stonecrandall Chapter 268 Iwagakure's Counterattack
Chapter 268 Iwagakure's Counterattack
Chapter 268 Iwagakure's Counterattack
The border of the Land of Earth.
With the efficient operation of the logistics personnel, a simple camp has been initially set up.
Inside the central military tent, Danzo sat in the main seat, his usual gloomy demeanor replaced by an unusually radiant appearance.
It was now the day after the battle ended, and most of the pursuing ninjas had returned, leaving only a long period of battlefield cleanup.
Now, those gathered in this central military camp are all Jonin who have returned after completing their missions.
"You've all worked hard. You fought very well in this battle. Your contributions have been recorded, and you'll be waiting for the village's rewards!"
Danzo knew what everyone wanted, so he didn't say anything and just gave out the rewards.
"Thank you, Lord Danzo."
All the Jonin present looked delighted. What were they fighting and killing for? Wasn't it all for the reward offered by the village?
This resounding victory earned them enough credit and rewards to advance further, both in terms of strength and status.
Seeing this joyous scene, the little flame of ambition in Danzo's heart seemed to be doused with oil, and it suddenly surged upwards.
These will all be his supporters, helping him ascend to the position of Hokage.
Danzo glanced at Mimura Yomaki, who was silently making his move, and subtly curled his lip.
"Gentlemen!"
Danzo raised his hand and pressed it down, and the entire tent immediately fell silent.
Everyone turned to look at Danzo, anticipating his next words.
Looking at the Jonin who were influenced by his words and actions, Danzo was extremely satisfied. He cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, "The results of the battle have been preliminarily tallied, but I think such good news should be shared with everyone. So, let's have our Vice Commander Mimura Yozaki give you a report."
Everyone's eyes turned to Mimura Yoru, who was standing in front. Danzo's order was clearly mocking, and everyone was aware of it. Some of their gazes were sympathetic, some were sarcastic, and some were indifferent.
Danzo waved to his subordinates.
The Root ninja who was holding the post-war summary scroll did as instructed and went to Mimura Yoru, handing the scroll directly to her.
Mimura Yoru took the scroll expressionlessly, glanced up at Danzo above, and shook her head helplessly.
He didn't understand how things had developed to this point. He himself had no intention of competing with Danzo for power, but Danzo just didn't like him and targeted him at every turn.
Unrolling the scroll in his hand, Mimura Yoru quickly scanned the entire scroll, his previously dim eyes suddenly locking onto a set of data—the number of casualties on both sides: 264 from Iwagakure and 148 from Konoha.
It's unbelievable that Iwagakure suffered less than 300 casualties in such a supposedly great victory, and the casualty ratio between the two sides is also incorrect.
It's important to understand that while Iwagakure has the largest number of ninjas, their quality isn't the best. With limited resources, the more mid-to-low-level ninjas there are, the lower their quality will be.
In this situation, with such a casualty ratio, especially when one side had the advantage, it was definitely not a victory worth celebrating.
However, Mimura Yoru didn't raise any doubts at this moment. He just gave Danzo a strange look and read it aloud exactly as it was written on the scroll.
As Mimura Yoru read the report, the once lively camp fell silent, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard about the casualties on both sides.
It's really strange. Everyone was fighting very smoothly in this battle, so why were so few enemies killed?
Danzo's expression was also not good at this moment. Although the strategic objectives of the battle that he was originally proud of had been achieved, the number of enemies killed was really unsatisfactory.
"Terai, what's going on? Is there anything wrong with this statistic?" Danzo's voice turned cold. Those who knew him knew that he was extremely angry.
"Lord Danzo," Terai said, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead, "the data is correct; I've already had it verified."
"Then can you explain to me why the number of enemies killed is so small when we drove Iwagakure out of the Land of Grass in this battle?" Danzo suppressed his anger. Although he asked about the number of enemies killed, he focused on driving Iwagakure out of the Land of Grass.
"It's possible that the battle isn't completely over yet, and some data hasn't been compiled. Also, Iwagakure retreated very decisively, without engaging in much combat with us, so their losses were less."
"In that case, let's hurry up and compile the statistics. I need to have an accurate report of the results as soon as possible so that the village can know the achievements of everyone here."
