After the Battle of Mount Kikyo, Sunagakure had suffered disastrous losses. Their original numerical advantage over Konoha had been greatly weakened. In theory, as long as Konoha gathered the remaining ninja and launched a full assault, they would most likely be able to retake Wildfire City.
However, the cost of doing that might be rather high.
After all, attacking a city was definitely more difficult than defending one.
So Nara Shikaku's suggestion was to cut off Sunagakure's supplies and surround them without attacking, while using Rasa as leverage to pressure Sunagakure through the official channels between ninja villages and force them to come to the negotiating table.
Jiraiya had no objection to this.
Naturally, neither did Yuu. After all, he was only there to listen in, not to provide advice. It was enough as long as they assigned him a mission when the time came.
Of course, considering his current physical condition, Jiraiya did not rush to give him work. Instead, he gave him a day off and told him to rest properly and recover his chakra.
So Yuu ran over to the medical team and helped for half a day, healing a batch of wounded. During that time, he also borrowed the medical team's microscope and took a look at Rasa's blood sample. Yes, Yuu and Rasa had spent so long on that cliff earlier partly because Yuu was collecting materials.
Judging from various signs, the difficulty of training the Magnet Release kekkei genkai was much lower than conventional kekkei genkai like Scorch Release. After all, this bloodline could be stably inherited even between non-blood relatives, so there was a possibility it could be mastered through research.
However, due to limited time, and because the medical equipment had to be prioritized for the wounded, this brief research produced no results. He would probably have to leave it for later.
"Speaking of which…"
Yuu thought of two unlucky fellows.
"Everything should be going smoothly over at Mount Kikyo, right?"
…
The location was inside the valley of Mount Kikyo.
In a somewhat ruined village.
The air was filled with a faint smell of smoke and burnt matter.
Obito, Kakashi, and a Root ninja wearing an animal mask were standing in front of a civilian house.
They had encountered the Root ninja, who had been searching for the remnants of Suna ninja, while coming to these villages to confirm the situation. Because Obito had already seen people dressed like this once before in the village, he did not mistake them this time.
Mm, strictly speaking, he still had mistaken them, because Obito could not really distinguish Root from the Anbu. Kakashi beside him vaguely noticed something, but he did not say anything.
As for why the three of them were standing here together…
it was because of two Suna ninja.
At this moment, the door of the civilian house was wide open. Inside were seven or eight trembling villagers, old and young alike, their faces full of fear.
The two Suna ninja, covered in blood and breathing weakly, stood by one side of the doorway with their backs to the wall. Their hands were forming the seal to detonate explosive tags, while those explosive tags were densely pasted across the walls inside the house and on the villagers' bodies. One of the Suna ninja shouted hoarsely,
"Don't come any closer! Take one more step, and we'll detonate them immediately! These lowly peasants can all be buried with us!"
"…Damn it!"
Obito's two-tomoe Sharingan was open. The villagers' cries made him restless and anxious, and sweat appeared on his forehead.
"You have nowhere left to run! Put down the explosive tags and surrender! We won't kill you! If you keep resisting like this, the only road left is death!"
"Hmph. If we die, then we die. At least we'll drag a few people down with us!"
The Suna ninja's expression remained vicious.
Kakashi said nothing. He was thinking quickly, considering whether using Body Flicker or Clone Technique to disrupt the enemy was possible. But no matter how he thought about it, the risk was too great. The slightest mistake would cost a house full of lives, making it very hard to decide.
Seeing that both sides could not reach an agreement and the negotiation had reached a deadlock,
the Root ninja suddenly gave a cold laugh and moved.
Without any warning or discussion, he activated Body Flicker. His figure vanished from where he stood like a ghost, then appeared beside one of the Suna ninja. The instant the latter looked up in shock, the Root ninja swung the kunai in his hand, precisely and ruthlessly slashing across the man's throat.
Blood sprayed!
"No—!"
The other Suna ninja's eyes nearly split with rage. Stimulated by his companion's death, he revealed a crazed and hopeless smile, then formed the detonation seal without hesitation.
"Let's all die together!"
Boom—!
In the final second, horror appeared on the Root ninja's face. Instead of charging forward again, he directly retreated into the distance, seemingly intending to avoid the shockwave of the explosive tags this way.
However, Obito and Kakashi did not have such favorable conditions.
The instant the firelight appeared,
Kakashi formed seals with both hands.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A wall of earth carved with dog heads rose from the ground, standing between Kakashi, Obito, and the house.
The next moment,
with a thunderous boom, blinding firelight shot into the sky and instantly swallowed the entire house. Because of the Earth-Style Wall blocking the blast, Kakashi and Obito were not hit by the shockwave. But the whole house was overturned by the violent explosion, and scorching flames and thick smoke billowed out.
"Not good! The house collapsed! Save them!"
Obito cried out and instinctively rushed toward the fire, using his bare hands to tear at the burning wood and rubble.
Kakashi used Water Release: Wild Water Wave, spitting out water toward the fiercest part of the flames.
But after being bombarded at close range by explosive tags and then crushed under the collapsing house, those civilians basically had no chance of survival. Even if one or two were still breathing, without a medical ninja on site, they could not be saved.
Realizing this, both Obito's and Kakashi's expressions turned ugly.
Nearby,
the Root ninja acted as if he had done something utterly insignificant. After confirming that both Suna ninja were dead, he prepared to leave and continue searching for other possible Suna remnants.
"Hey, stop right there!"
Obito turned back at the sound of footsteps, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at the Root ninja and shouted,
"What did you just do?! For the sake of two Suna ninja, you got all of them killed! That was a whole house full of innocent lives! Are they really that worthless in your eyes?!"
"…"
The Root ninja paused and glanced at Obito.
"In the world of ninja, there are only rules and missions. There is no place for meaningless emotion. Their deaths prevented greater trouble and potential threats. Soft-hearted mercy will only get your comrades killed.
"Didn't your supervising jōnin teach you that? How laughable."
After saying this, he no longer paid attention to Obito. His figure vanished straight out the doorway.
"You…!"
Obito trembled with anger, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his flesh. He wanted nothing more than to rush up and argue with that cold-blooded Root bastard.
"Obito! Calm down!"
Kakashi was still trying hard to persuade him.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!