Inside the camp on the Land of Fire front.
Shikaku looked at Tsunade and Seiryū as they lifted the tent flap and walked in, then bowed respectfully to Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama."
He felt somewhat relieved.
The reinforcements sent to this front were actually Tsunade and her disciple, Seiryū.
This greatly eased the pressure on him.
"There's no need for that during wartime."
Tsunade waved her hand.
Then she got straight to the point. "What is the situation now? How is Kumogakure moving?"
Because Seiryū had not left a Flying Thunder God Seal on this front, he had to use Heilig Pfeil to leave a Flying Thunder God Seal from a distance before traveling there.
Although it was more troublesome than arriving directly in one step, it was still much faster than running.
It only took Tsunade and Seiryū half a day to get from Konoha to this camp.
They had set off in the morning, and it was not even noon yet.
"The Kumogakure forces have already begun to move. If my prediction is correct, they may launch a full-scale attack this afternoon!"
Shikaku had already memorized the battlefield situation here, so he barely needed to think.
He immediately explained in detail. "Moreover, Kumogakure has split into several units and is attacking from multiple directions."
"Their goal is not only to occupy the Land of Fire. They are aiming directly at this command camp!"
By the end, Shikaku's expression had turned grave.
With the Land of Fire as the contested point, the war between Konoha and Kumogakure on this front had been going on for some time.
Several small-scale battles had also broken out.
Both sides had suffered casualties.
However, Kumogakure seemed unwilling to continue dragging things out with Konoha. The scale of this operation was larger than before.
Their purpose was not simply to occupy the Land of Fire.
Rather, they intended to crush Konoha's deployment on this front.
Once Konoha's deployment here was destroyed, Kumogakure could easily occupy the Land of Fire.
Then, by using the Land of Fire as a temporary base, they could further threaten Konoha.
After realizing Kumogakure's possible intentions, Shikaku responded immediately.
Aside from the scout ninja, the rest of the troops had been gathered.
They were preparing to face all of Kumogakure's attacks.
This was also the reason he had felt such immense pressure before.
Kumogakure's target was not the Land of Fire, but this Konoha camp on this front!
"Their goal is this camp?"
Tsunade had also experienced the battlefield, so she roughly understood after hearing this.
But she also had some doubts. "How did they discover this location?"
In war, the command camp is of the utmost importance.
It is the center for issuing orders and coordinating operations.
Once its exact location is discovered, it will naturally become a target for the enemy.
Therefore, the location of the command camp is generally not exposed.
They had been able to come to this command camp because Yamanaka Inoichi had led the way.
Then how did Kumogakure know the location of Konoha's command camp on this front?
Shikaku shook his head gravely. "I don't know. I also find it strange, and I can only guess that Kumogakure may have developed a special sensor-type ninjutsu."
Regarding this point, he really could not figure it out.
How had Kumogakure found the command camp, which was well hidden and even protected by a sealing barrier?
It could not be the work of a spy.
Everyone who could set foot on this front was trustworthy!
Listening to the conversation between the two, Seiryū subconsciously spread out his perception.
A diameter of more than twenty kilometers was covered by his Vollständig: Heavenly Eye.
Then Seiryū sensed it.
Deep underground, there was a faint trace of malice.
He could only sense that slight malice. There were no Chakra fluctuations or signs of life.
It was as if it had merged with nature.
'White Zetsu.'
After changing the special perspective of Vollständig: Heavenly Eye, the world seemed to turn black and white.
Even the depths of the earth could not block the penetration of Seiryū's Vollständig: Heavenly Eye.
Thus, Seiryū discovered it.
The source of that malice was a humanoid creature with a white body.
Seiryū was no stranger to this special lifeform.
This was White Zetsu!
'Madara really has taken part in this war.'
After realizing it was White Zetsu, Seiryū could not help but ponder.
The appearance of White Zetsu here was enough to explain it.
Madara was also involved in this Third Shinobi World War.
However, this was also within Seiryū's expectations, so he was not very surprised.
"I roughly know the reason."
Then Seiryū said, "There is a creature similar to a summoning beast hiding underground."
"They can merge with the natural environment and can even block some sensor-type ninjutsu. This place has been under surveillance."
They had been monitored by White Zetsu.
It was even very likely that Kumogakure knowing about the camp here had something to do with White Zetsu.
