Naruto: Zanka No Tachi

Chapter 89: NZNT: Chapter 89

As Yusuke led his army to the border of the Land of Fire, he immediately gathered everyone to discuss strategies for fighting the enemy.

Yusuke, having experienced the Third Great Ninja War, was very familiar with ninja warfare.

Ninjas were highly mobile and could use various jutsu to overcome problems caused by geographical factors. For ninjas, there were almost no impassable barriers.

Therefore, in ninja wars, the defending side usually didn’t have a geographical advantage, as in cold-weapon warfare. Instead, they were more easily restrained by the attacking side.

Of course, this was just the general case. In some special situations, there were geographical advantages, such as extremely steep cliffs, canyons, or geographical conditions that aided or suppressed certain chakra types, such as lakes, deserts, etc.

If Konoha adopted a purely defensive strategy, they would have to extend their battle lines quite long to block Kumogakure from entering the Land of Fire.

Their ninjas would be constantly on the run, and the scattered ninja teams would be very vulnerable to being defeated one by one.

Besides, Konoha also had to deal with the attack from Kirigakure on the eastern island. After splitting their forces, they were already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. If they adopted a defensive strategy, it would only worsen their situation.

For these reasons, Yusuke proposed a strategy of offense as defense. He decided to accelerate their advance, directly leading Konoha’s ninja troops through the buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, and concentrating their forces to launch an attack on the Land of Lightning.

This way, they could shift the battlefield to the Land of Lightning. Not only could they turn a passive situation into an active one, but they could also minimize the losses in the Land of Fire.

After discussing Yusuke’s proposal, everyone agreed that it was very feasible.

After further discussing some details based on Yusuke’s plan, they immediately accelerated their advance towards the Land of Lightning according to the plan.

During their advance, in addition to the reconnaissance ninjas scouting ahead and gathering information on Kumogakure, Itachi served as the leader of the vanguard, leading the entire army. Izumi was also assigned by Yusuke to be Itachi’s assistant.

Although Izumi was still young and her strength and experience were significantly less than Itachi’s, Yusuke wasn’t worried about her safety because he had bestowed his kekkei genkai on her.

Besides, before they set out, Yusuke had officially promoted Itachi to jōnin so that he could legitimately lead the vanguard.

Thus, the record for the youngest jōnin in Konoha, which Kakashi and Yusuke had held for a short time, was officially broken by Itachi.

As the commander of Konoha’s northern front, Yusuke stayed in the middle army. But at the same time, Yusuke also used his ”phantom crow clone” to observe the movements of the Kumogakure ninjas from the air.

While the phantom crow clone was convenient, it was still far inferior to the Shadow clone. When using the phantom crow clone, Yusuke needed to focus his mind to control and observe it.

The Shadow clone, on the other hand, was like an innate instinct. Thinking and sharing vision didn’t require any extra effort from Yusuke.

Through the phantom crow clone flying high in the air, Yusuke discovered many of Kumogakure’s outposts. At the same time, Kumogakure’s main ninja force was also advancing towards the Land of Fire at a rapid pace.

Based on the current speed of both forces, they would meet at the border of the Land of Lightning within three days. This also coincided with Yusuke’s plan to shift the battle lines to the border of the Land of Lightning.

When the vanguards of Konoha and Kumogakure reached the border of the Land of Lightning, they immediately engaged in fierce combat.

Ninja battles, in most cases, weren’t two armies clashing in a well-formed battle formation. Instead, they involved small-scale conflicts in different locations.

Over the next few days, the vanguards of both sides clashed dozens of times. Overall, Konoha had the advantage.

Although Konoha was at a disadvantage in terms of the number of ninjas compared to Kumogakure, under the guidance of Yusuke’s phantom crow clone, Konoha adopted a strategy of concentrating their forces and launching a proactive attack. Kumogakure’s forces were relatively scattered and didn’t take advantage of their numerical superiority.

Besides, with the help of the ”First Aid Seal” cheat, Konoha’s casualty rate was much lower than Kumogakure’s.

In Kumogakure’s commander’s tent, almost all of Kumogakure’s core forces were present.

At this time, a reconnaissance ninja was reporting the situation of the battle against Konoha to the Raikage and everyone in the tent.

After listening to the reconnaissance ninja’s report, the Raikage was furious. He couldn’t believe that his side, despite having a numerical advantage, was still being suppressed by Konoha.

