"Sora."
"So this is where you were!"
After the lively and pleasant voice sounded, Mei, dressed in a blue long dress, appeared beside the two men.
"Mei, what brings you here?"
Yagura turned around, a kindly smile appearing on his face.
"Yagura-senpai, I'm not here for you!"
Mei raised her fair little face and said in a delicate voice: "I have official business to report to Sora. Your rank is too low, hearing it would be useless."
"Mei, you..."
After being snapped at a few times, Yagura's expression couldn't help but stiffen. Seeing Mei's angry look, he knew the matter of him previously voting against her promotion to squad leader wasn't over yet!
"Alright, Mei, what did you come to find me for?"
Sora's gaze turned to Mei as he spoke, changing the subject.
Hearing this, Mei rolled her eyes at Yagura again, then snorted lightly and said: "We just received intelligence from our inside sources. It seems Konoha's Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki has fully recovered. Konoha is using this opportunity to boost morale and has begun assembling forces. It seems they have the idea of pushing back to retake the Tenfu Gorge-Mount Fukyu frontline. Many scouts have sent back reports. According to estimates, the number of troops Konoha is assembling this time should be..."
"Over three thousand people!!!"
Hearing this news, Yagura said with a look of astonishment: "Has that old man Sarutobi Hiruzen gone mad? A force of three thousand people? Is he completely abandoning the western front!??"
According to intelligence previously obtained by Kirigakure, ten days ago, Konoha and Iwagakure signed a ceasefire treaty, and Konoha began gradually withdrawing Ninjas from the Iwagakure front.
However, due to geopolitical reasons, Konoha still didn't dare relax its guard on the western front. Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Amegakure under Hanzo the Salamander were all entities Konoha needed to be wary of.
Add to that the powerful enemy Kumogakure to the northeast of the Land of Fire, Konoha's homeland defense pressure was actually still very great.
This is the reason the Third Mizukage dared to seize this opportunity to launch Kirigakure's war against Konoha, aiming to take a bite out of Konoha amidst the chaos.
And now, judging by the fact that they dared to assemble a Ninja Force of over three thousand on the eastern front, it seemed the Konoha's leadership intended to concentrate their main combat power on the Kirigakure front.
"The Third Hokage isn't that bold, is he?"
Mei also analyzed with a furrowed delicate brow: "Iwagakure's Tsuchikage, Onoki is also a shameless individual. That man turns on you faster than flipping a book. If the Third Hokage doesn't take precautions, wouldn't Iwagakure seize the chance to push towards Konoha Village itself? Not to mention the Demigod of Amegakure hasn't even entered the fray yet. Is the Third Hokage really not afraid of his rear being empty and his home base being raided?"
"By then..."
"Konoha's foundation would be gone. What would there be left to fight for?"
Hearing this, Yagura suddenly shook his head. His gaze turned to Sora as he said: "The only reasonable explanation is that Sora's performance on the battlefield has put too much pressure on Konoha. This pressure is so great that it has made the Konoha's leadership ignore the pressure on the western front, staking everything on one throw assembling forces, wanting to deliver a fatal blow to our Kirigakure on the eastern front."
"Uh..."
Mei blinked her eyes. She walked over, hugged Sora's arm, and said: "Yagura-senpai, are you saying that Konoha's Third Hokage believes the threat posed by a certain someone is greater than that posed by Onoki, Hanzo, and Rasa combined? So..."
"He is staking everything assembling forces, aiming to kill this certain someone beside me?"
"Probably so!" Yagura also curved the corner of his mouth into a smile: "Mei, who told you that the certain someone beside you is our Kirigakure's hope~"
"However..."
As soon as the words fell, Yagura's expression suddenly became serious. He said in a solemn tone: "Joking aside, but we absolutely must not underestimate an opponent like Konoha. Since they dare to stake everything assemble forces, they must have something to rely on. Sora..."
"As Kirigakure's frontline commander, you will definitely be the primary target on Konoha's side. So, you must be careful!"
"Yes, yes!"
Mei shook Sora's arm and said in a delicate voice: "What Yagura-senpai said makes sense. Sora, you must not be careless, especially that Konoha's Yellow Flash. He's elusive. I heard before that an Iwagakure's high-ranking figure died by his assassination."
