Chapter 165 Five-Tails Catches the Cicada, Pain Behind
"Village Hidden by a Waterfall's military equipment and supplies are all provided by your Konoha, right?" Onoki questioned directly.
"Mr. Earth Shadow, regarding this matter, Village Hidden by a Waterfall purchased them all from our Konoha at market price. These are normal business transactions. We can't stop doing business just because you're at war, can we?" Uchiha Touhuan said, spreading his hands.
"Village Hidden by a Waterfall bought ninja tools at market price?" Onoki's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this. Given Village Hidden by a Waterfall's extravagant use of explosive tags on the battlefield these past few days, who would believe that Uchiha Touhuan was telling him that these ninja tools were purchased at market price?
At Village Hidden by a Waterfall's current rate of use, even their Land of Earth couldn't withstand prolonged extravagance, let alone Village Hidden by a Waterfall.
"Yes, at most, our village's ninja tool supplier gave us a 20% discount because of the large quantity," Uchiha Touhuan said.
"I swear in the name of all the Hokage, Konoha has absolutely not provided any substantial support to Village Hidden by a Waterfall. If the Earth Shadow doesn't believe me, he can send someone to Konoha to check the contracts for Village Hidden by a Waterfall's purchase of ninja tools."
Since Uchiha Touhuan had already said this much, Onoki couldn't press him any further. Otherwise, if he really pushed Uchiha Touhuan to the limit and Konoha got involved in the entire war, the outcome would be unpredictable.
"In that case, I hope Your Hokage won't forget our peace agreement," Onoki said.
"Of course, we also hope that Your Earth Shadow will remember our agreement, and that your army will remain calm when the battle lines reach Konoha's borders," Uchiha Touhuan said.
After Uchiha Touhuan finished speaking, he hung up the video call.
As agreed with Chongming, Uchiha Touhuan began teaching Fu the techniques to master the power of the Tailed Beasts. However, at crucial moments, both of them held back, leaving Fu in a state where she seems to be able to learn, but actually faces numerous difficulties. During this long learning process, Naruto and Sasuke's group also began to form friendships with Fu. For Fu, she never expected that the friendship she longed for in Village Hidden by a Waterfall would be so readily available in Konoha.
As the days passed, Fu's initial idea of quickly mastering the Seven-Tails' power and returning to the village slowly crumbled.
The mercenaries dispatched to the battlefield by Uchiha Touhuan, after arriving and familiarizing themselves with the environment, repeatedly achieved remarkable feats. Upon arrival, with no intelligence from Village Hidden by Rocks, thanks to Shikaku's superb command and Asuma's masterful combined Fire Release ninjutsu, they annihilated an Village Hidden by Rocks unit. Furthermore, the one Shikaku deliberately spared, under the secret techniques of the Yamanaka clan, revealed all the secrets in his mind and secretly delivered this information directly to Village Hidden by a Waterfall's command headquarters.
Ōnoki, upon learning of this, was furious. After all, the battlefield traces were all caused by Fire Release ninjutsu, and everyone in the ninja world knew which clan possessed the strongest Fire Release.
However, facing Ōnoki's questioning, Uchiha Touhuan frankly invited him to send someone to visit the Uchiha clan's territory to prove his innocence.
"So, you mean that this group of ninjas who can use powerful combination fire-style ninjutsu are not from Konoha, right?" Ono Muga was practically grinding his teeth to powder, but that was the truth. According to the information he had gathered, the other party had not shown any other abilities besides fire-style ninjutsu, such as the Sharingan.
"Of course, didn't I already say? If you don't believe me, you can send people to visit our Uchiha clan's territory anytime," Uchiha Touhuan said with a smile.
It can only be said that the private army trained by the Third Hokage was indeed very secretive; few people in the entire ninja world knew of the existence of this Sarutobi army. And now, if Uchiha Touhuan destroyed their ninja identification numbers, these people would once again become unregistered members of the ninja world.
"Then, did these large-scale Fire Release ninjas just appear out of thin air?" Onoki questioned, barely suppressing his anger.
"That's hard to say," Uchiha Touhuan said meaningfully. "The ninja world is so vast; perhaps it's just some organization's ninjas wanting to help the weak? Just like the Akatsuki organization that's currently appearing on the battlefield between you and the Land of Waterfall." "
Heh, Hokage, you're joking, aren't you?" Onoki said through gritted teeth. He was certain this Fire Release ninja team was related to Konoha, but he just couldn't find any evidence.
