Facts proved that Kirigakure were not fools. When facing a shinobi army, no one dared to stay behind to play the ambusher.
Those who had realized early that the situation was turning bad had already fled so thoroughly that not a single shadow of them could be found.
Who would stay behind to seek death anyway? If the higher-ups were to pursue accountability, at worst they would just become rogue ninja. That was the level of "integrity" the Kiri ninja had.
After finishing the battlefield cleanup, the Seventh Assault Unit continued pushing eastward.
They were the sharp spearhead of this counteroffensive. As long as nearby allied units did not send out signals indicating they needed support, their mission was simply to advance—advance, and keep advancing without pause.
At present, it appeared that the other units on both flanks were progressing smoothly, having encountered no stubborn resistance that required assistance.
According to intelligence, the Kiri ninja had set up at least four defensive lines along this route.
However, as Makoto followed the unit in pursuit, he discovered that aside from various freshly laid traps, the latter two defensive lines contained not a single person within his perception. Everyone had completely fled.
It was unclear whether the Kiri ninja intended to concentrate their superior forces for a final decisive battle with Konoha, or if they were simply making a full retreat.
Playing with traps in front of the Byakugan was meaningless. Even arrays of explosive tags hidden inside large trees or rocks were seen with absolute clarity by the penetrating gaze.
After dismantling all the traps along the way, the Seventh Assault Unit, guided by Makoto's perception, arrived outside a large fortified outpost.
They had previously come across a similar outpost, but it had been the same as the defensive lines—no one was stationed there.
But this outpost was different. Its location was very special: it was built on a protruding hillside, and behind the hillside was an almost vertical cliff.
In the forest outside the outpost, quite a few enemies were hidden. Although they had concealed their presence very well, they could not evade the detection of Makoto, the Hyūga clan, and the Aburame clan.
The Inuzuka clan would cry themselves unconscious in the toilet. Sometimes, for shinobi, scent was the easiest thing to deal with: even if you could not get rid of it, you could use a more pungent smell to confuse an animal's overly sensitive nose.
Having too keen a nose was not always a good thing. The poor Inuzuka Kiba had once been blasted so hard by one of Naruto's farts that he could not tell north from south.
By comparison, tiny insects that were subtle and could slip in everywhere were even harder to guard against.
A cliff was naturally not an obstacle for shinobi, but attacking from there would be equivalent to having to endure strikes from above; the losses would be too great.
There was only one route: a direct assault up the hillside.
If the team had an expert like Hashirama or Madara, it would be simple—just walk up with a Susanoo or a Wood Golem. Even the Third Hokage's Great Five Nature Release Barrage could barely serve to clear the area.
Having Orochimaru summon Manda to slither up and make a round would also work.
Unfortunately, they had none of that.
That old bastard Orochimaru was currently obsessed with experiments and could not pull himself out. On a daily basis, he was out at sea, no one knew what he was doing.
Uchiha Sōsuke asked, "How many enemies are there in the forest on the hillside?"
Makoto said, "Slightly fewer than us—about one hundred and fifty Kiri ninja are hidden in there."
This time, in order to drive the invading Kirigakure forces straight back to their homeland in one decisive push, Konoha had assembled a little over a thousand shinobi. Aside from leaving behind the necessary forces to protect the Land of Waves defensive line and the command camp, this was already the maximum strength they could gather.
These forces were divided into more than ten units. The Seventh Assault Unit had the largest numbers, with about two hundred shinobi. After breaking through two defensive lines and subtracting the dead and wounded, roughly one hundred and eighty remained. Such losses were already quite small.
The village was also in a difficult position. Konoha needed strength to guard its own territory; the western front also had to guard against Sunagakure turning against them; the northern front was locked in fierce fighting with Kumogakure and Iwagakure. There was truly no surplus strength left to support the eastern front.
Makoto's group was the last reserve force. Pressing any further would mean forcing the lower-grade children from the Ninja Academy to graduate early—no different from sending them to their deaths.
Kumomi and several other jōnin suggested, "How about waiting for the other units to arrive? Once the disparity in strength is overwhelming, we might be able to persuade the other side to surrender."
Sōsuke naturally knew this was the best choice, but he did not want to wait.
This was the perfect opportunity for the Uchiha clan to fully display its strength, prove its capabilities, and rack up merit for the clan head.
A large number of clan members had been assigned to the Seventh Assault Unit under his command—was it not precisely for this very moment?
