Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 167 The Duel Begins

After cultivating until the early hours of the morning, Tamura Hao and the others slept for three hours before getting up and washing up, feeling refreshed.

Since obtaining Sage Chakra through the Sage Technique Seal, their physical condition has improved significantly, and they only need to sleep three hours a day to be full of energy.

This is a basic effect of Sage Art: Chakra becomes more and more tiring the more it is used, but Sage Art makes one more energetic the more it is used.

This is because during use, some of the natural energy will be absorbed into the body, nourishing the body and spirit, and even the soul.

Natural energy has a far greater nourishing effect on living beings than chakra. Just look at the beings in the three holy lands to see this. It can even extend lifespan, like the Great Toad Sage who can live for thousands of years.

Of course, chakra also has this potential, or even greater potential, but currently it is limited to the Otsutsuki clan, and only those Otsutsuki who have devoured the fruit of the God Tree can break through the lifespan limit.

"How's the adjustment going?"

After meeting up with Yotsuki Ai and the others, Tamura Hao asked a question.

"It's alright."

Ye Yue Ai forced a smile, clearly not feeling very good inside.

Fokai, standing to the side, also looked rather uneasy, clearly not in a good mood either.

The enhanced sense of touch is a double-edged sword. It greatly improves combat power by increasing control over the body and perception of the outside world.

But the pain is excruciating. Now, even a slight scratch on the skin feels like a knife cut, and if a wound is actually created, the pain will be even more intense.

If you're not used to this pain, it can actually affect your performance in battle.

Even the stimulation from lightning release itself causes pain, and now the pain has intensified.

What troubles them most is that this pain is difficult to adapt to in a short period of time, which will inevitably affect their performance in today's battle.

"Then let the light use illusion magic to hypnotize you."

Tamura had anticipated this and had already devised a solution.

Although it's only a temporary solution, it's sufficient for emergency use.

"Can illusion magic be used to solve this?"

The two were stunned. Was this even possible?

"This method only treats the symptoms, not the root cause, and its duration is limited. It can only be used to buff you before battle, and it will affect the weakened and enhanced senses. Ultimately, you will need to adapt to it yourselves."

To put it simply, illusion has great potential for application, especially hypnosis, which can change a person's cognition to some extent.

For example, hypnotizing a person to become a pervert who enjoys pain, or masochist for short.

Of course, that's too extreme, and it's not appropriate to experiment on Ye Yue Ai and the other two.

"That works!"

Both Ye Yue and Ai breathed a sigh of relief. They had been worried about how to fight today, but now that they had the illusion hypnosis, it was no longer a problem.

As they exchanged these words, the Cloud Ninja in the camp quickly sprang into action. Apart from a few who remained behind, the rest of them headed to a designated flat area, which was the agreed-upon battlefield.

The surrounding area is flat with few obstructions.

The Konoha ninja army had also arrived early, and the two sides faced off several hundred meters apart.

"This number is so embarrassing; it's an insult to the word 'war'."

Looking at the number of people on the other side, Tamura Hao couldn't help but make a comment.

The venue was very large, which made the number of people seem awkward.

The Konoha ninja army mobilized 3,000 people, while they had 8,000. It sounds like a lot, but in the context of war, it's quite touching.

In the past, ancient Chinese wars were fought in units of tens of thousands. Compared to that, this is too petty. No wonder Naruto is called the Five Villages Clash.

This has nothing to do with whether there is a cultivation civilization or individual strength. If we're really talking about strength, in the past, modern wars also involved firearms and artillery.

A barrage of artillery fire would be enough to wipe out even a Kage-level powerhouse. If a nuclear bomb were to hit, aside from Six Paths level beings, it would be difficult for anyone else to even leave behind ashes.

"That's already quite a lot."

Ye Yue Ai, standing to the side, said helplessly, "Ninjas are not comparable to those samurai legions. Their Hidden Cloud Village only has 20,000 ninjas on the payroll, and of those, only 15,000 are mainly engaged in combat."

"But there is still a long way to go before we have envisioned it, and we must speed up the pace of intermarriage."

Tamura Hao strongly encouraged intermarriage between ninjas and commoners, believing that this was the only way to spread chakra.

If he hadn't yet comprehended the power of Yin and Yang, he would have wanted to spread his chakra like the Sage of Six Paths, maximizing the number of ninjas.

Chakra is currently passed down through bloodlines, which is like a seed. Without this kind of bloodline, chakra cannot be extracted.

