Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 131 The War Reaches its Peak

After completing his experiment, Hyuga Kanan returned to his secluded training room. He felt that he was not far from breaking through to the Innate Realm. In addition, with the pure soul energy he absorbed and refined in the Ninja World, he believed that he would soon reach the Golden Core stage.

Once he reaches the Golden Core stage, Hyuga Kanan will be able to truly use some Taoist techniques.

Hyuga Kanan is engrossed in training.

During Hyuga Kanan's training, the war in the ninja world showed no signs of abating; on the contrary, it became increasingly intense. As various clans of Konoha sent their elites to war, Konoha was finally able to barely maintain the situation on the battlefield, but there was still no hope of victory.

However, the Uchiha clan's gathering of all its elite ninjas to fight against Kirigakure gave Konoha a decisive advantage on the battlefield. The Uchiha clan's formidable performance proved to the outside world why they were considered the strongest clan in the ninja world. Even with the entire Kirigakure force mobilized, they couldn't defeat the Konoha forces led by the Uchiha clan, and were even severely suppressed. Had Konoha not received reinforcements, they might have already won this battle.

Without reinforcements, the Uchiha clan was also very dissatisfied with the Konoha leadership. They were about to crush the Kirigakure front-line troops and drive them out of the Land of Fire when reinforcements arrived, forcing the Uchiha clan's forces to abandon their retreat and return to their camp.

As reinforcements from the Mist Ninja front lines increased, the Uchiha clan found themselves struggling to fight back. Even though the Uchiha ninja were all incredibly strong, facing a Mist Ninja force several times their size, the Uchiha clan could only defend and could no longer launch proactive attacks as before.

As time went on, the ninjas trained under the Blood Mist policy of Kirigakure showed a crazy side, attacking the Uchiha clan's defensive positions without regard for casualties, causing huge losses to the Uchiha clan.

This was the first time the Uchiha clan had suffered such heavy losses since joining Konoha. More than half of their thousands of ninja were lost, most of whom were elite members of the clan, a devastating blow. Faced with this dire situation, the Uchiha leader decided to request aid from Konoha. However, the Konoha leadership hesitated. On one hand, they feared the Uchiha clan would grow stronger as a result; on the other hand, they did not want to see Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village) win the war.

Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately decided to send reinforcements, but in small numbers. His goal was simply to prevent the Mist Ninja from achieving victory on the battlefield. He wouldn't give the Uchiha clan any opportunity to grow stronger or gain greater prestige, and he could also deplete the Uchiha clan's strength to the maximum extent possible.

Most of the forces Konoha has left are reserved for Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze. Most of the elite ninjas dispatched by the Konoha clan have been assigned to the battlefields of Sand Ninja and Iwa Ninja, providing Minato Namikaze with the greatest support.

The Uchiha clan was furious upon receiving the message from Konoha. They knew that many clans had dispatched their elite ninjas, but they had received no support on this battlefield. Instead, they were only given a small number of ordinary ninjas, far too few to defeat the Mist Ninja forces.

They had previously held a significant advantage; had Konoha's reinforcements arrived in time, they might have been able to crush Kirigakure and drive them into the sea. The Uchiha clan leader was furious, tearing Konoha's letter to shreds in anger; he knew the intentions of Konoha's leadership perfectly well. However, the situation was critical, and they had no other choice. After a brief discussion, the Uchiha clan decided to try and turn the tide on their own.

They skillfully utilized the terrain to their advantage, devising an ingenious tactic. Meanwhile, the young elites of the Uchiha clan stepped forward, displaying astonishing talent and strength. With fearless courage, they charged into the enemy ranks like tigers descending a mountain, unleashing their unparalleled eye techniques, placing immense pressure on Kirigakure. In this thrilling battle, the Uchiha clan gradually turned the tide. Their united and unwavering spirit chilled the enemy and earned the admiration of the other Konoha ninja.

The battle finally stabilized, and the Mist Ninja completely lost the ability to continue a large-scale offensive. They could only send elite ninjas from the village to infiltrate the rear of the Konoha defenses and attack logistics transport teams to disrupt the deployment of the Konoha troops at the front.

To inflict the greatest blow on Konoha, Kirigakure dispatched the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The weakest of these seven were Jonin-level ninjas, and wielding special ninja swords, their strength could reach the level of elite Jonin. Together, they could even contend with a Kage-level ninja.

The Mist Ninja mobilized these seven people to inflict the greatest damage on Konoha's logistics and create an opportunity for the frontline troops to win.

