Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 250 Both Sides Suffer Losses

The army of reanimated spirits used by Hiruzen Sarutobi not only shocked the Konoha ninja army and the four-village alliance, but also some beings who were secretly observing them.

"Truly worthy of being the Third Hokage!"

Fugaku Uchiha angrily slammed his fist into the tree trunk beside him. He never expected that Hiruzen Sarutobi would have such a powerful trump card.

Even if the family's elite forces hadn't been wiped out, the odds of defeating such a massive army of the dead wouldn't have been high, and it's unknown whether this is the limit that Hiruzen Sarutobi can control.

Furthermore, none of the deceased were the Second Hokage or the First Hokage; those were the most powerful figures.

If those two were resurrected, especially the First Hokage, even if they couldn't unleash their full power before their birth, he would still be no match for them.

After all, he was a super strong person who killed Madara Uchiha, who was controlling the Nine-Tails, with his own power.

Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi's trump card has finally been forced out, and the four great ninja villages should be the most troubled by this.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

Under the shade of a tree in another direction, only Hiashi Hyuga, with his Tenseigan remaining, watched the entire battlefield, his heart filled with intense resentment.

He also noticed that something was off about Hiruzen Sarutobi earlier; clearly, the other party was waiting for someone, but no one showed up.

Considering the surprise attack by Otsutsuki Rei on himself, it goes without saying who he was waiting for.

The two were indeed in cahoots; he had been betrayed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, which led to Konoha being targeted by Otsutsuki Shari.

That might even be the bargaining chip used to get Otsutsuki Relic involved in this battle, which is truly hateful.

I, Hyuga Hiashi, will remember this debt!

Meanwhile, in another direction, a young girl was gritting her teeth in hatred, but what she hated was not the Third Hokage who launched the Impure World Reincarnation army, but the purplish-black Buddha statue.

That feeling couldn't be wrong; it was the star energy of their village. That person must have stolen their village's star.

Tamura Hao was unaware that he had been targeted by a young girl, and he was fully focused on controlling the Wutian Buddha statue and the Thunder God clone in battle.

Ye Yue Ai and the others were also by their side, using the massive size of the Wutian Buddha statue as a foundation to rush into the Impure Earth Reincarnation Legion, blooming from within.

The Cloud Ninja who brought them followed behind, packing up the bodies of the dead whose bodies had been shattered and were waiting to be restored, their cooperation was quite tacit.

However, compared to the Cloud Ninja, the Sand Village ninjas were in a very passive and miserable situation, and they were also the main targets of the Edo Tensei army.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew very well that this was Sunagakure territory, and only by severely damaging or even annihilating the Sunagakure ninja army could he reclaim the battlefront in the Land of Rivers and deter the Land of Wind.

The Cloud Ninja, Mist Ninja, and Iwa Ninja are all guest forces, few in number, and unlikely to occupy this place; they are not worth worrying about.

Of course, it's also important to eliminate the strongmen from the three villages, so that there will be less trouble afterward.

Jiraiya and the others understood this principle as well, and it was even agreed upon beforehand: prioritize killing the Sand Village ninja and reclaim the Kikyoyama Castle defense line.

Faced with these internal and external problems, the Sunagakure ninja army suffered heavy losses, with casualties skyrocketing.

Although they couldn't see clearly because of the darkness, the Third Kazekage and the others were very anxious.

However, the Impure World Reincarnation technique is too difficult to fight. The opponent has almost unlimited chakra and frequently releases powerful attacks. Although it can withstand the attacks, it is very difficult to defeat and seal the opponent.

The war could only remain in this stalemate, with both sides locked in a bloody and exhausting struggle.

Meanwhile, Hanzo, who had been releasing poison gas and establishing a defensive line outside, had already made a large detour, forming a poison gas isolation circle with a diameter of over a thousand meters, and was still continuously thickening it, preventing many people from escaping.

Unless they fly away from a high altitude, use Earth Release for long-distance infiltration, or use a protective suit that covers their entire body, or use chakra creations to wrap themselves up and send them out, such as Jiraiya's Lava Giant, or space ninjutsu that allows them to move through space.

These five escape routes are destined to be rarely fulfilled, making this place a dead end.

The battle raged all night long, filled with shouts of killing, screams of agony, the explosions of detonating tags, clashes of ninjutsu, and battles using ninja tools—a constant and unending cacophony.

The heat only subsided as the sun rose, leaving the once lush forest in ruins, with all the trees destroyed in various ways.

