Konoha's Tag-System Ninja

Chapter 140: Eight Hundred Enemies? The Advantage is Mine!

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Eight Hundred Enemies? The Advantage is Mine!

When Sh?ichi Hoshita's shadow clone arrived at Uchiha Shisui's location, the battle had just ended.

Uchiha Shisui and Pakura were unharmed, but the other Konoha squads that intercepted the Kirigakure forces had suffered casualties.

At this moment, only a medical ninja was busy tending to the wounded. Sh?ichi immediately stepped forward to help and said, "Kirigakure's forces will be here soon. Shisui, Scorch, the two of you and I will stay behind to cover the retreat."

"Understood!"

Uchiha Shisui and Pakura nodded in agreement, then closed their eyes to rest.

A Jonin from the Sarutobi clan offered, "Sh?ichi, let me stay behind too!"

Sh?ichi shook his head. "Kirigakure has more than 50 shinobi. We're not here to stop them all, just to slow them down with strategic strikes."

"You should pull back a bit and set up defensive positions to support us!"

The Sarutobi Jonin nodded and refrained from saying more.

Ten minutes later, the wounded had been treated, and the Konoha squad of a dozen shinobi retreated, leaving only Sh?ichi, Shisui, and Pakura behind.

After waiting a while, Shisui's crows flew back.

"Sh?ichi, Kirigakure is here!"

Shisui's voice was calm but firm.

Sitting beneath a tree, Sh?ichi stood up.

Moments later, one by one, the Kirigakure shinobi appeared within sight.

"That guy!"

"It's him!"

"Is this the real one?"

The Kirigakure shinobi halted, all eyes focused intently on Sh?ichi Hoshita.

H?zuki Metsuin, staring at Sh?ichi, suddenly spoke. "Are you Sh?ichi of Konoha?"

Sh?ichi smiled. "That's me!"

Metsuin's gaze shifted to Pakura, who was wearing a mask. Despite the mask, he recognized his former opponent all too well.

Especially after seeing the gruesome state of his fallen comrades earlier—it confirmed his suspicions.

"Pakura of the Scorch Release... so it was you Konoha who saved her!"

H?zuki Metsuin snorted coldly.

Sh?ichi chuckled softly. "You kill people, we save them. You're the villains, we're the heroes. That tone of yours—I don't like it."

Metsuin's annoyance deepened. Considering Sh?ichi's strength, he gave a cold snort and waved his hand. "Retreat!"

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

The Kirigakure shinobi immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat.

What the...?

Sh?ichi was ready for battle.

Were the Kirigakure shinobi really this weak?

"Chase them!"

Sh?ichi called out softly.

Immediately, the sound of Chidori echoed through the air as lightning sparked from his limbs, enveloping his body in a glow. In an instant, he shot forward like a streak of lightning.

Shisui followed closely behind, and his Body Flicker Technique was no slower than Sh?ichi's Chidori Flicker.

Pakura, however, was a bit slower, falling to the back.

The rearmost Kirigakure shinobi, including H?zuki Metsuin, suddenly turned and unleashed their attacks. Three of them spewed water streams from their mouths, creating massive waves that surged toward the trio.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

Shisui and Sh?ichi executed their jutsu in perfect sync, creating a fiery whirlwind that collided with the water waves. The resulting explosion sent mist billowing in all directions.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Shuriken laced with explosive tags shot through the mist, detonating with thunderous blasts.

Sh?ichi and the others dodged the explosions and rushed through the lingering mist, only to find themselves shrouded in a dense fog.

Hiding in Mist Technique!

The fog was so thick that visibility was reduced to less than two meters!

"Be careful of Kirigakure's Silent Killing Technique," Pakura warned. "H?zuki Metsuin is especially skilled at it!"

Shisui suggested, "We can disperse the fog with Wind Release, right?"

Pakura shook her head. "In theory, yes. But this is a common jutsu for Kirigakure, and the range of this fog is likely massive."

