Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

Chapter 183 Back to square one

As for Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza, Orochimaru didn't even bother to comment on them, which shows how arrogant he was.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio have always been closely united, sharing weal and woe, and are renowned throughout the ninja world.

However, in Orochimaru's view, this also reflects to some extent that the three major clans are not strong enough or that each has its own limitations, which is why other ninja clans are needed to make up for them.

"Alright, then we'll let it go this time."

"If the Konoha leadership doesn't follow the hints in the transfer order, then Orochimaru-sensei, you can't stop me anymore," Uchiha Gen said solemnly.

"Don't worry, if those old guys dare to go back on their word, I'll join you in giving them a lesson they'll never forget!"

"Since the old guys don't take us seriously, then we don't need to take them seriously either..."

Orochimaru's pale, bloodless face curled slightly at the corners of his mouth, a smile that was neither a smile nor a laugh.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Gen smiled slightly, secretly hoping that the Konoha higher-ups would become even more arrogant and disdainful of others.

After confirming each other's attitudes, Orochimaru and Uchiha Gen returned to their tents to rest.

The next day, Uchiha Gen and Orochimaru, as always, departed in a small entourage, seeing off Sarutobi Shinnosuke and others.

Shortly after the two left, Hijiri and the others from Kumogakure received the news and were all overjoyed.

The two put immense pressure on the high command at the Cloud Village front, who feared that they would be targeted and assassinated the moment they left the camp.

The high-ranking officials at the Cloud Village front unanimously believed that the ninja who could use the Spirit Transformation Technique was either Orochimaru, Gen Uchiha, or both.

Only these two people could assassinate ten Jonin in succession. What ordinary Jonin would have such an ability?

Assassinating two Jonin is already a remarkable achievement; it's only possible to do something with a huge difference in mental strength.

The strength of one's mental power is closely related to the strength of one's chakra. On the entire Konoha front, only Orochimaru and Gen Uchiha had chakra that overwhelmed the Jonin.

In fact, the high-ranking officials at the Cloud Hidden Front were right.

As soon as the two menacing figures left, the Cloud Hidden leadership immediately convened a military meeting, where they unanimously agreed that they could be appropriately arrogant and aggressive.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke?

Nara Shikaku?

Pig-deer-butterfly?

While they deserve attention, that's all they are; they don't warrant being taken seriously enough to make them wary.

They've clashed before, and overall, Konoha hasn't gained any advantage over them; on the contrary, they've gained some small advantages.

The Cloud Village ninjas, with their psychological advantage, will not back down.

Kumogakure was originally a famous martial arts village in the ninja world. The ninjas in the village did not have conservative factions, only radical factions and less radical factions.

Therefore, on the very day that Sarutobi Shinnosuke and others officially took office, Kumogakure changed its tactics and launched a frontal attack.

This infuriated Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the others. Did they think they were easy targets?

Sarutobi Shinnosuke immediately ordered a frontal assault.

The ninjas from both sides began a direct confrontation. Relying on the elite forces of Konoha they brought, Konoha repelled Kumogakure and gained some advantages.

Although they suffered some losses, the Hidden Cloud Village was not discouraged, because they had basically figured out the Hidden Leaf Village's fighting strength.

Tudai immediately submitted a report back to the village and requested a batch of elite reinforcements.

Since Konoha has sent reinforcements, it's perfectly reasonable for Kumogakure to send their own reinforcements as well, as long as they don't send overly sensitive or powerful individuals.

Upon receiving the news, the Fourth Raikage readily agreed and immediately dispatched a group of elite reinforcements, using the pretext of rotation to mislead Konoha spies.

The cunning Toshiro kept in touch with the reinforcements, calculated their arrival time, and then launched a frontal attack.

The idea behind the attack was to feign weakness to lure the enemy deeper into the territory, and then launch a surprise attack from the rear or flank when both armies were exhausted.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke was unaware of Tsuchishiro's plot, as was Nara Shikaku.

