"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 161: Iwaryō River
Speaking of the word "slaughter," it leaves an unpleasant impression. Yūshin felt he had never done such a thing... at least, that's what he believed.
But among the ninja present, someone actually did this sort of thing regularly—namely Hatake Sakumo, the one who had asked the question.
Of course, when on the battlefield, Hatake had little subjective desire to massacre enemies.
However, objectively, he often created facts resembling "brutal slaughter."
When executing solo missions, by the time combat ended, he was typically the only one on the battlefield who retained the right to continue breathing.
Yūshin had come bearing the mission of demarcating national borders and maintaining peace—in truth, he was never meant to endlessly appease other ninja clans. A balanced approach of kindness and authority was the most appropriate method.
As for his reputation, even completely eliminating a ninja clan wouldn't actually damage his credibility... He came for peace talks, yet the other side exploited his goodwill to plot against him. In such circumstances, he possessed natural rights of self-defense.
If that self-defense became somewhat excessive, if his authority expanded just a little, no one would criticize Yūshin.
Don't forget—no matter how benevolent Yūshin had appeared previously, he remained constrained within the framework of ninja conduct.
Since he was a ninja, there would naturally be times when he raised his blade. Just because Yūshin hadn't drawn his sword didn't mean others could assume he had no sword—these were entirely different matters.
As for whether people chose to believe it was the ungrateful small and medium ninja clans scheming against Yūshin, or Yūshin scheming against them... honestly, this wasn't difficult to judge.
For the Fireflies' side, rational analysis showed they had no need for such actions. Even if they wanted to move against certain ninja clans, why would they need their leader to risk himself? This contradicted their consistent operational style.
From an emotional perspective, based on Yūshin's previous reputation, many were more inclined to believe he wasn't some unreasonable person who only knew how to slaughter indiscriminately.
In any case, after Yūshin's side finished preparations for entering the rainforest region, he immediately sent word to the Rkawa and Uotani clans, confirming the meeting time.
Subsequently, the Rkawa Clan informed the Fireflies of the meeting location.
On the night before the talks began, numerous Hyūga ninja led different reconnaissance teams, using their "searchlights" and "x-ray vision" to thoroughly scan that meeting location.
"Lord Yūshin, those ninja are indeed harboring ill intentions. They've set up ambushes and other combat-specific arrangements at the so-called meeting site."
Soon, relevant intelligence was compiled and delivered to Yūshin.
One could only say that those ninja, attempting conspiracies before the Byakugan, either had no concept of Hyūga ninja or didn't know the Fireflies' frontline camp contained numerous Hyūga operatives.
The Byakugan's direct combat power was generally inferior to the Sharingan across the board, but first, this dōjutsu had virtually no awakening difficulty—any Hyūga ninja born and surviving could use the Byakugan. Second, this eye's strategic value was demonstrated precisely in such situations.
The Byakugan's battlefield intelligence-gathering capabilities far exceeded the Sharingan by several orders of magnitude. For ninja warfare, intelligence advantage directly correlated with overall victory, making the Byakugan a strategic weapon.
Want to set up barriers to shield against the Byakugan? Was this something ordinary ninja clans had the capability to accomplish?
Moreover, setting up barriers would be superfluous. Just how naive and reckless would Yūshin have to be to dive headfirst into barriers set by unfamiliar ninja clans without any suspicion?
"It seems the situation has indeed slid toward an unfavorable direction. Lord Yūshin, should we strike preemptively?" Nara Hideyuki asked.
Yūshin considered briefly, then said:
"No need. Order the other two combat squads to mobilize tonight and surround..."
After a slight hesitation—perhaps due to Rkawa's bad luck, or perhaps because Yūshin had heard this ninja clan's name more frequently recently, and their strength seemed somewhat superior to the other clan—they became the highest priority target.
Since this would be an "elimination-style" combat operation, Yūshin felt they should adopt an overwhelming approach, deploying all seventy ninja in this battle at once. After that, don't expect to see any living souls in that village.
"Surround and eliminate the Rkawa Clan's village. Our main unit will remain nearby. After seeing smoke rise from the meeting location, attack anyone escaping from the smoke... Hideyuki, you'll command the main unit."
"Yes, Lord Yūshin."
Following Yūshin's orders, the other two combat squads soon quietly departed their camp.
Theoretically, personnel movements of thirty to forty people could already be considered "large-scale," and such movements rarely escaped enemy observation completely. However, the Fireflies had the Byakugan.
They could effortlessly bypass enemy surveillance units during transfers. Although the enemy seemed to have illuminated the map, the Fireflies ninja had always operated hidden within the fog of war.
