Chapter 290: Onoki: I Don't Understand!
At the command post on the Land of Lightning front, when Kakashi received the battle report from the intelligence personnel, he was also a bit stunned. Even he had not expected that Sasuke could pull off such a big move with just the 800 remnants of a regiment.
However, Kakashi didn't stay idle. Taking advantage of the Cloud's heavy losses, the frontline troops launched a major offensive, directly invading deep into the territory of the Land of Lightning.
On the other hand, Shisui's side encountered a bit of trouble. After all, with the Cloud Village suffering such a heavy blow, their forces in the Land of Water had to withdraw. Therefore, Terumi Mei could only further shrink her defensive line. This, in turn, made things a bit difficult for Shisui, who had taken over the Water-Fire Garrison.
After all, it was territory that the other side had voluntarily given up. It was hard to justify not accepting it. But accepting it conflicted with Konoha's strategic goal of consuming the effective forces of the Land of Water on this battlefield.
However, after Takagi Shōban, inflated by his capture of a large area of territory, took the initiative to lead the Mist's army on an offensive, and was then ambushed by Terumi Mei and suffered heavy losses, Shisui also felt relieved. He suddenly discovered that he didn't need to worry about this kind of thing at all; Takagi Shōban would send himself to his doom.
On the other side, the Land of Earth battlefield, compared to the Land of Lightning battlefield where they were already beating each other's brains out, although the intensity of the war here was not low, both sides still maintained their reason.
Before the battle, both sides would consciously evacuate the local civilians. The Konoha side did it out of military discipline, while the Iwagakure side, after a battle where a large-scale joint ninjutsu's range covered an area where civilians were located, but triggered the counter-attack of some kind of golden chakra shield wall, resulting in heavy losses, had also learned their lesson.
However, compared to Sasuke roaming freely in the territory of the Land of Lightning, Neji's mission to destroy the transport lines was not going very smoothly. After all, the combination of Onoki and Uesugi Hidekoshi, the Tsuchikage and the Daimyō, was not that absurd. They had not pushed their own farmers to the point of regarding Konoha's army as their saviors.
The group, operating in the territory of the Land of Earth, suffered repeated setbacks. Every time they planned to attack the Land of Earth's supply lines, they would be discovered in advance. It was only because Neji's strength was strong enough that he could lead his teammates to retreat unscathed every time. Otherwise, they would have been wiped out long ago.
Therefore, after suffering setbacks, Neji also realized that unless he went on a killing spree in the Land of Earth, it would be very difficult for them to inflict effective damage on the Land of Earth's supply lines. So, Neji simply returned to the main battlefield and acted as the vanguard.
Because Uchiha Douhuan's plan was to prioritize dealing with the more dangerous Cloud, more of the village's elites were transferred to the northern battlefield. On the Land of Earth front, the main attack was mostly carried out by the elite Rain ninjas cultivated by Nagato over the years and the poison masters and puppeteers of the Land of Wind.
This also led to the fact that when Nagato was limited by his physical condition and could not act every time, Iwagakure had a slight advantage in terms of high-end combat power.
However, this slight advantage was completely reversed after Neji returned to the main battlefield.
After Neji and Nagato acted together and fought a beautiful battle of annihilation, they finally successfully recovered the territory of the Land of Grass and pushed the front line into the territory of the Land of Earth.
However, after seeing that the Land of Grass had been recovered, the Daimyō of the Land of Grass, who had been obsequiously seeking political asylum in the Land of Waterfalls, died suddenly before he could even return to his homeland. The name of the Land of Grass also completely vanished from the history of the ninja world at this moment.
And Iwagakure, after losing for a while, Onoki ordered to tighten the defensive line and built a solid defensive line in the territory of the Land of Earth, successfully stopping the advance of Konoha's allied forces.
The battlefield once again entered a stalemate. At the same time, both sides locked their sights on a key location: Kannabi Bridge.
This bridge, which spanned a rushing great river hundreds of meters wide, could be said to be the supply lifeline for Iwagakure to build a defensive line in the treacherous terrain of the border. If this bridge was lost, the next several hundred kilometers behind it was a flat plain, with no natural defenses to speak of. Therefore, this bridge naturally became a place that both sides had to fight for. Iwagakure had also deployed a defensive line composed of as many as eighty thousand troops here.
However, the Iwagakure soldiers, who had been beaten up by the Rinnegan and Tenseigan on the battlefield of the Land of Grass before, naturally did not have high morale.
