Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 288 The Heavenly Soldiers of Konoha Have Arrived, the Land of Lightning is Saved

"Protect the supplies!" Mabui's command was firm and decisive, his voice piercing the brief silence. "Ninja Taijutsu squad, form ranks and prepare for battle!"

The Cloud Village ninjas reacted very quickly; after the initial shock, they immediately displayed astonishing combat skills.

The ninja taijutsu squad, clad in chakra armor, instantly reached the outer perimeter, their ninja swords drawn, flashing with dazzling lightning.

Several lightning-style ninjas quickly formed hand seals and pressed their hands to the ground, producing a series of ear-piercing "sizzling" sounds.

"Thunder Escape·Earth Walk!"

Several thick, violent blue lightning bolts suddenly shot up from the ground, heading straight for Sasuke. The lightning crushed the surrounding giant trees, igniting them with a single strike, and the raging sea of ​​fire, accompanied by crackling sounds, quickly engulfed Sasuke's figure.

Thunder roared, and the sea of ​​fire was boiling. Just when everyone thought Sasuke was buried under the rocks, a dazzling blue-white lightning bolt tore through the boiling fire, and purple lightning cleaved a path through the fire!
Amidst the split sea of ​​fire, Sasuke walked forward unhurriedly. The several lightning snakes that had previously charged towards him were now obediently circling his figure. This powerful attack hadn't even soiled the hem of his clothes. Sasuke smiled, and the ethereal aura created by the Mangekyou Sharingan and Sage Mode eyeshadow caused the Cloud Village ninjas blocking his way to unconsciously take a small step back.

The next instant, Sasuke gently raised his hand, and a layer of purple lightning instantly appeared on the surface of the blue lightning snake. In just a few breaths, the lightning snake grew two horns and transformed into a dragon. Then it roared and charged towards the Cloud Village troops. The power of this ninjutsu was more than twice as strong as when it was used to attack Sasuke earlier.

"Delusion!" Ma Buyi reacted with lightning speed, his right hand flashing to the side and behind him. The huge scroll on his back seemed to come alive, unfolding a corner once more and precisely blocking the thunder dragon's path! The sealing runes on the scroll once again glowed with an eerie light.

"Sealing Technique: Absorption Seal!"
Faced with Sasuke's fierce attack, Mabui used the same trick again, pulling open the huge scroll on his back. After the scroll flashed with a strange light, it absorbed Sasuke's ninjutsu.

"Uchiha brat, this is not a place for you to run wild!" Mabui's voice carried the characteristic firmness of Kumogakure. "Leave your life behind!"

Sasuke did not respond. He slowly raised his right hand, and a chilling killing intent spread out like a tangible cold current. The surrounding space seemed to be slightly distorted and dimmed by this sudden surge of terrifying chakra. The air seemed to freeze at this moment, so heavy that it was suffocating.

A purple war god, entwined with silver runes, rose from the ground, and an invisible pressure swept across the entire canyon like a tsunami!

The Cloud Village ninjas were deathly pale, their hands gripping their weapons trembling uncontrollably. The immense fear of the colossal object gripped their hearts; the oppressive feeling emanating from the purple skeleton was like facing a natural disaster!

Not far away, Nagai Seiichi, who had already set up the trap according to the plan, couldn't help but gasp when he saw the terrifyingly powerful Susanoo. He suddenly realized that the Hokage had assigned him to be in a group with young master Sasuke, but it seemed that he was not there to protect young master Sasuke. Did young master Sasuke need someone like him, who had barely reached the level of an elite Jonin after consuming a lot of resources, to protect him?
Then I remembered a time a while ago when he went to the Hokage's office to report to the Hokage. Before he left, the Hokage said to him for no reason that he looked like he was working very hard lately, that he had lost a lot of weight, and that his belt couldn't even hold his pants up anymore, and that he should pull them up a bit.

Even if Nagai Seiichi were stupid, he should have understood what Uchiha Touko meant by this. Uchiha Touko wasn't sent here to protect his disciples. It was clearly that the Hokage wanted to promote him, but he didn't have any outstanding achievements, so he put him in the team of his genius disciples to gain merit in battle!
After Sasuke summoned Susanoo, the giant purple war god raised its hands, and black lightning containing a terrifying aura of destruction slowly gathered in Susanoo's hands, becoming two giant vajras.

