https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-570-The-Hope-that-Shook-the-Ninja-World/12558853/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-572-Overpowering-the-Jinchuriki-with-Supreme-Water-Style/12558855/
Chapter 571: White Zetsu Appears, The Terrifying Potential of War
Chapter 571: White Zetsu Appears, The Terrifying Potential of War
Late at night, just as White Zetsu had finished relaying intelligence and casually returned to the unit, he suddenly noticed that Mu Yue and Namikaze Minato were still awake and approaching him.
"Well, Lady Mu Yue and Lord Minato, you're not sleeping either," White Zetsu greeted them nonchalantly.
White Zetsu didn't feel exposed, as his Transformation Technique could even mimic chakra.
He was almost like a clone of Hyuga Hizu, except for their differing thoughts.
"Heavenly Seal!"
Mu Yue smiled and placed her hand on White Zetsu's shoulder, casting a sealing technique.
"What are you doing, Lady Mu Yue? I am a member of the Hyuga clan..." White Zetsu began, unsure of Mu Yue's intentions. But he suddenly felt a restraining force invade his body, causing his face to contort in shock as he unleashed his chakra in an attempt to resist.
Bang!
Minato swiftly struck, delivering a powerful blow laden with chakra that forced White Zetsu to reveal his true form.
As White Zetsu struggled, Mu Yue completed her sealing technique, rendering him incapable of manipulating the chakra within his body.
"What kind of creature is this?" Minato furrowed his brows, eyeing the white-skinned White Zetsu, who bore a striking resemblance to a human.
After confirming that Hyuga Hizu had successfully conveyed the intelligence, they turned their attention to dealing with the other two spies.
To their surprise, they discovered that the supposed traitors of Konoha were not even human; they seemed to be the product of biological experiments.
"They're probably the result of Rock Village's research for the war," Mu Yue speculated casually.
While it was true that they were products of research for war, it wasn't the doing of the Rock Village or Uchiha Madara, but rather, Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Minato nodded in agreement.
White Zetsu's peculiar appearance, coupled with the existence of almost identical individuals, was sufficient proof that they were the outcome of a biological laboratory's experiments. It was unlikely that they were triplets suffering from albinism.
"Given the current situation, they probably can't be mass-produced, otherwise, it would be too terrifying," Minato mused, shaking his head as he imagined an army of White Zetsus infiltrating and assassinating their targets.
Even with just a handful of White Zetsus, they had caused significant chaos within their thousand-strong ninja unit.
If there were a hundred White Zetsus, the morale of Konoha's ninja forces would likely crumble. The possibility of one in ten ninjas being a spy or assassin was unnerving.
The presence of too many White Zetsus, even with Mu Yue's help, would be a formidable challenge.
If Mu Yue was on the battlefield, White Zetsu could wreak havoc in Konoha's rear. And if Mu Yue was in Konoha, they could target the forces on the battlefield.
Minato couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the mere thought of it. These creatures were truly a product of defying the natural order, born for war.
"That's most likely the case. Otherwise, with such useful spies, Rock Village would definitely try to plant as many as possible," Mu Yue nodded in agreement.
Indeed, White Zetsus could be mass-produced, but at this stage, Uchiha Madara likely lacked the capability. After all, he was an old man nearing the end of his life.
For now, Uchiha Madara wasn't a pressing concern; he would meet his end soon enough without any external intervention.
The three White Zetsus were imprisoned together, with two ninjas assigned to guard them. The rest of the unit, acting on Jiraiya and Mu Yue's orders, swiftly made their way to the resting assembly point.
Jiraiya and his team were eager to interrogate White Zetsu, but time was of the essence.
Without any spies within the Rock Village unit, they had no way of knowing what actions their enemies might take.
They couldn't predict if the Rock Village unit would march towards the resting assembly point immediately after their meeting, wait until daylight, or opt to maintain the status quo.
The only course of action for Jiraiya and his team was to prepare as thoroughly as possible and adapt to whatever came their way.
As long as they reached the assembly point first, even if they couldn't ambush the Rock Village ninjas, Jiraiya's unit could still join forces with the reinforcement team as planned.
The reinforcement team, following Mu Yue's instructions, had already arrived at the assembly point ahead of time to set up traps.
While ambushing the Rock Village ninjas would be advantageous, even if they didn't fall for the trap, Jiraiya and Mu Yue's combined forces would still be able to engage in the war as intended.
With Mu Yue's ability to sense malicious intent, there was no longer a risk of spies infiltrating their ranks. At the very least, they could maintain the status quo, defend the border, and meet the expectations of Konoha's higher-ups, if not outright defeat the Rock Village.
