The Crumbling Shigushan Mountain Defense Line

The battle between ninjas still has the advantage of terrain.

The defensive line set up by the Konoha ninjas in the eastern coastal region mostly relied on mountains as its foundation. Although it wasn't difficult for ninjas to traverse mountains and cross ridges with their speed, setting up a defensive line on hills wasn't meant to challenge superhuman ninjas' climbing abilities. It was primarily aimed at the Kirigakure ninjas' Water Release Techniques.

There are generally two scenarios for Kirigakure ninjas using Water Release Techniques.

The first is when there is readily available and abundant water source nearby. In this case, they only need to expend a small amount of Chakra to manipulate the existing water source to perform various Water Release Techniques.

The second is when there is no readily available water source. This requires them to expend a large amount of Chakra to generate water, which undoubtedly consumes more Chakra than the first scenario.

Choosing high ground to set up a defensive line, avoiding swamps and lakes, deprives Kirigakure ninjas of the terrain advantage. Furthermore, because the hills are steep, any water generated by Kirigakure ninjas' Chakra is difficult to accumulate and recycle, greatly increasing the cost of using Water Release Techniques, doubling their Chakra consumption, and reducing their sustained combat capability.

However, the effect of terrain is ultimately limited. When Kirigakure ninjas chose to reinforce their troops, the slight advantage brought by the terrain was instantly erased. The Konoha ninjas stationed at the defensive node of Shigushan Mountain experienced the bitter taste of being outnumbered.

They were pushed back step by step by the Kirigakure ninjas who relied on their superior numbers, retreating from the foot of the mountain to the summit. Any further retreat would mean falling to the back of the mountain. Once the summit fell, they would completely lose the terrain advantage; more accurately, the terrain advantage would shift to the Kirigakure ninjas.

At that point, with the Kirigakure ninjas unleashing Water Release Techniques from a higher elevation, the scene of torrents rushing down would be devastating just by imagining it.

At the summit, inside a crudely built earthen fort, Konoha ninjas were gathered for a morning meeting.

"We can't retreat any further."

The last remaining Jonin said.

In front of him were seven companions: two Special Jonin and five Chunin. Including himself, there were a total of eight people, the last defenders of the Shigushan Mountain defense line.

And just five days ago, at this relatively important node of Shigushan Mountain, there were sixteen squads, a total of sixty-four ninjas. By today, many of the sixteen squads had been wiped out, and the remaining squads were severely depleted. Only these last eight people were still holding their ground.

The only good news was that their supplies were abundant.

"If we abandon the summit, we will be completely defenseless against the Kirigakure ninjas' Water Release Techniques. Then, the Kirigakure ninjas can use Shigushan Mountain as an opening to push deep into the plains and forests behind us..."

"The Kirigakure ninjas are coming!"

The Jonin's motivational speech was interrupted by a Special Jonin from the Yamanaka Clan.

He turned his head and looked at the Jonin, who had forgotten his lines after being interrupted and wore a pained expression like he was constipated. He sighed, "Alright, Captain, spare us the grand speeches. Everyone has held on this long and is ready to die for the village. You should save some energy to kill more Kirigakure ninjas to accompany us!"

"I..."

The inarticulate Captain hesitated for a few seconds and said dryly, "I will kill at least three Kirigakure scum today."

The Special Jonin from the Yamanaka Clan said with a huff, "Captain, why don't you say you'll take down at least ten Kirigakure ninjas to boost everyone's morale?"

"But Kirigakure ninjas are really hard to kill. When I said three, I was determined to take one down with me."

The Captain replied somewhat aggrievedly.

Looking at the honest-looking Captain, the Special Jonin from the Yamanaka Clan couldn't help but laugh. Then, the others joined in, and the somber atmosphere dissipated. Seeing the Captain, who was ready to face death, their morale soared.

In less than twenty seconds, one Kirigakure ninja after another appeared in their field of vision. A total of over twenty of them attacked the last earthen fort on the summit with coordinated movements.

But before they could get within effective range for ninjutsu, they were met with a storm of shuriken. This wasn't much; what was truly troublesome was that among the dense shuriken were kunai with Explosive Tags attached to their ends.

"I'll do it!"

A leading Kirigakure Jonin stepped forward and formed hand seals.

[Water Release: Water Wall Technique]

The next moment, water gushed out from the slightly damp ground, forming a water wall over three meters high with the upward force of the eruption.

The shuriken were deflected by the water wall, unable to break through its defense.

However, the Explosive Tags at the ends of the kunai were detonated. With a muffled thunderous explosion, the water wall was blown apart. Although the Kirigakure ninjas were standing far enough away to avoid casualties, the distance between them and the earthen fort remained unchanged.

This was a ninja's offensive and defensive battle.

The Konoha ninjas, at a numerical disadvantage, used the terrain and cover to suppress the Kirigakure ninjas, who had superior numbers. By using shuriken, kunai, and Explosive Tags, they forced the Kirigakure ninjas to use ninjutsu for defense, consuming their Chakra.

The Kirigakure ninjas had no choice but to use Water Release Techniques for defense.

Because once the Explosive Tags mixed with the shuriken detonated, the shuriken, propelled by the shockwave, scattered in all directions like unpredictable buckshot.

This was truly difficult to defend against!

Unlike the Konoha ninjas, who could achieve results with Ninja Tools alone, the Kirigakure ninjas, lacking terrain advantage and cover, found it difficult to counterattack with shuriken, kunai, and Explosive Tags. The range of their upward-thrown tools was too short, and the Konoha ninjas were protected by the earthen fort, reinforced with Earth Release Techniques and protected by barrier techniques.

To break through the earthen fort, either a powerful ninjutsu or a continuous barrage of Explosive Tags would be required, neither of which could be easily accomplished.

In short, this battle was far from over and would not end easily!

At the same time, in a dilapidated earthen fort on the mountainside, nearly fifty Kirigakure ninjas were stationed. The leader, a tall and fat Kirigakure ninja with long orange hair, had two rows of sharp fangs visible when he opened his mouth. On his back, he carried a Ninja Tool wrapped in layers of white bandages.

His name was Suikazan Fuguki, a member of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the wielder of the [Great Sword: Samehada], and a renowned expert from Kirigakure.

However, this famous expert from Kirigakure was currently facing trouble.

"Suikazan Fuguki, what have you been doing these past few days? With your strength, you should have captured Shigushan Mountain three days ago. Why has it dragged on until today? And today, you haven't gone all out to capture the Konoha ninjas' defensive line. What exactly are you plotting?"

A white-haired, purple-eyed, and exceptionally handsome young man, sitting on the wall, questioned Suikazan Fuguki, who was old enough to be his father.