Yūshin's side possessed absolute advantage in intelligence. Under such circumstances—not to mention their hard power already far exceeded the enemy's—even if they were at a disadvantage, they could still grasp victory.
Traps aren't traps; what surrounds the trap is the real trap.
After completing arrangements, the next day Yūshin brought only Hatake Sakumo, proceeding to that meeting location as a two-man team.
The main combat unit's deployment came after Yūshin's movement. By the time Yūshin met the so-called clan leader, they had also quietly deployed their formation on the outer perimeter.
The meeting location was a depression surrounded by cliffs on three sides. It seemed that merely blocking the entrance would allow them to trap and kill Yūshin... What a brilliant strategy, what excellent terrain.
"Something's not right, Lord Nara."
After blocking the entrance from a distance, the Hyūga ninja discovered new developments.
"What's wrong?"
"Some ninja are quietly withdrawing from here..."
"Withdrawing, at this time?"
Nara Hideyuki was cautious, so upon hearing this news, his first instinct was to think their side's encirclement plan for that ninja village had been exposed.
"Based on their headbands, it appears all Uotani Clan ninja are retreating," the Hyūga ninja added.
Clearly, this supplementary information helped Nara Hideyuki eliminate incorrect options.
This was the Byakugan's utility—just how detailed could they get?
Forget headbands—if the Hyūga ninja were willing, they could even provide more precise information like "all ninja wearing red underwear are withdrawing."
"Are there many withdrawing?"
"Not many, not few, but very difficult to detect."
Now Nara Hideyuki completely understood.
"Even in an alliance of just two ninja clans, someone harbors thoughts of betrayal... Willing to sacrifice their tail like a gecko for this, quite deep scheming indeed."
Obviously, to continue deceiving the Rkawa Clan, the Uotani Clan had only withdrawn key ninja at this time. As for ordinary clan members... consider them the price paid to bury the Rkawa Clan.
"Don't worry about them. Prioritize executing Lord Yūshin's orders."
"Yes, Lord Nara."
To avoid alerting the enemy, Nara Hideyuki briefly considered and decided to temporarily allow those ninja to leave.
At this time, Yūshin was communicating with the Rkawa Clan leader.
"Lord Yūshin truly lives up to his reputation as 'the one who doesn't kill,' just like the rumors—so sincere in dealing with people that you'd come to the venue with only a single guard."
If you listened carefully, this person's tone already carried barely suppressed mockery... a brute whose acting skills weren't even up to par.
Yūshin merely smiled, then said calmly:
"First, my coming here nearly alone isn't due to sincerity in dealing with people, but because I consider you all insufficient threats. If you're not frogs in a well, you should be able to see the gap in strength between us. Second, this ninja beside me is not a guard."
Did they think he was Tobirama Senju, getting killed during negotiations?
Yūshin was equally blunt. In front of so many enemy ninja, he essentially voiced that famous quote: "I'm not targeting anyone specifically—I'm saying everyone here is trash."
"Where's the other clan leader? Not off setting some trap, I hope?"
The Rkawa clan leader was already beside himself with rage due to Yūshin's words. The original conversation plan included a segment mocking Yūshin's intelligence, but first, he had suffered direct humiliation from Yūshin, and second, his "far-sighted" battle plan had been casually exposed. Now he was both ashamed and furious.
"Hypocritical and incompetent fool, you will die here!"
He roared and violently waved his hand, then smashed a cup.
Yūshin sighed inwardly, thinking no wonder such ninja clans survived hidden in rainforests. If they were in Land of Fire territory, just based on their clan leader's intelligence level, they should have been eliminated long ago.
Smoke indeed rose from the meeting location, but this had nothing to do with Yūshin—it was the enemy releasing some kind of poison gas.
Most enemies donned gas masks, but a small portion also fell victim... Clearly, the brute's brilliant strategy included elements targeting allies, concealing some attack details from his ally.
Eliminate enemies while weakening allied strength—all for an unbreakable alliance.
"Gas masks—what exactly can they defend against?"
Seeing the surging mist, Yūshin's body slowly rose, ascending to high altitude where he began helping enemies increase the fog's density.
Hatake Sakumo quickly escaped, fleeing to the smoke's perimeter to hunt enemies... Theoretically, Yūshin shouldn't have brought him, since Yūshin alone would have been more effective. But bringing no one at all would look too suspicious, making enemies wonder whether he was the real Yūshin or some body double.
"Wh-what is this?"
"Why aren't the gas masks working?"
"Clan leader... Clan leader!"
"Ahhh..."
