Late at night, in a Sand Village ninja outpost, the Sand Village ninjas on alert nervously watched outside. They had been made tense by the constant harassment from Konoha ninjas, barely able to sleep soundly.
No, it would be more accurate to say that ever since participating in the Second Shinobi World War, every Sand Village ninja hadn't slept soundly. In the beginning, everyone still held the desire to fight for their village, but after encountering obstacles, everyone's mindset gradually began to change.
The strength of Konoha Village firmly held the Sand Village's progress in check. Once danger arose, Sand Village ninjas could only choose to fight to the death, with no possibility of surrender, simply because of that helpless command from the village.
The Sand Village ninja forces suffered heavy losses in their initial battle in the Land of Rain. Not only did their frontline forces collapse, but nearly two hundred people went missing. This was a very painful loss for the meticulously calculating Sand Village. Of course, no one knew that these two hundred people had all been sent to the interior of the Land of Fire for labor. In the eyes of the Sand Village ninjas, these people had all been eliminated in battles against Konoha Village.
The enemy's strength and the village's commands from behind placed the Sand Village ninjas in a dangerous position. Although they would certainly attack Konoha Village because of their village, their hearts were inevitably filled with confusion.
As ninjas, they should see themselves as mere tools, without thought, without emotion, focusing solely on the mission. However, it was no longer the Warring States period. No matter how high the demands on ninjas, unless they lived a completely secluded life, the longer they lived under the sun, the less likely they were to become such people.
Sand Village ninjas also lived under the sun. They had their own families, their own thoughts, their own emotions, and everything that ordinary people possessed. Therefore, they naturally feared death, especially since most Sand Village ninjas were children of the new generation who had not witnessed the cruelty of the Warring States period. Naturally, they could not imagine how people lived back then; they would only live in the present way.
To unleash the entire village's war potential, the Sand Village, not only in terms of material supply, subjected all its ninjas to ideological education and military suppression, telling them that they must fight for the village, that they were not allowed to surrender, and that they could not be cowards—
Initially, they all understood. However, the longer they participated in the war, the more they gradually felt that everything the Sand Village said seemed somewhat hollow, leaving their hearts always lacking a fulfilling power to support them. In contrast, even the Konoha ninjas, despite being in an unfavorable situation, maintained such resilient and unyielding expressions, and their eyes seemed to hold something completely different from the Sand Village ninjas.
For the Sand Village ninjas, whose retreat had been cut off and whose war potential had been unleashed, they, of course, wouldn't know that what was in the Konoha ninjas' eyes was called conviction. Unlike the Sand Village, when Kazamori Masaki formulated educational policies, he never forced Konoha ninjas onto the battlefield. He first clarified the justness of the war, telling everyone that they were fighting a righteous war to defend their homeland and resist aggression.
Anyone protecting their own possessions will possess unprecedented fighting capabilities. Kazamori Masaki only needed to ensure that Konoha ninjas had a high sense of identity with their village and country. This way, when others entered the Land of Fire with aggressive intentions, to protect their homeland, Konoha ninjas would naturally take up arms and charge at the enemy.
Because the war to defend their homeland and resist aggression was just, Konoha ninjas would not feel any confusion about their actions. They knew they were fighting for their families and the safety of their homeland. Their consciences were clear, and the people were also willing to support Konoha ninjas in protecting their homes.
And all of this was something the Sand Village ninjas, who were forced onto the battlefield, lacked. If the war went smoothly and they plundered what they needed,
the Sand Village ninjas might be temporarily misled by the immediate benefits, but once the war turned unfavorable, and the invaders gained nothing, the constant sacrifices would become the root of their inner suffering.
If a certain ideology could put the entire Sand Village into a state of fanaticism, then it might be possible to maintain the Sand Village ninjas' powerful combat capabilities. However, the Sand Village's ideological education was clearly inadequate; they only relied on traditional methods, and combat power fueled solely by fear would eventually lead to problems.
Clearly, the Sand Village ninjas were now slowly realizing the problem, beginning to question inwardly why they had come to the battlefield. In battles with the enemy, they felt no joy. When eliminating enemy troops with poison gas, after the initial satisfaction of revenge, there was an immediate emptiness.
