"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 229: Unlimited Blade Works (Part 1)
Tsunade's adaptation to Wood Release proved remarkably impressive, even though her Wood Release couldn't actually trace its origins to the First Hokage.
However, what she inherited was the fundamental "hardware"—after reinstalling the system, aside from being unable to overclock infinitely like the First, everything ran smoothly.
Judging by her performance in the recent battle, her comprehensive abilities surpassed the original timeline's "Yamato," while her visual effects exceeded Yūshin's Wood Release... In Yūshin's hands, Wood Release served not as a combat technique but as a recovery method—he rarely used Wood Release for battle.
The surrounding mist gradually dissipated as Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru regrouped around Hagūgen Aoi.
Compared to Aoi's pristine condition, the other three now reeked of blood—especially Orochimaru and Jiraiya, who had eliminated countless Kumogakure ninja while blocking the battlefield.
Orochimaru's claim that their killing efficiency couldn't match Hatake Sakumo contained some self-deprecation. Though he appeared cold and composed, he often fought with frightening intensity.
"This fighting method..."
Jiraiya looked at the corpse before them—resembling a salted fish sun-dried for a week—uncertain what to say.
"What's the problem? Didn't we perfectly achieve our operational objective?"
Tsunade shot back at Jiraiya.
In daily exchanges, the brothers' presence could never match the sisters'—not even considering logic, since the brothers were really just one brother... Orochimaru considered arguing too foolish and never engaged in disputes.
"I just feel the opponent died rather miserably, considering his strength was actually quite good."
"What's the difference between 'miserable' and 'heroic'—aren't they both dead? What distinction exists?"
Jiraiya felt this reasoning was somewhat sophistic, so he wisely chose not to argue... Unlike other ninja, Jiraiya possessed certain romantic ideals.
"A combat method that avoids friendly casualties while guaranteeing victory—isn't that the optimal approach? Why don't you approve?" Orochimaru inquired.
This left Jiraiya even more speechless.
Orochimaru's flat, monotonous tone merely expressed genuine confusion—he wasn't trying to provoke anyone, didn't even expect Jiraiya to respond. Yet Jiraiya still felt this manner of speaking implied he was being called an idiot.
Hagūgen Aoi sealed the corpse, then said:
"Let's go. We'll temporarily withdraw. Kumogakure ninja will go berserk soon—no need to stay here entertaining them."
"Enemy reinforcement intensity keeps increasing. Today we no longer possess the capability to completely isolate the battlefield," Jiraiya observed, agreeing with Aoi's assessment.
"After realizing the Raikage's squad has completely lost contact, they'll naturally adopt appropriate responses," Orochimaru noted, finding all enemy reactions predictable and therefore rather boring.
"Aoi-nee, shouldn't we leave the body for them? The Raikage's death could devastate Kumogakure's morale... In this regard, death and disappearance produce completely different effects," Tsunade questioned, not understanding why Aoi wanted to take the corpse.
Shouldn't they display the Raikage's death to Kumogakure? Look at Konoha's western front—after Sunagakure's First and Second Kazekage died, they remained chaotic, unable to organize effective attacks.
"I thought carefully just now. We can't control enemy propaganda. As long as they obtain the Raikage's body, they have numerous ways to explain his death. Can't dying still mean winning?"
Aoi differed from the others—she understood some "victory studies" while possessing clear life objectives.
"Rather than expecting positive feedback from enemies, better to create appropriate reactions within our own forces... I know how to utilize this corpse more efficiently."
After brief explanation, Aoi observed their surroundings, saying:
"Withdraw—if we don't leave now, trouble awaits."
Before Kumogakure ninja could complete encirclement, the Konoha squad successfully retreated. When they said they'd create major incidents, they meant it—Kumogakure was already overwhelmed.
Setting aside the Second Raikage's death, Kumogakure originally hadn't planned using large forces against Konoha's infiltration squad. But after attempting "gourd-children-rescuing-grandfather" tactics, the gourd-children either died or disappeared. Now they could only employ human-wave tactics—maximizing losses.
When Hagūgen Aoi's four-person group returned to Konoha's frontline camp, the Third Hokage was meeting with confidants in the command center.
