People found it all too easy to make absolute judgments about things.
Even when they realized they had been wrong, they would simply redefine the thing based on what they knew, rarely leaving themselves any room to reconsider.
Qi was no different. He had always thought he understood everything about being a ninja, including the so-called Shinobi World War. After all, he had taken part in one, and he had the advantage of being a transmigrator. He could even predict how events would unfold over the next decade or more—who would win the war, who would lose, and who would become famous.
Ogata had told him about the Shinobi World War long before Qi arrived here.
It was the trial with the highest ninja death rate, fertile ground for cultivating a new generation of strong fighters, and a "game" the Five Great Nations played to sharpen their ninja forces and keep their armies from growing too large.
Nations needed ninjas. They were the most powerful military force in this world, and a country's military strength was directly tied to the strength of its ninja army. In this world, military strength was national strength. The Five Great Nations were the most powerful because they had the strongest ninja armies.
If a country lacked numerous natural fighters—including ninjas—as its elite forces, it could hardly even be called a nation. Even a second-rate country could bully it at will.
The great nations therefore had to ensure their ninjas were always worthy of being called "elite." The most effective way to do that was to make ninjas fight one another.
But nations also had no need for ninja forces that were too powerful. Ninja villages were fairly independent, and a large enough force could threaten the daimyo's absolute authority. So the numbers had to be reduced. Once again, fighting among ninjas was an excellent way to cut their numbers, since training a ninja—even a Genin—was no easy task.
A ninja village was something a country built by pouring money into it. A country's national strength determined the size and quality of the ninja village it could support...
It was because of the daimyo's contradictory mindset that, roughly every twenty years, the Five Great Nations fought a battle between their ninja armies. They used no conventional troops or other professions, only their strongest ninja forces. The battlefields were the smaller nations between them, serving as strategic buffers.
The Shinobi World War was therefore a contest between the most elite military forces of the Five Great Nations, fought without triggering a full-scale war and with the conflict kept within limits.
There was no such thing as a true winner or loser in this kind of war. Even if you defeated your enemy's ninja army, you couldn't actually invade them unless you wanted to start a real war between nations. Nobody wanted that. No one wanted to fight to the death only to let someone else reap the benefits.
For the daimyo of the Five Great Nations, a Shinobi World War—where the strong prevailed and the weak fell—had nothing but advantages. First, it wouldn't shake the foundations of their nations. Second, it kept their ninjas elite. Third, it kept the size of their ninja armies under control. And fourth, it let them test the strength of other countries. It was a perfect arrangement!
Qi had been completely wrong from the start. What he thought he knew was nothing more than his own assumptions. Yesterday's clash had been no more than a probing skirmish; it didn't even count as a real contest in a Shinobi World War.
Ninjas had become the most powerful military profession in the world because they possessed the greatest destructive power. How could a few elemental techniques and handfuls of ninja tools possibly show what they were capable of? The Naruto world Qi knew had never shown this side of things in detail. Of course he had no idea what a full-scale clash between the ninja armies of great nations would look like!
Fortunately, he was about to find out. He was now facing exactly this kind of contest, and this time every ninja squad had been assigned medical ninjas.
The difference between a real battle and a probing attack became clear from the very beginning. This time, Qi and the others had been ordered not to charge until they received their superiors' command...
"We're not allowed to charge? Why?"
Qi was confused when the order first came through, but he still waited at the front with the other Genin, following instructions.
Qi wasn't the only one. Many young Genin looked just as bewildered. It was obvious that, like him, they were rookies on the battlefield. They had already mistaken yesterday's probing skirmish for a real battle.
"Stop looking around! Do you want to die?"
The Chunin shouted at the many rookies in their ranks. They had seen this scene countless times. Giving these warnings had become a routine part of every real battle.
"Everyone, keep your eyes on the front! Once you're on the battlefield, watch every direction around you, especially underground! Remember, you're facing Rock Ninja! Avoid close combat with them whenever possible. Keep your distance if you can!"
The Konoha Chunin kept passing on their hard-won advice to the Genin around them, even though they knew it would do little to reduce casualties. If even one person survived, it was worth it. Every extra ninja was an advantage.
