Chapter 351

"Konoha's forces have divided into four divisions, each with 4,000 shinobi. The leaders of these divisions are Mochizuki Hui, Senju Tobirama, Sakumo Hatake, and Sarutobi Hiruzen. The force heading toward us is led by Mochizuki Hui himself!"

Within the World Alliance's First Corps, a scout reported this information to the Daimyō of the Land of Wind.

"Do they really think 4,000 can hold off 150,000 of us? How utterly foolish.

"However, since our opponent is Hui, notify everyone to regroup here."

The Daimyō of the Land of Wind gave the order.

If he had felt a trace of unease before, that unease vanished the moment he learned the enemy numbered only 4,000.

Even if the enemy had a so-called "god" in Hui, what of it?

One man alone could not possibly defeat 150,000 soldiers.

It was simply impossible.

Furthermore, they had already formulated a strategy: wherever Hui appeared, the leaders and elite shinobi from all the villages would gather at that location to confront him head-on.

They didn't need to kill him outright, just stall him long enough for their other divisions to secure victories elsewhere. Then, they would converge and besiege Hui together!

Now that Hui's position had been confirmed, the command was issued for everyone to converge.

News spread swiftly, and shinobi from all directions began rushing toward the First Corps.

The Third Kazekage, Third Tsuchikage, Third Raikage, Third Mizukage, Hanzo of the Salamander, the leaders of Kusagakure and Takigakure, the general of the Land of Iron, powerful bounty hunters...

And numerous elite shinobi from every village.

Nearly 80% of the world's elite shinobi were converging on the First Corps to face Hui.

Naturally, Konoha's scouts also detected this movement.

When Hui heard the news, the corner of his mouth curled into a faint smile.

It sounded terrifying, but beneath the level of the Six Paths, they were all ants.

No, not even ants.

This war would show them what true power was.

What true invincibility meant.

As time passed, the distance between the two armies grew ever smaller.

Hui had no interest in considering terrain or weather conditions for this battle.

Because he himself was the terrain, the weather, and the very flow of time.

This was true not only for his front but for the other three battlefronts as well, their forces steadily closed the distance.

Finally, the two armies met.

The battlefield was a relatively flat expanse, unsurprising given that much of the Land of Fire consisted of plains.

The two sides stood opposite each other: 4,000 shinobi against 150,000.

The war to shatter the old era and create a new one had begun.

"Is that Hui? He doesn't look all that impressive," muttered one of the commanders from the Third Corps as he squinted into the distance.

Even from afar, he could barely make out Hui's figure.

And why hadn't they approached? Because they didn't dare.

Shinobi were dangerous and unpredictable, the closer one got, the easier it was to be killed.

"He really doesn't look extraordinary. I don't see why you call him a god," remarked another Daimyō with an air of indifference.

The elite shinobi standing nearby remained silent.

These men had no idea how powerful a shinobi could truly become.

"The enemy only has 4,000 shinobi, while we have 20,000 shinobi and 130,000 soldiers.

"Shinobi, use your ninjutsu to deplete their chakra reserves. Once their chakra is drained, our soldiers will unleash a volley of arrows to exhaust them further. After that, you can recover some chakra before launching another wave of attacks to tire them out completely.

"When they're worn out, we'll send in the soldiers to encircle and finish them off."

The Daimyō of the Land of Wind outlined the battle plan.

This Daimyō was not like the cowardly ones of later generations.

He had strategy, courage, and capability.

His understanding of battlefield organization and tactical planning was exceptional, and he wasted no time in formulating his strategy.

The others all nodded in agreement upon hearing the Daimyō's plan.

"Wind Release and Fire Release shinobi, prepare your combined jutsu. 

"Earth Release shinobi, focus on breaking through the defenses of Konoha's shinobi. 

"Lightning and Water Release shinobi, provide offensive support," Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, took over the command of the shinobi, issuing orders decisively.

The numerous shinobi moved forward, slowly closing in on Konoha's forces.

From this distance, their ninjutsu wouldn't be able to reach the enemy, so they had to get closer.

On the other side, Hui observed the approaching forces, a dark, endless line stretching across the horizon.

"Third Hokage-sama, it looks like they're planning to wear us down by using their shinobi first," Minato said, standing beside Hui, having seen through their strategy.

"Yes, with their numerical advantage, it's the obvious approach," Hui replied, nodding. Then he issued a command:

"Prepare to engage! If they want to wear us down, then let's wear them down first."

"Yes, sir!"

At his command, Konoha's shinobi moved into position.

Truthfully, if he wanted to, Hui could have ended the war single-handedly.

But doing so wouldn't serve much purpose for Konoha's shinobi.

If they were allowed to win while sitting back and doing nothing, it wouldn't help them improve their skills or sharpen their instincts or even understand the value of the peace they achieved.

These shinobi had trained so hard for this very war.

If they didn't even get the chance to fight, it would dampen their morale.

Worse, it would make them dependent.

After all, if the outcome was always the same regardless of whether they fought or rested, why bother training hard?

Why put in the effort if their invincible Hokage would always guarantee victory?

Such thinking was dangerous.

Hui had greater ambitions, he wanted these shinobi to become the soldiers who would one day fight alongside him across the stars and the universe.

They needed to have unbreakable wills, formidable strength, and indomitable combat prowess.

Thirteen years had passed, and many of these shinobi were young and inexperienced in war.

Now was the perfect opportunity to temper them in the fires of battle.

Thus, Hui chose not to make the first move, opting instead to let his shinobi face the war head-on.

The two armies closed in, reaching each other's attack range.

In an instant, as though by mutual agreement, both sides launched combined Wind Release and Fire Release jutsu.

The wind fueled the flames, and the fire roared with the power of the wind.

In the blink of an eye, the entire battlefield seemed to be engulfed in flames. The roaring firestorm howled as it tore across the land.

With so many shinobi casting jutsu, the fire spread over an enormous area, an inferno stretching as far as the eye could see.

The sight sent chills through the hearts of the ordinary soldiers of the World Alliance.

Even the Daimyōs watching from afar were stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.

They had encountered shinobi before.

They had seen Fire Release techniques before.

But those had always been individual jutsu, they were impressive, but never to this overwhelming extent.

The sheer magnitude of this combined ninjutsu made them reevaluate the power of shinobi.

For the first time, a sense of unease settled in their hearts as they pondered how they could possibly limit or control such a force.

"Earth Release: Great moving spears!"

As the firestorm raged, the shinobi of the World Alliance counterattacked with powerful Earth Release techniques aimed at Konoha's forces.

"That's great moving spars! Use Earth-Style Walls!" Minato called ou sensing the attack before the projactiles could even fully take shapet.

Several shinobi immediately stepped forward.

Each of them bore a special symbol on their foreheads, they were Konoha's Sage Shinobi.

"Sage Art: Earth-Style Wall!"

As Sage Shinobi, their jutsu were enhanced by Sage Chakra, not through natural energy but through a unique chakra amplification.

With their Sage Art, towering walls of earth erupted from the ground, forming barriers that intercepted the incoming great moving earth with.

The earth walls and the attacking earth spears clashed violently, their impacts canceling each other out.

The massive walls crumbled, but before the dust could settle, a rain of kunai and shuriken from both sides filled the sky, hurtling toward the opposing forces like a deadly storm.

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