Upon Homura Mitokado's return, he provided the commander with a detailed explanation of his mission and submitted a comprehensive report.
Immediately after, Homura Mitokado returned to his quarters to pack his belongings, but he hadn't even reached the camp gate yet.
Signal flares shot up all around the camp, clearly indicating that Dodai had arrived with the Kumogakure forces!
While the signal flares were still flickering in the sky and hadn't extinguished, overwhelming Lightning Release Ninjutsu, mixed with various Ninja tools, assailed the Konoha camp.
Homura Mitokado stood frozen in place; when did everything start going wrong for him?
Recalling the past with great effort, Homura Mitokado realized that it seemed everything began when he uttered the phrase, 'The Uchiha are all warmongering madmen!'
The Konoha Ninja, being a regular army, quickly assembled upon seeing the signal flares.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind Release: Gale!"
A small number of Wind Release Ninja used their signature Wind Release, and the overwhelming majority of Fire Release Ninja in the camp also used their signature Fire Release.
Amplified by the Wind Release, they managed to block the sky-covering Lightning Release Ninjutsu for a time.
However, due to the scarcity of Wind Release Ninja, many Ninja tools still broke through Konoha's Ninjutsu net.
The Earth Release Ninja in the camp all used Earth Release to block the incoming Ninja tools.
They couldn't let go; once they lost the Chakra to maintain them, the Earth Release would soon disappear.
This perfectly illustrated the illusory nature of Chakra as a power, which was also why Yuuki relied more on templates most of the time.
The damage and effects caused by Chakra Nature Transformation were real and not false.
However, among the Five Nature Transformations, Earth Release and Water Release, which could generate matter, would have their generated earth or water disappear once the Chakra vanished.
The only Nature Transformation that could generate truly real matter was Wood Release; Yuuki guessed it was related to Chakra originating from the God Tree.
Kumogakure had invested heavily in this surprise attack on Konoha, scattering Ninja tools over the Konoha camp as if they were free.
Konoha's Earth Release Ninja quickly became unable to sustain their defense due to Chakra depletion.
One Ninja propped himself against an earth wall, maintaining Chakra output with one hand, while with the other, he pulled out a soldier pill from his Ninja tool pouch, intending to restore his Chakra.
"Eat this; it works better!"
A chubby hand offered him a blue pill.
"Oh? The famous Hōren Pill of the Akimichi clan, thank you!"
Without any hesitation, he put it directly into his mouth. As for side effects? Only those who were alive had the right to consider side effects!
The pills shared by several Akimichi clan members instantly made Konoha Ninja's defense impenetrable.
"What do we do next, Shinichiro-sama!"
"Yes, sir, let's retreat!"
Shinichiro's full name was Sarutobi Shinichiro, and he was the commander of this 駐紮部队.
At this moment, Shinichiro was also deep in thought.
Defend? They definitely couldn't hold out.
Although he didn't know how many people Kumogakure had deployed, judging by the seemingly endless attack, it was at least several times their number.
Breakthrough? Enemies were everywhere.
Unless they could eliminate a large number of enemies at once, creating a temporary vacuum, they would eventually be caught even if they escaped.
After a brief analysis, Shinichiro chose to break through. Continuing to defend was just a slow death; breaking through might offer a glimmer of hope.
Shinichiro didn't hesitate much and led his subordinates to break through in the direction of Konoha.
Konoha's Ninja almost gave up defending, constantly dodging attacks from all directions.
By the time they reached the Kumogakure Ninja, nearly half of their numbers had fallen.
The Kumogakure Ninja also stopped their blanket attack, engaging in Taijutsu or Nintaijutsu battles.
Shinichiro, at the forefront, drew his katana and directly slashed at the head of a young Kumogakure Ninja.
Without any surprise, the young man's head was severed from his body.
Shinichiro didn't stop, continuing to search for his next target.
The Kumogakure Ninja were naturally not made of wood and began to gather in the direction of the breakthrough.
Of the thousand-strong Konoha force, only about a hundred Ninja remained after breaking through the encirclement.
They were mostly Genin, protected in the center of the squad, with almost no combat power.
As for why 'almost,' it was because a scrawny old man was mixed in, who, despite having the rank of Jonin, had combat power comparable to a Genin.
Shinichiro was covered in wounds, and the other dozen or so Jonin were almost all injured.
They couldn't escape like this; they would soon be caught and slaughtered by Kumogakure Ninja.
Shinichiro looked at the people in the squad at this moment.
"Is there anyone willing to stay behind with me to cover our retreat?"
