The Uchiha Clan's Sun

Although they were fleeing, this routed Iwagakure army still moved with great discipline, constantly on guard against attacks from the flanks and rear!

This defeated Iwagakure army was clearly organized!

"Quick! Everyone, give it your all! Once we're out of this forest, we'll reach the Heavenly Bridge! After that, the sea will be wide enough for fish to leap and the sky high enough for birds to fly! The Konoha pursuers will never be able to catch us again!"

"Furthermore, according to the latest news, Lord Tsuchikage has arrived at Kannabi Bridge with reinforcements and will join us in less than two hours!"

"Then we won't have to run away, and we might even be able to turn the tables and kill all the Konoha ninjas who are chasing us! Avenge our fallen comrades!"

"Let's all give it our all!"

As one of the Iwagakure leader ninjas advanced, he shouted loudly to boost the morale of the routed Iwagakure army.

Although the Iwagakure ninjas were exhausted, the words of the Iwagakure leader gave them a boost, causing a surge of power to burst forth from their bodies once again!

Who wants to die if they can live?

Hearing that hope was within reach, these Iwagakure ninjas used every ounce of their strength!

'Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh'

Just then, several figures suddenly rushed upstream from the front and quickly arrived beside the leader of the Iwagakure ninja. They said anxiously, "Captain, we've spotted Konoha ninjas near the Tenchi Bridge. They've already set up a defensive position and are waiting for us to get there!"

This is a reconnaissance squad from Iwagakure, sent out by the Iwagakure leader to scout ahead. They have returned to report after discovering the situation.

Perhaps because they were in a hurry, the reconnaissance team ninjas spoke a little loudly, causing a stir among the many Iwagakure ninjas nearby, which then caused a huge uproar!

"Konoha ninja? Weren't they behind us? Why are they in front?"

"It's over, it's all over, our escape route is blocked!"

"Heh, not only is our retreat blocked, but we're also surrounded by Konoha ninjas from behind and to our sides. We're surrounded!"

......

The news of their retreat being blocked spread quickly throughout the entire team, and the morale of the defeated Iwagakure troops, which had just been boosted, collapsed instantly, leaving them in despair!

The leader of the Iwagakure ninja glared fiercely at the scout ninja in front of him, but still suppressed his anger and continued to ask, "Have you found out exactly how many people they have? Was the Tenchi Bridge destroyed?"

“There are at least five hundred Konoha ninja on the other side, a force of ten battalions! As for the Tenchi Bridge…” The reconnaissance ninja shook his head and said, “I took a look from afar, it shouldn’t have been destroyed yet!”

The leader of the Iwagakure ninja was overjoyed upon hearing this, as long as the Tenchi Bridge had not been destroyed!

Once the Tiandi Bridge is destroyed, they will have to find other ways to cross the canyon, which is tens or even hundreds of meters wide!

With a force of over a thousand, it's impossible to know how much time it will take them, which will definitely be enough for the Konoha ninjas chasing behind to catch up!

As for why Konoha didn't blow up the Tenchi Bridge, the leader of the Iwagakure ninjas had a vague idea: Konoha wanted to use a way out to break down the Iwagakure ninjas' determination to fight to the death!

From yesterday until now, Konoha has been using this method to undermine their morale, making them run like stray dogs chasing after the bones Konoha released, gradually being devoured by Konoha!

Even though they knew about Konoha's plan, the leader of the Iwagakure ninja had no way to deal with it and could only bite the bait that Konoha had put out!

After all, Konoha's bait was their only way out!

The Iwagakure ninja shouted with a grim expression, "You all heard that! The Tenchi Bridge hasn't been destroyed yet! There are only five hundred Konoha ninja ahead! But we have over a thousand here! The situation isn't as bad as you think!"

"We have an overwhelming numerical advantage. As long as we can break through the Konoha ninja's defenses, we can survive!"

"Think of your parents! Think of your wives and children! They are all waiting for you to come back to the village!"

"Whether you wait to die here or fight for your own survival is up to you!"

