shadowless Sword acting like a sniper rifle, precisely picking off opponents who tried to rush up.
With both sides packed into the mountain pass and fighting around the tall, thick earthen wall, a brutal, bloody battle unfolded. Every second, someone screamed and fell—but the heavier casualties were naturally on the attacking side.
Kumomi and the Hyūga branch-family jōnin in charge of command could be said to have truly seen it all; they never expected that in their lifetime they would witness a wall-based siege battle in the shinobi world.
It was quite something.
Fortunately, time was ultimately on Konoha's side. The fighting had not lasted long before Konoha's main force rushing up from the south burst out from within Yugakure.
The enemies caught in the middle immediately fell into a two-sided pincer and began fleeing in panic, attempting to break out by climbing the mountains on both sides.
The Konoha ninja only needed to fire ninjutsu and ninja tools upward. The enemies climbing the mountains, however, had far more to worry about: they had to increase their speed, watch their chakra consumption, and avoid the dangers pressing in from behind.
Some Yugakure ninja, driven to despair, abandoned their dream of becoming citizens of a great nation and chose to kneel and surrender. But they forgot that the Kumogakure ninja beside them were not known for good temper.
These dark, savage brutes who swore never to surrender first cut down the Yugakure comrades who had tried to capitulate, then launched a desperate charge toward the Konoha ninja on both sides.
They had decided that even in death, they would take one or two Konoha bastards with them—especially that bastard who had created such a disgusting Earth Release.
But very quickly, they not only failed to find the culprit behind the Earth Release, they themselves were swallowed up by the surging pincer of Konoha ninja.
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