Chapter 217: The Iwa Explosion Corps’ Night Raid
Morning.
A knock sounded at the door.
Pakura woke up.
She subconsciously pressed a hand to her forehead and felt a wave of exhaustion.
Only after steadying herself did she remember what had happened.
A faint blush appeared on Pakura's face.
She had misjudged Natsuki's strength, leaving her with no ability to resist at all.
Pakura vaguely remembered that she had even begged him for mercy.
When she thought of that behavior, the blush on her face became even more obvious.
At this moment, Pakura was deeply regretful.
If she had known, she would not have been so stubborn last night.
Pakura let out a breath.
She had even considered finding two female ninja in Suna to act as helpers.
But after thinking about it carefully, she decided not to make any decisions on her own, in case she was pushed into begging again.
Pakura put on her clothes and left the room.
She walked to the entrance and opened the door.
Standing outside was a little girl.
Her student, Maki.
"Sensei."
Maki asked curiously, "Why didn't you go to the training ground today?"
"I was just about to go."
Pakura said without changing expression, "I slept late last night because of the war and lost track of time."
"I see."
Maki quickly said, "Then, Sensei, you can keep resting. I can train by myself."
"I am already awake. There is no need to rest any longer."
Pakura thought for a moment and said, "Wait for me."
She turned and walked into the living room.
Before long, she reappeared and handed Maki a scroll.
"Give this to Rasa."
Pakura instructed, "Tell him to carry it out immediately."
"Yes, Sensei."
Maki took the scroll and said, "I will go now."
"After giving the scroll to Rasa, go to the training ground and wait for me."
Pakura nodded and said.
Maki turned and jogged away.
She soon arrived at the Kazekage Building and handed the scroll to Rasa.
Rasa opened the scroll in confusion.
When he saw its contents, he could not help gripping it tightly.
Being captured alive by Natsuki was an eternal pain for him.
Originally, Rasa had not wanted to go to the Land of Birds, because Pakura had been continuously weakening his influence.
If he went to the Land of Birds, no one in Suna would be able to oppose her.
But after seeing Natsuki's name, he decided to go to the Land of Birds.
Iwa was not inferior to Konoha.
Once the two villages fought, perhaps he would have a chance for revenge.
At that time, he could help Iwa and take the opportunity to kill Natsuki.
As for Suna, he planned to bring his own forces with him to the Land of Birds.
This way, first, he could avoid Pakura's suppression, and second, if he gained merit on the battlefield, he could instead expand his influence.
At the same time, in Konoha's temporary camp in the Land of Fire.
Natsuki sat up and yawned.
He had been quite busy last night.
After leaving Suna, he had gone to Konoha, and only after that did he return to the camp.
In one night, he had visited four different rooms.
Mikoto woke up.
She looked at Natsuki in a daze, then reached out and threw herself into his arms.
"Good morning."
Natsuki smiled as he felt her soft skin.
Mikoto subconsciously answered.
But she soon remembered her duties.
She steadied herself, picked up the clothes on the ground, and helped Natsuki dress.
In the past, she would first put on her own clothes before helping him dress.
But Natsuki did not like that order.
So it had become like this.
Only after Natsuki was dressed did Mikoto use clothes to cover her snow-white skin.
After breakfast, the group dismantled the tents and continued on their way.
Two hours later, they entered the Land of Rain.
Everyone changed into rain cloaks and headed toward the Land of Earth.
By dusk, they finally arrived at their destination, the main camp Amegakure had built near the border of the Land of Earth.
But Natsuki did not let Konoha establish its main camp right beside Amegakure's.
First, Amegakure and Konoha were ultimately not the same shinobi village.
Second, if the two main camps were built together, it would instead increase the risk of being exposed.
If Iwa found one, it would be equivalent to finding both.
At that time, it would be bad if they were taken out in one strike.
Amegakure's main camp was on the Land of Earth border, close to the Land of Rain.
After thinking about it, Natsuki had Konoha's main camp built on the Land of Earth border, but close to the Land of Birds.
This would make it convenient for him to make a move against Rasa.
Of course, the reverse was also true. It would make it convenient for Rasa to make a move against him.
"What is the situation?"
