Chapter 79: Battle Preparations

Upon learning the news of Konoha's crushing defeat on the front lines, Obito and the others were quite dejected, and they soon went their separate ways.

As for Uchiha Feiyu, he returned to Root, preparing to ask his cheap teacher—he had a premonition that he would likely have to head to the battlefield again very soon.

Although there would certainly be plenty of gains on the battlefield to let his Blood Pool open for business, neither the Rock Ninja nor the Cloud Ninja were comparable to those small-fry Sand Ninja.

There are levels even among Shadow-level experts; with Rasa's limited abilities, he was far inferior to the Third Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage, and the strength of those two Ninja Villages far surpassed the weakened Sunagakure.

Let's put it this way: although the Ninja World War often starts with Sunagakure, in reality, the Sand Ninja are always just a supporting act, and the Mist Ninja are just passing through; the protagonists on this battlefield stage are always Konoha, the Rock Ninja, and the Cloud Ninja.

Naturally, every time Konoha clashes with the Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja, the casualties are the heaviest, and the crises encountered are the most numerous.

If it weren't for the fact that the Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja are also sworn enemies, and that Onoki is a notorious "old fox" among the Shadows of various villages with zero credibility—meaning even if the two great Ninja Villages joined forces, the result would be less than the sum of their parts—Konoha would likely have collapsed during the last Ninja World War.

After returning to Root, Uchiha Feiyu met Orochimaru. Today, Orochimaru was not conducting experiments in the laboratory; instead, he was wearing a combat vest and organizing his ninja tools.

At this moment, Orochimaru was holding a white cloth, gently wiping the Kusanagi Sword in his hand. Seeing Uchiha Feiyu walk in, a smile appeared on his face:

"Looking at your expression, it seems you have also heard some news?"

"I ran into a classmate on the way, the one from the Hokage's family, Asuma, and I did hear some rumors... Is it true that Konoha suffered a huge loss against the Cloud Ninja this time?"

"More than a huge loss, they practically lost everything down to their underwear! The Third Raikage took action himself, bringing along his own son who has already been designated as the next Fourth Raikage and has earned the title of A, plus a jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, the next generation's Bee..."

"Three Shadow-level powerhouses joining forces... It is fortunate that it was Jiraiya, that disciple of his who learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, on the Cloud Ninja front. If it had been anyone else, whether it was me, Jiraiya, or even the old man, I fear the outcome would have been losing our lives along with it!"

"Even though Minato, Jiraiya's disciple, escaped with his life thanks to the Flying Thunder God Technique, the entire ninja army on Konoha's Cloud Ninja front was almost completely wiped out; only a dozen or so were saved by Minato using the Flying Thunder God Technique."

"So this time... Konoha didn't just lose over 3,000 ninja; it was a near-total annihilation. Out of the 4,000-plus ninja on that entire front, only a dozen or so returned!"

"That's brutal... Tell me, have the Cloud Ninja gone mad? Not even caring about their own home? Aren't they afraid the Rock Ninja will stab them in the back?"

In the past, when the Cloud Ninja and Rock Ninja fought against Konoha, they would basically always leave a Shadow-level expert to guard their home, just as the Third Hokage of Konoha would generally not leave Konoha.

Although that old man Sarutobi Hiruzen has a mountain of flaws and has gradually transformed from a ninja into a politician, you really cannot say he is afraid of death or afraid of the battlefield—no one who can become a Shadow in this day and age is afraid of death.

The reason he does not go to the battlefield is due to various factors, but the biggest reason is that Konoha is fighting on four fronts; once he, the Hokage, leaves Konoha, it is very easy for other Ninja Villages to raid their home base.

Although the Cloud Ninja are not located in the center of the continent like Konoha, a land of four-way war, because they are tough and rude externally and greedy and barbaric by nature, they basically have major grudges with all other Ninja Villages.

Especially Iwagakure, which is a sworn enemy of the Cloud Ninja Village; theoretically, even if the Cloud Ninja were to go to war with Konoha, they would certainly leave enough manpower to guard against the Rock Ninja.

That is why Uchiha Feiyu felt a bit strange about the current situation. Are the Cloud Ninja abandoning their own home base?

"I don't know the specific reason either, but clearly, the Cloud Ninja and the Rock Ninja have reached a certain level of mutual trust. Who knows how Onoki managed to convince those Cloud Ninja barbarians?"

Orochimaru spoke calmly, stuffed the Kusanagi Sword into the mouth of a large snake, and then extended a hand. From his wrist crawled out nine slender silver snakes, which interlocked to form a Silver Snake Sword that was both eerie and gorgeous.

While Orochimaru was inspecting the Silver Snake Sword, Uchiha Feiyu also frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

He remembered that in the original story, during the later stages of the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha was already showing clear signs of decline. As a result, the Rock Ninja pulled a sneaky move and directly attacked the Cloud Ninja led by the Third Raikage.

The Cloud Ninja did not expect that the "old fox" of Iwagakure would backstab them so quickly, but the Rock Ninja also did not expect that the Third Raikage of the Cloud Ninja would be so capable in battle!

After a battle lasting three days and three nights, the tens of thousands of Rock Ninja suffered heavy losses, and the strongest of the Cloud Ninja, the Third Raikage, was exhausted and died covering the retreat. Neither of the two great Ninja Villages gained any advantage, which instead allowed Konoha, which was on the verge of collapse, to recover.

It could be said that this was the true turning point of the Third Shinobi World War in the original story. The subsequent sparring-style exchanges between the AB brothers and the Yellow Flash, as well as the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, could only be considered the aftermath of the battle following a slight strategic failure.

Judging from the fact that the Third Raikage held off the 10,000-strong Rock Ninja army for three days and three nights, he might not have been aware of the Rock Ninja's sudden action, but he certainly had always been on guard against the Rock Ninja.

However, this time, the Third Raikage led his subordinates to invade Konoha with his full force. This choice, completely different from the Third Shinobi World War in the original story, could only be explained by the butterfly effect brought about by Uchiha Feiyu.

After thinking for a long time without finding the reason, Uchiha Feiyu simply put the question aside and turned to think about another matter—can Konoha withstand the surprise attack from the Cloud Ninja?

Jiraiya must keep an eye on Iwagakure and is stretched too thin; he might even need reinforcements, so it is impossible for him to participate in the war.

Besides him, the remaining experts on Konoha's side are the Third Hokage, the Yellow Flash, Orochimaru, and himself. Perhaps Shimura Danzo counts as half?

Looking at the data alone, it seems Konoha might still have the upper hand, but it is hard to say once the actual fighting starts.

Currently, Konoha's strongest combat power should be the Third Hokage, who has not yet fully fallen from his peak. Against the true strongest Raikage, his chances of winning are likely not very high.

This is because the Third Hokage in his true peak state never appeared in the Hokage manga, so Uchiha Feiyu tried to estimate him as highly as possible; otherwise, Uchiha Feiyu felt that the Third Hokage would definitely be beaten to a pulp by the Third Raikage.

Among the remaining powerhouses, besides the Yellow Flash, people like Danzo, Orochimaru, and himself basically all have their own agendas.

Orochimaru might possibly put in more effort, but if he himself encountered a losing battle, he would definitely run away, and it is hard to say what kind of sneaky moves Danzo might pull.

(End of chapter)