Grass Ninja Village campsite.
Hundreds of injectors containing the Curse Mark of the Beast were used up. At the same time, this also meant that hundreds of gravely wounded Grass Ninja Village ninja had recovered, and even gained power stronger than before!
The injured in the medical tents were cleared out. The guards outside fearfully entered to clear the "debris"—those who were completely infested by the Curse Mark of the Beast.
Fortunately, Orochimaru's techniques were mature enough that the number of these failed experiments was actually not many.
The number of casualties for Grass Ninja Village in this battle was one thousand. Among them, about six hundred were directly killed in battle, while the remaining four hundred injured could not return to battle in a short time. Therefore, they were counted together, because this was a tangible loss. As for those who could recover in a short time, the lightly injured, they would not be counted here.
However, now, Wujie directly resurrected these nearly four hundred people who couldn't return to the battlefield using the Curse Mark of the Beast. The death ratio between Grass Ninja Village and Konoha once again dropped to six hundred to four hundred.
Under Wujie's manipulation, Grass Ninja Village actually displayed a combat power equivalent to a Five Great Ninja Villages!
After this statistic was revealed, the Grass Ninja Village ninja's morale slightly improved. The nearly one-to-one casualty ratio made them no longer as fearful as before, and even the gravely wounded could quickly recover, which also gave them some confidence.
After all, they didn't know that the lives of those Curse Mark ninja were rapidly depleting.
The Grass Ninja were fully recovering their physical strength under Wujie's command. This order made them realize that they probably had another battle to fight next. A feeling of defiance was spreading among the Grass Ninja Village.
But these Curse Mark ninja, after recovering, quickly surrendered to Wujie's subordinates, becoming his loyal pawns.
Because these people were all yearning to gain even greater power!
Even to enter the sight of the elders and gain power that surpassed theirs!
So, with the help of the Curse Mark ninja, the remaining Grass Ninja had no way to stir up any waves. They could only obey, then pray.
At this time, Konoha only had over six hundred ninja remaining. They had lost nearly half of their companions and two medium-sized outposts. The loss of personnel made everyone's hearts incredibly heavy.
Shibi Aburame, Kurenai Yuhi, and Danzō Shimura were still handling affairs and discussing countermeasures at the front-line medium-sized outposts.
For example, whether the front medium-sized outpost needed to continue to be defended.
Their numbers had already dropped to six hundred, and maintaining the remaining four outposts was clearly a stretch with their manpower.
But were they really forced to abandon those newly built outposts on the first day of battle?
Even Shibi Aburame, who was seasoned and steady, felt unable to bear this pressure, especially with Danzō still using the prestige of his previous failure to pressure him.
Of course, Danzō's own situation wasn't good either.
Shibi Aburame, as the highest commander, had to bear responsibility, but Danzō, as a direct front-line commander, had also lost a large number of men and two outposts. This made it difficult for him to overdo things, lest he get himself embroiled.
A group of people discussed in the meeting room for half a day with no results.
At this moment, Kurenai Yuhi, who was outside coordinating supplies, saw her most important deputy, the former Sand Village ninja, Xiari.
Although Xiari had joined Konoha under Kurenai Yuhi's recommendation, as an outsider ninja, she could never be fully trusted. So, she had always stayed by Kurenai Yuhi's side, acting as her personal bodyguard.
At the same time, due to Xiari's knowledge of the relationship between herself and Wujie, all communications with Grass Ninja Village spies were handled through her.
Xiari had come to Kurenai Yuhi this time precisely because Grass Ninja Village had sent new intelligence.
Kurenai Yuhi unfolded a slip of paper. She formed hand seals and pressed them onto it. Immediately, the black lines on the paper began to twist, transforming into characters.
[Grass Ninja Village's forces will attack Konoha again at midnight.]
The signature was Wujie's mark, in the shape of a circle.
Midnight? Wasn't that almost here!
Wujie…
Kurenai Yuhi bit her lip, then finally strode towards the conference hall. No matter what Wujie wanted to do, at least the other party wouldn't send her false information.
And Konoha truly hadn't expected Grass Ninja Village to launch another attack within the same day!
Even the Konoha ninja found it hard to endure a full day of arduous battle. How could the Grass Ninja Village ninja hold on?!
Kurenai Yuhi strode into the silent conference hall. Everyone's gaze instantly focused on her. Shibi Aburame also asked her, "What happened?"
Kurenai Yuhi couldn't explain the source of her information. She vaguely said, "My intelligence indicates that the Grass Ninja side isn't acting normal. They are still gathering their forces. I suspect they will attack us again tonight!"
Hearing this, everyone's brows immediately furrowed tightly. Danzō also asked at this time, "This intelligence, can you confirm it?"
She could certainly confirm it, but she couldn't say it so definitively. "Even if there's only a ten percent chance, we must prepare our defenses! No one knows what the enemy is truly thinking."
