MMB Chapter 550 The Collapse of Supply Lines
Chapter 550 The Collapse of Supply Lines
"puff--"
Ebizo felt a sweet taste in his throat, and then spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the yellow sand in front of him red.
He lost.
They suffered a crushing defeat, utterly humiliated.
At that moment, Chiyo also walked in. When she saw everything in front of her, and the Konoha symbol, even her weathered face showed undisguised shock and anger.
"Wood...Leaf..."
She squeezed out those two words through gritted teeth, her voice filled with chilling murderous intent.
The tiny leaf mark carved on the bucket, like a red-hot iron spike, pierced the heart of every Sand Village ninja present. It silently proclaimed a fact: they, the elite of Sand Village, were being toyed with like fools by the enemy on their own home turf.
Water, food, and medicine were cut off.
In the heart of this desert, surrounded by a sea of death, these three words together are tantamount to a death sentence.
The first to break down was a young genin.
"There's no more...water...no more..."
"Where's the food? My army rations!"
Several ninjas even started shoving each other over the last bit of food, and the atmosphere became extremely tense.
"Quiet down, all of you!"
A hoarse yet sharp rebuke struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.
It's Chiyo.
She slowly walked out of the tent, her wrinkled face showing no sign of panic, only a cold silence.
Behind her, two of the puppet Chikamatsu Ten silently appeared, like silent death gods, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.
"Can crying out bring forth water? Can fighting and scrambling fill our stomachs?"
Chiyo's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly: "Look at you all! A bunch of cowards who've been scared out of their wits! We are Sunagakure ninjas, warriors born in this desert, and prepared to die in this desert!"
Her prestige, along with the oppressive aura emanating from the two legendary puppets, forcefully suppressed the situation that was on the verge of spiraling out of control.
Although the ninjas still looked fearful, they finally stopped their commotion and lowered their heads.
Chiyo knew in her heart that this was only temporary.
Intimidation may suppress the problem temporarily, but it cannot solve the fundamental issue.
She walked up to her brother, who was in a daze, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Ebizo, give the order."
Ebizo's body trembled violently. He slowly raised his head, and his once bright eyes were now filled with bloodshot veins and humiliation.
"An order... what order...?"
He muttered to himself, as if he had lost his soul.
"retreat."
Chiyo's words were simple and ruthless: "We must return to the nearest oasis outpost before everyone runs out of resources. Now, immediately, right now."
retreat.
This word was like a resounding slap across Ebizo's face.
As the chief tactical advisor of Sunagakure, he led fifty elites in pursuit of a mere three enemies, only to be forced to flee in disarray after his supplies were cut off.
This was an unprecedented humiliation in his ninja career.
"No……"
He shook his head stubbornly, his voice hoarse, "We can't retreat... If we retreat, the face of Sunagakure... my face..."
"face?"
Chiyo interrupted him, a hint of disappointment in her voice, "Respect is earned through fighting, not by defending. You're leading a group of soldiers who are about to die of thirst, what respect are you talking about? Is your reputation more important, or these fifty lives?"
Ebizo trembled violently. Looking at the young, desperate faces around him, his last vestiges of pride were shattered by reality. He closed his eyes in anguish, and when he opened them again, all that remained was utter despair.
"...All troops, abandon pursuit...target, southeast oasis stronghold...retreat..."
Every word seemed to have exhausted all his strength.
However, the moment he issued this humiliating order...
"Hehe...hehehe..."
A faint, mocking laugh drifted over on the howling wind.
The laughter was soft, yet exceptionally clear, as if it were ringing in everyone's ears, or as if it came from all directions, from heaven and earth, omnipresent.
All the ninjas in the camp, including Chiyo, were suddenly startled.
"Who?!"
"They're the enemy!"
This sent chills down everyone's spines.
The unknown is the most terrifying.
This elusive enemy, with its ghostly laughter, completely shattered their last psychological defenses.
……
On the top of a sand dune several hundred meters away, the three members of Konoha stood like three statues, silently overlooking the Sunagakure troops who were retreating in panic below.
That laughter was, of course, Danzo's doing.
He simply stood there, using the nature transformation of Wind Release to mix his suppressed laughter into the wind, thus creating this "surround sound" mocking effect.
Uchiha Kagami frowned slightly as he turned his head to look at Danzo, who had a cold expression on his face.
"Danzo, that's enough. They've already lost; there's no need to humiliate them like this anymore."
Jing's voice was as gentle as ever, but it carried a hint of disapproval.
In his view, the battle was over, and excessively trampling on the dignity of the defeated would violate the ninja way he believed in.
"humiliation?"
Danzo snorted coldly, not even turning his head. "Kagami, you're still too naive. There is no mercy for the enemy. The purpose of war is not just to destroy their bodies, but also to destroy their will."
He pointed to the chaotic line below, his voice carrying an almost cruel calmness.
"I want them to hear this laughter even in their dreams. I want this laughter to become a nightmare they can never escape for the rest of their lives. From this day forward, every ninja of Sunagakure will remember this day, this helpless fear, before they step out of the village. This is more effective than any ninjutsu."
Uchiha Kagami remained silent.
He could neither agree with Danzo's theory nor refute it.
Because he knew that what Danzo said was true. This was the most real and cruel side of war.
Sakumo Hatake, who was standing to the side, did not participate in their discussion from beginning to end.
He simply gazed calmly into the distance, his sharp eyes showing neither the joy of victory nor pity for the enemy.
He took out a small notebook and a pen from his pocket and started writing and drawing in it.
Uchiha Kagami glanced at it subconsciously.
The notebook contained a detailed anatomical diagram of a lizard, with the note: "Requires high-temperature processing, or can be used as a seasoning. The meat is tender..."
Below is a smaller line of text: "The lizard species in the Land of Wind are too limited. It is recommended to crossbreed them with lizards from the Land of Fire to improve the taste and increase the meat yield. The project is tentatively titled: 'On the Promoting Effect of Crossbreeding of Different Lizard Species on the Diversity of Konoha's Cuisine.'"
Uchiha Kagami: "..."
He silently looked away, deciding to pretend he hadn't seen anything.