The Iwagakure ninja used a counter-strategy. Although Konoha could use a way out to break the Iwagakure ninja's determination to fight to the death, they could also use that way out to ignite the Iwagakure ninja's fighting spirit!

"Let's fight those bastards from Konoha! We're going to die anyway, might as well give it our all!"

"Even if I die, I'll drag a Konoha bastard down with me!"

"Yes! I'll risk it! I absolutely cannot die! My wife is waiting for me at home!"

......

Morale is available!

Seeing this, the leader of the Iwagakure ninja nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand, saying, "Full speed ahead! Target: Tenchi Bridge!"

Chapter 231 Lamb to the Slaughter!

"The Iwagakure ninjas are coming! Everyone, hold on! We just need to hold out for half an hour! Just half an hour is enough!"

Before the Tianchi Bridge, the leader of the Konoha border garrison, who had rushed there, was sweating profusely as he watched the figures rapidly approaching through the jungle. He shouted loudly.

The Konoha ninjas inside the position were all focused to the extreme; whether they could achieve final victory in this war depended on their performance!

Soon, thousands of Iwagakure ninjas rushed out of the jungle, their expressions ferocious as they roared and charged towards the Konoha ninja's position.

Even from dozens of meters away, all sorts of throwing ninja tools, such as kunai, senbon, and shuriken, were launched towards the enemy's position in a barrage, with many burning explosive tags mixed in!

However, having already fought several battles without acquiring any supplies, the Iwagakure ninjas clearly had fewer ninja tools than the defending Konoha ninjas. The two sides were locked in a stalemate for only a short while before the Iwagakure ninjas' attack frequency dropped, and they were completely suppressed by the Konoha defenders!

Even though they suffered heavy casualties, the Iwagakure ninjas seemed unaffected and instead accelerated their charge towards the Konoha positions!

All the Iwagakure ninja knew that several Konoha pursuit teams were following them. They had no way out; retreating meant certain death!

Their only way out was the Tenchi Bridge behind the Konoha garrison!

Therefore, they had no way to retreat but to move forward!

The distance of tens of meters was covered in an instant. After suffering heavy casualties, the Iwagakure ninjas and the Konoha ninjas in the defensive positions clashed and fought each other to the death!

"What a madman!"

The leader of the Konoha ninjas was also taken aback by the Iwagakure ninjas' madness. Such a fearless charge was as if they weren't using ninjas as ninjas at all!

However, this also illustrates the importance of their mission!

The more anxious the Iwagakure ninjas became, the more determined they were to block them here!

"Contract the defensive perimeter! Retreat to the second line of defense in an orderly fashion! Don't let a single Iwagakure ninja get through!"

After defeating an Iwagakure ninja with a single blow, the Konoha leader immediately retreated while shouting commands.

The Konoha leader misjudged the current situation and set up a very large defensive position, with the Tenchi Bridge as the center, forming concentric circles of defenses, intending to block the Iwagakure ninja layer by layer and buy time.

But he didn't expect the Iwagakure ninjas' attack to be a chaotic charge that didn't care about casualties at all, and they immediately engaged in a fierce battle with them!

If this continues, the Iwagakure ninjas will not give them a chance to block them layer by layer. As soon as they tear a hole in the defense line, they will rush over in a swarm!

So instead of doing that, they should take advantage of the fact that they can still hold their ground and proactively shrink their defensive line!

The Heavenly Bridge was originally just a small bridge that could only allow a dozen or so people to cross side by side. By shrinking their defensive line, they could actually use the terrain advantage to weaken the Iwagakure ninja's numerical advantage and reduce their defensive pressure!

As the Konoha leader ninja had predicted, after they tightened their defensive lines, the Iwagakure ninjas' offensive was reduced by more than half. At the same time, they only needed to deal with the attacks of a few dozen Iwagakure ninjas. The other Iwagakure ninjas were anxious, but they were blocked by the Iwagakure ninjas in front of them and could only fill in and attack after the Iwagakure ninjas in front of them died!

As soon as a Konoha ninja in front of the position died, another Konoha ninja immediately took his place, and for a time the Iwagakure ninja were firmly blocked in front of the position!

