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Chapter 191: Ninja War and Debt Repayment
"My Iwagakure Village only has a large number of ninjas. I don't think we can survive you, Konoha Village. If you dare, prepare another explosive trap like this one."
As commander of Iwagakure, Higashino was well aware of the financial deficits of the major ninja villages. With the exception of Kumogakure, which barely managed to break even, the other villages were deeply in debt. Sunagakure, in particular, owed almost as much in annual interest as their total mission payments. Had it not been for the gold dust they could extract, their economy would have collapsed a long time ago.
Precisely because of this debt crisis, Sunagakure was eager to start a Ninja World War. They considered their own internal conflicts unsustainable, and instead of self-destructing, it was better to transfer them abroad. The so-called Ninja World War, in the end, was nothing more than an extreme means to resolve internal conflicts. The loser would sign a peace agreement, and the winner would undoubtedly be able to settle their debts and alleviate various tensions.
Since everyone was looking for wealth, it was unlikely that even Konoha Village, despite its vast wealth, would waste money and worsen its own fiscal deficit.
Unfortunately, Higashino was wrong again. A thunderous explosion shook the ground, and another vanguard unit was blown away. Judging by the power, at least tens of thousands of detonating talismans had detonated simultaneously.
"Form a defensive formation!"
After the tragic loss of two vanguard units, Higashino finally abandoned his stubbornness and opted for a defensive formation, buying time for the reconnaissance troops to dismantle the traps. However, dismantling traps was not easy at all; even with the Rock ninjas' ground defenses, it would take a considerable amount of time.
Higashino finally began to regret his tactical decision. Had he known about the numerous traps, he should have retreated to the right flank. Even if they were hit by one or two Tailed Beast Bombs, it would be better than being trapped there.
"Go kill those stinking flies on the mountain!"
Seeing that the main force was stalled, relentlessly bombarded by the five hundred demolition soldiers at the foot of the mountain, Higashino finally had time to deal with those disgusting creatures. He immediately sent almost a thousand Iwa ninjas and launched a powerful assault against the Umino forces.
"Water Style Squad, prepare!"
Sasuke immediately ordered the Water Style Squad to perform their combined ninjutsu. Simultaneously, his shadow clones, already prepared, launched several sealing scrolls towards the mountain pass and formed hand seals. The scrolls unrolled in the air, releasing a blast of liquid nitrogen that bathed the area.
"Freeze the ground!"
The Water Team unleashed a torrent of ninjutsu from their imposing heights. These torrents, combined with the wind ninjutsu of their clones and the liquid nitrogen, transformed a large part of the mountain pass into a world of ice and snow. Of the nearly one thousand Iwagakure ninjas who had attacked the mountain, more than one hundred were instantly frozen.
Iwagakure's momentum faltered.
"Commander, what should we do?" asked Chief of Staff Mozhi, in a dilemma.
"Stop the attack on the mountain. Send the reconnaissance team to dismantle the traps as soon as possible and open a retreat route," Higashino ordered, observing the frozen world below the mountain, his eyes filled with resentment. At the same time, he set his sights on the right flank again. Seeing that the Five-Tails showed a slight decline under the siege of the Sannin, he finally saw a glimmer of hope.
"Order an indirect retreat to the right flank, and have the Sealing Squad prepare to retrieve the Five-Tails."
As Iwagakure's most important weapon, the Five-Tails was not to fall into Konoha's hands.
Seeing Iwagakure's main ninja group flanking him, the Five-Tails roared with hatred and unleashed a barrage of small Tailed Beast Bombs, one of which even reached the Umino unit stationed at the foot of the mountain.
"Dodge!"
Seeing that the Tailed Beast Bombs were heading towards their area, Hayabusa, stationed at the foot of the mountain, decisively ordered them to disperse.
But what was the point? This was the Five-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb. Even a small one was beyond their reach. Hayabusa's heart sank, and he could already imagine himself being reduced to dust.
But then, Sasuke, Samehada in hand, charged directly at the Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Captain, stop!"
"Sasuke-sama, this is the Tailed Beast Bomb! How can you resist it?"
Witnessing this, the Umino troops exclaimed in shock, deeply moved by Sasuke's selfless act.
"Sasuke-sama!"
Witnessing Sasuke's desperate action, on the verge of colliding with the Tailed Beast Bomb, Shun, deeply moved, was filled with an iron will. The three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun rapidly, revealing an inexplicable surge of Yin Style chakra. Just as the three tomoe were about to connect, they suddenly stopped.
"Samehada: Chakra Devourer!"
The Samehada in Sasuke's hands suddenly opened its enormous maw and swallowed the small Tailed Beast Bomb in one gulp. Then, Samehada burped, and a large amount of pure chakra was transferred to Sasuke's body.
"Huh?" He perceived the changes in his body and discovered that this chakra energy was extremely effective for practicing the Yang-Tun Marrow Secret Technique, and that it could also alleviate the after-effects of shadow clones.
"Could it be Yin Style chakra?"
Sasuke's heart was shocked. This chakra energy, transformed by Samehada upon absorbing the Tailed Beast Bomb, must be Yin Style chakra.