Trump Card 3

Accompanied by a series of explosions, the right flank of the Iwa Ninja main force slowly advanced towards the Konoha lines.

This was the first time the Iwa ninja had gained the upper hand since the start of the battle. The morale of the Iwa ninja was greatly boosted, and they all took action to hold off the enemy in front of them, preventing them from providing support.

But Yichen couldn't be happy, because this progress was temporary. The Iwa ninja had only managed to pull off an unexpected victory. Once Konoha also used its trump card, the Iwa ninja's last line of defense would disappear.

Will the Iwa ninja be able to safely withdraw from the battle then?

The Konoha commander now has two choices. One is to fight individually, which means ignoring the Iwa ninja's Explosive Unit, sacrificing local forces, and using the majority of his clan's ninja disciples for the attack. In that case, Konoha could gain a large-scale advantage.

Konoha will ultimately win, but this method will cause them significant losses. Of course, Konoha will Iwa ninja even greater losses.

Another method is to send members of the ninja clans to fight against the Explosive Unit. In that case, Konoha would fight in a conventional manner, and the Iwa ninja would be unable to make any progress.

With their elite Explosive Unit bogged down deep within enemy territory, the Iwa ninja will be unable to retreat safely. Ultimately, Konoha will most likely achieve a complete victory.

The former was a Pyrrhic victory; even if they won, they wouldn't have much strength left to support Kikyo Castle. Konoha couldn't simply abandon Iwa ninja after First Shinobi War victory; more Iwa ninja would send troops in the future.

The latter, however, allows Konoha to preserve its strength to the greatest extent possible. After the victory, Konoha will still have the resources to support Kikyo Castle.

Yichen quickly discovered that a force of about seven or eight hundred men was rapidly moving towards the location of the Explosive Unit within the Konoha formation.

Before long, the two units met.

In an instant, a large number of Kikaichū began to spread. All kinds of barking dogs filled the air. Giants were preparing to wreak havoc.

Let alone Yichen, who had read the original work, even the other Iwa ninja knew the origins of those people immediately.

Names like Aburame, Inuzuka, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Yuhi, Sarutobi, and Gekkō appeared in everyone's minds.

Immediately, the morale of the Konoha Iwa ninja side all wore expressions of worry.

Yichen was also not optimistic about their situation and was hesitating whether to ask Ban if there were any other arrangements.

A flash of white light suddenly appeared in the corner of my eye.

"Huh? What was that?" The white light flashed and disappeared without making a sound, leading Yichen to believe it was an illusion.

But this is a battlefield, this is the world of ninjas, and you can't dismiss things you don't understand as mere illusions.

Yichen immediately looked in the direction of the Explosive Unit, and then he was shocked.

"What's going on?"

What came into Yichen's view was this: in front of the Explosive Unit, where the Konoha clan members were preparing to show off their skills, a vacuum zone appeared, five meters wide and nearly one hundred meters long.

This vacuum zone was perfectly still and stood out starkly. Everyone inside had vanished.

The most terrifying thing is not the sudden disappearance of the ninjas in this vacuum zone. It is that the ninjas at the edge of this vacuum zone have parts of their bodies gone, while parts of their bodies still exist.

Because this area is nearly 100 meters long, a large number of human remains were left behind.

Some ninjas who were missing parts of their bodies were still alive. They didn't feel any pain at first, but after a while they realized what was happening and let out screams of terror and pain.

"Dust Release!"

Yichen was familiar with this scene. Many years ago, when he was still in the Anbu, he had seen a similar situation. Yichen remembered that incident, which led to Konoha White Fang committing suicide and almost caused the Third Shinobi War to break out several years earlier.

Yichen looked behind him, following the hundred-meter-long trail.

Sure enough, Ōnoki appeared in mid-air at some point, and judging from his hands, he was already preparing to unleash a Dust Release.

Yichen turned to look at the battlefield, and by then many people in the Konoha camp had also reacted. Among the ninja clan members, someone was shouting, "Scatter! Scatter quickly! That's Dust Release! Ōnoki is here!"

A yellow figure flashed repeatedly through the crowd, each flash taking away a Konoha elite.

At the same time, a voice entered Yichen's ears.

"Earth Release: Earth Style: Earth Flow Fortress." That was Jiraiya's voice.

Then a massive earthen hill blocked the way between the two armies.

Boom~~~

The white light flashed again, but this time its effect was far less powerful than the first. It bypassed the Konoha ninja clan members who were already hidden by the Earth Style: Earth Flow Fortress, and landed among the denser group of ninjas on the other side, claiming the lives of hundreds more.

"Retreat! Retreat across the entire front!" Exclamations of alarm echoed from the Konoha troops.

Almost simultaneously, orders to pursue were also issued from the Iwa ninja.

"Phew~~" Yichen finally breathed a sigh of relief. No wonder Sakashita's orders today were so unusual, and he was so eager to seek a decisive battle.

Knowing full well that Konoha had two Kage-level Combatant, they still insisted on going head-to-head with them. It turns out Ōnoki was here too; it turns out Saka had such a powerful Trump Card up his sleeve.

Ōnoki was truly daring, willing to use his status as Tsuchikage to ambush a group of ordinary ninjas.

When Yichen first transmigrated, he remembered Yichen Dust Release as a technique used by Kage-level experts in battle, and he once thought it was a single-target attack ninjutsu.

