Chapter 284: Ten Thousand Kills, the Great War Begins!
Konoha Year 62, April 3rd.
Konohagakure, Allied Forces Headquarters.
"The White Zetsu are finally mobilizing!"
Before the map, as Nara Shikaku drew three lines, the Fourth Raikage impatiently exclaimed, "Fourth Hokage, give the order to deploy!"
The sensory division had finally detected enemy movement.
A large-scale force of White Zetsu had emerged from their base, splitting into three groups.
The White Zetsu base was located at the northern tip of the peninsula in the Land of Frost, north of the Land of Rice. According to intelligence, one group of White Zetsu was heading directly south underground through the Land of Frost, striking straight for Konoha.
This group of White Zetsu was the largest, numbering up to 50,000.
The other two groups were moving south stealthily through the sea on either side of the peninsula.
Namikaze Minato didn't heed the Fourth Raikage's words, instead asking Nara Shikaku, "Shikaku, what do you think?"
Nara Shikaku pondered, "We can first order the Second Division north to intercept the main White Zetsu army and force them out from underground."
"As for the other two White Zetsu armies, we need to observe their movements."
The Fourth Raikage immediately frowned, "In that case, the Second Division would easily be surrounded by the White Zetsu army, wouldn't they?"
"Brat, don't be too hasty."
Onoki looked at the map and said, "If the White Zetsu army chooses to surround the Second Division, it would be a good thing for the Allied Forces."
"But clearly, the left and right wings of the White Zetsu army probably won't do that."
"The enemy's intentions are currently unclear, so we should also hold our position!"
Namikaze Minato nodded, "Raikage, rest assured. While the White Zetsu are fast-moving, Konoha has large-scale space-time ninjutsu arrays that can also provide rapid support!"
The Fourth Raikage had no further objections.
Thus, Namikaze Minato ordered the Second Division to advance.
...
Border of the Land of Fire.
Upon receiving the order, the commander of the Second Division, Kitsuchi, shouted to his daughter, "Relay the order, advance!"
"Yes, Father!"
Kurotsuchi, with excitement, turned to convey the command.
Ten minutes later, an army of nearly 20,000 ninjas rumbled northward, like a black tide, crossing the border of the Land of Fire and entering the Land of Rice.
Among the ranks, Neji, Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and others followed behind the clone of Sarutobi Asuma, Mito.
An hour later, the army entered the Land of Frost.
"The White Zetsu army underground is only 10 ri away from us!"
Neji reported.
Seeing a large open area ahead, Kitsuchi immediately ordered the army to halt.
"Kurotsuchi!"
Kitsuchi shouted, stepping forward with his daughter.
Neji followed behind.
After advancing a certain distance, Kitsuchi stopped and said solemnly, "Neji, remind me when the enemy enters this open area!"
"Understood!"
Neji nodded.
Behind them, the ninja army held their breath, gripping their weapons tightly.
Time ticked by.
Within the ninja army, many ninjas were already sweating profusely.
Not because of the heat, but due to tension.
Suddenly, Neji in front shouted, "They're here!"
"Kurotsuchi!"
Kitsuchi yelled, crouching down and placing his palms on the ground.
"Understood, Father!"
Kurotsuchi shouted, also crouching and placing his palms on the ground.
The next moment, both of them unleashed their ninjutsu simultaneously.
Earth Style - Earth Rising Excavation!
The ground vibrated violently, and then, in Neji's eyes, a cone-shaped mountain suddenly erupted from the vast open area ahead.
Immediately after, the mountain erupted like a volcano.
Instantly, dense White Zetsu spewed out from the mountain.
"Beautiful!"
Neji couldn't help but praise.
Behind them, Jonin shouted, "Attention, enemies have appeared, prepare for battle!"
Among the crowd were ninjas from the Hyuga Clan, including Hinata, who warned, "Be careful, there are still some White Zetsu underground!"
At this moment, Clone Mido suddenly appeared in front of Neji, clapping his hands together.
Sage Art: Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!
Centered on Mido, giant trees spread out like a green tide in all directions, instantly engulfing the Allied Shinobi Forces' army. They then quickly swept outwards.
The existing dense forests rapidly withered as Mido's Wood Release expanded, being replaced by the new growth.
As for the White Zetsu that Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi had launched into the air, they were impaled by branches with piercing sounds, their life force quickly drained.
This scene simply stunned all the ninjas of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
This included Kitsuchi, Kurotsuchi, Neji, and others.
According to intelligence, the enemy force numbered a massive 50,000, more than double their own numbers.
They had expected a tough battle, never imagining that the clone of the Ninja Demigod would be so terrifying.
"Wood Release, it's the First Hokage's Wood Release!"
A Konoha ninja shouted excitedly.
"This is Lord Asuma's clone, I never expected Lord Asuma to have mastered the Wood Release secret technique!"
"Hahaha, we've definitely won this time!"
"Charge! Let's kill all these monsters!"
