Chapter 150: Western Front Breached, Encircling the Eastern Front

Rixiang Dongyan was cursing the rotating sleeper Xiaochun in his mind, when a ninja suddenly ran up to him to report.

"Our signal flare?"

Rixiang Dongyan froze for a moment, then caught on and shouted, "Finally! Quickly! Send my orders, push all remaining troops forward, inform the Jonin of each division, and attack with full force!"

Having said that, he led his men out of the camp himself, heading straight to the battlefield.

At the same time, far on the Western Front, Tuti felt a growing unease.

"How long has it been?" he asked softly to the assistant beside him.

"Forty‑five minutes already."

Tuti stared at the map, his mind in disarray; before the battle he had told Teluoyi that he must report to him at least once every half hour.

However, since he received the request for aid, nearly an hour had passed, and he still had not received a second letter.

"Perhaps Leaf's forces intercepted it; I've already sent people to check each outpost, and we should have results soon."

Tuti nodded, but remained uneasy.

Now, only two possibilities lay before him: one, the Western Front fell before reinforcements could arrive, the army shattered, and even Teluoyi encountered problems, failing to contact us in time.

The other is the possibility the assistant just mentioned.

"Calculate the time; Muren should have joined the fight by now. With her there, Leaf could not have taken the Western Front so easily. I must have overthought it."

Tuti let out a light sigh, then mustered his spirit to continue reviewing each division's status. Suddenly, the assistant suggested, "Lord Tuti, since Zilai Ye secretly moved so many Elite Forces to ambush Lord Teluoyi, Leaf's main force here must be weakened. Why don't we seize the chance and act?"

Tuti shook his head and explained, "We know too little about Leaf's deployments, while Leaf has already read us completely. In the ninja world, intelligence is power, it is life.

Not to mention Zilai Ye herself is very powerful; even if we launch a proactive strike, victory would be hard to achieve. The gap between our forces is not yet such that a single full‑scale assault would decide the outcome."

Moreover, Leaf still fields several thousand ninjas with decent morale; crushing them would be too difficult.

"Furthermore, a mutual loss is not what we want. If we repel Leaf's current offensive, they won't have a chance to counterattack for a long time. Moreover, Sand and Rock will recognize Leaf's weakness, and the third Ninja World War will resume.

That is our opportunity."

Tuti spoke, his emotions surging, noting that the location of Fire Country is superb and wealthy, practically occupying all the fertile lands of the ninja world.

This is intolerable to the other four nations, which is why they repeatedly invade Fire Country; as long as they break in, it's a victory, and they reap generous rewards.

And now, they have once again reached outside Fire Country, just one step away.

"Commander Tuti, Leaf's offensive has slowed."

While the two were talking, the scout sent back a report.

"Oh? It seems Leaf's follow‑up forces are weak. No need to worry; hold the defense, and dispatch an Elite Forces squad to the Western Front with a messenger."

"Yes!"

"Hahaha, good. I never expected it to go so smoothly; the outcome of this battle is decided!"

Sima Yi stroked his beard and laughed heartily as he examined the intel Hui sent back; Zilai Ye also reviewed the report, furrowing his brows, squinting, pulling it farther back as if unable to see clearly, repeatedly checking it, and only after a long while confirmed its contents.

"Ah, she's a sharp‑tongued little girl, but this character design would still have a market—what a pity."

Zilai Ye wasn't as delighted as imagined; instead, he took out a small notebook to doodle, and that was all. A moment later, he calmly discussed with Sima Yi, "Muren and Cloud's support troops have both been annihilated. Our men are now raiding the Western Front. We'll hold back here and wait for results over there before launching another attack, okay?"

"That works as well."

Sima Yi nodded in agreement. Rixiang Richa stood aside, amazed that they had truly succeeded, and with a great victory. Wouldn't that mean the Hyuga clan was once again outpaced by the Uchiha clan? Never mind, after all he's not from the main family, why bother with idle thoughts! On the Western Front, Teluoyi's face showed a flicker of panic as he watched Leaf ninjas thrust in from the rear.

With Cloud's vigilant awareness, they wouldn't let the enemy approach the main army, and Teluoyi reacted swiftly, dispatching troops to encircle the foe as soon as they were exposed.

"Just a few dozen—only forty or fifty—he didn't even bother to notice."

However, that thought lasted less than twenty seconds before over two hundred Leaf ninjas arriving from behind stunned him.

Nearly three hundred Leaf ninjas, most wearing Leaf vests, slipped through the Land of Fields, and Teluoyi's face turned green.

But considering the heavy losses among reconnaissance ninjas lately and most frontline ninjas being reassigned, it was somewhat understandable.

"Lord Teluoyi, Leaf ninjas ahead have launched a massive offensive, and even Rixiang Dongyan has entered the battlefield."

"Hmph, damn~"

Teluoyi, irritated, saw Rixiang Dongyan on the field; those ninja clan ninjas still had no trace, indeed he had been deceived.

