aircannonsinc Chapter 274 The Storm Is Brewing
Chapter 274 The Storm Is Brewing
Chapter 274 The Storm Is Brewing
Central part of the Land of Grass.
The western front troops finally met up with the border reinforcements. When the rescue ninjas saw the miserable state of the western front troops, they were shocked.
Although they knew the western front troops had suffered a defeat, they did not expect them to be beaten so badly. Not only were all the soldiers wounded, but the entire unit was almost scattered.
"Jonin Tanaka, we've finally reunited with you all." Mimura Yoruichi grasped Tanaka's hands, his face filled with excitement.
"Commander Mimura, I have been ordered to come and provide support. From now on, I will serve under your command." Tanaka was an honest man, and after the rendezvous, he immediately handed over command of the troops.
"Jonin Tanaka, did you encounter Danzo on your way here?"
Mimura Yoru pulled Tanaka aside and asked in a low voice, "The truth is, we haven't seen Danzo or any other members of Root along the way."
This is really not right. As the original commander, Danzo should have returned to the camp to check on it after learning that it was safe, even if he had fled before. But so much time has passed and there has been no sign of him. This makes him wonder if Danzo has been intercepted and killed by Iwagakure.
Tanaka glanced at Mimura Yomaki with a puzzled look, but still honestly said, "We did run into some Root ninjas, but they just brushed past us without greeting us. However, Lord Danzo definitely didn't see us."
Mimura Yoru was also surprised to hear this, but now was not the time to think about such things. He suppressed his doubts and led Tanaka to see Taichi's shadow clone.
Taiyi's main body is still delaying Iwagakure's advance. No one knows what the situation is over there. If he is just barely holding on, then we must notify them as soon as possible that they have encountered reinforcements.
When the two arrived in front of Taiyi's shadow clone, Taiyi understood everything without them having to say a word.
The shadow clone instantly turned into white smoke and dissipated. Less than two seconds later, the original Taiyi appeared out of thin air.
After four hours of continuous battles, Taiichi's main body was at the height of its power. The moment it appeared, its fierce aura stunned several low-level chunin and genin around it. Even Mimura Yomi and Tanaka felt a chill run down their spines.
Fortunately, Taiyi reacted quickly, hurriedly restraining his aura and even softening his tone of voice.
"Jonin Tanaka, if you don't come soon, I won't be able to hold off Iwagakure."
Taiichi cracked a joke, which helped to ease the tension. Mimura Yomi and Jonin Tanaka both smiled in agreement. They couldn't help it; they had genuinely been startled.
"Taiichi, how long do you estimate it will take for Iwagakure to catch up?" Mimura Yomi asked, having composed herself.
"At their speed, it will take them about five hours to get to where we are now."
"Oh, it's still so long!" Mimura Yori raised an eyebrow, her voice rising several octaves. She truly hadn't expected Taiichi to be so effective, managing to delay Iwagakure to this point, practically bringing them to a standstill.
"That way we can find an open space, wait for them to tire themselves out, and give them a big surprise."
"Ideally, this place can also be used to set up a camp." Taiyi added, "I don't think this battle will actually happen. I've done a lot of trouble for Iwagakure. Once they see us reunited, they'll probably just retreat."
Mimura Yoru and Tanaka Jonin were genuinely surprised. Just how much trouble would they have to endure before giving up such a good opportunity to attack for Iwagakure?
The facts quickly provided them with the answer.
When they found an open area near the river, the ninjas were on high alert, and the logistics team began setting up camp, the vanguard of Iwagakure finally arrived late.
Calculating the time, it's about the same as Taiyi's estimate, around five hours.
There weren't many people who came; they were all Jonin and their direct squads, including Commander Higashi no Shiren and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han.
Seeing the Konoha ninjas who were already waiting in ambush, the last glimmer of hope in Dong Siren's heart vanished.
At this point, it was naturally Taiichi who stepped up. Mimura Yomaki had just suffered a defeat and lacked confidence in her speech, while Tanaka was somewhat lacking in the status of a Jonin.
Only Taichi, who recently gave the Five-Tails Jinchuriki a sound beating and toyed with the entire Iwagakure army, has that qualification.
"Hey, isn't this the Hidden Dead Man from Iwagakure? Why did you only bring so few people? Where's your main force? Did they all turn into cowards?"
Taiyi's merciless sarcasm was like tearing away the last fig leaf from the face of the dead man of the East.
