Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 292 Onoki: I don't understand!

At the command post on the front lines of the Land of Lightning, Kakashi was slightly bewildered when he received the battle report from the intelligence personnel. Even he hadn't expected that Sasuke could pull off such a big feat with just 800 remnants of a regiment.

However, Kakashi was not idle either. Taking advantage of the heavy losses suffered by Kumogakure, the front-line troops launched a major offensive and directly invaded the border of the Land of Lightning.

On the other hand, Shisui encountered a little trouble. After all, Kumogakure suffered such a heavy blow, and their troops in the Land of Water had to be withdrawn. Therefore, Mei Terumi could only further shrink her defenses, which made it a bit difficult for Shisui, who was in charge of the Water and Fire Army.

After all, it's territory that they voluntarily gave up, so it wouldn't be right not to take it. But if they accept it, it would conflict with Konoha's strategic goal of depleting the Land of Water's manpower on this battlefield.

However, after Takagi Seiman gained a large territory, he became arrogant and took the initiative to lead the Kirigakure army into an attack. In the end, he was ambushed by Terumi Mei and suffered heavy losses. Shisui was relieved. He suddenly realized that he didn't need to worry about this kind of thing at all. Takagi Seiman would deliver it on his own.

On the other side of the Land of Earth battlefield, compared to the Land of Lightning battlefield where brains had already been splattered, the intensity of the war here was not low either, but both sides remained rational.

Before engaging in battle, both sides would consciously evacuate the local civilians. Konoha did so out of military discipline, while Iwagakure learned their lesson after a large-scale combined ninjutsu attack in one battle covered the area where the civilians were located, but triggered a counterattack from a golden chakra shield wall, resulting in heavy losses for Iwagakure.

However, compared to Sasuke's free-roaming adventures within the Land of Lightning, Neji's mission to sabotage the supply lines did not go as smoothly. After all, the combination of Onoki and Uesugi Koshihide, the Tsuchikage and Daimyo, was not so abstract, and they had not driven their own farmers to the point of treating Konoha's army as heavenly soldiers to rescue them.

The group operating within the Land of Earth suffered repeated setbacks. Every time they planned to attack the Land of Earth's supply lines, they were discovered in advance. It was only because Neji was strong enough that he was able to lead his teammates to escape unscathed each time; otherwise, they would have been wiped out long ago.

Therefore, after suffering a setback, Neji realized that unless they went on a killing spree within the Land of Earth, it would be very difficult for them to effectively damage the Land of Earth's supply lines. So, Neji simply returned to the front lines and became the vanguard.

Because Uchiha Touko's plan was to prioritize dealing with the more dangerous Kumogakure, most of the village's elite troops were transferred to the northern battlefield. On the Land of Earth's front, the main offensive force was mainly the Amegakure elites trained by Nagato over the years and the poison masters and puppeteers of the Land of Wind.

This resulted in Iwagakure having a slight advantage in terms of high-end combat power, given that Nagato was limited by his physical condition and unable to consistently attack.

However, this advantage was completely reversed after Neji returned to the front lines.

After Neji and Nagato fought a brilliant battle together, Neji finally succeeded in recapturing the territory of the Land of Grass and pushing the battle line to the border of the Land of Earth.

However, after seeing that the Land of Grass had been conquered, the daimyo of the Land of Grass, who had eagerly returned from the Land of Waterfall seeking political asylum to try to restore his country, died suddenly before even reaching his homeland. At that moment, the name of the Land of Grass also completely disappeared from the history of the ninja world.

After Iwagakure suffered a defeat, Onoki ordered the defenses to be tightened, and a solid defensive line was built within the Land of Earth, successfully halting the advance of the Konoha-led coalition forces.

The battlefield once again entered a stalemate, and both sides focused their attention on a key location: the Kannabi Bridge.

This bridge, spanning a turbulent river hundreds of meters wide, was the lifeline for Iwagakure to build a defensive line in the dangerous border region. After the bridge was lost, the area hundreds of kilometers behind it was flat and undefended. Therefore, the bridge naturally became a battleground for both sides, and Iwagakure deployed a defensive line of up to 80,000 troops here.

However, the Iwagakure soldiers, who had been thoroughly beaten by the combined Rinnegan and Tenseigan on the battlefield in the Land of Grass, naturally had low morale.

