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

Chapter 409 Blitzkrieg against the Land of Water

"Boss, what a huge harvest! An absolutely huge harvest!"

Inside the barrier, Kakuzu rubbed his hands excitedly, his eerie green eyes gleaming with golden light.

"A preliminary count reveals that we sank or captured over seventy Kirigakure warships of various types. Although the 'Blood Mist II' sank, its salvage value is immense. The captured ninja tools, explosive tags, and military supplies are piled up like mountains. As for the Kirigakure prisoners, although most were killed, those who remained were all elites. Whether for interrogation or ransom, they represent a huge fortune! More importantly, we destroyed Kirigakure's last mobile naval force. This strategic gain is immeasurable..."

As Kakuzu recounted the spoils of war with great familiarity, especially upon hearing the strategic significance of annihilating the Kirigakure fleet, Sasuke Unno's face revealed a satisfied smile.

The development of the Land of Waves needs this stepping stone.

"Well done, Kakuzu." Sasuke Umino nodded approvingly, then asked, "How's the cleanup of the Kirigakure remnants going? Were any escaped?"

Kakuzu's smile faded slightly as he replied, "They've basically wiped them out. However, the Hozuki clan ninjas and some Kirigakure Jonin who are proficient in water release techniques are indeed slippery in the water, and some of them managed to escape during the chaos, though their numbers shouldn't be many."

Upon hearing this, Umino Sasuke was not surprised and calmly said, "It's alright. They're just stray dogs and fish that escaped the net. They might not even make it back to the Land of Water alive. Even if they do, bringing news of their complete annihilation will only exacerbate the panic and turmoil within Kirigakure, which will be more advantageous to us."

Just as Umino Sasuke had predicted, those remaining Kirigakure soldiers who had managed to escape were now like frightened birds.

After paying a heavy price and escaping several rounds of pursuit from Konoha and the Land of Waves, the remaining Kirigakure elites, including Ao and several Jonin from the Hozuki clan, finally escaped over a hundred nautical miles and temporarily left the dangerous waters.

A giant summoned shark surfaced. The Hozuki clan ninja released his water transformation technique and lay exhausted on the shark's back. Ao and several other Kirigakure Jonin skilled in water release techniques also emerged from the shark's mouth, all pale-faced and still in shock.

"We're safe for now, at least for the time being." A Kirigakure Jonin gasped for breath, still shaken.

Ao wiped the seawater from his face, suppressing his grief and fear. He looked around, determined his direction, and said in a deep voice, "The Land of the Sea is just ahead. We must get there quickly and find Sushio Fuguki and the logistics department! The news of the fleet's annihilation must be sent back immediately. Furthermore, all the supplies stockpiled at the Land of the Sea's port that can be taken must be taken. Anything that cannot be taken must be destroyed on the spot! We must not allow it to fall into enemy hands!"

A Jonin named Hozuki immediately chimed in, "That's right! The next target of the Konoha Iron Wall Army is very likely the Land of the Sea's logistics base! With the forces left here, there's no way they can stop Konoha's advance! We must get there before them!"

"There's no time to lose! The Konoha fleet could catch up at any moment. We don't have much time left!" Qing said through gritted teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

Thus, this group of disheveled and escaped fish from the Misty Hidden Sect mustered their spirits and urged the Spirit Shark to swim swiftly toward the coastline of the Sea Kingdom.

However, just as they landed and thought they had found a chance to catch their breath, Ao, a sensory ninja, suddenly changed his expression.

"Wait! Something's not right!!" he shouted sharply, his gaze sweeping across the port and coastal defense facilities ahead.

Too quiet? It's eerily quiet! And the ships moored in the harbor... something's not right either.

Just as he spoke out his warning.

"Whoosh whoosh-!"

Countless figures emerged from behind bunkers and buildings around the port, densely packed together, numbering in the hundreds.

Wearing Konoha-style vests, they moved swiftly and coordinated perfectly, instantly forming a huge encirclement that completely blocked all possible escape routes for Ao and the others.

The leader was none other than Uchiha Shun, who was left behind in the Land of the Sea to clean up the battlefield. He crossed his arms, his three-tomoe Sharingan slowly rotating, looking at the group of defeated soldiers who had walked right into his trap with a hint of mockery.

"Oh no! The Land of the Sea has fallen!!" Ao instantly understood everything, a bone-chilling coldness sending chills down his spine. "It seems Konoha had planned this all along! They even cut off our escape route. What a ruthless scheme!"

"Run!!" The Hozuki clan ninja was terrified and instinctively tried to use his water transformation technique to dive back into the sea.

