Iwagakure's Sorrow

The Iwagakure's counterattack has begun.

Even Hidden Sand Village was caught off guard and lost many ninjas, so you can imagine what the situation was like for the smaller ninja villages.

A counterattack brought the rapidly advancing Allied Shinobi Forces to an abrupt halt, temporarily halting their advance.

The deaths and injuries of ninjas alone were not enough to stop the allied forces.

However, the sudden appearance of Iwagakure's air force caused the allied forces to temporarily abandon their plans for a reckless advance.

After receiving the scroll from Ren, Ōnoki obviously did some things.

More than a dozen ninja villages, including Hidden Sand Village, suffered aerial attacks from Iwagakure.

Apart from Hidden Sand Village, all the other villages were small ninja villages. The reason Hidden Sand Village received special treatment was simply because it moved too fast, ultimately paying the price for its reputation for 'divine speed'.

It is impossible for an air force to turn the tide of battle.

However, Rōshi did not intend to achieve victory with this hastily assembled 'clay blasting' force.

Their sole aim was to inflict more casualties and slow down the coalition's advance.

Apart from Hidden Sand Village, the other Three Great Shinobi Villages were not attacked by the air. This was partly due to the caution of the Three Great Shinobi Villages, and partly because the major ninja villages had a constant stream of skilled ninjas. Such small-scale aerial attacks were actually not difficult to deal with.

The Allied Shinobi Forces acted swiftly, reassuring their respective units and restoring their confidence.

Meanwhile, special squads from several ninja villages are studying clay fragments brought back from the battlefield.

In just half a day, they understood most of its mechanisms and properties.

While it's impossible to replicate this Explosive Clay directly, a solution has been developed to address the issue.

Early the next morning.

Like tigers that have only scratched the surface, the Allied Shinobi Forces, after licking their wounds, resumed their hunt.

This time, the ninja team's march was much slower than their previous rampages, moving at a snail's pace, at least ten times slower.

Every step forward was taken with utmost caution, leaving Iwagakure no chance.

In a makeshift underground cave in front of the Allied Shinobi Forces.

More than twenty Iwagakure Jonin together, shoulder to shoulder.

It was they who led their troops to deliver a crushing blow to the Allied Shinobi Forces yesterday.

Faced with the overwhelming force of the Allied Shinobi Forces, whose sheer numbers far surpassed those of Iwagakure, they were forced to confront them head-on.

The Jonin from Iwagakure all wore expressions of distress.

Yesterday 'First Shinobi World War was perhaps the limit that Iwagakure could achieve; it is now completely impossible to replicate yesterday's results.

"Don't look so gloomy, we've achieved our objective. The enemy's speed has been reduced by more than ten times, which is something to be happy about!"

The leader broke the oppressive atmosphere, attempting to boost the confidence of those present.

It does have some effect, but not much.

The atmosphere lightened slightly, but it remained incredibly heavy.

Perhaps a Jonin couldn't stand the oppressive atmosphere, or perhaps he was thinking about the fate that awaited him.

Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he asked the person in charge.

"Sir, what is the point of what we are doing? At a time like this, can you tell us?"

The leader was one of the five people who remained in Rōshi's office that day, a die-hard fighter from beginning to end.

He knew perfectly well that Iwagakure was doomed to defeat, but he was determined not to surrender or flee.

He was born and raised in Iwagakure. Iwagakure Iwagakure carried his entire life. He was Iwagakure Ninja, and he was Iwagakure.

He was determined to die, but he didn't have the will to let the others die with him. Fortunately, now, the Lord Tsuchikage has taken on all of this, so he doesn't need to make a choice; he only needs to carry out orders.

Apart from the person who spoke, the other Jonin also turned their gazes to him, their eyes filled with doubt and anticipation.

Looking at the two overly young faces in the group, his heart softened, but in the end he hardened his heart.

"What, have you all forgotten your duties? You are ninjas, your only responsibility is to follow orders. Or do you want to know the details so you can decide whether to continue the mission or desert and leave your useful bodies to wait for the right moment?"

"No, I wouldn't desert my post. I just spoke out of curiosity, sir!"

The person who had spoken earlier quickly denied it.

"Yes, sir, you know what kind of mouth he has, but sir, I'm actually quite curious about it too."

"Shut up! You're curious about everything, even what the women on East Street wear!"

"..."

As the others changed the subject, the conversation veered completely towards the unknown. The solemn atmosphere inside the small cave dissipated, replaced by a unique kind of joy.

Those who didn't know better would think these Iwagakure had already won and were planning to return to their village soon, showing no awareness of their impending doom.

Only they themselves knew that this was purely to relieve their inner tension.

After a while, seeing that the atmosphere had become more relaxed and the topic had completely gone astray, the leader finally spoke.

"Alright, I can tell you a tiny bit. This is all part of the Lord Tsuchikage's plan, and the longer we delay the enemy, the more likely the Lord Tsuchikage's plan will succeed. I can't reveal any more than that."

It seemed like he said something, yet it also seemed like he said nothing at all. The leader paused slightly before continuing.

"Just know this: our sacrifice wasn't in vain. The village will remember it!"

"Sir, according to you, there is still hope for the village?"

"Nonsense! Of course there's hope, otherwise what are we doing here!"

The leader had incredibly deep eyes and was silently muttering to himself.

There is hope, but it may not be what you hope for!

"Alright, it's about time, we should get going!"

Led by more than twenty Jonin and aided by air support, over a thousand Iwagakure ninja launched a suicidal attack on Allied Shinobi Forces that outnumbered them by several times.

The clay unit's attack gave the Iwagakure Ninja an easy target, and they launched a relentless attack on the breach.

Target: Hidden Grass Village Unit.

The leader of the Iwagakure Jonin now all alone; his subordinates had died before his eyes, each with a satisfied smile.

At this point, he had completely lost all ability to move; his Chakra, physical strength, and even his energy were all completely depleted.

Iwagakure wins big!

With just over a thousand men, they routed a force of several thousand from the Hidden Grass Village, killing nearly two thousand enemies.

Regardless of what the Allied Forces do, the Hidden Grass Village Army is now defunct in name only; it has nothing left but a title.

However, Iwagakure's troops were also slaughtered by the ever-growing forces, leaving only one survivor.

The Takigakure squad came and got a free ride. One of them, a dark-skinned girl about the same age as Naruto, looked at the scene of corpses strewn everywhere and asked...

"Uncle, are we really righteous? It seems like Iwagakure doesn't want us to save them?"

The ninja, whom Fu called "Uncle," smiled slightly.

"No, they want to, they must want to!"

After responding, he awkwardly Hand Seals and, along with many other Takigakure, used Ninjutsu against the remaining Iwagakure.

[Earth Release: Earth Release: Earth Spear!]

Countless earth spikes shattered the remaining Iwagakure into countless pieces. The ninja clapped his hands in satisfaction and gave Fu a smug smile.

"Look, this is justice!"