c8: Ōnoki's Big Gamble
The Iwagakure elders contemplated the proposal, their expressions clouded with the weight of war and its consequences. After a long pause, one after another gave their silent nods of approval.
The memory of their last strategic maneuver luring the enemy deep into the Land of Earth remained fresh in their minds. It had cost them dearly, but in return, they had succeeded in slaying the indomitable Third Raikage, known for his unparalleled durability and chakra reserves. Though the price in lives was steep, the strategic victory was undeniable.
Even before the Third Raikage's heroic last stand, the forces of Kumogakure had carved through Iwagakure defenses, causing heavy casualties. But the momentum had shifted in their favor once he was isolated.
"Sunagakure is still reeling internally. Ever since the Third Kazekage's disappearance later confirmed to be an abduction by Sasori of the Red Sand their military cohesion has frayed. Civil discord followed, weakening their foundation."
"They only joined the recent invasion of Konoha to grab spoils from the chaos. But the result was a pyrrhic outcome at best."
"This time, Konoha has bled them further. Do they really still have the strength to turn their aggression toward Iwagakure?"
"If precaution is needed, we could dispatch an envoy to Kirigakure."
"Kiri has minimal territorial friction with us. Our spheres of interest unlike those of Sunagakure and Kirigakure, who constantly vie over trade routes and naval access through the Land of Tea rarely overlap. This gives us room for diplomatic maneuvering."
"That means we can reduce the troop presence along the Suna front and reassign those units."
"With such a redeployment, combined with forces drawn internally, we can push through and field an assault division 1,000 shinobi strong."
"I won't pretend this isn't a gamble."
"But if we win, we'll catapult Iwagakure's development to an entirely new echelon. We'll shift the balance of power and lay the foundation for a golden age in the Land of Earth."
"If we fail… Iwagakure may become the first to bow out of this war and come away with nothing."
Ōnoki's aged voice carried the weight of experience and conviction. He floated above the meeting hall, his petite form defying gravity, his eyes sharp and uncompromising as he looked down at his council.
"I've made my choice. I'm going to bet. What about you?"
"Bet!"
"Done!"
"Fight!"
"Strike while the iron is hot!"
"…!"
The elders' expressions shifted from hesitation to resolve. After several tense breaths of internal calculation and moral reckoning, they all nodded in agreement one by one.
"Very good."
"If we're opening a new front, then we'll need an entirely new logistical network."
"Once we break into the Land of Fire, our lines will stretch thin. And if the supply route is compromised, the entire gamble collapses."
"There's absolutely no room for error…"
Ōnoki turned toward the large war map pinned on the far wall. With a slight motion, his fingertip morphed into a thin stone rod, which tapped lightly against a key point on the map.
The elders leaned in to see clearly.
The name marked in bold script: Kannabi Bridge.
They stared at it, then slowly nodded, understanding the significance. Strategically located in the Land of Grass, Kannabi Bridge was a chokepoint. To establish a reliable logistics corridor into the Land of Fire, control over that bridge was not optional it was essential.
"There's no bypassing it," one elder murmured, eyes narrowed.
"Agreed. Let's begin refining the details of the plan."
Ōnoki floated gently back to his seat, the tension in the room now replaced by focused determination. The elders began offering logistical solutions and tactical insights.
Some may scoff how could the fate of a campaign hinge on something as simple as a bridge?
But in reality, it could and it did.
While the river beneath Kannabi Bridge wasn't exceptionally wide, its current was treacherous. Fast-moving, unstable, and winding, it posed a serious obstacle. The idea that all shinobi could simply walk across the water was a dangerous misconception.
Tree walking and water walking require precise chakra control skills typically mastered only by chūnin or jōnin-level shinobi. Genin rarely possessed the control to maintain balance on a current, especially one this strong.
The faster and more turbulent the water, the harder it was to stabilize one's chakra underfoot. Even a single misstep could mean drowning or death in enemy territory.
In the original manga, Sasuke Uchiha a prodigy trained by Kakashi Hatake spent days just learning to walk on calm water. Even then, he stumbled more than once.
And what kind of training did Sasuke receive?
He was a top student of the Academy, the last of the Uchiha clan, and still struggled with this technique under peaceful conditions.
What then of rank-and-file Iwa shinobi crossing a raging river during war?
He hailed from a prestigious lineage and received a complete education at the Ninja Academy during a rare period of peace. Ranked first among his peers, he was personally instructed by Hatake Kakashi, one of Konoha's most formidable jōnin. He once fought the Chūnin-level Demon Brothers of Kirigakure Gōzu and Meizu alone and held his ground, demonstrating elite instincts and combat prowess far beyond his years.
Across the Five Great Shinobi Nations no, in fact, across the entire ninja world the majority of genin are incapable of performing techniques beyond the basic Three Academy Jutsu: the Clone Technique, Transformation Technique, and Substitution Technique. Most engage in close-quarters combat using basic taijutsu and rely on tools like kunai, shuriken, or, rarely, exploding tags for mid-to-long-range combat. But even exploding tags are expensive and usually reserved for critical moments.
Detonating tags are not cheap. Ordinary genin treat them as trump cards rather than standard gear.