The Rock Ninja were doing the same, warning their own rookies about how to deal with Konoha ninjas. After all, every family had its share of rookies. The Rock Ninja had no fewer than Konoha. On the battlefield, there were always more rookies to go around, never fewer.
But the time for instruction was limited. Besides, more advice wouldn't help much. Ninjas had a certain rapport with one another, and the rapport between ninja armies was even stronger. The Chunin on both sides fell silent almost simultaneously. Then, in that very instant, shouts rang out from behind both formations!
"Fire!"
In an instant, countless black dots seemed to appear out of nowhere, surging from the rear of both formations and soaring into the sky. They tore through the air with a shrill whistle, sweeping toward the opposing ranks!
"What... are those...?"
Qi was completely stunned. He had never seen anything like it!
Was he watching a hero movie? But where had the ninjas gotten bows and arrows? And those things didn't look like arrows...
"They're Kunai! Kunai with Explosive Tags attached! No one could have thrown that many by hand. They must have been launched using a special technique! My father told me that only the Five Great Shinobi Villages have battlefield techniques like this. The operators have to be at least Chunin, and it takes a lot of people!"
Beside Qi, Hyuga Tong looked up through his Byakugan and cried out in shock, his face turning pale!
"But... I never imagined there would be so many! I've never seen this many Explosive Tags!"
For the first time, fear appeared in Tong's usually proud eyes. Under its influence, even his famed white eyes—the Byakugan—seemed to lose their light.
It was truly terrifying. The Kunai with Explosive Tags were packed so densely in the air, flying in an endless stream. The volume far exceeded what human strength could bear. Even the Uchiha Clan, the most skilled at using Shuriken, could never achieve this density or scale by throwing them!
At this scale, no matter how powerful a ninja was, they could only run. This was beyond the limits of what an individual could withstand. This was the might of a great nation's ninja army!
"So this is... a ninja war..."
Muttering in a near-daze, Qi stared at the black torrent blotting out the sky. At last, he understood what a ninja army was—and why ninja forces could serve as a country's highest level of military power...
In a world of cold weapons, this kind of attack was simply a disaster!
But he had no time to stand there in amazement. The Kunai from both sides had already collided in midair, setting off the Explosive Tags attached to them in a relentless chain of powerful explosions!
Only then did Qi understand why both armies had been ordered to wait where they were. At a time like this, any Genin force caught beneath the explosions would be doomed...
The Kunai continued to fly in wave after wave. It was as if Konoha and Iwagakure were competing to see who had more in reserve. The side with fewer supplies would surely have to endure a barrage before the two forces even met.
Amid the endless explosions, the contest finally reached its conclusion: Konoha had more!
The Land of Fire was richer than the Land of Earth, after all, so Konoha was wealthier than Iwagakure!
"Fire again!"
The same shout rang out once more. Most of the barrage had already thinned out, but Konoha's ninja army still launched a great many Kunai with Explosive Tags into the sky with a technique, sending them arcing down toward the Rock Ninja positions!
The Rock Ninja army roared in unison as well. A large group of Chunin surged to the front of their formation, formed Hand Seals together, and then slapped their palms against the ground!
"Rumble..."
The earth began to shake. Under the collective technique of the Iwagakure Chunin, a massive earthen wall was wrenched up from the ground and raised across the front of the Rock Ninja army.
By then, the last wave of Konoha's Kunai with Explosive Tags had arced in. Most of them struck the wall, while only a portion fell among the Rock Ninja ranks, tearing up a few limbs. But their losses were small, because the wall blocked the vast majority of the Explosive Tags!
Flames shot up along the wall. Powerful explosions sent rocks flying and made it shudder violently, but it never collapsed. It held firm through the entire barrage!
Even so, its "life" had reached its end. Once Konoha had finally used up all its long-range Kunai, the Rock Ninja stopped maintaining the wall and instead made it topple forward.
The earthen wall, which had protected the Rock Ninja army almost perfectly but was now in ruins, crashed onto the ground in front of them with a deafening roar, sending up clouds of dust...
"Prepare to attack!"
The Konoha ninjas were unfazed. If that was all it took to defeat the Rock Ninja, they wouldn't deserve to be one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages!
