Although this is not incomprehensible behavior.
But if combined with the previous posture shown by Konoha, the sense of violation here seems to be a bit strong. Shōji has every reason to suspect that Konoha must have changed its previous plan. Otherwise, it cannot be explained that in the past few days, it was almost like a raging wave, with one wave of attacks after another.
Although Jiraiya did not show up, the offensive intensity displayed by Konoha really made Iwagakure's side somewhat overwhelmed. Where Shōji is there, it can It is easy to take advantage. In other areas, most of the Konoha side is dominant. The casualties between the two sides are almost one to one. It can be seen that in the past few days, the frequency and intensity of Konoha's attacks have been so intense!
Another day of fighting has come to an end.
Shōji, who returned to the stronghold, also went straight to the central command area of the stronghold. When Shōji entered the room, Kitsuchi turned his back to Shōji, looked up slightly at the military map hanging on the wall. The many yellow and green dots marked on it represented the Iwagakure Ninja troops and Konoha Ninja troops distributed in this area.
There are also some intersecting indicators and symbols that represent each other's marching routes and the areas where the battles took place. Compared with Mount Wuyuan Base who just arrived a few days ago, Konoha strengthened its attacks on both sides and has already eaten up quite a few of the scattered small-scale Iwagakure Ninja troops!
Both of them want to seize the strategic space where the two wings are spread out.
Obviously at this point, Konoha is dominant, and Kitsuchi cannot move lightly. Without understanding the true intention of Konoha and the whereabouts of Jiraiya, it is best for Han to choose the standby mode that can support him at any time.
There is only Shōji, and he has no skills at all. He can be a little strong, but it is difficult to radiate to the entire area. After all, this is not a large-scale decisive battle between two villages!
Shōji can lead one side of the army to gain an advantage and even kill as many Konoha Ninja as possible, but in other areas, Konohagakure's strength is revealed, possessing the endurance of the most wealthy Kekkei Genkai Village, the average quality of Konoha Ninja is really better than other Four Great Shinobi Villages. To put it bluntly, under the same conditions, the same number of ninjas compete, it is definitely false, but Konohagakure is indeed the side with a high probability of winning.
This is the foundation Shinobi World No. 1 Ninja Village has accumulated over the years.
Even though he was ruined several times by Konoha F4, he still had a relatively solid financial background. This was what the other Four Great Shinobi Villages most envied and feared. Konoha's bloody attack confused Shōji, and a deep feeling of fear emerged deep in his heart.
Could it be that Konoha really wants to die here with their Iwagakure!?
Such a life-changing strategy, even if they Iwagakure can win in the end, how many of the five thousand Iwagakure Ninja sent to the front line will be left? Maybe we have to continue to mobilize troops from behind, and most of the nearly 7,000 Konoha Ninja stationed at the front line were killed or injured. That's trivial, but if we really get such a result.
Isn't that just letting Kumogakure profit?
Shōji said he couldn't understand. How could Nara Shikaku, the person who claims to be the IQ ceiling in the world of Hokage, be so stupid? Or maybe he just wants to intimidate them Iwagakure Ninja through such a direct and brutal tactic so that they can retreat?
There are so many doubts!
The sense of violation is too strong!
Shōji At this moment, I really feel like I have a lot of things but I can't grasp it at all.
"Kitsuchi!"
Therefore, he must come back and have a good discussion with his commander-in-chief to determine their Iwagakure's next strategy. It would be best to contact his own Third Tsuchikage in the village. After all, Shōji can't understand the current situation.
"Oh? Shōji, are you back? I happen to be looking for you too!"
The figure of stepping forward.
Kitsuchi turned around when he heard the footsteps of Shōji, and there was a trace of sadness hanging on his face. In the past few days, his Ninja Village has suffered nearly 500 casualties, and most of the injured people are not It was a minor injury type. Therefore, it can be properly declared that their Iwagakure Ninja frontline troops have lost one-tenth of their strength. In the previous advancement, there were no such heavy casualties. Now, just a few days after arriving at Mount Wuyuan Base, their own casualties are so heavy.