"Don't worry."
Sora, however, smiled lightly. He pinched Mei's soft cheek and said: "In the battles to come, whether in favorable or adverse situations, I will go all out. This is the resolve I possessed from the moment I stepped onto this battlefield."
Sometimes, in high-level battles, the intangible concept of luck is also very important.
For example, Might Duy suddenly opening the Eight Gates and slaughtering the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Akimichi Choji inexplicably powering up to hold back the Gedo Statue during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Sasuke and Naruto being resurrected and directly using cheats, and Guy opening the Eighth Gate and nearly kicking Uchiha Madara to death... battles in the Ninja World are always filled with all sorts of unexpected events.
If luck is not abundant, even the greatest advantage can be overturned from a desperate situation.
If luck arrives, one can instantly erupt with terrifying power several times, even dozens of times, their own limit.
Therefore, Sora was always very cautious in battle. He would never look down on any opponent. No matter who he faced, he would exercise the utmost care.
Furthermore, Sora was now quite well-rounded. His Kido and soul mastery basically made him immune to Genjutsu. His Expert Level Shunpo gave him super high mobility. Add to that the defensive properties enhancement from Blut Vene, he had no real weaknesses.
If Konoha wanted to specifically assassinate Sora, they would probably have to send a Ninja of Minato's level to have even a one in ten thousand chance of success.
…
War is not an RTS game. It's not a matter of both sides building up their armies, then box-selecting and A-moving to simply end things.
In real war, the participating sides need to spend vast amounts of manpower, material resources, and time to collect intelligence on the enemy, in order to grasp their soft spots and defeat them in one fell swoop.
To achieve victory, the methods that can be employed are quite varied.
For example, sowing discord, using false intelligence to lure the enemy, honey traps, bribery, kidnapping, assassination, and even despicable tactics like digging up ancestral graves must be used appropriately in combination.
Having previously served in the Anbu, Sora was quite proficient in these underhanded methods. In fact, he had truly clashed many times with the Anbu of Kumogakure and Konoha, and with Danzo's Root. The various parties were quite familiar with each other's operational styles.
Of course, given Sora's current status, he naturally no longer needed to handle these dark side matters personally.
As the supreme commander of the Kirigakure Expeditionary Force, a god-like existence in the hearts of countless Kirigakure's Ninjas, his most important task was to hold court at the central command, command the entire army, and not move lightly.
As for the clashes in the undercurrents, they were taken over by professionals like Fuguki and Meigetsu. And according to the intelligence Sora received, the underhanded Fuguki seemed to have found intelligence on Minato's relatives and was already sending people to probe.
Over the next twenty-plus days, although both Kirigakure and Konoha were preparing their military forces, they did not initiate another full-scale war.
Both sides continuously probed each other using various methods.
One day, Konoha would assassinate a certain Kirigakure's Jonin, the next day, Kirigakure's Anbu would retaliate by taking people to dig up the Nara Clan's ancestral graves.
The day after, Konoha would kidnap the legitimate son of some noble from the Land of Water, and the day after that, Kirigakure's Intelligence Division's personnel would simply capture a Konoha's Chunin, feed him aphrodisiacs, throw him into a pigsty, take bizarre pictures, and distribute them everywhere on the battlefield for propaganda, to damage the morale of Konoha's Ninjas.
In short, as the probing from both sides became increasingly without limits, the scale of the conflicts also continuously escalated.
Starting from mutually dirty tricks on the intelligence front, it slowly extended to small-scale Genin skirmishes on the front lines.
Later, Chunin and Jonin also began to enter the fray. More and more people died, and the scale of participating Ninjas grew larger and larger.
Land of Fire.
Hinterland.
An extremely arid, spacious hilly area 270 kilometers from Konoha Village.
On the brown earth, dried blood could be seen everywhere. On the hilly battlefield, Teams of Kirigakure Ninjas were engaged in frenzied combat with Konoha's Ninjas.
It wasn't the scale of a full-scale decisive battle, but the number of Ninjas participating this time had already exceeded a hundred. Both sides also had Jonin leading them.
The intensity of the fighting had begun to swell uncontrollably.