Shisui nodded. "I see. It seems the enemy isn't planning on retreating after all."

"That's not necessarily the case!"

Sh?ichi's eyes ignited with blue flames, using his thermal vision. The fog had little effect on him.

"Follow me!"

With a soft command, Sh?ichi moved swiftly, zipping past a hidden Kirigakure shinobi concealed behind a tree.

The hidden shinobi silently attempted to strike from behind, but Shisui's shuriken hit him with pinpoint accuracy.

However, the struck shinobi turned into a puddle of water as he hit the ground.

"A clone!"

"Three o'clock!"

"Six o'clock!"

"Eleven o'clock!"

Sh?ichi's voice echoed through the mist, and shuriken flew toward him from every direction. He evaded each one with ease.

Following his directions, Shisui and Pakura targeted the hidden Kirigakure shinobi, only to find they were all clones as well!

Meanwhile, H?zuki Metsuin, hidden in a small pool of water, felt a chill run down his spine. "That guy... the Hiding in Mist Technique doesn't work on him at all."

In the earlier pursuit, the Hiding in Mist Technique hadn't been used, so there had been no opportunity to test it.

Just then, Sh?ichi Hoshita's figure flew right over Metsuin's hiding spot. Metsuin was about to launch an attack, but he noticed the ground around him had turned into a swamp.

"Damn, he found me!"

Startled, Metsuin immediately revealed himself.

But the next moment, his eyes met a pair of blood-red Sharingan.

"Sharingan... oh no!"

Metsuin instinctively tried to close his eyes, but he realized his body was no longer under his control.

Genjutsu!

Although his mind was still clear, Metsuin struggled with all his might to break free from the illusion.

Shisui raised his blade, but Sh?ichi's voice rang out, "Wait, he's the real one!"

Shisui paused, as did Pakura.

The real one?

All the others were clones, and yet the commander had stayed behind with his true body. Was he that confident in his Silent Killing Technique?

Sh?ichi delivered a swift chop, knocking Metsuin unconscious. Then he applied the Five Elements Seal and Four-Limb Sealing Technique, ensuring Metsuin was tightly restrained. "No need to pursue. Shisui, Pakura, take the prisoner and retreat."

Sh?ichi was quite interested in Kirigakure's Hydrification Technique.

Shisui and Pakura nodded and immediately began withdrawing with the unconscious Metsuin.

Sh?ichi, however, stayed behind—he still needed to monitor Kirigakure's movements.

...

In the Rear, Kirigakure Main Camp

At the Kirigakure main camp, H?zuki Shingetsu first received the intel sent back by H?zuki Metsuin, followed by intelligence shared by the Sunagakure forces.

When Shingetsu first read Metsuin's report, he found it hard to believe.

It was surprising enough that Pakura had survived, but the fact that a mere shadow clone had managed to kill forty to fifty of their shinobi? That seemed impossible.

However, after comparing the reports from Sunagakure, Shingetsu couldn't help but feel grateful that Metsuin's team had only encountered a clone.

He quickly made his decision: "Send in the full force! Compress Konoha's space!"

As soon as Kirigakure and Sunagakure began to mobilize, Sh?ichi sensed it.

"Kirigakure has over a thousand troops, and Sunagakure... just over eight hundred..."

After pondering for a moment, Sh?ichi decided not to recall the three clones he had hidden in the forest. Instead, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport near the Kirigakure forces, appearing beside one of his shadow clones.

"What are you doing here?" the shadow clone asked in surprise.

Sh?ichi replied, "There are too many Kirigakure shinobi."

He could easily imagine that once the battle started in earnest, Kirigakure would land from the east and push directly into the Land of Fire.

If the shinobi camps weren't so dispersed during their march, he would have already rained down Rasenshuriken from above.

But regardless, whether it was for his "Famous" tag or to weaken Kirigakure's forces and ensure that people like Shizune and Nono Yakushi back in Konoha wouldn't have to go to the battlefield, Sh?ichi had to reduce Sunagakure and Kirigakure's strength as much as possible.

