The Combat Style of the Great Nation's Ninja Army

People are truly prone to making absolute definitions about things with little effort.

Even if they realize one day that they were wrong, they still tend to redefine the subject based on their existing understanding, rarely leaving any room for nuance.

Qi was exactly like this; he had always believed he understood everything about the profession of a ninja, including the so-called Great Ninja War. After all, he had already participated in one, and he possessed the advantage of being a transmigrator—he even knew the developmental trajectory of the ninja world for the next decade or more, such as who would win or lose these wars and who would become famous.

The Great Ninja War had been mentioned to him by Ogata long before he arrived here.

It was a trial with the highest mortality rate for ninjas, a fertile ground for growing a new generation of powerhouses, and simultaneously a "game" played by the Five Great Nations to refine their ninja forces and limit the scale of each other's armies.

Countries need ninjas; ninjas are the world's top-tier military force. A nation's military strength is directly linked to the power of its ninja army, and in this world, military strength is synonymous with national power. The Five Great Nations are the most powerful because they possess the strongest ninja armies.

If a country lacks high-end martial forces, including ninjas and other natural combat professions, it cannot even be considered a country; even a second-rate nation could bully it at will.

Therefore, the great powers must ensure their ninjas are always worthy of the word "elite," and slaughter between ninjas is the most effective means to achieve this.

However, countries do not need ninja forces to be too powerful, because ninja villages possess considerable independence, and too large a scale would threaten the absolute authority of the daimyo. Thus, they need to be weakened. Likewise, the slaughter between ninjas is also an excellent way to reduce their numbers, as cultivating a ninja, even just a genin, is no easy task.

A so-called ninja village is built by the country throwing money at it; a nation's strength determines the scale and quality its ninja village can achieve...

It is precisely because of this contradictory mindset held by the daimyo of various countries that, every twenty years or so, a battle between the ninja armies of the Five Great Nations must erupt. The Five Great Nations do not use conventional armies or other professions, but only their strongest ninja forces to fight, and the battlefield is the smaller nations that serve as strategic buffers between them.

Therefore, the Great Ninja War is a competition of the most elite military forces of each country, conducted on the basis of not triggering a full-scale war and keeping the scale of the conflict under control.

In such a war, there is no such thing as a winner or a loser, because even if you defeat the opponent's ninja army, you cannot carry out a true invasion unless you want to ignite a real war between nations. No one wants that; no one wants to fight to the death only to have others pick up the spoils.

For the daimyo of the Five Great Nations, the survival-of-the-fittest Great Ninja War has only benefits and no drawbacks: first, it does not shake the foundations of the country; second, it maintains the elite nature of their ninjas; third, it controls the scale of the ninja army so it never crosses the line; and fourth, it can be used to test the strength of other countries. It is simply killing many birds with one stone!

Therefore, Qi was dead wrong from the start. His so-called understanding was merely his own wishful thinking. Yesterday was nothing more than a probing skirmish, which hardly counted as a real contest in the Great Ninja War.

Ninjas can become the world's most cutting-edge military profession precisely because they possess the greatest destructive power. How could that be expressed by just a few ninjutsu or a few ninja tools? The Naruto world Qi understood had no detailed representation of this aspect at all. Naturally, he would not know what a formal engagement between the ninja armies of the great powers would look like!

But fortunately, he was about to find out, because he was now facing exactly such a contest, and this time, every ninja squad was equipped with medical ninjas.

The difference between a formal engagement and a probe was also reflected from the very beginning. This time, Qi and the others were all ordered to wait for instructions from their superiors before they were allowed to charge...

"No charging? Why is that?"

When he first received the order, Qi was incredibly confused, but he still obediently stood by, waiting for orders at the front line like the other genin.

It wasn't just Qi; many young genin also expressed the same bewilderment. Clearly, like Qi, they were rookies who had just stepped onto the battlefield, and they had mistaken yesterday's probing skirmish for a formal battle.

"Don't look around! Do you want to die!?"

The chunin shouted loudly at the many rookies in the ranks. They had seen this scene countless times, and such behavior had become a mandatory lesson before every formal battle.

"Everyone, keep your eyes on the front! Once you're on the battlefield, pay attention to every direction around you, especially the ground! Remember, the opponents are Rock Ninja! Try to avoid prolonged close-quarters combat with them; keep your distance if you can!"

