"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 162: Sunlight on the Iwaryō River
Although the Ishikawa Clan coalition had assembled "heavy forces," they were currently holding their attack in reserve.
This was only natural—after all, they belonged to different ninja clans and had never coordinated in combat before. To avoid hindering each other, they needed time to reorganize their units.
"So they're planning to use us as training dummies? I have to admit, the enemy commander has both audacity and creativity."
Yūshin, accompanied by two Hyūga ninja on forward reconnaissance, deduced the enemy's secondary objectives from their urgent yet methodical approach.
Eliminating the Fireflies was the enemy's primary goal; training their troops was secondary.
Yūshin felt underestimated. Did they really think he was a soft target?
However, with enemy forces seven times larger than the Fireflies', from the Ishikawa Clan's perspective, what was wrong with some training? Wasn't that perfectly reasonable?
"Lord Yūshin, do we truly not need reinforcements?" asked one of the Hyūga ninja nearby.
Fighting with current force deployment would require each of their ninja to face seven enemies—honestly, the difficulty seemed overwhelming... Most ninja were glass cannons with high offense but low defense, meaning they could easily be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
While their ninja were elite selections, the enemy wasn't composed of weaklings either. Once surrounded...
Yūshin decisively shook his head. He wasn't being stubborn—by now, he had formulated a relatively complete battle plan.
"No need. The enemy has numerical superiority, so we'll adopt defensive tactics. They'll definitely charge forward recklessly. Since they still need to reorganize their forces, what does that tell us... It means we have ample time to prepare the battlefield."
"Stay safe. Continue monitoring enemy movements while I set up the battlefield."
"Yes, Lord Yūshin."
While the enemy reorganized their forces, what was Yūshin doing? Hard to believe, but he was engaged in reforestation.
Don't forget, Yūshin could use Wood Release techniques. Although he mostly utilized Wood Release to demonstrate his recovery abilities rather than direct combat power, using it to plant trees was quite simple for him.
He was adjusting this forest's density and the orientation of the trees.
Though invisible from outside, soon the density of certain trees had become comparable to solid walls.
Once battle commenced, when enemies charged forward, they'd find tree canopies overhead and "wooden walls" on all sides. Then everyone could use Earth Release to casually seal the gaps...
Honestly, the sealing effect would rival that of a rice cooker.
The woods contained not only various semi-finished enclosed spaces of different sizes, but even the pathways had been turned into a labyrinth.
Three days later, Yūshin gathered his commanders for a meeting, holding a map.
"Everyone must memorize this map."
Yūshin's map displayed concentric "回" (square within square) patterns. Enemies would attack from the perimeter while Fireflies ninja would resist and retreat inward.
"I'll place shadow clones in areas A3, A6, A7, B1, B7, C4, C5, C9, D7, and E3. Try to lure enemies into these zones."
"But move quickly in and out, ensuring temporary closure of these areas."
"Engage enemies only outside these designated zones."
"Don't worry. Though the enemy has superior numbers, reducing their forces won't be difficult. Your job is maintaining mobility and avoiding prolonged engagements before reaching the central area."
The maze-like passages were all concealed beneath the canopy, making their layout difficult to discern from above. The forest was filled with "walls" everywhere, rendering even sensory ninja less effective... Map-penetrating sensory ninja like the Hyūga were quite rare.
Ninja naturally possessed terrain-destruction capabilities—after all, they were only trapped by trees, not permanent fortifications.
However, destroying these arrangements would still consume chakra.
As for ninja with large-scale terrain destruction abilities, they would certainly get one chance to act, but afterward they'd face targeted elimination from the Fireflies... Yūshin assigned this task to Hatake Sakumo.
And don't forget, Yūshin's side had Uzumaki ninja.
"This time, the second and third squads will handle interception duties. After enemies charge into the formation, the first squad will execute rear encirclement."
Honestly, thirty-odd people surrounding seven hundred sounded rather absurd.
Ninja familiar with Yūshin's capabilities actually felt relieved after hearing his battle arrangements... Yūshin was perfectly suited for dealing with clustered targets.
However, some still worried about other issues.
"Lord Yūshin, if you deploy numerous shadow clones, doesn't that mean you'll enter a chakra-depleted, weakened state once battle begins? Isn't that a potential hazard?"