As the morning sun shone down, both sides tacitly separated. The living people were panting heavily, their clothes soaked with sweat and blood, some their own and others'.

One person even had someone's pig intestines hanging on their body, and the smell was quite pungent.

But at this point, no one cared about those things; they had already reached their limit.

In comparison, the Third Kazekage and the others looked quite grim, because they had only managed to seal half of the Edo Tensei army, and those were just cannon fodder at the Jonin level; not a single true Kage-level powerhouse had been sealed.

While Konoha still had many strong ninja and ninja forces remaining, the four-village allied forces suffered heavy losses, especially the Sand Village ninja, which was reduced to only a few hundred men.

"Who invented this forbidden technique? It's outrageous!"

Panting, Onoki rubbed his aching lower back, truly unable to understand the principle behind this forbidden technique; the infinite chakra setting was just too outrageous.

The teacher's strength was not as great as it was in life, at most only 80% of his former strength, but he could still release Dust Release at will by relying on his seemingly endless chakra.

Even though he was stronger, especially with the blessing of the Immortal Technique Seal, he still couldn't do anything about it.

The teacher is still in good condition after all this fighting, but I am about to run out of chakra.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi could not possibly possess such talent."

The Third Raikage also adopted a solemn and wary expression. He had practiced this expression in front of the mirror for a long time before coming here to gain Tsuchida's approval.

"It should be the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. That person is very good at developing new ninjutsu."

The Third Mizukage named a person who was the oldest among the four, and was of the same generation as many of the Second Kage. He had also interacted with Tobirama Senju during the first Five Kage Summit and knew more about him.

"No wonder the Second Hokage and the First Hokage are nowhere to be seen. Is the Third Hokage worried that they might break free of this control and turn against the clan, or are they with the Senju clan?"

The Third Kazekage suddenly realized that he had been wondering why the two previous Kazekage of Konoha were nowhere to be seen. With Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength, he shouldn't be able to control such powerful individuals.

"Kage, this is your home turf. What do you say we do? Whether you fight or retreat, I and the Hidden Cloud Village will fight to the bitter end."

The Third Raikage looked at the Third Kazekage, indicating that he would stay by his side until the end.

After all, we are allies!

These words deeply moved the Third Kazekage, who realized that the Hidden Cloud Village was indeed the most reliable and capable when it came to forming alliances.

But this made Onoki and the Third Mizukage want to curse. They had reached their limits by now, and many of their village's ninjas had been lost, with the rest all injured.

In contrast, the support team from Kumogakure was relatively intact. But there was nothing they could do; they were simply too powerful, and they also had two Uzumaki ninjas who were very effective against such an army of the dead.

"Could we request more Uzumaki ninja to join the battle?"

The Third Kazekage glanced at the two red-haired girls in the Cloud Ninja group and asked in a low voice.

To deal with this army of the dead, we need sealing ninjas to finish them off. The Sand Village doesn't have many sealing ninjas, and they aren't particularly strong. We need ninjas from the Uzumaki clan for this task.

"I cannot order them to fight. This is also the agreement with Uzushiogakure that we would not send their people to the battlefield. Kushina and the other two volunteered to join the war."

However, I can mobilize all the sealing ninjas from our village to provide support.

Thor, send a message to the village to arrange for three hundred sealing ninjas to be teleported over as soon as possible.

"Okay! Bring another batch of medical supplies and a hundred medical ninjas."

The Third Raikage still performed admirably. Although he rejected the Uzumaki ninja's support, he indicated that he would dispatch the village's own sealing ninja and deliver them as soon as possible.

They also received support from medical ninjas and medical supplies, and took the opportunity to learn medical techniques from Sunagakure, especially in pharmacology.

Under Tamura Hao's control, Thor's clone nodded and gestured to Fukai behind him, urging him to use psychic abilities to send a message back to the village as soon as possible.

Thank you!

The Third Kazekage thanked him gratefully, then looked at Onoki and the Third Mizukage.

"Konoha is not only the enemy of Sunagakure, but the enemy of everyone. You two don't want this army of the dead to appear on your side, do you?"

Furthermore, the Third Hokage controlled our previous Kage, so he must have learned many secrets about our four great ninja villages, perhaps including the training method for Dust Release. Hiruzen Sarutobi seems to be an all-around ninja with all elemental attributes, and is even known as a ninjutsu professor who has mastered all ninjutsu. With his abilities, he should be able to learn Dust Release.

"We can send half of the village's sealing ninjas to assist in the battle."