On the battlefields of the Second Shinobi World War, they seemed to feel nothing worth pursuing, neither glory nor anything else. However, although they were currently confused, they still leaned towards the Sand Village. The battles that needed to be fought still had to be fought, otherwise, they would lose their lives if they returned. And at this moment—
"Enemy attack!" Accompanied by a loud shout, a sharp sound rang out, instantly waking the half-asleep Sand Village ninjas in the camp. They scrambled to their feet and rushed outside, taking their designated battle positions. Simultaneously, the Sand Village ninjas outside the camp immediately launched a large number of "projectiles" from their puppets.
Large amounts of smoke of various colors filled the air. This was the poison gas possessed by the Sand Village, which could effectively hinder the advance of large ninja forces. The Sand Village knew that although Konoha Village had gas masks, their numbers were insufficient, only enough to equip a certain number of elite troops.
The Sand Village ninjas here also understood that the attackers were definitely Konoha ninjas wearing gas masks, but they couldn't be sure if there was a large force. In any case, releasing the poison gas was definitely the right move. The rest was to stop the charge of the enemy's elite forces.
However, what the Sand Village ninjas didn't expect was that after only a brief pause, a number of Konoha ninjas far exceeding previous encounters rushed out of the smoke. This unusual scene immediately caused panic among the Sand Village ninjas. Their usually invincible poison gas had actually lost its effect at this moment!
Fortunately, because they had anticipated an elite unit's charge from the start, the Sand Village ninjas had already established sufficient defenses. Although the enemy's numbers exceeded expectations, they should still be able to hold them off. However, in a short while, a sound of something streaking through the sky at high speed suddenly rang out.
The Sand Village ninjas in the rear saw that what was falling from the sky were strangely shaped ninja tools, somewhat resembling kunai, but for some unknown reason, their surfaces had become a bit "fatter." The next moment, strong explosions rang out one after another in the camp, and the shockwaves knocked all the nearby Sand Village ninjas off their feet.
"It's explosive projectiles! Block them with Wind Release!" someone shouted.
Of course, the Sand Village was no stranger to explosive projectiles. When the entire Sand Village ninja force was supposed to rendezvous with the Stone Village ninja force, it was this very thing that blocked their path. However, this item was usually used on crucial roads where two armies met, so why would it appear here?
Everyone didn't have time to think. When the sharp sound rang out in the sky again, they immediately used Wind Release. The "projectiles" of the explosive projectiles would detonate upon strong impact. By forming an isolation layer with Wind Release, they could prevent the explosive projectiles from damaging the ground.
However, these explosive projectiles seemed to be different from what people expected. While they exploded, the flames were indeed isolated in the sky, looking like mere fireworks. But then, a sharp whooshing sound suddenly echoed in the air. Before the Sand Village ninjas could react, they felt a sharp pain and screamed as they fell to the ground.
"Th-this is—" A Sand Village ninja looked over and saw a metallic pellet embedded in the wounded ninja's wound, with blood gushing out. The hit Sand Village ninja was in excruciating pain. Those with bad luck died on the spot, while those with good luck were also unable to move due to the intense pain.
"Have they added other things to the explosive projectile 'shells'?" The Sand Village ninjas immediately realized. Among puppeteers, there were also some who would add unexpected hidden weapons to their puppets. The "shells" currently used by Konoha ninjas were very similar in principle.
This made everyone even more panicked. The metallic pellets, propelled by the explosion, could not be blocked by the Wind Release acting as an isolation layer. Even if the power of the Wind Release was increased, considering the chakra consumption and the sheer number of projectiles, defending against them would be extremely difficult.
The best method, naturally, was the stone walls built by the Stone Village, which were sufficient to block attacks from all directions. However, there were not many people in the Sand Village who could use Earth Release. Their physiques were generally suited for wind-style, and those who studied earth-style, apart from special individuals, usually began to research a second element.
