harleyscars Chapter 219 Deep Love Brings Deep Responsibility
Chapter 219 Deep Love Brings Deep Responsibility
Chapter 219 Deep Love Brings Severe Responsibility (First Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets)
Country of Rivers, Konoha Camp.
A figure appeared out of thin air in the tent; it was Taiyi, who had returned from the Land of Wind.
As soon as he appeared, without even pausing to catch his breath, he lifted the tent flap and headed towards the central command tent, naturally encountering Shuimen who was coming from the other side.
The two nodded to each other without saying much, and walked together toward the central military camp.
After being notified, the two were quickly granted entry.
At this moment, Jiraiya and his three advisors were in the tent. When they saw Taichi and Minato arrive together, the four of them were surprised, because the two of them usually carried out their own tasks and rarely overlapped.
But then, their expressions turned serious. None of them were stupid, and they could naturally imagine how important it must be for something to bring Taichi and Minato together.
Moreover, judging from Taiyi's tattered clothes, he had obviously been through a fierce battle and suffered considerable losses, which made him even more remarkable.
"Minato, Taichi, what happened to you two?" Jiraiya asked, trying to lighten the mood.
Minato nodded to Taiichi, indicating that it was up to him to explain, since Taiichi was the one who discovered the matter, and he had only played a supporting role.
Upon seeing this, Taiichi didn't hesitate and dropped a bombshell: "We've discovered that Sunagakure is transferring Jinchūriki to the front lines!"
With just one sentence, everyone perked up. That was a Jinchūriki! The secret weapon of every village, the ultimate weapon on the battlefield, the trump card of each village. Sunagakure was actually going to deploy them to the battlefield!
"Are you sure that's a Jinchūriki? How did you recognize it?" one of the staff officers asked anxiously, his previous composure completely gone.
It's not surprising that he took it so seriously. For ordinary ninjas, tailed beasts are natural disasters. Whenever they appear on the battlefield, they often have the power to make a decisive move. As a strategist, it's no wonder he valued them so much.
Therefore, Taiyi didn't care about the distrust he expressed. "Of course I can confirm it. My eyes can see his true nature. Besides, someone who is suppressed by a sealing barrier can't be an ordinary person."
Taiichi held back some details in his explanation, but Jiraiya did understand. The Spirit Transformation Technique allows one to see through the soul. Taiichi didn't explain it explicitly because he didn't want others to know about his abilities.
"Alright, I've confirmed that. Now, let's talk about what to do next."
The staff officer glanced at Jiraiya but didn't say anything more, clearly understanding the situation.
Next, Taiichi recounted how he discovered the situation, and then, realizing he was outmatched, he sought out Minato to join him in attacking the Sunagakure team. However, they still gained nothing and had to return to report the matter.
Clearly, neither Taichi nor Minato mentioned the few Sunagakure Chunin they killed during their attack; such a result was as good as nothing to them.
But all of this sounded quite different to Jiraiya and the three advisors.
"You two dared to attack a hundred-strong army formation, including the Fourth Kazekage and fifteen Jonin!" Jiraiya was furious. These two were incredibly audacious and reckless.
"Minato, Taichi doesn't understand, and neither do you. You participated in World War II. Don't you know the power of a ninja formation? How dare you two charge forward like that?"
Jiraiya grew angrier and angrier, his finger almost touching Minato's forehead as he cursed. This was a perfect example of how deep one's love can lead to harsh criticism.
Taiichi felt really bad watching from the sidelines. After all, he was the one who started this whole thing, and Minato could only be considered an accomplice at most. But now Jiraiya's firepower was mainly focused on Minato, giving him the illusion that he was using Minato as a scapegoat.
"Jiraiya-sensei, don't be angry. We have the Flying Thunder God Technique, right? If we really can't beat them, we can always run away," Taichi weakly interjected, hoping that Jiraiya could calm down.
But mentioning it only made things worse, as it only fueled Jiraiya's anger. "Flying Thunder God! How dare you even mention Flying Thunder God? How did the Second Hokage die? He could use Flying Thunder God too, but he was still tricked and killed."
Still not satisfied, he pointed at Taichi and Minato's noses and said, "You two remember this: no ninjutsu is omnipotent. Never be too superstitious about your own power, or you will only become slaves to power."
"Yes, Jiraiya-sensei!"