"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now. I still need to instruct my disciples today." Uchiha Touhuan smiled as he hung up the call with Onoki.
As for the possibility of the Sarutobi army being caught by Village Hidden by Rocks, Uchiha Touhuan believed that with Nara Shikaku's intelligence, such a possibility was extremely slim. After all, Shikaku's job wasn't to lead the Sarutobi army to victory in this war, but simply to act as a disruptor on the battlefield. If Nara Shikaku were to be exposed under such a huge information gap, it would truly be a disgrace to his title as Konoha's strategist.
Under the influence of various factors, this war, which almost the entire ninja world believed would be a quick victory for Village Hidden by a Waterfall by Village Hidden by Rocks, unexpectedly fell into a stalemate.
Although Village Hidden by a Waterfall was constantly suppressed by Village Hidden by Rocks's forces on the main battlefield, Village Hidden by a Waterfall was not without the power to fight back. With the help of Akatsuki and the assistance of the Sarutobi army led by Nara Shikaku, Village Hidden by a Waterfall planned several successful counterattacks, and news of attacks on several towns on the border of the Land of Earth continued to come.
In this war that captivated the entire ninja world, Village Hidden by a Waterfall's tenacity was remarkable, but Village Hidden by Rocks undoubtedly made a huge mistake.
As one of the five great nations' ninja villages, a powerful village aiming for third or even second place in military strength, both Onoki and the Land of Earth's daimyo, Uesugi Hideyoshi, anticipated the war would end within a week before its commencement. Not only them, but everyone in the ninja world except for Uchiha Touhuan believed this. Yet, Village Hidden by a Waterfall stubbornly dragged the Land of Earth into the conflict.
As the war progressed, Iwata Sawaki's initial loan for ninja tools and supplies quickly ran out. However, Village Hidden by a Waterfall had no way out. Therefore, after exhausting his loans, Iwata Sawaki immediately rushed to Konoha to continue his exploitation. This time, he mortgaged several mines within Village Hidden by a Waterfall's territory, and Uchiha Touhuan naturally accepted them all.
Furthermore, although Village Hidden by a Waterfall withstood the Village Hidden by Rocks attack, it wasn't without its costs. The casualty ratio between the two sides was on completely different levels. Although the Chunin and Genin of Village Hidden by a Waterfall quickly mastered the Lightning Release combination ninjutsu provided by Konoha to the Land of Village Hidden by a Waterfall through life-or-death battles on the battlefield, the inherent difference in the quality of the ninja meant that they often had to sacrifice several ninjas to kill a single Village Hidden by Rocks ninja.
At this moment, Iwata Sawaki had become a gambler who had lost everything. All the eligible men in Village Hidden by a Waterfall, no, in the entire Land of Village Hidden by a Waterfall, as long as they could extract even a little chakra, were captured by Village Hidden by a Waterfall to fill the gaps. These people ranged from children who hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy to middle-aged men in their fifties. They were all sent to the battlefield by Village Hidden by a Waterfall, taught some combination ninjutsu, and then directly pulled to the front lines to resist the Village Hidden by Rocks attack.
Even Konan, the Akatsuki leader who came to provide support, couldn't bear to watch this situation. During a war meeting, after hearing that Iwata Sawamoto had sent another batch of ninja academy students who hadn't even graduated to the front lines, Konan couldn't help but question him: "Mr. Iwata, if I may be frank, but by doing this, even if Village Hidden by a Waterfall wins this war, Village Hidden by a Waterfall will have no future."
"Your Grace, of course I know," Iwata Sawamoto said with a wry smile. In just a few months, the appearance of this leader of Village Hidden by a Waterfall had changed drastically. His beard was unkempt, and his eyes were bloodshot. The refined image he had before the war was gone. He looked helplessly at Konan and said, "But if we lose this war, Village Hidden by a Waterfall will cease to exist. What future will we have then?"
"Ah, that's war," Konan could only sigh, and then said, "Our Akatsuki organization will do everything in its power to help you win this war."
"Thank you for your help, Your Excellency the Angel." Iwata Zeki calmed himself down slightly before speaking to Konan.