The Twelve Konoha Guardians of the original series the likes of Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, and the others represent only the elite minority. The rest those unnamed background genin with no lines and barely visible faces are far more reflective of the norm.
Moreover, during the Shinobi World Wars, every major village drastically expanded their military forces. With so many recruits and so little time to train them properly, the overall quality of genin dropped even further.
Iwagakure's territory is rugged and arid dominated by mountainous terrain, rocky cliffs, and stretches of Gobi-like desert. Water is scarce, terrain is harsh, and logistics are a nightmare.
And yet, Iwagakure has always favored brute force. Deployments often number in the thousands, sometimes tens of thousands. But with mass quantity comes diminished quality.
Is it realistic to expect such hastily trained genin to master water-walking a technique requiring extremely refined chakra control?
To put it bluntly, if one's chakra control isn't precise enough, they'll never learn to tread water no matter how much they train.
That's what makes Kannabi Bridge so strategically critical. If the bridge is destroyed, perhaps chūnin and jōnin can cross via water-walking or other means. But genin? They'll be stuck staring across the river in frustration.
And yet, genin make up the bulk of any ninja village's military force. Chūnin are junior commanders at best. Jōnin, the village elites, are akin to elite officers or specialist operatives.
To draw a parallel, genin are infantry soldiers, chūnin are lieutenants, and jōnin are captains or colonels. The real tactical flexibility comes from numbers, not singular brilliance.
Even a shadow-level ninja can't singlehandedly fight a war. This isn't a game where one unit can pilot a Gundam and annihilate legions.
So what about building a new bridge with Earth Release?
Unfortunately, the answer is still a no.
In canon, three jōnin from Iwagakure guarded Kannabi Bridge during the Second Great Ninja War. They all specialized in Earth Release, yet none could reconstruct the bridge once Minato and his team destroyed it.
Those three may have only recently been promoted, but they were at least competent jōnin. Even so, their Earth Release jutsu proved insufficient. So what could be expected from a chūnin?
Earth Release techniques often require synergy with existing terrain to function efficiently. But rivers provide no such advantage. Extending a structure over fast-flowing water demands immense chakra reserves and absolute precision—capabilities that only a handful of ninja possess.
Even in the real world, building a bridge is no simple matter. It requires detailed groundwork, preparation, and planning. One error and the structure collapses.
In this context, Yamato's Wood Release would be vastly more effective than Earth Release. But Yamato is a rare anomaly a result of genetic experimentation with Hashirama Senju's cells.
Someone like Kitsuchi, the son of Ōnoki, might be capable of erecting a temporary bridge with brute force Earth Release like he did during the Fourth Great Ninja War but at this point in the timeline, Kitsuchi hasn't reached that level yet.
Ōnoki himself certainly has the chakra and control necessary. But as Tsuchikage, he cannot possibly be spared to manage or personally construct a bridge in enemy territory.
His responsibilities span the entire war effort. He must remain behind to coordinate diplomacy, tactics, and the village's overall survival.
For Iwagakure, Kannabi Bridge truly cannot be lost.
…
Days passed, and Gen Uchiha had yet to receive deployment orders. So, he remained in the Uchiha compound, focusing on training.
As a promising prodigy of the Uchiha clan, he had no shortage of access to ninjutsu.
At the outbreak of war, the aging Uchiha patriarch decreed that the clan's archive of ninjutsu be opened to any ninja capable of handling them. The condition: only those who demonstrated the requisite strength could access more advanced techniques.
Recognized by Uchiha Yashiro as having the strength of a tokubetsu jōnin a special jōnin Gen qualified to learn B-rank ninjutsu.
The Uchiha clan, being the strongest shinobi family in Konoha, possessed a vast library of jutsu not just Fire Release, but also elemental techniques from the Wind, Earth, Water, and Lightning nature transformations.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
After the war, such access would be restricted again reserved for those who contributed directly to the clan's cause. Now was the time to "shear the clan's wool" to make full use of the resources available while he could.
Gen's rapid mastery of Fire Release stunned even Uchiha Yashiro, who was temporarily handling clan affairs.
"Learn a B-rank Fire Release jutsu and a B-rank genjutsu in one day?"
Even for an Uchiha, that was outrageous.
Yashiro had been skeptical until Gen demonstrated both techniques perfectly before his eyes.
Shocked, Yashiro finally granted Gen full access to all ninjutsu available within his rank's clearance.
Of course, Gen wasn't playing fair. At least not entirely.
His mastery of genjutsu came unnaturally easy, likely aided by his reincarnated soul and the influence of the Soul Fruit a mysterious element tied to his unique lineage. Uchiha clan genjutsu, complex to others, felt like second nature to him.
His fire ninjutsu aptitude was solid, but not superhuman.
The real secret was Zhurong a fire-affinity entity that had merged with his chakra system. Zhurong subtly enhanced Gen's jutsu, increasing heat output, widening area of effect, and refining control. It made his Fire Release seem more advanced than it actually was.
With Yashiro's approval, Gen committed every Fire, Wind, and Earth Release technique in the clan archives to memory.
Mastery could come later. For now, he would gather everything he could before the war made such access impossible again.
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