Although some Stone Village ninja squads had arrived here via secret paths, it was clearly impossible for them to be everywhere, stationed at every outpost. At least there were no such people here. Thus, facing the new type of explosive "projectiles," the Sand Village ninjas appeared extremely helpless. After three rounds of bombardment, the metallic pellets fired from all directions had completely shattered the Sand Village's defensive formation.
"Calm down! Everyone, we must hold on until those in the rear can reorganize the defensive line," a Sand Village ninja guarding the front said with a trembling voice. The puppet in front of him spread its shield to block the kunai thrown by the enemy. Although he felt it was unlikely, he could only hope for it.
However, this Sand Village ninja suddenly noticed that the puppet's movements were somewhat off, as if it were stuck, moving very stiffly. He looked over in surprise, and in the light of the explosion behind him, he finally noticed a group of pitch-black things moving in the puppet's joint crevices.
The Sand Village ninja's pupils contracted slightly. He recognized these as the Aburame clan's Kikaichu from Konoha Village. These tiny, chakra-eating insects had various uses, and under the Aburame clan's secret techniques, the usage of Kikaichu reached an unprecedented level.
—This is bad.
The Sand Village ninjas hadn't noticed when the Kikaichu had gotten onto the puppets. Once the joints were corroded, ordinary puppets would immediately become useless. Just as they were stunned, some Konoha ninjas in front let out a loud shout, followed by several rapidly spinning, snow-white, tornado-shaped objects flying out, knocking away the immobile puppets. The remaining Konoha ninjas quickened their pace and charged forward.
When the snow-white tornadoes landed on the ground, they transformed into a person and a dog. This was the unique secret technique of Konoha Village's Inuzuka clan, performing a combined attack with their carefully trained ninja dogs. They simply said to their ninja dogs, "Go, partner," and once again transformed into tornadoes, charging through the camp.
The Sand Village ninjas, whose formation had been disrupted by the explosive projectile bombardment, were completely unable to cope with the overwhelmingly superior numbers of Konoha ninjas. In the midst of the chaos, very few Sand Village ninjas were still able to fight. At this point, the Konoha ninjas stopped attacking and instead pulled out a ninja tool, from which gas sprayed out. The Sand Village ninjas who inhaled it felt their faces stiffen, then their bodies lost strength, and they fell to the ground, one after another, losing consciousness.
Soon, the entire camp, except for the deceased Sand Village ninjas, had all the remaining living ones knocked out by the anesthetic gas. The Konoha ninjas exhaled softly, and the captain in charge of the operation looked at the scene before him with satisfaction. Combining the highly distinctive ninja clans of Konoha Village, arranged in squad formations, along with the coordinated bombardment of explosive projectiles, they had managed to wipe out a Sand Village outpost with such ease.
He couldn't help but think that explosive projectiles were truly a good thing, transforming the nature of war into a different scenario. However, this tactic succeeded so easily also because of the antidote developed by Lady Tsunade. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to support Konoha ninjas' close-quarters charges, and it would have been impossible to achieve victory with such low casualties—in this operation, Konoha ninjas had only wounded, not a single death.
"Carry away the unconscious Sand Village ninjas and send them to the rear for placement," the captain waved his hand and gave the order. "These guys are really lucky; they even get to taste anesthetic gas. Hmph, I really want them to taste what poison gas is like."
Konoha Village needed Sand Village prisoners for the subsequent handling of the Land of Wind war. Therefore, the higher-ups requested Konoha ninjas to capture as many Sand Village ninjas as possible. Of course, the safety of Konoha Village had to be prioritized, and the treatment of prisoners, no matter how good, could not exceed that of Konoha ninjas. This was a basic requirement.
Although Konoha ninjas had suffered greatly due to the poison gas, much of that resentment had been alleviated by the bombardment of the new type of "projectiles" from the explosive projectiles. If they wanted to capture prisoners effectively, they had to eliminate the stubbornly resisting Sand Village ninjas. So, the higher-ups did not prevent Konoha ninjas from launching a fierce counterattack. After eliminating most of the Sand Village ninjas in this camp, they began capturing prisoners—if you want to be a prisoner, you must first survive!
"Alright, let's move on to the next location," the captain said slowly. This was just the beginning; Konoha Village's counterattack would not stop until all the invaders were driven out.