Even knowing that such advice wouldn't do much to improve the casualty rate, the Konoha chunin continued to pass on their experience to the genin around them. It was a matter of saving whoever they could; every extra ninja was an advantage.

In fact, it wasn't just Konoha; the Iwagakure side was doing the same thing, instructing their own rookies on how to deal with Konoha ninjas. After all, every side had rookies, and the Rock Ninja had no fewer than Konoha. On the battlefield, rookies were the one thing that was always in abundance.

But the time for teaching was limited, and anyway, too much talk was useless. There was a tacit understanding between ninjas, and an even stronger one between ninja armies. The chunin on both sides stopped talking almost at the same moment, and then, in that very instant, roars erupted simultaneously from the rear of both sides!

"Fire!"

In an instant, dense swarms of black dots appeared out of thin air, surging out from behind the formations of both sides, flying into the sky, and then sweeping toward the opposing camp with sharp, piercing whistles!

"What... is that..."

Qi was completely stunned... He had never seen such a scene!

Could it be that he was watching a "hero" movie!? But where would ninjas get bows and arrows!? And that didn't look like bows and arrows either...

"It's kunai! Kunai tied with Explosive Tags! This definitely wasn't thrown by hand; it must have been launched using a special technique! I heard my father mention this; it's a battlefield-specific ninjutsu unique to the Five Great Villages! The operator must be at least a chunin, and it requires a large number of people!"

Beside Qi, Hyuga Tong, who was looking into the sky with his Byakugan, also exclaimed, his face changing drastically!

"But... I never expected there to be so many! I've never seen this many Explosive Tags!"

For the first time, fear appeared in the pupils that had always been filled with pride. Infected by this color, the white eyes he was so proud of, the Byakugan, also seemed to lose their luster.

This was truly terrifying. The dense, continuous stream of kunai tied with Explosive Tags in mid-air completely exceeded the limits of human capacity. Even the Uchiha Clan, who were most skilled with shuriken, could not achieve this density or scale through throwing alone!

Under this scale, no matter how powerful a ninja was, they could only choose to flee. This had already surpassed the limits of individual strength. This was the power of the ninja armies of the great powers!

"This is... the war of ninjas..."

Just like that, muttering to himself, Qi watched the black torrent that blotted out the sun in a daze. He finally understood what a ninja army was, and why ninja armies could become the highest level of military power for a nation...

In a world of cold weapons, such methods were nothing short of a disaster!

But he had no time to be shocked, because at this moment, the kunai from both sides had already collided in mid-air, triggering the Explosive Tags tied to them in a continuous, earth-shattering chain reaction!

Qi finally understood why both armies were standing by in place. In such a situation, whichever side's genin troops were beneath the explosions would surely be doomed...

The kunai were still being launched in wave after wave. It seemed Konoha and Iwagakure were competing to see who had more stock, and the side with less would surely suffer a round of bombardment before even making contact.

Amidst the continuous explosions, the competition finally had a result: Konoha had more!

After all, the Land of Fire was wealthier than the Land of Earth, so Konoha was wealthier than Iwagakure!

"Fire again!"

The same roar as before rang out once more. The kunai with Explosive Tags, though thinned out by more than half, were still numerous. They were launched into the sky again by the Konoha ninja army's techniques, falling toward the positions of the Rock Ninja army!

"Rise!"

The Rock Ninja side also roared in unison. In an instant, a large group of chunin from the Rock Ninja ranks stepped forward, performed the same hand seals, and slammed their hands onto the ground!

"Rumble..."

The earth began to tremble. A massive wall of earth, staggering in scale, was forcibly pulled from the ground by the collective techniques of the Iwagakure chunin, standing firm directly in front of the Rock Ninja army.

At this moment, Konoha's final wave of Explosive Tag-laden kunai arrived in a curved trajectory. The vast majority struck the earth wall, while only a small portion landed within the Rock Ninja ranks, tearing limbs asunder. However, the casualties were minimal, as the wall had shielded the bulk of the enemy from the blast!

For a time, fire lit up the sky above the wall. The violent explosions sent stone shards flying and caused the structure to shudder incessantly, yet it refused to collapse, stubbornly enduring the entire barrage!

Even so, its "lifespan" had reached its end. Once the Konoha side exhausted their long-range kunai, the Rock Ninja ceased their maintenance of the wall, instead manipulating it to tip forward.

The earth wall, which had provided near-perfect protection for the Rock Ninja army but was now shattered and crumbling, collapsed onto the ground ahead with a thunderous roar, kicking up countless clouds of dust...

