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

Chapter 382 The Iron-Willed Chief

"I'll offer twenty thousand taels!"

"My family will also contribute 20,000 taels!"

"I'll offer 15,000 taels..."

In an instant, a chorus of "generous donations!" filled the hall.

The figures that could be reported were nothing short of insulting charity to these wealthy and powerful people—tens of thousands of taels? That wasn't even enough for them to spend on a single night of wine and women.

The lord, glaring at this group of stingy misers, was so enraged he nearly vomited blood. Pointing at them, his finger trembled, he roared, "You bunch of bastards! Even at a time like this, can't you stand with the nation?! The Kingdom of Wind has nurtured you for centuries, bestowing upon you titles, fiefdoms, and privileges! Is this how you repay the Kingdom of Wind?!"

Faced with the daimyo's roar, the nobles all complained bitterly, crying poverty and playing the victim, as if they were the poorest and most destitute people in the Land of Wind. It wasn't that they didn't want to take it, but that they were "in dire straits," "living beyond their means," and "having many descendants"...

They had their own calculations. By spending so much money, weren't they just blatantly telling the Daimyo that they were a fat pig? After Konoha withdrew, wouldn't they become the Daimyo's primary target for purges and extortion? Over the years, in order to consolidate power and suppress Sunagakure, the Daimyo had no shortage of targets for these traditional nobles. Demotions, stripping of titles, and revocation of fiefdoms were commonplace. If it weren't for their deep and intricate roots in various oases, their families would probably have fallen into ruin long ago.

Not spending money is the best option.

As for the Konoha ninjas' capture of the Daimyo's residence, in their eyes, it was no big deal. Would those ninjas from the Land of Fire dare to lay a hand on these ancient noble families? At most, they would sign a treaty of defeat, losing some national interests and the Daimyo's authority. Their core industries and influence were in various oases. As long as the Konoha ninjas had any sense, they would not occupy the barren desert of the Land of Wind for long.

Once Konoha withdraws its troops, these local powerful clans can take the opportunity to expand their influence, devour the power vacuum, and even replace the daimyo with a more obedient and weaker child. Wouldn't that be even better?

It is precisely because they are certain that the Land of Fire cannot truly annex the Land of Wind that these nobles dare to so recklessly preserve their strength and watch from the sidelines. Even if the Land of Fire were to change its ways and occupy the Land of Wind, it wouldn't matter. If they wanted to rule the Land of Wind, they would still have to rely on these local strongmen. The powerful figures may come and go, but the chieftains remain constant. This is not just talk.

Looking at this group of stubborn, short-sighted fools, Daming felt a deep sense of powerlessness and a chill to the bone.

He prided himself on his diligent efforts and dedication to the prosperity of the Land of Wind. Although his methods were often criticized, he was now facing a great calamity and had been abandoned by everyone. On the other hand, his cousin, a rabbit who lived far away in the Land of Fire and spent his days indulging in pleasure, had done nothing but had the powerful ninja village of Konoha under his control, and now Konoha was even attacking his own backyard.

"How unjust the Sage of Six Paths is!!" Daimai roared in despair in his heart, but his face was filled with only exhaustion and defeat.

He waved his hand weakly, telling these "pillars of the nation" to get out and "do their jobs." Watching them leave hastily as if they had been granted a pardon, Daming slumped into his luxurious chair, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

The shadows shifted, and then silently reappeared.

"Your name." The shadow's voice remained deep.

"Shadow, do you think we can really hold out?" Daimyo's voice trembled slightly.

"The Daimyo's defense system is quite comprehensive. Although the garrison was alarmed, they remained calm, and their supplies were still plentiful. If we can hold out for half a day until the Temple of Wind arrives with reinforcements, we will have a chance," Shadow calmly analyzed, trying to instill confidence in the Daimyo. "When the reinforcements arrive one after another, they can work together from within and without to defeat Konoha."

Daming was silent for a moment, a resolute glint in his eyes: "No, we can't put all our hopes on these fools and the unknown reinforcements. Those fat monks and my 'pillars of the nation' are all birds of a feather. We must prepare for the worst. Shadow, have you arranged an escape route?"

"Please rest assured," Shadow whispered. "The double is ready. The appearance, voice, and habits are all perfectly imitated, enough to fool the real thing. The secret passage has also been checked and is unobstructed. In the worst-case scenario, we can go directly to the Temple of the Wind through the secret passage. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Temple of the Wind's power is relatively well preserved. The children of those monks all hope that you will arrange noble status for them and will protect you. At that time, whether we negotiate with the Temple of the Wind or wait for an opportunity to make a comeback, we will have room for maneuver."