"Want to try absorbing this with your scroll?" Sasuke said, and Susanoo threw two demon-slaying pestles wrapped in black lightning to the ground, one on each side.

Mabuyi gritted his teeth and unfurled the scroll once more. However, this time, the sealing technique that had been invincible before was instantly shattered the moment it came into contact with the Vajra Pestle that descended from the sky. In the next instant, the figures at the front of the group, including Mabuyi, were swallowed up by the lightning, leaving not even a speck of ashes behind.

This terrifying scene almost instantly shattered the Cloud Village ninjas' will to resist.

It's true that the ninjas of Kumogakure have become somewhat morbidly fanatical under the baptism of militarism over the past two years, but in the face of this imminent natural disaster, no emotion can overcome the instincts etched into their bones. Moreover, the person in charge of this mission was annihilated by the black lightning before he could even let out a scream, leaving not even a trace of ashes.

So, Sasuke's Susanoo simply raised its hand, and the group of supply ninjas scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing for their lives. However, their method of escape was nothing short of walking into a trap for the Konoha ninjas who had already laid a tight net around them.

After about 20 minutes of annihilating the fleeing ninjas of the logistics team, the group returned to Sasuke's side. By then, Sasuke had sealed away the food, ninja tools, explosive tags, and other supplies they had been transporting. He then looked somewhat regretful and said, "Unfortunately, there wasn't any chakra armor among these supplies, and the sealing scroll from earlier was destroyed by my eye technique."

"Captain Sasuke, we've captured one alive." A member of the Aburame clan from the squad brought a Kumogakure Chunin who had been knocked unconscious by insect poison into the formation.

"Take him away. Then, Akira Yamanaka, use your clan's secret techniques to dig out the secrets from his mind and dispose of him. We can't take prisoners with us right now," Sasuke said expressionlessly after nodding.

"Understood." Yamanaka Akira nodded, took the prisoner from Aburame Yuukawa, and then left the scene with Sasuke.

……

The Cloud Village quickly realized that a powerful Konoha squad had its sights set on their food supply line, and launched a thorough search, but they found nothing.

Even so, Sasuke and his group were not having an easy time. Several times in the past few days, they were almost discovered by the Cloud Village's sensory ninjas. Although Sasuke was not afraid of fighting, they were, after all, in enemy territory. If they were entangled, he could escape without any problem, but his teammates would be in danger.

While hiding in the cellar of a house in a small village in the Land of Lightning to escape the pursuers from the Hidden Cloud Village, they happened to encounter the cellar owner coming down to retrieve something.

However, to Sasuke's surprise, the villagers showed no panic whatsoever when facing their enemy army; instead, they looked as if they had seen their saviors.

"Young man, are you ninjas from Konoha?" The middle-aged man dressed as a farmer looked at Sasuke and his group and said excitedly.

Sasuke frowned slightly, while behind him, several ninjas were already prepared to launch a sneak attack.

Although Uchiha Touko had repeatedly instructed before the battle that no matter how far the war progressed, they should not harm civilians while ensuring their own safety, it was clear that the current situation had obviously threatened their safety. Sasuke gestured behind his back with his left hand, signaling everyone not to act rashly, and then said, "Old man, we don't want to hurt you, but please don't reveal our whereabouts."

"How could I possibly reveal your whereabouts! Our Stone Moon Village has been waiting for you for a long time!" The old man said anxiously upon hearing Sasuke's words.

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

"Alas," the old man sighed heavily upon hearing this, and then said, "Ever since the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure became the Grand Minister of State of our Land of Lightning, we farmers have been unable to make a living."

Sasuke looked puzzled upon hearing this.

"After that guy became the Grand Minister of State, he started to levy exorbitant taxes under various pretexts. We farmers who toil in the fields have to pay for 70% of our annual harvest," the old man sighed.

"Seventy percent?" Sasuke was stunned when he heard this.

