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For both Konan and Uchiha Megumi, the name Uchiha Hikari was sufficiently impactful.
The former was because Konan had grown and studied under her for seven years; the latter, without a doubt, regarded her as a mortal enemy.
For Sawara Kiri, it went without saying.
What puzzled him, however, was how the army could advance so quickly?
If it were merely a small squad, they could travel light and fast. A Ninja's pace could even cover the thousands of kilometers between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire in a short time.
But for a complete and fully equipped army, the consumption of equipment and the supply of materials meant they needed a huge amount of logistical support. Even though the Cat Express Group's universal capsules were now widely used in many fields, the limitations of capacity and price still made logistical convoys an unavoidable burden.
In just a month and a half, Konoha, led by Sawara Kiri, had only just garrisoned Sunagakure. How did they manage this?
As Sawara Kiri thought this, he suddenly realized he might have underestimated the power of the Yachihoko in the past.
At such a critical moment, he naturally couldn't be held back by family matters. He immediately turned to Lady Megumi with a solemn expression and quickly said:
"Megumi, I'm leaving the overall situation of Sunagakure to you."
"I need to go back to the Village first."
"I—huh?"
Megumi was about to say something when she saw Sawara Kiri's unprecedented swift action. He quickly dragged the still-confused Kakashi and Konan and jumped straight out of the window.
Uchiha Megumi stared at Sawara Kiri's retreating figure, frozen for a long time.
Finally, she let out a long sigh.
Sawara Kiri left Megumi in Sunagakure both to quickly extricate himself and to keep her out of the upcoming battle with Uchiha Hikari.
He naturally understood Megumi's personality. Ever since their last meeting in the Village, the feud between her and Hikari had been continuous—of course, it might have started from their very first meeting.
If they didn't encounter each other in the upcoming battle, that would be fine, but if the two happened to meet alone, it would be a fight to the death.
To prevent her from going crazy, getting Megumi out of this war became the best option.
After briefly handling various affairs in Sunagakure and temporarily handing over the governor's authority to Megumi, Sawara Kiri and his party traveled light and quickly rushed back to Konoha, taking only two days in total.
Konoha during wartime was a completely different scene from its usual bustling streets.
The usual stream of pedestrians was gone. The empty streets had few people, and various transport vehicles, mostly trucks, moved back and forth. A small number of civilians rode three-wheeled bicycles, often dragging goods or mobile food stalls behind them.
In the distance, winding grey-black smoke columns rose into the sky at the edge of the new city, swaying like dragons beneath the clear blue sky. Various factories worked overtime, manufacturing the exoskeletons, portable short guns, and various Ninja tools needed for the front line—since the war began, the 'short gun,' a rapid-fire weapon, had become one of the standard armaments for Konoha Ninja.
This new type of weapon had great power and high damage. By simply changing the type of warhead, it could easily penetrate the enemy's Earth Release defensive Ninjutsu. It could even burst open after entering the human body, or be filled with a tiny amount of solid poison, making it an essential choice for home travel, murder, and arson.
However, Konoha's management of it was quite strict, on the grounds that even if civilians were equipped with such a damaging weapon, there was a significant chance they could kill Ninja. Additionally, it was originally Anbu equipment, and its security classification was not low. If not for the sudden start of the war, it might have taken longer to appear in the hands of ordinary Ninja.
The only two criticisms were that even with a silencer, the weapon was still a bit loud, which didn't quite fit the Ninja's combat style. Also, its trajectory was very limited, straight and direct, making it easy for Ninja to dodge at long distances due to their speed.
Representatives of the Uchiha Clan specifically requested that the equipment research department add a curving function to this weapon, so that the Uchiha Clan, proficient in Sharingan and shuriken throwing techniques, could better exploit its effectiveness.
This was originally a fantasy.
But subtly, Orochimaru specifically replied, agreeing to the request.
This made Sawara Kiri unable to help but have a wild imagination.
In the future, would he perhaps see the Hyuga Clan specializing in long-range curving sniping and the Uchiha Clan specializing in close-range curving bullet gun-fighting techniques in the Village, collectively known as Konoha's Twin Guns?
This imagination only stayed in his mind for a moment.
After returning to the Village, he rested at home for only one night, and the next day he received a request from Tsunade to attend a meeting.
