HGBW: Ch. 131

"You have to go down and ask Sakumo yourself." Tsunade was filled with killing intent.

"He is already dead. This time, you're the only one left. You can no longer save Konoha."

The moment Chiyo heard that name, the killing intent in her eyes overflowed.

Why did she dare to charge forward even after her presence was exposed in Suna?

One, she had no choice.

Two, she didn't want to retreat.

Or rather, there was no need to retreat.

In her eyes, there was nothing left to fear. As for Tsunade—yes, she was indeed Suna's nemesis. But so what? Even the strongest medical-nin needed to be paired with the strongest blade to unleash the power to cut down Suna. If there was only a healer but no blade, all it did was prolong Konoha's inevitable downfall.

"Attack!" Fueled by the raging killing intent in her heart, Chiyo shouted fiercely.

She wasn't just arguing with Tsunade—she was buying time for the Suna ninjas behind her to complete their hand signs. With her command, a hundred Suna ninjas stepped forward. They all completed the same set of hand signs and performed the same jutsu.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Although the Great Breakthrough was just a C-rank jutsu, for Suna ninjas who specialized in Wind Release, it was practically a basic skill that everyone knew.

One hundred Suna ninjas inhaled deeply and then exhaled.

Boom!

A raging storm roared wildly, lifting mud and rain, weaving together into a monstrous tempest that covered the sky and swept across hundreds of meters toward the Konoha ninjas.

And that wasn't all.

As the torrential winds and rain poured down, two hundred more ninjas rushed forward behind Chiyo, each holding multiple shuriken, which they threw with precision.

Every single shuriken was enveloped in wind chakra, greatly increasing both their speed and destructive power. Additionally, they took advantage of the Great Breakthrough performed earlier, further accelerating the shuriken and amplifying their attack.

Wind carried the rain, and within the rain flew deadly shuriken.

Then, thousands of Suna ninjas surged forward, descending from the mountain.

"So fast!"

Seeing this, some Konoha ninjas stationed at the Land of Rain's border, who had never fought against Suna ninjas before, were shocked.

"They really know how to utilize the environment." Tsunade observed the situation and had to admit, Chiyo's battle experience was extraordinarily rich.

Choosing the Land of Rain as their battleground was a well-thought-out strategy.

First, they could use the rainy season to wash away their scent and conceal their movements.

Second, even if their location was exposed, they could leverage the Land of Rain's unique climate to maximize the power of Wind Release.

Sure, Earth Release countered Wind Release, but what if the Wind Release is mixed with torrential rain? And what if that rain carried a storm of shuriken?

Try countering that with a hammer.

Facing such a predicament, if it were any other ninja village, they'd likely be caught off guard and suffer a devastating blow. After all, the Five Great Ninja Villages live up to their names:

Suna—nine times out of ten, they specialized in Wind Release.

Kumo—nine times out of ten, they specialized in Lightning Release.

Of course, they also used other chakra natures, but their primary affinity was clear.

Only Konoha was an exception.

Aside from Hiruzen, most Hokage rarely use Fire Release. Konoha's ninjas excelled in Wind, Fire, Earth, Water, and Lightning Release—all of them, and in significant numbers.

This was one of Konoha's unique advantages. If one nature didn't counter the enemy, just switch to another.

With the Second Hokage, who practically filled Konoha's forbidden jutsu archive single-handedly, acting as the ultimate ninjutsu instructor, Konoha never lacked access to the five elements ninjutsu.

Even the Konoha Council, as stingy as they were, didn't restrict common five elements ninjutsu from Konoha ninjas. Because of this, even civilian-born ninjas, as long as they became chunin, could learn a few elemental jutsu—especially during wartime.

"Earth Release!"

As soon as Tsunade spoke, two hundred Konoha ninjas surged forward behind her, forming a single line. They performed identical hand seals and executed the same jutsu.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A hundred Konoha ninjas completed their hand seals and pressed their hands to the ground.

Boom!

The earth trembled, and thick, solid walls of earth erupted from the ground, rising high into the air. They stood like an unbreakable fortress, resisting the raging storm that had swept in from the Land of Rain, attempting to invade the Land of Fire.

No matter how fierce the winds were, they couldn't shake the massive earth walls.

No matter how torrential the rain was, it couldn't pierce through the sturdy defenses.

No matter how sharp the shuriken were, they couldn't penetrate the solid stone.

"Water Release!"

"Lightning Release!"

Tsunade issued her commands in an orderly fashion. Chiyo wasn't the only one who could take advantage of the environment, she could do it too. And Suna ninjas weren't the only ones who could amplify their jutsu using the climate, Konoha's ninjas could do the same.

They endured the roaring storm.

They blocked the deadly rain of shuriken.

They kept the torrential downpour outside the walls.

Then, two hundred Konoha ninjas leaped onto the tops of the earth walls.

In the Land of Rain, the torrential downpour was everywhere, making it the perfect medium for their attack.

Under the precise control of the Konoha ninjas, the rainwater gathered into a raging river. Combined with streaks of lightning that slithered like silver serpents, the attack turned into hundreds of thunderous water dragons, crashing toward the Suna ninjas from all directions.

"Damn Konoha!"

Chiyo's eyes burned with jealousy as she witnessed this scene. Suna could never compare to Konoha, they never had a Kage like Tobirama, who single-handedly elevated an entire village's ninjutsu foundation.

The Suna ninjas could be roughly divided into three groups: Ninjas who specialized in Wind Release, puppet masters who focused on puppet techniques, and a mix of various other ninjas—some skilled in medical ninjutsu, taijutsu, or non-wind jutsu, but none particularly exceptional.

Even though she had witnessed Konoha's diverse elemental prowess many times before, every time she saw it, the jealousy hit just as hard. However, precisely because she had experienced it so often, she had already developed a counter-strategy.

While the Suna ninjas launched their first wave of Great Breakthrough, their forces charged forward, pressing the attack across the entire battlefield.

Even Chiyo herself joined the charge.

With almost every Suna ninja being at least chunin-level, the distance between the two armies could be covered in just a few breaths. They would engage in close-quarters combat to disrupt Konoha's elemental artillery formation.

When it came to mid-to-long-range artillery tactics, none of the other Great Ninja Villages—whether it was Suna, Kiri, Kumo, or Iwa—could match Konoha. The way Konoha seamlessly combined its five elemental affinities to create large-scale composite jutsu was unmatched.

For example, Wind Release combined with Fire Release. Or Lightning Release combined with Water Release.

How could a village like Suna, which mostly relied on a single elemental jutsu, possibly compete with that? Of course, Suna wasn't one of the Five Great Ninja Villages for nothing.

Due to the fact that nearly every Suna ninjas specialized in Wind Release, their research, development, and mastery of Wind Release techniques were far ahead of the other villages.

The thousand elite Suna ninjas handpicked by Chiyo all shared one common trait: They could combine Wind Release with the Body Flicker Technique. With their lightning-fast instantaneous movement, they could close the gap in an instant.

This was Suna's counter to Konoha's artillery tactics. With the Suna ninjas' blinding speed, Konoha's ninjas would only be able to launch two waves of jutsu before they were forced into melee combat.