However, reality often falls short of expectations. These seven ninjas suffered unprecedented and devastating defeats in their repeated attacks and sabotage operations against Konoha's supply convoys. Then, during one of these attacks, a powerful ninja capable of opening the Eight Gates appeared within Konoha! This mysterious expert, with astonishing speed and strength, instantly routed their forces.

In this fierce battle, four of the seven were killed on the spot, while the remaining three fled back to Kirigakure's headquarters in a panic. Such heavy losses put immense pressure on the entire Kirigakure village and severely damaged the morale of the frontline ninjas. Their once high morale now plummeted, and they began to doubt their ability to defeat the powerful Konoha village.

This devastating defeat gradually eroded the people of Kirigakure's faith in victory, and their once unwavering resolve began to falter. The shadow of war loomed over everyone, and the future seemed shrouded in uncertainty and unknown.

On the battlefield where Konoha and Iwa ninja clashed fiercely, Minato Namikaze, supported by the village's powerful forces, thrived, displaying his astonishing talent and strength to the fullest. Facing the overwhelming and numerous Iwa ninja enemies, Minato Namikaze showed no fear, his figure moving like a ghost across the battlefield.

He unleashed a dazzling array of ninjutsu with incredible speed and precision, leaving his enemies defenseless. His kunai gleamed coldly, each swing sending a spray of blood down his spine as he claimed the lives of the Iwa ninja. Under his onslaught, the Iwa ninja were routed, utterly powerless to retaliate.

Furthermore, Minato Namikaze demonstrated exceptional combat intelligence. He consistently made the right judgments at crucial moments, skillfully utilizing the surrounding environment and terrain to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy. At the same time, his teamwork with his teammates was seamless; their mutual trust and support greatly enhanced the team's overall combat effectiveness.

In this fierce battle, Minato Namikaze became the most dazzling presence on the battlefield. He proved his worth with his actions, earning the respect and praise of his comrades. The Iwa ninja, on the other hand, felt fear and helplessness in the face of this powerful opponent. They realized that encountering such a formidable foe, the outcome of the war was likely already predetermined.

However, Onoki, the Tsuchikage who was originally defending against Kumogakure, finally couldn't hold back any longer and abandoned his defenses against Kumogakure, directly leading a portion of the Iwa ninja to reinforce the battlefield against Konoha. Facing the support of the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, Minato Namikaze met his strongest opponent yet. Meanwhile, the Iwa ninja on the front lines regained their morale due to Onoki's arrival and once again suppressed the Konoha forces.

The worst battlefield would probably be the one between Konoha and Sand Ninja. Faced with the Sand Ninja mobilizing the entire village, Jiraiya's Konoha forces could only suffer repeated defeats. After all, the Sand Ninja far outnumbered and outmatched the Konoha ninja led by Jiraiya, and Jiraiya also had to contend with the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, Chiyo, and other Kage-level ninja. Most importantly, the Sand Ninja had even sent the Jinchūriki of the One-Tailed Shukaku to the battlefield.

Jiraiya could only fight and retreat, hoping to delay the Sand Ninja's advance. At the same time, he kept requesting reinforcements from Konoha, asking them to send Kage-level ninja to support him.

Upon learning of Jiraiya's predicament, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no intention of personally intervening, only instructing Jiraiya to hold on. He himself returned to Orochimaru's laboratory, as Orochimaru, a veteran of World War II, was currently the most suitable Kage-level ninja in Konoha.

Faced with Orochimaru's renewed demand for him to go to the battlefield, Hiruzen Sarutobi refused without hesitation. Orochimaru had long been aware of his Hokage's shamelessness; even with Konoha in such dire straits, he showed no intention of going to their aid. The Kage of other ninja villages had already gone to the battlefield to increase their village's chances of victory. Only the Hokage of Konoha, even with Konoha facing such a predicament, was still scheming against the other clans.

If we disregard the Uchiha clan and provided them with the full support they could have achieved, the war against Kirigakure would likely have ended by now, and they would have been driven back into the sea. But simply to weaken the Uchiha clan, they watched helplessly as their advantages were gradually eroded by Kirigakure's reinforcements, until they were now suppressed and locked in a stalemate.

Although Orochimaru did not go to the battlefield, he was still very clear about the intelligence on the battlefield and knew that Konoha Village was already at its last gasp. Even if he went to the battlefield, he could not change anything, at most he could only delay the time of defeat.

The war has now reached a fever pitch, with the Kage of every ninja village active on the battlefield. Orochimaru alone, a Kage-level figure, cannot change the situation. Unless some unforeseen circumstances occur, Konoha's defeat is already a foregone conclusion.