In the Sand Village, the clones are everywhere, and the Arkham game begins

Chapter 506 The Demise of Iwagakure, the Plot of Amegakure

This will allow Shimizu to better learn and master ninjutsu such as Dust Release and Light-Heavy Rock by drawing on Onoki's spirit.

"That's almost it."

After collecting Onoki's soul and binding it in a container artifact, Shimizu once again surveyed the battlefield.

The time it took him to kill Onoki was less than the time it took Onoki to confess.

At this moment, the battle below was also coming to an end.

Fueled by their belief in protecting the village, the Iwagakure ninjas did indeed unleash extremely powerful combat strength, even causing considerable trouble for the Sunagakure ninjas.

However, in terms of strength, there is ultimately a qualitative gap between the two sides.

Even though Sunagakure's population is less than half that of Iwagakure, the changes brought about by Shimizu in recent years have created a generational gap between the two villages, much like the difference between the Qing Dynasty's ancient army and the modern army of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

Of course, since this is ultimately a world with chakra and extraordinary abilities, even if there is a generational gap, it can be narrowed to some extent. Iwagakure still has the ability to fight back. They have more people and are not the army of a corrupt feudal dynasty in its later stages. In their desperate struggle, they still managed to cause some casualties to Sunagakure.

Shimizu did not deliberately intervene to reduce casualties.

He can accept it as long as the casualties are within a reasonable range.

It's unacceptable that after investing so much effort in training ninjas for so many years, he still has to personally intervene in this kind of situation.

Two Jinchuriki, two powerhouses close to Kage level, nearly a hundred elite Jonin-level ninjas, and many more Jonin and Special Jonin-level ninjas, fighting against Iwagakure ninjas whose high-end combat strength was reduced to dust and whose average strength was far inferior to their own side, could not be called a massacre, but the scene was certainly one-sided.

Shimizu, suspended in mid-air, looked down at the battlefield where fierce fighting was taking place and nodded in satisfaction.

Using Iwagakure, an easy target, as a training ground has proven quite effective.

Although our side also suffered casualties, the kill ratio was very high.

"ended."

Shimizu held Onoki's head in his hand and flew silently through the sky, coldly watching the battlefield below.

The Sand Village ninja and the Rock Village ninja below also spotted Shimizu at this moment.

The battle between him and Onoki was quite a spectacle, but both Dust Release and Shimizu's techniques were powerful and had a wide range, so no one dared to get close.

Now, when Shimizu appears with Onoki's head, everyone knows that Iwagakure is about to suffer a crushing defeat.

They had suffered defeats before, but this was their most devastating one, to the point that the village was on the verge of extinction.

Seeing this, the Sand Village ninjas were naturally invigorated.

Surprisingly, the already heavily damaged Iwagakure did not give up and surrender.

Some are still gathering their last bit of strength to try to break through, while others are trying their best to fight to the death to take down an enemy.

This is already a desperate army.

Even though it was just a remnant army, with only about half the number of its former members, the surviving ninjas were more elite in overall quality.

In this situation, if Sand Village continues to confront its strong, head-on confrontation, the damage it suffers will inevitably increase further.

Any commander with a modicum of wisdom can see this.

That's why classic military texts contain the strategy of "surrounding three sides while leaving one side undefended."

If the enemy sees a glimmer of hope, they will not fight with the will to die.

The situation is different now. Iwagakure is facing collapse. Although many Iwagakure ninjas are thinking of breaking out and leaving behind a spark of life, many others just want to fight Sunagakure to the death, hoping to take a piece of flesh before they die.

Therefore, under the command of Miyajo En, Sunagakure quickly changed its formation and strategy, focusing on containment and attrition.

This would indeed allow many of Iwagakure's vital forces to escape, but now that the Tsuchikage has been killed, as long as the main force of Iwagakure is wiped out, Iwagakure is conquered, and it is brought under the rule of Sunagakure, it would be enough to declare the demise of this top-tier ninja village that has stood in the ninja world for decades.

The remaining remnants, being few in number and lacking a strong leader, were unable to cause much of a stir.

Of course, Iwagakure doesn't just have this many people. This is Iwagakure's main force. There are also a certain number of Iwagakure ninjas stationed along its borders, in major cities, resource mines, and transportation hubs, as well as ninjas who are not in the village and are on missions outside.

