Cloud Village Strikes Back

The Northern Front border of the Land of Fire.

As soon as Taiichi entered the Camp, he realized that something was wrong.

Perhaps because they had been suppressed so severely during this period, the atmosphere in the Camp was always particularly oppressive, completely lacking the joy of having just won a battle.

Seemingly noticing Taiichi's confusion, Orochimaru, who was walking beside him, explained, "Over the past month, we have retreated from almost completely occupying the Land of Land of Hot Water to the border of the Land of Fire. Although it was to preserve our strength, it has ultimately dealt a heavy blow to morale."

Coupled with the several major battles of the past two days, resulting in enormous losses, the atmosphere in the Camp was naturally not good.

Taiichi nodded in understanding. Jiraiya in the same boat, almost collapsing from a Tailed Beast's sneak attack. Orochimaru, on the other hand, had been facing Tailed Beast attacks for so long, and his performance was already quite impressive.

Orochimaru led Taiichi back to the Central Army Tent.

At this moment, there were already more than a dozen ninjas sitting in the tent. These were all Jonin were still in the Camp. They had gathered together for two reasons: first, to hold a post-battle meeting, and second, to get to know this rising star of Konoha who had turned the tide of the battle as soon as he arrived on the battlefield.

Orochimaru took his seat at the head of the table and pointed directly at Taiichi beside him, saying, "Taichi Matsushita, many of you should know the Jonin the village sent to provide support this time. As for his strength, I don't need to say more; I suppose you've all witnessed it just now."

"Hello everyone, I'm Taichi Matsushita. Please take good care of me in the future."

Taiichi bowed politely to everyone, and Jonin the Jonin present returned the bow politely. This was not just a matter of politeness, but also a respect that came with strength.

After everyone finished their greetings, Orochimaru stopped wasting time and briefly summarized the results of today's battle before getting straight to the point.

"Taiichi's strength is evident to all. Some time ago, Cloud Village used the destructive Jinchuriki to constantly force us to retreat. Now, we also have experts who can restrain and even suppress Jinchuriki. Therefore, I have decided that starting tomorrow, we will switch from defense to offense and take back all the places we have lost."

Orochimaru truly lives up to his Orochimaru; compared to Jiraiya's gradual encroachment, his strategic approach is far more aggressive.

When Taiichi was on the Southern Battlefield, there were only two large-scale battles since the start of the war. However, on the Northern Battlefield, since Cloud Village declared war, there have been more than ten battles with a combined scale of thousands of people on both sides.

Basically, there's a small skirmish every two days and a big one every three days; these are completely different command styles.

"Alright, I've wanted to beat up those bastards Cloud Village Kumogakure for Tenten. They come here every day to swagger around, relying on their Jinchuriki as Jinchūriki."

"Lord Orochimaru, this should have been done a long time ago. The previous battles were too frustrating."

Taiichi looked down at each of the Jonin below, all of whom were filled with righteous indignation and full of agreement, and he couldn't help but admire Orochimaru's methods of managing his subordinates.

The fact that no one raised any objections in this situation, whether out of anger or agreement with Orochimaru's orders, demonstrates Orochimaru's personal charisma.

"Taiichi, do you have any opinions to say?" Orochimaru turned to look at Taiichi. He would no longer treat Taiichi as a child. With such strength, even a child would earn his respect. Orochimaru had always been a pragmatic person.

"Lord Orochimaru, you jest. I've only been here for one day and I'm not even familiar with the situation here yet. Of course, I'll follow your orders." Taiichi wasn't a troublemaker, so why would he disagree at a time like this?

Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction. Seeing that everyone was in agreement, he immediately began issuing tasks one by one.

One by one Jonin received their respective missions and left the Central Army Tent. In the end, apart from the strategist, Taiichi and Orochimaru remained in the tent.

"Taiichi, I'd still like to trouble you to check on the Medical Camp. There are a lot of wounded in the Camp lately. We're starting our counterattack tomorrow, and every wounded soldier we heal will give us more fighting strength. What do you think?"

Orochimaru spoke very politely, in a tone that sounded like he was negotiating, which made Taichi feel a Taiichi uncomfortable.

"Lord Orochimaru, you are the Commander, and I will naturally obey your orders. I will go to the Medical Camp now and do my best to treat the wounded."

Taiichi was equally unambiguous. He believed in treating others with the utmost respect, and since Orochimaru spoke to him in this way, he certainly couldn't let Orochimaru down.