Furthermore, the Kannabi Bridge is a place where, for Konoha, their Fourth Hokage rose to fame by stepping on Iwagakure's heads, while for Iwagakure, it was the starting point of their defeat in the Third Shinobi World War.

Therefore, even before the battle began, a sense of defeat began to spread within the Iwagakure ranks after the defensive line was established.

Seeing this, Onoki naturally couldn't sit idly by and wait for his doom. Once all the high-ranking Iwagakure ninja had gathered at the front-line command post, Onoki slowly floated up in front of the map, solemnly surveying the Iwagakure leaders in the command post. Then, he slowly spoke:
"I don't understand! Why is everyone talking about the Golden Flash shining on the Kannabi Bridge back then, as if the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was destined to be a disastrous one for us!"

As soon as Onoki finished speaking, the Jonin inside the command post all lowered their heads, not daring to look up at their own Iwagakure.

At this moment, Onoki's face showed a look of reminiscence, and he said, "Forty years ago, I took over the position of Iwagakure from the Second Hokage. At that time, the village had just emerged from the shadow of the First Shinobi World War, but everyone in the village was full of hope."

"Under the guidance of the Will of Stone, the people of Iwagakure were united as one. Although we did not achieve final victory in the two subsequent Shinobi World Wars, we spread the fame of Iwagakure throughout the Shinobi World, allowing our village to stand tall in the wilderness of the western Shinobi World! That vibrant scene of life and all things flourishing is still vivid in my mind."

"In just over ten years, this place has become my burial ground?" Onoki said solemnly. At the same time, the Iwagakure Jonin who had been keeping their heads down just now couldn't help but look up at this Iwagakure man who had always practiced the will of stone.

After exchanging glances with each of them, Onoki took a deep breath and said firmly, "No matter what, the battle force is 80,000 to 60,000! The advantage is on our side!"

Onoki's words were a wake-up call, and the morale of the Iwagakure commanders who heard them was boosted.

The shift in morale within the Cloud Village army did not escape the notice of Neji, who was using his Tenseigan's ability to fly and was hiding in the sky, overlooking the entire battlefield.

After completing the routine reconnaissance and returning to the Allied camp, Teen delivered the military rations that had been left for Neji. Neji took them, ate a couple of bites, and then went into the command post.

"Neji, how's the situation?" Hiashi Hyuga, the commander-in-chief of the western front, asked from inside the command post.

"Their defenses are extremely tight. It seems the only way to take Kannabi Bridge is through a direct assault," Neji said. "Pain-senpai, are you still able to make a move during this time?"

“Sure, but if you need me to go all out, it would be best to wait a few more days,” Pain, sitting in the command center, nodded.

“Alright,” Neji nodded. “If possible, we should try to finish the battle at Kannabi Bridge quickly. After all, this is their home ground, and we don’t have the advantage of terrain. If the battle becomes a stalemate, the pressure on our supplies will be immense. The eastern front is currently making full-scale advances, and we can’t afford to hold them back at this time.”

"In the next two days, we'll have small groups launch harassment raids to try and disrupt their defensive lines. Three days later, after you've recovered, Pain-senpai, we'll launch the full-scale attack," Neji said, staring at the map. Hiashi Hyuga stood silently to the side. Although nominally the commander-in-chief, he knew his own limitations. Having barely participated in missions since becoming the Hyuga clan leader, he couldn't even command a small company of a hundred men, let alone such a large-scale operation.

In this respect, Neji actually learned a lot from the battlefield commanders in the village. Therefore, Hiashi Hyuga consciously placed himself in the position of a human seal, the administrator of the military seal.

“Mr. Maki, for the general offensive three days from now, I need your Sunagakure puppet troops as the first wave of spearheads. Konoha will reimburse you for all your losses after the battle. Is that alright?” Neji looked at Maki, who represented Sunagakure, in the command post.

“That’s no problem at all.” Maki nodded. “Lord Neji, you don’t need to ask me specifically. Our Sunagakure troops are at your command. This is something the Fifth Kazekage specifically instructed us to do before we set off.”

"That's good." Neji nodded. "After we use the puppets to deplete the enemy's defensive forces' chakra, Pain-senpai, you and I will each lead an army of 20,000 men and attack simultaneously from the north and south sides, trying to break through the enemy's defenses in one fell swoop."