More than ten Jonin silently stood by Shinichiro's side.
The Genin, who had been protected all this time, had never seen such a tragic scene; many were already trembling.
But there were always some fearless Genin who stepped forward.
Shinichiro looked at the newly arrived children, twelve or thirteen years old, and sent them back.
"Very good, but you are too weak. Remember this feeling today: as weak as you are, you don't even have the right to sacrifice yourselves!"
Shinichiro looked at Homura Mitokado, who stood out from the crowd, with a complex expression.
"Advisor Yan, Konoha's future rests with you. Remember to take them back to Konoha."
Homura Mitokado averted his gaze, avoiding Shinichiro's eyes.
Seeing this, Shinichiro didn't insist and led more than ten Jonin in the opposite direction.
Shinichiro, who was actively going to his death, felt very calm. He reflected on his life.
Soon, a figure appeared in Shinichiro's mind: the person he admired most, his clan head, Konoha's Third Hokage.
He remembered his childhood self, along with a large group of clan members, receiving Hiruzen Sarutobi's earnest teachings, and the words the clan head would repeat at the end of every session.
Shinichiro finally understood the meaning of those words and then shouted loudly.
"Where the leaves dance, the fire burns on!"
Homura Mitokado watched the dozen or so figures walking towards Kumogakure, listening to the shouts that reached his ears, and ultimately, from the heart, he cowered.
"Let's go! We can't waste the opportunity Shinichiro created for us."
He then led the Genin and started to sprint.
There was no saying of 'don't pursue a cornered enemy' in the Ninja World. Dodai personally led the Kumogakure Ninja to pursue Konoha's remnants.
When Dodai saw Shinichiro and the others neatly lined up to meet them, he raised his right hand, and the Kumogakure Ninja stopped.
"Report the situation!"
"Dodai-sama, there are faint Chakra reactions in many places on the ground ahead. They should be explosive tag traps."
"Clear them out!"
"Yes!"
While his subordinates were clearing the traps, Dodai looked at Shinichiro and asked.
"Why did you stay behind to cover the retreat? You know that blocking for this short while won't allow the others to escape?"
"Perhaps. Those children might still die tonight, but I cannot watch them die one by one before my eyes. This goes against Konoha's will of fire."
"will of fire? Is it a special cursed seal?"
Shinichiro had no intention of revealing information and nodded.
"That's right. This is a powerful Ninjutsu that has allowed our Konoha to stand firm through three Great Ninja Wars. It is a precious treasure left by the First Hokage!"
Upon hearing 'First Hokage,' Dodai nodded knowingly.
"I see. In that case, you can all die!"
The Kumogakure Ninja, having cleared the traps, immediately attacked the dozen or so people.
Shinichiro and the others were almost completely defeated in one round.
"Was it all for nothing in the end?"
This was Shinichiro's last thought before losing consciousness.
Dodai led the Kumogakure Ninja to continue the pursuit.
Konoha Ninja, none of you will escape!
As Kumogakure passed through a forest, a sudden change occurred.
From a withered tree, countless black lines suddenly surged out, enveloping the surrounding Kumogakure Ninja.
Inside the withered tree, a scrawny old man smiled and muttered to himself.
"Danzo, thank you very much!"
As Konoha's top brass, those with valuable information in their minds generally had various seals placed on them.
However, the deranged Danzo apparently felt this wasn't safe enough and added more various seals to Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu.
This was also why Kumogakure's sensory Ninja couldn't detect Homura Mitokado.
As the Four Symbols Seal expanded, many Kumogakure Ninja scattered and fled, but there were always some Ninja who couldn't escape in time.
When it expanded to its maximum, the entire seal had become impenetrable, and then it contracted at an even faster speed.
In a dark, sunless environment, Homura Mitokado seemed to see a white-haired figure.
"Teacher, I didn't run away this time."
Outside.
"Dodai-sama!"
Shouts of alarm rose from the Kumogakure Ninja.
At this moment, Dodai's body from the knees down had completely disappeared, and blood flowed continuously from the smooth, gaping wound.
At the same time, Dodai himself had fallen into a coma.
"Sir, what do we do now!"
Someone asked Dodai's deputy.
The deputy didn't hesitate and replied directly.
"Immediately send Dodai-sama back to camp for treatment!"
"What about the Konoha Ninja? Are we still pursuing them?"
"Forget it, let's return to camp!"
The deputy shook his head, recalling that the escaped Konoha Ninja were almost all children of little use, and decided to abandon the pursuit.
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