Screams rose and fell continuously. Who told them to choose a place where mist wouldn't easily disperse... The gas masks were effective, with no quality issues whatsoever. However, gas-proof materials might not have much acid resistance.
Clothes, skin, muscle, bone—some ninja began displaying their unknown inner aspects layer by layer.
Some clever individuals immediately began running outside, but this wasn't a good idea. The Fireflies' combat squads were blocking the exit...
Actually, it was a good idea, because outside they could die very quickly.
Merely twenty minutes later, Yūshin floated back before the combat squad.
"Lord Yūshin, very few ninja escaped..."
Nara Hideyuki immediately reported to Yūshin, while also explaining that key figures from the other ninja clan had escaped in advance.
"So it was mutual scheming—interesting."
After listening, Yūshin also explained to everyone the situation inside, where some ninja had gas masks while others didn't.
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other bewildered. Fighting powerful enemies while backstabbing allies? How were they so busy?
Yet despite all that busyness, weren't they still mud that couldn't stick to walls?
"Hyūga ninja spread out and observe the surrounding situation."
"Wait in place for news from the other two combat squads."
"After the mist disperses, sweep through the valley once to prevent any fish from slipping through the net."
Yūshin methodically issued orders with caution that felt almost nauseating.
After making arrangements, he turned to Hatake Sakumo, who hadn't played much of a role, and asked:
"What do you think?"
"I think... it still wasn't cautious enough."
Yūshin was momentarily stunned—what did that mean? At this moment, he noticed Hatake Sakumo seemed to be gazing meaningfully in a certain direction.
More enemies? Where would they come from?
Yūshin began pondering thoughtfully.
In fact, where there were unreliable temporary allies, there were also relatively reliable temporary allies.
By evening, the dispersed Hyūga ninja brought back unwelcome news.
"Large numbers of ninja are gathering on the plateau?"
Mentioning the northwest plateau meant "Iwagakure." In the ninja village era, Iwagakure was an aggressively expansionist village.
"The Ishikawa Clan?"
Yūshin asked the Hyūga ninja.
"It appears to be primarily the Ishikawa Clan, with several other major ninja clans participating as well."
Hearing about this proto-alliance, mixed combat formation, Yūshin immediately reacted:
"No need to ask—one hundred percent they're coming for us... Their reaction is quite swift."
If they wanted to deal with ordinary ninja clans, the Ishikawa Clan alone could handle things beautifully. Conversely, since they had formed a mixed formation, their target was naturally an enemy of equivalent form.
Under Hyūga Clan surveillance, the Ishikawa coalition's ninja numbers continued increasing, soon exceeding seven hundred.
At this point, clans like Uotani were no longer important. Yūshin regrouped his forces and began considering what to do next.
Based on realistic rational considerations, he should lead his team to withdraw from the rainforest region at this time. But the enemy would definitely pursue relentlessly. The Fireflies could certainly retreat, but after withdrawing to the Land of Fire, how could they retreat further?
Having just established borders, if war ignited on home soil, wouldn't that make all of Yūshin's previous efforts and promises into jokes?
So they couldn't choose retreat—they could only choose to face the enemy...
Right here in the "Land of Rain."
For the Fireflies organization's future position in Konoha, Yūshin also needed a substantial victory. Otherwise, when discussing Konoha's founding process in the future, the Senju fought the Uchiha—what about the Fireflies?
They couldn't very well say they fought "Rkawa," could they? Yes, the Rkawa clan leader was as intelligent as Madara Uchiha, but that didn't mean the two clans' strength was comparable.
Since they couldn't retreat, should they increase troop strength?
However, the Fireflies' quality combat forces were currently concentrated in Yūshin's hands. Adding more frontline forces from the Fireflies wouldn't be very meaningful.
So request reinforcements from the Senju?
But this contradicted the Fireflies' goal of needing an establishing battle. You must know that Yūshin's team already had support forces from the four major ninja clans comprising forty percent. If they requested more aid from there, whose battle would this really be?
"Perhaps... it's not impossible to try."
After much consideration, Yūshin made a relatively aggressive decision.
The rainforest terrain was quite favorable for him—he could fully utilize "large-scale destructive chemical weapons."
Therefore, Yūshin didn't retreat. Instead, he led the three squads forward.
After finding the most advantageous battlefield for his side, Yūshin stood beside a river and asked the ninja around him:
"What is this place called? Does it have a name?"
However, unexpectedly, Hatake Sakumo, who supposedly wasn't very familiar with the "Land of Rain," immediately answered Yūshin's question.
"Iwaryō River. This is... Iwaryō River."
Uh...
Yūshin was baffled. Iwaryō River is Iwaryō River—why are you getting so excited?
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