With their swift march, the reinforcement team successfully joined forces with the Konoha and Grass Country units.
At this point, Mu Yue's senses still didn't pick up on the presence of any Rock Village ninjas.
Mu Yue and Jiraiya inspected the traps while making various arrangements for the impending ambush.
Typically, ambushing a ninja unit was an arduous task unless the plan was exceptionally well-crafted or the enemy unit lacked sensory ninjas.
Different levels of sensory ninjas had varying ranges of perception, and Mu Yue, Namikaze Minato, and Hyuga Hizashi from the Mu Yue unit were all top-notch in this aspect.
The regular troops retreated and hid beyond the range of ordinary sensory ninjas. Then, Mu Yue and her team dispersed to several locations to form a sensory network. As long as the Rock ninja unit drew near, they would be instantly detected.
And so, as dawn broke, Mu Yue and her team sensed the approaching Rock ninja unit.
Namikaze Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport next to Hyuga Hizashi and take him away.
Mu Yue, on the other hand, left a Shadow Clone disguised as a stone in the resting point's forest to gather intelligence.
While Shadow Clones couldn't maintain Transformation Techniques that consumed chakra, they could handle transformations that didn't.
Eventually, Mu Yue's Shadow Clone noticed the Rock ninja unit relaxing their guard and released the memory recall.
Upon receiving the memories, Mu Yue wasted no time and ordered the troops to attack. He then led a group of Jonin, along with Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya, and their teammates, and together, they used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to the resting point.
BOOM!!
Mu Yue and Namikaze Minato channeled their chakra and detonated the explosive tags they had prepared earlier. Instantly, a series of explosions rocked the resting point, throwing the Rock ninja unit into chaos.
They had come to ambush the Konoha ninjas, but now they found themselves on the receiving end of a surprise attack. Without even catching a glimpse of their assailants, they were bombarded with explosions, making it difficult even for ninjas to remain calm in such a situation.
SWISH SWISH SWISH!!
Namikaze Minato drew ten Flying Thunder God Kunai from his ninja tool pouch and threw them in all directions. Wherever a kunai flew past a Rock ninja, a flash of yellow light would take their life.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya also refrained from summoning his toads for assistance. Instead, he swiftly performed hand seals and spat out a torrent of flames toward the Rock ninjas ahead.
Their main force was still rushing over, and the area was already littered with Rock ninjas. Summoning toads of large sizes would only make them easy targets, and calling upon the two sages would be premature. Thus, Jiraiya opted not to use summoning techniques and chose to attack with his own ninjutsu instead.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Facing the numerous Rock ninjas, Mu Yue made a choice similar to Jiraiya's and unleashed a fire technique with a wide range and high lethality.
WHOOSH WHOOSH!
Mu Yue exhaled a torrent of flames, rapidly creating a dazzling, fiery inferno around him that far exceeded the range of Jiraiya's Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
"Water Style: Water Encampment Wall!"
A Rock ninja proficient in water techniques attempted to counter Mu Yue's fire with their own water jutsu.
However, even with Mu Yue restraining his power, the Great Fire Annihilation Technique was not something an ordinary Rock ninja could block.
The Rock ninja's water stream rapidly evaporated, and those who came into contact with the inferno were reduced to ashes under the searing heat.
Rock ninjas near the fiery inferno wore horrified expressions, desperately employing their own means to resist. Yet, most of their efforts were in vain.
"This Fire Style..." Jiraiya was somewhat surprised.
It wasn't the power of the fire technique that astonished him; Jiraiya himself possessed several formidable fire jutsu.
It was because the Great Fire Annihilation Technique was an advanced fire jutsu of the Uchiha clan.
Soon, Jiraiya stopped paying attention to it. After all, it was just a fire jutsu and not some secret technique. If Mu Yue wanted to learn it, he could either obtain it from the Uchiha clan or from Sarutobi Hiruzen; the probability of success was not low.
"Damn those cunning Konoha ninjas!" Iwagakure's leader, Iwa, scowled.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Upon seeing this, Han quickly performed hand seals and spat out a massive torrent of water to counter the flames.
Although Han's water jutsu proficiency was average, with the boost from his tailed beast chakra, his Great Waterfall Technique was quite formidable. While he couldn't completely extinguish the flames, he managed to save many Rock ninjas.
"No wonder we keep losing battles. With a bunch of good-for-nothings like you in command, it's a wonder we haven't lost more," an elderly ninja named Zi, who had almost been blown up by the explosive tags, spat bitterly.
During the strategy meeting, they had laughed at Jiraiya for being reckless and mocked Mu Yue for his lack of wisdom. They were so full of themselves, acting as if Konoha had already ceded land and paid reparations.