After Taiichi left the Central Army Tent, a staff officer handed the compiled intelligence to Orochimaru for review.

Seeing his hesitant expression, Orochimaru said calmly, "Speak up if you have something to say. Aren't you busy enough with so many things? Why are you stammering?"

"Lord Orochimaru, I don't understand. Taichi Matsushita? Here, he's ultimately just your subordinate."

Orochimaru paused in his work, glancing briefly at the subordinate. Seeing that he wasn't one of the participants in the previous battle, he returned his attention to the document.

"If you had his level of ability, I would treat you with the same respect. Respect is not given by others, but earned by yourself."

He has such power, so he naturally deserves such treatment, understand?

The strategist ninja seemed to understand, but he was someone who listened to advice. Since Orochimaru had explained it that way, he would remember it and think about it slowly when he got back. Right now, he should focus on doing his own job first.

Watching his trusted subordinate leave, Orochimaru shook his head almost imperceptibly. His strength was lacking, but his loyalty was commendable, and he was willing to listen to advice; he was still a promising talent.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have said these things to a subordinate with no future. Once you reach a certain level of strength, you'll naturally understand this principle.

In the days that followed, Konoha abandoned its previous defensive stance and became increasingly aggressive, with various squads constantly infiltrating into the Land of Hot Water and attacking every Cloud Ninja they could see.

The Cloud Village was not to be outdone. If Konoha could attack the Cloud Village, the Cloud Village was not to be trifled with either. The battle between the two sides intensified, with neither side giving way to the other, and almost Tenten ninjas lost their lives in the struggle.

But gradually, the Cloud Village noticed something was wrong. A month had passed, and the Cloud Ninja were clearly showing signs of fatigue, but the Konoha did not seem to be in the same boat.

Not only did their number of participants in the attack not decrease significantly, but their morale also grew stronger with each battle.

Inside the Central Command Tent the Cloud Village's frontline Camp.

"Can anyone tell me what's going on? This fight is getting more and more frustrating."

Ai angrily questioned them from the head of the tent, but the tent was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone looked at each other, and no one could give a coherent answer.

"What, all of you are silent? Don't you always look down on Konoha Ninja? Now that you've faced them head-on and been forced to retreat all the way to the central part of the Land of Hot Water, isn't that humiliating enough?"

After a long silence, a handsome-looking Jonin seemed to have thought of something, "I've made a discovery, and I'd like to share it with everyone."

All eyes turned to them. Regardless of whether what you said was right or wrong, the fact that someone stood up and spoke up at this moment was a relief to them.

"Oh, hope, if you find anything, just tell us so we can all take a look."

Ai was overjoyed to finally hear someone speak, and when she saw that it was hope, she became even more eager to hear what he had to say.

"About 10 days ago, I wounded a Konoha Ninja on the battlefield. He was badly injured and although he escaped back, with such a severe injury, even if our best Medical Ninja did their best to treat him, he would probably need to rest for a month before he could fight again."

But to my surprise, just five days later, I saw him again on the battlefield. By then, his injuries had fully healed, and there was no trace of his previous injuries.

Do you think this is the reason why Konoha suffered so few casualties?

A brown-skinned Cloud Ninja said incredulously, "Xi, you mean the Konoha's Medical Ninja healed all the wounded in a short time and then sent them back to the battlefield?"

"That's right, that's exactly what I mean." Xi nodded and said without hesitation, "We all know that only a minority of ninjas actually die on the battlefield. Most ninjas, even if they can't win, can still escape back to the rear. If Konoha has such a group of skilled Medical Ninja, then all of this makes sense."

"His reminder makes me realize I've encountered a similar situation before, but I didn't think about it in that way at the time."

After the first one, several more Jonin encountering the same situation.

The case is now solved. Everyone can be certain that everything they're going through is because Konoha has a highly skilled Medical Ninja covering for them, which is why they're in such a passive position in the current battle.

"Big brother, didn't you say that Taichi Matsushita is Medical Ninja, and a very skilled one at that?" Killer B said, reciting his information in a strange rhythm.

The mention of Taichi Matsushita immediately silenced the tent; they had been thoroughly thrashed by this guy.

Over the past month, about 80% of the Jonin present had been Jonin up by Taiichi. If they weren't usually in groups of several, or working together with Killer B to restrain Taiichi, there would probably be half as many people here.

