Chapter 116: Have I become a conservative?
Inside the Hidden Sand Village conference room.
Danzo Shimura stood at the head of the table, behind him a massive map of the Ninja World.
In front of him was a group of Jonin still in Hidden Sand Village, including Hatake Sakumo.
"Everyone, we just received news that Hidden Stone Village, Hidden Cloud Village, Konoha, and Hidden Mist have simultaneously launched an attack against us!"
"Hidden Cloud Village dispatched a total of three thousand troops this time. After occupying the Land of Grass, they integrated two thousand Grass Ninja, making a total of five thousand Ninja, who are currently attacking Trade City.
The leading Ninja is the Third Raikage's deputy, Dodai. However, this old man believes Hidden Cloud Village's objective won't be that small; I believe their target should be New City.
Hidden Stone Village departed from the Land of Birds. Intelligence Ninja estimate there are about five thousand people, currently attacking New City. The leading Ninja is Onoki's son, Kitsuchi.
Hidden Mist Village has occupied the Land of Tea and has already assembled a large number of naval vessels there, currently sailing toward the Land of Wind.
As they are deep offshore, the exact numbers are unknown, but it is estimated to be no less than three thousand. Intelligence analysis suggests they will land via the Land of Wind Strait and then attack Hidden Sand Village's mainland.
Meanwhile, Konoha is also mobilizing troops on a large scale. The exact number of deployed personnel is unknown."
While speaking about the information from the scroll, Danzo Shimura marked the map. As his voice faded, the approximate attack routes of the various Ninja Villages appeared on the map.
Danzo Shimura then turned and stood aside, revealing the map to face everyone, and addressed the people below the platform.
"Currently, this old man has dispatched two thousand Ninja toward New City. I believe that, combined with the original five thousand Ninja already in New City, defending it should not be difficult."
Hearing what Danzo Shimura said, the people below exchanged glances, wanting to speak but seemingly hesitant.
Danzo Shimura, standing on the high platform, saw this scene clearly.
"If any of you have something to say, please speak up. I called everyone here precisely to pool our wisdom."
"Dan... cough, Kazekage-sama!"
Hearing what Danzo Shimura said, an Elder from Hidden Sand Village stood up and spoke.
"Kazekage-sama, dispatching Ninja promptly for reinforcement upon receiving news of enemy Ninja invasion... that is absolutely fine.
But... isn't Kazekage-sama being a little conservative?"
Danzo Shimura: "???"
Hearing the Elder's words, Danzo Shimura's mind fell into a slight confusion.
He felt like he had misheard.
Conservative?
Could those two words possibly be associated with him, Danzo Shimura?
Back in Konoha, he, Danzo Shimura, was synonymous with extremism.
How did he become conservative upon arriving in Hidden Sand Village?
Although he didn't quite understand what the Elder meant, Danzo Shimura still voiced his own interpretation.
"Does this Elder mean... that seven thousand Ninja shouldn't play defense, but should instead directly repel Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Stone Village?"
"Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!"
Before the standing Elder could explain himself, Danzo Shimura continued.
"Seven thousand against ten thousand, we are inherently at a disadvantage. Although we have Puppet Forces, which can compensate for some of the numerical difference, we are still disadvantaged.
Although the individual combat strength of Sand Ninja is at the upper level among the Five Great Nations, the opposition also belongs to the Five Great Nations. In a situation where they outnumber us, that slight difference in individual strength will easily be negated.
Unless the opposing Village's commander-in-chief is a total idiot, there is absolutely no possibility of repelling them!"
"Uh... Kazekage-sama, you are still too conservative!"
"Kazekage-sama, in this old man's view, there is absolutely no need to send those two thousand men. five thousand men are enough to repel both Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Stone Village entirely."
Danzo Shimura: "???"
Hearing the Elder's opinion, Danzo Shimura took a sharp breath.
He then stepped down from the platform, walked toward the main entrance, looked at the three large characters reading [Conference Room] on the door, and then surveyed the people inside. He saw that after hearing the Elder's words, everyone looked calm, as if they hadn't heard anything.
Ah... no. Some people did react.
A certain white-haired man who had just joined was quite excited... Hmm, that's the normal reaction.
Are Hidden Sand Village's Elders this aggressive?
Finally, Ebizo couldn't stand it anymore, stood up, and spoke.
"Ahem, Kazekage-sama, you may not know, but Hidden Sand Village's development over the past few years... has been quite rapid. Among our five thousand Ninja... there are no Genin. The minimum rank is Chunin."