After all, Kumogakure’s ninjas were known for their combat strength. The Raikage absolutely couldn’t tolerate being at a disadvantage in a situation where they outnumbered their opponents.

With a loud bang, the Fourth Raikage slammed his fist on the table in front of his seat.

”I’m going to go out there myself and teach those Konoha bastards a lesson!”

As he spoke, the Fourth Raikage was about to charge out of the tent.

Seeing the Fourth Raikage’s impulsiveness, Mabui, Samui, and Darui immediately rushed forward to try to stop him.

The Fourth Raikage was a very tall and muscular man. Mabui and the others surrounding him looked like children trying to stop an adult.

”Raikage-sama, please don’t be impulsive.”

”Yes, Raikage-sama, you’re our commander. How can you just go out there so easily?”

”Killer Bee-sama, please try to persuade Raikage-sama.”

Everyone in the tent was in a panic. They finally managed to stop the tall and muscular Fourth Raikage.

At this time, Killer Bee, wearing sunglasses and holding a small notebook, walked out.

”Yo, yo, yo,”

”Vanguard defeated～”

”Tent a little dilapidated～”

”Big brother’s mood is bleak～”

”Say goodbye to the enemy～”

”Yo!”

After rapping a verse, Killer Bee struck a pose that was hard to describe. Everyone in the tent was speechless.

The Fourth Raikage, who had just calmed down, had veins popping out on his forehead. He instantly became angry again.

”Damn it! How many times do I have to tell you not to rap during meetings?!”

The Fourth Raikage roared, punching Killer Bee out of the tent.

”Goodbye～yo!” With a long drawn-out sound, Killer Bee left a human-shaped hole in the top of the tent.

After knocking Killer Bee away, the Fourth Raikage returned to his seat.

Seeing that the Fourth Raikage had calmed down, Mabui breathed a sigh of relief and began to introduce the intelligence she had received.

Mabui was the Fourth Raikage’s personal secretary. She had the dark skin common in the Land of Lightning, long white hair, and was wearing a formal work suit. She was a beautiful woman with an intellectual aura.

”Raikage-sama, the enemy commander this time is Uchiha Yusuke, the newly appointed clan leader of the Uchiha clan. Based on current intelligence, this person is very difficult to deal with. Not only did he eliminate ’The Darkness of the Ninja,’ Danzō, during Konoha’s internal strife, but he now holds several important positions in Konoha. He also has the support of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.”

”This person’s authority in Konoha now even surpasses the Third Hokage!”

Mabui continued to analyze, ”Uchiha Yusuke has newly established an organization called the ’Konoha Research Institute’ in Konoha. The unusually strong recovery abilities displayed by Konoha’s ninjas in this war are likely the result of this institute’s research.”

The Raikage snorted coldly, ”He’s just a young guy with some cunning tricks. Ninjas ultimately rely on strength. When I meet him, I’ll let him see the power of a true army commander!”

After speaking, the Raikage turned to a middle-aged man wearing a fan-shaped hat and an eye patch over his left eye, ”Dodai, what are your suggestions for the next move?”

Dodai was calm and wise. Since the Second Raikage’s era, he had been the strategist by the side of every Raikage. He was also the person who tested the partners of the Raikage’s ”Hell Stab: Four–Finger Nukite.”

At the same time, he was also incredibly powerful and possessed the Lava Release kekkei genkai. He was a talented individual who excelled in both martial arts and strategy.

Dodai frowned, thought for a moment, and said slowly, ”Their strategy is clearly to turn a passive situation into an active one. They’re concentrating their forces to launch attacks all over our Land of Lightning, forcing us to be constantly on the defensive.”

”However, we’ve already found the main force of their vanguard. As long as we can send masters to wipe out their main force, we can regain the initiative.”

At this time, Mabui opened the folder in her hand and added, ”The main force of their vanguard is led by a ten-year-old jōnin named Uchiha Itachi.”

”Intelligence shows that he’s a disciple of their commander, Uchiha Yusuke. The main force under his command is almost entirely composed of elite ninjas from the Uchiha clan.”

Hearing Mabui’s addition, the Kumogakure ninjas in the tent were all very surprised.

During wartime, it wasn’t uncommon for ninjas to go to war at the age of ten or even younger. But it was the first time that a ten-year-old had become a jōnin and led an entire vanguard force in a war between two great ninja villages.