Saying this, she scanned the room again and said to everyone, "Everyone, we must clearly understand one thing: we can no longer apply our past experiences to this war! We should have known this long ago. Wujie has spread it many times in the ninja world: his goal is to destroy ninja!"
"He is different from all the enemies we've faced before. The deaths of his subordinates are not something he finds difficult to accept. He even enjoys such things happening! We can no longer have the idea of 'launching a counterattack'! The only thing we must do is block all possibilities! Don't give him any chance at all!"
On this battlefield, Shibi Aburame, Kurenai Yuhi, and Danzō Shimura were all competing.
Shibi Aburame launched the first attack and managed to defeat four hundred people. Danzō, on the other hand, directly lost two strongholds. Although Kurenai Yuhi was also beaten badly and forced to flee like a rat with its head in its hands, her losses were truly the smallest.
Moreover, Kurenai Yuhi also managed the logistics. The people in the medical team found her very approachable. She was good-looking and spoke nicely. Although these things brought her far less prestige than a hero on the battlefield, the problem was…
Now, there were no heroes on the battlefield, only a bunch of scoundrels!
Therefore, in this Competition of Misery, Kurenai Yuhi won with a clear advantage. Her words gained the approval of most. Even if the final result was just a wasted struggle, they were still willing to support Kurenai Yuhi.
However, Wujie had timed his intelligence delivery very tightly. Konoha had almost no time to make any proper preparations, and the Grass Ninja Village forces had already mobilized!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the secret forest, cold light flashed. Konoha's scout team was driven back by the Grass Ninja's continuous pursuit. Nearly fifteen hundred Grass Ninja launched a massive assault, surging like a tide towards Konoha's defensive outposts!
Although time was not plentiful, the remaining four outposts still managed to activate their Defensive Barriers in time. The Konoha ninja on patrol also successfully returned to the outposts with the help of their comrades and began preparing to meet the Grass Ninja's attack, relying on the barriers and the stronghold walls.
Not long ago, Kurenai Yuhi had also retrieved some explosive tags and ninja tools from the rear supply depot, but unfortunately, she hadn't had time to transport the stronghold's defensive machinery before the attack had already begun.
And this time, the fifteen hundred ninja did not act separately. They gathered together and directly launched an all-out assault on the outermost outpost!
The average number of Konoha ninja in these remaining four outposts was less than a hundred. Perhaps they should have gathered everyone together; this would have made defense easier.
But a slow step meant being steps behind. Before they could even adapt to Wujie's fighting style, they were already cornered!
A massive wave of Grass Ninja launched a concentrated attack on one outpost. The Defensive Barrier instantly vibrated wildly, and even the stronghold wall began to peel off layer by layer. The Konoha ninja defending inside had no way to mount a proper resistance!
Fortunately, Shibi Aburame and the other two were not in the outpost being attacked.
They stood on the stronghold wall, watching the distant battle. That outpost, with insufficient manpower, definitely wouldn't hold out for too long. Once the barrier or stronghold wall was destroyed, the people inside would face certain death!
"We must support them!" Kurenai Yuhi said quickly, frowning. "Otherwise, they will be able to use the same tactics to uproot all our outposts one by one. By that time, even if we want to counterattack, we won't have enough manpower."
Everyone understood this principle, but the bloody battle in the evening still left them with lingering fear.
Danzō also agreed with Kurenai Yuhi's opinion. If this defensive line was truly breached, even if he could return to the village, it would be a huge stain. To wash it away, he would need to accumulate more merits to silence others, and this was not a situation he wanted to see.
The two deputy commanders also put forward the same opinion. Shibi Aburame could only agree. Very quickly, they gathered all the remaining personnel in the outpost, over three hundred people, and swiftly maneuvered to the flank of the battlefield, preparing for the upcoming attack.
The previous battle made them realize that they couldn't engage in close-quarters combat within a narrow range with Grass Ninja Village. The ninja's characteristic was flexibility. They must adapt to any situation on the battlefield and react quickly. There was no need to fight a desperate, head-on battle with the Grass Ninja.
So, this time, the three commanders each led a hundred-man squad and launched attacks from three different directions against the Grass Ninja army's rear and flank!
And after receiving reinforcements, the intensity of the attacks on the outpost also significantly decreased. This allowed the Konoha ninja inside to rely on the stronghold walls to counterattack, and the situation generally did not continue to worsen.
After the groups separated, Xiari quietly asked Kurenai Yuhi, "What should we do? Should we go all out…"
She still didn't quite understand the relationship between Kurenai Yuhi and Wujie.
Kurenai Yuhi didn't hesitate. She immediately replied, "Go all out! As long as we step onto the battlefield, everyone is an enemy! Even if it's Wujie, it's the same!"
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