chsdbacks Chapter 167 The Vanguard's Journey
Chapter 167 The Vanguard's Journey
It was noon.
In the eastern forest of the Land of Fire, sunlight is cut into countless pieces by the dense canopy of trees, sparsely sprinkling onto the fallen leaves.
The wind rustled through the layers of tree canopy, but it couldn't take away the silence of the forest.
This silence was forcibly torn apart by the figures rushing by at high speed, and then quickly restored by the silence behind them.
This is a silent force.
They moved silently among the dappled shadows of the trees, like a group of intangible ghosts.
With a light touch of the toes on the thick tree trunk, the body shot out like an arrow, without any unnecessary movement.
Two figures were walking at the very front.
The man, dressed in simple black attire, with a resolute face and eagle-like eyes, was none other than Shimura Danzo.
The other person, with a gentle and refined demeanor, was vigilant about everything around him. He was the Hokage's most trusted sword, Uchiha Kagami.
Behind them followed a line of masked ninjas.
Half of it, wearing a white, faceless mask, that was the root.
The other half consists of bizarre animal masks; that is the dark side.
The two deepest dark forces of Konoha, like two intertwined streams, merged into an unstoppable torrent of steel, surging toward their predetermined direction.
They are the "First Vanguard Force of Konoha," the first sharp knife the village thrusts into the heart of the enemy.
The destination is the land of whirlpools, a thousand miles away.
There was no conversation, no gestures.
Every person's position and every rise and fall seemed to have been calculated with the utmost precision, demonstrating an indescribable tactical skill.
Just as the troops were maintaining their high-speed march, a figure silently accelerated from the middle of the column, like a leaf blown by the wind, and lightly arrived at Danzo and Kagami's side.
The newcomer was half a step behind; it was Uchiha Tokumitsu.
"Lord Danzo, Lord Kagami."
De Guang's voice clearly reached their ears.
"explain."
Danzo's gaze remained fixed ahead, but he gestured for him to continue with a barely perceptible nasal sound.
Uchiha Tokumitsu's voice was extremely low, yet it clearly reached the ears of the two men. Every word was concise and to the point, devoid of any emotion.
"The contents of the recently concluded highest-level emergency meeting have been confirmed."
"Lord Hokage, we have already made targeted deployments against Sunagakure and Iwagakure."
"On the western front, Lord Hatake Sakumo leads the elite forces of the Inuzuka and Aburame clans to form the Eye of the West, deterring Sunagakure."
"On the northwest front, Elder Mitomon En personally oversees the operation, leading the forces of the Yuhi and Kurama clans to block all mountain passes leading to the Land of Rock."
Uchiha Kagami's eyelids trembled slightly.
Yan... is he personally taking to the field too?
Danzo's steps remained unchanged, as if everything was within his expectations.
De Guang paused for a moment, lowering his voice even further.
"At the same time, the Hokage issued an S-rank top-secret mission."
"I order Lord Orochimaru to infiltrate the Land of Lightning alone."
"Mission objective... Locate and release the Eight-Tails, creating chaos on the homeland of Kumogakure."
Danzo Shimura, who had maintained an absolutely constant pace, finally paused for a moment.
It only lasted for a moment.
But Uchiha Kagami, who was standing next to him, sensed it keenly.
De Guang's voice continued to echo, like one heavy bomb after another silently detonating in the forest.
"The Hokage personally led the main force to aid the Land of Whirlpools."
"During his absence, all affairs within the village..."
There was a strange undertone to De Guang's voice.
"The Jonin class leader, Nara Shikaku, will handle this."
"Grant him...the authority to act as Hokage."
"..."
De Guang's report was not yet finished.
He took a deep breath and conveyed the most crucial and inspiring sentence from the meeting verbatim.
"The Hokage said at the meeting..."
"Peace cannot be achieved through concessions and compromises."
"Konoha's status was earned through force."
"Therefore, this time we must deliver a decisive blow to avoid a hundred blows in the future!"
boom.
These words struck Shimura Danzo's mind like a hammer blow.
Danzo turned his head to the side, looking through the layers of shadows of the trees in the direction he had come from—the direction of Konoha Village.
His brain was working at an unprecedented speed.
Western Front, Northwestern Front, Land of Lightning Mainland, Main Battlefield of the Land of Whirlpools...
There are also the Nara deer antlers that remain in the village, serving as its central brain.
A massive and intricate chessboard, covering the entire ninja world continent, suddenly unfolded in his mind.
The deployment of defenses against Sunagakure and Iwagakure was not merely a defensive maneuver; it was a blatant warning, a show of force, a message to those two villages with ulterior motives: "I'm watching you. Anyone who dares to make a move should be prepared to face my wrath!"
Orochimaru's mission...
That was an extremely reckless move.
Salaries are drawn from the bottom of the pot.
While the battle raged on the main battlefield, it ignited a massive disaster deep within the enemy's heart, enough to set their rear on fire and leave them in a state of utter chaos.
The steps are all interconnected and leave no room for error.
All potential enemies and all possibilities were taken into account.
What an unfathomable scheme!
A wave of fervor swept over Danzo, and his breathing suddenly became rapid.
Those constructions, those projects, the constant-temperature farm...
What does war require?
We need logistics, we need personnel, we need a stable rear area.
Those constructions were precisely to provide Konoha with an eternal fortress that could be self-sufficient and continuously supply war potential under any circumstances!
Development during peacetime is for the purpose of having the resources to crush everything when war breaks out.
The light in Danzo's eyes grew brighter and brighter, more and more intense.
It turned out to be the case.
So that's how it is...
"Hehe...hehehehe..."
Danzo Shimura's shoulders began to twitch slightly, and a low, hoarse laugh escaped his throat.
Looking at his erratic state, Uchiha Kagami, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but shake his head.