Naruto's civilian cannon fodder starts with the three-body technique

Chapter 256 Rumors spread
After arranging the garrison duties, Umino Sasuke led his troops and, with lightning speed, headed straight for the daimyo's residence in the Land of Mountains.

The daimyo and nobles of the Mountain Country had just received news of the fall of Kagerou Village when the Umino army suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Faced with the overwhelming strength and swift tactics of the Umino army, and learning from the precedent of the destruction of Kagerou Village, the daimyo and nobles of the Mountain Country surrendered without even organizing a decent resistance.

Even though two guardian ninjas from Iwagakure tried to resist, it was to no avail, as they were easily killed by Uchiha Shun and Gekko Yoru.

"Lord Sasuke, the Land of Mountains is much richer than the Land of Rivers!"

Shancheng Luye held the account book, deeply moved.

Compared to their previous mild approach towards the Land of Rivers, the Umino troops adopted a completely different attitude towards the Land of Mountains. They swept through the Land of Mountains like locusts, not only refusing to harm the civilians but also ruthlessly confiscating all the treasuries of the daimyo's mansion.

They plundered mountains of gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, and paintings, massive grain reserves, a topographical map of the entire Land of Mountains, and even the supply routes of Iwagakure's troops on the front lines in the Land of Frost. Their value was immeasurable.

"Green Leaf, keep a close watch on the Daimyo and those nobles and send them to the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Fire to be dealt with by the Daimyo and the Hokage."

"Yes, Lord Sasuke!"

The mountain city's green leaves were overjoyed; this was a great achievement.

Capturing a daimyo from an enemy country and handing him over to the daimyo of the Land of Fire would not only demonstrate Konoha's formidable martial prowess but also serve as a huge political bargaining chip, potentially securing more military funding and resources for Konoha from the daimyo.

This achievement is even greater than the last time they rescued the daimyo of the Land of Rivers. It can be considered as a certain degree of territorial expansion, enough to make their frontline mobile support forces once again cause a sensation throughout the Land of Fire.

Perhaps, like the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Rivers, the Land of Mountains will eventually abandon the Land of Earth and become another ally of the Land of Fire.

After capturing the daimyo and nobles of the Land of Mountains, the Umino troops did not linger but continued to advance northward, attempting to cut off Iwagakure's logistical supply lines in the Land of Frost.

Currently, Iwagakure and Kumogakure are locked in a standoff on the border of the Land of Frost, with both sides exercising restraint. However, if Iwagakure's supply lines are cut off, disrupting the balance of power, Kumogakure might seize the opportunity to attack Iwagakure's defenses.

Taking advantage of the favorable terrain of the Mountain Country, the Umino troops appeared and disappeared like ghosts along the Iwagakure logistics supply line. In particular, they inherited the explosive tag technique from Kagerou Village and are now using it to attack Iwagakure supply convoys and even logistics transfer stations.

"Enemy attack! Those despicable Konoha thieves!"

"It's the White Blood Demon army. Our supply line has been cut off again."

"Could Konoha and Kumogakure have actually formed a secret alliance?"

Bad news flew like snowflakes to the Iwa ninja camp on the front lines of the Land of Frost. Military supplies such as food, ninja tools, explosive tags, and medicine were delayed. Taking advantage of the situation, Umino Sasuke spread false news that Konoha and Kumogakure had formed an alliance. Rumors spread like wildfire, and even the morale of the Iwa ninja on the front lines began to waver.

In the Land of Earth, in Iwagakure Village, inside the Tsuchikage's office building.

"Useless! All of them are useless! Yangyan Village fell in less than half a day, the Explosion Release unit was completely wiped out, and now, even the supply line has been cut off by this white blood demon!"

Onoki flew into a rage, a terrifying pressure of chakra erupting from his short frame. "The White Blood Demon! It's that White Blood Demon again!"

