manynovel Chapter 123 The Fire Country Amidst the Flames of War
Chapter 123 The Fire Country Amidst the Flames of War
Iwagakure has prepared to launch another war and has begun to deploy troops to the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass.
In their war plan, the Iwagakure army would pass directly through the trade route connecting the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire and Earth, and march straight into the Land of Fire.
Just as Iwagakure was still garrisoning its troops, something unexpected happened that caught the entire ninja world off guard.
The Hidden Mist Village, a ninja village with a low profile in the ninja world, actually made a move, and immediately launched a surprise attack on the Land of Fire from the sea, catching the Land of Fire completely off guard.
Furthermore, this time Kirigakure came with great force, directly dispatching the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who wield seven special ninja swords.
However, Konoha is Konoha after all. Its foundation is so deep that even Kirigakure, another of the Five Great Ninja Villages, cannot easily shake its roots.
Following the attack, Konoha quickly adjusted its defenses, mobilizing manpower to the coastal front to defend against Kirigakure.
However, life is often like this; good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly. While Konoha was fully engaged in dealing with the attack from Kirigakure, Iwagakure seized the opportunity.
The massive army of Iwagakure ninja stormed out of the Land of Earth and into the Land of Grass, using the Land of Grass as a springboard to attack the Land of Fire.
The flames of the Third Shinobi World War finally drew the Land of Grass into the conflict.
The situation in Konoha suddenly became extremely dangerous. Kirigakure had already invaded their Land of Fire territory, and if Iwagakure were to invade as well, things would be very bad.
When the two great ninja villages of Iwagakure and Kirigakure join forces to fight against Konoha, even if Konoha is strong, it will not be able to withstand the pressure brought by the combined forces of the two great ninja villages.
With things developing to this point, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could no longer sit still. He rarely put on his armor again and personally went to the front lines to confront the Kirigakure on the coast of the Land of Fire. At the same time, he sent his good friend Danzo Shimura with a large army to the border of the Land of Grass, intending to block the Iwagakure army outside the Land of Fire.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had a wonderful plan, but they underestimated the size and speed of the Iwagakure army.
With the existence of the trade route of the Land of Grass, the Iwagakure army marched straight in and directly attacked the border of the Land of Fire.
Iwagakure's plan is to crush the Land of Fire's border defenses in one fell swoop. Once they break through the Land of Fire's border defenses, they will enter their territory.
Relying on their numerical advantage and large-scale coordinated ninjutsu, they steadily advanced on the battlefield, thus sweeping across the entire Land of Fire.
Meanwhile, Konoha once again dispatched elite reinforcements, which arrived at the border of the Land of Fire as quickly as possible. However, the number of ninjas sent by Iwagakure was simply too large, and the quantitative change led to the qualitative change.
Even elite ninjas, when faced with the overwhelming tide of enemies, deeply felt their helplessness.
Relying on their numerical advantage, Iwagakure extended their battle lines, steadily advancing and gradually encroaching on the Land of Fire's territory.
Konoha, on the other hand, is caught in the same predicament as Kumogakure before, having to fight on two fronts.
However, unlike the Hidden Cloud Village, the reason why the Hidden Cloud Village is fighting on two fronts is that they have actively opened up two battlefronts in order to seek greater results.
Konoha didn't initiate the conflict proactively; it was forced into a two-front war. Both Iwagakure and Kirigakure launched attacks on Konoha simultaneously, putting immense pressure on the village.
In the conference room of the Hokage Building, Konoha's high-ranking officials were gathered. Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had just returned to Konoha from the front lines after defeating the Mistkage's main force, walked into the conference room without even taking off his armor.
"How's the situation at the front?"
"It's terrible. The previous attack on Iwagakure by Kumogakure put Iwagakure into war mode. All production was prepared according to the needs of war. They have enough supplies to transport to the front line along the trade route of the Chiba Merchant Guild in the Land of Grass."
Our front lines have suffered a severe collapse, and we have retreated to the second line for defense.
Mitomon En reported the latest situation with a grave expression.
"Chiba Trading Company's trade routes? Damn it, I never expected that at a time like this, the trade routes they opened up would become an ally of Iwagakure."
"Hmph, monkey, I've said it before, organizations like the Chiba Chamber of Commerce should be under our control."
"Alright, Danzo, now is not the time to talk about this. I believe that Mr. Chiba does not want the trade route he pioneered to be used by Iwagakure."
Hiruzen Sarutobi scolded his old buddy, then looked at the map.
"I don't think it will be difficult to defeat Iwagakure. The main reason they are so powerful right now is because they have a constant supply of supplies. Once they lose their supply support, they will definitely not be a match for us in our homeland of the Land of Fire."
Danzo snorted coldly upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's suggestion.
"Hmph, you make it sound so easy. How do you cut off their supplies? Do you want to completely destroy the trade routes of the Chiba Merchant Guild in the Land of Grass?"
"Need not."
Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored Danzo's tone and pointed to a place in the Land of Grass.
"All we need to do is destroy this place. It's a crucial node in Iwagakure's supply line, and most of their supplies have to pass through here to reach the front lines."
Everyone looked at the location that Hiruzen Sarutobi had pointed to, which was none other than the Kannabi Bridge.
"It does seem feasible."
After careful consideration, the head of the Nara clan among the Ino-Shika-Cho trio nodded in approval of Hiruzen Sarutobi's proposal.
"Destroying a bridge is much easier than destroying the entire trade route. I think two Jonin and two Chunin should be enough."
"Two Jonin? Which other Jonin are currently on standby in the village?"
"Turn to the next room," Xiaochun replied.
"Minato's team just returned from a mission. Kakashi from their team had previously completed the Jonin Exams and officially became a Jonin. Their team's composition is exactly two Jonin and two Chunin."
Upon hearing about Minato's team, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought about it carefully and realized it was indeed a suitable fit. Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique allowed for rapid movement on the battlefield, and all they needed to do was destroy a bridge, which shouldn't be difficult for Kakashi, a newly promoted Jonin.
"Alright, send the order to the Minato squad to blow up the Kannabi Bridge!"
After the Kannabi Bridge is destroyed, they will launch a counterattack against Iwagakure!
Yes!
The order was given, and the gears of fate began to turn.
Minato's team, who had just returned from a mission and were resting, received a mission from the Hokage Building.
"Jonin Minato, this mission is of utmost importance, as it relates to the entire war. I hope you can complete the mission as soon as possible."
"Understood, we will complete the mission as quickly as possible!"
Minato accepted the task and carefully read the contents.
They penetrated deep behind enemy lines and destroyed the Kannabi Bridge.
He had led Kakashi and his crew on several missions like this deep behind enemy lines before, so they weren't considered difficult. Missions like blowing up bridges to destroy important enemy facilities were no problem for them either.
After receiving the mission scroll, Minato felt uneasy, as if something might happen during the mission.