From that day forward, the Hidden Leaf Village launched a large-scale counterattack. With the advent of the antidote, the Hidden Leaf Village no longer had to worry about casualties, fully leveraging its numerical superiority. Coupled with the new tactics involving explosive cannons, they swiftly caught the Hidden Sand ninja forces off guard.
After receiving detailed intelligence at their command camp in the Land of Grass, the situation for the Hidden Sand ninjas was already far from optimistic. Hidden Leaf ninja forces, surging from all directions, battered the Hidden Sand's defensive lines, tearing them apart and segmenting them, preventing them from acting as a cohesive unit.
The person in charge there was Ryu, Chiyo's son, and his wife, Chizuru. He couldn't sit still, his brow furrowed as he looked at the routes on the map. The enemy's offensive was incredibly fierce; isolated camps would be easily annihilated unless they clustered together. At the same time, many camps had lost contact under the enemy's encirclement and segmentation, and their specific situations were unknown.
"Why is this happening? Even if the Hidden Leaf Village developed an antidote, it shouldn't be able to unleash such combat power," Ryu said, his expression anxious. "How do they have so many explosive cannons? Where did they get them from? Don't they need to defend against the Hidden Stone Village?"
The Hidden Sand Village was aware of new ninja tools like explosive cannons, but due to pressure from the Hidden Stone Village, the Hidden Leaf ninja forces couldn't deploy a large number of explosive cannons here. Once they lost the suppressive fire of the explosive cannons, the Hidden Leaf ninja forces' advantage would cease to exist.
Previously, the Hidden Leaf Village only used explosive cannons to prevent the Hidden Sand and Hidden Stone ninja forces from converging and forming a unified front, unable to use them on the main battlefield. However, the current situation was clearly different. Where did such a large number of explosive cannons suddenly come from? If they were transferred from other battlefields, why would the Hidden Stone Village's forces remain indifferent?
With time pressing, the Hidden Sand ninja forces hadn't received any intelligence from the Hidden Stone Village, which made Ryu even more anxious. At this point, someone offered a guess: "Could it be that the Hidden Cloud Village launched a large-scale attack, tying down the Hidden Stone Village?"
This statement was like a sudden enlightenment, making Ryu understand immediately. If the Hidden Cloud Village entered the battlefield and immediately launched a high-speed assault, the Hidden Stone ninja forces would indeed certainly be tied down, unable to attend to other areas—the Hidden Cloud Village, primarily focused on lightning-style chakra, excelled at high-speed raids, and lightning was also the most effective counter-attribute against the Hidden Stone Village, which would undoubtedly maximize their advantage in the war.
The Hidden Stone Village had always considered the Hidden Cloud Village a major enemy. Onoki had intended to form an alliance with the Hidden Cloud Village, but he didn't expect them to ultimately choose to ally with the Hidden Leaf Village. This not only thwarted Onoki's plans but also made the Hidden Stone Village's situation more precarious.
With the Hidden Stone Village tied down, the Hidden Leaf ninja forces could naturally redirect the explosive cannons originally intended for the Hidden Stone Village to this front. However, was the Hidden Cloud Village's raid really that powerful? Powerful enough to completely prevent the Hidden Stone Village from paying attention to this side? Ryu naturally wouldn't have known that the Hidden Cloud Village had also acquired the Hidden Leaf Village's explosive cannons. They had an abundance of explosive tags and lightning blast tags, and the firepower advantage they displayed was initially indistinguishable from, and even superior to, that of the Hidden Leaf ninja forces. The already disadvantaged Hidden Stone ninja forces naturally couldn't spare attention for other areas.
And upon realizing this, the Hidden Sand ninja forces' situation seemed to become even more perilous. Their nearby allies might be tied down, and the Hidden Sand ninja forces alone were clearly unable to withstand the new tactics employed by the Hidden Leaf ninja forces. Without impregnable earth wall defenses, the Hidden Sand ninja forces, primarily relying on Wind Release and puppet jutsu, had almost no way to cope with the bombardment of explosive cannons.
—What should we do? What should we do?
Such thoughts echoed repeatedly in Ryu's mind. Cold sweat seeped from his face, and his body trembled slightly from inner anxiety.