In addition, this place, Kannabi Bridge, for the Konoha side, was the place where their Fourth Hokage made his name by stepping on Iwagakure's head. And for Iwagakure, this place was the starting point of their rout in the Third Great Ninja War.
So, after the defensive line was built, before the fight even started, a mood of failure began to spread in Iwagakure's lines.
Seeing this, Onoki naturally could not sit by and wait for death. In the frontline command post, after all the high-level ninjas of Iwagakure had arrived, Onoki slowly floated up in front of the frontline map, solemnly scanned the Iwagakure high-level officials in the command post, and then slowly began to speak:
"I don't understand! Why is everyone talking about the Golden Flash shining on this Kannabi Bridge back then, as if this battle of Kannabi Bridge is doomed to be ill-fated for us!"
As Onoki's voice fell, the Jonin in the command post all bowed their heads, not daring to look up at their own Iwagakure Kage.
At this time, a look of reminiscence also appeared on Onoki's face, and then he said, "Forty years ago, I took over the position of Iwagakure from the Second. At that time, the village had just walked out of the shadow of the First Great Ninja War, but everyone in the village was full of hope."
"Under the guidance of the Will of Stone, Iwagakure was united as one. And in the later two great ninja wars, although we did not achieve the final victory, we also spread the prestige of Iwagakure throughout the ninja world, allowing our village to stand tall in the wilderness of the western ninja world! That kind of vibrant, thriving state is still vivid in my mind."
"In just a little over ten years, has this place actually turned into my burial ground?" Onoki said seriously. At the same time, the Iwagakure Jonin, who had been bowing their heads just now, couldn't help but look up at this Iwagakure Kage of theirs who had always practiced the Will of Stone.
Onoki looked at them one by one, and only after a while did he take a deep breath and say in a firm tone, "No matter what, the combat forces are eighty thousand against sixty thousand! The advantage is mine!"
Onoki's words were deafening, and the Iwagakure commanders who heard them also had their morale boosted.
The change in morale in the Cloud army did not escape the eyes of Neji, who had been overlooking the entire battlefield from the sky, hidden by the flight ability brought by his Tenseigan.
After finishing his routine reconnaissance and returning to the allied forces' camp, Tenten handed Neji the military rations she had saved for him. After taking it, Neji casually took two bites and then walked into the command post.
"Neji, how is the situation?" Inside the command post, Hiashi Hyuga, who was serving as the commander-in-chief of the western front, asked.
"Their defensive line is extremely tight. To take Kannabi Bridge, it seems we can only rely on a frontal assault," Neji said. "Senior Pain, can you still make a move during this time?"
"I can. However, if you need me to go all out, it's best to wait a few more days," the Deva Path Pain, who was stationed in the command room, nodded.
"Alright then," Neji nodded. "This battle of Kannabi Bridge, if possible, we should try to fight a quick battle. After all, this is their home ground. We don't have the geographical advantage. If the battlefield falls into a stalemate, the supply pressure on our rear will be great. Now the eastern front is advancing on all fronts. We can't hold them back at this time."
"For these two days, we will first launch harassing attacks with small units, trying to disrupt the opponent's defensive line as much as possible. Three days later, after Senior Pain has recovered, we will then formally launch a general offensive," Neji said, staring at the map.
Hiashi Hyuga stood to the side, not saying a word. Although he was nominally the commander-in-chief of this army, Hiashi Hyuga still knew his own limitations. After becoming the head of the Hyuga clan, he had rarely gone on missions. He couldn't even command a squadron of a hundred men properly, let alone this kind of large-scale army operation.
And in this aspect, Neji, on the contrary, had learned a lot from several of the village's battlefield commanders. Therefore, Hiashi Hyuga consciously placed himself in the position of a human seal, a military tally administrator.
"Mr. Baki, in the general offensive three days from now, I will need your Sand Village's puppet units to be the first wave of the arrowhead. All your consumption will be reimbursed by Konoha after the war. No problem, right?" Neji looked at Baki, who represented the Sand in the command post.
"Naturally, no problem," Baki nodded. "Lord Neji doesn't need to ask me specifically. Our Sand's troops will follow all your deployments. This is something the Fifth Kazekage specially instructed before we set off."
"That's good," Neji nodded. "After using the puppets to consume the chakra of the opponent's defensive troops for a while, Senior Pain, you and I will each lead a large army of 20,000 men and attack from the north and south sides at the same time, trying to directly break the opponent's defensive line in one wave."