Don't be fooled by the fact that people in the Land of Fire pay 70% or even 90% of the taxes. Is it really the same thing to make tycoons pay 70% of the taxes as to make farmers pay 70% of the taxes?
"And that's not all. If it were just exorbitant taxes and levies, we could grit our teeth and tighten our belts to get through it. But they also come to the village from time to time under the guise of 'working for the country,' conscripting men to work in the Cloud Village's ninja tool factory. Those who are conscripted never come back. My son was one of those men who were taken away."

After hearing the old man's words, Sasuke couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "The people of Kumogakure really don't do anything human for this war."

"So, after we heard that Konoha and Kumogakure had started their war, we've been waiting for you. Not just us, but the surrounding villages are too. We all hope that you can defeat Kumogakure." The middle-aged man, with tears in his eyes, grabbed Sasuke's arm. "People of Konoha, please help us."

Looking at the old man's weathered face, Sasuke pursed his lips. He now understood why Naruto, even if it meant bearing the stigma of a rogue ninja, would still protect the civilians of the ninja world in his own way.

"Don't worry, old man, your lives will get better again after Konoha defeats Kumogakure," Sasuke said at this moment.

"Young man, you haven't eaten anything yet, have you?" After receiving Sasuke's promise, a hint of joy finally flashed across the middle-aged man's face, and he hurriedly asked, "Let me go find you something to eat first."

Without saying another word, the middle-aged man walked out of the cellar.

"Uncle, no need, we have something..." Sasuke was about to stop him, but the other person had already left the cellar.

Seeing this, Sasuke glanced back, and Aburame Yuukawa nodded. Two tiny insects, barely visible to the naked eye, flew off his body and caught up with the old man.

Although Sasuke could tell from the old man's sincere words and expressions that it seemed genuine, he was now the leader of a team and had to be responsible for the lives of every member.

Fortunately, under the watchful eye of the parasitic insects, the farmer from the Land of Lightning did not do anything unnecessary. Instead, he spent a long time preparing food in his kitchen and made a meal for each of the Konoha ninja hiding in the cellar before returning to the cellar with the food.

"We don't have much here, so you ninjas might not be used to the food, but this is the best we can offer," the old man said somewhat nervously.

Sasuke glanced back at Aburame Yuukawa. While they were talking, Yuukawa used the parasitic insects to check the food. After finding nothing wrong, he nodded slightly to Sasuke.

"Thank you." Sasuke nodded, took the food, took a big bite of the cornbread, and then said.

The food was so bad it made Sasuke's throat feel dry, let alone delicious. However, Sasuke finished the food the old man gave him with a normal expression, then gave him a thumbs up and smiled, saying, "Thank you for your hospitality, old man."

According to the information brought back by Yu Nu Youchuan through the parasitic insects, these unpalatable wild vegetable buns were the few remaining foods in the old man's house, but he still took them out without hesitation so that they could fill their stomachs.

All I can say is that if the policies of Kumogakure were even slightly more humane, Sasuke and the others wouldn't be receiving the treatment they have today.

“Old man, we’ll just rest here for one night and then leave. If the people from Kumogakure find out we’ve been here, just say we were here and stole your food,” Sasuke said. “In short, your safety is the most important thing.”

"This..." The middle-aged man was puzzled after hearing Sasuke's words.

"Uncle, you must survive to see the day your new life arrives," Sasuke said with a smile, patting the middle-aged man on the shoulder.

The next day, before setting off again, the group left the old man in the cellar with enough food, which they had seized from the Cloud Village's logistics transport unit, to last him two months, before continuing their journey.

On the other hand, because Sasuke's Ghost Army, which roamed the Land of Lightning, repeatedly achieved great successes, the supply of supplies on the main battlefield was greatly affected and the morale of the Cloud Village troops plummeted. Within a few days, Konoha successively eliminated several key positions. However, at this moment, an unexpected event quietly occurred.

The second day after a regiment led by Major Shinichi Sarutobi, an elite Jonin of the Sarutobi clan, took a position and stayed to rest, they saw that the troops at the front had advanced the battle line by dozens of kilometers. So they ordered the troops to go down the mountain to cook and make a meal so that the soldiers could have a hot meal instead of eating dry rations. Only a company of about 100 men was left to guard the position. But in just a short while, enemies resurrected by Edo Tensei suddenly appeared in the position.

……

(End of this chapter)