met free Chapter 272 Holding Off the Enemy Alone
Chapter 272 Holding Off the Enemy Alone
Chapter 272 Holding Off the Enemy Alone
The Hokage Building was brightly lit in the early morning.
Taiyi silently observed the expressions of the three Konoha high-ranking officials, feeling extremely fortunate that he had acted quickly and decisively.
Judging from Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression just now, he was clearly biased towards Danzo. If Danzo were to return to Konoha smoothly, the punishment he would receive would be hard to predict.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi was also troubled by Koharu Utatane's question. At this time, where could he find another reinforcement?
"Hiruzen, why don't we send the border troops stationed in the Land of Grass to reinforce them first, and then reduce the number of ninjas doing missions in the village? That way we can gather at least five or six hundred people," Mitokado Homura said, offering his opinion.
With Konoha engaged in war on three fronts, each battlefield required one or two thousand people. Necessary troops also needed to be stationed on the borders of the country, and manpower was needed for daily tasks within the village.
At this time, Konoha's active ninja force was already quite strained, and the higher-ups could only rob Peter to pay Paul, reducing the number of ninjas in non-essential areas to replenish the front-line battlefield.
"Taiichi, did you go to find Danzo later?" Mitokado Homura asked Taiichi, voicing his question.
"No, when I arrived, Danzo had already escaped. After the battle ended, everyone was busy treating the wounded and transferring personnel, so there was no time to look for him." Taiichi answered decisively. He did go to look for him and even killed him, but he would not tell Mitomon Homura this.
"As subordinates, your commander is missing, and instead of going to find him, you have evacuated without authorization. This is a serious crime!"
Mitomon Homura, with righteous indignation, directly launched an attack, seemingly intending to erase Danzo's guilt.
Taiichi was furious. He had just been watching the show, but his aura suddenly hardened, and he stared intently at Mitokado Homura: "What do you mean the commander is missing? Running away is running away. Even the Iwa ninja can see that. You're just trying to make him look good."
They even made us go find him. Such a big camp, is he an idiot? He won't come back on his own after the battle, why do we have to go find him?
The camp was ravaged like that. Of the more than 1,000 ninjas, more than half were killed or seriously injured, and none of the others survived. If you send these people to defend the camp and they all die in battle, will you, Mitokado Homura, pay with the lives of your entire clan?
"Also, I'm not Danzo's subordinate, and I have absolutely nothing to do with you, so stop pointing fingers at me!"
Taiichi unleashed a torrent of angry curses so quickly and urgently that Mitomon Homura was stunned, her chest heaving violently.
He truly hadn't expected Taiyi to be so bold, disregarding all sense of shame and directly retorting.
He pointed at Taiyi, muttering "you—you—" for a long time without being able to utter a complete sentence.
Taiichi crossed his arms and stared coldly at him, his entire aura focused and locked on Mitokado Homura, as if he would attack at the slightest move from Mitokado Homura.
"Alright, alright, Taiichi, don't get so agitated. Yan didn't mean that. Danzo still has people under his control. If we can find them, wouldn't the front lines have more strength?"
Koharu Utatane, playing the good cop, came over to calm Taiichi down, who was about to explode. Then she turned to Homura Mitokado and said, "Homura, can't you talk things out properly? Taiichi didn't do anything wrong in this matter. He practically saved the Western Front. That's a great achievement!"
Koharu Utatane is also a shrewd person. She openly praises Taiichi, but never mentions Danzo's escape. This is certainly due to their caution as high-ranking officials, but it also reflects their reluctance to severely punish Danzo.
However, Mitokado Homura clearly didn't appreciate Koharu Utatane's good intentions. Seeing someone pull Taiichi away, he immediately became more imposing, "You're right! How did you, a ninja from the northern front, end up on the western front? Isn't that deserting your post?"
Taiichi was so angry at Mitomon Homura's logic that he laughed. He usually didn't want people to know that he could freely travel to various battlefields, not because he was afraid of punishment, but simply because he was afraid of trouble. Now someone actually brought this up.
"Whether it's dereliction of duty or not, it's not up to you to decide. It's up to Lord Orochimaru to decide. Besides, what rule in Konoha says that I have to stay in the northern camp and can't go to other camps to provide support?"
Taiichi retorted without holding back, stating that Konoha did not have such a rule. The only similar rule was that ninjas could not leave the village without a reason, but it did not say that they could not leave the camp.
