Crushing

As a desert nation, the Land of Wind was not only poor in resources, but its supply lines were enough to drive any army to despair. Fortunately, ninja were different from ordinary armies, giving the Sand Shinobi some room to take the offensive.

Yet even though ninja could rely on various ninjutsu and storage scrolls to make logistical transport much easier and reduce some of their dependence on supplies, they still could not change the objective reality that the Land of Wind lacked resources and that transportation was exceedingly difficult.

The relatively resource-rich Land of Rivers, however, greatly alleviated Sunagakure's predicament. By plundering the Land of Rivers directly, Sunagakure's force of several thousand men had at least avoided the fate of chewing grass roots and tree bark.

"So, the villages and towns with relatively abundant supplies in the Land of Rivers should all be Sunagakure's targets, right?"

"That's right, Captain Feiyu. Aside from conducting guerrilla warfare, the more important mission of the squads Sunagakure sent out is to plunder the entire Land of Rivers."

"In that case, we can just wait for the rabbits to come to us! Find the key grain-producing areas of the Land of Rivers. Sunagakure definitely won't give up on those places."

Land of Rivers, River Valley Town.

The Land of Rivers had earned its name because rivers ran throughout the country and its waterways were abundant. Water was the source of life, and with so many rivers, the Land of Rivers had highly developed agriculture as well.

As for the most fertile land in the entire Land of Rivers, River Valley Town would certainly rank among it. A river ran through the center of this valley between two mountains. It brought ample moisture, while the silt washed down from the upper and middle reaches made the soil incomparably rich in nutrients.

In peacetime, the villagers in the settlements around River Valley Town lived fairly prosperous lives thanks to the fertile land. They only needed to plant some crops to reap a bountiful harvest almost every year. Unfortunately, once war broke out, these villages and towns, rich but defenseless, faced the plundering of the Land of Wind's ninja.

These ninja stormed into the villages around River Valley Town and ransacked every bit of grain the villagers had stored away. If there were any warriors bold enough to resist, they did not hesitate to reward them with a kunai. In barely half a month, several villages around River Valley Town had been stripped completely clean.

"Just as expected, Sunagakure has left quite a few squads here. If Konoha hadn't deployed plenty of ninja here as well, even River Valley Town would probably have been breached and plundered clean."

The moment they arrived in the area, Yamanaka Seiichi had detected quite a few Chakra signatures. After hearing his subordinate's report, Uchiha Feiyu could not help sighing.

The Konoha Ninja were no fools. Whatever Sunagakure was desperately trying to accomplish, they naturally did their utmost to sabotage. The forces of both sides were interwoven throughout the area, with at least a hundred ninja gathered around River Valley Town.

"Captain, what should we do? Should we first go find our village's team...?"

Before Yamanaka Seiichi could finish, Uchiha Feiyu shook his head.

"No need to do something so troublesome... Just point out the direction. Leave the rest to me!"

Yamanaka Seiichi immediately fell silent. Using his mind-transmission ability, he sent the positions of the Chakra signatures detected through his Sensory Technique directly into Uchiha Feiyu's mind.

Uchiha Feiyu chuckled, drew his short blade, and vanished in an instant amid flickering lightning.

In a dense forest, several Sand Shinobi had set up traps. Seeing several Konoha Ninja approaching, smug smiles appeared on their faces.

A sizzling sound of lightning tearing through the air rang out. The Konoha Ninja rushing toward the area immediately stopped and looked around.

The ambushing Sand Shinobi felt their hearts jolt. One ninja with Sensory Abilities immediately shouted, "Careful, an enemy is coming..."

Before he could finish shouting, a lightning-like figure instantly tore through the undergrowth. A sword of light, swift as a bolt of lightning, came crashing down, splitting the Sand Shinobi at the front neatly in two.

Of the remaining three Sand Shinobi, one raised his hand and unleashed a barrage of poisoned needles, but they only sliced through Uchiha Feiyu's afterimage. Another Sand Shinobi slammed both hands against the ground.

"Earth Release... Yellow Springs Marsh Technique."

The earth turned into mud and spread outward. This Yellow Springs Marsh Technique was inherently an ideal choice for dealing with high-speed ninja. Yet Hatake Sakumo, possessing Uchiha Feiyu's body, had seen countless battles and already had a countermeasure for such situations.

Faint electric light burst from beneath Uchiha Feiyu's feet. The moment the Yellow Springs mud touched it, it turned directly into dry earth—an application of the principle that lightning countered earth.

The Yellow Springs Marsh only delayed Uchiha Feiyu for an instant before being broken. Before the ninja who had cast the technique could form another seal, a blade flashed across his throat. Blood spurted out, and his head dropped straight to the ground.

Of the two remaining ninja, the one who had fired the poisoned needles suddenly lunged forward with his arms spread wide, trying to seize Uchiha Feiyu in an embrace. Amid a series of cracking sounds, his clothes tore apart as countless sharp spikes protruded from his body.

Sunagakure had never possessed any Kaguya Clan ninja with the Shikotsumyaku. Clearly, this "ninja" covered in spikes was actually a puppet.

As for the other Sensory Ninja, he was already retreating into the forest behind him like a gust of wind, hoping to escape.

The white light on Uchiha Feiyu's short blade surged, transforming into a light sword nearly three or four meters long. With a casual slash, the charging puppet was cleaved into eight pieces.

Then Uchiha Feiyu pushed off with his feet, charging out through the large chunks of puppet debris. His light sword swept across, and with a scream, the fleeing Sensory Ninja was cut in half at the waist.

At that moment, the puppeteer hiding within a tree trunk had already gone pale and was trembling violently. Uchiha Feiyu turned his head and saw the tree beside him shaking so hard that it made thumping sounds. He immediately sneered, formed hand seals, and spat out an enormous fireball.

Amid a shrill scream, a figure engulfed in flames burst from the burning remains of the tree trunk. The unfortunate puppeteer staggered forward a few steps before finally breathing his last and collapsing, leaving behind nothing but a pile of charred remains.

"Pfft, I actually took out an opponent with the Great Fireball Technique. I think my Great Fireball Technique would definitely rank first in Naruto."

Though he joked aloud, Uchiha Feiyu himself frowned and took two steps back. The smell of protein cooked and burned from the ninja corpses incinerated by Fire Release made Uchiha Feiyu, who was slaughtering people for the second time, feel a little nauseated.

He held out his hand, gathering one soul-light orb after another, visible only to him, into his palm. Just then, a series of sounds came from the forest behind him as Yamanaka Seiichi emerged with several Konoha Ninja.