The sixteen Barrier Ninjas had grim expressions, but after persisting for a moment, the giant shuriken finally lost momentum and, with a thud, dropped to the ground, creating a large crater.
However, immediately following was the second branch, then the third!
Super giant shuriken continuously bombarded the barrier membrane!
At the same time, seeing Konoha being suppressed and unable to lift its head, the restless Grass Ninjas also gained some confidence. They began to advance, using ninjutsu and explosive tags to attack Konoha's strongholds!
The thick city walls instantly became scorched black, and debris fell in layers. The barrier protecting the Konoha ninjas immediately began to waver!
But at this moment, three hundred Konoha ninjas, dispatched earlier by Aburame Shino, had arrived at the battlefield from the side!
This was a scenario they had anticipated: in a frontal stronghold attack, send reinforcements to assault the enemy from behind.
However, the leading jonin looked at the back of Kusagakure, where nearly a thousand more ninjas were guarding their command tent. Clearly, that was not a good attack target.
He turned his head back to the front battlefield. Large catapults were continuously attacking. Konoha's six strongholds were already wavering under the bombardment of the super giant shuriken.
Then, he looked at the Grass Ninjas controlling the large catapults. Even including the guards, each section numbered no more than thirty people.
So, without much hesitation, this captain immediately made a decision!
Three hundred Konoha ninjas were quickly divided into six small squads, each with no more than fifty people.
They quickly dispersed and infiltrated the Grass Ninja's siege grounds. Then, after receiving the signal from the jonin captain, they simultaneously launched an attack on the siege weapons!
The quality of Kusagakure ninjas was low. When they arrived, they were swept twice by Mugen and Kaoru, almost all of those experienced captain-level figures died.
Therefore, at this moment, the Grass Ninjas' attention was entirely drawn to the front battlefield, and they did not even detect the surprise attack from their side!
Thus, with just one encounter, ninjutsu like Fire Style and Lightning Style destroyed more than half of these large catapults. The remaining ones were mostly damaged and could no longer be used!
Due to the shock and bombardment, the Grass Ninjas also fell to the ground. The Konoha ninjas who had surrounded them paid little price to eliminate these Grass Ninjas.
Each large catapult had about thirty Grass Ninjas gathered around it, so six of them meant nearly two hundred people!
And facing these casualties, Mugen and Kaoru simply smiled...
Watching.
With the siege weapons destroyed, the Konoha ninjas hiding inside the strongholds were relieved of pressure and immediately launched an attack on the Grass Ninjas in front of the strongholds!
And those Konoha ninjas who destroyed the siege weapons, after easily eliminating nearly two hundred Grass Ninjas, also began to lightly regard these 'small country ninjas'!
Their swelled confidence made them hesitate no longer. They directly coordinated with the companions in the strongholds to attack, forming a pincer movement against the Grass Ninjas!
Very quickly, within the narrow area, both sides became embroiled in a melee!
The combat methods of ordinary ninjas were mostly close-quarters white-blade combat, because even the most common Great Fireball Jutsu in Fire Style required a significant amount of chakra, which most Genin did not possess enough of to release.
Therefore, the battlefield instantly became a giant meat grinder!
Flames, lightning, explosions, loud roars, and tragic screams continuously emanated. Broken limbs flew everywhere, and fresh blood dyed the earth red!
Both sides, with bloodshot eyes, no longer showed any sign of civility. They only wanted to plunge their sharp blades into each other's bodies, feeling the warm blood gush out!
Mugen and Kaoru's sneers grew wider and wider. In contrast, Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen, who were located within the strongholds, had already sensed that something was wrong.
They desperately wanted to withdraw Konoha's ninjas.
But the crowd, already entangled in a fierce battle, couldn't be separated by chewing on each other!
Facing the continuously escalating battlefield, Konoha, in order to prevent its ninjas from being swallowed by the Grass Ninjas, had to constantly pour all its strength into the fight. Only then did it maintain balance on the battlefield and even gain some advantage.
However, as the battle progressed, the number of casualties on both sides continuously soared. Even someone as cold as Danzo would feel pained by the village's losses.
The brutal bloody battle lasted for about half an hour. All the chakra within everyone's bodies was almost completely depleted. The corpses of fallen ninjas were scattered all over the ground. On average, five Grass Ninjas could take down one Konoha ninja. The disparity in strength between the two sides was evident from this.
However, it was almost time.
Just then!
Mugen no longer held anyone back. He directly pushed all the remaining thousand ninjas...
All onto the battlefield!
The main force of Kusagakure instantly broke into the battlefield, charging in. The Grass Ninjas, who had been beaten back, also gathered their last bit of courage and retaliated!
This instantly caused Konoha, already struggling, to suffer heavy losses. The Grass Ninjas fought with all their might!
However, they no longer had any reserve troops that could be mobilized.