In the hallway outside the Hokage Building meeting room, many Jonin Commanders who had come to attend stood. Most of them were chatting with each other, discussing various battlefield matters, looking quite excited and enthusiastic.
The reason was simple.
Konoha was incredibly strong now, incomparable to its arduous state during the previous great war. After just over two months of fighting, even against three opponents, victory reports kept coming in one after another.
Even for many grassroots Ninja Commanders, it was visibly clear that after the establishment of the Ninja High School and the reform of all Ninja specializing, the overall quality of the entire Konoha Ninja army had significantly improved. Geniuses emerging from civilian Ninja were appearing one after another. Strong individuals were no longer exclusively the domain of Ninja Clan members, and their combat techniques and morale were higher than ever.
On the western Land of Wind front, under Sawara Kiri's leadership, Sunagakure was successfully breached in one fell swoop.
It seemed that the goal of dominating the entire Ninja World was about to be achieved.
In this situation, no one could remain as calm as Sawara Kiri.
However, precisely because of this.
When everyone noticed Sawara Kiri's appearance, regardless of age or position, they all lowered their voices in unison, looking at him and speaking in one voice:
"Lord Sawara."
Ninja always respected strength.
Konan and Kakashi stood on either side behind him, following closely.
Although young Kakashi had long been accustomed to this scene, seeing so many Konoha Jonin famous throughout the Ninja World act this way gave him a different feeling.
Konan, however, remained indifferent and aloof, but in her heart, she couldn't help but think mischievously:
'If these guys knew that the man called the God of the Ninja World, in private, was actually a pervert who liked to touch people's buttocks and was two-timing, they would definitely be greatly disappointed.'
Clearly, Konan believed she had become Sawara Kiri's second small boat.
In fact, it was also because she had somewhat given up.
If being played with by this guy meant she could live to see the day the world was unified, it didn't seem so bad.
Sawara Kiri, meanwhile, maintained the appearance of a gentleman, showing a warm smile to everyone around him and responding to each person.
He seemed to have made no changes due to the difference in status and strength.
As he was greeting them, Minato, covered in dust, quickly jumped in through the window.
Sawara Kiri's eyes lit up, and he raised his hand to him:
"Minato, over here!"
"Kiri!"
Namikaze Minato's face also showed joy: "You're back too."
"I heard you even took down the Raikage in the Land of Lightning this time. Not bad, huh?" Sawara Kiri naturally put his arm around him and spoke softly in a corner.
Many people around who wanted to get closer dispersed when they saw he was busy.
Minato, however, gave a wry smile: "I couldn't beat that guy. This time, it was all thanks to Orochimaru's Ryumakyu Cannon."
"Otherwise, I'm afraid my teacher and I would have been left there."
"Oh, right."
Saying this, as if suddenly remembering something, he took out three fragments of the Shikon no Tama from his pocket: "These are what we found in the crater. We originally wanted to have Lord Fourth hand them over to you, but it's good that you're back too."
"No wonder…"
Seeing these fragments, Sawara Kiri finally understood why Minato and the others had fought so hard.
Upon receiving the fragments, he immediately felt the power contained within them, the same as what he had sensed from Granny Chiyo back then.
"Hallow"
Given that it was due to this ability, Minato and their struggles were understandable.
The two chatted in low voices for a while. Soon, the office door was pushed open.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the meeting."
Noticing the familiar voice, Sawara Kiri subconsciously looked up.
Then, his gaze met Sawara Yuki's, who was winking at him.
Lady Yuki smiled and blinked at him, and as the siblings passed each other, she quietly mumbled:
"Remember to come home for dinner today."
"Yes, yes~"
Sawara Kiri responded in an equally low voice.
Since the war began, Yuki, as a Fourth-Class Medical Jonin, had been assigned by Sawara Kiri and Tsunade to work at Konoha Hospital.
Later, due to a shortage of medical personnel at the front, she spent some time at a third-line field hospital in the Land of Earth.
Sawara Kiri had initially thought that with most of Iwagakure's forces tied up by the Moon Organization, there wouldn't be much trouble, but their rear base was unluckily attacked, and even Yuki was injured and had to retreat.
From then on, Tsunade assigned her to be her secretary.
After everyone entered, they saw Tsunade, looking like a young girl, still in her usual tired state from overwork. Only after everyone was seated did she perk up a little:
"It has been confirmed that the Moon Organization has invaded Iwagakure."
