The four-pronged battle of Konoha was primarily led by Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage, who was responsible for the overall strategy and planning.
On the battlefield against the Hidden Cloud (Kumogakure), Orochimaru took on the role of front-line commander. The Hidden Cloud had already broken through the Land of Tea and stationed its forces on the border of the Land of Fire.
In the battles with the Hidden Sand (Sunagakure) and Hidden Stone (Iwagakure) in the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass, Jiraiya and Tsunade served as the primary and vice commanders on the front lines.
Although Tsunade suffered from hemophobia (fear of blood), it didn't hinder her from being an effective commander. As one of the top ninja healers in the ninja world, she was capable of managing her condition. By using advanced medical ninjutsu, she could alter her retinal pigmentation and adjust her olfactory senses, allowing her to see blood as a different color and prevent the smell of blood from disturbing her. With this, she was able to fight without issue.
Of course, this process took time. Before the Third Great Ninja War, things happened too suddenly for Tsunade to use her medical techniques to fully adjust.
On the battlefield against the Hidden Mist (Kirigakure), the leaders of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans acted as the main commanders. During this period, the clan heads were not Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi, but their fathers.
The Mist battlefield was unique compared to others, as it was mainly led by clan members with civilian ninja serving as support. In other battlefields, civilian ninja took the lead, with clan members offering assistance. The Mist also controlled the Land of Whirlpool, and both the First and Second Great Ninja Wars saw battles fought within its borders.
The Third Great Ninja War was undoubtedly the most perilous for Konoha. A loss on any front would trigger a chain reaction, leading to a full-scale collapse.
Minato Namikaze, due to his Flying Thunder God Technique, played the role of a firefighter, often moving between the various battlefields, particularly the toughest fronts in the Land of Cloud and the Land of Stone.
Now that Konoha was under attack, how could Minato not rush back? As a weapon capable of instantly killing fifty Stone ninjas, his presence would undoubtedly tip the balance of the battle.
Due to the wide spread of the battlefields, Minato didn't waste time supporting other ninjas but instead headed straight for the area with the heaviest action.
That place was on the slopes of Kikyō Mountain, where ten Cloud and Sand elite ninjas were surrounding Sarutobi Hiruzen.
For this surprise attack on Konoha, the Hidden Cloud and Sand had not sent any Kage-level warriors but instead dispatched numerous elite ninjas. The reason for this was twofold: first, to tie down Konoha's Kage-level fighters and prevent them from coming to the aid of the front lines; and second, because the two villages didn't want to take any risks. They didn't know the full strength of Konoha's defenders, and losing a Kage-level fighter would be too great a loss.
A Kage-level warrior was far more valuable than several elite ninjas, as only six or seven elite ninjas could contend with a Kage-level fighter. A single elite ninja would be no match for a Kage-level warrior and would be killed after just a few exchanges.
Ten elite ninjas, however, could potentially take down a Kage-level warrior.
Unfortunately for them, they were facing Sarutobi Hiruzen in his prime—his physical abilities, battle experience, and mastery of ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu were all at their peak. Sarutobi Hiruzen fought ten of them without taking any injuries, even gaining the upper hand, and four of the elite ninjas were already wounded.
At this rate, Sarutobi Hiruzen would eventually defeat them, as long as he didn't make any mistakes. It would be difficult to kill all of them, though, as they weren't rookies, and if they scattered, Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn't be able to catch them all.
When Minato arrived, the balance of the battle shifted immediately.
As a ninja, Minato didn't care about "warrior ethics." Seizing an opportunity to ambush was simply part of a ninja's way. Using the Flying Thunder God Technique for a surprise attack was extremely effective, and within an instant, Minato slit the throats of four of the elite ninjas.
With four dead, the balance of the battlefield shattered. Seizing the opportunity created by the shock of the enemies, Sarutobi Hiruzen created four shadow clones and used his Five Nature Transformation technique, killing five more elite ninjas.
The last surviving Cloud ninja was horrified and attempted to flee, but Minato quickly finished him off.
After exchanging a few words with Sarutobi Hiruzen, Minato headed toward Kikyō City.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and his clones went to assist other Konoha defenders.
Because the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Sand armies were larger in number, Konoha couldn't block all of their enemies from entering the village. Some had already infiltrated Kikyō City and destroyed many buildings.
Some Konoha ninjas were battling the enemy forces in Kikyō City, trying to prevent further destruction.
With Minato's assistance and Sarutobi Hiruzen clearing up the battlefield, the tide of the battle at Kikyō Mountain began to favor Konoha. Victory was now only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Gen was unaware that Minato had arrived. He was busy hunting ninjas and harvesting their souls and lifespans.
The Soul Soul Fruit allowed him to harvest lifespans, which couldn't be used for himself but could power his homunculi. The plant-based ones were fine as they could gather energy on their own, but the non-living homunculi couldn't.
He couldn't inject souls into human corpses, nor could he give a soul to a living person.
After harvesting seven souls, Uchiha Gen became more efficient at his task, devising a new method to enhance his work.
He imbued the large trees in the forest with souls, bringing them to life. These trees were now part of his hunting grounds, and anyone who entered would be drained of their soul and lifespan and die.
This tactic caught many of the enemy ninjas off guard, especially the Sand and Cloud's Chūnin and Genin, who couldn't withstand it and were ambushed by the revived trees.
Uchiha Gen stayed in his hunting ground or at its edges, not worrying about supporting others. He was perfectly safe and had great results!
He continued this until the Sand and Cloud forces were defeated by late afternoon, with some surrendering and others fleeing.
However, it wasn't easy for the Sand and Cloud ninjas to escape. They not only had to survive Konoha ninjas' pursuit but also face those returning from the front lines.
It was a difficult task to survive an attack on Konoha deep in the Land of Fire, and even harder to leave alive.
The number of escaped ninjas was low, and Konoha had many skilled trackers.
As the allied forces collapsed, Uchiha Gen took the opportunity to harvest the fleeing ninjas.
Panicked, the escaping ninjas fell prey to the tree-homunculi ambushes, captured and bound tightly.
Uchiha Gen continued his soul harvest, reclaiming the souls and lifespans he had given to the trees.
Very few ninjas weren't afraid, and those who managed to regain their composure didn't last long against his illusions and the power of the Soul Soul Fruit.
The combination of fear-inducing genjutsu and the Soul Soul Fruit was truly deadly.
After the harvest, Uchiha Gen calculated his results.
Exactly 69 souls—an intriguing number, and all of them from ninjas. Although most of them were Chūnin, their souls were stronger than those of ordinary people.
Not knowing the exact comparison to regular human souls, he nonetheless felt satisfied with the result.
Having wrapped up his work, Uchiha Gen returned to Kikyō Mountain.
He had delayed quite a bit, and if he didn't show up soon, people might start thinking he was dead…
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