Hearing the Shadow's arrangement, the Great Name felt somewhat relieved.

"Very good." The lord took a deep breath and regained his spirits. "Have your double change into my clothes immediately, go up to the city wall, personally supervise the battle, and boost morale! Tell the soldiers that I am with them. If they defend the city, everyone will be richly rewarded and promoted!"

"Yes!" The shadow acknowledged the order and disappeared again.

Soon, the "Daimyo of the Wind Country," surrounded by a group of elite guards and shadows, ascended the tall and sturdy city wall of the Daimyo's residence. Dressed in a magnificent Daimyo robe, with a "resolute" expression, he waved to the soldiers guarding the city and delivered a passionate speech, promising generous rewards and a bright future after defeating the enemy.

It must be said that the stunt double's acting skills were quite outstanding. With the cover of distance and tension, the soldiers on the city wall could not see any flaws at all. Seeing that the "Daimyo" had disregarded the danger and personally come to the front line, the morale, which had been low due to the rapid collapse of Death Valley, was indeed greatly boosted.

Many samurai and soldiers were filled with patriotic fervor, shouting slogans of loyalty and preparing to defend the daimyo and the capital to the death. They seemed to see an opportunity to gain merit, be rewarded, and change their fate right before their eyes.

However, all of this could not be kept from Umino Sasuke, who was several miles away and had just led his troops to the daimyo's capital for a short pre-battle rest.

He didn't even need to use his telescope technique; his powerful spiritual perception, like an invisible radar, had already scanned the city walls. The soul fluctuations of this "daimyo" who was giving a passionate speech were completely different from the soul imprint of the real Daimyo of the Land of Wind, appearing weak and showing obvious signs of imitation.

"Heh, a substitute, huh? They did prepare a backup plan after all." Umino Sasuke sneered inwardly, not surprised at all. These pampered nobles valued their lives the most.

"Young man, when are we going to make our move?" Tsunade walked over, rubbing her hands together, her eyes filled with a warlike glint as she looked at the towering city walls in the distance.

Koharu Utatane followed beside them, her face filled with worry: "Tsunade, Sasuke, we should prioritize a forced landing and try to avoid causing too much damage, after all—"

"I know, I know, you old woman are so long-winded." Tsunade interrupted her impatiently, but her eyes were fixed on Umino Sasuke, clearly waiting for him to make a decision.

Sasuke Umino calmly said, "Let's attack the city and finish this quickly."

Upon receiving the order, the Konoha Allied Forces quickly deployed their attack formation.

The defenses of the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Wind were indeed renowned. The city walls were tall and thick, with a foundation made of specially crafted obsidian, which provided excellent resistance to Earth Release ninjutsu. The walls were densely covered with a large number of sophisticated ballistae that incorporated puppetry techniques. The crossbow bolts gleamed coldly, radiating chakra fluctuations. Their penetrating power and strength were enough to threaten Jonin, and their range was extremely long.

However, these defenses were useless against Umino Sasuke.

He rode on the back of the giant white horse, soaring into the sky, overlooking the entire battlefield, and calmly issued commands:
"Earth Release Combined Team, target the open area in front of the city wall, Combined Earth Release: Multiple High Platform Walls!"

Dozens of Konoha ninjas skilled in Earth Release stepped forward, simultaneously forming hand seals and placing their hands on the ground.

Rumble, rumble—!
The earth trembled violently, accompanied by a deafening roar, and hundreds of meters in front of the city wall, huge slopes rose up from the ground.

These earthen mounds are not vertical walls, but rather slopes, with the highest platform even exceeding the height of the city walls, providing Konoha ninjas with a perfect high-ground attack position.

"What kind of engineering tactics are these?!" The Wind Kingdom's defenders on the city wall were dumbfounded.

"Weaponry Battalion, cover the area!" Sasuke Umino's order came again.

The already prepared officers of the blade-throwing team, including Gang Qianshi and Shan Guiyao, immediately led their men to quickly ascend to the top platform.

"Target: City wall defenders, fire!" With this command, countless kunai, each bound with an explosive tag, rained down on the city wall below.

The density was so high that it almost blocked out the sunlight.

"Counterattack! Quickly fire the ballistae at those enemies on the earthen slopes!" the garrison commander on the city wall roared hoarsely.