After Sunagakure, these people must be wiped out before the village can be considered to have officially occupied the Land of Earth.

Because there are people everywhere, even if Sunagakure is stronger, it will still need to divide its forces to encircle and kill them, which will definitely take a long time. No matter how unstoppable the advance is, with the Land of Earth's territory being second only to the Land of Wind, and with its crisscrossing ravines, Sunagakure will need at least two or three months to stabilize control over the Land of Earth, complete the initial assimilation, and truly turn it into its own territory.

This is already a very high efficiency, thanks to the various amazing abilities of ninjas and a large amount of high technology that is at least decades ahead of the ninja world, which makes it possible to achieve such speed.

In other countries, it would take even longer.

In this process, neither Konoha, nor Kumogakure, nor Kirigakure wanted to see a behemoth that spanned the two countries of Kaze and Tochi and occupied more than 40% of the ninja world's territory be born.

If we also include the Land of Rain, more than half of the ninja world would be occupied by the Wind and Rain Alliance.

Even though the lands of the Land of Wind and the Land of Rock are not particularly fertile, if Shimizu were given the Land of Wind, he could turn Sunagakure into the strongest dominant force in the ninja world. If he were to add the Land of Earth, which is even more resource-rich than the Land of Wind, what would that be like?
Not to mention that parts of the Land of Wind have already undergone significant environmental changes through the use of ninjutsu, guided by scientific methods.

If Sunagakure were to complete the annexation of the Land of Earth, even with just normal development, it would be able to dominate the world within ten years.

This leaves other forces with no choice but to be terrified.

Even Amegakure had some ideas.

They were actually worried that Sunagakure was becoming too powerful and would swallow them up, because now they finally realized that the Land of Rain could no longer do without Sunagakure in many ways.

What if the Sand Village really wants to annex them one day?
Therefore, Sunagakure had to go to such great lengths to stop other ninja villages, and it also needed the Third Kazekage, the number two figure in Sunagakure, to appease Amegakure, and in return, give up some of its interests, including two hundred sets of puppet armor and a portion of the Land of Earth's territory.

The battle was drawing to a close.

A battle involving over 10,000 Iwagakure and 4,000 Sunagakure is a rare large-scale battle even in the ninja world, and it will likely last for a considerable period.

From the very beginning, Iwagakure knew that their protective barrier couldn't withstand the attack and wanted to gather their main force to block the tailed beasts and the Sunagakure army.

After the Tsuchikage was killed in battle and Iwagakure was crushed in one battle, they began to fight a bloody battle against Sunagakure while retreating towards the village.

Those who wanted to run and were able to run had already done so; whether they survived depended entirely on their abilities. The remaining civilians had all taken refuge in shelters. Even if the battlefield were drawn into the village, it wouldn't be easy to get involved unless the fighting was deliberately concentrated near the shelters. Thus, the battle evolved from a defensive engagement into an encounter, and finally into a blocking battle within Iwagakure Village.

The Iwagakure ninjas are more familiar with the terrain and can use the village's existing buildings and fortifications to hold out a little longer, giving the fleeing people more time to try and kill more enemies.

Even with their best efforts, Iwagakure was unable to sustain their momentum due to the overwhelming difference in strength.

If Sunagakure didn't want to lose a few teeth to over 10,000 Iwagakure ninjas, they wouldn't try to take them down head-on. Instead, they would break them apart and annihilate most of them before sending out a team to chase and track them down.

The remaining Sand Village ninjas formed several small teams and continued to fight the Iwagakure ninjas within the village.

You want to use buildings to resist?

I joined forces and used high-tech ninja tools to destroy the building and its inhabitants.

Trying to maneuver by taking advantage of the environment? That would just be cannon fodder being used to wipe out the enemy.

A great battle raged from morning till dusk before it was basically over, leaving only a few scattered locations to put up resistance, which were quickly wiped out, leaving only the last remnant of the Iwagakure army.

A dozen or so Iwagakure ninjas, quite skilled in their craft, covered in blood, fought fiercely against a tall, muscular figure wearing a red headscarf, who was over two meters tall.

Yellow Earth, the leader of the Jonin squad in Iwagakure, son of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.

He was older than Rasa and Karura, and was basically approaching the peak of his ninja years.

Although his strength was only barely at the threshold of Kage level, he had received the true teachings of Onoki in Earth Release techniques.