Therefore, all ninjas in the current ninja world are descendants of the Ninja Cult of the past, inheriting the chakra spread by the Sage of Six Paths.

The only way to increase the number of ninjas is through intermarriage.

Intermarriage between ninjas and ordinary people!

Although this will definitely dilute the bloodline, it can be improved through cultivation, so it's not a big problem.

"It's already underway, but it will take time, and it won't be possible until after the current Shinobi World War ends."

Yotsuki Ai knew about this plan. If their Hidden Cloud Village wanted to unify the ninja world, they not only needed a sufficiently powerful high-end fighting force, but also a sufficient number of mid-to-low-level fighters.

The ninja force must be larger than the combined size of the other four major ninja villages, at least 100,000 people.

Currently, the only solution besides searching for commoners with ninja bloodlines in the Land of Lightning is intermarriage.

At least first, we need to transform all the families in the village into ninja families, so that newborns can have the talent to refine chakra.

But this will take time, and the current Shinobi World War must be resolved so that the ninja troops stationed here can return to their villages, so that they can work on creating humans.

"Within six months, we must drive the Konoha ninja army out of the Land of Hot Springs. Except for the Uchiha ninja, all other Konoha ninja must remain here."

Turning his gaze to the Konoha ninja army opposite him, Tamura Hao didn't want to linger here for too long.

He had some plans for this Ninja World War. The battlefield in the Land of Hot Springs was for him to get used to the battlefield initially. Afterwards, he would go to the other three battlefields to support the other three major ninja villages in the name of allies and kill the Konoha ninjas, especially the Hyuga clan ninjas.

Those are all top-quality nutrients!

Therefore, we can only stay here for a maximum of six months. Within six months, we must defeat the Konoha ninja army here, completely occupy the Land of Hot Springs, and complete the war mission of the Daimyo's Mansion in the Land of Lightning.

Moreover, the patience of the other three great ninja villages also has its limits; they cannot simply watch their Hidden Cloud Village fight and delay without suffering any losses.

"After all, it's a kaleidoscope; they'll understand."

Ye Yue Ai chuckled, explaining that the reason their Hidden Cloud Village had been able to hold out for so long was mainly because the opposing team was too strong.

Previously, there were four pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan, but after Fugaku Uchiha arrived, there were five pairs.

Everyone knows how powerful the Sharingan is, especially the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Facing five pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan and a group of Sharingan at once, any ninja village would be terrified.

While Tamura Hao and his group were observing and discussing, the high-ranking officials of the Konoha faction on the other side were also observing them.

"The Third Raikage was not detected, but we cannot rule out the possibility that they will suddenly appear again using that method."

A Hyuga branch family ninja assigned here reported with his Byakugan eyes wide open, but did not spot the Third Raikage.

"Where is the Jinchūriki?"

Uchiha Myōkyō asked gravely, "We need to pay more attention to the Jinchūriki of the Tailed Beasts in the Hidden Cloud Village, because the destructive power of the Tailed Beast Ball is too strong."

"It hasn't been found yet; it should still be inside the barrier at the camp."

The Hyuga ninja shook his head, not finding any Jinchuriki.

Their Byakugan power has its limits; if there is a strong barrier blocking it, they cannot see through it. Currently, the only barrier in the Cloud Village Ninja Camp that they have not been able to see through is that one, and the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki must be inside it.

"Lock down their jinchūriki as soon as possible."

With a heavy heart, Uchiha Myōkyō said that he still wanted to end the war here as soon as possible, and the best way was to use the Mangekyou Sharingan to control the enemy's Jinchūriki.

Only by annihilating all the ninja forces from Kumogakure on this front can they go to aid other fronts.

Otherwise, if this drags on any longer, the village will surely collapse.

He was also worried that the Hokage's side and the Senju clan would become further antagonistic, or even break apart.

If they lose this Ninja World War, the entire Hidden Leaf Village could be destroyed, and the Uchiha clan would naturally have little chance of survival.

This is the principle of mutual dependence; if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. We must prioritize the overall situation now.

The two sides did not stand still for long before Mifune came out and gave an opening speech, explaining the rules of the duel.

It's similar to the final match of the Chunin Exams, but without the restriction of stopping short of a fight.

After all, this is a battlefield, a war, not a child's play.

As the main force in the war, the Hidden Cloud Village sent out its first representative, a special Jonin.

Seeing the Cloud Ninja walking out from the opposite side, Uchiha Myōkyō looked towards the Sensory Ninja.