Konan nodded, pursing her lips, and then walked out of the command tent. Looking at the ninjas with numb eyes in the camp, Konan couldn't help but sigh deeply, thinking to herself:
[It seems that only Nagato's plan can truly bring lasting peace to the ninja world.]
Originally, Konan wasn't very optimistic about Nagato's plan to collect the tailed beasts and then use them to intimidate the major powers. The reason she had always stood behind Nagato was mainly because of Yahiko's last wish and the mutual support they had shared over the years. However, after experiencing this period of war, Konan's mindset had begun to change somewhat.
"Shikaku-senpai, shall we take action today?" In a cave somewhere in the Land of Waterfall, Asuma lit a cigarette and asked Shikaku.
"Not for now." Shikaku replied to Asuma while staring at the map in front of him, constantly deducing the course of the war in his mind.
"We've been waiting here for days, we're practically rusting," Asuma said, stretching.
"We've been too high-profile lately, and it seems Village Hidden by Rocks's patience with us has reached its limit. They've sent several elite Jonin teams to search for us, so we have to lay low for now."
"But if we keep hiding, Village Hidden by a Waterfall might not be able to withstand their attack," Asuma said.
Apart from the Fifteenth Hokage's Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the rest of the team were tasked with assisting Village Hidden by a Waterfall in resisting Village Hidden by Rocks's attack. Asuma's anxiety wasn't unfounded; after all, he and Kurenai had already agreed to get married after the war.
"Young Clan Leader, obey Nara's orders," said an elite Jonin from the Sarutobi clan.
This man was Sarutobi Yukiya, who had previously served as a captain in this group of Sarutobi clan private soldiers. After the Sarutobi clan cooperated with Uchiha Touhuan to register their identities, he joined the Anbu.
After receiving this mission, the Third Hokage summoned him specifically. Besides instructing him to protect the young clan leader Asuma, Hiruzen Sarutobi also specifically instructed Yukiya Sarutobi to try his best to repair the relationship between the Sarutobi clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio during this mission. A return to the past was out of the question, but at least they shouldn't completely sever ties.
Therefore, in this operation in Village Hidden by a Waterfall, the Sarutobi army adopted the lowest possible stance, completely obeying Nara Shikaku's commands. Even when several clansmen were killed in the war, no one raised any objections to Nara Shikaku.
"Alright," Asuma could only nod, continuing to smoke in the cave.
"Asuma! Put out your cigarette!" Suddenly, Yamanaka Inoichi, who was sensing the environment outside the cave, turned around and shouted.
Startled by the sudden shout, Asuma dropped his cigarette. Without bothering to pick it up, he stomped it out and asked, "What happened?"
"I sense a massive amount of chakra approaching us. It's very likely a Jinchuriki from Village Hidden by Rocks!" Yamanaka Inoichi said gravely.
"A Jinchuriki?" Nara Shikaku's face also darkened. His small team, capable of wiping out a small country, was no different from ants when facing a Tailed Beast.
"Everyone, hide!" Nara Shikaku whispered the order.
Inside the cave, everyone held their breath.
However, not far from their hiding place, Han, the Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails, was running at full speed towards the rear of Village Hidden by a Waterfall. His mission was to directly destroy the rear of Village Hidden by a Waterfall. This protracted war had clearly exhausted Onoki's patience, and he planned to send his Jinchūriki directly to the rear to deliver a fatal blow to Village Hidden by a Waterfall.
However, as Han was advancing at full speed, six figures dressed in red cloud robes suddenly blocked his path.
"Get out of the way!" Han roared upon seeing this, using the power of the Five-Tails, Kokuō's Boil Release. Steam erupted from his body, and Han's power was amplified several times in a short time. He wanted to eliminate those blocking his way as quickly as possible.
However, directly in front of Han, a young man with orange hair and black short sticks stuck in his face simply raised his right hand as Han charged towards him.
"It's time to let you great powers feel the pain," the orange-haired youth slowly spoke. "Shinra Tensei!"
A tremendous repulsive force appeared out of nowhere, and Han, charging at high speed, was unexpectedly thrown back by this force, barely managing to regain his balance in mid-air.
After landing, Han took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, asking, "Who are you?"
(End of Chapter)