It was unlikely that Madara and Kumogakure were working together.
It was more likely that Madara was guiding the outbreak of this war.
Tsunade's expression became serious. "A creature similar to a summoning beast?"
Shikaku also looked at Seiryū. Having witnessed Seiryū's strength, he would not treat him like a child, so he hurriedly asked, "What kind of summoning beast is it?"
Seiryū said, "A white humanoid, hiding underground."
Shikaku said in a deep voice, "Can you dig it out?"
Tsunade also looked at Seiryū.
Being monitored was a very serious matter!
"It's a bit troublesome, but not impossible. Just let someone skilled in Earth Release go down there. Forget it, I'll do it."
Seiryū formed hand seals with one hand and stepped on the ground. "Hadō #57: Daichi Tenyō!"
Boom!
As Seiryū stomped on the ground, Chakra poured into the earth.
Immediately, the ground shook and compressed, as if it had been rammed by an invisible force.
Under this force, the White Zetsu deep underground began to twist and deform.
In the end, it was crushed into the earth, its body torn apart, and it died.
"Alright, the guy monitoring us is dead."
Seiryū clapped his hands, as if he had done something trivial.
He continued, "However, the camp has already been exposed. It's impossible to move the camp now. It seems our only option is to fight."
"Jonin Shikaku, do you have any plans?"
The command camp had been exposed, and Kumogakure's attack could come at any time.
Konoha had no better choice than to fight.
As the commander, Shikaku must have a plan, and Seiryū wanted to hear it.
Shikaku already had a draft in mind and said, "One or two hundred Chunin and Jonin are a very strong force, but they are not a major threat."
"I already had traps set more than ten miles away."
"With you and Tsunade-sama here as well, they will only return empty-handed. We may even be able to turn the tables and severely damage Kumogakure!"
Since he knew Kumogakure was about to attack the command camp, he naturally could not do nothing.
A basic response was necessary.
Traps had already been set around the area.
If the Kumogakure ninja wanted to attack this place, they would have to break through the trap formation.
Of course, Shikaku did not think this would stop Kumogakure's attack.
It was only meant to buy more time for Konoha's reinforcements to arrive.
He had not expected Konoha's reinforcements to arrive so quickly.
And it was the master and disciple pair, Tsunade and Seiryū.
Now Tsunade and Seiryū had arrived at this camp.
Although there were only two of them, their strength was monster-level.
They were enough to withstand an army!
Kumogakure's attack this time would return empty-handed, and they could even take this opportunity to severely damage Kumogakure's deployment here!
"Oh."
After listening, Seiryū nodded slightly.
If there were only one or two hundred ninja, even if they were elite Kumogakure ninja, Shikaku's response was indeed appropriate.
Meet force with force and adapt to whatever comes.
However, Seiryū had already learned from the previous Kumogakure scout team that the scale of Kumogakure's attack this time would be larger.
Then this response seemed a little insufficient.
Seiryū said, "We encountered a Kumogakure scout team earlier and interrogated them for some information."
"The scale of Kumogakure's attack this time will be larger. It won't just be one or two hundred Chunin and Jonin. There may be even more, and even Kumogakure's powerhouses may take action."
What was still uncertain now was how many troops Kumogakure had organized.
And which Kumogakure powerhouses would participate in this operation?
"The scale of the attack will be larger?"
Shikaku frowned and sighed. "Was the previous intelligence just meant to mislead our judgment?"
This was something that could not be ignored.
Intelligence was always the most important thing on the battlefield.
However, Shikaku was not worried, because he had naturally considered the possibility that the collected intelligence might be false.
Otherwise, why would the traps have been set mainly to buy time?
Of course, the key point was how large Kumogakure's attack would be this time.
Shikaku looked at Seiryū and asked, "Did you interrogate any more information?"
Seiryū shook his head. "No. It's quite mysterious. I guess they also want to give us a heavy blow."
"Also?"
Shikaku glanced at Tsunade and Seiryū, and understanding dawned in his heart.
Having Tsunade and Seiryū come to this front, Third Hokage Hiruzen's intention was probably not just to provide support.
"Tsk."
His expanded perception caught waves of Chakra approaching, and Seiryū curled his lips. "No need to think about it anymore. The Kumogakure troops have arrived."
"Yo, one unit has two hundred people, and most of them are Chunin. There are also quite a few Jonin."
