Chapter 97: Crushing Defeat for Sunagakure
Chapter 97: Crushing Defeat for Sunagakure
The atmosphere on the battlefield froze.
Many Konoha ninjas nearby slowed their movements, eventually coming to a halt, and the Sunagakure ninjas facing them did the same, all eyes turning towards Fengye's direction.
Chiyo, using a clone, attempted to turn the tide when Fengye's guard was down, aiming to strike him down. This move shocked countless Konoha ninjas, but Fengye dodged the fatal attack and countered with a sword strike, utterly crushing Chiyo.
Then, in an instant, he caught up with the flying Chiyo, striking her down from the air and impaling her to the ground with the Kusanagi sword.
Even non-sensor ninjas nearby, both from Konoha and Iwagakure, could sense Chiyo's chakra weakening and eventually disappearing altogether.
That wasn't a clone.
It was her main body.
The disappearance of her chakra meant one thing—death.
"..."
Someone swallowed, their voice barely audible, and asked, "Is Chiyo... dead?"
That voice was like a lit fuse on a cannon, shattering the frozen battlefield. Shock, awe, horror, and excitement intertwined on the faces of the numerous Konoha ninjas and Sunagakure ninjas.
"She's dead!"
A sensor ninja took a breath and confirmed this fact.
To the Konoha ninjas, Chiyo was a formidable presence, not just because of her terrifying poisons and puppet techniques that placed her at the pinnacle of puppeteers, but also because of her achievements in the Second Great Ninja War, where she managed to retreat unscathed even after losing to Byakuya.
She was an extremely powerful kunoichi, a name that resonated throughout the ninja world, unlike Ye, who had yet to make a name for himself.
Now, a pillar of Sunagakure had fallen!
One could say that from this moment on, Konoha had already secured victory in this war. Even if Fengye did nothing from here on out, Sunagakure was already crumbling.
Despite Fengye's youthful appearance, which was hard to believe, and his current rank as a special jounin, killing Chiyo, an elder of Sunagakure, on the battlefield was enough to make him a hero of Konoha!
"Attack!"
"The war isn't over yet!"
Someone shouted, and the briefly frozen battlefield erupted once more.
Compared to the invigorated Konoha ninjas charging forward boldly, the Sunagakure ninjas fell into disarray. They didn't know if they should continue the war now that Chiyo was dead.
Once this hesitation appeared, it meant that the balance of the front line had been broken, and the battle line began to push towards the Sunagakure ninjas. It was only a matter of time before their defeat.
Especially when some nearby Sunagakure ninjas looked at Fengye.
Their eyes held fear, even though they could see through the silvery light that Fengye looked like a teenager at most. But the strength he displayed in killing Chiyo made him one of the most terrifying Konoha ninjas on the battlefield!
"Useless..."
Kazekage Rasa's eyes turned cold.
There was no greater humiliation than being defeated by Byakuya and then killed by his son. However, it also meant that the war could now be brought to an end.
All the blame for the defeat could be shifted onto the dead — Chiyo, Yagura, and Ebizo. The voices of dissent within the village suddenly diminished by more than half.
"Retreat!"
Having achieved his goal, Rasa didn't intend to continue the meaningless battle and decisively ordered a retreat. The nearby Sunagakure ninjas began to flee.
Jiraiya didn't plan to let Rasa get away, but after pursuing him for a while, Rasa used his Magnet Release to manipulate golden sand, and his entire body sank into the ground, disappearing in an instant.
There were sensor ninjas nearby keeping an eye on Rasa, directing Jiraiya in the pursuit, but Jiraiya couldn't keep up with Rasa's speed and was ultimately shaken off.
Fengye wasn't completely idle, either.
Maintaining the Eight Gates, he symbolically took care of some nearby Sunagakure ninjas, eliminating around a few dozen ninjas, most of whom were jounin.
"Cough..."
Fengye staggered as he shut down the Eight Inner Gates, immediately experiencing the side effects of his actions. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Fengye!"
Tsunade quickly supported Fengye, infusing her chakra into his body to assess his condition. Her expression turned solemn as she realized the severity of his injuries.
She glanced at the retreating Sand Ninjas, deciding against pursuing them further. Instead, she swept Fengye into her arms and swiftly retreated to the rear of the battlefield, administering medical ninjutsu as she moved.
"Is this the backlash from your technique? Why is it so severe?"
Tsunade's brow furrowed as she looked at Fengye's pale face. She had suspected that the power Fengye had displayed would come at a cost, but it seemed even greater than she had anticipated, as his insides were in a terrible state.
Fengye coughed lightly and smiled weakly, not resisting Tsunade's treatment. "To gain immense power, one must pay a price. That's the nature of forbidden techniques, something Tsunade-sama should understand... Cough... Cough..."
Most ninjas would have lost their composure in this situation, but Fengye remained calm. Even if Tsunade couldn't heal him, he could instantly recover using Time Reversal.
Being carried by Tsunade like this, he thought it might be a novel experience to play the role of an injured patient occasionally.
"But the cost of your technique is too high!"
Tsunade had already assessed Fengye's injuries and gravely stated, "For injuries of this magnitude, even I can only guarantee a seventy to eighty percent chance of a full recovery."
At most, the fourth gate of the Eight Inner Gates would cause muscle rupture. However, the Lightning Release that Fengye had incorporated caused a chakra rampage within his body, resulting in severe collateral damage to his meridians in addition to muscle damage.
"There are even forbidden techniques that require death as a price," Fengye casually remarked. "But as expected of Tsunade-sama, even with these injuries, you still have a seventy to eighty percent chance of curing me... Cough, cough..." A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth as he spoke, yet he seemed unconcerned by his own injuries.
"Shut up right now!" Tsunade glared at Fengye. She had reached a safe location on the battlefield and turned to the medical unit that had caught up with them. "Get a stretcher!"
Two medical ninjas immediately rushed forward with a stretcher and carefully placed Fengye on it. They began retreating toward the rear of the battlefield, with Tsunade by their side. She kept one hand on Fengye's chest, continuously channeling her medical ninjutsu through the faint green chakra light.
Tsunade wanted to reprimand Fengye for using a technique with such severe side effects, but she knew that without it, Fengye might not have been able to defeat Chiyo. Even if they had joined forces while she was in her weakened state, they might not have fared better against Chiyo.
This realization made it difficult for her to rebuke him.
She could only take a deep breath and focus all her attention on treating Fengye's injuries.
"Concentrate... Concentrate... Concentrate..."
Tsunade silently chanted to herself. She understood that to heal Fengye's wounds, her chakra control had to be flawless, which meant that her blood phobia could not be allowed to affect her.
Her phobia had already improved significantly, and now, with gritted teeth, her strong will finally broke through the remaining shackles. Her chakra control was perfect, and her blood phobia was completely cured!
Although there weren't any outward signs of this, Fengye noticed the change and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
(End of Chapter)
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