Consequences of the Defeat
The Battle of Konoe was a severe blow to the forces loyal to the Daimyo, who were unable to form a new army in the short term. Chikara redoubled its efforts to enlist outside aid, offering exaggerated sums of money to Konohagakure and Kumogakure for their involvement in suppressing the rebellion. Meanwhile, the rebels were quick to capitalize on their victory and attacked the southern city of Kinta on February 1.
Upon receiving news of the defeat at Konoe, the governor of Kinta poured all his efforts into preparing a solid defense against a possible rebel attack, both from the north and the east. But a civil war is not like any other conflict; the city had already been infiltrated by Shinsuke's agents, who acted as soon as the rebel armies approached the city walls, attacking by surprise and opening the north gate, long enough for hundreds of rebels to enter and consolidate their positions within the city.
The battle for Kinta lasted nearly eight hours, with the defending forces putting up a heroic stand at key points in the city. Particularly notable was the fighting for Kinta Castle, an ancient stone fort over 100 years old and serving as the governor's residence. Swordsman Kawato and Ume Shiokaze, an elderly retired jounin, managed to repel any rebel attempts to take the fortification. As night fell, and fearing the escape of the governor and his escort, the rebels resorted to using large quantities of explosives and destroyed the castle from the ground up, bringing all its defenders to a tragic and bitter end.
With three of the six most important cities in the nation under their control, the rebels declared the formation of a new government representing the land of noodles, installing a new Daimyo named Kazato, a 4-year-old boy and distant relative of Chikara, although the true power would fall on Shinsuke, de facto regent until Kazato came of age.
The Raikage's Response
The first to respond to Chikara's requests for help was the Raikage, assuring everyone that the deaths of Kumogakure ninja during the revolt would be met with force. He dispatched two contingents of 300 ninja each, the first arriving on February 5 and the second on the 8th of the same month.
The 600 ninja in total, under the command of Furan, an elite jounin, joined a contingent of 2,000 soldiers from the capital and headed for the city of Sakon, arriving on February 10 and immediately laying siege to the city.
Faced with the offensive of such a large ninja army, the defenders of Sakon, some 2,500 fighters, did not bother to defend the city walls and concentrated their forces on three points within the city: the governor's residence, the garrison, and a large hotel in the center of the commercial district.
Led by Shugo Fukishi, the new governor, the rebel forces booby-trapped the areas surrounding the three strongholds and prepared to resist the Kumogakure ninja with all their might…
Excerpt from the book, "Anatomy of Modern Warfare," by Chikayoshi Koshikawa (historian), Konoha Library.
…
"What the hell is this?!" Darui shouts, in a rare display of emotion on his part, while dodging projectiles flying from the hotel windows and occasionally responding with shurikens and kunai to the evasive defenders. "Why the hell don't we blow up this damn building? I'm running out of weapons."
"Captain, please understand that we cannot harm the city. The Daimyo made that clear, and Commander Furan supports it," another ninja tries to convince Darui.
Explosions are recurrent, and projectiles rain down on the attackers' heads, who use all sorts of mechanisms to withstand the hand cannon fire, from steel shields to skin-hardening techniques and agility.
For over two hours, nearly 200 ninjas and more than 400 soldiers have been trying to take the hotel, employing all sorts of tactics, but so far without success. For some reason, the defenders know the ninjas cannot destroy the city's infrastructure, so they have resorted to using the buildings to their advantage, forcing a long-range combat and leaving the ninjas no option but to respond with their less destructive throwing weapons and justus.
Darui, as captain of one of the 100-strong ninja group, does his best to eliminate the defenders at the windows, concentrating his attacks as soon as they appear and often resorting to explosive tags to try to blow up the windows and allow entry. Unfortunately, the rebels are determined not to surrender the hotel and resort to suicidal tactics at the slightest attempt by the ninjas to enter. Darui has already lost three teams attempting to break into the hotel, only to have the rebels detonate the invaded rooms. The hotel is unusually resilient, likely reinforced by the rebels, so the ninjas' job has become one of slowly demolishing the structure.
"Captain, watch out!" Another ninja next to Darui throws a kunai, which soon intercepts an object in midair. The object falls about ten meters from their position, detonating and scattering metal fragments around it.
"Another one of those damn bombs," Darui complains.
Incredibly, those peculiar and simple bombs, consisting of an explosive core, usually an explosive tag, surrounded by a body filled with all sorts of metal objects, such as nails and screws, have represented one of the greatest threats in battle, injuring ninjas and soldiers everywhere.
Several more explosions are heard around them, and Darui can see several ninjas being hit by the projectiles. The man, already angered by everything happening around him, proceeds to form hand seals and execute a powerful electric attack against one of the hotel walls, causing enormous damage and killing dozens of rebels. Other ninjas, motivated by Darius, are preparing to execute their own destructive jutsus when a deep voice resonates in the room.
"Everyone stop!" says the second captain, equal in rank to Darui and leader of the second group of 100 ninjas. "The commander has ordered a retreat! We're returning to the previous line!"
"What's going on? Why did we retreat?" Darui asks the other captain, dismayed. "The attack only damaged the hotel. I made sure it didn't damage the other buildings."
"It's not you," the captain replies, his face worried. "There's been news that our camp outside the city was attacked. Apparently, there's another enemy force nearby. I don't have any precise information, but they say many ninjas were killed and much of our supplies destroyed."
Darui can't help but be shocked by the news, frowning and ordering all his ninjas to abandon the assault. Upon returning to the camp outside the city, he finds a desolate scene, with dozens of bodies scattered around the tents, most of them decapitated—genin, chunin, and even some jounin. Apparently, nothing could be done.
"Commander, what the hell is going on?" Darui asks Furan, who is observing the disaster with other captains.
"The rebels are not alone," Furan declares, frowning and suppressing great anger. "This is the work of very powerful individuals. I don't think we can fulfill our mission under these conditions."
"We are too exposed. Our enemy is watching us and will attack at the slightest sign of weakness, wherever it hurts us the most," adds another of the captains.
"The Raikage isn't going to like this," Darui comments, then lowers his shoulders and sighs.
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