"Matsushita Taichi, don't be so arrogant. You're only slowing us down by relying on your speed and sneak attacks. If you're so tough, let's have a head-on battle and see who dies."
"You talk as if you didn't defeat us by sneak attack!" Taiyi's disdainful laughter echoed in the ears of everyone on both sides of the confrontation.
Taiyi stepped forward ten paces and shouted, "I'm right here now. If you want a head-on confrontation, come on! I'll let you send out five people. I'll take on five of you by myself. That's being lenient, isn't it? I'm just afraid you won't dare to come."
The Konoha ninja behind them simultaneously burst into loud laughter, mocking these Iwagakure guys as cowardly cowards.
In fact, Taiichi is clearly changing the subject. What Higashi-no-Kami wants is a battle between legions, but he wants Iwagakure to have a one-on-one duel with him.
This left Dong Siren speechless, unable to express his bitterness!
Everyone knows that among all those present, Matsushita Taichi is the most capable fighter, the kind who can overpower Han, the second-ranked Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
Seeing the dead man in front of him rendered speechless by the rebuke, Taiyi felt relieved. However, the farce still needed to end as soon as possible. There were still a large number of wounded soldiers in Konoha's ranks waiting for treatment. He had only stabilized their injuries last night, and follow-up treatment needed to be provided in a timely manner.
"You dead man from the east, you dare not fight, and you won't leave either. What do you want to do here with your men!" Taiyi's righteous and stern rebuke completely extinguished the morale of the group of Iwa ninja. They had already been toyed with by Taiyi for a long time, and now they were even less confident.
"Fine, fine, fine. Since none of you want to leave, then you might as well stay. It'll be a good opportunity for us to avenge last night's sneak attack."
As he spoke, Taiichi raised his hand and waved it, and Mimura Yomi, who was behind him, shouted loudly in perfect unison, "Revenge! Revenge!"
""
Then all the Konoha ninja shouted, "Revenge! Revenge!"
The chaotic shouts gradually merged into a single rhythm: "Revenge! Revenge!"
When Taichi took his first step forward, Mimura Yoru followed closely behind, and then all the Konoha ninjas took a step forward.
Then comes the second step, and the third step.
Taiyi had already begun forming hand seals, and countless phoenix flames appeared around him.
Those bright golden fireballs immediately reminded Dong Siren and the Iwagakure ninja behind him of the more than two hundred people who had been instantly killed by the meteor shower that fell from the sky not long ago.
In an instant, Dong Siren made a decision: a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. He would wait until he had rested and had enough men before coming back to get revenge.
"Let's retreat, let's go back."
The Iwagakure ninja arrived quickly and left even faster, as if they were being chased by hunting dogs. In reality, all they had behind them was the endless mockery of the Konoha ninja.
As the surrounding phoenix flames dissipated, Taiichi breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't have much chakra left, and he still had to treat the wounded later. He really didn't want to fight Iwagakure again.
At this moment, Mimura Yomi also came over, his face full of undisguised excitement, probably even happier than on his wedding night.
"That felt so good, so satisfying!" Mimura Yoru waved her fist. "I really wanted to rush up and fight Iwagakure just now."
"No!" Taiichi quickly stopped him. "Commander Mimura, hurry up and arrange for camp to be set up and guarded. There are still many wounded who haven't been treated yet."
"Yes, yes, I almost forgot about something so important. Thank goodness you reminded me, Taiichi."
Having failed to pursue Iwagakure, they will likely find a place to set up camp soon, and the western front will once again descend into a protracted war of attrition.
However, Konoha is clearly at a disadvantage overall. Both in terms of the number and quality of its troops, it is inferior to Iwagakure. Konoha's only advantage is that it is stronger than Iwagakure in terms of top-tier combat power.
That depends on the commander's leadership skills.
While the western front forces temporarily forced back the Iwa ninja and were busy treating the wounded and rearranging their camps, the No. 8 outpost on the Konoha border was in chaos.
After yesterday's battle, the Root members retreated to Outpost No. 8 to regroup, as ordered by Danzo. However, the agreed regrouping time had passed, and Danzo was still nowhere to be found.
This made all the Root ninjas present very uneasy. As the most cruel and strict organization, Root never allowed to be late. Even the leader Danzo had never made such a mistake.
"Red Tiger, an hour has passed, and Lord Danzo still hasn't arrived. What should we do?"
The middle-aged ninja named Red Tiger looked around at the group of Root elites. He was currently the highest-ranking among them, and everyone was waiting for him to make a decision.