Even though the legions of ninjas are essentially different from ordinary armies, one thing is still common, that is, once the team suffers too many casualties, the combat morale will inevitably decrease. By that time, no matter how strong they are, it will be difficult to save the situation. They can't really fight thousands or even more enemies alone!
Even if Han, who is Five-Tails Jinchuriki, is besieged by Konoha's pre-prepared troops of thousands of people, he may be severely punished and directly sealed and dealt with, not to mention Kitsuchi and Shōji. No matter how strong a person is, Chakra and his physical strength are limited after all!
Therefore, the current situation is indeed not difficult for Iwagakure Ninja, but it is still a little subtle. Kitsuchi himself is a little unsure. Even if Shōji does not come back to find him today, Kitsuchi himself plans to send someone to notify Shōji to come back. He also needs to find someone to make plans.
"Yes, Kitsuchi. I think Konoha's recent actions have been strangely tough. I'm worried that Konoha is determined to completely eat up our troops here!"
Shōji stepped to the nearest position of Kitsuchi and said straight to the point.
There are many possibilities, but from the simplest thinking, the most direct possibility is to plan to eat up their more than 5,000 Iwagakure Ninja legions. Even if they Iwagakure can indeed continue to mobilize troops in the future, the loss of these five thousand people will definitely severely damage Iwagakure's vitality!
Even if this possibility is not very high, it is impossible to deny that the probability is completely 0.
Shōji feels that they must take all possibilities into consideration. If Konoha is really that big-hearted, they must make some preparations in advance, whether it is a head-on confrontation or a retreat, so as to cope with the next development.
"I'm so worried too, Shōji, what do you think is the probability that Konoha will definitely keep us?"
There were a few faint traces of blood in Kitsuchi's pupils, which proved that Kitsuchi had not had a good rest at all in the past two days. As the frontline commander of Iwagakure Ninja's army, it was easy to fall into emotions such as worry and anxiety when he was unable to understand the enemy's intentions.
"Although it is not very high, I think there is still a 30% probability. If Konoha really wants to mobilize further, while ensuring the basic defense of the three-line border, especially if we really reach some kind of agreement with Kumogakure, we can mobilize another five to six thousand troops to reinforce the front line. If their intention is to really eat us, the front lines extending from the two wings will be clear. They will compress the scope of our information investigation and cut off our retreat routes as much as possible. When the next batch of reinforcements arrive, they will be surrounded on three sides. What's more, they will further send elite troops to bypass Mount Wuyuan and sneak into Land of Grass. By that time, it is very likely that Third Shinobi World War's defeat will happen again!"
Don't mention that there is an Kage Level ceiling combat force like Jiraiya in the Konoha camp opposite at this moment. Even if there is not, once Konoha's military strength will further expand to as many as 10,000 people, and if it really unfolds smoothly from both sides according to Shōji's own preview, no matter how strong Shōji himself, Kitsuchi, Han and others are, they will never be able to avoid the defeat of their own ninja village.
After this period of confrontation, Shōji has truly realized the fact that even though Konohagakure has declined, its heritage is still there. Above Shinobi World, Five Great Shinobi Villages, only Konoha and Kirigakure had extremely large blood families. This was an advantage that other Legendary Sannin villages could not possess.
People can directly wholesale the birth of ninjas with various Kekkei Genkai and secret techniques. These people have extremely high combat advantages in ninja battles at all levels. Some are good at individual combat operations (Uchiha, Tsukikage Clan), but more suitable for group combat operations (Hyūga, Yamanaka Clan, Akimichi, Nara, Kurama, oil tomb, etc.)
As long as it is not a large-scale confrontation of thousands of people, but a battle controlled within a hundred people, these Ninja Clan can provide a great advantage. The collision over this period of time, that is, relying on Shōji, The casualty ratio between Iwagakure and Konoha is now controlled within the range of one to one. If ninjas from the two villages below Jōnin are allowed to fight, in terms of battle loss ratio, Iwagakure Ninja will definitely be worse!
