"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 226: Bunpuku
What does "not so peaceful" mean?
It's like someone who tosses and turns restlessly in their sleep, constantly flipping like a pancake—one glance at their state tells you they're not sleeping soundly.
When Chiyo, led by that ninja, saw the Second Kazekage, she immediately understood what "not so peaceful" meant.
Honestly, as a master poisoner, Chiyo had seen plenty of people who'd died in heaps, but this was her first time seeing someone reduced to a puddle... Truly worthy of the Shinobi World War—right from the start, it broadens one's horizons.
The Second Kazekage's entire body seemed intact only at the head, making people want to deny this puddle was the Kazekage—unfortunately, his head was highly recognizable.
Chiyo found it difficult to accept what lay before her, and this had little to do with Shamon being her teacher.
If the Second Kazekage had died gloriously on the battlefield in heroic sacrifice, Chiyo would have had no trouble accepting it. After all, ninja must die eventually, and even "Kage" have moments when sacrifice becomes necessary.
But for a dignified Kazekage to die so disgracefully—judging by the battlefield environment, he'd very likely been instantly eliminated... Foot soldiers have their way of dying, generals have theirs. When a general dies more disgracefully than foot soldiers, it's essentially an insult.
Chiyo's pride could hardly accept this.
She somewhat regretted bringing so many people to the scene. If she'd only brought a small squad, she could have issued a "gag order," concealing both the Kazekage's death and the circumstances surrounding it.
But thirty people differed from three. Though all Sunagakure ninja, they came from different factions, making absolute secrecy impossible.
"Prepare the Kazekage's remains for transport."
"Lady Chiyo, what about the autopsy? We need to determine what happened here as thoroughly as possible."
"I said, prepare the Kazekage's remains. Can't you understand orders?"
"...Yes, Lady Chiyo."
Shameful and embarrassing—forensic examination could wait. The Kazekage represented Sunagakure's dignity, and it was scattered on the ground, requiring immediate recovery... Even if the Kazekage had been beheaded by enemies, it wouldn't have caused Chiyo such distress.
Whether from grief or revulsion, Chiyo ordered subordinates to "repackage" the "decompressed" Kazekage, then personally went to examine another important figure's corpse.
As she approached, she gazed up at the withered giant tree, understanding it was likely created by enemy techniques, yet unable to fathom its actual purpose.
The devastated terrain should be unrelated to the dead tree.
Upon reaching the tree's base and seeing First Kazekage Retto in the ice coffin, Chiyo's chest heaved violently—she grew even angrier... Both men had departed for battle, yet their deaths differed so dramatically?
Retto in the ice coffin had even been arranged in a pose, his posture truly appearing peaceful... body naturally supine, arms bent, hands folded across his chest.
Even his facial expression carried a sense of release.
After briefly searching the battlefield, a ninja reported to Chiyo:
"Lady Chiyo, Lord Retto engaged the enemy in fierce combat for several hours before death. The border monument has vanished, and iron sand traces are scattered throughout the battlefield."
Iron sand—proof that Retto had indeed engaged in intense confrontation with the enemy.
"Isn't something odd here? Over there, the enemy instantly eliminated our main force, yet here he fought Lord Retto for hours... Lord Retto was already so aged, it's hard to imagine he could still display his youthful strength."
Another ninja observed—the two battlefields were full of contradictions.
"Perhaps Lord Retto employed some secret technique to return to his peak... at the cost of death."
"Observing how the First and Second died, we might infer the enemy's identity from this differential treatment... Does Konoha have ninja who admire the First yet despise the Second?"
"Uh, hard to say."
Someone glanced at Chiyo and swallowed their words... Ninja who admire the First yet despise the Second? Konoha has none—such ninja are clearly all in Sunagakure.
"The enemy's techniques and abilities should be Ice Release, shouldn't they?"
Seeing Retto's frozen state, it certainly resembled Ice Release.
"Ice Release on such a massive scale? How fast would the instantaneous eruption need to be to prevent the main force from reacting? I've never heard of Konoha possessing Ice Release Kekkei Genkai."
"Seems like... they do? They don't?"
"Regardless, Konoha has an enemy whose strength far exceeds our imagination."