As for why we can draw such a conclusion, it's because those who don't believe in superstitions no longer have the chance to sit here.

"This Taichi Matsushita, hasn't he been fighting us Tenten for the past month? How does he still have the energy to treat others?"

Xi is one of the few people here who hasn't First Shinobi World War Taiichi, and her understanding of Taiichi is still based on hearsay, so her questions are rather subjective.

However, with Killer B's reminder, the other Jonin who had been paying attention to Taiichi's information also realized what was going on, especially A, who knew more about Konoha and Taichi Matsushita because he had previously stayed in the Land of Wind.

"It could very well be him. With Space-Time Ninjutsu combined with the Shadow Clone Technique, it's not impossible for him to appear in multiple places at the same time." Ai frowned, but still explained to Xi.

This Jonin all the Jonin present speechless. What was originally a fairly evenly matched situation had unexpectedly turned into a power gap due to the difference in medical expertise between the two sides.

How could these ninjas on the front lines possibly reason with them?

"Hey, let's ask the village for help. If this continues, the gap between us will only widen. By the time the other side gains a significant advantage, it will be too late." At this moment, Xi made the most rational analysis.

As Xi finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Ai, who was sitting at the head of the table. Although no one spoke, Ai understood the meaning in their eyes and agreed with hope's suggestion.

However, the frustration in his heart was indescribable. Since becoming Jonin, everything he had done had gone smoothly. Even leading 100 people on a long march to the Land of Wind was quite successful. The only two setbacks he had suffered were both because of Taichi Matsushita.

How do you imagine Ai, such a proud person, feeling? Right now, he wishes he could grind Taiichi to dust.

"I will report to the village and request new support," Ai reassured everyone first, then added, "But I'm not willing to give up."

He surveyed all the Jonin present Jonin roared, word by word, "Are you all content to be beaten so badly by that little brat that you have no choice but to ask the village for help?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances. After a moment, one of the Jonin, who had also not been properly disciplined Jonin Taiichi, roared, "We are not satisfied! We must take revenge!"

With one person taking the lead, others followed suit.

At this moment, Ai raised his hand to silence everyone and said in a deep voice, "I plan to change our strategy. Instead of focusing on seizing strategic points, we will organize elite troops to annihilate Konoha's remaining forces."

This was a strategic shift, and these frontline Jonin had nothing to say. For them, being able to kill Konoha ninjas and vent their pent-up frustration was already quite satisfying.

Among the Jonin, only a few who used their brains expressed concern. After all, if you do one thing, someone else will do another. Normal warfare methods are fine, but once they start using unscrupulous means, you usually end up losing in a disadvantageous situation.

However, their faint voices were quickly drowned out by the crowd's fervor and failed to attract anyone's attention.

Soon, the Cloud Village's strategy changed; they stopped seeking to occupy the various strongholds that Konoha had taken over.

Those strongholds that could be dealt with were destroyed directly with powerful Ninjutsu. Those that couldn't be dealt with in a short time were quickly reported, and a powerful ninja squad would soon arrive to provide support.

Those Konoha Ninja in the wild are more likely to be targeted by Cloud Ninja, often resulting in a Konoha squad facing attacks from two Cloud Village squads.

Konoha Front, Outpost No. 9.

"Has the distress signal been sent out?"

The newcomer nodded, then looked at his companion who was still constantly monitoring the outside world through the Sensory Barrier, and said with some worry, "Captain, is what we're doing appropriate? We don't even know the number of enemies. If we rashly request reinforcements like this, and our judgment is wrong, we'll be reprimanded!"

The Captain's expression was solemn. He stared at the Sensory Barrier in front of him and said without turning his head, "This is the most important stronghold in this area. Because of the terrain, once this place is cut off, all the strongholds to the east may be cut off or surrounded."

Therefore, while other outposts only have one squad stationed here, this place has three squads, including one led by Jonin like myself. You can imagine how important this place is.

Don't think that just being reprimanded or punished is enough; when you need help, you must seek it immediately without hesitation.

"Yes, Captain, you're right." The team member immediately admitted his mistake.

Just as the Captain was about to say a few more words, his heart suddenly pounded faster, a sense of impending death washed over him, and at the same time, a bright crimson light appeared on the Sensory Barrier in front of him.

"Damn it, at this intensity, everyone evacuate the base immediately."

Without a second thought, the Captain immediately issued the order.