The ninja corps of Grass Hidden Village were advancing towards Konoha's border stronghold.
Behind them, diligent ninjas pushed gigantic siege weapons, and various supply vehicles followed closely like a long centipede.
Large numbers of scout teams scattered in all directions, guarding against enemy sneak attacks and simultaneously protecting the flanks of the army corps to prevent sudden assaults.
Konoha's ninjas, on the other hand, stayed within the stronghold, reinforcing their defenses.
It wasn't that they didn't want to move the battlefield to the Land of Grass; it was simply that this time, the enemy they were facing was too numerous. Konoha simply couldn't spare enough manpower to push the Grass Hidden Village's army back onto their own territory.
The total number of ninjas in Grass Hidden Village was less than four thousand. Excluding about a thousand who were handling various affairs elsewhere, nearly three thousand combat ninjas had already assembled here.
Mugeng had no reserves at all; he directly pressed all his forces to the front line.
Defense of Grass Hidden Village?
Whoever wants to destroy it, go ahead!
Mugeng didn't care about the life or death of Grass Hidden Village, but Konoha couldn't do the same.
Besides the direction of Grass Hidden Village, they had too many places that needed to be defended, and there had to be people defending inside the village itself, as well as preparing reserve forces, lest any defense line be breached and they wouldn't have enough manpower to reinforce it.
Therefore, Konoha's ninjas did not make any so-called sacrifices. Their scouting teams had already run far away when they saw the large contingent from Grass Hidden Village.
Even when nearly three thousand ninjas approached the pre-warning strongholds near the border, those strongholds, with only dozens or even a few dozen people, directly abandoned their defenses. At the same time, they also sent detailed intelligence on the Grass Hidden Village's forces back to the general commander.
And this commander was the clan head of the Aburame clan, Aburame Shibi!
Aburame Shibi's personality was cautious and steady; he never took risks. Jiraiya had also been worried that Danzo would scheme something on this battlefront, so he had placed Shibi here, not seeking success, but ensuring no mistakes.
Moreover, Danzo, who yearned to become a war hero, had once strongly vied for this position. This also made Jiraiya vigilant and worried that Danzo would make a deal with the ninjas of Grass Hidden Village, so he forcefully rejected Danzo's request.
However, Danzo ultimately became the deputy commander on this battlefront, and he still had abundant resources at his disposal.
That's why Jiraiya placed the steady Aburame Shibi here, because the Aburame clan only recognized the Hokage; they wouldn't be easily threatened or bribed by Danzo.
At the same time, to decentralize the power of the deputy commander, Jiraiya also appointed Kurenai Yuhi as another deputy commander. These three became the supreme commanders on this battlefront.
Dozens of renowned ninjas gathered inside the tent. Aburame Shibi looked at the report sent by the scout team and said calmly, "It seems the intelligence from Root was correct; Grass Hidden Village's forces are indeed advancing towards here."
Danzo also felt surprised in his heart. He had thought that after the last turmoil, Mugeng would no longer abide by his promises. However, the other party was still acting according to the previous plan.
What exactly was Mugeng doing?
However, at this moment, Danzo chuckled faintly, "That's valuable intelligence exchanged with the blood of the village's comrades; it naturally won't be wrong."
Aburame Shibi nodded slightly, then looked at Kurenai Yuhi again and asked her, "Has the transport of supplies been completed?"
Kurenai Yuhi nodded and replied, "About 80% has been completed, but for the remaining part, I suggest distributing it to the medium-sized strongholds around us, to prevent the enemy from suddenly changing their target and catching us off guard."
Danzo squinted at Kurenai Yuhi, silently calculating something in his heart.
Aburame Shibi also nodded slightly, acknowledging this calm and steady plan. "Then let's do it."
After speaking, he looked down at the crowd and said, "Listen up! Everyone enter battle formation. We are Konoha's shield. We absolutely cannot let the enemy break through our defenses!"
"Yes!" Dozens of ninjas immediately began to move.
Konoha had deployed nearly a thousand ninjas here. Although their numbers were inferior to Grass Hidden Village, the average quality of Konoha ninjas was significantly higher than that of Grass Hidden Village's ninjas. Coupled with their reliance on defensive strongholds for defense, the fighting strength on both sides was roughly equal.
The Land of Fire's soil was fertile. This area was mostly plains and forests, and resources were extremely abundant. But this also brought a problem: there were no natural defenses in this land.
Situations like a single pass holding back ten thousand armies were nonexistent.
Therefore, Aburame Shibi, based on the large defensive stronghold where he was currently located, deployed six medium-sized strongholds in front, each garrisoned by a hundred ninjas, approximately one to two kilometers apart.