And the Konoha ninjas who couldn't retreat all fell into the encirclement. Continuing further would only infinitely expand the casualties.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo could only grit their teeth, abandoning those who had no hope of survival. All the ninjas who could still move were recalled to the strongholds!
And those Konoha ninjas who fell on the ground were all executed on the spot!
Because Kusagakure!
There's no need for mercy!
The Konoha ninjas who had returned to the strongholds looked at their former comrades being cruelly slaughtered by the Grass. The anger in their hearts had long turned into boundless flames!
But this battle made them suffer equally heavy losses. They could now only rely on the strongholds for defense.
After driving the Konoha ninjas back, the remaining Grass ninjas gathered together again. There were about two thousand people who could still move.
But among them, only about one thousand people still had the strength to fight. The rest were all panting, some even unable to hold their weapons steadily!
But even so, Mugen didn't let them rest. Instead, he took advantage of Konoha ninjas resting, directly gathered everyone, and immediately prepared to launch the next attack!
Under Mugen's manipulation, the first battle of the Fourth Great Ninja War had no room for maneuvering. Strategies and tactics became useless. What came next was a fierce collision of iron and flesh!
The Konoha ninjas, when fleeing, naturally couldn't carry out any orderly retreat. Everyone was fleeing in a panic, running towards the nearest stronghold.
And this meant that among the six strongholds at present, some strongholds had over a hundred people, while others only had thirty or forty people...
So, after Mugen gathered the Grass Ninjas, he directly ordered them to attack three of the understaffed strongholds!
Mugen's dehumanizing actions directly prevented Konoha from getting reinforcements. In just a moment, two strongholds under Danzo were directly swallowed by the Grass Ninjas!
Just as they continued to attack the third stronghold, Sarutobi Hiruzen brought his gathered forces to reinforce. At the critical moment, he helped Danzo defend his last stronghold!
The bloody battle erupted once more. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, then finally each retreated back to their respective camps to recuperate.
The battlefield also temporarily entered a brief calm.
And this time, Konoha didn't take it lightly. They sent out all the ninjas who could still move, constantly monitoring every move of Kusagakure.
Less than half a day after the battle began, two of Konoha's forward strongholds were destroyed by Kusagakure.
Aburame Shino, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, and other remaining high-ranking jonin gathered together. Everyone's face looked terrible.
Is this the Great Ninja War?
How could this be the Great Ninja War!?!
After a while, a kunoichi under Sarutobi Hiruzen delivered a detailed casualty report to the crowd. Their faces then became even more grim!
Kusagakure was estimated to have 1,000 casualties.
And Konoha's casualties reached...
400!!!
Even more terrifying, among these 400 casualties, the proportion of injured was not even one-tenth!
These 400 people were almost truly dead!
War between ninjas...
It's never been fought like this!!!
Because of population limitations, each Hidden Village only has a little over ten thousand registered ninjas. Every ninja is a precious asset to the village.
Konoha had experienced three Great Ninja Wars before this. Each war lasted for several years. If dozens of people died every day, they would all be dead in a month!
No, it's really not fought like this!!!
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the numbers in his hand, his hands trembling slightly.
She had indeed colluded with Orochimaru, but Orochimaru hadn't asked her for anything else besides a Four Violet Flames Formation last time.
So, of course, she didn't betray Konoha's intelligence, nor did she do anything to harm the village.
And in her work, she did her utmost to minimize the village's casualties. But the numbers before her were truly terrifying!
How could Orochimaru let those Grass Ninjas fight without regard for life or death?
Didn't he consider the feelings of others?
Indeed, he didn't need to, because the disobedient ones had all been killed by Mugen and Kaoru!
Danzo also rarely pursed his lips. In exchange, Orochimaru had informed him of Kusagakure's attack targets, and he, in turn, leaked Konoha's defensive situation.
In his view, Konoha would probably fall into a bitter struggle because of this, but this was precisely what he wanted to see.
When Konoha was struggling to hold on, that was when he would make his move, defeat Kusagakure's attack, and become the village's hero!
And according to past experience, his method would only cause the village to suffer a little loss. These were just necessary sacrifices on his path to becoming Hokage!
However, this sacrifice right now was too great!!!
This was absolutely not the scene he wanted to see!
That Orochimaru!
He's crazy!!!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face sank as he said at this moment, "Now it seems those large catapults were actually a lure they used to attract our reserve forces. And those one or two thousand people on the front lines...
were a lure to draw us into continuous battle. The bloody battle. When our people were entangled with the Grass Ninjas in a narrow area, the direction of the battle was already beyond our control. However, if they hadn't received intelligence from us, this battle plan would not have been executable."
"Not to mention, if Konoha had sent out an additional five hundred people, the Grass Ninjas on the battlefield would have fallen into a crushing defeat, and then been relentlessly pursued and killed by Konoha's ninjas, and they would never have dared to invade the Land of Fire's territory again!"
Hearing this, Danzo nodded as if nothing was wrong, then continuously echoed, "Yes, yes, we must catch the mole!"
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