Moreover, Taiichi was supporting a fellow villager's ninja, which wasn't even unjustified, so no one would say a bad word about Taiichi.
"Enough, Yan!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't stand it any longer. He shouted to stop Homura Mitokado, who was about to speak, and cursed him inwardly for being so reckless. Was this the time to pursue such matters?
"Taiichi, take my order and immediately go to the border to mobilize the garrison there to support the Land of Grass. Also, go and inform Orochimaru that you are now a free agent, traveling between battlefields as needed, and do not need to stay in the northern battlefield."
As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out paper and pen, quickly wrote down the order, and handed it directly to Taiichi.
Taiyi solemnly accepted the order and nodded heavily, "Don't worry, Hokage-sama, I will definitely complete the mission."
"Good boy, hurry up and go. There's no time to waste at the front lines," Hiruzen Sarutobi urged.
Tai nodded, bowed to Hiruzen Sarutobi and Koharu Utatane to take his leave, and ignored Homura Mitokado.
After Taichi left, Mitokado Homura finally couldn't hold back any longer and burst out, "Hiruzen, you see, this kid is increasingly disregarding me. It was like this last time, and it's like this again. If he continues to develop like this, will he not even respect you in the future?"
Mitokado Homura's barbed accusations also dragged Sarutobi Hiruzen into the fray, but Sarutobi Hiruzen was no pushover either; Mitokado Homura's clearly biased questioning was simply unacceptable to him.
Moreover, at such a critical time, instead of protecting someone who has made a contribution, you're trying to exonerate a suspect. Don't even mention Taiyi, I would criticize you.
"Yan, let's talk about Danzo when he gets back. Even if he didn't run away, he can't escape the blame for poor command. The real important thing now is how to replenish the troops at the front."
Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored Homura Mitokado's complaints and simply brushed the matter aside. He might not have really wanted to severely punish Danzo, but there was no need to make it so obvious.
"Can----"
Mitokado Homura wanted to say something, but was stopped by Utatane Koharu. This old friend, perhaps influenced by Danzo, had always been unfriendly to Taichi.
Koharu, who was turning the dorm, was a little worried that the two of them might really have a falling out and start fighting one day. Judging from the current situation, Taiyi was not one to suffer a loss. If you let him seize the opportunity, it was not impossible for him to beat you up.
Taiyi, having left, didn't care what happened in the Hokage's office afterward. He used the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach the border, then spread his wings and flew towards the garrison's camp.
In less than an hour, he arrived at the camp, holding the Hokage's warrant, and Taiichi quickly met the camp's commander.
Without wasting words, the two quickly explained the ins and outs of the matter. Taiyi then left a shadow clone to lead the way, while his main body flew back to the retreating western front troops using the Thunder God technique.
Mimura Yoru stayed by Nonou's side the whole time. When he saw Taiichi return, he immediately noticed the commotion and went over to him.
"Taiichi, how's it going? Any plans from the village?"
"The border troops are advancing towards us, and the village will also reorganize a new batch of ninjas to provide support. At least for now, we should be able to hold off the Iwagakure's attack," Taichi explained the village's decision, adding at the end, "I will also stay here for the time being to deal with the Iwagakure together with you."
Upon hearing this, Mimura Yoru breathed a long sigh of relief. It was certainly good that the village had come to provide support, but the best news was that Taiichi had been left behind on the western front.
I had always heard how amazing Taichi Matsushita was, but I never took it seriously. However, seeing is believing. After witnessing it firsthand, I realized that the rumors were not exaggerated, but rather somewhat conservative.
Given the situation yesterday, it could be said that Taiichi saved the entire camp. Now that Taiichi has been temporarily left on the western front, Mimura Yomi is immediately filled with boundless confidence in the future of the western front.
"That's great, Taiichi-kun. The village made the right decision to keep you here."
Listening to Mimura Yoru's sigh, one could tell how much resentment he harbored about the village having appointed Danzo as commander.
Taiyi just smiled when he heard this; he would never express his views on the village in front of outsiders.
Time slipped away quietly during the tense march. When the sun was high in the sky, a large number of Iwagakure ninja gathered at the site of the previous night's battle, the original camp of the western front troops.
A small scouting team returned from the abandoned camp.
"Commander, based on preliminary investigations, the Konoha ninjas should have left around 2 a.m.