"Okay," Nagato nodded, controlling the Deva Path Pain.
"As for the remaining people, they will be led by you, Commander, and Miss Angel, as the reserve force, ready to provide support at any time," Neji at this time looked at Hiashi Hyuga.
"Understood," Hiashi Hyuga nodded.
After making the overall strategic arrangements, Neji called out the names of the commanders of the various regiments in the command post one by one and made detailed arrangements.
...
Two days of small-scale harassing attacks did not affect the Land of Earth's defensive positions much.
On the morning of the third day, the faint light of dawn sprinkled on the狰狞 (zhēngníng - ferocious/grim) silhouette of Kannabi Bridge, but it could not dispel the somber and cold atmosphere that pervaded this place.
Under the bridge, the rushing river roared. The rock walls on both sides were as steep as if they had been cut by a knife and axe.
This was a vital chokepoint, a wall of sighs as solid as gold, built by Iwagakure with eighty thousand ninja troops.
The allied forces attacked in full force according to the plan, while the Iwagakure positions were already on high alert. The yellowish-brown figures densely covered the bridge deck, the piers, and even clung to the steep rock walls on both sides. Countless fortifications constructed with Earth Release ninjutsu were layered one on top of another. Solid rock walls rose from the ground, and bottomless trenches crisscrossed.
On the opposite bank, the massive formation of the allied forces was like a surging tide, covering the wilderness as far as the eye could see.
"Attack!" A deafening roar tore through the brief silence. The voice of Hiashi Hyuga, who was stationed in the central army, echoed in the military formation, giving the signal for the general offensive.
In an instant, the silent camp of the allied forces exploded like a lit powder keg! Countless figures transformed into arrows leaving the bow, treading on the ground that was trampled into a cloud of dust, and charged resolutely towards that death bridge that spanned the abyss.
"Earth Release: Great Mud River Wall!"
"Earth Release: Golem Technique!"
"Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction!"
The Iwagakure commanders issued their instructions almost at the same time, their voices cold and precise. As the seals were completed, the earth let out a dull groan.
Several giant rock walls, far exceeding the ordinary scale and several meters thick, rose from the earth like the spines of prehistoric giant beasts. On the rock walls, countless giants made of hard rock were summoned. They let out dull roars, their giant stone fists smashing towards the charging allied ninjas with the force to crush everything. Countless huge rocks crumbled and fell under the催动 (cuīdòng - impetus/urging) of the ninjutsu, turning into a destructive storm of rocks, whistling mournfully, and pouring down crazily on the crowded allied vanguard below!
The Sand puppet unit, charging at the very front, bore the brunt of the attack.
The precise puppets were as fragile as children's toys in front of the giant falling rocks and stone fists, and were easily smashed flat and torn apart.
Konoha's assault team, providing support from the rear, tried to forcibly break through the rock giants' defensive line with ninjutsu. Great fireballs and wind blades exploded on the rock giants' bodies, but could only leave scorched marks and shallow cuts, instead drawing a more violent counter-attack.
The assassins of the Rain, relying on their agility, tried to find gaps in the chaos, but the dense rain of falling rocks and the continuously rising rock walls completely sealed off all space, ruthlessly squeezing and crushing them.
Hyuga Neji stood on a slightly higher slope, calmly observing everything happening on the battlefield. Subsequently, as if he had sensed something, he looked up into the distance. The vision of his Tenseigan pierced through layers of obstacles and locked onto the center of the Iwagakure's defensive line, that short old man who was looking in his direction with a telescope.
"Staff Officer Neji! Be careful!" a hoarse warning came from his side.
Neji abruptly raised his head. A huge rock, the size of a house, tearing through the air and carrying a black shadow of death, was crashing down on him and a group of exhausted Konoha ninjas around him!
Neji gently raised his hand. A pure white sword light flashed past. The whistling huge rock was cut in half in an instant, and then exploded in mid-air.
"Everyone, charge with me!" Neji's voice echoed in the ears of every allied ninja in the rear. In the next instant, Neji's figure took the lead and flew towards the Iwagakure defensive line in front.
Neji's Tenseigan coldly scanned the battlefield. Soon, Neji locked onto the core area of Iwagakure's defensive line, a squad of nearly a hundred Iwagakure ninjas who were releasing a combination ninjutsu together.
"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
(End of chapter)
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