Bloodbath on Black Tail Mountain, Part One
"In the end, we were basically just watching the show from beginning to end!"
Yamanaka Karin shook her head, her golden ponytail swaying back and forth.
"What's wrong? Little girl, is there something you're unhappy about?" Goto glared at him and chuckled, "Not letting you go help Lord Sakumo isn't because I'm being unreasonable. Tell me yourself, if you rushed up there, could you keep up with Lord Sakumo's attack pace?"
"Hmm--"
The seventeen-year-old girl lowered her head in dejection.
Honestly, she couldn't keep up with Sakumo's speed. His lightning-fast attacks were barely perceptible to the naked eye; she could only vaguely catch a glimpse of a white light flashing across her vision. Such speed was something she couldn't catch even with all her might—at least not now.
"There's no need to be so discouraged. You're still young. Just because you can't do it now doesn't mean you can't do it in the future. As long as you keep trying, nothing is impossible."
Sakumo slowly walked over and gently encouraged the somewhat disheartened girl.
"Ugh! Ouch—it hurts! I understand, thank you for your guidance, Lord Sakumo." Yamanaka Karin endured the pain of biting her tongue, her eyes brimming with tears, but she bowed her head to Sakumo with extraordinary joy.
This wasn't their first meeting. As a Jonin, she was naturally a high-ranking leader in the ninja army, and she met with Sakumo almost every day to discuss matters. However, those meetings were usually group meetings. Although the seventeen-year-old Yamanaka Karin possessed sufficient strength, she clearly lacked enough experience and always sat in the corner, lost in thought.
Therefore, the girl was overjoyed to receive encouragement from Sakumo.
It's worth noting that Sakumo is extremely popular among young ninjas. With his handsome face, elegant demeanor, gentle and kind nature, and formidable strength, it's no surprise that he's adored by both boys and girls. Yamanaka Karin is just one of them.
"These little brats nowadays!"
Goto glanced at the excited girl and sighed with disdain. This was still on the battlefield, yet she was showing such a relaxed attitude. Young people these days were really outrageous. But now was not the time to dwell on such things.
"Lord Sakumo, what's next? Should we go support your disciple? Tailed Beast are no joke!"
"No need, Katsuki alone is enough to handle it." Sakumo waved his hand in refusal, and said in a deep voice, "Tailed Beast are indeed not easy to deal with, but precisely because of this, sending a few more people will hardly change the current situation. Rather than wasting our combat power on useless things, there are places where it is more needed."
Goto tugged at his long beard. Sakumo's trust in Katsuki left him speechless. It would be inappropriate to voice any doubts at this moment. He could only trust Sakumo's judgment and hope that this time he wouldn't misjudge someone just because they were his apprentice.
"Let's go, we're probably nearing our limit at Black Tail Mountain."
While Sakumo and Goto were talking, the others weren't just standing by and watching. They were cleaning up the battlefield, collecting the bodies of the fallen Stone Ninja Jonin. Needless to say, they could even find something among the bodies of Genin. After all, they had used up quite a few Shuriken and Kunai in the battles along the way. Although the standard weapons of Stone Ninja were somewhat different from those of Konoha, they could still be used as they were. There weren't many rules on the battlefield.
Once everyone was ready, Sakumo immediately gave the order and took the lead, setting off with everyone at a rapid pace.
"Where are the Explosive Tag? Throw them all out! Are you planning to use them to wipe your ass now?"
"That's all, not a single one left. We've used them all up."
The young Genin disregarded social hierarchy and roared at the captain with all his might.
"Damn it!! What the hell is the logistics team doing? They only gave us this few Explosive Tag, do they want us to die even faster?" The squad leader was in no mood to pay attention to his subordinates' charge. He kept cursing the logistics team while directing the chunin Genin to charge up the mountain.
Without Explosive Tag, we must bring down the slope, even if it means sacrificing lives. This is a death order from above.
The Konoha Ninja were above the slope, while the Sand Village ninjas were below. The two sides fought a deadly battle around the slope.
The west side of Black Tail Mountain was already in complete chaos. The ninjas' all-terrain combat capabilities were once again on full display. Wherever there was a place to stand, even on a steep, ninety-degree cliff, there were ninjas crisscrossing. Every now and then, the losers were kicked off the cliff and smashed into a bloody pulp.
However, despite the chaos on the battlefield, there is also order within the chaos. Jonin, and Genin and Genin fight each other, maintaining a strange balance so far. Until a force emerges that can break this balance, it seems that this balance cannot be broken anytime soon.
At this moment, two heavyweights from the Sand Village side entered the fray.
"Magnet Release, Gold Dust Waves."
Riding on golden flowing sand, Rasa bravely charged towards the Konoha Ninja forces guarding the upper part of the mountain path.
The golden sand was tinged with a little crimson, but after rolling and rubbing against each other, there was no sign of anything unusual. However, the bodies of more than ten Konoha Ninja were completely destroyed by the sand, leaving not even a trace.
"Hmph, a bunch of useless trash."
He muttered a cold curse, it was unclear whether he was referring to the Konoha Ninja or the Sand ninja following behind him. Rasa's face was grim as he carefully controlled the Flowing Sand to surge upwards along the mountain path. The Sand Eye hovered around him, he knew that Konoha had a strange master capable of directly attacking the opponent's soul. If he were to fall into a trap here, he would be finished.
Dan Katō is now infamous within the Sand Village. The terrifying power of his Spirit Transformation Technique is feared even by Jonin. This invisible and intangible attack sends chills down one's spine and, in some ways, is no less threatening than Konoha's White Fang.
Even though Dan isn't here now, his reputation still has a deterrent effect on the Sand Ninja. However, this effect is ultimately limited. Rasa's advance is unstoppable, and almost no unit can withstand the Flowing Sand for more than a few seconds. This is not because the Konoha Ninja are incompetent, but simply because the gap between them and the enemy is too great.
Rasa is already Jonin -level ninja, and he possesses the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, which allows him to control Gold Dust. He, along with Minato and Katsuki, are geniuses among geniuses. Jonin are no match for them, not to mention that Konoha cannot spare any Jonin stop Rasa on Black Tail Mountain at the moment.
Because there is an even more terrifying Chiyo of the Sand than Rasa, the only option is to dispatch a mixed force of Chunin and Special Jonin to intercept Rasa. Even if it means piling up corpses, they must buy themselves more time. They must protect the food and supplies in the warehouse before reinforcements arrive. To achieve this goal, they are willing to die.
Makita Kiyotaka also issued a death order!