...
Excited laughter and shouts echoed, followed by their advance.
Clone Mido's Wood Release hadn't dealt with all thirty thousand-plus White Zetsu that erupted from underground in one go.
However, it had created an absolute home-field advantage for the Allied Shinobi Forces and significantly weakened the enemy's numbers.
After all, Wood Release wasn't just effective against White Zetsu on the ground.
It could also deal with those underground.
After casting the jutsu, Mido flashed away, appearing on top of a tree, his senses covering the entire battlefield.
Within the dense forest, battle was imminent. Tens of thousands of people clashed within this vast forest, the sounds of battle deafening.
Konoha.
Beneath the Sage Tree, Sarutobi Asuma opened his eyes.
The system's long-absent notification sound chimed, indicating he had achieved a new feat.
Ten Thousand Kills!
Attribute Point +1, Skill Point +1, Constitution +1!
"Excellent!"
Sarutobi Asuma smiled.
It had been a long time since he had gained attribute points or skill points.
At his current level, if he hadn't achieved Sage Mode previously, it would have been difficult to improve his Constitution and other stats through his own efforts.
After some thought, he decided to keep the Skill Point and allocate the Attribute Point to his Intelligence stat.
For him now, Intelligence was more crucial.
After allocation, he displayed his status screen.
Constitution: 229
Agility: 195
Intelligence: 210
Charm: 135
His Charm stat hadn't seen much increase, except for the significant gains from his battle with Uchiha Madara and the recent use of Wood Release.
His Constitution and Agility stats had been improved through Sage Mode training and kekkei genkai power.
However, Sarutobi Asuma also felt that the speed of improvement was slowing down.
Intelligence was even more so, requiring the study of extremely profound knowledge or new, previously unencountered subjects for rapid growth.
Another avenue for improvement was his own spiritual power, or rather, the elevation of his soul.
Unfortunately, this aspect was even more difficult.
He had not yet found a way to improve the soul independently. Essentially, aside from allocating points, he relied on increasing his Constitution to drive it.
"The average stats are still below two hundred. The road ahead is long!"
Sarutobi Asuma sighed and then closed the system, focusing his attention on the Ninja World War.
Allied Forces Main Camp.
Ao shouted, "The enemy's other two armies have both split their forces simultaneously!"
"The left flank army, a portion is heading directly for Konoha from the northwest, and another portion is going towards the Land of Wind."
"The right flank army, a part has already landed from the sea, and another part has crossed the sea, continuing rapidly southeast underwater!"
Nara Shikaku immediately marked the marching direction of the White Zetsu army on the map and then asked, "Have the Impure World Reincarnation ninjas appeared yet?"
Yamanaka Inoichi replied, "I haven't sensed them yet."
Namikaze Minato looked at the map and said, "It seems the enemy intends to draw away all the armies surrounding Konoha."
Onoki stated, "That is indeed the case, but since two army routes are now clear, we must dispatch troops to intercept them."
The Fourth Raikage asked, "What about the other two armies?"
"From which direction will they attack?"
Namikaze Minato looked at Nara Shikaku and asked, "Shikaku, what do you think?"
Nara Shikaku pondered, "For the other two routes, the one on the right is very likely to land on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire."
"The other route might be in the Land of Wind."
"This way, our forces can be drawn far enough away."
Upon hearing this, Namikaze Minato thought for a moment and then gave the order: "Order the Third Unit to head north to meet the enemy."
"The Fifth Unit, proceed to the northwest to halt the enemy!"
"Understood!"
...
As soon as the orders were issued, Kakashi and General Mifune immediately led their armies out.
Kakashi moved northwest out of the Land of Fire, passed through the Land of Hot Water, and engaged with the army of ten thousand White Zetsu in the Land of Moon, and even the Land of Lightning.
And just as the two armies began to clash.
At the Konoha Allied Forces Main Camp, Ao shouted, "The Impure World Reincarnation ninjas have appeared!"
"On the Third Unit's battlefield, they are the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Kirigakure, and the Scorch Release Ninja Pakura from Sunagakure..."
Everyone was startled at first, but then quickly relaxed.
The Impure World Reincarnation ninjas who had appeared did not include any troublesome opponents.
Namikaze Minato immediately said, "Notify Kakashi and the others to be careful of surprise attacks from the Impure World Reincarnation ninjas, and prioritize sealing them!"
"Understood!"
Yamanaka Inoichi immediately notified the front lines.
...
Third Unit Battlefield.
Upon receiving the intelligence, Kakashi's expression immediately changed. He then saw mist beginning to spread through the dense forest.
"Mist Technique!"
Kakashi's gaze sharpened as he saw a familiar figure.
Momochi Zabuza!
"Senior Shinya, Might Guy, Sasuke, cooperate with me. Yamato, you restrict the Scorching Style ninja!"
Kakashi shouted, then yelled at Sai, who was still fighting, "Sai, prepare for sealing!"
