Naruto: Starting with Infinite Chakra-Chapter 172: The Aftermath
Chapter 172 - 172: The Aftermath
"Let's take them out as quickly as possible and finish off every last Ame-nin. Jiraiya won't be able to hold out for much longer."
A seasoned jōnin from the Nara clan spoke grimly.
Maintaining a barrier of this scale was an immense chakra drain. They needed to act fast—eliminate all of the Ame-nin and retreat, or find a way to assist Jiraiya.
Seeing that the barrier Jiraiya had set up still hadn't dissipated, the Ame-nin finally had to accept the harsh reality: Hanzō's last line of defense had been singlehandedly held off by Jiraiya.
One after another, Ame-nin fell.
The balance of power between the leadership of Amegakure and Konoha had completely tipped. With Jiraiya personally cutting down many of their forces, the Ame-nin could no longer stand against Konoha.
One by one, Amegakure's elite jōnin were slain by Konoha's elite, working in tandem. Even so, the dying counterattacks of the Ame-nin inflicted some wounds on Konoha's forces, though nothing severe enough to significantly impact their combat strength.
Once the Ame jōnin were eliminated, Konoha's elite ninja charged into battle like tigers among sheep, leading the massacre of the remaining Ame-nin.
The Amegakure forces stood no chance against such overwhelming strength. Bodies littered the ground, severed limbs and pools of blood turning Tetsuishi Town into a nightmarish hellscape.
War had always been cruel. Once on the battlefield, there were only two possible outcomes—kill or be killed.
Konoha quickly established total dominance. The number of surviving Ame-nin dwindled rapidly, yet those who remained fought with unrelenting ferocity, launching desperate attacks against the Konoha shinobi.
They had only one goal: take down as many Konoha ninja as possible before dying, or at least injure them to lessen the burden on their village in the future.
Their sheer willpower enhanced their combat effectiveness. If not for the leadership of Konoha's elite jōnin, facing such a fanatical force would have been costly.
But the Konoha forces consisted largely of clan shinobi, led by battle-hardened jōnin. No matter how unyielding the Ame-nin's spirit was, reality could not be changed.
Before long, the only ones left standing in Tetsuishi Town were Konoha shinobi. Not a single Ame-nin had survived.
Konoha, however, had not come away unscathed. Over three hundred shinobi had perished, including five jōnin.
"Use Wind Release to clear out the poison gas."
With the battle over, Konoha's elite jōnin gathered those skilled in Wind Release to disperse the lingering toxins from the alleys.
Earlier, when the poison gas had first started spreading, Konoha had wanted to blow it away, but the Ame-nin had fought desperately to prevent that. Now that they were gone, the task was simple.
Soon, the air cleared.
"Those with medical ninjutsu, tend to the wounded immediately," Uchiha Raiden ordered before leading a group of elite jōnin toward the source of the poison gas.
The poison within the barrier was unnaturally thick. Seeing Jiraiya standing unharmed within it left them stunned.
"The barrier array inside the building is intact," Jiraiya observed. "It just ran out of power. There are chakra-infused minerals buried beneath Tetsuishi Town—Amegakure's shinobi used an array to draw power from them to sustain the barriers. You need to restore those conduits immediately."
Now that the enemy had been eliminated, Jiraiya finally allowed himself a small smile as he explained the situation.
His role in the capture of Tetsuishi Town was enormous. Not only had he secured victory, but he had also saved countless Konoha shinobi. When the time came for the Hokage elections, there was no doubt that those who had fought here would support him.
"How much longer can you hold on?" Uchiha Raiden asked, frowning. "The battle damaged those conduits badly. Fully restoring them will take time. With all the Ame-nin dead, we could simply retreat and let the poison dissipate naturally, or notify the village to send a sealing team to contain it."
He was worried about the toll maintaining the barrier was taking on Jiraiya.
"You don't need to worry about me. I can maintain this for a long time," Jiraiya reassured them. "Keeping this barrier up hasn't drained as much chakra as you think. I'm still going strong."
Raiden and the others, momentarily taken aback by Jiraiya's confidence, quickly got to work repairing the conduits as instructed.
Amegakure's guiding arrays weren't particularly complex, and since they didn't need to be redrawn from scratch, just repaired, the task was manageable.
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After about an hour, all the guiding arrays were restored, and the barrier over the building glowed to life once more.
Jiraiya exhaled deeply. His shadow clones disappeared as he stepped out of the room.
"Are you hurt?" Tsunade rushed forward, concern written all over her face.
"I'm fine. No need to worry." Jiraiya gave her a reassuring smile.
With all of Konoha's remaining forces gathered, the wounded had been treated, the fallen laid to rest, and the battlefield cleared.
Every surviving Konoha ninja looked at Jiraiya with admiration.
They all knew that the only reason they were still alive was because Jiraiya had risked his life to hold back the poison and swiftly eliminated the enemy commander, Ryūgen.
If he had chosen to run instead, they all would have perished.
Jiraiya had the ability to flee, but he had chosen to stay for their sake.
That choice had earned their unwavering respect.
"Jiraiya-sama! We've spotted ninja from the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth approaching fast!"
A chunin standing watch on the walls suddenly leaped down and reported the urgent news, his face tense.
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