Naruto: From Novice to Grave

Chapter 96 - Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are! (The text abruptly shifts to a seemingly unrelated topic about flying thunder gods.)

The battle is over; clean up the battlefield.

Those who died, their bodies were disposed of; those who survived—they were finished off with a fatal blow, whether they were from the Tang Ninja or the Yun Ninja.

This isn't just Konoha being cruel; the ninja world is like this.

You can extract information from dead people too. In post-war negotiations, you can simply hand over the ninja corpses to the other side. If you offer a living person, they wouldn't dare take it.

Ninjas who have been taken prisoner cannot hold their heads high when they return to the village. They not only face suspicion from the higher-ups but also criticism from the villagers, making their lives worse than death.

This is different from the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. Back then, the group of Iwa ninja who surrendered were handed over to Konoha because Onoki slid down in time, and Konoha also needed them to join forces with the Kumo ninja. So, under the insistence of the Third Hokage, the handover was completed in a short time. They were not interrogated by Konoha, so there was no issue of loyalty.

Hiashi Hyuga stood in the center of the battlefield, clutching his newly won victory with great satisfaction. He glanced at the half-broken city wall lying across the valley not far away and asked, "Whose ninjutsu is this? Quite ingenious."

The Hyuga clan Jonin leading the eastern blocking force said, "Clan head, it was the ninjutsu of the Kumomi class Chunin Higashino Makoto. Thanks to him for coming up with this method, we created favorable terrain, greatly reducing our casualties and delaying our arrival until the clan head arrived."

"Oh, is that the hero who defeated the Mist Ninja? No wonder he's Konoha's top genius of the new generation; his ninjutsu abilities are truly enviable. I heard he and Tokuma are on good terms, is that right?"

"Yes, Master, he and Tokuma were classmates, and they have been in frequent contact since graduation."

"Yes, that's a good thing. Remember to tell Tokuma to cherish this bond."

Hiashi Hyuga was secretly pleased with himself: "Hmph, what you, Fugaku Uchiha, can do, I, Hiashi Hyuga, can do as well."

"Let nature take its course, Lord. I believe Tokuma will handle things well. The problem now is that the Cloud Ninja here are only a part of them; the main force has broken through to the northeast. Should we pursue them?"

"Of course we should. Let the Tangren Village handle things here. Just leave a group of people to keep an eye on them, and we'll immediately regroup and give chase."

"yes!"

On the other side, Loki, the two-headed dog, stood in front of the earthen wall, looking at the dog's head on the wall with great satisfaction. He glanced at his companion and asked, "Whose ninjutsu is this? It's quite ingenious."

Hyuga Tokuma replied without hesitation, "It must be real ninjutsu. Only he has the ability to create such a big scene."

Inuzuka Meiko rubbed her forehead, utterly speechless, cursing Higashino Makoto for sculpting Rocky's head; now he'd have another excuse to flirt with other female dogs.

It's certain that today's battle will be described differently in its words, because Konoha won because its imposing image intimidated the enemy.

Why can't her ninja dog be as steady and reliable as Inuzuka Tsurugi's Kuromaru?

At this moment, Higashino Makoto walked over and said smugly, "How about it, you idiot? I'm pretty good, aren't I? It won't be long before the whole of Konoha is talking about you."

"I already told you I'm not called Erha—fine, since you're being so kind, call me whatever you want, I forgive you."

Hmm, not bad ninjutsu, you can use it more often in the future. Remember, next time you need to sculpt me even more imposingly, make my mouth open wider, make my upper and lower canines longer, and make my eyes sharp! My fur must be bristling!"

This damn dog has so many demands; Higashino Makoto seemed to sense the malice coming from the client.

Hmm—he worked as a graphic designer in his past life, and the demands of his clients once drove him to the brink of collapse.

At that moment, an adult ninja from the Hyuga branch family suddenly appeared in a flash: "Chunin Higashino Makoto, Lord Hiashi requests your presence."

"Oh well."

When he followed this person to Hiashi Hyuga, Higashino Makoto met the Crown Princess's father.

Meanwhile, the other three members of the Yunjian class were also there.

He's exactly like his brother Hizashi; they're truly twins.

Hiashi asked with gentle kindness, "Higashino-kun, I heard that your sensory ninjutsu is also excellent. Did you also discover that the Cloud Ninjas have split into two groups?"

"Yes, Lord Hiashi, before the battle, a group of Cloud Ninja broke through to the northeast. The leader should be the Magnet Release ninja Troy."

Furthermore, the Cloud Ninja commander who attacked our side also fled halfway through the battle, seemingly heading towards regrouping with Troy.

"Oh, really? Is he still within your perception range?"

"Here I am."