“Okay.” Nagato nodded, controlling Pain.

"As for the remaining people, you and Miss Angel will lead them as a reserve force, ready to provide support at any time." Neji then looked at Hiashi Hyuga.

"Understood." Hiashi Hyuga nodded.

After making overall strategic arrangements, Neji called out the names of the commanders of each regiment in the command post one by one and made detailed arrangements.

……

Two days of small-scale raids did not significantly affect the defensive positions of the Land of Earth.

On the morning of the third day, the first light of dawn shone on the menacing outline of the Kannabi Bridge, but it could not dispel the chilling atmosphere that permeated the place.

Below the bridge, the turbulent river roars and surges, while the cliffs on both sides are steep and as if carved by a knife and axe.

This is a strategically important location, the Wailing Wall, an impregnable fortress built by Iwagakure with 80,000 ninja soldiers.

The allied forces launched a full-scale attack as planned, while the Iwagakure positions were already in full preparation. The earthen-yellow figures densely covered the bridge surface and piers, and even clung to the steep rock walls on both sides. Countless earth-style ninjutsu-constructed fortifications were layered upon layer, solid rock walls rose from the ground, and bottomless trenches crisscrossed the area.

On the opposite bank, the massive array of allied forces stretched across the wilderness as far as the eye could see, like a surging tide.

"Attack!" A deafening roar ripped through the brief silence. Hyuga Hiashi, who was commanding the central army, gave the signal for a general offensive.

In an instant, the silent allied forces erupted like a powder keg! Countless figures transformed into arrows, treading on the dust-covered earth, resolutely charging towards the Bridge of Death that spanned the abyss.

"Earth Escape: Ten Thousand Miles Earth Current Wall!"

"Earth Release: Gangli Style Technique!"

"Earth Escape·Yansu Collapse!"

The commander of Iwagakure issued the command almost simultaneously, his voice cold and precise. As the hand seals were completed, the earth groaned.

Several colossal rock walls, far exceeding ordinary sizes and several meters thick, rose from the earth like the spines of prehistoric beasts. On these walls, countless giants made of solid rock were summoned, letting out muffled roars. Their massive stone fists, carrying the power to crush everything, slammed into the charging Allied ninjas. Countless huge rocks, propelled by ninjutsu, shattered and crumbled, transforming into a devastating rain of rocks that, accompanied by a mournful howl, poured down upon the crowded Allied vanguard below!

The Sand Village puppet troops at the forefront bore the brunt of the attack.

The intricate puppets were as fragile as children's toys in the face of the massive falling rocks and stone fists, easily crushed and torn apart.

The Konoha assault team, which was providing support from the rear, attempted to forcefully break through the rock giant's defenses with ninjutsu. Fireballs and wind blades exploded on the rock giant, but only left charred marks and shallow scratches, which instead provoked an even more ferocious counterattack.

The assassins from Rain Shadow tried to find gaps in the chaos with their agility, but the dense rain of falling rocks and the ever-rising rock walls completely sealed off all space, mercilessly squeezing and crushing them.

Hyuga Neji stood on a slightly higher slope, calmly observing everything happening on the battlefield. Then, as if sensing something, he looked up and gazed into the distance. His Tenseigan's gaze pierced through layers of obstacles and locked onto the center of Iwagakure's defensive line, where a short old man was looking in his direction with binoculars.

"Neji, be careful!" A hoarse warning came from his side.

Neji looked up abruptly, and a giant rock, as big as a house, tore through the air, its dark shadow carrying death, and was crashing down on him and a group of exhausted Konoha ninjas around him!
Neji gently raised his hand, and a pure white sword light flashed, instantly slicing the oncoming boulder in two before it exploded in mid-air.

"Everyone, follow me!" Neji's voice rang in the ears of every Allied Shinobi behind him. In the next instant, Neji's figure took the lead and flew towards the Iwagakure defense line in front.

Neji's Tenseigan coldly swept across the battlefield, and soon, Neji locked onto the core area of ​​the Iwagakure defense line: an Iwagakure squad of nearly a hundred people releasing a combination ninjutsu together.

"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"

(End of this chapter)