"What! No Genin! All Chunin?" x2
Two different voices sounded in the conference room, making the ears of everyone else ache.
One of them was naturally the current Kazekage, Danzo Shimura.
The other was Hatake Sakumo, who had only recently joined Konoha.
One of them was the leader of Root, and the other was a former veteran Ninja.
Naturally, they knew how vast the difference was between five thousand Ninja and five thousand Ninja who were all at least Chunin.
It was precisely because they understood the disparity that they reacted this way.
It must be known that Chunin are the backbone of every Ninja Village. As a Chunin, one is qualified to lead a Ninja Squad.
But in Hidden Sand Village... Chunin is just the most basic unit.
It can be imagined that if a standard Hidden Sand Village squad structure encounters a squad structure from another Village... with both led by a Chunin, the members of the other Village's squad would be quickly killed by the Sand Ninja Squad, who would then collectively attack the opposing captain. In the end... it would result in total annihilation.
It can be said that standard squads from other Villages have no chance of survival when encountering a Sand Ninja Squad... and Hidden Sand Village can quickly deplete the enemy Village's numerical advantage through its quality advantage.
For other Ninja Villages to defeat Hidden Sand Village, they must either choose a decisive battle from the start or opt for multiple squads to handle a single squad.
"Dong dong dong..."
Just as Danzo Shimura was contemplating what Hidden Sand Village being entirely composed of Chunin signified, a knock on the door forced his thoughts to stop.
"Enter!"
"Kazekage-sama, this is the latest Battle Report from the front line."
...Time returns to before the battle began.
At the Border of Wind and Rain.
On the Main Battlefield between Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Sand Village.
Rasa was leading Hidden Sand Village's main forces in resistance against Hidden Cloud Village's main forces.
The Grass Ninja were sent to the Flank Battlefield.
"Hmph, does Hidden Sand Village have no one left? Where is Chiyo? Where is Sunasuke? And where is your Kazekage? They actually sent a junior like you to stop us Hidden Cloud Village Ninja."
Looking at Rasa, who was leading the Hidden Sand Village troops, and the many young faces standing next to him, Dodai spoke with great disdain.
"Junior? Hmph!"
Hearing Dodai's words, Rasa merely gave a faint cold snort, then unleashed his Magnet Release.
Layers of gold dust lifted Rasa up, and he spoke condescendingly to Dodai.
"If you call me 'Daddy,' I'll give you a little gold dust. How about that?"
"You... court death! I'll kill you! The gold dust will be mine too!"
Saying this, Dodai was the first to charge out, and the Hidden Cloud Village forces behind him followed closely.
To this band of bandits, the gold dust beneath Rasa's feet was a treasure. If they didn't charge quickly, they might miss out on their share.
"Hmph! I've been waiting for you!"
Seeing the Hidden Cloud Village people rushing toward his position en masse.
Rasa immediately gave orders.
Immediately, a hundred Ninja stepped out of the Hidden Sand Village ranks, and then... "The Third Gate of Life... Open!"
Bursts of green light shone brightly in front of the Hidden Sand Village troops.
Immediately afterward, exploding tags drifted down in front of the green light.
Then... "A-da... Muda Muda Muda..."
The drifting exploding tags were carried by powerful Fist Winds, flying toward the Hidden Cloud Village forces and triggering a series of explosions.
Due to Rasa's gold dust, many Hidden Cloud Village Ninja charged toward the gold dust, causing the Hidden Cloud Village formation to be very dense.
After realizing that exploding tags were flying toward them, many thought to use the Body Flicker Technique to dodge, but there were too many people around, and panic quickly spread through the ranks.
In the end, Dodai loudly commanded, relying on Earth Release and Dodai's Lava Release, barely managing to hold them off.
But once panic set in, it couldn't be quelled so quickly. After the explosions ended, several hundred Hidden Cloud Village Ninja were killed, and the survivors were all injured.
"Motherf***er, who fights a war like this!"
Seeing his own Ninja losing hundreds before even engaging in combat, even Dodai started cursing loudly.
"Don't be afraid, everyone. Hidden Sand Village used so many exploding tags all at once; they surely don't have many left. Everyone, disperse and charge in directly."
"Kill them!"
"Damn Sand Ninja, everyone, charge!"
Hearing Dodai's words, the Hidden Cloud Village forces readily agreed and charged forward again.
But they hadn't charged for long before the Hidden Cloud Village forces stopped and shouted.