"Prepare to advance!"

The Konoha ninja were unperturbed; if the Rock Ninja were so easily defeated, they would not be worthy of being one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages!

Orders were passed down layer by layer. The chunin who had been responsible for the kunai assault returned to their ranks, and the entire Konoha force shifted into a pre-assault stance, with the chunin taking the opportunity to give final battlefield instructions to the genin around them.

On the Rock Ninja side, the massive dust cloud created by the wall slowly dissipated as the debris settled, revealing the Rock Ninja army. They, too, were fully prepared!

Even across the vast plain, the ninja on both sides could feel the killing intent radiating from their opponents, as if it were about to overflow!

"Charge!"

It was unclear who let out the first roar, but the word erupted from both camps almost simultaneously, merging into a single, deafening sound! Naturally, it served as the prelude to the formal commencement of hostilities!

Looking down from the sky, the two forces, which had previously gathered into two distinct masses, scattered toward each other, beginning the formal slaughter!

The squad Qi belonged to was part of this, and as the "second wave," they received the order to charge almost as soon as the first wave made contact with the enemy.

They had initially been confused, but that confusion vanished quickly. By the time they had run only halfway, they were shocked to discover that in this short span of time, the first wave of both sides had been almost entirely wiped out!

"I know you held back last time, and we did too, but today, if we don't fight with everything we have, we're dead. No holding back!"

It was Uchiha Xiu who spoke, his face pale at the sight...

Of course, the others looked no better; compared to today's battle, yesterday's probing skirmish was nothing more than child's play.

"The Rock Ninja's second wave is coming up, and the distance to the front line is about the same as ours! If we are a step late, our vanguard will be annihilated, and we will have to face even more Rock Ninja!"

Hyuga Tong roared hoarsely, "We must get there faster! Whoever is slow will die!"

"Then I'll go first. I have a way to get there ahead of you!"

Having witnessed a true shinobi army confrontation, Qi's mind was now devoid of everything but the necessity of killing.

"You'd better stay alive until we get there! None of us can die!"

Uchiha Xiu was suddenly ecstatic.

"If you don't die and we make it back to Konoha, I'll get you two fine chakra-infused blades. I can tell you don't know how to use ninja tools! You're using kunai like short swords!"

"I won't die! I'll gladly accept those blades, so don't go back on your word!"

Having his true ability exposed, Qi didn't mind in the slightest; instead, he let out a wild laugh and clapped his palms together with a crisp sound.

"Everyone, get out of my way!"

He let out a violent shout, his feet exerting force as he leaped high into the air!

"Boom!"

Just as the others in the squad changed their running direction to create some distance, a massive crystal of ice erupted from the ground exactly where Qi had just jumped, hurtling forward with a sharp, whistling sound!

Qi landed at that very moment, his entire body instantly adhering to the ice crystal, and he rode it toward the front lines...

"Good lad! Charge!"

Seeing this, Uchiha Xiu, Hyuga Tong, Tahara Ryuji, and Sasaki Hideyoshi were stunned for a moment before cheering in unison!

In this state, whichever side received reinforcements first would be able to crush the enemy and their second wave in a one-sided slaughter!

Now that Qi could arrive first, as long as he assisted the Konoha ninja on the front line in killing the Rock Ninja, they could use their numerical advantage to face the second wave of Rock Ninja once they arrived, significantly increasing their survival rate!

Qi clearly had no intention of failing their expectations; the white ice crystal reached the combat zone in an instant.

"What is that!?"

The Rock Ninja and Konoha ninja fighting in this sector were clearly not deaf; they couldn't possibly miss such a sharp, whistling sound, especially when it came from directly overhead.

"It's the enemy!"

"It's reinforcements!"

Neither the Rock Ninja nor the Konoha ninja were nearsighted; even if they didn't recognize Ice Release, they could easily tell which side Qi belonged to by his attire.

"Perfect opportunity!"

Seizing the moment, Qi saw the temporary separation caused by his sudden intrusion and immediately used his Ice Release technique without hesitation.

Amidst his hand seals, he flew away from the ice crystal, leaping backward. The moment he finished his seals, the massive ice crystal shattered into hundreds of smaller ice spikes.

"Ice Release: Crystal Split Chaotic Blades!"

Following Qi's roar, the hundreds of ice spikes arrived in an instant, sweeping fiercely toward the Rock Ninja in the field!