https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-565-Sage-vs-Jinchuriki-A-Desperate-Mission/12558846/
Chapter 564: Reinforcements Arrive, Turning the Tide
Chapter 564: Reinforcements Arrive, Turning the Tide
In the southern region of the Grass Country, bordering the Fire Country and blessed with natural beauty, prosperity once thrived. But war changed all that. Now, it suffered the brunt of the conflict between the Fire and Grass Countries. The once bustling region lay barren as residents fled, trade caravans avoided the area, and ninja battles ravaged the land.
"It's so frustrating," a Grass ninja on patrol grumbled as he surveyed an abandoned village. "The war between those major countries is hurting our economy, and here we are, helping them fight."
Their hidden village lacked the fame of the Big Five, so they relied mainly on their own country for support. But the conflict between the Rock and Leaf had dealt a severe blow to the Grass Country, and the Grass ninja village suffered financially as a result.
The leading Grass ninja anxiously scanned their surroundings, relieved to find no signs of Leaf ninja nearby. They were a squad from the Grass ninja village, tasked with supporting the Leaf ninja forces, but their allegiance was tenuous at best.
"It's all because of our incompetent leaders," the leading ninja continued, his anger directed at the former leader of the Grass ninja village, who had died. "Damn that Yokokawa Tsutomu! His selfish collaboration with the Rock put us at odds with the Leaf."
If not for Yokokawa's scheming, they could have stayed neutral and perhaps even prospered. Now, the Grass ninja village was forced into an alliance with the Leaf to make amends for Yokokawa's mistakes.
"There's nothing we can do now," another ninja chimed in resignedly. "At least the Leaf is a better option than the Rock. They're stronger, and Mooni also helped our village in the past."
If one had to choose the lesser of two evils, the Rock was undoubtedly the more despicable of the two.
"Let's take a rest here," the leader said, leaping to a higher vantage point to survey their surroundings. "We don't want to run into any Rock ninja."
Technically, they were supposed to be aiding the Leaf, but he had no intention of actually doing so. Going through the motions was enough. After all, if they died at the hands of the Rock ninja, the Leaf certainly wouldn't compensate their families.
The rest of the squad immediately sat down without hesitation. Fighting for their own village was one thing, but displaying too much enthusiasm in fighting for the Leaf would be suspicious.
Just then, a sharp pain pierced the leader, and he looked down to see a black kunai protruding from his chest. His eyes widened in disbelief as he fell to the ground, his lifeless gaze still filled with confusion.
"Captain!" one of the Grass ninja exclaimed. "Damn Rock ninja! When did they get here?"
Despite their training, the squad was caught off guard by the stealthy assassins. Their expressions mirrored their leader's confusion, wondering how these Rock ninja had managed to sneak up on them undetected.
In mere moments, the entire Grass ninja squad lay dead.
A flash of golden hair darted through the forest at incredible speed.
Mito Uzumaki, sensing the fading presences, furrowed his brow and accelerated using the Body Flicker Technique. However, by the time he arrived, all he found were the corpses of the Grass ninja, with no sign of the attackers.
"This keeps happening," Mito said, his face grim. "What kind of jutsu is it that even I can't sense?"
Just half a minute earlier, he had detected the murderous chakra signatures, but as he approached, they had vanished without a trace.
While Mito wasn't a specialized sensory ninja, his exceptional sensory abilities rivaled those of many dedicated sensory ninja in the Leaf. In other words, the vast majority of Leaf sensory ninja would be unable to detect these stealthy Rock assassination squads.
"I wonder if the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan could penetrate their concealment," Mito mused.
The Byakugan of the Hyuga clan was unique among sensory jutsu, as it relied on the eyes to perceive. In theory, jutsu that concealed chakra signatures should be ineffective against the Byakugan.
Mito searched diligently within a ten-kilometer radius but still couldn't locate the Rock ninja responsible for the ambush. After his fruitless search, he returned to camp using the Flying Thunder God Technique and reported his findings to Jiraiya.
"For them to escape your notice, Jiraiya, the Rock ninja must be pulling out all the stops," Jiraiya said, stroking his chin.
Previously, Jiraiya had only suspected that the Rock might be planning a major offensive against the Leaf in the Grass Country. Now, he was almost certain of it.
