Konoha Notes

Chapter 89 Counterattack
News of the attack on the Iwagakure stronghold by the Kusagakure ninja in the Land of Grass quickly reached Onoki's side.

Onoki looked at the intelligence report that had been sent to him.

How dare the Hidden Grass Village make a move when they are here?

However, this is not something that can be ignored simply because one suspects the other party is unwilling to act. Given the frequent troop movements and withdrawals of Iwagakure's frontline forces recently, Konoha may have already noticed, so Kusagakure, as the host village, certainly wouldn't have failed to detect it.

Just as every village has radicals and conservatives.

There are also two factions in Kusagakure. It is not impossible that one of them would want to take action against Iwagakure if they saw that Iwagakure was in decline.

With this in mind, Ohnoki made his judgment.

Whether they are actually Grass Village ninjas or not is not important. What is important is to maintain the stability of the evacuation route. If this trend cannot be stopped in time, even if it is not Grass Village doing it now, Grass Village ninjas will eventually get involved.

"loess."

The curtain moved first, and the burly man from Huangtu strode in: "Lord Tuying."

"You will personally lead three elite squads to deal with those rats."

"Be quick and clean it up, then take the head to Kusagakure."

Huang Tu accepted the order and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute." Onoki called out to him again, "Has Konoha been testing us more and more frequently lately?"

"Yes, the frequency of small-scale infiltration and reconnaissance has increased by nearly 30%."

Seeing that there were no new problems with Onoki, Huang Tu led his men away.

Watching his eldest son leave, Onoki couldn't help but sigh. Now, apart from Huang Tu, there was no one else in Iwagakure who could stand on their own.

Returning to the current situation, Konoha's recent actions have been unusual. The unusual thing is not the discovery that the number of Iwagakure ninja on the front lines is decreasing, but rather their actions after discovering this.

Instead of pretending to be unaware, they chose to probe frequently. Is this an attempt to launch an attack?
Why? Logically speaking, Konoha's best course of action at this moment should be to hold its defensive line. After all, forcing them back into the Land of Grass would already be a strategic victory. Without this assessment, he wouldn't have withdrawn Han first.

Perhaps... we should launch a strong probing counterattack to test Konoha's strengths and weaknesses and their resolve?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Onoki suppressed it.

The most crucial thing is to ensure the retreat route is foolproof. We should wait for Huang Tu to deal with the attack by the Grass Village ninjas first.

With just one or two teams, it won't take long for the loess soil to dry.

According to Onoki's prediction, this was how it should have been, but Huangtu still hadn't returned by the next day.

Just as Onoki was about to personally check the situation, Jonin Bunya, who was temporarily in charge of the front line, strode into the command post with a solemn expression.

"Lord Tsuchikage, there's unusual activity in Konoha's defenses. They seem to be preparing for a large-scale attack!"

"What?!" Onoki looked up abruptly.

He's still here! Konoha dares to launch a full-scale attack?! Have I really not fought in far too long?!

Boom—! Rumble—!
Before the words were finished, a series of intense explosions, like thunder, rolled in from the direction of Kannabi Bridge!

Konoha's attack has begun!

The ninjas of the Land of Earth are not only good at offense, but their defensive skills are also top-notch. Even when things happen suddenly, they still react immediately on the front lines.

Roars and hand seals mingled with the deafening roar of the explosions. Thick earthen walls rose with a rumble, intercepting the densest falling trajectory of the explosive kunai.

The ground deformed violently under the control of chakra, creating craters and disrupting the Konoha ninja's offensive formation.

Countless hard stone projectiles roared out from behind the rock concealment position, colliding with some of the incoming explosive tags in mid-air, prematurely detonating them into bursts of fire and black smoke.

The first wave of probing long-range fire was largely neutralized by Iwagakure's tenacious and efficient defensive system. Konoha's offensive stalled for a moment. But only moments later—

"Fire Release: The Art of Fire Dragon!"

"Fire Escape: The Art of Fierce Flames!"

"Wind Escape·Big Breakthrough!"

The second wave of attacks followed immediately, this time consisting of a barrage of Fire Release ninjutsu.

Dozens of Konoha ninjas simultaneously formed hand seals, and flames instantly engulfed the narrow strip of land in front of the bridge. The scorching heat even forced the Iwagakure ninjas at the forefront to retreat slightly.

However, despite the astonishing intensity of the fire, which struck the thick earthen walls, it only scorched and hardened the surface of the earth, but failed to destroy these sturdy barriers.

Suppressed laughter even rang out from the Hidden Stone Village's position, mocking Konoha's futile efforts.

But just as the fire raged fiercely, almost turning the area in front of the Hidden Rock position into a sea of ​​flames and obscuring the view of both sides—

Several dazzling bolts of lightning suddenly lit up and crashed into the raging sea of ​​fire.

The collision of thunder and fire triggered the most violent explosion.

The earthen wall was instantly blasted to pieces, and countless fragments of rock, carrying scorching sparks and leaping arcs of electricity, rained down on the rock-hidden position.

The sudden burst of intense light caused many Iwagakure ninjas to be plunged into a blinding white light, screaming and covering their eyes, causing chaos in the Iwagakure formation.

"Don't panic! Fortify the defenses! Watch out for attacks!" Wen Ya's roar rang out amidst the chaos as he struggled to maintain order.

Onoki, who was observing the battle from high above, became completely distraught.

This level of attack is no longer a test; Konoha truly wants to fight.

Ōnoki returned to the command post and summoned Rōshi.

The Four-Tails Jinchuriki once again rushed to the battlefield. This time, he did not choose to charge recklessly, but instead climbed onto a high platform built for him by the Iwagakure ninja using Earth Release techniques.

Under the cover of the Iwagakure ninja, the jet-black energy sphere successfully shot towards Konoha's position.

Just then, a masked figure appeared at the forefront of the battle.

The ground trembled violently, and countless thick and tough trees burst forth from the soil. They did not simply stand up, but intertwined and coiled in exquisite arcs, instantly forming a huge and sturdy curved wooden barrier that blocked the path of the Tailed Beast Ball.

The raging tailed beast chakra clashed violently with the vibrant wood release energy.

The pitch-black energy sphere frantically squeezed and destroyed the wooden structure, but under the influence of that inexhaustible and strange power, it was constantly deflected and weakened. In the end, it narrowly grazed the edge of the Leaf Village's position and shot into the distant sky, exploding into a huge mushroom cloud in the far distance.

Almost the instant the Tailed Beast Ball was forcibly stopped by Wood Release, Onoki appeared directly above the Wood Release barrier. He clasped his hands together, and a transparent cube barrier instantly condensed in his palms.

Just as Dust Release was about to be unleashed—

A blurry, long shadow shot out from the direction of Konoha's position at an astonishing speed, aiming straight for Onoki's waist.

The Third Tsuchikage was forced to interrupt the release of Dust Release, his body flipping backward in an extremely disheveled manner, barely avoiding this sudden attack.

Steadying himself, Onoki looked in the direction the attack had come from, his face ashen.

In the midst of the Leaf Village's defenses, a figure he had never expected to appear there materialized.

He was dressed in a black, tight-fitting combat suit, wearing a ninja hat, with protective gear on his shoulders and arms, and the long staff he was holding was slowly being retracted.

"Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi..." Onoki's voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth, "You're here too."

(End of this chapter)