"I'll lead men to block the Leaf army up front; you allocate troops to quickly deal with the opponents behind."

"Yes!"

Teluoyi, as a Cloud Jonin wielding magnet release and excelling in group combat, possessed extraordinary strength; using magnet release against a close‑combat ninja like Rixiang was invariably advantageous.

When he struck, Cloud's pressure instantly lessened, and within a few rounds he battered Rixiang Dongyan badly, yet as a member of the main family his strength was unsurprising, and with allied clan ninjas protecting him, he faced no immediate danger to his life.

Meanwhile, Hui's party also clashed with the Cloud‑drawn ninja troops.

This time Cloud mobilized over two hundred men, additionally pulling ten Jonin from the front, hoping to swiftly crush the enemy unit.

However, after only a brief exchange, these Jonin discovered a problem.

These Leaf ninjas were no ordinary foes; they could truly be called Elite Forces.

Seeing the Copy Wheel Eyes and Byakugan, along with signature techniques of some secret clans, the Cloud Jonin felt a tingling on his scalp.

Ninjas born of ninja clans are already hard to handle, and now the enemy outnumbers us; how to fight? "First block them, then send a messenger to Lord Teluoyi; these people are likely the reinforcements Leaf sent earlier!"

A Jonin calmly commanded; though the situation was difficult, all Cloud Jonin knew they could not retreat now—if these Leaf Elite Forces got the drop on them, the front line would collapse quickly.

"You should worry about yourself!"

Hui sneered, a crackling electric arc coiling around his long sword, three tomoe activated, and he rushed toward the Jonin, tossing several shuriken along the way.

"Arrogant!"

The Cloud Jonin also wielded a long sword, but he was older, with a head of white hair, looking about fifty. Seeing the shuriken fly, he didn't dodge; instead he formed a seal and raised an earth wall.

Hui leapt, vaulted over the earth wall, and slashed straight down.

Though it seemed to bully an elder, Hui had no intention of holding back; with his Copy Wheel Eye his speed was great, and after only a dozen or so exchanges he found a gap and drove his blade into the opponent's heart.

"Just a Cloud, however..."

Before the words finished, the white‑haired Jonin's body turned to white light, then thunder roared, and Hui was instantly enveloped by lightning.

Lightning Clone!

Hui's body was paralyzed, but his mind remained clear, and he instantly understood the opponent's ninjutsu.

He desperately tried to activate his body, but could not control it.

And the white‑haired Jonin's attack was not yet finished when a pair of hands emerged from the earth, seized the paralyzed Hui, and then buried his upper body in the soil.

Having done all that, the white‑haired Jonin burst out of the ground, turned, and swung a sword toward Hui's neck, without a single superfluous movement from start to finish.

Just as his katana sliced Hui's neck, about to plunge into the opponent's skull, two figures came from the left and right to encircle him.

Moreover, a dark silhouette extended from Hui's shadow, heading straight for his feet.

Nara family's secret technique. With a single glance, the white‑haired ninja understood the situation.

The three attacks were swift and aimed directly at his vital points; if he did not dodge, it would inevitably be a one‑for‑one exchange.

His death mattered not; this battlefield still needed him to command.

The white‑haired Jonin did not hesitate, quickly easing his force to evade the two attacks, but the pair on his left and right had no intention of letting him go, and together lunged at him.

Three consecutive ninjutsu drained the white‑haired Jonin considerably; looking at the two sets of three‑tuned orbs before him, he couldn't help but sigh.

It looks like today he'll have to report here.

Behind the three, Konoha's ninja swiftly rescued Hui; Hui stared at the retreating white‑haired Jonin, and cold sweat unconsciously beaded on his forehead.

"Captain Hui, I'll treat you right away."

Hearing the medical ninja behind him speak, Hui touched his neck; a warm sensation flowed into his hand, where a wound about an inch deep lay.

The wound was minor, yet Hui's face flushed bright red; he had to admit he had underestimated the opponent, despising their age and frailty while overlooking their rich experience, and had nearly died because of it.

He had almost used that forbidden technique.

"This slash"

Hui touched his neck, let out a soft sigh, and after the wound healed, he stared at the white‑haired Jonin struggling with the encirclement and produced a scroll.

He then said, "Go to the western front, spread the news across the battlefield, and also send someone to report progress to Lord Jiraiya."

"Understood."

Then, with a clap of his hands, a corpse materialized before him.

"That is!"

The moment the corpse appeared, several sharp‑eyed Cloud members' faces changed dramatically, and even those Jonin lost their composure.

Hui lifted the corpse; in truth, his nature would not have chosen such a method, but seeing his side's casualties and recalling Sima Yi's teachings, he deemed small tricks necessary for victory and to reduce losses.

"With the wooden man dead, the eastern front broken, Cloud's defeat sealed, kill with me!"

The white‑haired Jonin was also drawn to the corpse; his pupils suddenly contracted, his spirit stirred, and this reaction was immediately seized as a flaw by two Uchiha Jonin, whose twin swords pierced his vital points, grievously wounding him, then killing him.

