Chapter 43: Underlying Turbulence
The Cloud Ninjas, unaware that The Plan had been discovered, had walked into the ambush set by the Konoha ninjas.
When the Cloud Ninjas reached the predetermined location, the Konoha ninjas immediately launched their attack.
Explosive Tags, Shuriken, Kunai, Booby Traps, and various ninjutsu hidden under the ground rained down on the Cloud Ninjas all at once.
In Setsuna, there were flashes of fire everywhere, and screams filled the air.
The Cloud Ninjas were all stunned. They had come to sneak attack Konoha's camp, but instead, they were the ones being ambushed.
After the first round of the fierce attack, a large number of Cloud Ninjas died on the spot.
Now, less than one-fifth of the Cloud Ninjas on the field were still alive.
That is to say, out of more than a hundred Cloud Ninjas, the number dropped sharply in an instant, and only about 20 were left.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
The Cloud Ninjas shouted one by one, trying to withdraw.
However, Orochimaru had given the order for Annihilation of all the Cloud Ninjas here.
There were only about 20 scattered Cloud Ninjas now, and they were no longer a threat, so the Konoha ninjas immediately gave chase.
Time passed by, second by second.
For the Konoha ninjas, the speed of time didn't matter. They were the hunters, and the Cloud Ninjas were the prey.
For the Cloud Ninjas, every single second dragged on like a year in the torment of being chased.
Dawn was approaching.
The pursuing Konoha ninjas gathered together and returned to Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who were waiting for them.
A ninja reported, "During The Battle, we've killed a total of 92 Cloud Ninjas. We're sure that 9 Cloud Ninjas have escaped. There might be some other Cloud Ninjas who escaped without our notice."
Orochimaru frowned slightly. "Even though we took the initiative and let them penetrate deeply enough, 9 of them still got away?"
Facing Orochimaru's Mondai, the Konoha ninjas didn't dare to say a word.
Jiraiya said with a smile, "It's already pretty good. Only 9 of them got away. It's still quite a challenge to wipe them all out. Maybe there are some Cloud Ninjas who are good at escaping among them. This battle is a great victory for Konoha."
Orochimaru didn't mean to dig into the matter. It was just a question, not a rebuke. Then he ordered, "Gather the bodies of those Cloud Ninjas, collect all the usable supplies and equipment from them, and then dump them in the wilderness 30 miles away."
"Yes."
The Konoha ninjas immediately followed Orochimaru's order.
...
Two days later.
Inside the Kumogakure camp in the Land of Hot Water.
A, the son of the Third Raikage, currently a jounin of Kumogakure and the future Fourth Raikage, angrily slapped the table.
The table shattered into pieces under A's heavy blow.
"Those damned Konoha ninjas, how dare they!"
"
A was huffing and puffing noisily, obviously enraged.
Currently, the commander in the Land of Hot Water is Burobi, the Eight - Tailed Jinchuriki of Kumogakure.
Burobi also looked extremely grim. Losing nearly a hundred Cloud Ninjas all at once was unbearable for anyone.
A's angry face was distorted. He said to Burobi, "Let me take a team to attack Konoha's camp!"
Burobi said gravely, "Don't be impulsive, A. Right now, Minato Namikaze is near us, constantly attacking our Cloud Ninjas. We need to solve the Minato Namikaze Mondai first because it's not okay to keep being harassed by him."
A said angrily, "So, are we just going to let it go?"
Burobi said with a gloomy expression, "For now, we can only hold back. The Third Hokage said that the entire ninja world is just one trigger away from a full - scale war, and we can't be that trigger, or else we might become the target of other ninja villages.
Let's put this debt on hold for now. When the full - scale war breaks out, we'll settle this score with the Konoha ninjas!"
...
At this time in Sunagakure Village.
The Third Kazekage had received a reply from Kamishiro.
After reading the letter, the Third Kazekage was pleasantly surprised. "Oh? He's already gained Minato Namikaze's trust and is now trying to gain Jiraiya's trust? I didn't expect Kamishiro, the undercover agent, to have such good undercover skills. He really impresses me."
Just as the Third Kazekage was happy about the smooth progress of Kamishiro's undercover mission, someone was already bearing a grudge against him.
In the basement of Sasori's house.
Sasori was messing around with a corpse, and blood splashed on his face.
This corpse was a ninja killed by Sasori.
Now, Sasori was modifying this corpse, preparing to turn it into a human Puppet.
This was not Sasori's first attempt at making human Puppets. He had conducted several experiments before.
However, all previous attempts to make human Puppets had failed, but this time Sasori was confident that he could succeed, or rather, he had already succeeded.
Because he had overcome the most difficult part of making a human Puppet.
That was the issue of the chakra cores.
The most important chakra cores for the human Puppet had been successfully made. Now, Sasori was modifying the mechanisms of this human Puppet.
And Sasori had already named this first human Puppet that was about to be successfully made.
Hiruko.
"Mother, Father, don't be impatient. After I finish making Hiruko, I'll go and kill that guy who, as the Kazekage, neglected his duties and caused your deaths. I'll also turn him into a human Puppet..."
Behind Sasori, stood two Puppets, one male and one female, as if they were watching Sasori.
These two Puppets were the first pair Sasori had ever made, modeled after the appearance of his Mother and Father.
...
Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi in his office in the Hokage Building was really at his wits' end right now.
The consequences of poaching Kamishiro had started to show up.
Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, had written a letter condemning Konoha for snatching the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai ninja that rightfully belonged to them. He stated that if Konoha didn't hand the ninja over, Iwagakure would declare war on Konoha.
Hand Kamishiro over?
Konoha had never had any Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai ninjas before. Kamishiro was the first one. If they handed him over, what would happen to Konoha's future Magnet Release ninjas?
But if they didn't hand him over, Iwagakure would wage war on Konoha.
Then the chance for a full - scale war would come up. Once Iwagakure declared war on Konoha, Sunagakure Village would definitely follow and attack Konoha along with Iwagakure.
By then, Konoha would have to face the simultaneous attacks of three major ninja villages.
As for Kirigakure, currently, under the Bloody Mist Policy of the Third Mizukage, the ninjas there were like battle - crazy lunatics and might even join the fight.
Konoha couldn't stand being targeted by four major ninja villages at the same time. No matter how strong Konoha was, it couldn't handle such pressure.
Did he really have to hand Kamishiro over?
Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite reluctant. He still hoped to use Kamishiro to set up a Magnet Release ninja unit in Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked his cigarette gloomily, thinking about countermeasures.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.
Hiruzen Sarutobi came up with a workable method. Immediately, a big smile spread across his face.