It wasn't until later, when I learned about the S-rank Ninjutsu from Iwagakure, that I understood that Dust Release has always been a group attack ninjutsu. Its characteristics are long-range and wide-area.

However, the charging process of Dust Release means it cannot be effectively used in battles between strong opponents.

Therefore, Dust Release is more suitable for group battles.

The subsequent battles were straightforward. Led by Ōnoki, the Iwa ninja advanced with unstoppable momentum, pushing Konoha's front line all the way to the border of the Land of Fire, just like the Sunagakure.

Ōnoki knew when to stop, and unlike the Sunagakure who blocked the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers, he led his troops back to the Land of Earth, leaving only a small force in the Land of Grass. The entire ninja deployment was almost exactly the same as before the war.

The victorious Iwa ninja suffered heavy losses in this First Shinobi War, with over 2,000 ninja killed. Fortunately, most of these ninja were Genin and lower; for example, nearly 90% of the vanguard unit had been lost, and those who escaped with Ikura and Yichen were almost all elites.

In the ensuing Positional Warfare, both the Iwa ninja and Konoha suffered several hundred casualties.

Later, during the assault on Konoha's defenses by the Explosive Unit, and in the subsequent pursuit, hundreds of Konoha ninja were killed or wounded in a desperate counterattack by a large number of Konoha ninja.

The Iwa ninja have already suffered losses of over 20%.

So when Yichen returned to the camp and emerged from his brief seclusion, he saw that although the faces of the Iwa ninja showed the joy of victory, they were even more saddened by the loss of their comrades.

After taking a walk around the camp, Yichen arrived at the Command Center. There had been a lot of things going on at the Command Center before, but now the busiest time had passed.

Upon seeing Yichen enter, Ikura, Saka, and the other two Deputy Commander in the Command Center nodded to Yichen.

Ōnoki spoke directly, "Yichen, tell me your thoughts. Why did you advise me to retreat before?"

That's right, the reason Ōnoki stopped while he was ahead was because he listened to Yichen's advice when he chased them to the border of the Land of Fire.

"Lord Tsuchikage, esteemed seniors, this is my assessment. We have already achieved our original strategic objective of holding back Konoha's main force. Moreover, we have exceeded our target."

"Konoha suffered at least four thousand casualties in this First Shinobi War. Although most of those who died in the final pursuit were Genin and lower influence of Dust Release."

"Konoha has suffered heavy losses, both in terms of numbers and its core strength. Our immediate enemy is unlikely to be able to reinforce Kikyo Castle anytime soon."

"But if we continue to press forward, Konoha's attitude towards the battlefield in the Land of Grass will change from diverting troops to sending reinforcements."

"At that time, we will be in the same predicament as the current Sunagakure, unable to advance or retreat. What was once a brief battle will turn into a long-term war of attrition."

"If we stop in time, Konoha's main focus will still be on Kikyo Castle, and our original strategy of sitting back and watching the tigers fight will not change."

At this moment, a deputy commander of the South Front Camp interjected. "However, if we continue our attack and severely damage or even annihilate the enemy in front of us, then the Land of Fire will be dethroned from its position as the number one power."

Yichen shook his head and said, "First of all, we might not win. Konoha has reinforcements. Don't forget, the Third Hokage hasn't even made a move yet."

"If we keep pressing forward, Konoha might shift their focus from Kikyo Castle to us. If the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, and Minato Namikaze attack together then, can we still win?"

"Moreover, Konoha still has the Nine-Tails. We've used the Tailed Beast; do you think Konoha would just watch its dominant position crumble without using them?"

The man was speechless. Yichen continued, "Secondly, even if we do win, how much will we lose?"

"Today, the Lord Tsuchikage, with fresh troops, intervened at a crucial moment when both sides were locked in a stalemate, instantly shaking the morale of Konoha and leading to our great victory."

"But if Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze are prepared, even if we win, how many of us will be left?"

"At that time, Konoha will certainly lose its dominant position, but will it still be Iwa ninja who replace Konoha as the number one ninja village?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback. Indeed, they had already decided on a strategy of reaping the benefits without lifting a finger. How could they have forgotten that in a moment of impulsiveness?

After a pause, Yichen said, "Moreover, there are three advantages to negotiating with Konoha."

"First, Konoha is in a difficult situation right now, so we can extort a hefty sum from them. Compensation, transferring mission shares, or even ceding territory are all possibilities."

Seeing that the others were quite interested, Yichen pressed on, saying, "In addition, we can also propose that Konoha share some ninjutsu."

A hissing sound immediately filled the office.

Ninjutsu is the foundation of a ninja village, Konoha is the most prolific in this area, with almost no weaknesses. However, Iwa ninja's collection is severely unbalanced.

If we could obtain a batch of ninjutsu from Konoha, even if it's only A-rank or even just B-rank, which is rare among Iwa ninja, it would greatly enhance the individual strength of Iwa ninja.

"Go on," Ōnoki said, his mindset much better than the others, but he was eager to know what other reasons Yichen might have.

Yichen smiled slightly and said, "Secondly, if we negotiate with Konoha can free up troops to support other battlefields. Although Konoha's dominant position can be maintained, this will force other villages to fight Konoha to the death."

"This aligns perfectly with our strategic intentions. We can watch the Ninja World War unfold while we withdraw from the conflict early on."

Everyone nodded involuntarily; this was what they had been hoping for.

"As for the third," Yichen revealed a sly smile, then said something surprising, "We can help Konoha win the Third Shinobi War as soon as possible."