Because Iwagakure Ninja cannot produce so many blood successor ninjas, the advantage of Earth Release only refers to Ultra-Heavy Rock Technique and Light-Weight Rock Technique. However, although these two techniques can make Iwagakure Ninja can control the weight of objects at will, giving itself the combat advantage of flying, but not all Iwagakure Ninja can master it. These are almost all techniques that can be mastered by the elite Earth Release who have extremely high talents in Iwagakure.
Otherwise, just by virtue of being able to fly, Iwagakure Ninja would be unique in the world. But in fact, since the establishment of Iwagakure, in the past few decades, including the dead, the number of Iwagakure Ninjas who can master Light-Weight Rock Technique will never exceed one thousand. Among today's Iwagakures, only two to three hundred people can master this technique.
This is a technique that does not require any special physique or bloodline, but it is extremely difficult to learn and master. Among the two or three hundred people, it is not necessarily said that every one can really fly. This technique requires exquisite Chakra control ability!
In a sense, it is no less demanding than Medical Ninja!
Therefore, in frontal combat, it is difficult for Iwagakure Ninja to gain an advantage without having a numerical advantage. This is also the greatest confidence that Konoha has been able to overpower other Four Great Shinobi Villages in the past.
Even though Shōji still doesn't think that Third Hokage has such courage and decisiveness, there are some things that he has to guard against.
"Thirty percent? This probability is really not very low. Kumogakure has still not taken any further practical actions so far. It is difficult not to make people wonder whether the two parties have reached an agreement to further target our Iwagakure!"
Kitsuchi sighed softly, one on one, Iwagakure certainly needs to be afraid of Konoha, but if the loss is too great, not to mention Kumogakure who is originally watching, the disabled Sunagakure in the south is also a big threat!
If they really fight to the death, Sunagakure can still explode tens of thousands of troops. Once such a threat breaks out from Southern Fortress when one's own side is defeated on the front battlefield, it will definitely be a nightmare for them Iwagakure.
"Kumogakure Still no action?"
Shōji frowned slightly and said with a slightly ugly expression.
Although it is clear that the course of the war will never be transferred by personal will, Kumogakure's move is really too harsh. Indeed, Shōji did not retaliate against Kumogakure at the beginning. Big hope, but in his opinion, you Kumogakure should at least force a wave of Konoha garrison troops in Land of Hot Springs and fully occupy Land of Hot Springs, right?
This is the basis, right?
Isn't Fourth Raikage's temper very bad?
But why do all Kumogakure's actions seem so light and indifferent now? This kind of development was completely contrary to his prediction, which made Shōji feel like he was severely slapped in the face.
He realized that he had gone too smoothly in the previous series of events, which led him to become a little arrogant subconsciously. The judgments that seemed to be made calmly and rationally still contained more of his own subjective judgments.
To put it bluntly, Shōji is just too wishful thinking.
However, life will inevitably have some setbacks and blows. Although it is said to be the most important war between the two countries, at least the situation is not bad. From the scene, they Iwagakure still have the advantage. After all, the worst situation in the estimate is only what was expected and did not happen. Everything can be saved.
Therefore, Shōji also adjusted his mentality very well.
"Then it seems that we must prepare for the worst, Kitsuchi. If things go against our expectations, we'd better give up Mount Wuyuan Base immediately and return to Land of Grass territory, where we can rebuild our defense line. And I believe that as long as we take the initiative If we give in a little, Konoha will most likely not push forward. Even if we really need to pursue further, we can deal with it more easily in Land of Grass. The supply line can be shortened, and we are less likely to be surrounded by Konoha!"
Shōji took a deep breath, his brain started spinning, and after weighing the pros and cons of various situations deep in his heart, he said in a deep voice.
Although this approach cannot bring more benefits to the Ninja Village, they themselves have not suffered much losses. Since the dispatch of troops this time, the largest casualties have been in the past few days, and they have swallowed the entire Land of Grass, completing the original set goal, and both face and slander have been lost. With the situation, retreating is not something that cannot be accepted. The worst thing is that they will continue to argue with Konoha. Maybe according to the character of that Third Hokage, they Iwagakure can get another batch of supplies or other compensation!
No matter how you look at it, they all belong to the type of making sure profits without losing money.