Among the five elemental ninjutsu, Earth Release ranks lower in terms of attack power, but it is the highest in terms of defense and practicality.

No matter where you are, as long as people are using earth-based techniques, earth-based techniques are the most convenient.

That's why the loess soil has been able to keep so many people here until now.

Despite fighting so hard, he was nearing his breaking point.

Although Ayane Uzumaki lacks combat experience, when it comes to attrition warfare, few in the ninja world can outlast her, thanks to her Uzumaki bloodline and status as a Jinchuriki of a Tailed Beast.

Not to mention the assistance of other Sand Village ninjas, and another Jinchūriki, Maki, was also there to provide support.

Mamoto was originally an elite Jonin, and he quickly mastered Shukaku's power, making him a relatively powerful Kage-level fighter.

However, Ayane Uzumaki still needs some training until she is developed into a truly qualified Jinchūriki.

Onoki is too strong. Apart from Shimizu, no one in the ninja world can easily kill him. Onoki would be just right to be used as a practice target for Ayane Uzumaki.

By the time the earthen mound collapsed with a thud, night had fallen in the Land of Earth.

With this, Iwagakure was officially destroyed.

The news caused a stir and uproar in the ninja world.

As Shimizu had predicted, Konoha, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure, upon receiving the news, immediately dispatched people to gather further information and also assembled their own forces. Some attempted to support Iwagakure, while others launched a siege attack on the Land of Wind, hoping to force Sunagakure to withdraw.

For them, given the current state of the ninja world, Iwagakure cannot be destroyed.

Once destroyed, the stalemate that has lasted for no more than two years will change again.

For a time, the Fourth Shinobi World War seemed poised to break out again.

The past five years have seen the most frequent large-scale battles in the ninja world, with the rise of Sunagakure. In fact, the past forty years combined have not seen as many battles as these five years.

The Second Shinobi World War had just ended, and only two years later, the Third Shinobi World War broke out. This time, before two years had even passed, the Fourth Shinobi World War was already on its way.

Even though these great ninja villages have a rich foundation, some of them couldn't withstand such exploitation.

However, under the growing threat of the Sand Village, they had no choice but to do so.

In the Hidden Rain Village.

The weather was unusually sunny.

After some of the moisture was diverted to the Land of Wind, the flooding situation in the Land of Rain improved.

Although the rainfall is still the highest in the ninja world, it doesn't rain almost every day. Instead, there are sunny and rainy days, and sunny days like today happen occasionally.

Inside the tower.

"The main force of Iwagakure has been wiped out by Sunagakure. There are no powerful experts left, and most of the remaining forces will be tied down by Sunagakure. In fact, there is no need for me, Nagato, Kakuzu and I to lead the team personally. I want you to go. Although you are courageous, you are too compassionate towards the weak. This is not to force you, but because I know that your character and ability can calm the hearts of the people in the areas we have just occupied at this time."

It was Sunagakure that destroyed Iwagakure, and we have no blood feud with Amegakure. We're just taking advantage of this opportunity to get a share of the spoils. You can drive away or recruit those remnants of Iwagakure. As long as you can give them a little hope, you can bring them under your control and take control of the land we've annexed.

You understand the principle of treating people with sincerity, so I want you to go on this trip, and Xiao Nan can also assist you.”

Hanzo, who was already sixty years old, was wearing a gray half-body armor and carrying a long-handled kusarigama. He gave instructions to Yahiko.

Her long, flowing platinum blonde hair was even whiter than before.

The passing years did not cause this old man, who once stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world, to become decadent.

Even though his physical abilities have declined, he has not lost his spirit as the first Amekage. Even though he has fallen from his peak, he is still not to be underestimated.

"I understand, Master Hanzo."

Yahiko said with a serious expression.

Although he still hasn't forgotten his naive ideals and has compassion for the vulnerable, he has also matured and become more worldly under Hanzo's tutelage. He knows what is the most appropriate thing to do and will try his best to help more people in such situations.

"Ah."

Hanzo nodded, glanced around, and continued:
"The more than 1,000 people brought by the Third Kazekage will help us hold off the Cloud Village. At this time, most of the Cloud Village's main force will be tied down. I will also join in to draw attention. Nagato, and Kakuzu, the rest is up to you. This is the best time for us to seize the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails."

(End of this chapter)