"It's not a problem," Jiraiya assured him. "Among the reinforcements I requested are three members of the Hyuga clan, including two jonin."
Considering the situation on the battlefield, Jiraiya had not only brought in sensory squads but had also deployed some ANBU for intelligence work. In ninja warfare, information was key.
A powerful ninja like Mito could wipe out an entire team of a hundred enemies as long as he knew their precise location.
That night, Mito decided to write letters to Kushina and Mooni. In his letter to Kushina, he mostly reported that he was safe and shared mundane news, deliberately omitting any mention of the war.
Kushina was striving to become a worthy jinchuriki, and Mito didn't want to add to her worries. However, in his letter to Mooni, he was more candid.
It wasn't that he didn't care if Mooni worried, but he wanted to ensure that if something happened to him during the war, Mooni would be there to look after Kushina.
Even as one of the renowned young masters in the ninja world, Mito couldn't guarantee his survival through the war. Many kage had fallen at the hands of ninja forces, and Mito didn't consider himself superior to the Second Hokage.
Meanwhile, in the western region of the Grass Country...
A large contingent of ninja approached, their faces set in determined expressions. Seeing them, a smile spread across Retsushi's face.
"Lord Retsushi, the reinforcements have arrived," Higashi reported as he stepped forward. "We have a total of eight hundred ninja, including seven jonin and twelve special jonin."
Retsushi nodded, his smile widening. "With these eight hundred reinforcements, I now have a force of two thousand ninja. Jiraiya, how do you plan to fight me now?"
He knew that Jiraiya's forces numbered around a thousand, and he relished the prospect of overwhelming them.
Retsushi swiftly convened a meeting to discuss the strategy for striking the Konoha ninja forces.
Even with their superior numbers, they couldn't afford to be reckless and had to proceed with a well-thought-out plan.
Perhaps the Rock ninjas had been pent up for too long, resulting in an explosive release of power, or perhaps it was due to Retsushi's capable leadership, or maybe there were other factors at play.
In any case, the tide of battle in the Grass Country had suddenly turned in their favor.
The Konoha assassination squad was swiftly dealt with, and the Rock's intelligence units consistently prevailed, obtaining crucial intelligence on the Konoha forces.
...
In the early morning, in the Fire Country.
Konoha, Southern Forest.
"Everyone, gather here, except for Kakashi and Might Guy," Mu Yue called out to her disciples.
"This morning, instead of individual training, I'll be teaching you a new secret technique," Mu Yue explained.
As for why she didn't include Kakashi and Might Guy, it was because Might Guy was still engrossed in mastering the Yin-attribute chakra nature transformation and learning the Armed Color of Conquerors.
Undoubtedly, the Armed Color of Conquerors would be more beneficial to Might Guy than the Observing Color of Conquerors.
Kakashi, with his ability to see through the world and a similar capability to the Observing Color of Conquerors, was also not a suitable candidate due to his strained chakra.
Upon hearing Mu Yue's words, Obito, Shisui, and the other disciples quickly gathered in front of her.
"It's a Yin-attribute chakra nature transformation and can be classified as a sensory ninjutsu. However, compared to ordinary sensory ninjutsu, it has a unique combat application, similar to the effect of the ability to see through the world," Mu Yue introduced.
"We've been learning a lot of new jutsu lately," Obito commented, clearly excited.
Mu Yue had already taught them the Super Fire Style: Blue Flame, and the Uzumaki clan had gifted them with the Flame Vortex. Now, Mu Yue was about to impart yet another secret technique.
"It allows you to sense and predict attacks. Shisui, go ahead and activate your Sharingan and attack me with all your might so I can demonstrate," Mu Yue said, preparing to showcase the technique in battle.
Hearing his name, Shisui nodded and focused his chakra on his eyes. Soon, his eyes were covered in a scarlet hue, and the three-tomoe Sharingan appeared.
"Teacher Mu Yue, here I come!" Shisui announced, his voice full of determination as he surged forward, his chakra erupting around him.
Facing the incoming Shisui, Mu Yue did something that took everyone by surprise—she closed her eyes.
"Secret Technique: Observing Color of Conquerors!"
As her chakra surged within her, Mu Yue's senses became extraordinarily sharp.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
Although Shisui was taken aback by Mu Yue's decision to close her eyes, he didn't hesitate in his attack, unleashing a whirlwind kick.
