Chapter 1064: Prelude to the Final Act!
Chapter 1064: Prelude to the Final Act!
Sakura!
She possesses the Innate Healing Sage Body.
Although Tang Ping dislikes her love-stricken nature, he fully acknowledges her talent.
In the original storyline, she came from a civilian background, lacking the illustrious bloodlines of Naruto and Sasuke. However, thanks to her tutelage under Tsunade, she eventually became a formidable presence, standing shoulder to shoulder with them.
Her medical talent is truly remarkable.
In the current Blazing Sun Kingdom, even without counting Tang Ping, there are already three top-tier medical ninjas: Kushina Uzumaki, Rin Nohara, and Yakushi Kabuto, with Tsunade at the pinnacle.
But one can never have too many talented individuals in this field.
If Sasuke hadn’t joined the Blazing Sun Kingdom, it would have been difficult to recruit Sakura. However, now that Sasuke has become a staunch supporter of the Blazing Sun Kingdom, Sakura naturally cannot refuse.
More importantly, once Konoha is conquered, she will have to join to ensure her parents’ safety.
Unlike Sasuke and Naruto, she still has both parents.
Control!
With these conditions in place, Sakura has no chance of escaping.
Of course, this opportunity was secured with Kakashi’s help.
Tang Ping had long forgotten about her, and if not for Kakashi’s reminder, he wouldn’t have remembered her at all.
As Kakashi was leaving, Asuma and others arrived, seeing Naruto lying on the ground.
"What, Kakashi is a traitor?"
Asuma was genuinely taken aback.
After all, Kakashi was the student of the Fourth Hokage and had the potential to compete for the Hokage position.
During the previous competition with Tsunade, Kakashi had voluntarily stepped aside to support Asuma, making his path much smoother.
Otherwise, with Kakashi’s reputation and strength, he could have genuinely competed for the Hokage position.
"This is bad!"
Koharu Utatane frowned and said.
Kakashi’s strength was only part of the problem; the critical issue was that he knew all of Konoha’s intelligence.
"Hmph, even so, we must hold back the Blazing Sun Army, because... we have no other choice!"
Asuma’s eyes grew darker.
Faced with this dire situation, another idea began to form in his mind.
Since Konoha was destined to fall, why not let it be at his hands?
His original path as a ninja was to destroy Konoha, the Land of Fire... to destroy everything. Now, seeing that Konoha couldn’t be saved, this thought wasn’t surprising.
It’s as if the mind of a corrupted ninja is under a genjutsu, utterly obsessive.
Without techniques like the art of persuasion, faith, the Cursed Seal of Heaven, or genjutsu, there’s no way to change them.
Tang Ping, however, isn’t afraid of these things, as he has his methods to alter the corrupted.
Following Ino’s ‘suggestion,’ the incident was framed as Naruto and Kakashi’s betrayal. Naruto was captured and executed, while Kakashi was severely injured and managed to escape.
This version of events provided an internal justification.
It clearly demonstrated that betrayal would come at a bloody cost, not easily escapable.
Asuma readily accepted this.
Even Shikamaru approved of this explanation.
In reality, this was Tang Ping’s idea.
It had nothing to do with the war!
He was preparing for the resurrection of Kushina.
If she learned that Naruto died at the hands of the Blazing Sun Kingdom, even knowing he was the Asura Chakra Reincarnation, she might still harbor resentment.
So, Tang Ping orchestrated this scenario.
He had Kakashi stab Naruto in the back and Ino suggest the framing, ensuring Konoha took the blame. Then, he would eliminate the informed higher-ups, silencing Sakura and Kakashi.
Perfect!
This black mark was firmly placed on Konoha’s shoulders.
Tang Ping has no moral qualms about deceiving his own people.
It’s just a well-intentioned lie.
The Blazing Sun Army launched an unrelenting assault.
Both sides employed all their resources.
However, compared to Konoha’s clumsy response, the Blazing Sun Army was a showcase of their strength.
Their elite ninja forces, well-equipped with advanced tools and a diverse array of potions, all contributed to their overwhelming power.
Even with the disadvantage of terrain, they still dominated the battlefield.
Of course, the key factor was the presence of Kage-level, Strong Kage-level, and Super Kage-level warriors, who utterly demoralized the Konoha coalition forces.