The two glanced at the fallen corpse, exchanged a look, and left in silence.

The melee continued; both sides were merely enemies, no need for much lament, though the man's strength was indeed notable. Unfortunately, the wooden man's corpse appearing here dealt an almost devastating blow to the Cloud ninja's morale.

Some weaker Cloud members could not discern the truth and were not shaken, but it was already meaningless; battles between Jonin can end in an instant, and without these people's support, the rear fight was decided.

When the two messages reached Teluoyi's ears, he stared silently at Rixiang Dongyan ahead.

"Lord," the messenger ninja could not hide his terror.

"Silence!"

Teluoyi let out a burst of laughter, then suddenly struck, forcing Rixiang Dongyan and his men to retreat.

"Give the rear troops some time, and then"

Teluoyi clenched his fists, then sighed, "Retreat immediately; I'll take a few to cover the rear. Remember to send a message to the Tutaic commander, and also—"

"Tell Raikage that I am incompetent!"

"Lord!"

"Go."

With the decision made, the Cloud Jonin of each division gradually received orders; aside from those left to cover the rear, the remaining units prepared to disengage and then returned to the original Konoha First Frontline to hold.

Rixiang Dongyan saw Cloud's movements, quickly grasped their intent, and immediately ordered a block.

"Leaf bastards, come at me!"

Teluoyi let out a burst of laughter, flinging a massive spread of square shuriken; the shuriken seemed to automatically seek out Konoha's ninjas.

Ordinary Genin could not evade; in an instant, the area the shuriken passed over erupted in a spray of blood.

Rixiang Dongyan knocked away the shuriken and immediately led his men to surround and kill, while the troops Hui sent also arrived on the battlefield in time.

"The wooden man is dead, Cloud's eastern front has fallen, don't let them escape!"

When the message spread, some skeptical Cloud ninjas, combined with the newly issued orders, quickly realized, and Cloud's morale wavered sharply.

Seeing this, Teluoyi knew he was powerless to turn the tide, so he attacked without defending, using ruthless tactics; sheets of iron swept across a battlefield, causing massive casualties, solely to draw Konoha's attention and buy time for those to withdraw.

Rixiang Dongyan's complexion turned white; he still had some self‑preservation, and trying to kill the opponent became difficult, but he could not let it go, so he once more summoned the strong to surround and kill.

Both sides fought like this for nearly a quarter of an hour; when Hui's party broke through Cloud's blocking forces and also eliminated the Cloud messenger ninja arriving on the field, Teluoyi had already been exhausted and slain.

"The wooden man is dead, Cloud's eastern front is broken, kill!"

Hui's party charged from the rear, still bearing the wooden man's corpse, instantly crushing any remaining will to resist.

Rixiang Dongyan, seeing this, also had the corpse of Teluoyi displayed, while both sides continued to encircle the remaining Cloud forces that had not yet fled.

The Cloud Jonin on the battlefield realized the tide had turned, and could only break through with his subordinates; given the situation, they escaped as far as they could.

After a period of stalemate, the fighting turned into a pursuit; after Hui and Rixiang Dongyan reunited, both sides redeployed. Hui received over seven hundred men from Rixiang Dongyan, bringing his force to a thousand ninjas rushing toward Konoha's First Frontline.

Rixiang Dongyan led the remaining troops through the Field Country and the Hot Country, directly striking at the rear of the Tutaic forces.

When the western front war drew to a close, Tutaic finally received news of the support squad.

"The support squad was ambushed; near Wolhu Mountain we saw battle traces and most of the bodies, but Lord the wooden man and several Jonin have vanished."

"What did you say!"

Tu Tai sprang to his feet, then felt dizzy and his vision blurred.

A few people nearby hurried to steady him, "Lord Tu Tai!"

"Can we confirm You Muren's situation?" Tu Tai waved his hand, feeling a splitting headache.

"We cannot confirm; there are two possibilities. We received no news of You Muren on the Western Front, so she may have broken through with the Jōnin but was too wounded and is hiding somewhere to recover, the other possibility…"

The other possibility, of course, is that there are no remains.

Tu Tai forced himself to calm down and asked, "What about the Western Front?"

"The Leaf team went to the Western Front to launch a surprise attack, but Lord Troy discovered them and dispatched troops to resist. However, due to insufficient forces, Lord Troy has already gone to the front line."

Tu Tai exhaled in relief; no news is the best news.

If You Muren had an incident, the Leaf would surely broadcast it widely; how could there be no information?

"Send the notice, prepare to withdraw, we cannot linger here any longer."

The Leaf has already seized too many advantages; currently the Western Front is being besieged from front and rear, and their reinforcements were ambushed. Without support, Troy cannot hold out long; if they stay any longer they will likely repeat the Leaf's downfall.

"Lord Tu Tai, the Leaf has launched another offensive; they have once again entered the battlefield!"

(End of chapter)