Chapter 164 156: The Army Attacks!

Through Tsunade's efforts during this period, the Medical Department of Konoha Village has been roughly established.

Although its numbers were small, they managed to scrape together a team of two to three hundred people. With Sarutobi Biwako and Uchiha Gen as assistants, and the dozen or so Medical Ninja trained in the Land of Rain as the backbone, the general framework was established.

And for this major war, this batch of apprentices was directly pulled out to serve.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name. Reading Taiwan novels is always a pleasure.]

Among the members of the Medical Department who came to the Land of Hot Springs, there were sixty or seventy people, including Yakushi Nono and several other Medical Ninja who had served as Uchiha Gen's assistants in the Land of Rain. It was worth mentioning that among them, there were also fourteen Uchihas.

Back then, after the Great Elder and Uchiha Gen discussed it, the minimum target they set for Yakushi Nono was at least ten people, and if it exceeded twenty, there would be an extra reward. Unfortunately, she failed to get this extra reward.

Uchiha Gen believed that his previous speculations regarding Chakra natures and Medical Ninjutsu were correct. In the Uchiha Clan, especially those who had awakened the Sharingan, the Yin Release nature of the Chakra in their bodies was too pronounced, overwhelming the Yang Release, making most of them unsuitable for using Medical Ninjutsu.

Although being unsuitable didn't mean they couldn't learn it—just as Ino, who was proficient in the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques in the original timeline, must have had a Chakra nature more inclined towards Yin Release but could still perform the Mystical Palm Technique and was considered a decent Medical Ninja—the influence still existed.

The same Medical Ninjutsu would certainly be easier to perform for a Ninja whose Chakra nature leaned towards Yang Release than for one whose nature leaned towards Yin Release.

Whether in terms of the difficulty of getting started or the upper limit of their Medical Ninjutsu ability, they would be affected by this.

Uchiha Gen relied on the incomplete Sage Body he obtained from the young Tsunade character card, combined with the skills he had already mastered, which allowed him to utilize the Yang Release energy in his body more precisely, to achieve his current level of Medical Ninjutsu.

After merging with the main force, these Medical Ninja took the wounded away for treatment under his direction.

Orochimaru, dressed in full military gear, also spread out a map and walked to Uchiha Gen's side.

"Mark the location where you encountered Karai and the Fourth Raikage A, as well as the direction of their retreat during their escape."

Uchiha Gen took the paper and pen and quickly marked the location and route.

"It seems their main force is quite close to us. Barring any surprises, based on the current scouting results, the most likely location is in this area, and their position and retreat direction also corroborate this.

However, after this clash between the scouting units, they should have also determined our position, although they are likely still unclear about the troop strength on both sides."

Orochimaru analyzed as he looked at the map.

"Will they come to test us?"

Uchiha Gen asked his teacher.

"They definitely will! Before we merge with Danzo's unit, we are at our weakest.

And since we are currently on the march with a large force, we have no reliable camp or defensive fortifications, nor have we set up facilities to protect our logistical supplies.

In this kind of encounter battle, we won't have much of an advantage.

As long as he is sure there is a chance to crush us, the Third Raikage will definitely pour out all the forces at his disposal. At that time, if Danzo's support isn't timely enough, what awaits us will be an extremely difficult, bitter struggle, or even a major defeat."

Orochimaru closed the map and looked at Uchiha Gen.

"In this battle, you and I will be the keys to breaking the deadlock. How long we can hold out mainly depends on us; otherwise, we can only break up the whole into parts and disperse the troops to avoid being hit by a concentrated strike."

"Will the Third Raikage personally make a move?"

"He definitely will! The Third Raikage is extremely powerful. At most, I can only delay him, and I don't have much confidence in winning. But as long as I can keep him tied down, he absolutely won't be able to do anything to me."

Orochimaru said, his tone carrying a hint of confidence.

His strength was still a notch below the peaks of the Kage-level, the apex powerhouses of the Ninja World like Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hanzou, and the Third Raikage. It would be difficult to win with raw power, but as long as he wanted to stall, very few people could deal with him.

Uchiha Gen shrugged. "Same here. I have some chance of winning against that old fellow Karai, but if it's the Fourth Raikage A—I can only maintain a draw."

As Orochimaru's disciple, he was naturally a slippery snake as well.

However, the Fourth Raikage A was a god-speed type Ninja, which Orochimaru also knew.

This type of Ninja was extremely rare and incredibly slippery, inherently standing on undefeated ground to some extent. It also happened to counter Uchiha Gen's Phantom Body Flicker Technique. Being able to maintain a stalemate was already highly remarkable.

"Then the Fourth Raikage A will be left to you; just stopping him will do. As for Karai, someone else will suppress him."

Orochimaru pointed behind him, not far away.

Three Ninjas who looked to be nearly fifty years old were standing side by side, chatting and laughing with each other, showing no sign of tension on the battlefield.

Of these three, one had a pineapple hairstyle, one beside him was plump and stocky, and the last one had a head of blonde hair. From their words and gestures, it was not hard to see that these three had an extremely high level of tacit understanding; often, a single movement or a single look could convey a great deal.

The contemporary Ino–Shika–Chō, the thirteenth-generation heads of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans.

The Ino–Shika–Chō had been famous since the Sengoku period. The secret techniques of the three clans complemented each other, building an almost perfect combat system.

Back then, when Uchiha Gen teamed up with Maruboshi Kosuke and Kome Aki, three Elite Jonin, they could barely protect themselves under Kakuzu's hands.

But these three working together could definitely go head-to-head with Kakuzu and compete with him, equivalent to a true Kage-level Expert. At the same time, the two old family heads of Nara and Yamanaka were also first-class strategists and intelligence Ninjas.

The source of Orochimaru's confidence to fight this battle, besides Uchiha Gen, was these three veterans.

"With these three senior predecessors here, we do have a chance of winning. In that case, we should go make some arrangements now."

"No matter, I have already arranged everything. You just need to lead the Fire Release Squad first."

Orochimaru smiled confidently once again.

He had already made all the preparations he could.

The direction of events did not go beyond Orochimaru's expectations.

Not long after the Fourth Raikage A retreated with Karai, a large force of Kumogakure Ninjas swept in grandly from the distance.

"It's about to begin!"

The old head of the Yamanaka Clan stopped his hand seal sensing and looked at Orochimaru.

"The total number of Kumogakure is about five thousand, and there is no Chakra aura of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."

"Then we can fight!"

Orochimaru gave a low shout, his eyes turning to Uchiha Gen.

The latter's eyes met Orochimaru's, and then he took a step forward, forming hand seals.

"Fire Release Squad, prepare!"

One by one, the Ninjas of the Fire Release Squad, wearing the Konoha Ninja swirl forehead protectors, stood out in unison, tilting their heads back, opening their mouths, and spewing out flames.