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After the order was given, Uchiha Fugaku immediately led the Guardian Shinobi Twelve to the front lines.
He had already learned the purpose of this trip from the daimyo.
As someone loyal to the daimyo, he would firmly carry out the daimyo's orders.
As for the Guardian Shinobi Twelve, after the incident at the Fire capital construction site, their role was to teach the shinobi how to act.
The wind blew over the mountains, rustling Uchiha Fugaku's clothes embroidered with the Uchiha fan.
His gaze swept over the ridge, towards the large Konoha army winding its way into the southern plains of the Land of Lightning.
Two thousand Konoha shinobi, led by Jiraiya, were moving in order into their respective defensive zones.
There were no fluttering military banners, no deafening slogans.
Only the soft rustling sounds of marching.
The towns in the Land of Lightning along the way were strangely silent.
All doors and windows were tightly shut, and the streets were empty.
Once in a while, a braver person would cast a glance from a crack in a door or window, filled with fear, dread, and curiosity.
In their eyes, these shinobi wearing Konoha headbands were the executioners who had just slaughtered three thousand Kumogakure.
They were demons.
However, the expected looting and abuse did not occur.
When the Konoha troops entered the first town, the local residents had prepared for the worst.
But nothing happened.
The shinobi efficiently took over the town's defenses and then spread out.
Breaking into private homes?
No!
Harassing civilians?
No!
Even before setting out, Uchiha Fugaku had issued orders.
They knew this trip was not for conquest. Their primary task was to keep stability and help local residents resume production.
Although they didn't quite understand this order, they still carried it out carefully.
Moreover, the strict military law also prevented them from making any moves.
For example, harassing civilians or bullying the innocent would result in execution, regardless of rank!
In every town they arrived at, these military laws would be posted in a clear location.
This was the shared will of the daimyo and the commander-in-chief, and no one dared to defy it.
However, for the civilians of the Land of Lightning, these words brought little comfort.
To them, it sounded more like a fake declaration.
Then a Konoha shinobi left the patrol line.
All watching eyes instantly fell upon him.
What was he going to do?
The shinobi walked calmly to the town center, where there was an ancient well, almost abandoned due to drought.
The shinobi stopped by the well and began to form hand seals.
Those strange gestures, in the eyes of the civilians, were full of bad meaning.
The next second.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
With a low shout, a large amount of clear water poured into the dry well in an amazing way!
Gurgle! Gurgle!
The clear water instantly filled the dry well, even overflowing from the wellhead, washing over the dry, cracked streets.
The eyes behind the door cracks instantly widened.
What was this...?
After the shinobi left.
Several braver children could no longer resist and ran out of their houses, carefully approaching the water and scooping up a handful with their small hands.
Clear and sweet.
They looked at their hands in disbelief, then at the ancient well from which clear water constantly flowed, and then burst into uncontrollable cheers!
This amazing sight was not limited to one place.
In the farmland outside the town.
Another team of shinobi was rapidly moving between the ridges.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
The hard, packed soil rolled and moved under the effect of the ninjutsu, quickly becoming soft and fertile.
After that, irrigation canals were also dug out.
An old farmer, leaning on a cane, stared blankly at all this.
These shinobi only took half a day.
They finished a month's worth of work that his family had struggled with.
Jiraiya stood on the tallest tower in the town, silently watching all of this.
He watched the eyes of the civilians, how they changed from fear to careful curiosity, and now to gratitude and respect.
He watched his Konoha comrades strictly carrying out orders.
The Great Toad Sage's prophecy kept replaying in his mind.
All of this was happening.
Then a chill came over him.
He was not a fool, and he could see clearly.
How was this a military occupation?
This was clearly a long-planned takeover!
First, use thunderous means to break the Land of Lightning's backbone, then feed its citizens with endless kindness, and finally make them willingly submit to the Land of Fire.
At this moment, Jiraiya finally saw through all the actions of the young daimyo.
That ruler's gaze had already gone beyond the victory or defeat of the war.
What he wanted was the complete Land of Lightning, and the hearts of millions of people who would submit!
...Meanwhile.
In the heart of the Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
The air here was heavy and anxious, incredibly choking.
The remaining thirteen hundred Kumogakure shinobi lined up at the village entrance.
They were Kumogakure's last fighting force.
They were also the second-line shinobi left behind.
The order they received was to surrender Kumogakure.
But none of them left.
The blood of three thousand compatriots, the alliance signed by the daimyo, the imprisonment of the kage and the jinchuriki... every single one was a deeply carved humiliation.
And today, they also had to welcome the enemies who came to divide their homeland.
"Remember this!" a one-eyed Kumogakure shinobi growled in a low voice. "The daimyo has ordered that no one shall resist! Those who disobey will be treated as traitors to the village!"
"But!"
He suddenly turned, his single eye sweeping over all the Kumogakure, a wildness burning in his eyes. "Remember their faces!"
"Carve today's humiliation firmly in your minds!"
"One day, we will use their blood to wash away everything of today!"
No one responded!
Only silence, heavy.
Just then, at the edge of the horizon, dust rose.
Two armies, one on the left and one on the right, pressed forward in a mighty display.
On the left were the Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, in brown uniforms, with heavy steps.
On the right were the Kirigakure of the Land of Water, with strange, silent steps.
The two armies stopped at the entrance of Kumogakure.
Looking at the Kumogakure shinobi before them, whose eyes could kill, many showed sneering and smug smiles.
"Oh, quite spirited, aren't we?" an Iwagakure shinobi's gaze swept over them. "What, still want to fight us?"
"With them?"
A Kirigakure shinobi licked his blade, his gaze hungrily sweeping over the towering buildings within Kumogakure. "What a nice place. From today on, it's ours."
They made no secret of their conqueror's stance.
The Iwagakure shinobi who had spoken earlier walked up to a Kumogakure kid.
He reached out and patted his face.
The gesture was careless and completely insulting.
"Kid, why are you staring? Do you want to die?"
"Pah!" The Kumogakure kid suddenly spat a mouthful of saliva onto the Iwagakure's face.
"You're asking for death!" The Iwagakure was furious, clenching his fist, ready to strike.
"Stop." The Iwagakure's leading jonin spoke. "Why bother with defeated soldiers?"
He slowly walked up to the Kumogakure kid, looking down at him.
"I won't kill you."
"All you useless people must live well and personally watch how we enjoy everything of yours."
"Your village, your wealth, your ninjutsu scrolls..."
His voice paused, his gaze boldly moving over several female shinobi in the Kumogakure shinobi line, his smile becoming meaningful.
"...and all your spoils of war."
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Arrogant laughter echoed over Kumogakure.
Every laugh was like a knife, painfully cutting out the hearts of all Kumogakure shinobi.
Humiliation.
Anger.
Hatred.
Countless Kumogakure shinobi clenched their fists tightly, their fingernails digging deep into their palms.
They stared with bloodshot eyes at these arrogant invaders.
The shinobi of the Land of Earth and the Land of Water freely enjoyed the pleasure of conquerors.
They walked proudly into the village, boldly occupying the best houses and taking whatever supplies caught their eye.
Much like how invaders enter a village!