"Earth Release Ninja, defend! Defend quickly!"
Not for any other reason, but because the Hidden Cloud Village forces saw exploding tags filling the sky again, drifting toward them.
"Boom boom boom!"
Another series of explosions rang out.
This time, however, the Hidden Cloud Village forces reacted quickly. Ninja proficient in Earth Release stepped forward to deploy Earth Walls, and combined with Dodai's Lava Release, they successfully blocked the attack.
Then... "Don't be afraid, everyone! There's one and two, but there can't be three! They can't possibly have that many exploding tags! Keep charging!"
"Charge!"
"Kill them!"
Hearing Dodai's words, the Hidden Cloud Village Ninja who agreed with him launched another attack!
Then... "Earth Release Ninja! Earth Release Ninja! Defend! Defend, dammit!"
"Boom boom boom!"
The Hidden Cloud Village forces once again defended against the exploding tag bombardment.
"Don't be afraid, everyone! Third time's the charm! This old man refuses to believe they have any more exploding tags! Keep charging!"
Hearing Dodai's words again, the Hidden Cloud Village forces clearly hesitated this time, but out of trust in Dodai, they still chose to charge!
"Charge!"
"Kill them!"
Then... "They're coming, they're coming! Earth Release Ninja are here!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Boom boom boom..."
The exploding tag bombardment passed once more, but this time, no one chose to stick their heads out. Instead, they all looked toward Dodai.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Dodai fell silent.
This time... should we bet that Hidden Sand Village is out of exploding tags?
No rush! Wait a moment first.
Five minutes later... "Hahaha... Hidden Sand Village definitely has no exploding tags left this time! Don't be afraid, everyone! Keep charging!"
Hearing Dodai's words, everyone showed a glimmer of hope.
The Hidden Cloud Village Ninja by the Earth Wall then all poked their heads out.
And then... they pulled them back in.
"Where are the Earth Release Ninja! Reinforce it! Reinforce it, dammit!"
"Boom boom boom!"
A fierce explosion sounded on the other side of the Earth Wall, shaking the entire wall until dust fell off it.
Meanwhile, the Hidden Cloud Village forces locked behind the Earth Wall looked completely calm.
They were numb... They had never seen a war fought like this, where expensive exploding tags were tossed out coolly as if they were free.
"Lord Dodai... what should we do now?"
A Hidden Cloud Village Ninja walked up to Dodai and asked.
Dodai: "???"
You ask me? Who should I ask?
I've never seen a war fought like this either!
"How about... we gamble one more time?"
The others: "!!!"
"Hehe... just kidding!"
Seeing the shocked and terrified expressions on everyone's faces after he showed an intention to continue the attack.
Dodai already knew that Hidden Cloud Village had lost this battle.
At least without reinforcements, Hidden Cloud Village had lost.
Because Hidden Cloud Village's morale had been blasted away by Hidden Sand Village's exploding tags.
Therefore, after the exploding tag bombardment ceased.
Dodai arranged for the Hidden Cloud Village forces to gradually withdraw.
When the Hidden Sand Village side saw that Hidden Cloud Village had begun to withdraw, they did not interfere much.
Although Rasa really wanted to rush up and kick them while they were down, he knew it wasn't the right time.
Although Hidden Cloud Village's morale had been crushed, it didn't mean Hidden Cloud Village was afraid of Hidden Sand Village.
They were only afraid of Hidden Sand Village's exploding tags—which they didn't know if Hidden Sand Village still possessed. If Hidden Sand Village charged now, the Hidden Cloud Village side would see it as Hidden Sand Village abandoning the advantage of the exploding tags.
For those savages, they would welcome close combat!
In that case, Hidden Cloud Village would no longer have low morale!
Instead, they would be brimming with fighting spirit!
They would just be venting the frustration of constantly being bombed by exploding tags... it wouldn't be worth it!
Furthermore... there are still two thousand Grass Ninja eyeing the Flank Battlefield covetously.
In order to confront the Hidden Cloud Village Ninja and prevent the worst-case scenario of Hidden Cloud Village becoming desperate.
Rasa concentrated most of his forces on the Main Battlefield; the Flank Battlefield only had about three hundred people.
Now that Hidden Cloud Village has retreated... those Grass Ninja, who were merely relying on Hidden Cloud Village's prestige, won't need to retreat!
Thinking this, Rasa made arrangements: half the men were left to maintain vigilance here, while the other half quickly rushed toward the Grass Ninja.
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