"To be precise, I'll be very weak before battle begins. Once fighting starts, I won't lack chakra."
Yūshin didn't elaborate further, simply continuing:
"This battle demands complete enemy annihilation. Eliminating these enemy forces essentially means achieving our campaign's strategic objectives."
The Ishikawa coalition's appearance wasn't within Yūshin's expectations, but he understood that only by crushing powerful enemies could border demarcation become reality.
Relying on small ninja clans' submission or destruction couldn't achieve intimidation on all sides—but the Ishikawa Clan's head would be different.
Regardless, Yūshin needed to actively engage the Ishikawa coalition.
...
On the Ishikawa coalition's side:
"What's the enemy situation?"
Ishikawa Mudo asked a sensory ninja, actively gathering enemy intelligence as battle approached.
"Approximately seventy people scattered throughout the dense forest—that should be their predetermined battlefield. Another thirty are stationed in the north, far from the battlefield—those should be their reserves... Lord Mudo, the enemy chose to fight rather than flee, which gives me a bad feeling."
"How so?"
"That Lord Yūshin shouldn't be a fool. Since he's chosen to fight outnumbered, he must have some trump card, right?"
Ishikawa Mudo agreed with part of this assessment, but...
"Precisely because he occupies such a position, he cannot flee without fighting. Ninja in his position carry too many burdens, forcing them to advance without looking back."
Well, this was his own speculation. Without strategic objectives, Yūshin would definitely lead his forces in immediate retreat.
What could weigh more than human lives?
Only a twenty-year peace treaty would be worth Yūshin and his subordinates risking their lives in battle.
"A predetermined battlefield... Indeed problematic, but unavoidable. Since we possess numerical advantage, the enemy will naturally occupy terrain advantage."
Seven hundred ninja would naturally attack aggressively, while one hundred ninja defending would naturally make preparations. Otherwise, would the numerically superior Ishikawa coalition wait for the extremely disadvantaged Fireflies to launch attacks? What a joke.
"Lord Mudo, pre-battle conference!"
Someone came to notify Ishikawa Mudo about the meeting.
Ishikawa Mudo patted the reconnaissance ninja's shoulder, saying:
"Stay alert, don't become complacent... Battle is about to begin."
Yūshin's side immediately noticed enemy movements. He promptly issued combat orders and assembled his battle squad—Hatake Sakumo, Nara Hideyuki, and Lan.
The units performed their respective duties while Yūshin's four-man team boldly advanced, seemingly treating the enemy army as nothing.
"The enemy will launch their attack at dawn."
"This region is unusually rain-free—good weather for us."
Yūshin looked at the brightening sky, confirming that last night's light rain had stopped, making him feel this was a good omen.
However, Yūshin's three teammates all had taciturn personalities, so absolutely no one responded to his mystical judgment.
No rain—better for acid mist dispersion—good omen, damn it. Yūshin didn't even get a chance to explain.
Hatake Sakumo had passed that excitable phase; he was always calm on battlefields, fully understanding his mission... to provide comprehensive protection, helping Yūshin through his brief period of weakness.
Ninja with strong offensive capabilities generally weren't suited for bodyguard duties, but Hatake Sakumo was an exception.
So where was the exception?
Iwaryō River was a river with extremely abundant flow, originating from the northwestern plateau, flowing through snowy mountains and red-earth valleys, then crossing enormous elevation drops into rainforest regions, finally converging into a lake as vast as an ocean.
Such rivers were countless in rainforest regions—nothing particularly special about it.
However, as dawn passed and the sun leaped above the horizon, cold morning light illuminating the broad river surface created rippling waves that seemed to herald something.
The Ishikawa coalition surged down along the river from the plateau.
Seemingly without any strategy, like street thugs in a brawl... Yūshin's first impression of this so-called coalition wasn't favorable.
No helping it—getting ninja from different clans to advance and retreat in coordination within such a short timeframe was already quite impressive. Expecting sophisticated tactical cooperation would require much more time.
"Draw your blades. Quickly identify the enemy commander."
Yūshin gave a simple instruction, then led his team charging toward the enemy.
Hatake on the left, Yūshin in the center, Lan on the right, Nara Hideyuki in the rear. The squad burst from the forest like arrows released from bowstrings, their assault speed increasing rapidly.
