Chapter 124: Who Sees Frogs Appearing Right at the Start of Spring?!
[Hehe~ As expected, how could I forget what Kushina taught me!]
As the final hand seal was completed,
the scenery around Minato Namikaze began to change.
The small hut he had been hiding in turned into an open space.
The real Village was still a hundred meters ahead.
Seeing the real Village appear before his eyes, Minato Namikaze didn't hesitate and began to sneak toward the interior.
Then, relying on his sensing abilities, he found the actual entrance to the stronghold.
[Summoning Technique!]
...Not far away, at the entrance of the stronghold, two Ninjas were on guard duty.
"Captain Koishi, there's already a Barrier protecting us. Why are you still being so serious?"
The Sand Ninja nearby couldn't help but speak up as he watched his captain's diligent behavior.
"What do you know! We're in a state of war; anything could happen."
"Maybe the enemy is right beside us right now."
"Give me a break! There's nothing here. Where does it look like there's an enemy?"
"Hmph! What do you know! Maybe the enemy can transform into anything!"
As he spoke, Koishi pointed at a frog nearby.
"Maybe this frog is an enemy using the Transformation Jutsu!"
Frog: [???!!!]
"A frog? Where's a frog?"
Hearing his captain's words, the subordinate snapped out of his relaxed state and looked in the direction Oishi was pointing.
"Eh~ there really is a frog!"
After saying that, he walked over to the frog, squatted down, and examined it closely.
"I didn't expect a frog to appear just after winter ended!"
Frog: [!!!]
"What's so strange about that? Maybe this frog has unknowingly developed Chakra in its body."
"Are you saying, Captain... that this is a Ninja Frog!"
At this point, saliva began to leak uncontrollably from the corner of the Ninja's mouth.
"Hehe~ I wonder if Ninja Frog legs taste better than normal ones!"
Frog: [!!!]
"Hehehe... I'm starting to miss the spicy frogs back in the Village."
"Those are damn bullfrogs!"
"They're all the same!"
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?"
Seeing his subordinate reach out and stuff the frog into his pocket, Koishi finally couldn't help but ask.
"Hehe, I'll keep it for now. I'll decide what to do with it once we're back in the Village."
"Captain, keep an eye on things for me too. I'll be right back."
Without waiting for Koishi to reply, he ran into the stronghold... "Emmm... where should I put it?"
"Got it, I'll just put it in this cardboard box."
"Froggy, don't run off now. When I get back, I'll bring you something delicious to eat."
Frog: [...]
A long time passed... When no one appeared in the frog's field of vision for a while,
the frog sitting in the cardboard box suddenly opened its mouth wide.
"Bleh~"
And then... a Golden Retriever crawled out.
"Whew whew That was close. I almost got caught."
"Ribbit ribbit"
"Haha, sorry about that. I almost let you get eaten. Hidden Sand Village is truly detestable. Froggy is so cute, how could they eat froggy!"
"Mm-hmm, you go back first. I'll take it from here."
..."36... 37... 43, 45..."
"I didn't expect this Hidden Sand Village stronghold to have so many people active.
In just half a day, forty-five people have come and gone."
"Yeah, and that's just for half a day. Who knows how many more are out on missions!"
"Sigh! I wonder how things are going on Minato's end."
"Yeah, with so many Sand Ninja inside, if he gets caught..."
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
Before the Konoha Ninja could finish speaking, a voice came from behind them.
The three Konoha Ninjas were all startled, but in an instant, they grabbed their Kunai and stabbed backward.
But just as they gripped their Kunai and before their arms were even extended, they stopped just in time.
Because they saw clearly who had arrived.
"Whew~ Minato, appearing behind us like that will scare me to death."
"Haha, sorry, sorry."
"How did it go, Minato?"
"I've finished the investigation."
"That's great! Does that mean our mission is complete?"
"Yeah. The original mission was to gather detailed intelligence on this stronghold. Now that I've stumbled upon the actual documents from inside, it can be considered a total success."
"Wonderful! Let's head back and report immediately."
"Mhm!"
..."Lord Yahiko."
"Haha, no need to call me that. It feels weird."
When Yahiko walked out of the stronghold and heard Koishi and the other Sand Ninja address him like that, his originally serious expression immediately crumbled.