"Lord Tsuchikage, the White Blood Demon troops aren't the most urgent issue. What I fear is that Konoha and Kumogakure have secretly formed an alliance." A terrifying thought arose in the Tsuchikage's mind. "If they have indeed secretly formed an alliance, with Kumogakure drawing our main force from the front while Konoha launches a surprise attack from the flanks and rear, cutting off our logistical lifeline, and then encircling and annihilating our main army on the front lines of the Land of Frost, that would be disastrous."

As soon as the idea was proposed, Onoki immediately realized the terrible consequences. Although it was unlikely that the Hidden Cloud Village would form an alliance with the Leaf Village, given its plan to reap the benefits, there was always a chance that things might turn out differently.

Especially considering the devastation caused by the Earth Collapse during Operation Rock Smash in Kumogakure, which wreaked havoc on the village, it's hard to say whether Kumogakure, driven by revenge, might secretly ally with Konoha to retaliate against Iwagakure.

"Can't take the risk!"

Onoki, shrewd and cautious as ever, ordered, "Issue a mobilization order and rush to the aid of the Land of Frost! At the same time, order the front-line troops to launch a probing attack on the Cloud Village's positions and find out for me whether the Cloud Village and the Leaf Village are secretly colluding."

Once suspicion takes root, it's like vines sprouting in spring, entwining the mind. Onoki, with his complex and suspicious nature, was misled by Umino Sasuke and actually believed that Konoha and Kumogakure had secretly joined forces.

In order to prevent the troops on the front lines of the Land of Frost from being encircled and annihilated, he had to ease the enormous pressure that the front lines of the Land of Grass were putting on the Konoha army.

They were even prepared to withdraw from the Land of Grass and fight on two fronts.

Upon receiving orders, the Iwa ninja forces on the front lines of the Land of Frost immediately launched a fierce attack on the Kumogakure defenses.

At the same time, a large number of highly inflammatory rumors spread like wildfire on the front lines of the Land of Frost, especially in the Cloud Ninja defense line.

"Have you heard? That old man Onoki actually dared to say that we Cloud Ninja are a bunch of cowards who only dare to hide in the mountains of the Land of Lightning and are only fit to bark like incompetent dogs."

"The Iwa ninja are mocking us, saying that we Kumo ninja are all muscles and no brains!"

"Onoki even boasted that he would flatten the Cloud Thunder Gorge, saying that the Third Raikage had been crippled by the Eight-Tails' rampage and was a coward who dared not confront him head-on!"

Rumors were rampant at the front lines, and the supply lines were constantly under attack, resulting in a severe shortage of supplies. The Iwa ninja at the front were extremely dissatisfied and, unable to find any Konoha ninjas, could only vent their anger and curses on the Kumo ninjas.

After deliberate processing and dissemination, it instantly ignited the anger of the lower-ranking ninjas of the Cloud Ninja, especially those young and impetuous Cloud Ninjas who took pride in their bravery. They were filled with rage and wished they could devour the flesh and blood of the Rock Ninjas alive.

"Calling us cowards!"

"The Iwa ninja are asking for it! Brothers, charge in and show them who's the strongest!"

Amidst the public outrage, the pride and fighting spirit of the Cloud Ninja were fully unleashed. Many Cloud Ninja squads even disregarded orders from their superiors and spontaneously launched fierce retaliatory attacks against the Iwagakure patrol line.

The Cloud Village leadership originally intended to sit back and watch the two sides fight, preserve their strength, and then reap the benefits after both Iwagakure and Konoha were weakened. They even suppressed the hatred caused by the heavy losses from the Eight-Tails' rampage last time, and eased the pressure on Iwagakure, hoping to get Iwagakure to invest more resources in the Land of Grass.

However, unexpected events have occurred frequently. Iwagakure has taken the initiative to provoke trouble, causing the situation to escalate continuously. The weakness of Kumogakure's village, which relies on martial prowess, has also begun to be exposed, showing signs of backlash.

The Cloud Ninja Squad officers were no longer able to effectively control their subordinates who were showing signs of militarism, and there were even frequent instances of subordinates rebelling against their superiors and disobeying orders.

(End of this chapter)