"Rock Lee, you're responsible for protecting Sai!"
Sai immediately disengaged from his opponent. Rock Lee eliminated his own foe and, with a flash, appeared beside Sai, stating seriously, "Leave your safety to me from now on!"
"Before I fall, you will not suffer any harm!"
Sai quickly thanked him, "Thank you, I believe you!"
At this moment, the mist had already begun to spread.
Kakashi's body was now crackling with electricity as he entered Lightning Style Chakra Mode.
Furthermore, the arcs of electricity on his body continuously radiated outwards, expanding in the misty environment.
Although these strands of electricity did not possess destructive power, they could quickly spread by utilizing the humid moisture in the air.
Zabuza's Mist Technique indeed interfered with sensory perception, rendering the foresight ability of the Sharingan ineffective.
Adding to the problem, the Third Unit did not have any ninjas from the Hyuga Clan.
However, Kakashi still managed to find a solution in a very short amount of time.
That was Lightning Style.
By utilizing the high conductivity of the humid environment, arcs of electricity spread out in all directions, piercing through the dense fog.
Uchiha Sasuke also entered Lightning Style Chakra Mode. Under the cheat-like guidance of Sarutobi Asuma's Infinite Illusionary World, his proficiency in this area was already subtly catching up to Kakashi's.
In fact, due to his Sharingan, his fine control over chakra even surpassed Kakashi's.
With Kakashi's current chakra control, his chakra reserves in Sage Mode, and the power of Storm Style, under his guidance, the lightning chakra of two people bypassed their allies and rapidly spread out, quickly locking onto Zabuza within the mist.
"Two o'clock direction!"
Kakashi shouted.
Sarutobi Shinya and Might Guy simultaneously threw their kunai.
Kakashi's figure also vanished instantly. The moment Momochi Zabuza dodged one kunai, Kakashi replaced it.
Boom!
Kakashi's palm strike slashed down, and Zabuza's body was split in half from behind, the powerful lightning energy blasting a huge crater in the ground.
"Sai!"
Seeing Zabuza's rapidly recovering body, Kakashi shouted.
Meanwhile, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and other Impure World Reincarnation ninja were wildly slashing and killing within the fog, screams erupting one after another.
Sai arrived quickly under Rock Lee's protection, unfurled his scroll, and began drawing rapidly.
At this point, he no longer needed specially prepared ink; he had learned the secret technique taught by Sarutobi Asuma, directly creating ink with chakra.
Staring intently!
As Sai finished drawing, a tiger's roar echoed, and a giant tiger leaped from the scroll, biting the recovering Zabuza and dragging him into the scroll, completing the seal.
And as Zabuza was sealed, the fog quickly dissipated.
Almost simultaneously.
Sarutobi Shinya arrived at Yamato's side. While Yamato was enveloping the Scorching Style ninja Pakura with Water Style, Shinya immediately placed his hands on the ground.
Walls rose from the earth.
Four walls surrounded Pakura, and then a giant pot lid descended from the sky.
Yamato immediately withdrew his Water Style.
"Sealing Team, prepare!"
Sarutobi Shinya shouted, then raised one hand: "Explode!"
The four walls and the pot lid all exploded simultaneously.
Moreover, they were all directed explosions, from five directions, all blasting towards Pakura, who was trapped in the center.
Pakura, who had just broken free from the Water Style, was riddled with glowing red stone fragments, her body turned into a sieve, with half of her head gone.
Yamato waved his hand, and the sealing team immediately moved forward to seal Pakura.
On the other side.
Kakashi acted swiftly, eliminating Jinin Hozuki, and Sai sealed him.
But when he was about to deal with other Impure World Reincarnation ninja, they suddenly retreated and disappeared.
"It seems they are acting as a harassing force to buy time."
Kakashi immediately grasped the enemy's objective.
The longer they delayed here, the more vulnerable Konoha's main camp would become.
Soon, the sun reached its zenith.
The White Zetsu from the three battlefields all retreated.
Main Camp.
Sarutobi Asuma's figure suddenly appeared, with Naruto beside him.
"Brother Minato, quite a few White Zetsu have infiltrated the Allied Forces amidst the chaos."
Sarutobi Asuma said.
Upon hearing this, Naruto's eyes lit up, and he said happily, "Uncle Asuma, isn't it time for Mom and me to fight!"
"No!"
Sarutobi Asuma shook his head and smiled, "It's your and Sister Kushina's Shadow Clones!"
"For now, Shadow Clones are sufficient. It's not time for your main bodies to be deployed!"
Namikaze Minato nodded, glanced at his wife, and said, "Kushina, and Naruto, then deploy!"
"Three battlefields, plus the medical unit, one Shadow Clone for each!"
Uzumaki Kushina cracked her knuckles and said with a smile, "No problem!"
"Same here!"
Naruto grinned.
Although he was a bit disappointed that his main body couldn't be deployed, he was finally able to fight.
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