"Azure Eagle, take four squads back to the Land of Grass and search for Lord Danzo's whereabouts on our return journey."
Vulture, take two small teams and infiltrate the Land of Earth to search for any clues near our original camp.
The others continued to wait, thinking that perhaps Lord Danzo had just run into trouble and would return later.
The group exchanged glances and nodded in unison. Chi Hu's arrangement was sound and the most correct decision at present.
Eagle and Vulture quickly mustered their forces and set off for the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth, while the other Root ninjas could only continue to wait anxiously at Outpost No. 8.
Time flies, and a day has passed in the blink of an eye. The Root members at Post 8 did not see Danzo return, and even the hawk that went to the Land of Grass to investigate brought back news of a fruitless search.
This cast a shadow over everyone's hearts. Root was established by Danzo, and they were also cultivated and promoted by Danzo. Their loyalty to Danzo was self-evident.
How could they remain calm now that their leader had disappeared without a trace?
"Silver Fox, can you stop walking back and forth? You're driving me crazy," the eagle complained from the side.
"Do you think I wanted this? Lord Danzo hasn't sent a single word yet, how can I sit still? As for you, why didn't you search the Land of Grass a little longer? Why did you come back so quickly?" Silver Fox said irritably, and at the end, she even blamed Azure Eagle.
"You—you are truly unreasonable." The eagle was equally anxious, and its face grew even uglier upon hearing the silver fox's accusations.
He got up in a fit of anger and was about to lead his men out to continue the search when the vulture who had gone out with him earlier returned with his men at lightning speed.
From a distance, it appeared that one of them was carrying someone on his back.
When they arrived at the outpost, they realized that the person being carried back was their companion Terai, but he was already dead, his body stiff.
"Vulture, what's going on? Where is Lord Danzo?" Silver Fox asked anxiously.
Vulture's face still showed fear and unease, as did the other Root members who went with him.
Seeing this, Red Tiger stepped forward and slapped the vulture twice across the face, shouting, "Vulture, tell me, where is Lord Danzo? What did you find?"
Although they asked this question, everyone had a bad feeling.
"Lord Danzo—he may have been intercepted and killed by Iwagakure." Vulture looked at everyone, still somewhat dazed.
"How is that possible? How could Lord Danzo be dead? How did you confirm it?" Silver Fox's eyes widened as she grabbed Vulture's arms and angrily questioned him.
"The first thing we found was Terai's body, and then we found Danzo's battle site not far away, where we also found traces of the activation of the Reverse Four Symbols Seal."
Upon hearing the name "Inner Four Symbols Seal," everyone's faces turned ashen. The Inner Four Symbols Seal was no ordinary technique; only a handful of people from Konoha knew about it from the Ninja World Association. And only these close confidants of Danzo knew that Danzo had placed the Inner Four Symbols Seal on themselves.
The seal is triggered by Danzo's death; it is Danzo's last resort to drag his enemies down with him.
In other words, if those are indeed traces caused by the Inner Four Symbols Seal, then Lord Danzo is probably really dead.
After a long while, it was Akahiro who first perked up. He straightened up, looked at the other Root members, and said in a heavy tone, "Let's go back to the village first and report Danzo's matter to the Hokage. We'll ask the Hokage to send out more elite scout ninjas. They're sure they can still find some clues."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Chi Hu, and in the end, they could only nod silently. This was the only thing they could do now.
"Vulture, take Terai's body with you. He was the last person to be with Lord Danzo. Perhaps we can find some clues from his body."
"Yes." With that, Vulture hoisted Terai's body onto his shoulder, and the group of Root ninjas quickly left Outpost No. 8, rushing towards Konoha Village.
The next day, when the group arrived in Konoha, covered in dust, and reported Danzo's death to Hiruzen Sarutobi, a violent storm immediately erupted.
This time, without Hiruzen Sarutobi even needing to call out, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane arrived at the Hokage's office.
The news of Danzo's death was undoubtedly more devastating to them than a magnitude 10 earthquake. A ninja of equal status had died so mysteriously, and these old men and women immediately thought of themselves.
Is it possible that one day I will also die inexplicably, without even finding the murderer?
The Root members believed that Iwagakure had ambushed them, but they didn't think so. If it were Iwagakure, the news would have reached their ears long ago, just like when Iwagakure ambushed and defeated Konoha. By now, the news would have spread throughout the entire ninja world.