Taiichi and Minato humbly accepted the lesson. This was the life experience of a mature ninja. If someone didn't truly care about you, who would tell you these things? They only care about what benefits you can bring them.
After venting his anger, Jiraiya finally felt much better. He was really annoyed by those two guys; they were such a handful.
"Lord Jiraiya, the Tailed Beasts!" Shikaku saw that Jiraiya's temper had subsided and quietly reminded him not to forget the important matter.
Actually, he was quite satisfied with Taichi and Minato. Not only were they strong, but they also had high execution ability and knew how to retreat in time if they couldn't win.
Of course, this is his perspective as a strategist. If it were his junior who did this, he would probably be even angrier than Jiraiya. They are simply courting death!
"Yes, a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki." Jiraiya walked up to a map, gestured on it, and finally pointed to a location on the border of the Land of Wind. "According to what you said, that team should be here."
Taichi and Minato also came to the edge of the map. Looking in the direction Jiraiya pointed, they thought for a moment and then nodded. It was indeed the right place.
"It's too late. We're already behind them. If we go with too few people, it'll be useless. If we go with too many people, they'll definitely find us. It's better to have a head-on battle."
Shikaku looked at the map and nodded in agreement with Jiraiya's point of view.
"What a pity. If we could have intercepted them on the way, whether we killed the Jinchuriki or made him go berserk, it would have caused Sunagakure heavy losses." Taichi was still unwilling to give up and muttered to himself.
Jiraiya rolled his eyes at him and ignored him, instructing Shikaku, "Recall all unnecessary personnel. They can't allow an unstable Jinchuriki to stay on the front lines for too long, so they will definitely use this trump card as soon as possible. Pay attention to their movements and don't get caught off guard."
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya!"
"Taiichi, you don't need to go to the Land of Wind anymore. Go and monitor the movements of Sunagakure. It will be easier for you to handle this mission!"
"I promise I'll complete the mission, Jiraiya-sensei!"
"Alright, you can leave now. Just seeing you guys annoys me!" Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively, telling the two to leave quickly.
Taiichi and Minato didn't dare to stay any longer. They had messed up this time, and although no one was seriously injured, Jiraiya was clearly angry, so they naturally didn't want to stay and get in the way.
After leaving the central command tent, Taiyi spoke first, "Senior Brother Minato, I'm so sorry, I've made you get scolded by Master Jiraiya as well."
"Hey, it's nothing. It's my own fault. I forgot to remind you of something so important. Jiraiya-sensei is right, we did get a little carried away." Minato was full of shame. Jiraiya's scolding had indeed brought him to his senses.
"Senior Brother Minato, what is this military formation? I've never heard of it before." Taiichi asked curiously. Indeed, not to mention this life, he had never heard of military formation in his previous life either. It was a term commonly used in samurai battles, but this was the first time he had heard it used in the context of ninjas.
"Because it's not used often. Ninja battles are mainly based on small teams, and people like you and me are better at one-on-one combat. But on large-scale battlefields, military formations are still used. Iwagakure is the best at this, and their legion ninjutsu is famous throughout the ninja world."
After hearing what Minato said, Taiichi finally understood. The military formation was to make ninjas obey orders like an army.
Think about today's battle, the overwhelming ninjutsu attacks, wave after wave, seemingly without end. Even my next move was planned in advance, with someone casting ninjutsu to wait for me to run into it. This was something no individual could resist.
At least not now!
The two were lost in their own thoughts and remained silent the whole way until Minato mentioned that he needed to go back to monitor the Sunagakure supply team that had been discovered beforehand, to see if there was an opportunity to make a move. Only then did the two part ways.
On the other side, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, watched Taichi and Minato disappear from their spot, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "They really overestimated themselves. The two of them thought they could challenge a team I personally oversee? They simply don't know the meaning of death."
Just as the Fourth Kazekage was feeling smug, an anxious shout interrupted his thoughts.
"Lord Kazekage, Ryosuke's condition is very unstable; he seems to be on the verge of going berserk?"
Rasa's expression changed upon hearing this. Damn it, those two Konoha brats didn't succeed, but the Jinchūriki himself was affected and was about to collapse.
He flashed to the middle of the group. At this moment, the four sealing ninjas around the Jinchuriki were pouring chakra into the chains in their hands to fight against the increasingly violent tailed beast inside the Jinchuriki.