"His chakra isn't that much; he's only just reached the level of a Jonin."

After a series of sensory ninjas conducted various investigations and discussions, they determined that he was just an ordinary Jonin.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Myokyo glanced at Uchiha Fugaku beside him.

Previously, Fugaku Uchiha had privately told him about some agreements between the clan head and Kumogakure. This great battle was mainly for training the younger generation and did not advocate battlefield fighting.

It seems that Kumogakure is indeed doing this, but whether they have other plans behind the scenes is hard to say.

In short, we must be careful and take precautions.

"Ryosuke!"

After a moment's thought, Uchiha Myōkyō looked at a young man from his clan.

This is a junior member of the clan who has awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan, and is also a special Jonin.

The strength of Uchiha ninjas can generally be classified according to the level of their Sharingan. Awakening a one-tomoe Sharingan is roughly equivalent to the level of a Chunin, a two-tomoe Sharingan can fight against an ordinary Jonin, and a three-tomoe Sharingan is an elite Jonin.

In addition, they can also improve their strength by training in chakra nature transformation, just like other ninjas. With this double enhancement, their strength will be much greater than that of ordinary ninjas.

Upon receiving the order, Uchiha Ryosuke excitedly stepped out. The Uchiha clan had no fear of battles of equal strength.

"Are the Cloud Ninja destined to rise from weak to strong in their duels?"

Kurenai Yuhi's expression was solemn. She had arrived last night with some orders from the Hokage.

He didn't have much ill will towards the Uchiha clan, and was a neutral faction. He didn't want to get involved in the power struggles within the village. This time, he was only focused on the war, especially the Hidden Cloud Village, which was his opponent.

"That should be it. In the end, we'll probably need Shinku-senpai to step in."

Uchiha Myōkyō also looked grave. The Hidden Cloud Village was far stronger than them, not only in terms of numbers but also in the Jinchūriki who had mastered the Tailed Beast Ball.

In addition, the Third Raikage can also descend to join the battle at any time, which puts them at a great disadvantage.

Unfortunately, his eye power is still in the process of being refined, and he is temporarily unable to use the power of the Kaleidoscope.

Hopefully, the Hidden Cloud Village won't send too many powerful individuals this time, or things will get complicated.

It was quite difficult for an entire clan to fight against a major ninja village.

Fortunately, they also had Kurenai Yuhi on their side. Her illusion magic was very strong, and even using the Kaleidoscope was difficult to resist.

"I will take action."

Nodding in agreement, Kurenai Yuhi didn't mind going into battle; since she was on the battlefield, she naturally had to obey orders.

He would not refuse any order unless it was an order intended to harm him.

Not to mention that the main force in this duel was the Uchiha clan.

He remained silent, intently watching the battle between the Cloud Ninja and observing their fighting style.

The battle did not last long, ending in less than ten minutes. Uchiha Ryosuke emerged victorious, but he also suffered considerable losses and failed to kill his opponent.

The second Cloud Ninja entered the battle, but Uchiha Ryosuke unleashed a Great Fireball Technique and then decisively withdrew from the fight. Another Uchiha ninja stepped in to take over.

This is the rule of the duel, which allows for a series of battles. The winner can wait for the opponent to come out and then withdraw, thus allowing the winner to send out their own forces to deal with the opponent.

However, Konoha doesn't have much information about individual Cloud Ninjas, so they can't make effective countermeasures for the time being and can only collect intelligence first.

If the Hidden Cloud Village truly intends to use this war as a training ground for the younger generation, it will definitely hold more duels afterward.

So we went back and forth, fighting from morning until noon, and then from noon until afternoon.

The preparations in Yunyin Village were much more thorough, with drinking water and food provided.

In comparison, the Konoha ninja army was much more rigid, and everyone could only eat soldier rations to fill their stomachs.

"Kushina, vanilla!"

After all the young Jonin present had fought, Tamura Hao looked at Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kaoru beside him and signaled the two women to fight first.

"It's finally our turn."

The two women were very excited and quickly walked out.

The Konoha team on the opposite side frowned when they saw two people walk out, but their expressions softened when they saw that they were two young girls.

"It's those two little girls."

Yuhi Shinku recognized the two women and had a strong impression of them.

Not only are they both Uzumaki ninjas, but one also possesses a powerful summoning beast, and the other was the top scorer in the Chunin Exams.

Although the first place winner may have been somewhat undeserving, their ability is undeniable.

