Chapter 40: New Situation

Hatake Sakumo's White Fang Sword Technique inherently carries the techniques of two chakra nature transformations: Wind and Lightning, with the Lightning nature transformation as the core; Uchiha Feiyu had also been specializing in the Lightning nature previously.

It was not until this period, through the possession training of Hatake Sakumo and the heartfelt contributions of the souls of over 20 Sand Ninja, that Uchiha Feiyu's Wind nature chakra transformation caught up to the level of his Lightning nature, allowing him to finally unleash the White Fang Sword Technique in its prime.

The Wind nature chakra transformation has two uses in the White Fang Sword Technique: one is to wrap around the body to form an airflow, eliminating air resistance, reducing sound, and increasing speed; the other is what Uchiha Feiyu just used, a long-range sword energy attack that is almost like a Flying Slash.

This kind of long-range sword energy attack is no less powerful than a B-rank Wind Cutting Technique, yet it requires no seals during combat and can be unleashed with a light swing of the blade; it is precisely because the sword energy compensates for the lack of long-range attacks that Hatake Sakumo's White Fang Sword Technique has truly reached perfection, attaining an impeccable level.

The opposing Rock Ninja squad leader was first deceived by Uchiha Feiyu's greatly improved Sharingan Genjutsu, remaining stunned for a second or two, and was then directly bisected by the sword energy, being cut in half in an instant.

Conversely, the other three injured ninja, because they did not look directly at the Sharingan, managed to barely dodge the attack, despite being forced into a flurry by the sword energy that Feiyu unleashed without needing seals.

"Captain! Damn it!"

The tall Rock Ninja roared, but the other two Rock Ninja brothers reached out and grabbed his left and right arms:

"Don't be impulsive, we have no chance of winning! And this mission has already failed; Konoha's reinforcements will be here soon!"

"Damn Uchiha... just you wait!"

The tall Rock Ninja looked hateful, issuing a threat akin to "don't run after school," and ultimately retreated together with the pair of Rock Ninja brothers.

Uchiha Feiyu glanced at the trench on the ground and ultimately did not pursue them, but at this moment, the entire perimeter of Konoha was in chaos, and his keen senses even perceived quite a few battles taking place.

"It seems that the Rock Ninja did not send only this one team for this surprise attack, but with my signal, I estimate these Rock Ninja won't be able to take much advantage."

While speculating on the situation, Uchiha Feiyu reached out and tucked the soul of that Rock Ninja squad leader into his pocket.

The facts were indeed so; after a chaotic half-day, the fighting near the Konoha camp subsided, and Uchiha Feiyu soon met Orochimaru.

"Feiyu-kun, this time I owe it all to you."

Orochimaru's expression faintly carried a trace of anger as he spoke to thank Uchiha Feiyu.

"It's nothing, it was a coincidence; these guys happened to be very close to my training ground... What exactly is going on? Have the Rock Ninja declared war on us too?"

Orochimaru's expression turned cold, and his eyes revealed a trace of fury:

"Just now, an urgent Summoning Technique was received; the declaration of war from Iwagakure has been submitted to Konoha. Heh, that old man Onoki really has a good plan, carrying out a surprise attack and a declaration of war at the same time. This old ghost loves to play these underhanded tricks!"

"How many people did the other side send? What is their strength?"

Uchiha Feiyu ignored the schemes Onoki was playing; honestly, things like tearing up contracts and attacking without declaring war were almost the norm throughout the Ninja World. Onoki putting the surprise attack and the declaration together could only be considered child's play. Later on, the Sand Ninja would play even fancier tricks during the Chunin Exams; the current Feiyu only cared about the strength of Iwagakure.

"We don't know the specifics of the main force, but there were five teams in the surprise attack just now, totaling twenty people, and everyone's strength is at least at the Special Jonin level!"

"These ninja are either proficient in the Earth Traveling Technique or possess large-scale Camouflage Concealment Techniques, which allowed them to sneak into such a close position. If the surprise attack had truly succeeded, the losses would certainly not have been small."

A team of 20 people attacking a camp of thousands sounds like a joke, but if everyone is at the level of a Special Jonin or above, then it really cannot be underestimated.

Ninja are inherently glass cannons with high attack and low defense; ninja at the Jonin level almost all have large-scale destructive ninjutsu. In a sudden outburst, a set of combined ninjutsu taking away thousands of lives in the camp is a very normal thing.

By then, the Konoha camp might not be considered mortally wounded, but it would certainly be considered severely damaged.

Uchiha Feiyu did not care much about the failed scheme of Iwagakure; he was more concerned that the Rock Ninja had now directly declared war on Konoha.

"Are the Rock Ninja also preparing to go to war with our Konoha? So are we now fighting two enemies at once?"

"Correct... However, the Land of Rivers battlefield should only be a secondary battlefield for the Rock Ninja; they will not commit too many ninja here."

Uchiha Feiyu nodded to show he understood. The Land of Rivers already had a large number of ninja from Konoha and the Sand Ninja; if the Rock Ninja also pressed their main force, it would likely repeat the old events of the Land of Rain battlefield during the Second Great Ninja War.

During the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and the Rain Ninja all gathered in the small Land of Rain, almost killing until the blood flowed like a river. In the end, none of the four parties benefited; all were severely damaged or even nearly wiped out.

This is because all ninja villages do not trust other ninja villages. The Rock Ninja and Sand Ninja could not possibly truly join forces to attack Konoha; instead, they would treat each other as hostile targets as well, at most with a lower combat priority than Konoha. Therefore, the two sides combined actually resulted in 1+1 being less than two.

Under these circumstances, splitting the battlefield to attack Konoha simultaneously is the best choice for these ninja villages that want to carve meat off Konoha.

However, that is how it is said, but while the early stages of the siege on Konoha in every Ninja World War are fine, by the later stages, this strategy always turns into a mess, becoming a chaotic battle—the hatred between the major ninja villages, the suspicion of other ninja villages, the greed to reduce the power of other ninja villages and swallow the fruits of victory alone, and the schemes and sowing of discord between ninja villages always lead the other ninja villages to fight each other until they are at each other's throats.

"The ninja sent by the Rock Ninja should not exceed a thousand; the main goal is likely to increase pressure on us, blooming in many places, and pinning down Konoha's military strength."

"It's a pity that even knowing this, we must increase reinforcements and make foolproof preparations."

Orochimaru analyzed it calmly, but reinforcements still had to be requested; as long as the Rock Ninja maintained their forces on the Land of Rivers battlefield, one could never lower their guard against them.

Ninja are inherently a profession skilled in deception; while these guys' strategic guidelines might be a complete mess, their tactics must never be underestimated. Who knows if the other side might shift from containment to a main attack, bringing in a large number of elites to crush their own front line.

(End of chapter)