Sunagakure's forces still had a longer route to travel, leaving time for layered ambushes. But the depth of Kirigakure's advance was much shorter, giving them less time.

Unsealing the Yin Seal on his forehead, followed by another seal on his abdomen, Sh?ichi immediately performed the Shadow Clone Technique.

In an instant, eight shadow clones appeared behind him.

Each of these clones had nearly the same amount of chakra as Sh?ichi's original body.

"I'm leaving this to you guys!"

With those words, Sh?ichi's real body vanished.

After his departure, the shadow clones quickly dispersed in all directions.

---

At the Border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers

Sh?ichi appeared next to Pakura.

"The real you?" Pakura asked.

Sh?ichi nodded.

Uchiha Shisui asked, "Sh?ichi, has the Kirigakure army mobilized?"

Sh?ichi nodded again. "Yes, they've moved. Sunagakure has mobilized as well."

Sitting down, he transformed into a miniature version of the Four-Tails and began absorbing natural energy to replenish his stamina. At the same time, he asked, "Shisui, how many forces does the village have here?"

Seeing the strange form of Sh?ichi, Shisui refrained from asking too much and replied, "Currently, just over five hundred."

Five hundred?

Sh?ichi frowned inwardly. It seemed that additional reinforcements were still being held back, likely waiting to gauge Sunagakure and Kirigakure's offensive before distributing more forces.

"Who's in charge here?"

Shisui answered, "I asked. Advisor Koharu Utatane is overseeing things, but on the front lines, it should be Lord Orochimaru, one of the Sannin."

Koharu Utatane and Orochimaru?

What kind of combination is that?

Sh?ichi was taken aback.

He had expected either Jiraiya or Orochimaru to lead. Given that they were both in their thirties, they should be capable of commanding large forces by now.

But it seemed he was wrong.

The older generation still held sway.

To be honest, Sh?ichi had a natural distrust of Koharu. Knowing Orochimaru was in charge of frontline operations, however, put his mind at ease.

Even though Sh?ichi had turned into a mini Four-Tails, Shisui noticed the subtle changes in his expression and asked, "Sh?ichi, you don't seem to trust Lady Koharu very much."

Sh?ichi didn't hide his thoughts from Shisui and replied, "That's right, I don't. While she was once the Second Hokage's team member, she's old now and has been away from the front lines for a long time."

"But with Lord Orochimaru here, there's no need to worry too much."

In fact, during the Second Shinobi World War, both Koharu and Homura Mitokado had played active roles, albeit in a command capacity.

Shisui smiled, trying to reassure him. "You're overthinking it, Sh?ichi. Lady Koharu is a veteran who has survived two Shinobi World Wars. Her experience far exceeds ours."

"I hope you're right."

Sh?ichi sighed. He knew he had let his biases take over.

But from his unique perspective, he couldn't muster any goodwill toward Koharu, Homura, or Danzo.

When you get old, you should just retire instead of meddling in everything.

"Someone's coming!" Shisui suddenly said.

Sh?ichi reverted to his human form. Soon, a figure appeared from behind them. Upon seeing Sh?ichi, the person's face lit up with joy. "Lord Sh?ichi, Lord Orochimaru has requested your presence."

Sh?ichi stood and nodded. "Got it."

The Chunin who had come to deliver the message bowed and quickly turned to leave.

Shisui said, "We'll handle things here. You should head back right away."

Sh?ichi created a shadow clone and smiled. "A clone will suffice!"

As he spoke, the clone disappeared.

...

At the Border of the Land of Fire

Sitting idly under a tree, Asuka suddenly perked up in surprise and joy. "Sh?ichi!"

"Asuka!"

Sh?ichi greeted her with a smile and said, "Come with me to the main camp!"

Asuka quickly stood up.

The two of them used the Body Flicker Technique and headed to the rear. After about half an hour, they arrived at the command headquarters.