Even with the support of various major forces, true powerhouses aren’t as common as cabbages in the fields; they can't just be summoned at will.
Thus, even if the Allied Forces had emptied their coffers, the number of Kage-level powerhouses they possessed was still less than ten, far from enough to match the Blazing Sun Army.
The key issue was that the Kage-level powerhouses mobilized by the Blazing Sun Army didn't include Tang Ping and his contemporaries from the First and Second Generations. They were all part of the New Generation.
The New Generation, led by Ren, Sasuke, Meiko, Suigetsu Hozuki, and Shion, were all astonishing in both strength and potential!
If they hadn't held back, they might have destroyed Konoha’s defenses in a single assault.
Indeed, no matter how strong the defenses, they were meaningless in the face of the overwhelming superiority of Kage-level powerhouses.
One could say that the Blazing Sun Army wasn’t just holding back; they were practically holding the ocean back.
The larger goal of this great battle was to showcase their strength, so a quick victory was out of the question.
Additionally, this provided an excellent opportunity to train the Blazing Sun Kingdom’s ninja forces.
Under the advantage of their own powerhouses and firepower, as long as they didn’t seek death, the casualty rate was not high, making it the perfect training ground.
With the blood of battle, the Blazing Sun Kingdom’s ninja could grow rapidly.
Though there were casualties, being a ninja was a profession that always danced on the edge of death. Moreover, the Blazing Sun Kingdom’s compensation was always generous, so Tang Ping had no intention of stopping them.
As for the others?
Sorry, they cared even less.
In their view, the sacrifices were entirely justified, and with adequate compensation, they didn’t find it cruel at all. Instead, they thought the protection was a bit too good.
Ren even wanted to reduce the pressure from the Raptor Fighters in the sky to allow the Konoha forces to perform better.
Otherwise, it would be a one-sided beating, with little training value.
The battles between the powerhouses didn’t need much explanation.
Whether it was Asuma or anyone else, they were all thoroughly dominated by the Blazing Sun Kingdom’s New Generation.
If it weren’t for the fear that killing him would cause the Konoha Allied Forces to lose morale and surrender, Asuma’s grave might already be overgrown with grass.
One week later!
The Konoha Allied Forces had retreated inward, not daring to step outside the village.
After witnessing the might of the Blazing Sun Army, they realized just how vast the gap between them was.
Originally, they had nearly ten thousand ninja, but now their numbers were down to about half.
Casualties were over fifty percent!
Morale had plummeted to an all-time low.
At this point, all they could think about was surviving one more day.
The ninja weren’t fools!
They could clearly see that whether Konoha could hold out now depended entirely on whether the Blazing Sun Kingdom was done playing.
So, it wasn’t surprising that they were lying low.
If there were even a sliver of hope, they wouldn’t be in such a state.
At night!
Tang Ping stood on the deck of the Blazing Sun, less than ten kilometers from Konoha, his gaze fixed on the distant village.
“What are you doing?”
Uzumaki Yui appeared.
Hyuga Aikotsuki, who had also followed, remained silent, her eyes glowing with a blue, star-like light, her expression intriguing, as if she had seen something.
“Watching fireworks!”
Tang Ping’s expression was one of anticipation, as if he knew what was about to happen.
Indeed, the Blazing Sun Army didn’t attack at night.
Their goal was to showcase their strength and train their ninja, not to breach Konoha, so they didn’t engage in night battles.
“Fireworks?”
Uzumaki Yui was confused but didn’t ask further, instead looking in the direction of Konoha.
She knew Tang Ping’s character and didn’t doubt he would do something pointless.
However, before the fireworks could ascend, a massive wave of dark shadows surged forward.
‘How is this possible?’
Uzumaki Yui’s face showed surprise.
They weren’t without defenses; multiple outer lines and alert zones should have prevented anyone from breaking through silently, unless...
“It was Ren who let them through!”
Tang Ping explained without turning around, then fell silent.
These were people who had escaped from Konoha, primarily from the Yamanaka Clan, including characters like Shou Haruno.
Ino had chosen to abandon her mission and flee because Konoha was now a powder keg.
A real powder keg!
Because the village was already filled with a massive amount of explosive tags, gunpowder, and Black Oil.
These war supplies, provided by various major forces, were now being used as weapons to destroy Konoha.
The culprit was, of course, only one person.
(End of Chapter)
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