Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

Chapter 43 Chaos and Anxiety

Faced with an overwhelming situation, the Hidden Mist ninjas, unable to evacuate in time, began to flee in other directions.

However, faced with a large number of skilled Konoha ninja, most of the Kirigakure ninja were unable to escape and died on the battlefield.

Only a very small number of Hidden Mist ninja escaped or chose to surrender.

After the battle ended, the Konoha ninjas began cleaning up the battlefield.

Collect the bodies of both our forces and the enemy, gather supplies from the ninjas, collect supplies from the Hidden Mist camp, send the wounded to the camp for treatment, and so on.

The Hidden Mist ninjas retreated in such a hurry that they didn't have time to take away or destroy the camp's supplies, but the captured supplies did relieve a lot of logistical pressure.

The battlefield was finally cleaned up by evening. The exhausted and dirty Konoha ninja washed off the mud by the lake before returning to their camp to eat and rest.

The next morning, after breakfast, the Konoha ninja began to break camp, preparing to drive the Kirigakure ninja out of the Land of Fire.

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, summoned ninjas from the rear to replenish the losses, but they still couldn't withstand the onslaught of the Konoha ninjas and suffered another defeat.

Although the losses were much smaller this time due to thorough preparation, a defeat is a defeat.

After two consecutive defeats, Kirigakure has been driven to the peninsula connecting the Land of Fire and the Land of Whirlpools, a situation where they could either invade the Land of Fire or retreat to the Land of Whirlpools.

If this were in the early stages of a war, such results would be quite good, especially considering that the initial battlefield was within the territory of the Land of Whirlpools.

They need to defeat the Konoha ninja forces of the Land of Whirlpools to station troops on the border of the Land of Fire, but now the Hidden Mist Village has been driven out of the Land of Fire.

Such a result is quite bad. All the territory of the Land of Fire that they had swallowed had been spat out. The cooked duck flew away. Who can stand this?

In an effort to maintain the situation, the high-ranking officials of Kirigakure expressed their opinions at a high-level meeting, racking their brains and gathering everyone's command to finally come up with a good way to maintain the situation.

The fact that they suffered two consecutive defeats has proven that no matter what kind of defensive strategy they adopted, they could not withstand Konoha's "no matter how many routes you come from, I will go my own way" style of fighting.

Konoha completely ignored their various arrangements and entrapment tactics, focusing instead on steadily advancing towards the location of their main force, forcing them into a fair and square decisive battle.

They couldn't defend it, they couldn't win in battle, and giving away the conquered land was too frustrating and unacceptable; it seemed like they were in a vicious cycle.

To change the situation, maintain the status quo, and ensure the successful implementation of the Tailed Beast attack on the village, we must break out of this vicious cycle.

Therefore, after discussion, the high command of the Hidden Mist Village decided to break up the main force into smaller units, using offense as a substitute for defense, and turning passivity into initiative.

They infiltrated the Land of Fire in small teams and squads, using unconventional methods such as raiding supply lines, towns and villages in the Land of Fire, Konoha camps, assassinations, ambushes, and poisoning to carry out their operations.

If I can't defeat Konoha head-on, then I won't fight you head-on. I'll force Konoha to disperse its forces as well, and then we'll all have a big melee!

The chaotic situation is perfect for taking advantage of the confusion. They can cause trouble within the Land of Fire without worrying about the delay. Under such battlefield conditions, the Hidden Mist Village has a much higher chance of winning.

Even if they can't win, at the very least they can buy enough time for the Tailed Beasts to attack the village, and then gather their forces for a large-scale attack once the plan succeeds.

If Konoha suffers a major blow, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and perhaps even Sunagakure, which just signed the surrender pact, will be eager to make their move...

Once the three great ninja villages see Konoha's weakness and make their move again, the other smaller ninja villages will inevitably follow suit. Who wouldn't want to tear a piece of the rich land of fire, with its abundant resources, excellent environment, and developed economy?

If the plan succeeds, they, who have single-handedly changed the situation in the ninja world and gained the upper hand, will surely be able to get the biggest slice of the pie!

Thinking of the bright future, Kirigakure took decisive action, not only infiltrating from land but also mobilizing ships to invade from all directions at sea.