Kumogakure's attack had come quite quickly.
If he and the bad woman had arrived any later, Konoha's deployment here might have been severely damaged.
The situation of a war is a delicate matter.
If this front was broken, it would affect Konoha's overall deployment.
"Shikaku, Kumogakure ninja have attacked. I estimate there are more than two hundred of them, and they are attacking directly from the north."
At that moment, Yamanaka Inoichi's voice sounded in Shikaku's mind.
This was the Yamanaka clan's Mind Transmission Jutsu.
It could transmit sound into a designated person's mind, a secret technique used to pass intelligence.
Shikaku's face darkened.
They launched an attack so quickly?
And what surprised him even more was that Seiryū had discovered the enemy's movements earlier than Yamanaka Inoichi.
One had to know that Inoichi was keeping watch on the outskirts of the camp.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, there was a roar like exploding tags being detonated, and a dense, continuous rumbling came from afar.
This was the sound of the trap formation Shikaku had ordered people to set up being triggered!
"They are not only attacking from the north. There are other directions as well. There are hundreds of them, nearly a thousand people. The strength of the ninja in the other directions is uneven."
"However, the vast majority are Chunin and Genin. This is a large-scale attack!"
Seiryū's perception captured even more Chakra fluctuations.
Kumogakure troops were attacking from different directions. Under careful perception, the number of Kumogakure ninja attacking this time was in the hundreds, nearly a thousand.
Based on the war situation on the various fronts that Seiryū knew, this Kumogakure attack was second only in scale to the Sunagakure and Kirigakure battlefield in the Land of Rivers, where the fighting was the fiercest.
They had come with ill intentions!
"Prepare to respond. I'll go meet them first."
After saying this, Seiryū's figure flashed and disappeared.
Although Kumogakure had come with ill intentions and had many people, Seiryū did not care much.
The thing he feared least was numbers!
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he appeared at the location of the Flying Thunder God Seal he had left before on the outskirts of the camp.
Seiryū looked at the two hundred or so Kumogakure ninja rushing over from a distance and smiled. "I hope this war can trigger some system tasks for me."
Clatter!
Then, with a thought, Golden Chains rushed into the sky from Seiryū's body.
They gathered in midair into several thicker Golden Chains.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
With only a buzzing sound, terrifying Chakra fluctuations escaped from Seiryū's body.
It seemed to stir the air into chaos.
Then, at the tip of each Golden Chain, a huge Chakra bow condensed.
And then they drew the bows and fired!
Swish, swish, swish!
Streaks of materialized Chakra Heilig Pfeil pierced through the air, and the sound of them tearing through the sky rang out one after another.
The sky was covered by Chakra arrows, as if ten thousand arrows had been fired at once, dense like rain.
In almost the blink of an eye, the Heilig Pfeil fell toward the rushing Kumogakure ninja!
Boom, boom, boom!
Dense and continuous roars rang out, accompanied by shrill screams.
The Heilig Pfeil were condensed and formed from Chakra, so they were naturally not ordinary arrows.
They contained formidable power, and every point of impact caused a small explosion.
The more condensed and concentrated the Chakra, the stronger the power of the Heilig Pfeil!
This round of volleys consumed an entire Kakashi's worth of Chakra.
Naturally, its power was not to be underestimated!
Therefore, the two hundred or so ninja who had come charging over had already suffered nearly half their number in casualties under this round of Heilig Pfeil attacks.
Only those ninja who noticed it in advance and had countermeasures survived.
"What kind of ninjutsu is this!?"
"Damn it! We were ambushed!"
"Who exactly is it?"
"Ahhhh!"
Looking at their injured companions around them, they were furious, but they also showed horror and astonishment.
What kind of ninjutsu was this?
It actually possessed such terrifying power?
With just one attack, they had suffered nearly half their number in casualties!
And they had not even seen the enemy's figure at all!
"Not bad. There are still nearly a hundred people who blocked the Heilig Pfeil."
Seiryū's figure suddenly appeared among the Kumogakure ninja.
Twisting his neck, Seiryū curled his lips into an inexplicably cold smile. "Then I'll continue. Are you ready?"
Clatter!
Under Seiryū's control, the Golden Chains were like a scythe swung by a Shinigami, harvesting the lives of the surrounding Kumogakure ninja.
At this moment, Seiryū was a Shinigami who had descended upon the battlefield!
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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