Unfortunately, it's too late.

In order to send a message and destroy logistical supplies, they chose to land, which meant that they left the most favorable aquatic environment.

"Lightning Release Squadron! Combined Lightning Release: Lightning Net Binding!" Uchiha Shun coldly ordered.

The Iron Wall Legion's Lightning Release ninjas, who had been preparing for some time, formed hand seals in unison, and a giant, crackling net of lightning appeared out of thin air, descending upon the Hozuki ninja who was attempting to transform into water.

"what--!!"

When faced with such a wide-range lightning attack, the Hozuki ninja's water transformation technique was completely ineffective. The violent current instantly spread throughout their bodies, and amidst shrill screams, several Hozuki Jonin were instantly electrocuted into large amounts of gas, their mangled bodies revealed, as they collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Other Kirigakure Jonin who attempted to resist or escape also fell into the tacitly coordinated encirclement and traps of Konoha ninjas. With an absolute numerical advantage and a well-prepared ambush, their resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, quickly disintegrated, or even killed.

Only Qing, upon realizing something was wrong, retreated rapidly without hesitation, simultaneously forming hand seals and summoning an extremely fast reconnaissance shark.

"Psychic art!"

He narrowly escaped the first wave of deadly attacks, leaped onto the shark's back, and fled frantically towards the open sea without looking back. He didn't even dare to look back at the fate of his companions, pushing his speed to the limit, with only one thought in his mind—escape! He had to bring the message back!

Uchiha Shun watched Qing's departing figure but did not order a full-scale pursuit. One should not pursue a desperate enemy, and sometimes letting a few escapees go back to report is more effective than annihilating them all.

Ultimately, the main fleet of the Kirigakure expedition to the Land of Waves was almost completely wiped out, except for Ao and a few others who managed to escape by summoning beasts or sheer luck.

This meticulously planned Battle of Wave Bay resulted in a complete victory for the combined forces of Konoha and the Land of Waves, utterly shattering the Land of Water's maritime backbone.

The offensive and defensive strategies of the Land of Waves and the Land of Water have changed this time.

Just as Uchiha Shun was easily wiping out the remaining Kirigakure soldiers who had walked right into their trap, the remaining troops were being easily defeated.

The cleanup work at the main battlefield of Boyue Bay is also nearing completion.

Debris and corpses floating on the sea were salvaged or disposed of, and captured intact warships were put into service. But the ships sunk to the bottom of the sea, especially the most valuable ironclad "Blood Mist II," tormented Kakuzu. Standing beside a salvage vessel, his eerie green eyes fixed on the huge black shadow underwater, he lamented, "What a pity, what a pity! That's all money! What's the difference between it and a rock sunk to the bottom of the sea?!"

Sasuke Umino had just finished confirming the subsequent marching plans with Shikaku Nara and walked to the side of the ship when he overheard Kakuzu's complaint.

He glanced at Kakuzu's miserly appearance and said, "Kakuzu, if you want me to take action, just say so. Why beat around the bush like this?"

Kakuzu turned around, his face instantly plastered with obsequiousness, though the smile with its stitches looked somewhat eerie: "Hehe, the boss really knows me! The longer this big guy soaks in the water, the higher the repair costs will be—"

"Alright." Sasuke Umino waved his hand, saying no more.

He walked to the ship's side, his gaze fixed on the massive creature underwater, and slowly raised his hands, his body once again radiating that chilling, invisible force field.

“Buzz——!!!”

The immense Magnet Release chakra, like an invisible hand, penetrated deep into the seawater and firmly grasped the steel-forged hull of the "Blood Mist II".

Under the stunned gazes of all the Konoha Iron Wall ninja and the Sound ninja of the Land of Waves, this colossal vessel, weighing thousands of tons and submerged in the sea, began to tremble violently, the surrounding seawater churning, and then…

It actually began to slowly rise to the surface!
"You're...you're awake?!"

"The commander pulled the ironclad ship out of the sea?!"

"My God! Is this...is this really something that can be done by human beings?!"

"It was terrifying enough that it was overturned before, but now it can be pulled out of the sea so easily?!"

Even though they had already witnessed Sasuke Umino's feat of capsizing an ironclad warship, seeing this "ship salvage from the seabed" scene still shocked all the ninjas.

This is beyond their understanding of "ninjutsu" and is almost a miracle!

"Boom--!"