Seeing this, the leader of the Konoha ninja breathed a slight sigh of relief. Judging from the current situation, his five hundred men could easily hold out for three hours, let alone half an hour!

"Captain, Iwagakure ninjas are coming around from the rock walls on both sides!"

Just then, a Konoha ninja noticed the unusual movement within the Iwagakure ninja group and shouted a warning.

Upon hearing this, the leader of the Konoha ninja turned around and saw that many Iwagakure ninjas, after being blocked by their comrades in front, began to change their routes, jumping into the canyon and attacking along the cliff face!

Ninjas are not ordinary people. Those dangerous cliffs and precipices that are insurmountable barriers for ordinary people are as easy as walking on flat ground for ninjas!

One by one, the Iwagakure ninjas imbued their feet with chakra and ran close to the cliff face, attacking the rear of Konoha's position!

"Don't panic! Proceed according to Emergency Plan Number Two! Cross the bridge!"

The leader of the Konoha ninjas had naturally anticipated this, and with a wave of his arm and a shout, he led the retreat towards the other side of the bridge!

At the other end of the bridge, there was also a defensive position they had built long ago, and it was their most solid defensive position!

For most ninjas, crossing a canyon nearly 100 meters wide is not an easy task. The fastest way is to use the Heaven and Earth Bridge, then descend the cliff face to the bottom of the canyon, cross the rushing river, and then climb back up the cliff face!

However, the latter method is not only too time-consuming, but once attacked, one can only be passively attacked, and the difficulty of defense and evasion will be greatly increased!

Therefore, even ninjas would not choose the second way to cross the canyon if there is a bridge!

This is the biggest advantage for the Konoha defenders!

After retreating to the other side of the Tiandi Bridge, their next focus of defense will be the nearly ten-meter-wide bridge surface and the few scattered ninjas attempting to ambush from the cliff face!

However, the ten-meter-wide bridge can limit the numerical advantage of the Iwagakure ninja to the greatest extent. And when facing Iwagakure ninja who choose to attack from the cliff, the Konoha defenders can also gain an overwhelming advantage by taking advantage of the high ground!

A dozen minutes later, both Konoha and Iwagakure were in a frenzy of fighting. Konoha's 500 men had suffered more than half casualties, while Iwagakure's casualties were nearly double those of Konoha's!

Blood stained the land, and everywhere there were severed limbs and corpses with their eyes wide open in death!

This also shows how intense the battle was!

Just then, a signal flare rose from behind the routed Iwagakure army, and all four Konoha pursuit teams were in position. Thousands of Konoha ninjas charged out from behind the routed Iwagakure army!

The morale of the Konoha defenders soared, while the routed Iwagakure troops were plunged into despair!

The outcome is decided! Under the leadership of four Kage-level powerhouses—Uchiha Jin, Uchiha Obito, Namikaze Minato, and Orochimaru—the hastily organized defensive line of the Iwagakure army collapsed instantly, and the hundreds of surviving Iwagakure ninjas were like hundreds of lambs to the slaughter!

In less than half an hour, with Minato Namikaze instantly killing the last Iwagakure ninja, the war came to a complete end!

Chapter 232 All the problems boil down to one word: 'money'!

"We couldn't find any trace of Huang Tu. He must have taken advantage of the main force drawing our attention to break out with a small group! He wasn't involved in this war at all!"

"In addition, a small number of Iwagakure ninja did not fight to the death and escaped by using the river to bypass our blockade!"

"There aren't many people in this group; it shouldn't exceed one hundred!"

After the battle, Uchiha Jin, Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Itachi, Namikaze Minato, and Orochimaru stood under a large tree watching the Konoha ninjas clean up the battlefield. Hyuga Hizashi, after getting a preliminary understanding of the situation, also came over and spoke.

Huang Tu is no ordinary ninja. He is not only a pillar of Iwagakure but also the son of the current Tsuchikage, Onoki. His status and position far exceed those of ordinary Iwagakure ninjas, making him a key target of Konoha's attention.

