Counterattack

As a profession of war, the ninja trade was inherently distorted. The entire ninja military was like that.

In fact, the world of Naruto had once possessed an age of military strategy much like ancient Earth's. The nations of the First Warring States era had been like that—countries that fought military confrontations not through supernatural power, but through powerful armies and famous generals. They had even once developed what was called the art of war, until all of it was destroyed and trampled beneath the existence of ninja armies.

If not for people like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, perhaps all of this would not have been so thoroughly destroyed. Before power on their level, strategy became utterly meaningless. Overwhelming Wood Release and fully developed Mangekyō Sharingan were things that even other ninjas could only look up to. Konoha's strength had likewise reached its peak in that era.

No matter what, even if those who came after failed to reach such heights, the deeds of those two had truly changed everyone—especially the mindset of later ninjas. In the current world of Naruto, there were only strong warriors, no famous generals.

As one of the components of the ninja military, the noble armies of the various nations fought in much the same way as traditional ninja forces. At their core, everything developed toward absolute power.

The Water Prefecture Army, the only one of the five great prefectural armies primarily organized as a navy, was no exception. Their attack came swiftly and fiercely.

The moment the black sails were lowered, the surrounding sea underwent a strange transformation. An astounding volume of mist was generated directly from the seawater. From afar, it looked as though an entire layer of the sea had been "evaporated," turning into surging vapor that swept toward the fleets