The soldiers operating the ballistae hurriedly aimed, but they suddenly discovered that no matter how hard they tried, the intricately designed ballistae seemed to be rusted shut, with the key parts stuck, making it impossible to fire, and even turning them became extremely difficult.

"What happened?! The ballista is broken?!"

"Impossible! Everything was fine during the checkup just now!"

Only a few ancient crossbows, which were not made of metal but of special wood and animal sinew, were still able to fire normally, but this firepower was insignificant in the face of Konoha's storm of blades.

High in the sky, Sasuke Umino's hands were slightly clenched, and a blue light flashed in his eyes.

Clearly, he had already silently controlled all the internal parts of the ballistae and defensive mechanisms of the city wall through his Magnet Release bloodline, turning them into scrap metal in an instant.

What's even more despairing is that the explosive kunai falling like a torrential rain seemed to have eyes, precisely avoiding the shields and blocks hastily erected by the defenders, with the vast majority landing in the most densely populated areas or on the weakest points of the fortifications.

This was clearly the result of Sasuke Umino's intervention using Magnet Release.

For someone who can manipulate metal, accurately guiding these explosive kunai is not difficult.

"Protect the daimyo!!" The garrison commander shouted in terror, his voice hoarse.

A large number of elite warriors and guards immediately retreated, protecting the "Daimyo" substitute layer by layer. With their outstanding individual strength and chakra defense, they barely managed to block this wave of attacks.

But the ordinary soldiers were in big trouble.

boom! boom! boom--!
The continuous, earth-shattering explosions instantly engulfed the entire section of the city wall.

Flames soared into the sky, thick smoke billowed, and debris and severed limbs flew everywhere. The piercing screams were even drowned out by the explosions.

In just a few minutes.

The Konoha Weapon Squad unleashed hundreds of thousands of explosive tags, the intensity and density of which far exceeded the scope of conventional warfare, making it quite audacious.

Xiaochun, watching from the back, couldn't stop her eyelids from twitching. She roughly estimated the number of explosive tags used in such a short time, and her heart almost skipped a beat: "So many explosive tags, how much money did they cost?! Eight thousand taels for each explosive tag, that's hundreds of millions of taels! How much is the village's annual military expenditure?!"

However, as a high-ranking member of Konoha, she also knew some information: Umino Sasuke could use the imprinting ability of the Explosive Blade: Flying Drop to achieve the "self-production and self-consumption" of explosive tags, which did not consume real money, but rather a huge amount of chakra.

Such extravagant tactics are something only he could execute so casually throughout the entire ninja world.

Under such terrifying firepower, even the sturdy city walls made of obsidian and resistant to magic could not change their rocky nature and finally succumbed to the pressure.

Rumble——! ! !
With a deafening roar, a section of the city wall, more than 100 meters long, collapsed completely amidst a series of explosions, revealing a breach.

"The city wall has collapsed!!"

"The city has fallen! Run!!"

The surviving soldiers, witnessing this apocalyptic scene, completely broke down psychologically, cried out in despair, and began to scatter and flee.

"No retreat! Protect the lord, hold the line, prepare for street fighting, reinforcements will be here soon!" The loyal commander was still trying to organize resistance and make a final effort.

Unfortunately, Sasuke Umino wouldn't give him that chance.

Just as the city walls collapsed and smoke filled the air in the most chaotic moment, Umino Sasuke, high in the sky, had already completed the hand seals.

"Water Release·Water Breaking Wave!"

His chest bulged, and he suddenly exhaled forward.

laugh--! ! !
A highly condensed jet of high-pressure water shot out of his mouth in an instant, as fast as the aurora borealis.

The high-pressure water jet pierced through the billowing smoke, penetrating directly through the layers of guards who were trying to protect the "daimyo" with their bodies.

puff!

With a soft sound, the voice of the garrison commander who was still giving orders came to an abrupt halt, and a small hole appeared in his neck.

Immediately afterwards, the deadly water line continued forward without stopping, easily piercing through the throat of the "Daimyo" stand-in, who was in utter horror.

The high-pressure water line, not yet exhausted, then dipped slightly to the side.

Whoosh!
A head adorned with an elaborate headdress suddenly shot into the sky, its face frozen in an expression of disbelief and terror.

Warm blood gushed out like a fountain from the headless neck, splattering the faces and heads of the surrounding guards.

All of this happened too fast and too suddenly.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

Everyone who witnessed this scene, whether they were soldiers from the Land of Wind or ninjas from Konoha, was stunned.

(End of this chapter)