With a dark expression, Onoki had no choice but to agree.

The sheer power of this army of the dead was beyond his expectations; even when they were united, they were difficult to deal with, let alone a single ninja village.

Taking advantage of the current situation to start a war here, gathering manpower to eliminate them is the best option.

Besides that, there was the information leak that the Third Kazekage mentioned, which was his biggest concern.

It would be dangerous if Hiruzen Sarutobi learned Dust Release.

"We will also send half of our sealing ninjas from Kirigakure, but it will take time."

The Third Mizukage made his final statement, but he seemed very cautious, fearing that Konoha might attack him en route.

They didn't even plan to take the excavated artificial waterway, but instead intended to take a longer route by sea.

They are less likely to be spotted and ambushed on the vast ocean.

In just a short while, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky from the northeast, crashing to the ground and revealing a red gourd.

Kushina Uzumaki quickly stepped forward and broke the seal on the red gourd, spitting out four hundred figures carrying huge scrolls on their backs. These were three hundred sealing ninjas and one hundred medical ninjas from Kumogakure.

Upon seeing the four hundred Cloud Ninja reinforcements, the four-village allied forces breathed a sigh of relief and their faces lit up with joy.

Meanwhile, the Konoha ninjas on the other side felt a chill in their hearts. The main reason they were able to gain the upper hand in this battle was the strength of the army of the dead.

The only way to deal with the army of the dead is to use sealing techniques, but now four hundred Cloud Village ninjas have arrived, which is a disaster.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, hidden deep in the earth, felt a headache seeing the three hundred Cloud Ninja carrying the sealing scrolls through the Impure World Reincarnation technique. He was truly having a headache now.

His chakra was not unlimited, and forcibly controlling more than ten Kage-level powerhouses in high-intensity battles was very taxing, especially on his mental strength, causing him to have splitting headaches.

The Mangekyou Sharingan in his chest was bleeding, a sign of overloading.

He's almost at his limit now.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, let's end our battle here today and fight again another day."

The Third Kazekage discussed the situation with Chiyo and decided to temporarily cease hostilities. Although the Konoha ninja on the other side were suffering, they had also reached their limit.

Continuing to fight will only result in mutual destruction; a temporary ceasefire is the best option.

Furthermore, he needs to dispatch ninjas from the village, treat the wounded as soon as possible, and the samurai army from the daimyo's mansion will be arriving soon.

Everyone in Konoha breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the Third Kazekage was going to temporarily cease hostilities.

Although they have a large army of the dead to aid them, their losses and casualties are also considerable, making a ceasefire the best option.

Thus, both sides dispatched medical ninjas to search for their own wounded on the battlefield and bring them back for treatment as soon as possible.

As for those who have already died, we haven't taken care of them yet; we can't worry about them now.

After giving the seriously injured a quick treatment, the Konoha ninja left under Jiraiya's leadership. Jiraiya even used lava to burn a path through the outer gas defense line.

As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, he never showed himself and instead left directly underground using Earth Release.

Anyway, he had prepared enough oxygen tanks so he could stay underground for a long time.

There was no other way; he was also afraid that the four-village coalition might launch a sneak attack without any martial ethics, using the opportunity of killing him to disrupt the Impure World Reincarnation army, especially by releasing the dead from the four villages. In that case, the dead would definitely turn around and attack them.

Therefore, one's own safety is very important, and one must not give the other party a chance to make a move, especially Uchiha Hikaru who has the space-time jutsu, one must be on guard.

"Clean up the battlefield and collect those high-quality ninja tools."

After the Konoha ninjas and the army of the dead left, the Third Raikage said something to his own ninjas.

Although they did not ask Sunagakure for any commission or reward as part of their proactive friendly support, they did own the high-quality ninja tools containing special metals obtained on the battlefield, leaving them with a significant shortfall in this regard.

It's not just for forging ninja swords; it's also necessary for forging some ninja tools, especially chakra-conducting metals.

The Third Kazekage and the Sand Village ninjas didn't say much about it, and even went over to cooperate.

The support from the Hidden Cloud Village is truly impressive, and they have been fighting on the front lines all along. Now, they have immediately sent 300 sealing ninjas and 100 medical ninjas to support them.

Taking those high-quality ninja tools is not unreasonable, and that's all they want; they won't touch anything else.

After cleaning up the battlefield, the group returned to Kikyoyama Castle, but before they could even catch their breath, they received bad news.

"Have all those dead been released?"

The Third Mizukage was taken aback. Could such a thing really be possible?