After all, just as Konoha is now very afraid of the attack from Iwagakure and Kumogakure, Iwagakure can't stand the siege of the two major powers., and once we really get into a war with the two major countries, we can guess with our toes that Sunagakure in the south will definitely send troops simultaneously. By then, it will not be a question of whether to make money, but how much we will lose!
"Well, that's what I think about it. For such a strong attack from the other side, the greater possibility is that Mount Wuyuan Base is here. There is a high probability that Land of Fire's senior management exerted a certain degree of pressure. Shōji, please shrink the front a little during this period and try to avoid unnecessary battles! To maintain our combat power to a limited extent, I will contact the village immediately to further confirm the dynamics on Kumogakure's side!"
Kitsuchi nodded heavily and said.
"Yes, I understand. Oh, by the way, Kitsuchi, how does the strength we deploy in the eastern border compare with the strength of Kumogakure?"
"Oh? You don't have to worry about this, Shōji. From the beginning, Lord Tsuchikage has already sent Mister Rōshi to the eastern border. In the previous period, Ido, who had just returned from Snow Country, was also sent to In addition, Lord Tsuchikage also seems to have temporarily summoned Shisui from the daimyo-sama and sent them to the eastern front together. Unless Kumogakure invades in a large scale, we are still at an advantage based on the comparison of the enemy's and our border forces!"
Although the two countries are in a temporary Alliance Treaty relationship, there is a saying that the hatred value of the two major countries is only high and not low. Even if they come together because of temporary interests, Ōnoki has never relaxed its vigilance towards Kumogakure. Otherwise, as mentioned before, if Iwagakure's entire army invades, and Konoha will be under far more pressure than it is currently. It is precisely because Iwagakure still needs to allocate a certain amount of troops to guard Sunagakure and Kumogakure, which results in less than one-third of the force that can be dispatched to the southeastern front line.
Fortunately, in the south, the duo of Bunya plus Hoshino, as well as the only two thousand garrison troops led by Sunagakure, can withstand it as long as Fourth Kazekage, or One-Tail Jinchuriki, is not dispatched.
But things are different in the east.
Don't mention that Fourth Raikage.
Just two Tailed Beast Jinchuriki in his village are enough for Iwagakure to drink a pot. In addition to the necessary military security, Ōnoki also immediately dispatched Rōshi, Four-Tails Jinchuriki, to the largest garrison on the eastern border to guard On the Kumo Ninja side, in order to provide an extra layer of insurance, Shisui, a member of the Uchiha tribe who owned Mangekyō Sharingan, was sent over. Shisui only slightly resisted the battle with Konoha Ninja, but the other ninja villages did not feel any psychological pressure at all.
Naturally, he accepted the order happily and left.
This is an important act to contribute to the village and further expand the presence and trust of the family in the village. Shisui will certainly not refuse.
"Oh? Really, then it's really not a big problem. Then, I'll be rude first, Kitsuchi!"
After hearing that Lord Tsuchikage had the foresight to arrange for Rōshi and Shisui to go to the eastern front, and that Ido, an experienced person, was behind them, Shōji was also relieved. Such a lineup configuration, combined with There are also three thousand garrison forces deployed on the eastern border all year round. Unless Fourth Raikage personally leads the two Tailed Beast Jinchuriki in Kumogakure, otherwise, it will be impossible to easily break through the garrison force on the eastern border in a short time. In the worst case, a part of the buffer time can be gained.
Shōji also relaxed completely and bowed slightly to Kitsuchi in front of him.
"Yeah!"
Then he strode away.
In the frontline position, he cannot be absent for too long. Under his own support, the pressure on the two wings is still very high. If he leaves for too long, it is very likely that the third line will be broken through. Once all the outer positions are lost and they are compressed into a small position in Mount Wuyuan, the situation will only get worse.
Such a situation.
It was the Iwagakure side that tried its best to avoid it.
Even if you want to retreat, you and others must retreat in an orderly and proactive manner, rather than a suppressed and defeated retreat. There is an essential difference between the two.
Therefore, Shōji must return to the frontline position immediately.