From Danmachi to God of Ninja

Chapter 87: Chapter 87

In the end, Orochimaru chose to meet the enemy in battle.

He had always been a decisive person. Once he made up his mind, he would carry it out without hesitation.

"Inuzuka, take several squads and search carefully along the route. We cannot allow any remnants to remain behind and sabotage our advance."

"Hizashi, you will move deep into the enemy’s flank and look for an opportunity to cut off their supply line."

"Takashi, notify the other scattered units. They are to gather within five days! Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with under military law."

"..."

One order after another was issued in an orderly manner, and the entire camp began operating at high speed.

During this process, although the decisive battle between Konoha and Sunagakure had yet to begin, encounters and intelligence clashes were already breaking out in every corner.

The Suna-nin seemed to have been given some kind of berserk buff, acting with ruthless decisiveness.

The moment things went wrong, they would attempt mutual destruction without hesitation.

Many Konoha shinobi did not even have time to receive treatment before losing their lives outright.

For a while, the casualty rates on both Konoha and Sunagakure’s sides rose sharply.

The oppressive atmosphere before the storm pressed down on the hearts of everyone in the camp like a mountain.

Of course, there was one exception.

Kiriya.

Since Orochimaru had not assigned him any specific orders, Kiriya was happy to enjoy the rare free time.

He stayed in the camp and devoted himself fully to studying the Water Release ninjutsu Orochimaru had given him, along with the Nidaime Hokage’s detailed notes on chakra. After spending this period reading through them, he had already gained quite a few insights.

Since there was still time before the major battle, he might as well study them more deeply. Perhaps he would gain something new.

To improve efficiency, Kiriya even summoned more than ten shadow clones to study together with him.

As for the wounded camp, he simply left one shadow clone there to hold the fort.

This method truly lived up to its reputation as Naruto’s cheat for grinding experience.

Kiriya’s learning efficiency soared.

Of course, the side effects were also obvious

After more than ten shadow clones were dispelled, all the fatigue accumulated throughout the day, along with the knowledge and insights they had gained, would flood back into his main body all at once.

Fortunately, Kiriya’s current physique was tough enough.

Otherwise, the burden from using shadow clones so frequently and intensely would have been enough to send him straight to the ICU.

Yet even under such a high load of studying and training ninjutsu, pushing himself to the limit, Kiriya still woke up full of energy after a night’s sleep.

It even gave him the feeling that the harder he squeezed himself, the more energetic he became.

’Maybe this is the proper way to use the Sage Body.’

Kiriya thought with a little pride.

Time passed quickly through these full and busy days, and in the blink of an eye, ten days had gone by.

...

The Land of Rivers, as its name suggested, was a country of mountains and rivers.

Overall, it was made up of a massive north-south mountain range.

On the eastern side, warm, moist air currents from the sea brought abundant rainfall, nourishing river after river and creating fertile valley plains through repeated alluvial deposits.

Perhaps to the vast and resource-rich Land of Fire, this place had complicated terrain and inconvenient transportation, making it seem like a remote and difficult land.

But to the Land of Wind, where yellow sand covered the ground and fertile soil was rare, this was undoubtedly a precious treasure.

Because of that, as early as the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War, Sunagakure had taken advantage of Konoha’s difficult situation, where the village was fighting on multiple fronts and lacked manpower, to send troops first and occupy the Land of Rivers.

Using it as a springboard, they entered Konoha’s territory, attacked cities, seized land, and obtained large amounts of resources. Sunagakure also built many fortresses and strongholds here, clearly intending to occupy the area for the long term.

But the good times did not last.

Konoha was still a powerful top-tier nation with deep reserves.

It soon gathered forces and launched a counterattack.

With Orochimaru’s brilliant command, and later Kiriya’s arrival, Sunagakure came under enormous pressure and had no choice but to retreat all the way back into the Land of Rivers.

The two sides fought fiercely over this region, turning the small area into a meat grinder for shinobi from both nations.

But in the end, Konoha still held the upper hand.

Sunagakure kept retreating, step by step, until they finally reached Withering and Flourishing Valley, located at the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers.

East of the valley lay rich, fertile land.

West of it was a dry, lifeless desert.

The contrast between east and west was extremely clear, which was why the place was called Withering and Flourishing Valley.

At this moment, east of the valley entrance stood Konoha’s gathered main force, while inside the valley was the main force of the Suna-nin.

The two sides faced each other across an open field, and the atmosphere grew increasingly murderous.

"Withering and Flourishing Valley has seen dozens of large-scale campaigns throughout history. The rights and wrongs of those battles are difficult to judge, but our predecessors all recognized one thing. This small valley decides the prosperity and decline, the rise and fall, of our Land of Wind. This place cannot be lost."

"If we lose this valley, everyone back in the village will continue to go hungry. If we want to live better lives, we will still have to depend on the mood of other countries."

On a ridge beside the valley, Sunagakure’s commander was making his final pre-battle speech.

His words were passionate and stirring, full of hot-blooded determination.

But the mid-level officers below him all wore wooden expressions, their faces lifeless.

It was understandable.

Although the shinobi world did not care much for science, it still had its basic rules.

Victory or defeat on the high-end battlefield could determine the direction of the entire war.

And now, within Konoha’s camp, there was not only a famous Kage-level expert like Orochimaru, but also the extremely troublesome Kiriya.

As for Sunagakure’s high-end combat power here...

Only Granny Chiyo could firmly stand at the Kage level. The others were much less reassuring.

How were they supposed to fight this?

Thinking of this, they could not help feeling resentment toward the commander in front of them.

Gathering their forces for an annihilation battle and decisive showdown?

Who gave you that much courage?

Could you please use your brain before making decisions?

The more they thought about it, the worse their moods became, and soon they were silently cursing even the higher-ups in the village.

’Withering and Flourishing Valley is the eastern gateway of the entire Land of Wind. For such an important place, they should have sent a fierce general to guard it. If that really wasn’t possible, even sending a dog would have been acceptable. So why did they choose this pig? Did your brains get kicked by a donkey too?’

Although the Sunagakure commander could not read minds, after many years as a jōnin, he was experienced enough to understand what his subordinates were thinking.

He did not get angry. He only coughed lightly, then dropped a heavy piece of news.

"The reason we are fighting a decisive battle against Konoha this time is not because we are taking a reckless risk. It is because we have absolute confidence."

Hearing this, everyone raised their heads and looked at the Sunagakure commander.

What appeared on their faces was not surprise, but mockery.

’Go on. Keep making things up.’

The Sunagakure commander did not care.

He took out a small object from a scroll and slowly explained the plan he and Chiyo had devised.

As the group listened, their eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Their hearts, which had almost gone cold, gradually became lively again.

’This time... maybe we really can win.’

Looking at the faces that had regained their vitality, the commander smiled with satisfaction.

"In short, for this battle, we will calculate against an enemy who is unaware. In terms of forces, it is ten thousand against eight thousand. The advantage is ours!"

"So, everyone, may I offer my early congratulations on victory in this battle?"

As he spoke, he raised the wine cup in front of him.

This time, his subordinates gave him face. They all raised their cups together and drank them dry.

"The rise or fall of Sunagakure rests on this battle."

"Gentlemen, let us strive together!"