Accompanied by the tremendous sound of rushing water and the roar of metal scraping together, the massive and ferocious hull of "Blood Mist II" broke through the sea surface, and huge waterfalls of water poured down from both sides of the hull, creating an extremely spectacular scene.

Most of the ship's hull was above water, and large amounts of seawater gushed out from the breaches and hatches.

Sasuke Umino's eyes narrowed, and he exerted force with both arms again, manipulating the magnetic field to spin violently.

"Boom--!"

The massive ironclad warship was somehow straightened by an invisible force on the sea surface, its tilted hull being corrected. Although it appeared to be drafting very deep due to the large amount of water taking in, it finally regained its normal floating posture and came to a steady stop on the sea surface.

"Great! The main structure doesn't seem to be too damaged!" Kakuzu was so excited he almost jumped up, his eerie green eyes fixed on the ironclad ship as if he were looking at a mountain of gold.

Since Sasuke Umino has already taken action, he might as well go all the way.

He maintained the Magnet Release output, manipulating the behemoth as if dragging a giant toy, slowly "pulling" it toward the port of the Land of Waves.

Although the speed was not fast, this effortless feat was once again deeply imprinted in the hearts of all those who witnessed it.

After the "Blood Mist II" was safely towed to the shallow waters of the port and secured, Kakuzu couldn't wait to board the ship for a quick inspection. When he came down, he could hardly contain his joy.

"Boss! We've struck it rich! We've struck it rich! I estimate the cost of materials alone for this ironclad warship is no less than 100 million taels of silver! And that doesn't even include the design and construction costs!"

Sasuke Umino nodded, not surprised at all: "Ironclad ships are a goldmine in themselves. Once they are repaired, their value will increase several times over. In addition, with the 'Blood Mist No. 1' that we captured in the Land of Whirlpools and is almost repaired, our Wave Country Merchant Alliance will soon have five ironclad ships."

A terrifying glint flashed in Kakuzu's eyes, as if he could already see endless wealth and maritime supremacy beckoning him.

"Five ironclad warships! With a naval force of this scale, who in the entire ninja world can rival us? Our Land of Waves can completely replace the Land of Water and become the new maritime overlord!"

“That’s right,” Sasuke Umino affirmed. “As long as the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning don’t form an alliance to suppress the Land of Waves, our Land of Waves’ naval strength will be enough to dominate this sea area in the short term.”

Kakuzu rubbed his hands excitedly: "The profits from maritime trade are too great! We must maintain this naval advantage! Anyone who dares to steal our business, let our ironclad warships and submarines talk to them!"

Sasuke Umino turned his gaze northward, his tone turning cold: "Therefore, we must strike while the iron is hot. We don't need to waste time salvaging those ordinary wooden warships for now; leave them for the follow-up forces. Our immediate priority is to concentrate all our mobile forces and, taking advantage of this great victory, march on the Land of Water! We must completely destroy their ports and all their shipyards, crippling the foundation upon which they rebuild their navy!"

A chilling glint flashed in Kakuzu's deep blue eyes, like a shark smelling blood: "Understood! I'll arrange for the fleet to assemble right away! In this battle, we must break the backbone of the Land of Water!"

Sasuke Unno added, "The operation to attack the Land of Water's mainland can only be carried out by our Land of Waves. The Iron Wall Legion needs to immediately head north to the main battlefield in the Land of Waterfall and cannot participate in the subsequent war against the Land of Water."

Although Kakuzu felt it was a pity to lose the Iron Wall Legion, a powerful ally, he also knew that Konoha's strategic focus was not on this. Being able to help the Land of Waves deal with the main fleet of the Hidden Mist Village was already a stroke of luck.

He calculated, "No problem! With the main force of the Hidden Mist Village wiped out and its homeland defenses weakened, we can take advantage of the time difference, destroy only its coastal ports and shipyards, and not go deep inland. With the current strength and morale of our fleet, there will be absolutely no problem!"

"Very good." Sasuke Umino was relieved. "I will have Samehada and Umibozu stay behind to cooperate with the Wolf Fang submarine force in attempting to blockade the main ports of the Land of Water. If successful, even if we cannot completely starve the Land of Water, we can greatly restrict their maritime activities and completely seize their share of foreign trade!"

Kakuzu was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Blockade the Land of Water?! That's great! If it can be done, the Land of Water's enormous profits from maritime trade will flow into the pockets of our Land of Waves! That's a fortune!"

With the plan set, both sides immediately split up and took action.

The Iron Wall Legion took a short break and resupply at Wave Moon Bay. The morale of the entire army was extremely high, and every ninja had an excited smile on their face.

(End of this chapter)