With her eyes closed, Mu Yue seemed to possess invisible eyes, effortlessly sidestepping Shisui's whirlwind kick. Shisui's foot barely missed her, the gust from his kick causing her clothes to flutter.
Unfazed, Shisui threw a rapid punch aimed at Mu Yue's abdomen.
Mu Yue took a slight step back, causing Shisui's punch to miss its mark.
"The Observing Color of Conquerors will enable you to perceive attacks that are beyond your field of vision," Mu Yue explained.
This was an incredibly useful ability. With the Observing Color of Conquerors, even in the chaos of a large-scale battle, they could maximize their chances of protecting themselves.
Mu Yue then opened her eyes and signaled for Shisui to continue his assault.
"Your next move will be a left hook, followed by another whirlwind kick..." Mu Yue predicted Shisui's next actions while effortlessly dodging his attacks.
Shisui seemed to be under Mu Yue's control, his actions mirroring her predictions.
Of course, everyone present understood that Shisui wasn't intentionally following Mu Yue's words; instead, she was accurately predicting his every move.
Even if Shisui wanted to follow Mu Yue's instructions, his reflexes wouldn't allow it. By the time he processed her words, his fist was already flying toward her, his brain unable to keep up.
"Wow, this is so cool! It feels even better than the Sharingan," Obito exclaimed, scratching his head.
He rarely used illusions, and the primary benefit he derived from the Sharingan was the enhancement of his dynamic vision and insight.
However, the Observing Color of Conquerors not only allowed him to see through actions like the Sharingan, but it also enabled him to perceive attacks beyond his line of sight and even had the effects of a sensory ninjutsu.
This realization caused Obito to suddenly feel that the Sharingan wasn't as powerful as he once thought.
Long ago, before he had awakened his Sharingan, Obito had dreamed of unlocking its power.
Back then, in his understanding, the Sharingan represented invincibility and was the cornerstone of the Uchiha clan's might.
But the reality of his Sharingan was far less impressive. Even with the maximum of three tomoe, he still paled in comparison to his fellow disciples.
Compared to the famed Sharingan, Obito now believed that the bloodline limit of the Uzumaki clan was superior and more powerful.
He had encountered three members of the Uzumaki clan: Uzumaki Kushina, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uzumaki Karrin.
Even Karrin, who hadn't undergone formal ninja training, possessed extraordinary chakra.
As for Kushina and Naruto, Obito had personally experienced the depths of their chakra during their battles.
"No wonder Uchiha Madara couldn't defeat Senju Hashirama. Perhaps the Sharingan pales in comparison to Senju's bloodline limit," Obito mused, feeling enlightened.
Despite the hype surrounding Uchiha Madara within the Uchiha clan, the fact remained that Madara had been unable to best Senju Hashirama, a truth known to all.
"All of you should try to learn this technique. If you find that you're unable to grasp it, then simply give up. This jutsu requires a certain level of innate talent in the area of sensory perception," Mu Yue advised.
In the current ninja world, all ninja villages, regardless of their size, placed great importance on sensory ninjas.
A ninja squad with a sensory ninja was vastly different from one without.
However, cultivating sensory ninjas wasn't merely about teaching them sensory ninjutsu; the most crucial factor was the innate talent for sensory perception.
Sensory ninjutsu had a high threshold, and without the innate ability, one could never hope to master it.
Thus, the other four great ninja villages envied Konoha's Hyuga clan. Without any special training, every child born into the Hyuga clan was inherently a sensory ninja, and an exceptional one at that—a truly enviable situation.
The disciples nodded in understanding.
After the demonstration and explanation, Mu Yue began the formal teaching of the technique.
As Mu Yue instructed her disciples, a memory suddenly surfaced in her mind—a shadow clone back at her home had been approached by a member of the ANBU.
"You can practice on your own for now. I need to make a trip to the Hokage's office," Mu Yue said to her disciples.
With that, Mu Yue hurried toward the Hokage's office, suspecting that something had gone awry on the battlefield, as hinted at in Minato's previous letter.
PS: Apologies, I had something come up today, so this will be a shorter chapter at around 4k words. I'll try to make up for it if I have the time in the future.
(End of Chapter)
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