This way, no matter which stronghold Grass Hidden Village attacked, the six strongholds could support each other. If Grass Hidden Village attacked all six strongholds simultaneously, they could also dispatch troops from the main stronghold to ambush the enemy from behind, forming a pincer attack.
However, this situation was almost impossible. A simultaneous attack would also mean a large number of casualties, and heavy troop deployment also meant that their own forces would suffer countless losses. No normal commander would do such a thing.
Aburame Shibi, as the general commander, had to manage all affairs in the tent. Therefore, the command of the front line was given to Danzo and Kurenai Yuhi. They each managed three strongholds, and they also received real-time intelligence transmitted by scout teams every hour, to avoid unexpected situations.
Simply put, they were all guarding against Danzo.
It's not that they suspected Danzo of betrayal, but rather to prevent Danzo from sacrificing the villagers' comrades for some 'greater goal'.
For example...
Using a hundred villagers' ninjas as bait to lure hundreds of enemies into the stronghold, then blowing them all sky-high or something.
Yes, Kurenai Yuhi secretly spread this news in the village. When everyone recalled Danzo's identity as the creator of Root, they couldn't help but shiver.
Two o'clock in the afternoon.
All of Konoha's troops had completed their defensive preparations. Under Kurenai Yuhi's deployment, they obtained a large amount of supplies. Looking at the sturdy walls and thick bulletproof vests on their bodies, the goodwill of the people towards Kurenai Yuhi immediately increased by a notch.
At the same time, the main force of Grass Hidden Village had also arrived before them.
Mugeng stopped about five kilometers from those strongholds.
Then he looked at the defensive stronghold in front.
Generally speaking, the defensive strongholds were surrounded by thick layers of earth walls, and the interior of the walls was also embedded with rune arrays to reinforce them, making them as sturdy as steel.
At the same time, to prevent the enemy from launching Earth Release attacks from underground, the ground was also reinforced to make it impossible for ninjas to manipulate it. Some areas were even equipped with alarm and sensory barriers to prevent small enemy units from crossing the stronghold under the cover of night to attack the rear.
And these were just the most basic configurations. Depending on the situation, the strongholds would become more complex, and the cost and time spent would reach an extremely high level. But relatively, these expensive strongholds could also protect the garrison inside to the maximum extent.
Mugeng pondered for a moment, then had his thousand ninjas divided equally into six parts. They pushed their gigantic Shuriken Launchers slowly forward.
Mugeng and Xiaoxiang stayed at the rear. Xiaoxiang used her chakra reaction to locate Kurenai Yuhi and Danzo, then Mugeng slightly adjusted the deployment of his next staff.
He silently adjusted some of the troops towards Kurenai Yuhi's direction, facing Danzo.
The six divisions of Grass Hidden Village's forces lined up in a row. After reaching the designated attack range, they began to set up siege weapons on the spot.
Konoha's ninjas were also sending intelligence back to Aburame Shibi's hand at this moment.
Six fronts attacking simultaneously...
This was simply a meat grinder!
Shibi's brow furrowed. The wars in the ninja world had never been fought like this!
Small unit infiltration based on squads, ambushing the rear, mutual assassinations between scout teams, targeting the opponent's commander for decapitation—these were the most common fighting styles for ninjas!
At this moment, ten-odd ninjas on their side had already loaded super-gigantic shuriken with a diameter of over ten meters onto large catapults. Then...
"Boom!"
Several large catapults swung their arms wildly. The super-gigantic shuriken instantly flew off, whistling fiercely as they flew towards the defensive stronghold ahead!
The ninjas of Grass Hidden Village looked up in astonishment, watching the giant shuriken fly over their heads. The fierce wind caused their clothes to flap loudly, like hunting flags!
At the same time, the runes inscribed on the super-gigantic shuriken also began to glow. And on the blade, an invisible wind blade condensed, which then transformed into a high-speed rotating circular saw, carrying a fierce wind directly to the front of the defensive stronghold!
However, before this, within Konoha's stronghold, sixteen border ninjas had already divided into four teams. They sat cross-legged at the four corners of the stronghold and immediately activated the defensive barrier!
In just an instant, a rune array covering the entire stronghold began to emit dazzling light.
Then, with a hum, a layer of purple light membrane protected them!
Immediately after!
Charge!!!!!
The super-gigantic shuriken directly struck the light membrane. The continuously rotating wind blade spun like a pan, emitting dazzling sparks!
The Konoha ninjas in the stronghold watched the continuously emitting light from above their heads, couldn't help but gulp. They hadn't seen such a scene in over a decade!
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