"Let's go take a look!"

The Third Kazekage couldn't sit still any longer and immediately got up and walked outside. The others quickly followed, and soon they arrived at the room where the dead were kept.

The seals on the dead had been broken by their own people, but what was revealed were not the faces of the dead, but other faces.

"These are ninjas from our Sand Village."

He crouched down and touched one of the people's skin. From the feel of that skin, the Third Kazekage confirmed that the person was a ninja from their Sand Village, which was also due to the environment of their Land of Wind.

"And the ninjas from our Iwagakure village."

Ohnoki also identified some familiar faces.

The Third Raikage and the Third Mizukage also gained something, and their expressions were all quite grim.

"This is very similar to our Uzumaki clan's forbidden technique, the Reaper Death Seal. Both require suitable people as sacrifices. These people should be the sacrifices to revive the dead. Judging from the remaining chakra, they are at least Chunin level."

Kushina Uzumaki coldly stated the results of her previous research.

"So, Hiruzen Sarutobi can resurrect those people as long as he finds a suitable sacrifice?"

Onoki was furious and even more wary.

This forbidden technique is too shameless.

We've painstakingly sealed so many people away, only to have them easily broken through. How are we supposed to fight now?

"This forbidden technique must be a way to summon the soul of the dead. We just need to add a sealing technique to seal the spirit to completely seal it."

Kushina Uzumaki provided a solution, which finally put everyone at ease.

As long as it can be dealt with, that's fine; the only concern is that it might not be able to be sealed off.

After glancing at the corpses scattered on the ground, the Third Kazekage looked at Onoki and the other two, and made a solemn statement.

"Gentlemen, the threat from Konoha is greater than we imagined. We need to increase our efforts against Konoha and completely wipe it out in this Shinobi World War."

"Increasing investment is a given, but we can't let them push us too far, otherwise it would be troublesome if they used a Tailed Beast Ball on our ninja village to take us all down with them."

The Third Mizukage said worriedly, "The Tailed Beast Ball is too destructive. If one were placed in Kirigakure, the entire village would be wiped out."

Unfortunately, there was someone in Konoha who could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, and that person was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

The threat is too great!

He had remembered Minato Namikaze from when Kusano Yato first reported to him, but the speed at which the other party grew was too fast, especially after becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, which was even more deadly and a greater threat than the First Hokage back then.

The Third Kazekage and Onoki were also troubled by this; ninjas with space-time ninjutsu were too difficult to deal with. If they didn't want to die, no one could kill them.

Only the Hidden Cloud Village is not afraid in this regard, because they have the strongest protective barrier and the Great Tree of the Hidden Takigakure Village as their foundation. According to the intelligence, they should be able to block the Tailed Beast Ball without any problem.

Not to mention, they also have ninjas who are proficient in spatial techniques, so they are not afraid to fight Konoha head-on.

But that kind of method cannot be replicated; it is a unique secret of the Hidden Cloud Village, something they can only envy.

"How did you guys kill the Second Hokage back then?"

Onoki looked at the Third Raikage, for the Second Hokage had died at the hands of the Hidden Cloud Village.

Everyone turned to look at the Third Raikage. The Flying Thunder God Technique was developed by the Second Hokage and is known as the fastest ninja in the world.

However, the Second Hokage died in the Land of Lightning, killed by the Hidden Cloud Village.

"He was killed by the rebellious Kinkaku and Ginkaku back then. They used the Six Paths Tools. Because the Second Hokage was unaware of the information about the Six Paths Tools, he was caught in the trap. In the end, he stayed behind to cover their retreat and was killed by Kinkaku and Ginkaku together."

But information about the Six Paths Ninja Tools must have been leaked back then, and Konoha would definitely be on guard.

The Third Raikage's answer disappointed everyone and caused them even more headaches.

The threat posed by Konoha was too great, and it crossed their bottom line; it had to be eliminated.

However, they possess the ability to perish together with them. If pushed to the brink, they would abandon everything and run to their ninja village to unleash the Tailed Beast Ball, which no one could withstand. In that case, even if they won the Fourth Shinobi World War, it would be meaningless.

"That person was really shrewd; even in death, they left us with such a huge problem."

The Third Mizukage sighed. He had a deep impression of the First Hokage's wife. It was that woman, whose entire body was covered in golden chakra, who had subdued the entire Hidden Mist Village and ended the First Shinobi World War, which was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Now that we've finally managed to outlive that person, they've left behind such a huge problem.

(End of this chapter)