The command passed down through the ranks. The Chunin who had overseen the Kunai attack returned to their places, and the entire Konoha Ninja Army began preparing to attack. The Chunin took the opportunity to give the Genin around them one last set of warnings.
On the Rock Ninja side, the vast cloud of dust raised by the earthen wall slowly settled, revealing their ranks. They, too, were ready!
Even across the vast plain between them, the ninjas on both sides could feel the other's killing intent, as if it were about to spill over!
"Kill!"
No one knew who shouted first. In any case, the same word rang out from both formations almost simultaneously, until the shouts merged into one! It marked the opening of the two armies' full-scale battle!
Seen from above, the two ninja armies, which had been gathered in two dense masses, spread out toward one another and began their full-scale assault!
Qi's squad was among them. They were known as the second wave, and they were ordered to charge almost as soon as the first wave met the enemy.
They hadn't understood why, but that confusion soon vanished. By the time they had run only halfway, they suddenly realized that the first wave on both sides had been almost completely wiped out in that short time!
"I know you held back last time. We did too. But today, if we don't fight with everything we've got, we're dead. No one hold back!"
The speaker was Uchiha Xiu. His face had gone pale at the sight...
The others looked no better. Compared with today's battle, yesterday's probing clash had been child's play.
"The Rock Ninja's second wave is coming too! They're about as far from the battle line as we are! If we're late, our vanguard will be wiped out, and we'll have even more Rock Ninja to face!"
Hyuga Tong shouted hoarsely.
"We have to get there faster! Whoever falls behind is dead!"
"Then I'll go first. I have a way to get there ahead of you!"
Now that he had seen a real ninja army clash, Qi could think of nothing but killing.
"One person is still one more. You'd better stay alive until we catch up! None of us can die!"
Uchiha Xiu was overjoyed.
"If you survive, when we get back to Konoha, I'll help you get a couple of top-quality chakra blades. I can tell you don't know how to use ninja tools! You're wielding Kunai like short swords!"
"I'm not going to die! I'll gladly take those blades off your hands, so don't you dare back out later!"
Having had his skills seen through, Qi didn't mind at all. Instead, he laughed loudly and brought his palms together with a sharp clap.
"Everyone, get out of my way!"
He opened his mouth and roared. At the same time, he pushed off with his feet and leaped high into the air!
"Boom!"
Just as the others in the squad changed direction and pulled away, a huge mass of ice burst out of the ground where Qi had just been standing. It surged forward with a sharp whistle!
Qi dropped down at that moment, and his whole body instantly adhered to the ice. He raced forward with it toward the battlefield...
"Nice one! Charge!"
Uchiha Xiu, Hyuga Tong, Tahara Ryuji, and Sasaki Hideyoshi were stunned at first. Then they cheered all at once!
In a situation like this, whichever side reinforced the frontline first could wipe out the enemy there and its second wave in one-sided fashion!
Now Qi could arrive ahead of them. As long as he helped the Konoha ninjas on the front line kill the Rock Ninja, the rest of them could face the second wave with superior numbers. Their chances of survival would rise dramatically!
And Qi clearly had no intention of letting them down. The white ice crystal reached the battle zone in an instant.
"What's that?!"
The Rock Ninja and Konoha ninjas fighting in that section of the front line clearly weren't deaf. They couldn't possibly miss such a sharp whistle, especially one coming from overhead. Of course they would look.
"It's the enemy!"
"Reinforcements!"
Neither the Rock Ninja nor the Konoha ninjas were short-sighted. Even if they didn't recognize Ice Release, they could tell from Qi's uniform which side he was on.
"Now's my chance!"
A chance like this wouldn't come twice. Seeing how his sudden arrival had temporarily separated the Rock Ninja from the Konoha ninjas, Qi immediately used his Ice Release technique without hesitation.
As he formed Hand Seals, he sprang away from the ice in a flash. The moment he completed the seals, the massive ice crystal shattered into more than a hundred small icicles.
"Ice Release: Crystal Split Chaotic Blades!"
With Qi's roar, more than a hundred icicles arrived in an instant and swept viciously toward the Rock Ninja in the middle of the battlefield!