First, scouts from both sides encountered each other, then called for nearby patrolling teams. Gradually, more and more teams arrived. The team-level contact battle turned into an encounter battle, then they began to continuously reinforce. The number of participating Ninjas quickly exceeded two hundred.
Even more coincidentally, both Kirigakure and Konoha happened to have Commander-level Ninjas performing missions nearby. They then followed the reinforcing troops and naturally ran into each other.
"Jiraiya!"
"This time, you ugly bastard will definitely die!!!"
Yagura's extremely angry roar instantly reverberated across the hilly battlefield.
Opposite, hundreds of meters away, stood a burly man with a head of white hair, wearing a red haori.
That man was none other than Konoha's Sannin, the Kage-level Ninja, Jiraiya!!!
At this moment, beside Jiraiya stood a man with a square face and black hair, his expression stern, looking indifferently at the angrily roaring Yagura.
In an instant, a crimson color appeared in that stern man's eyes.
Three-Tomoe Sharingan!
This person was none other than the head of the Uchiha Clan, Konoha's Elite Jonin, Uchiha Fugaku!!!
Jiraiya!
Uchiha Fugaku!
Seeing these two from afar, Yagura felt angry. Don't forget, over twenty days ago, it was these two joining forces who thoroughly beat him once at Mount Fukyu.
That battle, if not for Sora's god-like performance, Yagura would have probably already died for his country.
"Bark!"
"Dogs only know how to bark!"
Jiraiya spread his hands, his left leg stepping forward into a deep squat, striking an exaggerated pose as he shouted loudly: "Defeated general of Kirigakure! Today, I, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, will teach you another lesson!!!"
As he spoke,
Splat…
Jiraiya, for some reason, stepped on something, slipped, and directly did the splits on the spot.
"Ouch ouch ouch!"
The next moment, Jiraiya, as if electrocuted, covered his crotch and jumped around everywhere, looking like a ridiculous monkey.
Clearly, the legendary Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku was truly destined to be without an imposing, lofty aura.
Jiraiya's entrance this time was another grand spectacle.
Yagura: "..."
Fugaku: "..."
All Ninjas on both sides: "..."
Everyone was speechless!
However,
By now, the battle between the two sides had gradually entered a white-hot state. No one really cared about Jiraiya making a fool of himself.
The Ninjas were all fighting with all their might, wanting to cut down the enemy before them.
Clang clang clang!
The sound of kunai and swords clashing incessantly.
Seeing the situation on the field, Yagura had no time to mock Jiraiya further.
He waved his right hand forward, and the dozen or so Kirigakure's Jonin beside him drew their Ninjato and joined the battlefield.
Now-
The number of Jonin participating on the hilly battlefield wasn't high, and both sides combined only had a little over ten.
Now that Kirigakure had fresh Jonin reinforcements entering, Konoha naturally couldn't show weakness.
Soon, over twenty Konoha's Jonin wearing combat vests also charged into the battlefield holding kunai.
With Jonin joining the battle, the level of combat instantly escalated.
The entry of Jonin caused large-scale Ninjutsu to start flying across the battlefield. Other Ninjas also spontaneously created distance, seeking out enemies of their own level to fight.
It must be said that the area chosen by the Konoha's scouts when they initially provoked the fight was quite perfect.
This area had no water sources, so the air was naturally very dry. This would greatly reduce the power of Water Release Ninjutsu and slightly increase the power of Fire Release Ninjutsu, giving a considerable huge advantage to the Fire Release-proficient Konoha's Ninjas.
Add to that the fact that the average quality of Konoha's Ninjas was higher than that of Kirigakure's, so with roughly equal numbers, the Konoha's Ninja Force on the hilly battlefield quickly gained the upper hand.
Seeing this situation, Jiraiya, standing at the rear of the Konoha's Ninja Force, showed not a hint of joy on his face. Instead, his eyes were filled with deep apprehension.
"Yuki Sora..."
"Is he here?"
Compared to the defeated Yagura, the person Jiraiya was more apprehensive of was naturally Kirigakure's true ace, Yuki Sora, the terrifying Ice Release user!!!
If not for his apprehension towards Sora's presence, he would have long since entered the fray to suppress Yagura and all the Kirigakure's Ninjas.