Ryosuke's face was now contorted in a ferocious expression, his eyes had transformed into Shukaku's beastly pupils, and sand was constantly accumulating on his body, as if he were about to enter a half-tailed beast state.
Seeing this, Rasa did not dare to be negligent. He began to form hand seals rapidly. The surrounding gold dust seemed to have received a command and quickly gathered towards the Jinchūriki, completely enveloping him in the blink of an eye.
As Luo Sha completed the last seal, the encasing gold dust suddenly solidified into a small pyramid, sealing the human Jinchūriki within.
This technique is the Magnet Release: Gold Sand Burial Seal, which Rasa developed specifically to suppress Shukaku.
With the combined efforts of Rasa and the four sealing ninjas, the pyramid, which had been trembling, gradually calmed down, and the Jinchuriki Ryosuke's condition returned to normal.
When Rasa withdrew his ninjutsu, the pyramid slowly crumbled, revealing Ryosuke inside, his face filled with exhaustion.
"Lord Kazekage—" Ryosuke gasped for breath, struggling to lift his head. His eyes were now devoid of life. "I can't hold on much longer. Please arrange an opportunity as soon as possible. I can only do this one last thing for the village."
After speaking, as if he had used up all his strength, he lowered his head again.
Rasa's heart sank. The thing he least wanted to happen had happened; the Jinchūriki was in trouble again.
"Ryosuke, you should get some rest. Don't worry about anything else, I'll take care of it and won't let you down."
Luo Sha comforted Ryosuke with kind words, saying that at this crucial moment, no more accidents could happen.
Then he turned to the four sealing ninjas and asked in a heavy tone, "How much longer?"
Although the question was phrased subtly, the four sealing ninjas understood the Kazekage's meaning. The eldest Kazekage said, "At most a week, but it might be shorter if they are stimulated."
Rasa's heart sank further. Time was running out, and he didn't have many opportunities to maneuver for them. He summoned one of his subordinates and instructed him, "Go to the camp immediately and inform Chiyo and Ebizo about the Jinchuriki. Tell them to make arrangements in advance."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage." Seeing that the Kazekage had no further instructions, the ninja immediately turned around and ran towards the front-line camp at top speed.
While the war in the Land of Rivers was becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable, things were not entirely peaceful in Konoha Village either.
If Jiraiya was dominating the southern front and maintained an advantage from beginning to end, then on the western front, Mimura Yoru's battle against the Iwagakure ninja was in a very unfavorable situation.
Although there haven't been any major defeats, the overall battle is steadily losing blood. Daily reports from Konoha are either about how many people have been lost that day or requests for new reinforcements from the village.
The Third Hokage looked at these battle reports every day. If he weren't needed to stay in the village, he would have already rushed to the front lines with his Ruyi Jingu Bang.
In fact, this situation is the result of Iwagakure holding back. They do not want to start a full-scale war with Konoha now. In order to reduce the pressure on Sunagakure, they had to start the war with Konoha in advance, but they do not want to be the first to take the lead.
If Konoha is really hurt, and Konoha is forced to focus its attention on Iwagakure, then Onoki will be the one with the headache.
Iwagakure does not wish to possess the virtue of sacrificing oneself for the sake of others.
As for the northern battlefield, there has been no formal war between Konoha and Kumogakure, but minor skirmishes have been constant. With Orochimaru overseeing things there, Konoha is not at a disadvantage and even seems to have the upper hand.
However, in order not to provoke Kumogakure too much, and at the request of Konoha's higher-ups, Orochimaru fought with considerable restraint, aiming to maintain the existing situation.
Inside Konoha Village, the common people continued their lives much the same as before. The war had not brought them any major changes. If there was any difference, it was that prices continued to rise.
For most ordinary people in Konoha, the prices are still within an acceptable range. They only occasionally chat and joke about the cruelty of war, or how the Aso family lost a son today, or the Fujiwara family lost a husband yesterday.
However, the most significant impact comes from the various ninja clans of Konoha. Konoha is now fighting on three fronts, and all the ninja clans have sent their members to the various battlefields at the village's request.
Since they had gone to the battlefield, death in battle was inevitable. So, since the start of the war, there have been many families in these settlements with white banners hanging in front of their doors.
And it's conceivable that this situation will only increase over time, and it's not impossible that every household in an entire family might be like this.
This is war: the strong survive, the weak are eliminated, and everyone who goes to the battlefield is treated equally.