Higashi no Shijin, the commander of the Iwagakure army fighting against Konoha, felt a pang of regret as he stood before these ruins.
If they had been bolder last night and sent more ninjas to accompany Han, this Konoha force might have been wiped out.
"Han, you said you encountered Matsushita Taichi during last night's ambush. Is he really that powerful?"
The dead man from the east turned to look at the big man beside him, wanting to get more information.
"Actually, I didn't really fight him last night. It was King Mu who reminded me to retreat quickly." Han's muffled voice came out slowly from behind his mask.
"Without a fight, you were scared back by a child?" Dong Siren said incredulously.
"King Mu wouldn't lie to me, and besides, it can't be said that there wasn't any fighting at all." Han walked towards the camp ahead, then turned back to the Eastern Dead Man and said, "Come with me, I'll take you to see the scene."
The two, along with a group of Jonin who had followed them, arrived at the place where Taiichi had descended the previous night.
Han pointed to a deep, bottomless slash on the ground and said to everyone, "It came down from the sky with a single strike, severing three of King Mu's tails and killing two Jonin in the process."
Several Jonin who also wielded swords stepped forward, gently touching the slash marks on the ground. They seemed to be able to sense the sword energy within them. Their expressions changed, and they looked up at the Dead Man of the East, shaking their heads to indicate that they were not at that level.
The other Jonin also imagined the scene at that time, wondering what kind of attack could have such destructive power.
But this was clearly beyond their comprehension, which only made them more wary.
"Dongsi, what do we do? Should we keep chasing him?" asked a Jonin named Mahiru. He was one of the people who sensed the slash marks on the ground earlier, and he was also a ninja skilled in swordsmanship.
"Pursue them. No matter what, this is the weakest time for the Konoha ninja. We must seize this opportunity. Last night we had fewer people and were hesitant in the fight. Now we outnumber them, so what do we have to be afraid of?"
The Eastern Dead were decisive; even if it were just Matsushita Taichi, or even if both of Konoha's most formidable opponents came together, they would still fight this battle.
What do they have to fear from a half-crippled army? Do they think one Matsushita Taichi can be worth hundreds of Konoha soldiers?
Upon hearing Higashi's words, the Jonin all wore excited and cruel smiles. Their goal in waging war against Konoha was to defeat the Konoha forces in one battle, then take over the entire Land of Grass, and finally invade the Land of Fire to plunder their wealth.
Now, this goal is within reach, and we are only one final and crucial step away from obtaining them—completely defeating this Konoha force.
Thus, the vast Iwagakure force quickly pursued the direction in which the Konoha ninja had retreated. They were in good condition, and their speed was naturally incomparable to that of the Konoha's defeated and remnant troops.
In a place unseen by Iwagakure, Taiichi's shadow clone, hidden underground, opened his eyes. Although he could not fully monitor the Iwagakure's every move, he still saw their pursuit of the Konoha ninja.
The retreat was going to be difficult from here on out; he needed to buy enough time for the troops on the western front.
White smoke rose, and the shadow clone dissipated on its own.
Among the retreating troops from Konoha, Taiichi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and stood up, gazing towards the Land of Earth. There, the Iwagakure forces were in pursuit.
Taiichi's actions naturally attracted the attention of Mimura Yomi, who, seeing the direction Taiichi was looking, had his own guess.
"Are the Iwagakure ninjas chasing after us?"
Tai nodded, but then smiled easily, "There's nothing to worry about. You guys continue your retreat, I'll go have some fun with them!"
Taiyi spoke casually, but no one thought it was just a game; they were risking their lives to buy time for their evacuation.
"Taiichi, be careful!" Nono didn't stop him, but instead straightened Taiichi's collar and gave him a careful warning.
"Don't worry, even if I can't beat them, I can still run away. They can't kill me." He smiled brightly and leaped away from the group.
Those around who knew the situation watched Taiyi's figure gradually disappear into the distance and offered their silent blessings.
Taiyi, who had broken away from the group, did not go far. He sat cross-legged under a large tree, silently meditating and tempering his spirit.
Last night's treatment depleted almost all of his chakra reserves in his Yin Seal, and he won't have that much left for the upcoming battle.
Time passed by, and by evening, the distance that Konoha ninjas had taken 10 hours to cover was covered by Iwagakure's pursuing force in just 5 hours.
At the edge of Taiyi's chakra perception, the Iwagakure reconnaissance team had already appeared.
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