"Very good. Pass on my orders to form a pursuit force mainly composed of the Cloud-Seeing Class. We can't let those guys get away."

"Yes!" N

In fact, given the speed of a ninja, Teoshi, who had fled halfway, and several of his trusted subordinates had long since escaped Higashino's perception range.

Then why is he still able to sense it?

This involves the range perception and specific object perception in sensory ninjutsu.

Range perception is a precise search within a certain radius, covering a large area at a short distance, resulting in accurate positioning.

The perception distance for a specific object is much greater, but there are limitations. Not only is the perception vague, but one must also be familiar with the other party's chakra fluctuations, and the amount of chakra of the person being perceived cannot be too small.

Tobirama Senju, who was resurrected a second time using the Impure World Reincarnation technique, was able to sense Madara Uchiha on the battlefield while he was in Konoha, which is a case of specific object perception.

Tobirama was extremely familiar with Madara's chakra, having memorized it since he was a teenager when he followed his older brother on a date with Madara.

He initially thought he had met his sister-in-law, but it turned out he had encountered the evil Uchiha.

Although Higashino Makoto can't be as outrageous as the Second Hokage yet, Teoshi hasn't run far, and he's a Jonin himself, so he can still vaguely sense him.

Just as only the main family and a few branch families of the Hyuga clan can focus their vision to see further, not all sensory ninjas possess specific sensory abilities.

Unfortunately, Higashino really knows how to use it; it just goes to show that natural energy is much more useful than ordinary chakra.

Led by the Cloud Village team, a large number of Konoha ninjas traversed the mountains and forests of the Land of Hot Springs, pursuing the enemy in the northeast direction.

Moonlight Cloud, along with three others and several Hyuga clan Jonin, protected him.

Maintaining specific perception weakens the warning of dangers around you. In order to prevent accidentally jumping into an enemy's explosive rune trap, the Byakugan must be used.

Hiashi Hyuga wouldn't dare let anything happen to Shin Higashino.

He not only helped Fugaku Uchiha achieve great things, but also became a lively little hero. If something happened to him, how could he hold his head up when he went back to see Fugaku?

Halfway there, Higashino suddenly changed direction and headed in a slightly northwest direction.

"Huh? Shouldn't they be fleeing towards the sea?" asked Yugao Uzuki curiously.

Moonlight Gale quickly understood: "The Cloud Ninja aren't stupid. Seeing us appear from the east, they must have guessed that their backup plan has failed. Their current objective is probably to retreat to the Cloud Village's main base in the northwest."

"But didn't this just run into the defenses of our headquarters?"

"That's still better than being stuck in the sea feeding fish."

Seeing the old man, Moonlight Cloud was very pleased: "Swift Wind's analysis was correct."

A moment later, Higashino suddenly stopped and said to Hyuga Hiashi, who was catching up behind him, "Lord Hiashi, the enemy has encountered our Konoha defense line and is trying to break through with all their might."

"Is that so? All troops, accelerate and head to provide support!"

But by the time they arrived at the battlefield, it was too late.

It wasn't that all the Konoha ninja who were blocking the way died, but rather that someone arrived faster than them.

Konoha ninjas who arrived at the scene threw a large number of uniquely shaped kunai onto the battlefield, which were easily dodged by the Cloud Ninjas. However, these people were not happy to have dodged the attack; on the contrary, they were all filled with fear.

What's the design of this kunai?

Ximada is finished.

Sure enough, a flash of yellow light appeared on the battlefield, and a young figure shone brightly among the enemies.

What followed was a flurry of dazzling maneuvers that left the Cloud Ninja shivering. Then, a slight chill ran down his neck, and he was gone.

What does it mean to mow down enemies like an unparalleled mow? This is it!

With his space-time ninjutsu combined with his unparalleled nerve reaction speed, he doesn't need fancy ninjutsu to get close to the enemy; a simple swipe of a kunai will suffice.

How should an ordinary ninja fight Minato Namikaze? They have no chance. They don't have the ability, you know? Just wait to die, there's no hope.

The Konoha ninjas who followed were like a group of onlookers, their job being to just cheer and say "666".

"It's Lord Minato."

"Those damned Cloud Ninjas are doomed."

"As expected of the Yellow Flash of Konoha."

Although the Third Shinobi World War caused Konoha immense suffering, it also gave birth to a superstar who became famous throughout the shinobi world.

He almost single-handedly instilled fear in Iwagakure and Kumogakure, and even persuaded Onoki to order Iwagakure ninjas to abandon their missions and not be held accountable if they encountered the Yellow Flash. This left the Fourth Raikage with a lasting impression of him even more than a decade later.

He was none other than Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash. But some refused to accept this defeat. Magnet Release ninja Troy, holding his uniquely shaped square shuriken in both hands, began tactical micro-management.