They hadn't understood the changes occurring on Kumogakure's front—why had the previously aggressive forces suddenly halted attacks and withdrawn troops?
The Third Hokage commanding from the front lines, primarily facing Kumogakure's main force, actually emulated the Second Hokage during the First Shinobi World War—a form of inheritance.
When the four arrived at the command center, the Third Hokage immediately stopped discussions, hoping they'd brought intelligence.
"You've returned from the front. Do you know what's happening with Kumogakure? Their forces are conducting large-scale maneuvers."
Excellent question. Hagūgen Aoi's eyes brightened, but she said nothing—directly producing a scroll and, with a "thud," dropping the Second Raikage's corpse onto the floor.
"This..."
"The Second Raikage? Impossible!"
"You... Remarkable, remarkable—silently changing the entire battle situation."
"Could this be real?"
Those playing aloof in the tent immediately swarmed around the corpse like flies detecting foul odors, chattering excitedly.
Hagūgen Aoi smiled. By bringing back battle results, her achievements became indisputable.
Her requirements were simple: promotion, salary increase, and stepping aside for capable successors.
The former was a short-term goal, the latter a medium-term objective.
The Third Hokage naturally trusted this squad's results—he understood these young people's strength and knew they couldn't lie about such matters.
At this moment, he only felt somewhat emotional. This war seemed more brutal than the previous one—how long had it been? Already one First and two Second Kage had died.
However, this was natural. After twenty years of development, though villages had progressed unevenly, compared to their past selves, improvement was evident.
The Third Hokage suddenly felt uneasy—with First and Second Kage dead, wouldn't Third Kage be next?
"Display the battle results to everyone, let them understand we currently hold absolute advantage."
The Third Hokage's wild thoughts didn't prevent correct decisions... This corpse was excellent medicine for boosting morale.
The Second Hokage's daughter slaying the Second Raikage—this event itself was sensational, with explosive propaganda effects.
Eastern and western fronts blooming simultaneously, Konoha momentarily stood unrivaled, fully revealing foundations accumulated since the First's era.
The only flaw: even with the Second Raikage dead, Kumogakure forces didn't fall into widespread chaos... This demonstrated the benefits of early power transitions.
One matter deserves mention: even Konoha ninja suffering severe injuries like missing limbs could return to battle completely healed after treatment—an advantage other villages lacked.
With this Shinobi World War's intensity, Konoha's advanced medical technology's advantages were fully displayed... Exaggerating slightly, Konoha ninja could each function as two—terrifyingly powerful.
Veteran Orochimaru wasn't just any old relic, but a meritorious one.
Hagūgen Aoi and her companions continuously accumulated reputation on Kumogakure's front, nearly maxing out their fame. The Third Hokage finally began seriously considering a question... Was concentrating four ninja with such combat capabilities wasteful?
The Third Hokage had previously arranged their joint operations, viewing them as battlefield recruits. Now these supposed recruits were actually increasing Kumogakure's recruit ratios.
After consideration, the Third Hokage decided to split this squad. Objectively speaking, this decision was fairly reasonable, based on battlefield requirements.
Tsunade would proceed to the western front against Chiyo—specifically, her poisons.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru would head to the eastern front against Kirigakure, since Konoha's eastern front lacked major commanders.
Hagūgen Aoi would continue staying beside him, employing kiting tactics when necessary to reunite the previous and current Raikage in the afterlife.
Unfortunately, opponents weren't fools—such tactics couldn't succeed repeatedly.
...
After leaving the Land of Wind, Yūshin had been stationed in the Land of Rain for some time.
First, he awaited complete ocular power recovery.
Second, he monitored Iwagakure's movements. Though Iwagakure hadn't declared war on Konoha, Yūshin didn't believe they'd remain so compliant—major villages often maintained different public and private principles.
Third, since idleness was idleness anyway, Yūshin hoped to discover White Zetsu traces, thereby locating the hidden "incubator" Madara Uchiha.
Madara Uchiha was now aged and feeble, possessing almost no combat capability. If Yūshin could locate him, wouldn't that represent a once-and-for-all opportunity to resolve most Shinobi World problems?