His wife, Chizuru, seeing this, couldn't help but purse her lips. She understood how bad the current situation was, but she had no good solutions. She could only reach out and hold her husband's hand, hoping to offer him some comfort.
Ryu looked up at his wife. As a jonin of the Hidden Sand Village, he was by no means weak-willed. The harsh desert environment greatly tempered one's will; a weak person could not possibly rise to a high position in the village. But it was undeniable that even the strongest person could not remain calm in the face of a dire situation.
"They developed the antidote too quickly. Mother's newly developed poison hadn't even arrived yet, and they've already figured it out," Ryu's voice sounded somewhat hoarse. "If we could still use poison gas, the situation might be better now."
"But we really don't have any effective poison gas right now," Chizuru said. "And because of the poison gas, the Hidden Leaf ninjas have clearly accumulated too much anger. Now that it's erupted, it's uncontrollable, and their morale is exceptionally high, while ours—"
Ryu fell silent. According to the current situation, the camps surrounded by the Hidden Leaf ninja forces had ended in complete annihilation—he didn't know that some survivors had been taken away as prisoners—and such battle results clearly affected the morale of the Hidden Sand ninja forces. Even though they had to fight with all their might due to the village's orders, facing an enemy determined to annihilate them, their hearts would inevitably feel fear.
While some people might choose to fight to the death, thinking that moving forward meant death and retreating meant death, so they might as well take down an enemy before dying, not everyone would be like that. There was also the option of fleeing, and in fact, some Hidden Sand ninjas couldn't withstand the bombardment of explosive cannons and had returned as scattered remnants.
Leaving aside whether to punish the deserters, this already proved one thing: the morale of the Hidden Sand ninja forces was very low. They were already tactically inferior to the enemy, and now their morale was also lower. Such a battle could not possibly be won.
"Should we choose to leave the Land of Grass? Or rather, should we ask the village for more support?" Ryu mused.
"Retreat is impossible, otherwise the Hidden Stone Village would be isolated," Chizuru replied. "If that affects our relationship with the Hidden Stone Village, our situation will become even more troublesome."
"You're right, we still have to ask the village for help." Although he said this, Ryu also knew it would be very difficult. To send Hidden Sand ninja forces here, they would have to pass through the Land of Rain. And the Hidden Rain Village in the Land of Rain, despite not being as strong as the Five Great Ninja Villages overall, under the leadership of its leader, Hanzo, had developed guerrilla warfare to an unprecedented degree, causing great trouble for the Hidden Sand Village's logistics and supply routes.
"No matter what, we can only choose the relatively less bad option, can't we?" Chizuru said gently. "We have to find a way to get back alive, don't forget, Sasori is still there."
Thinking of his son left in the village, Ryu's expression softened slightly. He nodded at Chizuru and said, "Yes, we must go back alive."
#
Just as the Konoha Fourth Ninja Squad began its counterattack,Fumori masaki also received a joint request from the Second and Fourth Ninja Squads to formulate a large-scale counterattack operation against the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Sand Village. If successful, it would stabilize the situation on the western front in one fell swoop.
Fumori masakii first held a preliminary discussion with Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, then deliberated extensively in a jonin meeting, deciding to adopt the suggestion. While requesting the general staff to develop strategic plans,Fumori masaki also made a decision: he would personally go to the western front to oversee the war effort.
Everyone who heard this couldn't help but feel a jolt. For the village's highest leader to rush to the front lines showedFumori masaki's seriousness regarding this matter. However, judging from the estimated outcome, it was also necessary, because once the strategic objective was achieved, the situations of both the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Sand Village would become very difficult. At that time, to salvage the situation, the Kage of both ninja villages might personally appear.
With Uchiha Kagami on the Hidden Sand Village side, everyone wasn't too worried. The only one was the Third Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone Village, Onoki, who was an opponent that had to be taken seriously. His kekkei tōta, Dust Release, was a powerful ninjutsu capable of annihilating an entire squad, enough to turn the tide of a battle in a given area.