Natsuki came alone to Amegakure's main camp.
"Iwa has sent two thousand ninja."
Yahiko answered, "The commander is Gari. He possesses the kekkei genkai, Explosion Release."
Natsuki nodded.
Explosion Release referred to a kekkei genkai that converted chakra into explosions.
It sounded very similar to Deidara's explosive clay, but it was not the same thing.
Because Explosion Release did not require explosive clay. It could directly make chakra explode.
From this point of view, it was more like Projection Magecraft and Broken Phantasm.
"It seems Iwa has counted both Amegakure's and Konoha's ninja numbers together."
Natsuki returned to himself and said.
He had brought one thousand ninja.
If Amegakure gathered its forces, it could also put together one thousand ninja.
Together, the two villages had two thousand ninja.
Although only five hundred Amegakure ninja were actually here.
"Do you need me to transfer another five hundred ninja from Amegakure?"
Yahiko immediately asked.
"Not for now."
Natsuki shook his head.
It had not been easy for Amegakure to develop. There was no need to throw everything onto the battlefield.
If they all died, everything would be wasted.
Although that kind of thing was not very likely to happen.
"How are your strongholds and sentry posts coming along?"
After thinking for a moment, Natsuki asked.
"Most of the Land of Earth is rocky terrain. The area we occupy happens to have a rocky mountain in front of it."
Yahiko took out a map and said, "We built many strongholds and sentry posts around this rocky mountain."
Like the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth had many mountains.
The Land of Wind had many deserts.
The Land of Water had many seas.
Only the Land of Fire had a superior location with large plains.
Precisely because of this, in each Shinobi World War, Konoha was usually the one under siege.
"Then Konoha will build strongholds and sentry posts on both sides of yours."
After reading the map, Natsuki said this.
"Do you need our help?"
Yahiko nodded, then asked.
"No need."
Natsuki refused and said, "Konoha is still one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages."
Yahiko laughed awkwardly after hearing this.
"All right, go handle your work."
After greeting him, Natsuki returned to Konoha's main camp.
The main camp was still under construction.
Because they would be staying for a long time, they could not be careless like last night.
Aside from setting up tents, they also had to arrange traps and barriers.
The command tent was built first.
Natsuki immediately held a jonin meeting.
Mikoto, Nara Suzaku, Might Duy, Aburame Shibi, Hyūga Homon, and the others all arrived.
"Iwa has sent two thousand ninja led by Gari."
Natsuki took out a map and said, "They are now all north of this rocky mountain, while we are south of it."
"In other words, we will be fighting Iwa in an offensive and defensive battle around this mountain?"
Nara Suzaku asked.
"That is the current situation."
Natsuki nodded and said, "We need to establish our strongholds and sentry posts as quickly as possible."
He then began assigning tasks.
In less than an hour, all the jonin received their respective assignments.
"Tonight, just finish establishing the main camp."
Natsuki clapped his hands and said, "Meeting dismissed."
"Yes, Natsuki-sama."
Everyone answered in unison, then left the command tent.
In the end, only Mikoto remained.
"Come. Go with me to that rocky mountain and take a look at the situation."
Natsuki raised his hand and opened a spatial gate.
Hearing this, Mikoto quickly stepped forward and held his hand.
The two passed through the spatial gate and arrived high in the sky.
Natsuki immediately had Minazuki transform into a giant crocodile.
The two sat on the giant crocodile's back and flew toward the rocky mountain not far away.
The rocky mountain was not very tall, but it was especially long.
Under normal circumstances, attacking the Land of Earth would be very difficult.
Because this rocky mountain would block the way.
But right now, the anxious side was Iwa.
They wanted to drive Konoha and Amegakure out of the Land of Earth.
The giant crocodile soon reached the sky above the mountain.
Natsuki activated Observation Haki.
Amegakure's strongholds and sentry posts immediately entered his perception.
Although there were quite a few of them, compared with the entire mountain, there still were not enough.
But Amegakure could not be blamed for this.
After all, their number of ninja was limited.
Once Konoha's strongholds and sentry posts were added tomorrow, they would be able to form a decent defensive line.
"Wait for me here."
After saying this to Mikoto, Natsuki flickered and landed on a piece of rock.