"Due to the 'Yachihoko' Dojutsu, many Iwagakure Ninja have already defected and are now advancing in two separate routes, by land and sea, towards our country and the Land of Lightning."
"Please discuss the overall strategy for the upcoming war."
The content of the meeting was uninspired. Preparing for war seemed like a mental task, but in reality, it was a physical task no different from working in a factory.
After the basic combat directions were set, the remaining tasks were extremely large and complex: organizing roads, battle lines, and logistics. Each item required extremely precise comparison and formulation—because every decision made at the conference table would affect the safety of the Ninja fighting on the front lines.
Sawara Kiri sat quietly on Tsunade's left, listening, but a strange sense of unease filled his heart.
"They're here."
Looking at the shadowy figures on the main road ahead, Akimichi Torifu, standing atop the bunker, put down his binoculars and spoke to the surrounding Commanders.
After the establishment of the Ninja High School, although more and more new generation Jonin were active on the battlefield, the seniors from the old era who could hold their ground seemed somewhat insufficient.
In this situation, Akimichi Torifu, who had fought alongside Sarutobi Hiruzen as a teammate in the First Great War, became the ballast for the Land of Earth front.
He couldn't be said to be unwilling, just a little surprised.
At the same time, due to the Ninja Clan reforms in previous years, he had to be much more cautious in his actions than others.
Unlike other fronts, due to the surprise attack war between Iwagakure and the Moon Organization, after the initial direct confrontation between Konoha and Iwagakure, the entire following month shifted to mutual rear harassment, and the front line remained generally calm.
After advancing two hundred kilometers towards the Land of Earth, the main Konoha forces stopped at an exit in the southernmost part of the Land of Earth plateau and built a large-scale permanent fortress complex there to defend against Iwagakure's offensives.
Due to the super-large barrier and underground reinforced concrete structure, Iwagakure's most proficient and threatening large-scale Earth Release Ninjutsu could not have much effect on this defensive line. To capture this stronghold, they would only have to sacrifice lives and bite through it.
Therefore, they had not detected any Iwagakure Ninja in the vicinity for a long time.
But they hadn't expected the scale of today's encounter to be so massive.
All the Commanders present had solemn expressions.
However, unlike them, the Konoha Ninja in the front-line trenches and bunkers were eager for action, their expressions invigorated.
The continuous battle reports from the rear had already fueled their fighting spirit. After receiving the news that Lord Sawara had breached Sunagakure, many even clamored to advance proactively and seize this great opportunity to take down the entire the Land of Earth.
Now that they finally saw the enemy appear, how could they not be excited?
However, the enemies appearing before them seemed to be different from what they had imagined.
Numerous figures clad in black robes were arranged in neat combat formations, numbering at least a thousand at a glance.
Yet, there was not a single sound from the entire marching column, and no large-scale siege train or Sealing Squad was visible in the rear.
The Jonin Commander in the foremost bunker closed his eyes and formed hand signs, sensing the approaching Ninja, his expression somewhat peculiar.
These people's Chakra reactions... were a bit strange.
However, these many doubts were not enough to make him retreat.
He immediately shouted to his surrounding teammates:
"Prepare for battle!"
The Ninja beside him set up machine guns, others set up cannons, and even more prepared Ninjutsu and organized the Ninja tool pouches on their waists.
Everyone was full of spirit, waiting for the distance to close, then they would give these ignorant Iwagakure Ninja a harsh blow.
However, to everyone's surprise.
The gradually approaching Iwagakure Ninja seemed to have no intention of stopping after seeing the bunker complex ahead.
On the contrary, their pace seemed to quicken.
The leading Iwagakure Ninja first walked quickly, then jogged, their running speed increasing, gradually pulling away from the main force behind, scattering into individual points, gradually forming a huge spearhead.
They charged directly towards the bunkers without looking back.
The faces of those figures, hidden beneath black robes and hoods, gradually reflected in the eyes of the foremost bunker Commander.
No expression.
As if suddenly remembering something, the Commander abruptly roared:
"Fire! It's an explosive unit!"
The next moment, a roaring explosion of fire wrapped in blood-red burst open on the foremost barrier.
And then came the second, the third…
An explosive spearhead, numbering in the thousands, deeply pierced into this concrete fortress complex, like a spear through a shield.
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