Yūshin had only used Ice Release once on the battlefield, and those who witnessed it died on the spot.
As Sunagakure ninja discussed, they suddenly fell silent, realizing their embarrassing predicament... War had just erupted, yet both former and current Kazekage had perished on the battlefield.
Accompanying them in death were a thousand elite troops.
Did this mean this war was already pointless? The key question was what Sunagakure should do next—adjust strategy?
No, more critically, who should be the next Kazekage? Could the Kage candidate smoothly assume power, and what strategies would they adopt afterward?
After leadership change, the village would surely operate according to new will—perhaps it was time for new allegiances.
"Lady Chiyo, we've spotted Konoha's main force... thousand-person scale, approaching. Cannot confirm the commander's identity currently."
Intelligence from reconnaissance ninja interrupted everyone's silence.
"Take the First and Second's remains—we're withdrawing."
What else could they do besides retreat? Chiyo was merely a capable conventional ninja; she couldn't lead thirty against a thousand.
When she returned to the ice sculpture cluster, she found her ninja had not only collected the Second's remains but also "rescued" a mummified corpse.
They'd poured water, applied fire, chopped and hacked at the ice sculptures, finally extracting someone.
This demonstrated that dismantling the sculpture cluster wasn't impossible, but required substantial "man-hours"—something Sunagakure currently lacked time for.
"Bring him as well."
Having one "specimen" was decent—Chiyo could only hope to extract valuable intelligence from him.
With Konoha's army pressing forward, they could only take one mummy while leaving the rest as installation art.
"Lady Chiyo, what should we do next? Should we deploy our forces here?"
During withdrawal, someone asked Chiyo.
This question was difficult to answer. Konoha had come with a thousand; based on parity principles, Chiyo should indeed order their own thousand-person force to resist, however...
What if this thousand were also instantly annihilated?
After all, losing a thousand over a month versus losing a thousand in one second creates completely different psychological pressure for decision-makers.
Chiyo was currently mentally shaken, unable to provide answers. Facing such crucial questions, she could only remain silent.
Compared to Sunagakure's dejection, Konoha presented an almost jubilant atmosphere.
Many ninja reaching the battlefield were Fireflies veterans—Fireflies ninja returning to their loyal western front. Wasn't this worth celebrating?
Here stood Kikyō Castle, Reitō Castle, the former Fireflies Village now Fireflies stronghold... For countless younger-generation Fireflies ninja raised on stories of Fireflies' pioneering struggles and enterprising spirit, even the air here was sweet.
Such is historical inheritance—once Fireflies ninja set foot on this land, they'd receive at least a "morale buff" enhancement.
"Lord Shūji, the ninja have arrived. What should we do next?"
A white-haired man in his twenties, already showing weathered features, approached Nara Shūji and asked.
"According to orders, Sunagakure broke faith first, so we're reclaiming territory once entrusted to their control... But no rush. Battle lines are flexible—we only need to ensure Sunagakure is cleared out when war ends. After all, they come from the desert and should ultimately return to the desert," Shūji said.
This order confused the young white-haired ninja.
"Lord Shūji, the village's orders don't seem quite like this..."
Nara Shūji glanced at the white-haired ninja, who immediately fell silent, even trembling... Did I say these were the village's orders?
"Construct defensive lines, secure supply routes, then... implement scorched earth tactics. Relocate populations east of the desert and west of the border markers inland temporarily. Do these things for now."
"Yes, Lord Shūji!"
The white-haired ninja loudly acknowledged orders, then began organizing troops for mission execution.
"Don't worry, just handle your duties properly. At least I can still wield a blade..."
Having been tormented by Nara Shūji since childhood, he inevitably held deep... respect for him. Yes, respecting teachers and honoring the way.
Strangely, even "respecting teachers and honoring the way" could be inherited in The Fireflies.
...
Meanwhile, the "Sunagakure Ninja Group Sculptor" and tree-planting enthusiast Yūshin, after completing his performance art, no longer concerned himself with Sunagakure and Konoha's battle situation.
With the Kazekage gone, Konoha had no reason not to dominate the battlefield or control battlefield initiative.