However, Nara Shikaku did not believe that Kumogakure would not learn its lesson. Who would knowingly adopt such a tactic when they would suffer losses in a direct confrontation?

Nara Shikaku suspected a conspiracy and suggested that Sarutobi Shinnosuke not commit all the ninjas, but leave some reserves in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke felt that Nara Shikaku's opinion was largely unnecessary.

Even if the enemy has a conspiracy, as long as they defeat the Cloud Ninja before the conspiracy takes effect, their army will collapse like a house of cards, and all their conspiracies will be rendered useless.

Despite his thoughts, Sarutobi Shinnosuke valued Nara Shikaku highly, and given the pressure he carried, he couldn't bear the thought of defeat, so he agreed to Nara Shikaku's opinion.

Afterwards, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was extremely relieved. If it weren't for the reserve force he left behind blocking the Cloud Village reinforcements' surprise attack, things would have been much worse.

The Cloud Village ninjas are extremely resilient. Although Konoha gained the upper hand on the main battlefield due to its superior combat strength, it was never able to crush the Cloud Village ninjas.

At that time, most of the ninjas on both sides of the main battlefield had almost no ninja tools, stamina, or chakra left. At this moment, a new force that was almost at its peak emerged, which was the last straw that broke the camel's back and turned the tide of the battle.

It was precisely because of the reserve team's desperate resistance that the Konoha ninjas were given the opportunity to retreat safely and in an orderly manner; otherwise, Konoha would have suffered a significant defeat.

Despite successfully retreating, Konoha still suffered a significant loss.

Because Sarutobi Shinnosuke committed most of Konoha's elite forces to the main battlefield.

The reserve force was no match for the Cloud Village reinforcements, and in order to cover the retreat of the main force, the reserve force was almost wiped out.

Tsuchishi used the remaining reinforcements as the spearhead, with the main force following behind and trailing the main force of Konoha, but he did not launch an attack to avoid being bitten back; he was merely a deterrent.

Having found himself at a disadvantage, Sarutobi Shinnosuke no longer had the courage and determination to fight to the bitter end. Fearing defeat in a desperate gamble, he could only order a retreat.

This retreat resulted in the loss of Konoha's camp, and the battle line moved backward until it reached the vicinity of central Kumogakure, where they stopped while they were ahead to prevent Sarutobi Shinnosuke from making a desperate move.

At this point, Orochimaru and Gen Uchiha had essentially given back all the gains they had made in Konoha, and the situation had returned to the point where Shinnosuke Sarutobi left the Land of Rice Fields for the Land of Whirlpools.

It was actually worse, because Konoha didn't lose any ninjas or supplies.

After this battle, Sarutobi Shinnosuke became much more composed, always worrying about defeat before winning, which was perhaps a bit too much.

Although the Hidden Cloud Village managed to recoup its losses and even make a profit, it was still powerless against the unwavering composure of the Leaf Village.

Because the losses of Konoha's elite troops and main force were limited, the overall combat strength of both sides was not significantly different, regardless of whether they were high, medium, or low. The only way to win was to accumulate small advantages into a larger advantage.

The two sides have once again fallen into the stalemate they were in before...

Because of the defeat, apart from the ninjas brought by Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the original Konoha ninjas harbored some resentment.

After all, they had previously achieved a considerable victory under the leadership of Orochimaru and Uchiha Gen, and then even pinned them down on the border of the Land of Rice Fields.

They suffered a defeat not long after the new commander took over. Although the situation has not been completely reversed, they have already returned to square one.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, far away in Konoha, sighed upon receiving the news, feeling somewhat disappointed.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi did not despair. Although he had suffered a loss, he was now back on the starting line, and there was still a chance for him to succeed.

After receiving the news, Orochimaru and Uchiha Gen didn't make sarcastic remarks; they simply smiled at each other, and that evening they had a few more dishes and drank some wine...

(End of this chapter)