Naruto: From Novice to Grave

Chapter 95 - Battle of Yuren Village Part 095: Face the Dog Head!

Before Konoha launched its attack, key figures from Yugakure had already gathered in a secret room. After all, they were the ones who secretly sold information about Kumogakure, so they knew best what was going on.

The survival strategy of a small ninja village is to be adaptable and flexible, able to sway with the situation, but never to offend any major power.

Now, it's time for them to make a choice again.

The leader of Tangren Village is usually not the strongest person in the village, but a respected person elected by the villagers.

Therefore, the leader's strength might be that of a Chunin or Genin, or even an ordinary person.

Currently, the incumbent leader is an elderly man with gray hair. He said to the strongest Jonin in the village, "Chizo, keep our people in check and don't let them get involved in the battle. Let the Cloud Ninja take whatever they want; don't make unnecessary sacrifices."

Chizō didn't object, but still worriedly asked, "Chief, is this really a good idea? Won't it offend Konoha?"

The leader shook his head: "No, you don't understand the Third Hokage's style. He won't blame us for not participating in the battle. On the contrary, if we assist Konoha, we will not only not gain any benefits, but we will also offend Kumogakure. We will not be able to withstand their retaliation."

"But some of our comrades are already planning to break through with the Cloud Ninja. Should I step in and stop them?"

"No need, let them go. They're fools who can't see the situation clearly. They still dream of joining the Hidden Cloud Village. They never understand that they're just cannon fodder for the Hidden Cloud Village."

"But they are, after all, fellow villagers!"

The leader sighed, "Chizo, we have to give up when we have to. This is the helplessness of our little ninja village. Perhaps we should change our development path after this war."

I've figured it out. It's impossible for a small ninja village to develop its strength. The five great ninja villages won't allow it, and the Daimyo's funding is decreasing year by year.

Perhaps, being powerless would be better than being stuck in this limbo; at least we wouldn't face such a dilemma. After the war, let's cut ties with those lunatics who believe in evil cults. After so many years of experimentation yielding nothing, there's no need to support them anymore!

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

Ninjas move very quickly; it's not like they're moving house and have to pack a lot of things. They just need to carry enough ninja tools.

As for valuables, the village of Tang is so poor they're practically selling their pants. Anything valuable, along with resources like ninjutsu, has already been packed up and taken back to the village.

The Cloud Ninja's dark-skinned style is just that direct, possessing a top-tier golden talent rarely seen in the ninja world: zero-yuan purchase.

They're simply bandits—worse than even the most notorious bandits.

After receiving the order, all the Cloud Ninja quickly gathered together, including a group of Hot Spring Ninja who were determined to follow them to the bitter end.

Teoshi glanced at them and thought to himself, "Good dog. Since these people are willing to come along, that's for the best. I'll make good use of them."

"Set off"

At a command, the Cloud Ninjas charged eastward towards Tang Village like wild wolves released from their cages, their large numbers overwhelming the unsuspecting villagers who thought these dark-skinned barbarians were up to something big again.

Some people saw their own children following along and even loudly asked them if they wanted to come home for dinner that night.

They might come back, but if these people can still eat when they do, then it's like they've come back from the dead.

Those who followed the Cloud Ninja were fed up with the weakness of their own villages and were determined to follow the powerful Cloud Ninja and become citizens of a great nation.

Yugakure Village wasn't large. After the troops left the village, Theoshi looked at the terrain outside and said to Troy, "We'll split into two groups. I'll lead a group of our companions and the Yugakure ninja eastward, and you lead the rest of our companions northeastward. Don't take the main road."

Troy did not object: "Alright, then be careful. I'll be waiting for you at the outpost by the sea."

"Idiot, don't go to the beach. The backup plan we left there has definitely been destroyed by Konoha. Are you going to take people into the sea to feed the fish?"

"Find an opportunity to break through to the north. The deployment of Konoha's main force in the north can't be kept secret for long; the Raikage will definitely come to meet us once he finds out."

"I understand, you must keep up."

"Don't worry, I won't die that easily."

Once they had made their decision, the two immediately split into two groups and broke out of the encirclement separately.

After clearing out the outer defenses, the Konoha siege force east of Yugakure quickly concentrated and advanced towards Yugakure.

They had to concentrate because Tangren Village was located in a special terrain, in a valley surrounded by a ring of towering rocky mountains. The steep mountains on all sides were natural barriers, and the narrow valleys between the mountains were the roads that led Tangren Village to the outside world.

The choice of this village location is comparable to that of Takigakure and Hoshigakure.

Most small ninja villages are like this: unable to build large-scale anti-intrusion sensing barriers, they can only rely on the advantages of nature to improve the security of their own villages.

Ninjas could certainly climb high mountains, but that would be a waste of both time and energy, and I doubt the Cloud Ninjas would do that.

Higashino Makoto's squad followed in the middle of the column, charging towards Yunin Village, and soon saw the densely packed enemy rushing towards them in the distance.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. The enemy outnumbered them several times over, and both sides were on a mountain path. This battle was going to be tough.