The two women who went into battle didn't waste any words. They each displayed three Vajra Seals from dozens of meters away and charged towards the Uchiha ninja with three tomoe on the battlefield, each unleashing a Rasengan.

Seeing the Rasengan and Adamantine Lock coming from different angles, and then looking at the two girls still fifty meters away, the Uchiha ninja wanted to curse.

His strength is immense; he is an absolute elite Jonin, almost at the Kage level.

Even so, it was impossible to attack an enemy more than fifty meters away, neither illusion nor ninjutsu could achieve that.

Moreover, the opponent unleashed a devastating attack right from the start, possessing not only the Adamantine Sealing Technique capable of sealing chakra, but also a chakra sphere at the top that was not to be trifled with.

Without the slightest hesitation, they decisively retreated.

"Uzumaki Ninja!"

This fighting style made Uchiha Myōkyō and the others' eyebrows twitch; the attack range was truly unfair.

"Even a Jonin can't handle this kind of fighting style."

Yuhi Shinku concluded that this was definitely not something a Jonin could handle.

Even sending two elite Jonin wouldn't work. Besides, they not only possess super strong attack and sealing abilities, but as members of the Uzumaki clan, they also have exceptional sensory abilities. It's impossible to sneak up and launch a surprise attack using Earth Release.

Uchiha Myokyo deeply agreed with this and then looked at Uchiha Baru.

"Baru!"

"Leave it to me!"

With a haughty sneer, Uchiha Baru stepped forward.

That kind of fighting style is very underhanded, but it's useless in front of my own eyes.

Uchiha Baru was a ruthless man of few words. After taking over, he immediately launched an offensive and secretly used the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Wind Release power swirled and rotated around his body and ninja sword, while Fire Release power formed a highly compressed flame blade, resembling a lightsaber.

After completing the empowerment, Uchiha Baru rushed towards the two women, using the speed enhanced by Wind Release and the super-strong perception of the Mangekyou Sharingan to dodge the Rasengan and Adamantine Sealing Barrier attacks one by one.

"Such powerful Fire Release and Wind Release techniques."

Tamura Hao exclaimed in amazement, "This Fire Release and Wind Release technique is incredibly powerful. It's as if he has mastered both the nature and form transformations to the extreme."

"According to that intelligence, he is indeed skilled in Wind Release and Fire Release, but he only awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan and became a Kage-level shikigami less than four years ago. How could he have mastered Nature Transformation to such a degree?"

Fukai was surprised. Although the intelligence report stated that this person was skilled in Wind Release, Fire Release, and Uchiha-style swordsmanship, this was still too strong.

"It should be related to his kaleidoscope eye technique; his eye power is constantly surging at this stage."

Tamura Hao was able to use Kaguya's Sharingan and Byakugan to perceive the opponent's physical condition. The power in those eyes was surging at the moment, which meant that he was using a dojutsu.

Although the specific effects of its eye technique are still unknown, it is most likely to be a ninjutsu amplification. It is just unknown whether it can only enhance the power of Fire Release and Wind Release, or whether it can amplify all attributes.

Regardless of which type it is, he's determined to have this eye technique.

I'm currently training in wind attribute nature transformation. If I could obtain this kind of eye technique to assist me, it would definitely make things twice as easy, and it might even help me fuse with Swift Escape.

Thinking about this fills my heart with greed.

At this moment, with the enhancement of his eye technique, Uchiha Baru had already arrived twenty meters in front of the two women, a rather dangerous distance from which many ninjutsu could strike.

Upon reaching this distance, Uchiha Baru stopped advancing. While continuing to dodge the Rasengan and Adamantine Chains, he formed hand seals with both hands, one Wind Release and one Fire Release, which complemented each other and amplified their power.

The enhancement of the pupil technique allowed this method to be successfully performed, and it also greatly simplified the hand seals, making the casting speed faster.

"Mixed Ninjutsu: Great Fire Assault!"

A spiraling pillar of fire shot out rapidly from its mouth. The wind-style technique amplified the speed and power of the flames, creating an extremely high temperature and even containing explosive properties.

Although it is only a fusion of two B-rank ninjutsu, its power is no less than that of an A-rank ninjutsu.

It has a fast release speed and a long attack range, making it quite practical.

Most importantly, under the control of the pupil technique, this pillar of fire can turn, making it impossible for the opponent to defend against. I have used this move to kill many opponents in the past.

At the same time that Uchiha Baru was forming hand seals, Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Vanilla also unleashed their second-stage killing moves.

(End of this chapter)