Chapter 106: Mud That Can't Be Clung to the Wall

More importantly, this time the Land of Water came with a formidable force, gathering troops from two countries.

Leading the vanguard was none other than the Raikage of Kumogakure, who was also a subordinate of the Mizukage.

Yes, ever since Raikage A lost to the Mizukage, he became the Mizukage's subordinate—a fact known throughout the ninja world.

Everyone knew that if the Raikage refused to submit, destruction awaited him, and not just him alone, but all the ninja of Kumogakure.

So for the sake of his village's ninja, the Raikage chose submission and became a lackey under the Mizukage's command.

The Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was well aware of the Raikage's strength; after all, no Raikage had ever been a simple character. If the Raikage led a force into the Land of Earth unopposed, it would be a massive disaster.

Thus, he had to halt his support for the Land of Wind and gather the Land of Earth's forces to confront the Raikage.

As for the Land of Wind, he simply had no time to attend to it.

In truth, the Tsuchikage Ōnoki had another option.

He could send others to support the Land of Wind. After all, aside from the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, some smaller countries had joined the Wind-Earth Alliance for self-preservation.

Though these smaller villages were not as strong as the Land of Wind or the Land of Earth, they still constituted a force.

If they were sent to support the Land of Wind, they might have a chance to repel the Land of Fire.

But after some thought, the Tsuchikage Ōnoki abandoned this idea and instead called on these smaller countries' ninja to support the Land of Earth, because this time the Raikage's advance was overwhelming.

Besides Kumogakure, there were also ninja from Kirigakure.

Combined, the forces of two countries were something the Land of Earth could not withstand. So he had to let those smaller villages support him. As for the Land of Wind... sorry.

Better the friend die than the self.

That was Ōnoki's thinking. For the Land of Earth, he had to abandon the Land of Wind.

Meanwhile, Chiyo of the Land of Wind, unaware that the reinforcements she longed for had abandoned them, was rallying the Wind Country's ninja, telling them that as long as they repelled the Land of Fire's first wave, reinforcements would arrive.

Then the Land of Wind would not lose.

Hearing this, the ninja of Sunagakure grew excited, feeling victory was within reach. Their fear of battle vanished, and they charged into combat.

But unfortunately, though Sunagakure's intentions were good, reality was too cruel.

Leading the Land of Fire's ninja into the Land of Wind, Haku headed straight for Sunagakure. Upon encountering Sunagakure's main force, he immediately entered Sage Mode and unleashed a powerful technique.

Ice Release: Diamond Dust Fist!!!

Terrifying cold erupted from Haku's fist, freezing everything in its path. With that single punch, at least hundreds of ninja were turned into ice sculptures.

And Haku could throw such punches repeatedly.

In Sage Mode, Haku's strength was at the super-Kage level. Though still some distance from the Six Paths level, he was absolutely unstoppable by Sunagakure's ninja.

Chiyo's puppet techniques had no chance to shine before being frozen by Haku's fists.

Even she herself, after being struck by the freezing air, had half her body turned to ice.

As for the other ninja, there was no need to mention them.

Sunagakure's ninja were utterly routed by Haku. The morale of the ninja behind Haku soared as they charged into the enemy ranks, sweeping all before them with irresistible force.

Chiyo's plan had been doomed from the start.

Repel the Land of Fire's first wave?

With the Land of Wind's current strength, how could they possibly defeat the ninja under Haku's command? In fact, even Haku alone could cut through the Land of Wind.

In Haku's eyes, Sunagakure was hardly a serious enemy.

Within just half an hour of close combat, Sunagakure collapsed. Its ninja either fled or surrendered. Haku and his men drove straight in, facing no real resistance.

So Haku pressed on, leading his men into Sunagakure and formally taking control of the village.

From then on, Sunagakure existed in name only.

When this news reached the Land of Fire, Wang Bo smiled slightly. Haku's defeat of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind came as no surprise to him.

After all, in the original story, the Land of Wind, one of the five great ninja villages, had never been particularly strong.

If not for Kirigakure being the weakest, Sunagakure would have been at the bottom.

Konoha had a wealth of talent, needless to say; Kumogakure had the AB Combo; Iwagakure had Ōnoki with his Kekkei Tōta.

And what did the Land of Wind have?

The Third Kazekage of the Land of Wind could use Magnet Release, but he was killed by Sasori.

The Fourth Kazekage could also use Magnet Release, but he was killed by Orochimaru.

The Fifth Kazekage had Shukaku, the One-Tail, but was easily captured by Akatsuki members, who extracted Shukaku.

If not for Chiyo reviving him with a jutsu, Kazekage Gaara would have died long ago.

From this, it was clear that Sunagakure's strength was truly unimpressive.

Kirigakure was similarly unimpressive, though after Mei Terumī took over, its strength gradually surpassed Sunagakure's.

In this timeline, Kirigakure had the Silver Superman as its pillar, making its strength top-notch.

But Sunagakure of the Land of Wind remained the same Sunagakure—no powerful Kage, not many ninja, severe generational gaps. How could it stop the Land of Fire's advance?

By being hard-headed?

Hah, that would just be feeding kills. So in Wang Bo's view, Haku's overwhelming defeat of the Land of Wind was perfectly normal. If he hadn't conquered the Land of Wind, Wang Bo would have found it strange and even suspected Haku of holding back or betraying him.

As it turned out, the result satisfied Wang Bo.

With Sunagakure in his hands, the Land of Wind would soon fall into his grasp, as the Land of Wind's daimyō was no match for Haku.

The news of the Land of Wind's defeat and occupation quickly spread across the ninja world.

Before long, it reached the ears of the Tsuchikage Ōnoki, who nearly spat blood.

Though he knew the Land of Wind could not withstand the Land of Fire's assault and that Sunagakure was no match, he never expected Sunagakure to fall so quickly.

He had thought Sunagakure would hold out for a while, easing some pressure on him.

But who knew Sunagakure would lose so fast and so thoroughly? He was still testing the Raikage, not yet engaged in full battle, and the Land of Wind had already lost.

Mud that can't be clung to the wall!

For a moment, the Tsuchikage Ōnoki's head ached. With Sunagakure's defeat, the Wind-Earth Alliance had effectively dissolved. Relying solely on the Land of Earth's strength to oppose both the Land of Fire and the Land of Water was impossible.