Although the power of individuals would be weakened after the appearance of explosive cannons, the capabilities of explosive cannons were not yet sufficient to determine the outcome of high-level battles. Once Onoki participated in the battle, even with explosive cannons, for him, it would just be a matter of Dust Release. With a single move, he could turn all the explosive cannon positions into dust.
Fumori masakii's purpose in deciding to go to the front line was to be able to intervene in time to stop Onoki once he appeared. He would not be careless in the slightest with this veteran ninja world powerhouse. Onoki had fought against Uchiha Madara, and his experience and strength had been proven.
In the Fourth Great Ninja War of later generations, Onoki, nearly eighty years old, along with the other four Kage, jointly fought against the Edo Tensei-resurrected Uchiha Madara. Despite Madara's overwhelming power advantage, the Five Kage still barely managed to stall him, and Uchiha Madara had to admit that among the Five Kage, Onoki was the one who needed the most attention.
If Onoki, nearly eighty, was acknowledged by Uchiha Madara as someone to watch out for, thenFumori masaki naturally had to take the current Onoki, who was in his prime ninja years, seriously. The war had reached a point where both sides' high-end combat forces should appear. Next, the jinchuriki of the Hidden Stone Village might also be deployed to the battlefield.
"After I leave the village, the daily operations of the village will be entrusted to you,"Fumori masaki said to Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, as staff assistants, were already experienced and didn't require Fumori masaki's worry; they could arrange the village's daily operations well. Their only concern was forFumori masaki to be careful. Their strength was not on par with top-tier ninjas like Fumori masaki, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, or Uchiha Kagami. Although they wished to go to the front, they knew that their value lay in remaining within the village.
"I will be careful." As the highest leader of a village, any mishap would undoubtedly affect the village's morale. The Third Raikage, despite his injuries, couldn't let anyone know the reason.Fumori masaki understood this and smiled at the two.
"I hope this operation succeeds and completely stabilizes the situation on the western front," Mitokado Homura exhaled deeply, saying.
"As long as everyone works together, it will definitely be possible,"Fumori masaki said. "Well then, I'm off. See you when I get back."
With that,Fumori masaki, under the protection of his personal Anbu guards, left the Hidden Leaf Village for the western front. The Hokage's travel was a major event, especially during wartime. If anyone knew the Hokage's whereabouts, it could be exploited by the enemy. Therefore, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura kept the secret very well.
After repeated strikes by the Anbu, the strength of foreign spies within the Land of Fire was greatly diminished, and they couldn't ascertain Fumori masaki's true destination, nor did they have a clear idea whether the Hokage had even left. Under these circumstances,Fumori masaki arrived at the western front.
When he arrived at the western front, the battle in the Land of Grass had already concluded. The Hidden Sand ninja forces were retreating steadily, having barely managed to stabilize their footing, but the situation remained grim. Reinforcements were delayed, and the Hidden Leaf ninja forces were about to launch their next offensive.
Similarly, the Hidden Stone ninja forces also in the Land of Grass were tied down by the Hidden Cloud Village. With the use of explosive cannons, abundant explosive tags and lightning blast tags continuously flew towards the Hidden Stone Village's positions, giving them constant headaches and reminding them once again of the fear they experienced when first facing explosive cannons.
Learning that the situation in the Land of Grass was good,Fumori masaki first met with Hanzo and Uchiha Kagami. The battle here could only be described as a stalemate because the main forces of the Hidden Sand Village were also on this side, but the situation was still favorable. After the meeting, he informed them of the upcoming strategic objectives. After waiting for the specific plans from the general staff,Fumori masaki set off again, this time heading to the Land of Grass. At this point, he felt a little nostalgic for his student and daughter who were in the Land of Grass.
While in the village,Fumori masaki could only receive reports of their wartime performance. Both Hatake Sakumo and Asuna had achieved outstanding merits, with no favoritism involved. After discussions within the village, the levels of commendation were decided. Once the war temporarily concluded, Hatake Sakumo would definitely be promoted to jonin, and Asuna's promotion to special jonin would not be an issue. Including his friend's daughter, Mizuki, many people would receive promotions, many of whom were civilian ninjas. Whether alive or deceased, those who made sacrifices deserved their due recognition.