It's just that Huang Tu must have guessed Konoha's strategic intentions, so he didn't retreat towards the Land of Grass with the defeated Iwagakure army from the beginning, which is how he escaped!

Uchiha Jin clicked his tongue slightly and sighed, "Although Huang Tu is not a Bloodstained Ninja, his Earth Release ninjutsu has reached its peak. He withstood one of my arrows and didn't die. In the end, he even used a Rock Clone to play a trick on me. He is indeed very troublesome!"

Previously, on the second hill outside Kikyo Mountain Fortress, Uchiha Jin originally intended to kill Huang Tu with an arrow, but Huang Tu used Earth Release: Hardening Technique to avoid most of the damage. Although he was seriously injured, he still managed to stay alive and used his Rock Clone Technique to attract Uchiha Jin's attention while using Earth Release: Earth Submersion to escape underground.

Uchiha Jin was still directing the battle on the second mountain, so he didn't pursue them, which allowed Huang Tu to escape!

Uchiha Jin originally thought that this annihilation battle could continue the unfinished battle, but he did not expect that Huang Tu would use the remnants of Iwagakure as bait to escape from the battlefield, even avoiding the surveillance of White Zetsu. He was truly cunning!

Minato Namikaze chuckled and said, "We've already achieved enough this time, so one more piece of yellow earth won't make a difference. Let everyone prepare to evacuate; reinforcements from Iwagakure will be arriving soon!"

Uchiha Jin also looked at Hyuga Hizashi beside him and said, "Tell everyone not to clean up the battlefield. We don't need that stuff. Let's take the wounded and the bodies of our comrades and retreat as soon as possible!"

Hinata Hinata nodded and turned to go back to make the arrangements.

As Uchiha Jin watched Hyuga Hizashi's departing figure, he also showed a thoughtful expression, somewhat absent-minded.

Seeing this, Minato Namikaze smiled and said, "Jin, you and that Huang Tu probably don't have any deep-seated hatred, so there's no need to be so concerned about him and insist on killing him completely!"

"No, I have no intention of killing him right now!" Uchiha Jin shook his head and said, "The results of the battle are indeed not much different from that of Huang Tu, but Huang Tu's role is not limited to that!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present looked at Uchiha Jin.

Uchiha Jin didn't keep them in suspense and explained, "The Battle of Kikyo Mountain has had a huge impact, and Konoha Village urgently needs a Hokage to step forward and take charge!"

"So after we go back this time, the village will probably start electing the Fourth Hokage!"

"And the troubles that the Fourth Hokage will face after taking office are considerable!"

"Internally, the Fourth Hokage needs to properly handle a series of issues, such as the compensation for the ninjas who died in this war, the subsidies for those who were injured, the reconstruction of damaged houses in the village, and the deployment of defense lines in several locations in the Land of Fire."

"As for external matters, the Fourth Hokage also needs to handle peace talks with Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and even Kirigakure!"

"The losses in each village this time are considerable, so fighting is definitely out of the question, but a ceasefire agreement is not so easy to sign!"

"This is arguably the first thing the Fourth Hokage has done on behalf of the village since taking office. If it's not handled properly, it could severely damage his prestige!"

Upon hearing this, Minato Namikaze understood what King Uchiha was trying to say, and instantly felt a headache coming on!

He hadn't really thought that much about it before, but after Uchiha Jin reminded him, he realized that these were probably problems he would have to deal with!

Just hearing about these questions made Minato Namikaze break out in a cold sweat, and his mood became somewhat heavy!

Orochimaru smiled and said, "King Jin's insight is indeed sharp! We now have the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki as a hostage, so we don't need to worry about the negotiations with Kumogakure."

"And since Sunagakure is weak, Konoha's resources can easily subdue them!"

"As for Kirigakure, they're isolated overseas and still operating under a closed policy. Whether or not we can negotiate is another matter!"

"Only Iwagakure is a big problem! Their resources are not much weaker than Konoha's, and we don't have any leverage over them, so negotiating with them will definitely be the most difficult!"