He stretched out his hand, and his chakra transformed into blood and surged out.
After falling to the ground, it turned into eyeballs one after another.
Yukina had not come, so he could only do this personally.
Although Konoha and Amegakure both had many sensory ninja, the rocky mountain was so large that gaps could easily appear.
With his eyeball clones added in, it could truly be considered foolproof.
No, it had not reached the level of being foolproof yet.
Natsuki raised an eyebrow and thought of something.
With such a large rocky mountain, there were definitely many wild snakes.
After waiting for the dense mass of eyeball clones to disappear, Natsuki used the Summoning Technique and summoned Tagitsuhime.
"Master."
Tagitsuhime bowed slightly and said.
"Take control of all the snakes in this area and make them my eyes."
Natsuki ordered.
"Yes, Master."
Tagitsuhime nodded and said.
After finishing all this, Natsuki returned to the giant crocodile's back.
Ninja warfare was intelligence warfare.
War itself was the same.
Natsuki felt that with these three layers of sensory measures, he was already in an invincible position.
What he needed to do next was unlock his current character templates and try to trigger new ones.
"Let's go back."
Natsuki patted the giant crocodile.
The giant crocodile returned along the original route and finally stopped high above Konoha's main camp.
Natsuki opened a spatial gate.
He and Mikoto stepped inside, returning to the command tent.
The command tent's function was as a meeting room, not a personal tent.
Natsuki's personal tent was near the command tent.
Mikoto also had a personal tent.
But she would obviously be staying in the same tent as Natsuki.
"I am going out for a while."
Natsuki kneaded her hips.
Mikoto said nothing and only showed a gentle smile.
In the past, she would still have been shy. Now, she could accept it calmly.
However, anything deeper than this kind of teasing was still difficult for her to bear.
Natsuki arrived at Pakura's house in Suna.
It was already night.
Pakura was eating dinner.
"It seems I came at the right time."
Natsuki walked forward and sat opposite Pakura. "I have not eaten yet."
"I will make another dish."
Pakura put down her chopsticks and said.
"Sit down."
Natsuki grabbed her wrist and said, "I will cook."
Pakura paused slightly, then sat down again.
Natsuki stood and walked toward the kitchen.
He opened the refrigerator and glanced inside. Then he decided to save effort and simply cook a bowl of ramen.
Before long, he appeared in front of Pakura with a bowl of ramen.
"Why ramen?"
Pakura was somewhat puzzled.
She knew Natsuki's cooking skills were extremely refined.
"It is nothing."
Natsuki smiled and said, "The sooner we finish eating, the sooner we can handle proper business."
Pakura's face suddenly turned red.
Her snow-white skin rose and fell slightly with her breathing.
"That nightgown is nice."
Natsuki glanced at her and said.
Pakura returned to herself, looked down briefly, and immediately understood what he meant.
But she quickly regained her composure and even lifted her chest slightly as she looked at Natsuki.
"Do not disturb me while I am eating."
After examining her for a moment, Natsuki withdrew his gaze.
Pakura curled her lips.
What a fake serious man.
She reached out, picked up her chopsticks, and continued eating dinner.
After dinner ended, Pakura stood, collected the bowls and chopsticks, and walked toward the kitchen.
Natsuki thought for a moment and followed her.
Pakura stood in front of the sink, bent down, and washed the dishes.
Natsuki stepped forward and hugged her from behind.
"Wait until I finish washing."
Pakura's body stiffened as she said this.
But naturally, Natsuki would not listen.
His hand rested over her heart.
Pakura bit her lip.
She had already discovered Natsuki's preferences, or rather, the two parts of her that attracted Natsuki the most.
One in front and one behind, one smooth and one full.
Pakura tried to steady her breathing and continued washing the dishes with both hands.
But very soon, she realized she had been lifted up, both feet leaving the ground.
Pakura sighed and released her hands in exhaustion.
She leaned back tightly against Natsuki, letting all her weight press onto him.
Before long, she grew dizzy and wanted to ask for mercy.
Natsuki carried her toward her room.
As a result, before they even reached the room, she fell asleep.
Natsuki shook his head.
Fortunately, he had already drawn out the information he wanted.
