LRAB Chapter 43 War of Attrition
Chapter 43 War of Attrition
Hyuga Kanan resisted the urge to collapse and rest, took out the dry rations he had prepared, and quickly ate and drank. He had been here as a guard for four days and had not had a proper rest since the retreat.
This is the seventh day already, and the battlefield is still filled with the atmosphere of fighting; we must remain vigilant at all times.
The day before, Hyuga Kanan had personally witnessed a ninja from the third squad carrying Orochimaru into his team. It was the first time Hyuga Kanan had ever seen Orochimaru, who was covered in blood, with disheveled hair and blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth, already unconscious.
Orochimaru always gave off an impression of being aloof and elegant, always maintaining the image of a powerful ninja.
This shows the intensity of the battle between Orochimaru's squad and the Iwa ninja.
It's important to know that Orochimaru's squad ultimately only brought Orochimaru and his severely injured ninja back here. They held off the Iwa ninja's advance for a full six days, yet they only had about 300 men.
Orochimaru's entire force has been wiped out, and Orochimaru himself was forcibly brought back by his subordinates. The main force of the Iwa ninja should be arriving soon!
If Orochimaru could be injured to this extent, it seems that the Iwa ninja are not having an easy time either.
Hyuga Kanan continued to vigilantly survey his surroundings. In truth, the Iwa ninja hadn't yet made a move. Over the past few days, he had refined a considerable amount of soul energy, and his soul power was now almost entirely liquid. He was just one step away from transforming it into divine consciousness, but he was currently stuck at this crucial juncture. The Qiankun Inheritance Jade still contained some pure energy, but it hadn't allowed him to take that final step either.
It's unclear what trigger is still needed for this step, but Hyuga Kanan's soul power's detection range has now doubled, allowing him to detect everything 20 kilometers away. He's also using the remaining pure energy to continuously strengthen his Byakugan, training it like crafting a magical artifact.
Strengthening the body with this amount of energy won't bring any leap in improvement; it's a slow evolutionary process. While pure energy can accelerate the evolutionary process, it still requires a massive amount to feel any noticeable difference.
But the Byakugan is different. It is a genetic artifact crafted by the Otsutsuki clan using energy, and it contains fragments of their clan's will. Although he had already refined the fragments of will inside, the Byakugan is now like an artifact that has not yet fully recognized its master. Although Hyuga Kanan can use some of its functions, he has not yet mastered the true power of the Byakugan. Now he is using his soul power to constantly cleanse the Byakugan, slowly making it his own artifact and continuously developing the functions within it.
Although the Byakugan's binding process is not yet complete, its previous effects have already been enhanced. My Byakugan can now detect objects up to 10 kilometers away and has also gained the ability to magnify distant scenes. However, I haven't yet discovered any offensive effects from the Byakugan.
Hyuga Kanan silently used his soul power to probe the distance, hoping to detect any signs of the Iwa ninja's actions as soon as possible. The most agonizing part was waiting for the enemy to attack.
After all, it has been seven days since the beginning of the month, and the possibility that the Iwa ninja have not yet taken action is very low. Even if Orochimaru causes them some trouble, he certainly cannot cripple them. After a day of rest, the Iwa ninja forces should launch their attack today.
Suddenly, Hyuga Kanan tensed up. His soul power sensed a force of over 1000 Iwa ninja appearing 20 kilometers away, rapidly advancing towards them. They seemed completely unconcerned about the Konoha ambush; apparently, they had become accustomed to Konoha's fighting style from previous battles. The leader of the vanguard was at least a Chunin-level ninja, capable of reacting instantly to Konoha's attack and immediately using defensive ninjutsu to give the rest of the force time to launch their own attack.
Hinata Kanan carefully probed, hoping to discover something that would increase his chances of survival in the upcoming battle.
Unfortunately, the Iwa ninja force lived up to its reputation as an old unit that had been stationed on the front lines for over a year. Most of its members were experienced ninjas, and the only way to stop them was through sheer strength.
Hyuga Kanan quickly assessed the situation. He realized that it was virtually impossible for his Konoha team to hold off this force for more than three days. This Iwa ninja team consisted of over half Chunin and more than 20 Jonin; Jiraiya alone couldn't possibly stop so many Jonin.
After opening his Byakugan again and looking around, Hyuga Kanan quickly retreated upon confirming that no Iwa ninja had secretly bypassed him to launch a sneak attack. He prepared to report to Jiraiya and see how he could arrange the subsequent battle plan.
Soon, Jiraiya and his team of commanders devised a plan: all Konoha ninja would break into smaller groups and harass the enemy's advance in small squads, slowing them down as much as possible. Simultaneously, Jiraiya would launch a surprise attack on the enemy's supply convoy, forcing their strongest ninja to return and reinforce it, thus tying them down and reducing the pressure on the Konoha squads.
After hearing the leader's mission briefing, everyone in Konoha sprang into action, dividing into countless small teams and moving swiftly away, their faces filled with determination.
The battle quickly began, starting with a Konoha squad launching a surprise attack on the Iwa ninja forces from the right. The squad was soon surrounded by the Iwa ninja, but the Konoha squad members, strapped with explosive tags, charged directly into the center of the Iwa ninja forces. Explosions rang out quickly, but the Iwa ninja's defenses were well-prepared, resulting in few casualties, only some covered in dust. However, their use of ninjutsu to alter the terrain, along with Konoha's attack, significantly slowed them down.
