That night, Uzuki Yugao stayed in Kusagakure.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Sora ordered his subordinates to set up defenses in preparation for the Land of Earth's surprise attack.
He distributed Flying Thunder God Kunai among them and had them buried at various locations outside the village.
Then he summoned some of Kusagakure's elite ninja and gave them their orders.
They were to erect barriers, post sentries, evacuate civilians, and so on.
All that remained was to wait for the Land of Earth's forces to arrive.
He intended to keep the battlefield outside Kusagakure and prevent every enemy from entering!
To that end, he stationed four of the Six Impure World Reincarnations to the east, south, west, and north, leaving the other two to patrol as a mobile force.
As the caster of Impure World Reincarnation, Uchiha Sora could use his connection with the reincarnated ninja to check their surroundings whenever he wished.
Once everything was ready, Uchiha Sora went to rest and conserve his strength.
After all, the defensive battle ahead was bound to take a considerable toll.
It would also be a trial and a challenge for him.
In the early hours of the morning, the village alarm finally sounded.
Uchiha Sora sat up in bed, put on his custom white ceremonial cloak, gathered plenty of Flying Thunder God Kunai, and walked out of his room.
Uzuki Yugao had also been alerted by the alarm. She hurried over and found Uchiha Sora.
"What are you doing here?" Uchiha Sora asked with a slight frown, taking in the fitted combat outfit that accentuated her graceful figure.
"I came to help you!" Yugao said. "Why else would I have stayed?"
Uchiha Sora did not know whether to laugh or cry. "You really want to fight alongside me? Come on, this isn't a game. Stay in the village!"
"Sora! Are you looking down on me?" Yugao immediately grew angry and frowned.
"Don't be stubborn. We're facing Iwagakure's forces, and they're definitely no pushovers. It's too dangerous for you to join the battle," Uchiha Sora urged.
"Don't forget that I'm a Special Jōnin of Konoha!" Yugao insisted. "Am I not even qualified to fight?"
"I know you're not weak, but I'm afraid you'll get hurt," Uchiha Sora said, shaking his head.
Yugao trembled slightly. Uchiha Sora's words had touched the most tender part of her heart.
Her eyes misted as she gazed at his handsome profile, a jumble of emotions stirring within her.
If only we were still in Konoha!
Seeing that Uzuki Yugao refused to leave, Uchiha Sora could only say, "Fine. You can join the battle, but stay by my side for now. Let my reincarnated subordinates go in first."
Only then was Yugao satisfied.
In the woods outside Kusagakure.
The Land of Earth's entire surprise attack force numbered roughly a thousand.
They split into two groups, one attacking Kusagakure's main gate while the other broke in from the rear.
Well before this, the Land of Earth had used spies planted inside Kusagakure to map out detailed infiltration routes.
Their invasion plan called for a feint at the main gate to draw Uchiha Sora's attention. Once his focus was entirely on the front gate, the force attacking from behind could enter the village directly.
One objective was to seize some of Kusagakure's resources and secret techniques. Their other, most important objective was to catch Uchiha Sora in a pincer attack and force him to submit, ideally killing him on the spot. That would allow them to claim the hundred-million bounty and uncover the secrets of the Sharingan from his body.
The Third Tsuchikage also knew about Uchiha Sora's background. He knew that Sora came from Konoha's Uchiha Clan. Although he did not know Sora's exact abilities, his youth was an undeniable fact.
Thus, in the Third Tsuchikage's eyes, Uchiha Sora certainly had some strength, but he could not possibly be all that powerful.
Leading this force was an expert second only to the Third Tsuchikage in Iwagakure-the Third Tsuchikage's son, Kitsuchi!
Kitsuchi was a tall, imposing man with rugged features. His Earth Release techniques were unmatched in the shinobi world, making him Iwagakure's foremost representative after the Third Tsuchikage.
And he was the main force behind this feint against Kusagakure!
"Everyone, something seems wrong!" Kitsuchi said. With half the force under his command, he stopped in the woods outside Kusagakure and stared toward the village with a deep frown.
"What's wrong, Captain?" someone beside him asked in confusion.
"Kusagakure seems far too quiet! No matter how stealthy we've been, there's no way their people haven't noticed us by now!" Kitsuchi reasoned.
The elite ninja beside him immediately caught on and exclaimed in surprise, "Could Kusagakure be doing this deliberately?"
"This is bad! We may have walked into an ambush!" someone suddenly shouted.
The moment those words left his mouth, explosions erupted all around their force.
Grass Ninja who had been lying in wait suddenly emerged from every direction and closed in on Kitsuchi's troops.
"Damn it! It really is an ambush! These bastards actually dared to ambush us!" an Iwagakure ninja cursed.
"Stay calm!" Kitsuchi said. "This rabble from Kusagakure isn't what we need to worry about. Even if they surround us, they're no match for us. What concerns me is that our intelligence seems to have been leaked well in advance. Only people from the Five Great Shinobi Villages would likely have that kind of intelligence capability!"
"Don't forget our other objective here!" Kitsuchi reminded them.
"Could it be... Konoha pulling the strings?" Those around him shuddered in alarm.
"That's it! If Konoha is involved, they would never sit back and watch us attack Kusagakure. There might even be plenty of Konoha ninja among the people lying in ambush around us!"
"Damn it, Konoha's Third Hokage really is cunning! Looks like this mission is going to be a real headache!"
Kitsuchi waved his hand. "No matter what, we must complete our mission! We may have lost the initiative, but Iwagakure's ninja are no pushovers! Everyone, fight with everything you've got!"
With that, Kitsuchi was the first to unleash a Ninjutsu.
He slammed his hand against the ground, and an enormous stone golem rose from the earth. Under his control, the golem, a full three or four stories tall, roared and charged at the Grass Ninja.
Seeing this, the other Iwagakure ninja unleashed their own Earth Release Ninjutsu.
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!
Earth Release: Fissure Palm!
Earth Release: Earth Spear!
Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spear!
Earth Release...
Earth Release Ninjutsu came one after another, bombarding the Grass Ninja.
Iwagakure's Earth Release Ninjutsu were extremely powerful. With so many people using various Earth Release techniques together, they instantly set the battlefield quaking.
Dust billowed, and the fierce sounds of battle soon filled the air...
PS: There'll be an extra chapter tonight! My blind date told me she has June 1 off and that we could plan an outing, but I have chapters to write! What should I do?
Before you continue