"Have the Konoha people left?"
"Yeah, they're gone. Acting was really hard work for me.
Lord Yahiko, you have no idea—that frog was sweating bullets! Hahaha..."
...Allied Forces Camp.
[Report: Squad C0192 has not sent back a message within five minutes. Suspected KIA!]
[Report: Squad D0635 has not been in contact for half an hour. Confirmed KIA!]
[Report: Stronghold 53 lost contact half an hour ago and remains unreachable. Squad B0031 has been dispatched for reconnaissance.]
...Message after message was reported to the command headquarters in an orderly fashion.
And the expressions of the Four Kage grew gloomier by the second.
Simply put, there wasn't a single piece of good news.
Ever since that 'bomb girl' appeared, they had changed their combat strategy.
Shifting from large-scale team battles to small-scale infiltration.
It couldn't be helped; they feared they couldn't handle the opponent in a group fight.
So they decided to wear them down slowly. After all, they had the numbers; they'd see who could outlast whom.
As it turned out... the ideal was grand, but the reality was harsh.
Bang!
The table in front of the Third Raikage shattered instantly.
"A whole week has passed! What was said at the beginning?!"
"The Sand Ninjas are only a mere thirteen thousand! How many do we have? Seventy thousand!
Saying seventy thousand against thirteen thousand, the advantage is ours.
What about now?!"
"Either this squad loses contact, or that squad goes missing!
Either this stronghold is taken out, or that stronghold is destroyed!"
"Seven days! Seven whole days!"
"Is there not a single piece of good news?!"
The Third Raikage's voice roared through the command headquarters, but no one could answer him.
[Report... Squad A0069 has successfully obtained detailed intelligence on a Hidden Sand Village stronghold and has returned successfully.]
A piece of good news was mixed into the Third Raikage's roar.
At first, no one paid any attention.
Until it was announced for the third time.
"What was that message just now?"
"I don't know, something about a successful return."
"No! There was more before that!"
"Yeah, I think I heard that Squad A0069 completed their mission."
"Eh~ really? Has someone finally completed a mission?"
As more and more people joined the conversation, the reported intelligence was pieced together by everyone again.
Then, a burst of cheering erupted, celebrating this hard-won intelligence.
Seven days!
Seven whole days!
God knows how they survived these seven days.
They were trembling with fear.
Externally, they feared a sudden attack from the 'Explosion Girl'; internally, they feared the gloomy faces of their Kage; and they were terrified of being sent out on missions.
They truly hadn't had a single day of peace.
Now, they finally had a piece of good news to look forward to.
Bang!
Another sound of a table being slammed rang out.
But this time it wasn't the Third Raikage, but the Third Hokage beside him.
"Good! Minato indeed did not disappoint me!"
[He's much better than that useless master of his!]
"Guards, bring the intelligence up here immediately!"
..."Everyone, it seems that after a week of continuous victories, Hidden Sand Village has become complacent.
At this opportune moment, we have obtained detailed intelligence on a major Hidden Sand Village stronghold.
It seems... the Allied Forces' victorious counter-offensive is about to begin!"
"Mhm! His Excellency the Hokage is right."
After reading the intelligence and hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's inspiring words,
the other three Kage also swept away the gloom in their hearts.
"Since we have detailed intelligence on that stronghold, in my opinion, it's best to dispatch troops to wipe it out as soon as possible."
"Mhm, the Tsuchikage makes sense. Let Hidden Cloud Village handle the mission to destroy this stronghold. With our Village's speed advantage, I believe we can storm the stronghold before the enemy can react!"
"Wait! That's not right! While Hidden Cloud Village is extremely fast, their stealth is lacking; they'd be exposed from a distance. In my opinion, Hidden Stone Village should take action. Every elite in my Village is skilled in Earth Release and can slip into the stronghold undetected to slaughter all the Sand Ninjas!"
"Not right! Although Hidden Stone Village's Earth Release is top-tier, the stronghold is surrounded by Barriers. It's easy to be detected beforehand when making a move. In my view, Konoha should handle it.
Firstly, this stronghold was scouted by my Konoha, so naturally, my people are most familiar with it.
Secondly, Konoha's Sealing Jutsu is unique. Even if there are Barriers in the stronghold, our Ninjas can handle them with ease!"
