Iwagakure's counterattack had begun.
Even Sunagakure suffered significant Ninja losses due to the surprise attack, and the situation for the smaller Villages was even worse.
The counterattack brought the rapidly advancing Allied Shinobi Forces to a screeching halt, temporarily stopping their progress.
If it were merely dead or injured Ninja, it would not have been enough to stop the Allied Shinobi Forces.
It was Iwagakure's sudden appearance of an aerial unit that made the Allied Shinobi Forces temporarily abandon their idea of a reckless advance.
Ōnoki, after receiving the scroll from Tomoki, had clearly been busy.
Including Sunagakure, over a dozen Ninja Villages suffered aerial strikes from Iwagakure.
Aside from Sunagakure, all the others were small Ninja Villages. Sunagakure was singled out purely because of its rapid advance, ultimately paying the price for its 'Godspeed' reputation.
An aerial unit alone could not turn the tide of the Battlefield.
However, Roshi also did not intend to achieve victory with this hastily formed 'Explosive Clay' unit.
His sole purpose was to maximize casualties and slow down the Allied Shinobi Forces' advance.
Apart from Sunagakure, the other three major Ninja Villages did not suffer aerial attacks. This was partly due to their caution, and partly because major Ninja Villages have an abundance of high-level Ninja, making such small-scale aerial raids not difficult to counter.
The Allied Shinobi Forces moved quickly, on one hand, reassuring their respective units to restore their confidence.
On the other hand, special units from several Ninja Villages were studying the fragments of clay brought back from the Battlefield.
In just half a day, they had deciphered most of its mechanics and properties.
While recreating this Explosive Clay was impossible, a countermeasure plan had already been developed.
Early the next morning.
The Allied Shinobi Forces, like a tiger that had suffered a minor scratch, licked its wounds briefly before resuming its hunt.
This time, the Ninja units' advance was excruciatingly slow compared to their previous reckless charge, moving at less than a tenth of the speed.
Every step of their progression was taken with extreme caution, giving Iwagakure no opportunities.
In a temporarily excavated underground cave in front of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Over twenty Iwagakure Jonin stood shoulder to shoulder, packed tightly together.
It was they who, yesterday, had led their units to deliver a painful blow to the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Facing the Allied Shinobi Forces, who were overwhelming them with sheer numbers and an imposing momentum that Iwagakure could not hope to match, these Iwagakure Jonin all wore bitter expressions.
Yesterday's battle was perhaps the limit of what Iwagakure could achieve; repeating yesterday's success was now utterly impossible.
"Don't look so glum. Our objective has been achieved. The enemy's speed has slowed by more than ten times. This is something to be happy about!"
The leader broke the oppressive atmosphere, attempting to boost the confidence of those present.
It had some effect, but not much.
The atmosphere eased slightly, but remained incredibly heavy.
One Jonin, perhaps unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere, or perhaps thinking of his impending end, finally couldn't help but ask the leader:
"Sir, what is the meaning of what we are doing? At a time like this, can you tell us?"
The leader was one of the five individuals who had remained until the end in Roshi's office that day, a staunch advocate for fighting to the death from beginning to end.
He knew full well that Iwagakure was doomed to fail, but surrendering or fleeing was something he simply could not do.
He was born in Iwagakure, grew up in Iwagakure; Iwagakure encompassed his entire life. He was an Iwagakure Ninja, he was Iwagakure.
He had the resolve to die, but he did not have the will to make others die with him. Fortunately, now, the Tsuchikage had taken on all of this, and he did not need to make choices, only to execute orders.
Aside from the one who spoke, the other Jonin also turned their gazes to him, their eyes filled with doubt and anticipation.
Looking at the two overly young faces in the unit, his heart softened, but he ultimately steeled himself.
"What, have you all forgotten your duties? You are Ninja, you only need to execute orders. Or are you saying you want to know the reasons so you can decide whether to continue the mission or desert and preserve yourselves for later?"
"No, I would not desert. I was merely curious and spoke out of turn, Sir!"
The one who had spoken earlier quickly denied it.
"That's right, Sir. You know his mouth. But Sir, I'm actually quite curious too."
"Shut up! What aren't you curious about? You're even curious about what the women on East Street wear!"
"...."
As a few people interjected, the conversation completely veered into unknown territory. Inside the small underground cave, the solemn atmosphere dissipated, replaced by a different kind of cheerfulness.
An outsider might have thought these Iwagakure Ninja had already won and were planning to return to the Village soon, showing no awareness of their impending demise.
Only they themselves understood that this was purely to alleviate their inner tension.
After a while, seeing the atmosphere lighten and the conversation completely sidetracked, the leader finally spoke.
"Alright, I can tell you a little bit. This is all the Tsuchikage's plan, and the longer we delay the enemy, the more likely the Tsuchikage's plan is to succeed. I cannot reveal anything more."
It was as if he had said something, and yet nothing at all. The leader paused briefly, then continued:
"You only need to know one thing: our sacrifice is not meaningless. The Village will remember!"
"Sir, according to you, the Village still has hope?"
"Nonsense! Of course there's hope, otherwise what are we doing here?!"
The leader's eyes were incredibly deep, and he murmured to himself:
There is indeed hope, but it might not be the same hope as yours!
"Alright, time's almost up. We should depart!"
-------
Led by over twenty Jonin and with an assist from the aerial unit, over a thousand Iwagakure Ninja launched a suicidal assault against the Allied Shinobi Forces, who outnumbered them dozens of times over.
The attack by the Clay unit allowed the Iwagakure Ninja to find a weak point, and they charged into the breach without hesitation.
Their target: the Kusagakure unit.
The leader of the Iwagakure Jonin now stood alone; his subordinates had died before him, one by one, with satisfied smiles on their faces.
At this point, he had completely lost all ability to act; his Chakra, stamina, and even his mental energy were entirely depleted.
Iwagakure achieved a great victory!
Just over a thousand Ninja overwhelmed Kusagakure's unit of several thousand, killing nearly two thousand enemies.
Regardless of the Allied Shinobi Forces' overall situation, the Kusagakure unit was now effectively defunct; aside from its name, nothing remained.
However, Iwagakure's unit was also completely annihilated by the continuously gathering units, with only one person remaining.
The Takigakure unit came to pick up the pieces, and a dark-skinned young girl, about the same age as Naruto, looked at the scene of corpses strewn everywhere and asked, "Uncle, are we truly righteous? It seems Iwagakure doesn't want us to save them?"
The Ninja, whom Fū called 'Uncle', smiled slightly.
"No, they do. They must!"
After responding, he formed some unfamiliar hand signs and, along with many other Takigakure Ninja around him, used Ninjutsu on the sole remaining Iwagakure Ninja.
[Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!]
Countless Earth Release spikes impaled the last remaining Iwagakure Ninja, shattering him into countless pieces. The Ninja clapped his hands in satisfaction, then gave Fū a triumphant smile and said, "See? That is justice!"
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