Yamada accepted the scroll. After unfolding it and taking a look, his expression turned ashen.
He gritted his teeth, but in the end still lowered his head.
"Yes!"
Homura nodded in satisfaction. Walking over to the map, he heavily tapped the location of Hidden Cloud's camp with his finger.
"At dawn tomorrow, the entire army attacks!"
"The Chinoike clan will take the vanguard and launch a frontal assault against Hidden Cloud's main force. We must crush the enemy in one decisive blow!"
The moment the strategists inside headquarters heard Homura's arrangements, they all exchanged glances.
Yamada said helplessly:
"Lord Homura, normally the weaker side arranges Earth Release ninja on the front line to use Earth Release ninjutsu against the enemy's charge."
"Moreover, Hidden Cloud has the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. We should be relying on Earth Release ninjutsu for defense to avoid large-scale casualties..."
"So what if they have the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki?"
Homura sneered.
"If that brat Gento Uchiha could repel Hidden Cloud, why can't I?"
"The Chinoike clan has the Ketsuryugan. They can manipulate human blood and turn people into human bombs that explode within enemy formations, enough to throw them into chaos."
"As long as chaos breaks out, our main force can use the opportunity to wipe them out."
He turned to look at Chitose.
"Clan Head Chitose, your clansmen can do it, right?"
Chitose's expression darkened, but he still nodded.
"We can, but only under the condition that the Ketsuryugan requires close-range activation and can only control a small number of targets at once."
"If the enemy numbers are too great, we cannot cover the entire battlefield."
"Furthermore, against targets with massive amounts of chakra within their bodies, the Ketsuryugan's effectiveness is greatly reduced."
"I also recommend placing the Chinoike clan's ninja in the rear."
Homura impatiently waved his hand.
"Enough, enough. Just do as I say."
"Yamada, you will serve as my strategist and be responsible for coordinating the forces on both flanks."
Yamada opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed the words back down.
…
The next morning.
Hidden Leaf's forces assembled.
One thousand seven hundred men against two thousand.
Although they held no numerical advantage, Homura was brimming with confidence.
Looking at the Chinoike clan in front of him, he excitedly shouted:
"Attack!"
With Homura's order, the Chinoike clan's ninja charged toward Hidden Cloud's position.
Their speed was extremely fast, and their movements strange and unpredictable.
Hidden Cloud's ninja reacted swiftly, kunai and shuriken raining down like a storm.
Chitose formed hand seals, and the Ketsuryugan suddenly lit up!
Several Hidden Cloud ninja at the front suddenly stiffened. Their blood began to reverse flow and boil, veins bulging beneath their skin.
The next second, their bodies exploded like bombs, flesh and blood scattering everywhere!
"Ahhh!"
Screams rose one after another.
Those Chinoike clan ninja who had awakened the Ketsuryugan all began casting their techniques.
Human bombs exploded continuously within Hidden Cloud's formation, throwing the enemy into chaos.
The Hidden Cloud ninja retreated in shock, their formation beginning to loosen.
Standing atop the high ground, Homura was overjoyed upon seeing this scene. He slapped Yamada on the shoulder.
"Did you see that? My plan worked!"
"Looks like commanding a war isn't all that difficult after all!"
Yamada forced a smile and tactfully said:
"Lord Homura, the Chinoike clan has indeed achieved results, but they're exposed on the front lines. It's too dangerous."
"Perhaps we should first withdraw them to the flanks and have them harass Hidden Cloud from the sides to avoid taking frontal attacks."
"What do you know?!"
Homura interrupted him, displeasure on his face.
"Haven't they already caused tremendous casualties? Why retreat? Keep attacking!"
Yamada was left speechless.
On the battlefield, the Chinoike clan's ninja continued charging.
But the Ketsuryugan's casting range was limited, and the number of targets it could control was limited as well.
Hidden Cloud had two thousand men; this level of casualties could not shake their foundation.
Meanwhile, the Chinoike clan's ninja had already exposed themselves to Hidden Cloud's firepower.
Within Hidden Cloud's formation, the Raikage A stood atop a high point, watching the human bombs continuously exploding ahead.
His brows furrowed tightly.
"Ketsuryugan..."
He muttered.
"This is the Chinoike clan..."
His gaze swept across the battlefield, quickly identifying the problem.
The Chinoike clan was actually charging head-on without any cover or coordination.
Although their Ketsuryugan was strange, the users themselves were fragile. Once an enemy closed the distance, they would become lambs awaiting slaughter.
"Hidden Leaf's ninja were always cautious before. What happened to the enemy commander today?"
"With such an excellent Kekkei Genkai, how could they use it like this?"
He stopped dwelling on it and turned toward the rear.
"B, your turn!"
Killer B stepped out from the crowd, removed his sunglasses, and split his lips into an excited grin.
"Finally my turn, yeah!"
Chakra surged out from his body!
His figure rapidly expanded.
A gigantic ox-octopus appeared on the battlefield.
Eight thick tails swayed behind it, each swing whipping up fierce winds.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Black chakra condensed within the Eight-Tails' mouth, growing brighter and larger.
When Chitose looked up and saw the Tailed Beast Bomb, his pupils contracted.
"Scatter! Scatter now!"
He shouted, but it was already too late.
Boom!
The Tailed Beast Bomb landed in the densest area of the Chinoike clan–the explosion was like heaven and earth collapsing.
Flames shot into the sky as the shockwave swept in every direction.
The ground was blasted into a crater dozens of meters wide.
The Chinoike clan's ninja were blown apart, flesh and blood scattering through the air, their screams drowned out by the thunderous explosion.
Chitose was hurled away by the shockwave and crashed heavily onto the ground, coughing up blood.
Struggling to rise, he looked at the scorched earth and at the still-burning severed limbs. His eyes turned bloodshot.
"No!"
Grinding his teeth, he frantically activated the Ketsuryugan, trying to manipulate the blood inside the Eight-Tails.
However, the Eight-Tails' chakra was far too immense. His Ketsuryugan could not penetrate the Tailed Beast cloak at all.
He could only watch helplessly as his clansmen fell one after another.
The moment Hidden Leaf's forces saw the Tailed Beast Bomb explode, their morale collapsed.
"Run!"
"The Jinchuriki is here! Run!"
"We can't beat them!"
The Hidden Leaf ninja, whose morale had already been low to begin with, threw down their weapons and fled.
Hidden Cloud's ninja seized the opportunity to pursue and slaughter them, blades flashing as blood splattered.
Standing atop the high ground, Homura's smug expression instantly froze upon seeing this scene.
"How... how could this happen..."
His legs began trembling, his face deathly pale.
Yamada was just about to discuss a retreat plan with him, but when he turned around, Homura had already disappeared.
"Lord Homura? Lord Homura!"
Yamada searched everywhere, only to see the advisor fleeing southward at full speed without looking back.
Yamada stood frozen in place, his face full of disbelief.
"He... ran away?"
On the battlefield, Hidden Leaf's forces had collapsed into chaos.
Although Yamada barely managed to organize the remaining ninja into a fighting retreat, preventing total annihilation.
However, he understood that the northern battlefield's crushing defeat had become inevitable.
After this battle, Hidden Cloud's powerful forces could no longer be stopped!
---
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