The Land of Water may not be as good as the Land of Fire in many ways, but it never lacks ships; it can be requisitioned as many as it wants.

The Hidden Mist's sudden change in tactics caught Konoha completely off guard. News of attacks and requests for reinforcements came from all directions, forcing Konoha to send out ninjas to deal with the situation.

The daimyo of the Land of Fire was furious upon receiving news of attacks on various towns, as it affected tax revenue, which greatly reduced his wealth.

The enraged daimyo of the Land of Fire pressured the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, while simultaneously sending diplomats to the capital of the Land of Water to lodge a strong protest and issue threats.

If the ninjas of Kirigakure dare to attack any more towns in the Land of Fire, then the ninjas of Konoha will retaliate.

In the ninja world, conflicts and wars between ninjas generally cannot affect civilians. Although it is not an explicit rule, it is a commonly accepted rule.

With the destructive power of ninjas causing trouble in towns and cities around the world, tax revenue will be greatly affected, and no one can expect to live a peaceful life; even their lives will be threatened.

Of course, in reality, battles between ninjas and wars inevitably affect civilians, but the scope and impact are generally not significant, and it is possible to turn a blind eye to such incidents.

The actions of the Hidden Mist Village ninjas, who have been causing trouble in towns and cities throughout the Land of Fire, have arguably violated the unspoken rules of the ninja world.

Therefore, the protests and threats sent by the daimyo of the Land of Fire were quite justified!

The daimyo of the Land of Water was in the wrong and dared not offend the elder brother of the Land of Fire to the point of no return. Otherwise, if the Hidden Mist Village did not win, the Land of Water would have a hard time in the future.

Once Konoha and the Land of Fire recover their strength, the Land of Water and the Hidden Mist Village will surely decline greatly under their combined attack.

The daimyo of the Land of Water sent people to the front lines to pressure the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. Yagura agreed to stop invading towns and return two-thirds of his spoils.

Returning all of it is impossible; that would be too weak. Returning two-thirds would already be quite a concession to the daimyo of the Land of Fire.

They can't have worked so hard for so long only to come up empty-handed; otherwise, wouldn't their trip to Kirigakure have been in vain?

Of course, it's said to be two-thirds, but in reality it's not two-thirds, it's only half.

Although the daimyo of the Land of Fire was still unhappy, he knew that the remaining third was gone forever.

However, the daimyo of the Land of Fire did not back down. He was a daimyo, and since he took office, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

The Fire Country Daimyo sent two-thirds of the money he had recovered to Konoha as military funds, and said that Konoha should give Yagura and Kirigakure a good beating!

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, readily accepted the offer and promised to comply. Meanwhile, Konoha's finances were strained after years of war.

Hiruzen Sarutobi allocated half of the money he received to manufacture war supplies, which were continuously sent to the front lines.

As time went by, the chaotic battle lasted for more than a month, and the scope of the battle spread to the eastern and southern parts of the Land of Fire, with ninjas fighting everywhere.

Sensing that the time was ripe, Yagura dispatched two secret teams to infiltrate the Land of Fire with the container that sealed the Three-Tails, in order to find a suitable Jinchuriki.

The secret squad usually consists of four teams, each with four people, plus the squad leader, for a total of seventeen people.

The Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu has four squads, plus the captain and vice-captain, totaling seventy people.

The ninja villages in the ninja world basically imitate the system of Konoha, so the Hidden Mist Village's Anbu also has about seventy members.

While Yagura was carrying out his mission, Madara Uchiha, who had been secretly observing the situation, also began his operation, sending out Black and White Zetsu to guide the Hidden Mist Anbu.

Uchiha Gen was not idle either. He was just as busy as the other ninjas, spending his days either on missions or on his way to missions!

The only difference is that sometimes he carries out missions with three subordinates; sometimes he carries out missions with other special Jonin; and sometimes he carries out missions alone.

On this day, Uchiha Gen received another mission to carry out alone, and decided to take advantage of the chaos to complete the preparations that would affect his future.

Some things are on a completely different level of difficulty to accomplish in Konoha compared to doing them outside the village during the war...

(End of this chapter)