But they must hold on. If they can hold on for a while, the main force from the south will come and launch an attack from the enemy's rear. Then everything will be alright.

Now that they were close to Yugakure, Higashino's senses naturally detected the Cloud Ninja's plan to split into two groups, but he couldn't worry about that now. His Konoha comrades heading south from the north would handle those people. What he needed to consider now was how to hold off the opponents in front of him.

When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins—what a load of rubbish!

Even if they win, their side will suffer heavy casualties. They must find favorable terrain for a counterattack.

If not, then create existing terrain.

Just before the two sides were about to collide, Higashino Masamichi, who was running, said, "Teacher, please protect them. I'll go ahead and make a favorable battlefield for everyone."

Without waiting for a reply, he soared into the sky, propelled by wind-attribute chakra, and flew rapidly, overtaking everyone and landing in front of them, while simultaneously entering Sage Mode.

After landing, he slapped his hands on the ground.

[Immortal Technique - Earth Escape - Earth Flow Wall Great Wall Technique]

A tall, thick rock wall rose up between the two sides, as if a majestic pass had been built in an instant in the valley.

The side of the city wall facing Konoha had several ramps with steps built for our personnel to climb up and defend the city. There were even parapets built on top of them.

The Cloud Ninja's intentions were sinister; not only was there no slope, but the walls were also covered with dense, sharp earth spikes.

If those Cloud Ninja brats are so capable, why don't they attach chakra to their feet and climb up?

Higashino Makoto's mastery of ninjutsu transformation techniques is fully demonstrated in this earth-escape technique; he even had the leisure to carve a dog's head of Rocky the Husky in the center of the wall as a satire.

It's not very harmful, but it's extremely insulting; even Kakashi said it was good.

The Cloud Ninja Commander Teoshi was disgusted by this ninjutsu. What the hell was that bastard who came up with this despicable ninjutsu?

But now that we've come this far, we have no choice but to keep pushing forward.

"Lightning Release, explosive tags ready! Blow up that wall, kill all the Konoha ninja and charge!"

He shouted loudly, then quietly retreated, shielding everyone in front of him.

The Konoha ninjas were much happier, cheerfully climbing onto the wall and bombarding the enemies charging below from their elevated position.

In an instant, explosive tags and ninjutsu intertwined to create an absolute death zone between the two sides.

At this point, the benefits of profound chakra nature training become apparent. Moreover, this is a sage technique, not so easily destroyed, not even by lightning or earth.

The earth and stones on the city wall fell down in a rush, but it just wouldn't collapse. The Cloud Ninja bombarded the wall relentlessly, suffering heavy casualties in the front ranks, but they could only smooth out the soil spikes on the wall.

Surprisingly, the dog's head was intact, suggesting that Higashino really intended to strengthen the defenses here.

Subsequently, with their numerical advantage, the enemy used explosive tags and ninjutsu to suppress the Konoha ninjas and began to charge up the leveled city walls and the mountains on both sides.

What's outrageous is that those charging ahead were all wearing headbands made of hot springs. They led the charge, fighting bravely, as if they wanted to burn everything for the Cloud Village, which they had never been to before, and use their own flesh and blood to pave a path for the noble Cloud Ninja.

The Konoha ninja hid behind the parapet and fought back desperately, taking advantage of the terrain. However, ninjas are not ordinary human soldiers, and the parapet's defensive capabilities were only so-so. It would shatter after being hit by a few more explosive tags.

Higashino Makoto moved along the city wall, the wind blades of his Shadowless Sword striking with the precision of a sniper rifle, killing those opponents who tried to rush up.

The two sides were crammed into the valley passage, fighting a fierce and bloody battle against the high and thick earthen walls. Every second, someone screamed and fell, but the attacking side naturally suffered greater casualties.

Tsukikage Kumo and the Hyuga branch family Jonin in charge of the command were truly witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime event; they never expected to see a city wall siege and defense battle in the ninja world in their lifetime.

That's pretty amazing.

Fortunately, time was on Konoha's side. Not long after the battle, Konoha's main force, which had come from the south, broke out of Yugakure.

The enemy, caught in the middle, was suddenly sandwiched between two sides and began to desperately try to break through from the high mountains on both sides.

Konoha ninjas only need to launch ninjutsu and ninja tools upwards, but enemies climbing the mountain have to consider many more things. They need to increase their speed, pay attention to chakra consumption, and avoid dangers behind them.

So, in despair, the Tang ninja gave up their dream of becoming citizens of the five great nations and chose to kneel and surrender. But they forgot that the Yun ninja beside them were not good-tempered.

These savage black-clad bastards, determined to fight to the death, first cut down their surrendered comrades from the Hot Springs Ninja, and then launched a desperate charge against the Konoha ninjas on both sides.

They decided that even if they died, they would take one or two Konoha bastards with them, especially the guy who created this disgusting earth-style technique.

But soon, not only did they fail to find the culprit who used Earth Release, they were also overwhelmed by the wave of Konoha ninja surrounding them.

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