Chapter 125: A Furious Outcry
Clang!
Kyosuke deflected the enemy's kunai with his sword and then used the Body Flicker Technique to quickly close the distance.
In the instant he passed the enemy, he struck with a backhand, ending his life.
However, before Kyosuke could celebrate, a barrage of shuriken rained down on him.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall."
Fortunately, with his current hand seal speed, he could just barely handle this situation. Although it had been a close call, he had managed to block the attack without any injuries.
Saori, who was beside him, was the same. With a rotation, she was fearless against any shuriken attack.
The two clan shinobi were engaged in close combat with the enemy in the distance, so they were not hit by the Sand ninja's attack.
However, the other Konoha ninja from the assault unit were not so lucky.
As far as the eye could see, Kyosuke was surrounded by the bodies of his comrades. A rough count showed that at least a dozen had died in this wave of shuriken.
Although the number of enemies they had killed was far greater than their own losses, if this continued, the situation would become more and more difficult.
After all, the overall number of ninja on both sides was very unequal. Even a 3-for-1 exchange was a good deal for the Sand ninja.
As long as they could break through the southwestern army's blockade, the vast territory of the Land of Fire would be theirs for the taking.
For this, the Sand ninja were willing to pay any price.
"Damn it, how come the Sand ninja sent so many assault units today?" a blood-soaked Konoha ninja roared, using a Fire Release jutsu to repel the enemy in front of him.
Just as his words fell, another Sand ninja squad appeared on their left. There were at least twenty of them.
Although they had suffered some casualties from the traps Konoha had set up in advance, by the time they reached Kyosuke and the others, there were still about fifteen of them.
"Whew..." Kyosuke let out a small breath, then glanced at Saori.
"...Southeast," Saori said.
"Alright," Kyosuke nodded, then said in a clear voice, "Everyone, follow me and retreat to the southeast."
Hearing his words, the surviving comrades around him quickly gathered.
At the same time, Seven, the clan shinobi, came directly in front of him and, with a wave of his hand, unleashed a powerful Fire Release jutsu.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation."
A vast sea of flames suddenly surged toward the enemy in the southeast.
Then, Kyosuke led the charge.
Sizzle! A powerful current of electricity gathered in his hand, like a summons from the king of hell, making all the enemies in front of him fearfully dodge.
And so, using the cover of the Fire Release and the threat of the Chidori, Kyosuke successfully tore a hole in the enemy's formation and led the others away.
"Useless!" a Sand ninja who looked like a squad leader cursed, watching the enemy escape.
However, when one of his subordinates pulled out a map of the traps from the body of a fallen Konoha ninja, the frustration in his heart was finally relieved.
"Let them run. At least the mission objective is complete," the Sand ninja squad leader said with a smug smile, then turned and waved his hand. "Retreat."
"Now that we have the map, it won't be long before the Konoha ninja's entire line collapses."
"The Land of Fire will soon be ours."
"Are the enemy pursuing?" Kyosuke asked Saori, who was beside him, as he dodged the traps according to the map.
"No," Saori said after a careful observation of their surroundings with her Byakugan.
"That's good," Kyosuke sighed, then looked at his comrades from the assault unit behind him.
The team, which had originally numbered around seventy, was now less than twenty. This showed the brutality of the previous battle.
Originally, this should not have happened. But today, the Sand ninja had acted as if they had taken the wrong medicine, launching a reckless surprise attack. That was why the unprepared crowd had suffered such a fate.
Even so, the number of Sand ninja deaths in this battle had exceeded a hundred, so it couldn't be considered a failure on Konoha's part.
At most, it was a pyrrhic victory, Kyosuke thought.
Unfortunately, he had not yet seen through the Sand ninja's true intentions, which was why he thought this. Otherwise...
After a simple treatment of the wounded, the assault squad prepared to return to the camp to rest and regroup for another battle.
When the rather disheveled assault squad returned to the camp, they were surprised to find that it was somewhat "lively."
The group exchanged glances and quickened their pace, wanting to see what was going on.
Just then, their return was also noticed by their comrades in the camp.
In an instant, the somewhat lively atmosphere was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it, and it fell silent.
Especially when they saw the bloodstains all over them and the greatly reduced number of people, the many Konoha ninja in the camp looked at each other in dismay.
"What... what on earth happened? How could there be such heavy casualties?"
"No, no, maybe they split up, so the other comrades haven't come back yet."
"Damn, stop dithering. Just go and ask, and you'll know."
Then, they surrounded them and began to ask about the battle.
In the end, the cruel reality told them that the assault squad really was all that was left. As for the other comrades, they had all died in battle.
In an instant, the entire camp was silent.
Watching the assault squad pass them and head toward the medical unit, everyone felt a fire burning in their hearts.
It was the fire of revenge.
After a long silence, one Konoha ninja finally couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Aaaah!!! I'm going to ask Lord Orochimaru for permission right now. We can't continue to defend passively like this. I want those Sand ninja to pay with their lives," the ninja roared, then turned and walked toward the commander's tent.
"That's right, we can't go on like this. Let's go together," another said, and the others quickly followed suit.
In an instant, a chorus of shouts echoed through the camp.
Everyone was angrily denouncing the Sand ninja, wishing they could go to the battlefield and kill to their heart's content right now.
These people were basically all ninja from the three main armies. Orochimaru had been playing a waiting game with the Sand ninja, not actively starting a large-scale battle, so they had long been impatient.
They sat in the rear every day while their comrades in the special units fought desperately on the front lines with fewer numbers. In this situation, any man with a bit of spirit would feel a sense of shame, let alone these Konoha ninja who had grown up under the influence of the "Will of Fire."
It wasn't that these people didn't understand the importance of the bigger picture, so they had been able to forcibly suppress their restlessness before. But after seeing their heavily injured and dead comrades today, that pent-up anger had finally erupted. If it was not channeled, it could easily lead to a mutiny.
Just then, a hoarse, magnetic voice suddenly sounded in everyone's ears.
"Since the Sand ninja are pushing us so hard, then we'll fight them head-on."
Hearing this familiar voice, everyone subconsciously looked over.
The newcomer was the supreme commander of the Konoha Southwestern Army, one of the Sannin, the cold and calculating Orochimaru.
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