Konoha Notes

Chapter 236 Aftermath
The sea of ​​gold dust collided with the treetops, and gold powder mixed with wood chips, scattering and forming a murky mist.

The ninjas of Sunagakure were not the only ones shocked to find a Wood Release ninja right in front of them.

Even the Konoha vanguard ninjas behind Shuji fell into a brief silence. They looked at the young figure standing atop the city wall, manipulating the forest to fight against the Kazekage, their eyes filled with disbelief and a growing fervor.

"The birth of the tree world... the First Hokage's technique..." a Konoha ninja murmured, unconsciously tightening his grip on the kunai in his hand.

"Don't get distracted!" the squad leader shouted, forcefully drawing his men's attention back. "Strengthen the defenses!"

The sudden use of Wood Release did not slow down Rasa's attack in the slightest.

After the initial shock, he raised his arms, and more gold dust surged from the ground, bypassing the tree barrier that was directly entangled with him, and attacked Xiu Si's body from a tricky angle.

Beneath Xiu Si's feet, a sturdy branch as thick as a water bucket instantly broke through the soil and rose up, carrying his body to move sideways and avoid a gold dust spike that came skimming along the ground.

Meanwhile, more sturdy wooden pillars grew, bent, and overlapped on the branches, forming an arched wooden wall in front of him.

The subsequent gold dust slammed heavily against the wooden wall, leaving deep dents and sending wood chips flying, but it failed to achieve a breakthrough.

Almost at the same instant the defense was completed, Shuji's counterattack arrived. Dozens of sharp-tipped wooden vines suddenly pierced through the branches of the trees below and to the sides, their target being Rasa himself, who was standing on the gold dust.

The Fourth Kazekage's attack power, range, and control over the gold dust were astonishing, and his defense was also quite good. However, in order to control the gold dust, his agility was mediocre compared to other strong individuals of the same level.

Faced with the sudden piercing attack, Luo Sha's expression darkened. He manipulated the sand gold to rapidly condense and compress in front of him, forming a thick golden shield.

The wooden spikes slammed into the sand-gold shield with a dull thud, and cracks instantly appeared all over the shield's surface.

Just as Shuji continued to apply pressure using Wood Release, more vines twisted and prepared to break through the defense in one fell swoop.

"Wind Style: Hanging Net!"

The Sand Village Wind Release Assault Team members, who had been waiting in advance, shouted in unison and collectively swung their Three-Star Fans. Sharp wind blades wove together into a net of wind and pushed forward.

Wherever the wind passed, those incredibly resilient vines and branches were instantly cut down, turning into countless fragments scattered across the sky.

At the same time, the puppet troops brought by Luo Sha also began to move.

A dozen or so puppets of various shapes and sizes, with sharp blades popping out from their joints, began to spin at high speed, transforming into death tops covered in sharp blades, and charged fiercely into the edge of the tree world.

The spinning blade net collided violently with the spreading wooden branches, producing a teeth-grinding sound of metal clashing and wood breaking, forcefully halting the further expansion of the Wood Release technique.

Another puppet with a unique structure and a hollow abdomen, under the puppeteer's control, slid behind Luo Sha, and the abdominal hatch opened.

Without hesitation, Luo Sha stepped back and retreated into the puppet's belly.

The hatch closed, the puppeteer flicked his fingers, and the puppet carrying the Kazekage retreated rapidly along the gold-paved road towards the main formation, escaping the direct attack range of the Wood Release.

Rasa stepped out of the protective puppet and stood at the front of the Sunagakure team once again.

In the distance, the once ever-growing and expanding tree world seemed to have lost its vitality. The writhing giants and vines slowly retreated into the earth, leaving only a scarred landscape as proof of the brief but fierce battle that had just taken place.

However, the raised earthen walls did not disappear and still blocked the entrance to the valley.

"withdraw."

It's time to go back and redo the battle plan. Watching Luo Sha retreat, Xiu Si also returned to the valley. As soon as he landed, he felt gazes coming from all directions.

What was originally a respectful gaze now held an indescribable intensity.

A special Jonin in charge of frontline command tried his best to keep his voice steady.

"Lord Shuji, Sunagakure has temporarily retreated. Our... next battle plan is..."

Shuji frowned slightly. The battle plan had been finalized before departure; what could possibly change?
But as he looked around and saw the emotions almost overflowing in the eyes of those ninjas, a sense of confusion crossed his mind.

Is it really necessary to go this far...?

Even Yamato didn't have this reaction when he activated Wood Release in the original story.

And two years ago, he... oh right, back then he opened the Tree World as an ANBU member.

"Continue to set up camp, establish a perimeter, construct a defensive line, and await the arrival of reinforcements."

Now that we've temporarily settled down, Rasa, do you have any cards besides the Sky Ninja...?
-
Back at the main camp on the Sunagakure front, Rasa dismissed his attendants and sat alone in his tent, falling into a long silence. The only sound in the tent was the occasional crackling of the lamplight.

After a long while, he took out a uniquely shaped communication scroll, infused it with chakra, and sent out an extremely secretive message.

The wait was longer than expected. Only when the camp was completely quiet did a figure, half black and half white, resembling an aloe vera leaf, enter the Wind Shadow's tent.

"I need to endure emptiness," he said succinctly.

"Lord Kazekage, the Sky Ninja forces are now under your command... but there aren't many left," Black Zetsu said. "The Sky Ninja suffered too many losses during the day."

“The Sky Ninjas aren’t of much use now,” Zetsu suggested. “Perhaps you could consider sending them into the Land of Fire…”

Zetsu believed that having the Sky Ninja attack the towns of the Land of Fire would yield better results.

"No!" Rasa shouted, "That's an utterly terrifying act, and it will provoke a backlash from the entire ninja world."

The Sand Village occupied the Land of Rivers to obtain the food and resources necessary for development, not to isolate themselves from the entire ninja world and ensure they would never have enough to eat again.

"The reason why aerial ninjas cannot play a greater role in regular ninja battles is that their effective attack range is too short and they rely too much on dive bombing."

Rasa calmly analyzed, his sharp gaze fixed on the enemy: "With their current technology, if they want to continue to demonstrate their value on the battlefield, they must undergo a complete technological transformation, and they need to be fully and thoroughly integrated into the Sunagakure's command and equipment system."

“If the organization behind you can’t do this, or is unwilling to pay these prices,” Rasa’s voice was laced with undisguised coldness, “then Sunagakure can now consider proposing peace talks with Konoha. In any case, acquiring most of the Land of Rivers’ harvest this year has already provided Sunagakure with the most basic benefit.”

The Fourth Kazekage said calmly, "After the peace talks, Sunagakure may suffer for a year or two after losing the Land of Rivers, but you will also lose your space to live."

"Compared to Sunagakure, which has lost its main combat personnel and is left with only broken technology, which is more worthy of your organization's continued investment and cooperation?"

The Dragon Vein Puppet will need some time. He plans to first make some modifications to the Sky Ninja's techniques to see if he can hold off Konoha.

"Think it over carefully."

(End of this chapter)