He swept his hand decisively. "No need to wait. The mission of our assault unit is to clear away all obstacles ahead. The Uchiha shinobi will charge first and fall first. It is time to prove why we are the strongest clan in the shinobi world."
What else could anyone say? You are the commander—whatever you say goes. You have already put your own clansmen at the front. What more can we say?
After hearing this, Makoto could only shake his head repeatedly. Are the members of the Uchiha clan reliable? Brave? Willing to fight?
That is beyond doubt. No one would question it.
But Sōsuke-sama, if you do things this way, even if you win, others will not acknowledge your clan's merit.
Those shinobi who die along the line of attack—once their families learn what happened today, who do you think they will settle the score with?
Why would they know?
They will. Brother, absolutely they will. The power over village public opinion is not in the hands of the Uchiha.
...
A fierce battle erupted once again.
Aside from leaving some personnel to circle around to the base of the cliff to prevent the enemy from escaping, everyone else, under the leadership of the Uchiha clan, charged up the hillside.
When the two sides closed to the effective range of thrown bladed weapons, kunai, shuriken, and Fūma shuriken collided in midair, producing dense clanging sounds.
Mixed among countless concealed weapons were an unknown number of explosive tags, forcibly blasting a blank strip through the forest between the two sides.
Konoha's shinobi advanced under heavy fire. When the distance closed further, ninjutsu exchanges began.
The Kiri shinobi on the hillside, taking advantage of their elevated position, launched combined Water Release techniques—Water Shockwave, Water Turbulence, Exploding Water Shockwave—everything was thrown into the fray.
Surging water rushed downward through the gaps between the massive forest trees, the momentum truly imposing.
On Konoha's side, the Uchiha clansmen holding the front were using either Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique or Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation, while the other shinobi provided support with various ninjutsu.
Two waves of large-scale ninjutsu collided, producing a tremendous thunderous roar. Dense mist surged skyward along the battle line and quickly spread to envelop the entire battlefield.
Although Konoha was at a disadvantage in terms of terrain, they managed to hold. Next would be charging forward to engage in brutal close-quarters combat.
Rumble—!
But at that moment, an even greater sound rang out. A group of powerful Kirigakure shinobi on the hillside drained all of their chakra and jointly unleashed Water Release: Great Exploding Water Shockwave.
Makoto did not know how spectacular the Great Exploding Water Shockwave later used by Kisame with the aid of the Great Sword Samehada would be, but it was likely much the same as what was happening now.
A massive volume of water merged with the water previously gathered by Water Release techniques. Carrying uprooted trees and shattered rocks, and aided by the downhill terrain, it slammed toward the Konoha shinobi with an unstoppable momentum.
Faced with an attack like a tsunami, everyone was stunned. How was this supposed to be blocked? The Uchiha clan were not particularly adept at defense either.
Shinobi were not all the same. In this world, for the vast majority of shinobi, their chakra reserves were only enough to cast a few Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall.
But no matter how many Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall were raised, what use would they be against this gravity-enhanced, natural-disaster-like Water Release?
Makoto was somewhat speechless—he knew it would be like this.
The Kiri shinobi on defense only needed to use Water Release from higher ground to blast downward. The attacking Konoha shinobi had far more to consider: they had to dodge concealed weapons, clash head-on with ninjutsu, and only then might they be able to close in on the enemy.
There was no choice. He could only go all out with firepower. He could not just watch allied forces get scattered by Water Release.
Since joining the battle, this was the first time Makoto formed hand seals to use ninjutsu. He instantly entered Sage Mode, immediately absorbing a large amount of white natural energy and mixing it with his own chakra. He lowered his stance and slammed both palms onto the ground.
Sage Art: Earth Release: Ultra Earth Flow Wall!
Two enormous earthen walls forming an obtuse angle rapidly rose in front of the Konoha shinobi, shielding everyone within.
The earthen wall was broad and thick. Its height even exceeded the surging large-scale ninjutsu, Great Exploding Water Shockwave. When the two collided, a heaven-shaking roar erupted.
But the Ultra Earth Flow Wall stood unmoving. It guided the tsunami-like torrent to both sides, rapidly flowing into the forest at the base of the hillside.
Now it was Kirigakure's turn to be stunned.
Those Kiri experts who had been drained of chakra lay on the ground, staring at the towering earthen wall below the hillside, and a sudden sense of foreboding rose in their hearts.
Damn it— the combined ninjutsu they had been counting on to earn merit had failed. Could it be that, like their own Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, they had also run into a "god" from Konoha?
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