But now, the reality was that they had marched through the night for hours without rest. Just as they were about to take a break, they were startled by the explosive tags.
Iwa heard Zi's comment but pretended not to. He signaled for the blast ninja squad near him to gather around.
He had been observing the situation, and although the entire resting area seemed to be in chaos, most of it was due to the traps that had been set off. The Konoha ninjas who had actually launched the attack numbered less than ten.
If they didn't spread out, the Iwa ninjas would have difficulty using ninjutsu without risking friendly fire.
There were nearly two thousand Iwa ninjas gathered here.
Iwaku directed his troops while retreating to the back.
Although the number of Konoha ninjas who appeared was small, their performance indicated that the so-called intelligence was a trap set by Konoha.
It was possible that the Konoha and Grass Country ninja units had already joined forces with Konoha's reinforcement team, and they were now surrounded by a ninja force that was not much smaller than their own.
Iwaku's heart sank at the thought.
While they had the numerical advantage, many of their ninjas had fallen into the traps, and after marching through the night, a significant portion of their forces were exhausted and not in peak condition for battle. Victory against Konoha was not guaranteed.
"We've fallen into Konoha's trap! Retreat!" Iwaku shouted, ordering the retreat.
He had intended to engage in battle a little longer before giving the command, but the thought of being mocked for cowardice if he retreated after only facing a handful of Konoha ninjas crossed his mind.
However, Iwaku was also worried that if he delayed the retreat, it could result in heavy casualties for the Iwa ninjas, losing a large number of their elite forces.
Compared to that, losing face was a minor issue.
"Mizumon, take me to another location," Jiraiya said immediately when he noticed the Iwa forces' intention to retreat.
Their ninja reinforcements were still on their way, and they couldn't afford to let the Iwa forces escape.
Namikaze Minato understood and grabbed Jiraiya's shoulder, using the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport in the direction of the Iwa ninjas' retreat.
They had anticipated this situation, and Mu Yue and Namikaze Minato had planted numerous Flying Thunder God Kunai in the surrounding area.
"Summoning Technique!"
Boom! A cloud of white smoke rose as two giant toads descended from the sky, crashing into the midst of the Iwa ninja forces.
"The intensity of the recent battles has been a bit high," Gamabunta remarked, looking at the thousands of Iwa ninjas surrounding them.
Either they were holding off a jinchuriki or facing a mob of a thousand ninjas.
Gamakichi silently raised his shield to defend himself as the Iwa ninjas began their assault.
"Sorry, but we need your help here," Jiraiya said apologetically.
Although the larger the transformation, the more damage they would take, Jiraiya currently had no better way to keep the enemies at bay.
"Earth Style: Iron Cannonball Jutsu!"
Without any orders, the Iwa ninjas employed the Iwa Hidden Village's legion jutsu.
In an instant, countless stone cannonballs rained down on Gamabunta and Gamakichi.
"Water Style: Iron Cannonball!"
Gamabunta retaliated with his own Water Style ninjutsu, spitting out a torrent of water that destroyed the stones that came into contact with it. But the number of Iwa ninjas was simply too great, and the onslaught of attacks was relentless.
The fierce assault proved too much even for Gamabunta's thick-skinned and chakra-reinforced body, and he soon sustained numerous wounds.
Gamakichi, with his shield, fared slightly better, but the shield couldn't cover his entire body, and he, too, sustained injuries.
With their strength, trying to hold off a thousand-strong ninja force was indeed a challenging task.
"Damn those pesky toads," Onoki scowled, his brow furrowed.
There were too many Iwa ninjas in the vicinity, making it difficult for him to transform into his Tailed Beast form, let alone use the Tailed Beast Ball. He didn't want to accidentally stomp on one of his own allies.
"Han, you take on the toad with the shield. I'll handle the other one. We'll take them down as quickly as possible," Onoki said, his body glowing with corrosive chakra as he prepared to make his move.
Although he was angry, Onoki kept his wits about him. In this situation, where they had fallen into a trap, the best course of action was to retreat as quickly as possible. Who knew what other surprises the Konoha intelligence had in store for them? Perhaps the reported size of Konoha's reinforcement team was inaccurate, and there were actually more ninjas waiting in ambush.
Han nodded, his body glowing with Tailed Beast chakra as he prepared to use his signature move to knock Gamakichi out with a single punch.
However, just as Onoki was about to charge toward Gamabunta, a sense of danger suddenly washed over him, and he halted in his tracks.
The next moment, a water spear materialized and stabbed the ground right in front of him.
(End of Chapter)
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