Tactical Insertion?

There are three main thoroughfares from the Land of Fire to the Land of Earth: passing through the Land of Grass via Kannabi Bridge, entering from the Land of Waterfalls, or crossing through the Land of Rain.

The Land of Grass is significantly smaller than the Land of Waterfalls, and its territory is shaped like a long, narrow strip.

This is the closest passage between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire.

Moreover, compared to other small nations, the Land of Rain stands out in terms of combat power due to the existence of a certain demigod; since their goal was the Land of Earth, there was no need to waste time dealing with Hanzo.

While the Land of Waterfalls possesses a ninja village and can offer some resistance during wartime, the Land of Grass is simply a little girl who can only be bullied.

No matter who teases her, she has no way to fight back.

It is precisely for this reason that the number of Iwagakure ninjas stationed in the Land of Grass is clearly the highest.

After breaking through the natural barrier of Kannabi Bridge, Uchiha Yuji had expected to reach the next destination quickly, but the group had not been traveling for long before they encountered Iwagakure ninjas again.

Or rather, the group had run straight into the front-line base of the Iwagakure forces—a defensive line built with walls of rock and earth.

This was a support fortress for the defensive front, capable of providing immediate reinforcements should anything happen at Kannabi Bridge.

It also served as a military camp for storing supplies.

The commotion from the direction of Kannabi Bridge had naturally been detected by the ninjas within the fortress, and a group of Iwagakure ninjas was currently exiting the stronghold, preparing to head toward Kannabi Bridge to provide support.

Because the disturbance had been quelled so quickly, the group sent out was merely a batch of cannon fodder.

It was unfortunate for this group of cannon fodder ninjas that they ran straight into Uchiha Yuji and his party the moment they entered the forest.

As the faint white hair and the hazy glow of the White Fang entered their vision, terror erupted from their hearts and filled their bodies!

"Enemy attack! Enemies!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, he felt the world spin, and the last thing he saw was his own familiar headless torso.

It was spraying blood like a fountain.

"The enemy is the White Fang! And the Uchiha!"

Experienced in battle and skilled in the art of survival, the Iwagakure ninjas knew very well that for small fry like them, there was absolutely no chance of winning against Hatake Sakumo and the Uchiha.

The smart ones turned and ran, but fleeing only made them easier targets.

A strategic retreat was clearly not going to work.

Kunai and shuriken flashed with cold light, crossing the space in an instant and piercing through their bodies.

The Iwagakure ninjas who remained in place were either caught in a genjutsu or were the type with guts of steel.

The Uchiha approached in silence; a single sweep of their Three-Tomoe Sharingan left the enemies frozen in place, while their own hands moved without the slightest hesitation.

With a flick of their blades, they mercilessly slaughtered the Iwagakure ninjas.

They were just a group of low-to-mid-level cannon fodder sent for support, completely unable to cause any trouble or inflict injuries on this elite squad; the only nuisance was their final cries before death, which alerted the distant fortress.

Hatake Sakumo flicked his short blade with his right hand, leaving a trail of blood on the ground from the White Fang.

His sharp eyes pierced through the dense trees, gazing toward the now-alerted fortress in the distance.

This defensive fortress, built entirely with Earth Style ninjutsu, had not been mentioned in the intelligence reports.

Was the intelligence wrong? Or had the Iwagakure ninjas played a trick with the timing?

Uchiha Yuji was clearly not as naive as Hatake Sakumo; the moment he saw the fortress, he knew he had been played.

Damn that Sarutobi Hiruzen, he even gave us fake intelligence on the battlefield!

I'll remember this grudge.

You piece of trash, once I get back, I'll strip you of your position!

But as a refined anti-Uchiha, Uchiha Yuji did not curse out loud.

"If we bypass this fortress with a tactical insertion, our retreat route could easily be cut off, and the intelligence would be relayed to nearby outposts by the fortress. Destroying the fortress, however, would waste too much time and chakra, which completely contradicts our initial blitzkrieg plan."

Hatake Sakumo's stern face grew even more silent.

At this moment, Uchiha Yuji quietly stepped forward.

"Leave this place to me. Sakumo, you and the others bypass the fortress and head to the next planned location."

"Come to think of it, my body has gotten a bit stiff. Once I finish warming up, I'll catch up with you as soon as possible."

Uchiha Yuji twisted his neck, his bones grinding together with a chilling "crack" sound.

"Can your chakra hold up?" Hatake Sakumo asked.

"Ah, I have more than enough to spare." Uchiha Yuji began to walk slowly toward the edge of the forest.

"Are you sure you'll be fine alone?"

"It's fine, because I..."

Unlike the other Uchiha who had been conserving chakra by only using genjutsu along the way, Uchiha Yuji's Chatonra was bottomless; he had no idea what it meant to run dry.

The chakra within his body surged more violently with every slow step he took.

"...am the strongest."

The trees obscured the Iwagakure Ninjas' line of sight, but they could not block the perception of the sensory ninja.

A powerful fire-attribute chakra was slowly approaching from within the forest, and the sheer, dense volume of it was so unbelievable that he felt he was not looking at a person, but a Tailed Beast.

It was a Tailed Beast even more powerful than Lord Han back in the village!

He slowly formed hand seals, and the chakra within his body, feeling as if it were boiling, gathered continuously toward his throat.

The egg-form Zetton flickered with a bright yellow luster in response.

"It's here! Watch out!" the sensory ninja shouted a warning.

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

Like the breath of a giant dragon, flames erupted from his mouth.

It was as if a sun had risen from the earth; the blinding radiance plunged the world into a moment where light transitioned into darkness—not a visual darkness, but one rising from the depths of the heart.

The towering flames carried a scorching heat capable of annihilating everything; the earth cracked under the high temperature, and the forest behind began to spontaneously combust from the extreme heat.

What met their eyes was a terrifying firelight bright enough to blind, a glare even more piercing than the scorching sun in the sky.

It was a conflagration that engulfed the entire fortress.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

Almost simultaneously, the ninjas capable of using Earth Wall roared at the top of their lungs, as if trying to expel the fear within their hearts along with their shouts.

Their desire to live drove their bodies to continuously extract chakra and pour it into their ninjutsu.

The thick rock walls rising from the ground shattered instantly before their expectant eyes, and the flames, colored like molten lava, surged forward like a tidal wave, coalescing into a pillar of fire that instantly crashed into the fortress.

Ninjas who attempted to use hardening techniques within the boiling flames were vaporized instantly, and those who tried to submerge underground succumbed to the scorching heat, fainting and dying—there was no need to even dig their graves.

The searing waves of fire, carrying immense kinetic force, did not cease their expansion until the entire fortress had been completely destroyed.

The air was so distorted that the surrounding environment was unrecognizable, and the solid rocky ground had been transformed into a land of molten lava.

Uchiha Yuji was certain that no one could have survived.

"Intelligence has not been leaked; the blitzkrieg is proceeding without issue."