After Fugaku quickly retreated to a safe area with Itachi, he immediately gave orders for everyone to begin resting and arranged for the medical ninja to do their utmost to treat the injured companions.
This time, Iwagakure had a large number of people, but they did not launch a full-scale attack. Instead, they tightly focused their assault around the jinchuriki.
Clearly, Iwagakure fully understood the importance of the jinchuriki and regarded them as the core force of this battle.
By comparison, although Konoha did not suffer very heavy losses, they also failed to achieve any substantial results.
In this intense clash, both sides suffered casualties, losing twenty to thirty people each.
A closer look revealed that most of Iwagakure's casualties were caused by Uchiha Itachi's powerful Susanoo.
On Konoha's side, either they were surrounded and strangled by Iwagakure, or they were unfortunately hit by the fierce bombardment of Tailed Beast Bombs.
If things continued to develop along this trend, Konoha's forces would eventually be the first to be worn down.
After all, both Fugaku and Itachi still only had ordinary Mangekyo Sharingan, and their pupil power was limited.
Susanoo could not be used for long periods of time.
Fortunately, this time Roshi was overconfident and was caught by Itachi's devastating Tsukuyomi, successfully knocking Roshi directly unconscious.
This time, Roshi had come as Iwagakure's battlefield commander.
With him down, Iwagakure could only temporarily halt their offensive.
While tossing a soldier pill into his mouth, Fugaku turned to Itachi beside him and asked:
"Compared to before, what do you think is different about this battle?"
Hearing his father's question, Itachi thought for a moment, then also pulled a soldier pill from his pocket, put it into his mouth, and replenished his stamina, "I think the biggest difference is the current large-scale, group-style combat. It greatly weakens the ability of individuals to perform."
Thinking back to when he first stepped onto the battlefield as a child, the style of warfare back then was still relatively simple.
Most of the time, fighting was done individually or in small squads.
Everyone spread out and fought on their own. At most, squads would cooperate and coordinate with one another.
Even later, when he joined the ANBU to carry out missions, the number of enemies he had to face was usually not very large.
The current battlefield situation was completely different from the past. Iwagakure's protection of the jinchuriki was extremely tight.
They understood that if the power of the jinchuriki was used well, it would bring a disruptive impact on the battle situation.
Therefore, Iwagakure's tactics were entirely centered around the jinchuriki.
When Itachi and Fugaku attempted to break into the enemy formation, they encountered obstacle after obstacle.
Every step forward required consuming a large amount of pupil power to deal with the enemy's attacks and defenses.
Fugaku sighed and said, "Our pupil power and chakra are far inferior to the clan head's. This way of fighting puts us at a disadvantage."
"But this method has an advantage. It conceals the flaw that our Mangekyo Sharingan pupil power is limited."
"If Iwagakure notices the weakness of our insufficient pupil power, whether we can withdraw safely would become uncertain."
That was certain. Given Onoki's personality, if he knew the Mangekyo had this fatal defect, even if he had to pile up lives, he would use them to exhaust the Mangekyo.
After all, back then they used ten thousand people to literally tire the Third Raikage to death.
In fact, Fugaku had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan many years ago, but he had always used it very cautiously, afraid that overusing his eyes would lead to blindness.
However, at this moment he was acting so boldly, mainly because the Uchiha clan had finally produced a new generation of Mangekyo powerhouse.
Moreover, it was also because of the appearance of Rengoku and Orochimaru.
The clan now had people to shoulder the burden, and he was also prepared to help his son achieve the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
At this moment, Makumi and Shisui, who were seated beside Fugaku, spoke up and asked, "Elder, do you need us to step in and help?" (After Rengoku became clan head, Fugaku became an elder.)
Fugaku shook his head slightly, "The strategic objective set by the clan head this time is not simply to complete a decapitation operation."
"He intends to use us to draw more enemies into the territory of the Land of Fire, and then concentrate superior forces to annihilate them in one fell swoop."
"From this perspective, even if this decapitation operation fails, it will not have too great an impact on the overall battle situation."
"If necessary, we can conduct a strategic withdrawal. As long as we slow down Iwagakure's advance and prevent them from pushing forward too quickly, that's enough."
Seeing Itachi blinking frequently, clearly uncomfortable in his eyes, Fugaku also took out a prepared eye mask and handed it to Itachi.
This was something Tsunade had made for the few of them in the Uchiha to care for their eyes.
Although it would not restore pupil power, it could relieve the pain.
"Fortunately, we have members of the Hyuga clan on our side, so we can clearly grasp every move Iwagakure makes."
"You go and rest well first. Only by conserving your energy can you handle the battles that follow."
At this point, Itachi suddenly asked, "Father, how much has your vision declined now?"
Fugaku let out a sigh and replied, "With this kind of high-intensity, fierce fighting, given my current condition, I can at most participate in two more times."
After saying that, he added, "Therefore, from now on, you must conserve your pupil power as much as possible. At the very least, we must get through this battle."
Everyone understood that if Fugaku's eyes could no longer hold out, then they would probably have to rely on Shisui and Makumi to step in and provide support.
Itachi nodded, indicating that he understood the current situation, then turned and left to rest.
However, not long after Itachi left, the tent flap was suddenly lifted. An ANBU member appeared at the entrance and quickly reported to Fugaku, "Elder Fugaku, the Hyuga clan has sent over the latest intelligence!"
Hearing this, Fugaku immediately stood up and said urgently, "Quick, let me take a look at the intelligence."
The ANBU member did not dare to delay and hurriedly handed all the scrolls he was holding to Fugaku.
Fugaku held the scrolls very close before he could see clearly what was written on them.
These scrolls each recorded detailed information regarding Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure, the three major ninja villages.
After quickly reading through them, Fugaku was shocked to discover that Sunagakure had practically mobilized its entire force.
Their Kazekage, Rasa, was personally leading a massive force of about four to five thousand people, and they had already set out from Sunagakure some time ago.
Based on the information sent back by the message birds, this army should be close to reaching the border areas of the Land of Wind.
On Iwagakure's side, aside from the frontline forces, they had also gathered reinforcements of over five thousand more, which were now also nearing the border.
On Kumogakure's side, all forces combined totaled around eight thousand, but after reaching the border line, Kumogakure stopped moving.
However, they continued to communicate intelligence with the outside world, likely intending to sit back and reap the benefits.
After reading everything, Fugaku immediately handed the scrolls to Shisui.
"Send a message to the clan head. Report this intelligence over there."
Shisui only gave them a quick glance before understanding that this intelligence was exactly what Rengoku cared about most.
"Yes, Elder. I understand."
Both Shisui's and Rengoku's summoning beasts were ninja crows.
As long as the timing was agreed upon, transmitting messages was very fast.
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