Danzo addressed the crowd, not forgetting to win over the Jonin present even at this moment.
The meeting ended in a whimper, and the camp quickly sprang into action. Although the number of enemies killed was not ideal, it was a fact that they had driven Iwagakure out of the Land of Grass and that they had invaded the Land of Earth. So the entire camp was still filled with an atmosphere of excitement and joy.
Iwagakure also cooperated with Danzo's actions. They seemed to have a lot of attention tied up in the war with Kumogakure, and appeared passive and sluggish in the battle against Danzo.
For several days, Iwagakure only defended and did not launch a counterattack, which greatly fueled Danzo's arrogance. Almost every day, the camp was filled with his shouts for an attack.
Under such command, most of the Konoha ninjas were like they had been injected with chicken blood, going out early and returning late every day, searching for an opportunity to fight Iwagakure.
While Danzo was overjoyed at the prospect of victory on the front lines, his battle report was also delivered to Hiruzen Sarutobi in the rear.
This victory report was undoubtedly timely. Although the incident of Danzo's assassination of Uchiha Yohei had been temporarily suppressed, its aftershocks were still ongoing.
It was only because Danzo is now serving as the commander of the Western Front that he was given a lighter punishment. Now that he has this achievement, although his merits and demerits cannot be offset, at least it can shut most of the families up.
"Hiruzen, don't you think there's anything wrong with this battle report?"
As a woman, Tsuneko was naturally more meticulous and sensitive. Looking at the submitted battle report, she felt that something was amiss.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback, somewhat puzzled. He carefully reviewed the contents of the report but found nothing amiss.
He was worried that his memory might be wrong, so he picked up the scroll and looked at it carefully again, but still couldn't find any problems.
"Homura, take a look too. Do you see anything wrong?" Hiruzen Sarutobi handed the scroll to Homura Mitokado again, asking him to see if he had made any discoveries.
Mitomon Homura took the scroll, examined it carefully, and shook his head at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The two then turned their attention to Koharu Tsurugi.
It's not surprising that the two didn't notice, since they weren't directly involved in the battle. Their report scrolls were mostly correct, but they downplayed the key points in their descriptions.
"Don't you think the number of casualties in this battle against Iwagakure is a bit too low? Such a large battle, which drove Iwagakure out of the Land of Grass, and the count of Iwagakure's dead is only 324? That's way too few!"
Neither Koharu nor the other two noticed the problem, so the loss was indeed less.
Perhaps Iwagakure's retreat was timely, or perhaps some battle results were not fully tallied; these could all explain why the number of enemy casualties reported in the battle report was low.
However, this is not a big problem. As long as the strategic goal is achieved, the results are real, and there is no need to pay too much attention to other details.
"The number of enemy casualties is a bit low, but as long as this battle report isn't fabricated, it's still a great victory," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile. "I believe Danzo wouldn't lie to us on this point."
"Yes!" Mitokado Homura chimed in, his face also beaming with a smile.
The current situation in Konoha is excellent. Although they are attacked from multiple fronts, they have the upper hand on every battlefield, which makes them feel extremely confident.
Under their leadership, Konoha flourished and was able to face the Four Great Ninja Villages without defeat. Even though it hadn't reached the peak of power during the First Hokage's reign, it was certainly comparable to the Second Hokage's era, which made the two old men extremely satisfied.
"Hiruzen, Danzo has performed such a great service, shouldn't his position as elder be reinstated?" Mitokado Homura seized the opportunity and pleaded for Danzo again.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile vanished, his face hardening again. He brought his pipe to his lips and took several puffs before speaking slowly and deliberately, "We'll have to wait a little longer. It's only been a short time since he was stripped of his position, and you're already going to reinstate him?"
What do you expect the Uchiha and other clans in the village to think? It took us a lot of effort to appease them.
"Are you trying to provoke them at this time? Don't you think the village is already chaotic enough?"
"Sigh, I also hope that Danzo can be reinstated as soon as possible so that he can help us share the burden of our tasks. It's really not used to having to do the work of three people in the past, but now it's just two people doing it!" Mitokado Homura said, making excuses that even he himself didn't believe.