Hyuga Kanan and Jiraiya formed the same team again, with the same members as before. Relying on Hyuga Kanan's Byakugan, they easily avoided the main force of Iwa ninja and headed directly towards the Iwa ninja logistics transport team. When they heard the explosions coming from the front line, they knew that the war had begun and unconsciously quickened their pace.
Hyuga Kanan's team quickly arrived at the only route the Iwagakure logistics transport team would take, waiting for the team less than 1000 meters away, and then quickly lay in ambush in the vicinity.
The supply transport had gone unattacked for several days, which made the Iwa ninjas feel relaxed and casually chat with their companions.
"This mission was really easy. I was nervous for days after hearing that we were going to fight the Konoha ninjas! But the Konoha ninjas were really weak. They were constantly being defeated and forced to retreat by our front-line troops, keeping our transport team constantly on the move. It was exhausting!"
One of the Iwa ninjas said he was tired, but he couldn't hide the smug look on his face.
"Once this mission is completed, we can finally enter the Land of Fire. I've heard that the Land of Fire is full of fertile land and must have a lot of food stored up. We'll definitely have to transport a large amount of food back then, and that'll be the really tiring time!"
The older Iwa ninja looked up at the sky, his face filled with anticipation for the endless supply of goods he would receive once he entered the Land of Fire, completely unaware that he had already entered the ambush range of the Hyuga Kanan squad.
A kunai pierced straight into his throat, shattering his dreams of the future and killing him instantly.
The surrounding Iwa ninja reacted quickly, releasing distress flares and immediately taking out their ninja tools for defense.
Jiraiya didn't hesitate either, quickly forming hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet Technique!"
The massive fireball hurtled toward the Iwa ninja's transport convoy, quickly colliding with the earth wall released by the Iwa ninja, creating a deafening roar. However, it swiftly broke through the opponent's defensive ninjutsu, striking the supplies and instantly destroying a portion of them. Enraged, the Iwa ninja charged toward them.
Hyuga Kanan also retaliated, and the two quickly engaged in a fierce battle.
The Iwa ninja transport team had a considerable number of members, but they were mostly low-level genin. There were only two strong chunin, who were quickly dealt with by Jiraiya. Hyuga Kanan and his group also accelerated their slaughter because Hyuga Kanan had noticed that Iwa ninja reinforcements were arriving very quickly, consisting of at least several jonin.
After reminding Jiraiya, Hyuga Kanan's team prepared to retreat. If they were surrounded by the Jonin of Iwagakure, even Jiraiya would have a hard time escaping. After all, if a large number of Jonin attacked Jiraiya, he would be in great danger.
Soon, Jiraiya and the others stopped paying attention to the Iwa ninja around them and quickly retreated in the direction provided by Hyuga Kanan. When the Iwa ninja support team arrived, all that remained was a scene of devastation and Iwa ninja groaning on the ground.
With Konoha's tactical changes, Iwa ninja were suddenly facing a major headache. The supply convoys in the rear were constantly attacked by Jiraiya, who had already thoroughly investigated the situation, forcing Iwa ninja to send at least three Jonin to escort them. However, Jiraiya continued to attack the supply convoys, avoiding direct confrontation with the Iwa ninja's Jonin, attacking once and then immediately retreating, making it impossible for Iwa ninja to pursue him.
The progress at the front lines further frustrated the Iwa ninja commanders. Konoha had stopped talking about death and instead attacked the main Iwa ninja force directly in small squads each time, always in a suicidal manner, causing significant losses to the Iwa ninja. But most importantly, the main Iwa ninja force had spent a whole day advancing less than 5 kilometers.
Although this was a jungle, the constant fighting had already blasted away a clearing with various ninjutsu and explosive tags. Hyuga Kanan's squad was preparing to ambush an Iwa ninja squad opposite them; they were a logistical support team.
Now, Konoha not only wants to delay the advance of the Iwa ninja, but also wants to weaken their strength as much as possible, so that the main force of the Iwa ninja will be more exhausted when they reach Konoha's final stronghold, thus relieving some pressure on the Konoha ninja there.
Squad after squad of Konoha ninja launched frenzied suicidal attacks on the main Iwa ninja force, preventing them from advancing more than a few kilometers in two days. However, Konoha also suffered heavy losses, with nearly 70% of their ninja dying on the Iwa ninja's advance route.
On the last day, Jiraiya returned to the front line again, gathered all the surviving Konoha ninja, and prepared to personally lead the team to hold off the Iwa ninja for the rest of the day. Now that the Iwa ninja logistics transport team had completely retreated back to the Iwa ninja camp and was no longer advancing, Jiraiya had lost the opportunity to continue harassing the transport team to delay the Iwa ninja.
The road the Iwa ninja were advancing on was basically stained with the blood of Konoha ninja. The Iwa ninja were also shocked by Konoha's crazy actions, and now they were proceeding cautiously with every step. They had lost nearly 200 people in the past two days and were now waiting for reinforcements with transport teams.