Yūshin traversed the desert. One evening, he climbed a cliff face and observed Sunagakure village nestled within circular cliff walls.
"This location choice..."
Yūshin shook his head, feeling Retto had moments of mental lapse.
Indeed, surrounding cliffs could block sandstorms while serving as natural walls—a defensive system. But from another perspective...
Put this way: Sunagakure ninja seemed to live in a giant pot. No matter how you viewed it, the feng shui was terrible.
This was actually a death trap.
At this moment, Yūshin particularly wanted to employ raging sand techniques, directly burying this entire village with surrounding sand... No helping it—Sunagakure's site selection made one feel not burying it would be a disservice.
Like having firecrackers in hand with cow dung ahead—without sufficient willpower, one easily succumbs to temptation, emotion overwhelming reason, leading to insertion, ignition, and scenic appreciation.
If Pain came here, he'd definitely want to release Super Shinra Tensei in the village center, then admire his destructive handiwork.
Fortunately, Yūshin was rational—not every cow patty gets its firecracker.
His figure vanished from the original location. Next moment, Yūshin appeared atop Sunagakure's central largest building.
He deliberately leaked some chakra, creating disturbance that indeed attracted a ninja.
"Who goes there?"
"Hey neighbor, just asking directions, inquiring about routes..."
Anyone guarding such locations was no ordinary ninja, yet he was simply controlled by Yūshin.
No wonder Uchiha enjoyed displaying their red-eye disease—once a ninja's Genjutsu reached certain levels, this ability proved extremely convenient.
Local neighbors were quite hospitable. Yūshin had thought he'd need extensive inquiries to find routes, unexpectedly discovering this first person's mind contained needed information.
Asking directions? This Sunagakure ninja's brain even contained maps.
"You... this counts as knowing when to yield—makes me embarrassed to do more. Sleep here—this is your due reward."
This Sunagakure ninja collapsed, then slept soundly. He was indeed fortunate—just sleeping one night would suffice, avoiding the one-step fate of eternal slumber.
Yūshin's figure vanished from the original location. Next moment, he appeared in a lightless prison cell.
"Wait, this is wrong. I'm using space-time ninjutsu for infiltration, using Sharingan—why does this character positioning look so familiar?"
Yūshin sensed certain familiarity, his entire thought process beginning to drift toward Sage 2 directions.
After entering the cell, Yūshin saw a middle-aged bald man sitting cross-legged in meditation...
This person wasn't a Shinobi World programmer, but a genuine monk.
This was Sunagakure's Jinchūriki, named Monk Bunpuku. He was a perfect Jinchūriki capable of heart-to-heart communication with Tailed Beasts, but due to ninja fear of Tailed Beasts, Bunpuku had never left his cage throughout his entire life.
In certain senses, someone who could endure humiliation, withstand loneliness, and brush away others' hatred like dust truly deserved praise as "possessing Buddha-nature."
Hmm, praising him was certainly fine, but if considering role reversal, Yūshin would never choose such a stifling existence.
The cage before him certainly couldn't contain a Jinchūriki. Not mentioning anything else, just the Tailed Beast... If One-Tail Shukaku had any praiseworthy aspects, it would be mastery of sealing techniques.
With Jinchūriki and Tailed Beast cooperating, seizing freedom would be child's play, wouldn't it?
Yūshin stepped forward, and Monk Bunpuku immediately opened his eyes.
"Oh, your vigilance isn't bad."
Monk Bunpuku was completely bewildered because as Yūshin praised him, Yūshin's right hand had already pressed against his bald head... So-called "good vigilance" meant being captured by an intruder without resistance.
Next moment, Yūshin's figure appeared in an even larger cage.
Or rather, his consciousness had invaded One-Tail Shukaku's sealing space.
"Gan? Gan! Is it really you? Ha, what's happening here?" Shukaku's consciousness was instantly activated.
"After a thousand years, you're still so noisy... Don't shout, I'm just here to feed you."
So-called taking from Sunagakure, using for Sunagakure—Yūshin was a good person, merely wanting to oversee Sunagakure chakra redistribution.
Speaking thus, he produced a counterfeit, inferior, small-workshop knockoff chakra fruit.
Hmm, postpartum care for the mother pig...
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