Seeing the surprise and slight contempt in everyone’s eyes, Mabui reminded them, ”Don’t be fooled by his age. Intelligence mentions that this boy’s strength is extraordinary. Several teams that fought against his team suffered heavy losses. Our elite jōnin who fought against him also gave him very high praise.”

The Raikage looked around at everyone and said solemnly, ”Who among you will go and take care of this little brat who hasn’t even grown his hair yet?”

Kumogakure’s culture encouraged strength above all else. Most ninjas were very warlike. After the Raikage finished speaking, many of Kumogakure’s masters volunteered to go and face the boy who led the entire vanguard force.

The Raikage thought for a moment and finally decided to deploy the power of the Two-Tails jinchūriki to regain the initiative in the war.

”Yugito, I’m counting on you this time!”

The Raikage’s choice to deploy a jinchūriki was actually due to a very important reason.

Most of Konoha’s vanguard force was composed of Uchiha clan ninjas. Many of them were very adept at genjutsu. Jinchūriki were almost immune to genjutsu and had a great advantage against the Uchiha clan.

”Dodai, you’ll be in command of this operation. You’ll also be in charge of deploying Yugito!”

Deploying a jinchūriki was a major event for every ninja village. Just in case, the Raikage decided to have the experienced and wise Dodai take the lead.

In a valley on the border of the Land of Lightning, Itachi’s vanguard team of thirty ninjas was moving quickly.

There were ten vanguard teams in total, all under Itachi’s command. But Itachi also served as the captain of one of the teams, targeting Kumogakure’s vanguard force.

At this time, Itachi also had phantom crow clones observing the movements of the Kumogakure forces. However, in terms of chakra amount, he was still far inferior to his teacher, Yusuke, so he only had a few phantom crow clones, mainly serving his own team.

Izumi was also by Itachi’s side, but her expression was a little grim.

Izumi was the same age as Itachi, ten years old. But she had been protected by Yusuke since she was young, so her mind wasn’t as mature as Itachi’s. She was still a child at heart. She had experienced a lot of killing in the past few days, which made her very uncomfortable.

But Izumi was also a very intelligent girl. She knew that this was something she had to go through as a ninja, so she was constantly adjusting her mindset.

This was also why Yusuke had assigned Izumi to the vanguard. Yusuke believed that by the end of this war, Izumi would also transform into a ninja who was not only strong but also mentally mature.

”Captain, they say Kumogakure ninjas are the strongest in the ninja world, but they don’t seem that great lately.”

”Yeah, but Captain, you’re really amazing. You’re so young and you’ve already become the leader of the vanguard. You’re truly worthy of being Clan Leader’s disciple.”

Several members of the Uchiha clan in the team said to Itachi, their tone filled with admiration. There was a chorus of agreement.

This wasn’t flattery. Itachi’s performance had been truly outstanding in the past few days. Whether in terms of his ability to command troops or his personal combat abilities, he had won their hearts.

Even those members who had been dissatisfied with Itachi because of his age were now convinced.

Itachi’s team also had a member of the Hyuga branch family. At this time, this Hyuga clan member had mixed feelings.

Just a few months ago, the Hyuga clan’s prestige in Konoha had already surpassed that of the Uchiha clan.

After Root’s attack on the Uchiha clan, the Uchiha clan had suffered heavy losses. The Hyuga clan had been considered the number one clan in Konoha by many.

However, not long after Yusuke took power, the Uchiha clan made a comeback and returned to the political center of Konoha.

And recently, because of Yusuke, the entire Uchiha clan’s prestige had continued to rise, leaving the Hyuga clan behind. This had caused resentment among many Hyuga clan members.

Just then, Itachi frowned and loudly reminded everyone, ”Be careful, everyone. A Kumogakure team is coming towards us. Because of their secret technique, I can’t see who the members are. But judging by their speed, they’re all masters.”

The Kumogakure ninjas had noticed Yusuke and Itachi’s phantom crow clones spying on them. But the phantom crow clones were intangible genjutsu entities and were flying high in the air. Kumogakure had tried many methods, but none of them had been able to successfully eliminate the phantom crow clones.

In the end, Kumogakure could only settle for a second-best option. They used a secret technique to create a mist around their ninja teams, making the phantom crow clones unable to see clearly.

Hearing Itachi’s reminder, the ninjas who had been relaxed and chatting with each other all fell silent. Their expressions turned serious as they prepared for the upcoming encounter.

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