"At least until the war is over, we shouldn't think about this anymore, otherwise we'll face a united boycott from all the major families in the village, which is no joke," Hiruzen Sarutobi said firmly.
These people are talking about restoring Danzo to his position as an elder, but they don't even consider whether he really wants to be an elder. His current goal is to become the Hokage, right under Hiruzen Sarutobi's nose.
Just as the Western front was brimming with confidence and advancing triumphantly, preparing for a major offensive, the counterattack from Iwagakure finally began late that night.
The relaxation following the great victory, and the arrogance born from suppressing Iwagakure, all contributed to the fact that the western camp's layout was far from ideal. Various defensive and early warning barriers were only deployed within the camp itself, while the more distant outer perimeter remained completely bare.
Over the course of several days, although Iwagakure appeared to have suffered heavy losses, their intelligence ninjas were not idle for a moment. Through constant probing, they finally figured out all the information, including the Konoha camp's perimeter and defense threshold.
A Tailed Beast Ball ripped through the tranquil sky, crashing headlong into the pale blue light membrane that appeared. With a deafening explosion, the entire sky was illuminated as if it were daytime.
The seemingly solid defensive barrier shattered after flickering a few times under the violent explosion.
The shockwave from the explosion swept across the entire camp, and only then did the piercing alarms begin to sound throughout the camp.
On the periphery, following the Tailed Beast Ball came dozens of elite Iwagakure squads, each led by a Jonin or Special Jonin, and all of them were at least elite Chunin.
After the explosion, they rushed into Konoha's camp without hesitation.
They had a clear division of labor. Some went directly to the logistics storage points and used fire escape techniques, explosive tags, and other methods to cause the greatest damage in the shortest amount of time.
Some of them wreaked havoc, not seeking to cause many casualties, but only to create greater chaos and disrupt Konoha's command.
Some formed sniper squads, specifically targeting established Konoha squads, determined to break them up even at the cost of their own losses.
Others headed straight for the medical camp, the very heart of Konoha's ability to sustain combat, where a large number of wounded awaited treatment. Normally, it was the weakest point in the entire camp.
Of course, Iwagakure's strongest force in this battle, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han, along with several Jonin squads, headed straight for the central army camp.
Their goal was simple: to capture the leader first.
Han was like a high-speed steam train, over two meters tall, with scorching steam billowing from his body, like a sharp arrow, breaking through the many obstacles in his path.
The kunai and shuriken that shot at him from all sides, as well as the fireballs and wind blades, were all rendered invisible by his steam armor.
Five Jonin squads surrounded him, with Han drawing fire, allowing them to unleash their ninjutsu more freely.
The Earth Spear precisely kills every enemy, its upward thrusts always piercing careless ninjas through the spikes. This brutal scene is not only visually shocking, but also sends a chill down one's spine and fills one with dread.
The Earthquake Core effectively disrupted the gathering of Konoha ninjas. Whenever a group of ninjas attacked, the ground beneath their feet would suddenly collapse, often scattering a small team into pieces.
The most obvious situation in Konoha right now is that command is disordered and everyone is fighting their own battles. Apart from a few small teams gathered in the more distant parts of the camp, the central command, logistics, medical camp and other important places are all in complete chaos.
The ninjas fought in their own small teams, and due to the enemy's deliberate targeting and their own confusion, they were unable to form a united force to resist.
Danzo unleashed a Wind Release: Vacuum Wave, temporarily repelling the Iwagakure ninjas who were surrounding him.
"Terai, give the signal to have all the ninjas move towards me."
Danzo roared, his eyes blazing with fury. "Damn Iwagakure! How could they launch a sneak attack at this moment? All my plans, all my future, will be wiped out in this attack!"
Looking around, all that could be seen was a sea of fire, and the Konoha ninjas were either running around aimlessly or blindly fighting the enemy.
A bright white signal flare soared into the sky with a sharp whistle, and the Konoha ninjas in the entire camp seemed to have found their backbone, dropping what they were doing and gathering in the direction from which the signal rose.
The man who was leading his men to rush in front of Danzo smiled cruelly and said, "Come on, all of you, gather together, and I'll send you all on your way."