But this seemed purely wishful thinking. For nearly ten to twenty years, White Zetsu had vanished from the Shinobi World like delicious endangered delicacies.
White Zetsu had temporarily abandoned Shinobi World surveillance, even entering "hibernation mode"—this only indicated one possibility... Madara's Rinnegan incubation had reached a critical phase, completely absorbing Black Zetsu and White Zetsu's attention.
Sigh, Madara Uchiha's incubation efficiency was inferior to poultry. What did this indicate?
This meant that though he could dance, he couldn't sing, rap, or play basketball—mastering only one of four skills, so his incubation efficiency being merely twenty-five percent was understandable.
Yūshin wandered the Land of Rain like a strolling elderly gentleman, but never discovered White Zetsu traces. Though ordinary White Zetsu might not know Madara's location, finding none whatsoever—what logic was this?
Only after losing something do you understand its value. Yūshin began missing times when White Zetsu could be harvested everywhere... Getting old indeed made one nostalgic.
Though White Zetsu weren't found, Yūshin's wandering wasn't entirely fruitless—he did discover Iwagakure attempting to establish secret infiltration routes through the Land of Rain toward the Land of Fire.
Iwagakure indeed harbored schemes, but this was normal. Major villages had all declared war on surrounding neighbors—did Konoha hold special significance for Iwagakure?
Necessary scheming remained necessary, conspiracies still required execution. The Third Hokage lacked deterrent power, Konoha had long lost the First Hokage, while Iwagakure was no longer the Iwagakure of the sixties.
Regarding Iwagakure's minor actions, Yūshin didn't employ "excessive retaliation." They were establishing secret channels, acting like they wanted to smuggle small packets of powder to the Land of Fire, so Yūshin simply severed these channels.
Cutting channels, eliminating however many cannon fodder arrived—this fully demonstrated his mercy... After all, he hadn't planned following the "network cable" to attack Iwagakure directly.
Iwagakure Village, Village Chief's Office.
"First-sama, our infiltration forces sent to the Land of Rain have been completely annihilated again..."
A ninja reported bad news to the First Tsuchikage, Mu.
"Before disappearing, again no information was transmitted back?" Mu asked.
"Yes, First-sama."
"I understand."
This news was indeed troublesome, but Mu remained unmoved—his mindset was very mature. During wartime, anything could happen. Once ninja entered battlefields, they couldn't be viewed as people—merely numbers. War was nothing but filling positions, a numbers game.
Mu's age wasn't small, but his physical condition appeared excellent. After all... though he held First Kage status, he was actually Second Kage age bracket, plus being a skill-output type ninja, so his combat effectiveness remained strong.
Mage-type ninja—slight physical deterioration didn't affect combat capability.
Or more precisely, age hadn't yet impacted his output ability.
That ninja carefully observed Mu, then cautiously inquired:
"First-sama, should this mission continue?"
He felt persistence was meaningless—facts proved this infiltration route was impassable; forcing it would only waste ninja lives.
Mu inwardly wondered what was wrong—the Land of Rain region's feng shui had problems. Every encounter with this country brought misfortune... Was this earth overcoming water or water overcoming earth? Perhaps soil erosion?
"The mission must continue."
"Sunagakure's vanguard forces were completely annihilated in less than a day, First and Second Kazekage perished. We must determine what occurred—this concerns the village's next operational strategies... Flanking maneuvers and close observation are necessary."
"But, First-sama, as far as I know, Konoha hasn't formulated specific operational plans against us. Is it necessary to continue adding enemies in this war?" The ninja felt puzzled.
"Currently, Sunagakure and Kumogakure pose no substantial threats to us, Amegakure even less so... Vision must be long-term. Should the Land of Earth forever remain confined to the plateau? We also need to descend the mountain."
"If we continue executing this mission, our losses might completely spiral out of control..."
This ninja wasn't ignorant of grand principles, but his war attitude wasn't sufficiently cold. One general's success requires countless bones—superiors must see blood while also ignoring it.
"No problem. I'll personally make the trip."
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