"What's this, a suicide attack?"
The Ishikawa coalition's vanguard ninja felt completely bewildered—seven hundred charging down from the plateau versus a mere four-man squad. Aside from seeking death, what other reason could the latter have for this action?
However, when this four-man squad made contact with the enemy's front line, the latter instantly understood the meaning of brutality.
"Not you."
"Not you either."
"Definitely not you."
Hatake Sakumo's short blade danced as he faithfully executed Yūshin's orders... How does one find the commander among a large group of enemies? The "White Fang of Konoha" had his own unique household trick.
Anyone he could kill with a single strike definitely wasn't the commander.
Subsequently, he could continue using process of elimination to select targets.
Reasonably speaking, the combat prowess and killing efficiency displayed by ninja like Hatake Sakumo far exceeded Yūshin's wild approach.
His killing efficiency was so high and attention-grabbing that it's no wonder Sunagakure's Chiyo obsessed over him for a lifetime... He was the man she could never obtain (his life).
With Hatake sweeping through enemies on the left and Lan clearing swaths on the right, what was Yūshin doing?
Yūshin was clumsily replenishing chakra.
"Chief, the enemy has a squad that's broken into our formation with incredibly exaggerated strength... It appears Yūshin is among them!"
Relevant intelligence quickly reached Ishikawa Suijin.
"I see. The enemy's courage is commendable, but it's merely ants trying to shake a tree. Send elite ninja to intercept... Don't change our attack rhythm. The enemy's desperate gambit is simply because they have no countermeasures against our advance."
No countermeasures? Yūshin simply wanted to eliminate the enemy commander face-to-face.
Why did Yūshin abandon his excellent assassination abilities before battle? Wasn't it to make the enemy's blood flow more spectacularly, more prominently, more memorably?
By comparison, Ishikawa Suijin's thinking was much simpler—he felt that since the enemy wanted to disrupt their attack rhythm, they should maintain their original assault plan unchanged.
Under normal circumstances, this thinking wasn't wrong, but in reality?
In reality, the forest was calling to them.
What difference did ordinary ninja versus elite ninja make to Hatake Sakumo?
The difference was still quite obvious—the difference between one strike versus three to five strikes, or ten to twenty strikes.
Yūshin always felt that using Hatake Sakumo against capable enemies was wasteful—he should be cutting grass... His grass-cutting efficiency was too high.
Fortunately, Hatake Sakumo didn't understand Yūshin's thoughts, or he'd have gone on strike immediately... Not using him against strong enemies but instead against cannon fodder—was that human speech?
No helping it—for Hatake Sakumo, the definition of "cannon fodder" was too broad... If a Tokubetsu Jōnin achieved that rank through taijutsu or swordsmanship, then to Hatake, this Tokubetsu Jōnin was standard cannon fodder.
Due to the chief's orders, the Ishikawa coalition bypassed Yūshin's squad, allowing them to drive straight in.
But similarly, the enemy's vanguard quickly charged into the Fireflies' formation.
Then those Fireflies ninja appeared like startled birds, offering token resistance before immediately fleeing.
"So this is the Fireflies? They don't even have the courage to fight!"
As Fireflies ninja fled, the enemies behind them became increasingly clustered... With Nara ninja assisting in command, they planned the enemy's routes perfectly.
Then, when these enemies charged to a certain position, pale red square barriers instantly rose.
Outside the barriers stood four sweating Uzumaki ninja.
"This barrier technique, with just the four of us using it, can only be called the 'Four Crimson Fire Formation'... Somewhat embarrassing."
"Crimson? Isn't crimson black?"
"Tobira means black."
"Stop wasting words, hurry up and relocate. What do we need such a strong barrier technique for? At this current level, can the people inside break through?"
"How many did we trap? Over a hundred?"
"Impossible, at most just under a hundred."
"Pity, this technique can only be used once. Even at the 'Four Crimson Fire Formation' level, only we can execute it."
The Uzumaki ninja chatted while making their swift escape.
Inside this square barrier, besides a large number of Ishikawa coalition forces, there were also two of Yūshin's shadow clones.
The shadow clone Yūshin looked at them with eyes full of pity...
Truly, on this entire battlefield, there were no ninja more unlucky than these.
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