That was that Rasa had already arrived in the Land of Birds.
Natsuki closed the door and returned to Konoha's main camp.
"Na. Natsuki."
Mikoto paused, because she smelled a strong fragrance.
This fragrance had not been on Natsuki before he left.
She could roughly guess what had happened.
Mikoto walked forward and hugged him.
She wanted to add a new fragrance to Natsuki.
Night fell.
Natsuki lay on the carpet, raising his head and admiring Mikoto.
Her beautiful face carried a blush, her long black hair stirred as if by wind, and her graceful body was filled with feminine beauty.
After an unknown amount of time.
Just as Natsuki was preparing to sleep, he suddenly opened his eyes.
He immediately raised his hand.
The view in his eyes changed, sharing sight with an eyeball clone on the rocky mountain.
In the distance, within a gap between the rocks, a group was moving forward cautiously.
"Iwa ninja."
Natsuki noticed the forehead protectors on their heads.
Were they trying to launch a night raid?
But what could eight people do?
Thinking this, Natsuki left Mikoto's soft embrace.
No matter what their goal was, he could not allow them to succeed.
Natsuki changed clothes and opened a spatial gate.
"Something is wrong!"
The Iwa sensory ninja immediately spoke.
"We were discovered?"
Another Iwa ninja asked.
After asking, he noticed the spatial gate not far away.
Everyone could not help looking at each other.
When had this door appeared?
The next second, Natsuki walked out.
"Natsuki?"
The leading Iwa jonin subconsciously blurted out.
The others' expressions changed drastically.
"Attack!"
The Iwa jonin accelerated without hesitation.
After arriving in front of Natsuki, he clenched his fist and swung it.
With one punch, the air distorted and immediately produced an explosion.
Natsuki instantly confirmed their identities.
They were ninja from Iwa's Explosion Corps.
If they managed to reach Konoha's main camp, they could cause a chain of explosions.
Eight people could create results far beyond eight hundred.
Clearly, Gari had judged that Konoha would not have time tonight to arrange strongholds and sentry posts, so he planned to launch a night raid.
To be honest, without the eyeball clones and the snakes of Ryūchi Cave, this night raid might have succeeded.
It might not have wiped out Konoha's entire force, but at the very least, it could have recovered some of the face Iwa had lost when its advance force was annihilated.
Tekkai: Break.
Natsuki ignored the explosion and punched through the Iwa jonin's heart.
"What?"
The other Iwa ninja's expressions changed drastically.
Natsuki gave them no time to react and raised his hand.
Hadō Number Ninety: Kurohitsugi.
The remaining seven Iwa ninja suddenly felt all light vanish before their eyes, as if they had fallen into darkness.
Although it was night, there was still starlight in the sky.
Moreover, as ninja, they could use chakra to achieve night vision.
If someone were watching from a distance, they would see the seven of them trapped inside a black, wall-like rectangular coffin.
But as members of Iwa's Explosion Corps, their reactions were not slow. In an instant, they erupted with a large amount of chakra.
The chakra exploded, producing firelight. Everything it passed became fragments.
The next second, countless shadow blades appeared in the darkness.
The seven Iwa ninja screamed.
Their bodies were riddled with holes, and blood splashed in every direction.
Natsuki casually waved his hand.
The screams stopped.
Seven heads fell to the ground.
Natsuki walked forward and found the Iwa jonin from before.
His heart had been pierced through, but he was not yet dead.
Natsuki's eyes trembled.
Both eyes activated the Mangekyō Sharingan at the same time.
The only slightly strange thing was that the pattern in each eye was different.
After all, they came from two different people.
Natsuki controlled the Iwa jonin and learned the purpose of their mission from him.
It was almost exactly as he had guessed.
Gari had sent them out to launch a night raid on Konoha's main camp and carry out a bombing.
If they could not find Konoha's main camp, Amegakure's main camp would do as well.
Natsuki took out a Summoning Storage Scroll and stored all their corpses inside.
As the commander, he also needed merit.
More accurately, he needed fame.
To become Hokage, fame was essential.
Since Natsuki had stopped a night raid by Iwa's Explosion Corps, naturally, it could not go unknown.
After all, there had been two jonin among them.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)