"Not right..."
"Hmm?" * 3
"Hehe... It's right... right... please continue!"
"Mhm." * 3
"What's the use of being proficient in Sealing Jutsu! War is about strength! Speed! Power! What's the point of Sealing Jutsu if you still can't win a fight!"
"What's the use of knowing how to fight! War is about preserving yourself first! What's the point of fighting if you have no defense! You'll just be chased around by exploding tags!"
"What's the use of knowing Earth Release! War is a game of brains! What's the point of Earth Release! After all that effort to sneak in, you find you don't have a key and can't open the door; it's all the same!"
"What did you say! You little shorty!"
"Say that again! You skinny monkey!"
"Who are you mocking! You brute!"
The three of them pressed their heads together, wrestling with each other, with no one willing to back down.
Yagura Karatachi: [...]
Seeing himself excluded, Yagura Karatachi felt quite uncomfortable.
Of course... it wasn't because of the isolation, but because in this extermination mission... his Hidden Mist Village was the first to be excluded.
Such a great opportunity was right here.
A mission with such detailed intelligence... in everyone's eyes, there was no reason it wouldn't succeed.
So... everyone wanted their own Ninja Village to go, to be the first one to win a real victory for the Allied Forces.
When that happened, that Village's prestige within the Allied Forces would surely skyrocket.
Eventually, when the Allied Forces disbanded, this prestige would spread throughout the Ninja World, attracting wealth to them.
[Sigh... The Hidden Mist Village is an island nation after all. Trying to integrate...]
...The next day.
"Hehehe... I am the supreme commander of this joint operation, Orochimaru.
I don't ask for much, just follow orders!
Time is short, everyone keep up!"
After saying that, he was the first to run out... "We're here. This is the spot."
After traveling for some time, they finally arrived at the Village mentioned in the intelligence.
After a bit of confirmation, Orochimaru turned to the Hidden Stone Village Ninjas in the team and spoke.
"You guys hide underground first. When the battle starts later, you come out."
"Yes."
Once all the Hidden Stone Village Ninjas were hidden, Orochimaru turned back toward the Hidden Cloud Village Ninjas.
"You stay here for now. Once I've broken the Barrier inside, you charge straight in."
"Mhm."
"Nawaki, stay close to me in a bit."
"Okay, Orochimaru-sensei."
...Inside the stronghold.
"Look, look! So many people from the Allied Forces have come!"
"Really? They finally arrived? Let me see, let me see!"
"It's true. I didn't expect Ninjas from the Great Ninja Villages to show up this time. I wonder how strong they are—if they can even last a single exchange against me."
"Stop daydreaming and get back to your positions. Didn't you see the Hidden Stone Village Ninjas have already gone underground! Hurry up and bring them back."
"Oh, oh! Lord Yahiko, I'm going right now, right now!"
"What are you looking at! And you guys, get back to your posts. How is the plot supposed to unfold if you aren't there?"
"Hehe, going now, going now!"
...At the Hidden Stone Village position.
Upon receiving the orders, Higurashi led the Hidden Stone Village Ninjas underground.
"Boss, why do we have to listen to Konoha? We already know the location. Why not just charge in right now?"
"Stop talking so much! Isn't it better to hide underground now? We'll miss the most intense first wave of the clash!"
"Hehe, I'm just complaining a bit."
"Alright, we've dived deep enough. Everyone, disperse and find your positions."
"Yes."
..."Wait!"
An Hidden Stone Village Ninja traveling through the earth instinctively froze when he heard someone call him from behind. He quickly used Earth Release to turn around.
"Eh! Boss, why are you here?"
"Ah, I remembered there was something I hadn't told you yet, so I came to find you."
As he spoke, Higurashi didn't forget to pat the layers of soil not covered by the jutsu.
"Oho, it's quite solid. But just to be safe, you should come closer.
After all, what I'm about to tell you concerns our Hidden Stone Village's plans. We must be cautious."
"Oh~ so that's how it is."
Hearing Higurashi's reply, the Hidden Stone Village Ninja showed a look of realization.
He then swam through the earth to stand before him.
"Boss, what are the arrangements? I'm listening."
"Hehe... listen well. In a moment... you're going to die!"
[??!!!]
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