"Lord Sh?ichi!"

"Lord Sh?ichi has returned!"

"He's so impressive at such a young age, it's truly amazing!"

"If it were me, I'd be happy if my son were even half as skilled as Lord Sh?ichi!"

...

Along the way, people continuously greeted Sh?ichi with respect, and various discussions about him filled the air.

Soon, they arrived in front of the commander's tent. The two Ch?nin guarding the entrance bowed quickly. One of them said, "Please wait a moment, Lord Sh?ichi. I'll go report to Lady Koharu."

Sh?ichi smiled and nodded slightly.

In no time, the Ch?nin returned and gestured respectfully. "Lord Sh?ichi, Lady Koharu will see you now!"

Sh?ichi nodded again and entered the tent alone.

Upon entering, he glanced around and saw not only Koharu Utatane and Orochimaru, but also several J?nin.

After exchanging greetings, Koharu spoke. "Sh?ichi, you've returned at just the right time. We were discussing our strategy against Sunagakure, and Orochimaru mentioned wanting to hear your thoughts, as you currently have the most insight into both Sunagakure and Kirigakure's movements."

Sh?ichi's gaze shifted to Orochimaru, who smiled back at him. After a brief nod of acknowledgment, Sh?ichi began, "At the moment, both Sunagakure and Kirigakure's infiltration squads have been dealt with. In addition, I eliminated a hundred-strong unit from Sunagakure and repelled Kirigakure's vanguard. As a result, both Sunagakure and Kirigakure have committed their full forces. It seems they're attempting to compress the depth of our intelligence operations."

"Of course, it's also possible that they'll choose to focus their attack on a single point, especially Sunagakure."

Sh?ichi spoke calmly, but aside from Orochimaru, the other J?nin in the tent, including Koharu, were shocked.

They were aware of the intelligence about the infiltration squads being neutralized.

But the later achievements? Those were news to them.

"Sh?ichi, are you sure about this?" a J?nin from the Shimura clan asked.

Before Sh?ichi could respond, Orochimaru chuckled and said, "There's no need to doubt these accomplishments. Sh?ichi is more than capable."

"Sh?ichi, the border we share with the Land of Rivers is vast. Theoretically, Sunagakure could break through at any point, putting us in a very passive position as the defending side."

"That's why I want to hear your thoughts."

Sh?ichi was prepared and immediately replied, "Lady Koharu, Lord Orochimaru, in my opinion, the first thing we should do is turn defense into offense."

"We know exactly where Sunagakure's main forces are. We should strike them directly, crush their army, and then we can push forward into the Land of Rivers. By the time Sunagakure reinforcements arrive, we'll have taken control of the region and can then confront them at the border of the Land of Wind."

Koharu shook her head. "Our current forces are insufficient. Advancing recklessly could result in our supply lines being cut off."

Sh?ichi continued, "If Sunagakure intends to break through our lines and invade the Land of Fire, they will undoubtedly seek out our weak points."

"In that case, we can prepare two or three weak points for them, but behind those weak points, we set up ambushes."

"Whether they attack one of the weak points or all of them at once, we can reverse the situation and encircle them."

The Shimura Jonin, Feiyan, who had previously questioned Sh?ichi's accomplishments, immediately said, "Setting up such traps would require a large number of troops, but we simply don't have enough forces right now."

"If we spread ourselves too thin setting up three traps, and Sunagakure concentrates their strength on just one, those false traps could become real weaknesses!"

Sh?ichi ignored him and turned to Koharu. "Lady Koharu, how many troops do we have available for our operations against Sunagakure?"

Koharu replied, "Six hundred!"

That meant Konoha's total deployment on the Land of Rivers battlefield was just over a thousand.

Sunagakure had just over eight hundred.

Sh?ichi felt confident. The advantage was his!

(End of Chapter)

???

Support me on Patreon - Read Up to 30+ Advanced Chapters There!

/RedX43

???