NOVEL WEB Chapter 74: CHAPTER 74
However, Kimimaro knew very well that the situation wasn't that simple.
It was unrealistic to absorb life energy from all eight thousand soldiers. Setting aside the possibility that the number was inflated, in a real battle, many would flee, and others would surrender. While he could be ruthless in battle, he wasn't a monster. Most of these soldiers were conscripts or coerced into service. If he indiscriminately harvested their life energy, word would spread, and Haruna's reputation would be irreparably damaged. That would jeopardize any plans they had to establish long-term rule over the Land of Vegetables.
Conquest required violence, but wanton slaughter would brand them as tyrants. Kimimaro estimated that extracting life energy from around two thousand soldiers would be an acceptable compromise. That would still net him over two hundred thousand life energy points.
As for whether they could win—Kimimaro never doubted it.
These were common soldiers. Even someone like Hanabi Hyuga, who was still a genin-in-training back in Konoha, could easily take on dozens of them with her Gentle Fist. Kimimaro, with his Shikotsumyaku and his near-Kage level strength, was in another league entirely.
In the shinobi world, ninja prowess overwhelmingly surpassed conventional military force. The chaos once wrought by the "Three Evil Ninjas" in the Land of Vegetables stood as testament to this imbalance. While not every ninja excelled at large-scale combat, assassinating a general within a battlefield was standard shinobi warfare. And if you had large-scale jutsu? One person could rout an entire army.
"Hm?" Kimimaro's eyes narrowed. Deep in thought, he suddenly felt a strange breeze around his thigh.
He looked down—and saw Haruna awkwardly fiddling with the buttons of his pants.
"What are you doing?"
"I... I read that there's another way to become closer to someone. I'm afraid Karin will get mad if I sleep with you, but I still want to... to be intimate." Her voice trailed off, cheeks flushed. "When it's just the two of us… don't treat me like a princess or a daimyo…"
Kimimaro gave her a smack on the rear. "It's because you're the daimyo that it feels more satisfying."
Ever since he scolded and hit Haruna during an earlier confrontation, her masochistic tendencies had surfaced more openly. The slap drew a soft gasp from her lips, her eyes shimmering.
"Then… what should I do?"
"Keep going."
"Mn." Haruna slowly lowered herself.
T/N: Does anyone knows the fastest way to get to China? I want to meet the Author, I won't harm him or do anything😡
A week later.
Haruna stood before her ministers, dressed in formal ceremonial robes embroidered with the crest of the Land of Vegetables. Her posture was dignified, her expression calm.
"You are all loyal retainers of this land. I thank you for your support."
The ministers bowed in unison. "We dare not accept your praise, Lady Haruna."
One of them stepped forward. "Though we've raised three thousand men, the enemy's coalition—Saibai's forces—has already deployed eight thousand and encamped near our borders. The battle is expected to begin tomorrow. With your presence, our troops' morale is high, but we must not underestimate the enemy."
"How we fight this battle," Haruna replied, "will be explained by Lord Kimimaro." Her eyes flicked toward him, unconsciously biting her lip.
Kimimaro stepped forward with a calm, confident smile. "Tomorrow, my companions and I will strike the first blow, crushing the enemy's morale. Your soldiers need only follow up and secure the battlefield. I have one request—avoid unnecessary killing. Disable the enemy when possible. Those who are merely wounded can still be used to harvest life energy, but the dead are much less useful."
Killing reduced potential life energy to a fraction. Intact, living bodies yielded far more.
—
The next morning, Kimimaro stood at the front of their modest army, eyes scanning the battlefield.
"Jūgo, Guren, Suigetsu. Let's go. We'll tear through them!"
Kimimaro raised his arm—and with a flick, summoned his signature jutsu.
"Dance of the Bone Dragon!"
From the earth, a massive skeletal dragon burst forth and soared into the sky, its bony wings slicing through the clouds.
"What in the world is that!?"
"Don't panic! It's just enemy ninjutsu—shoot it down!"
But their arrows barely scratched the construct before it dove into their ranks, scattering formations and sowing panic.
"Let's move!"
"Haha! There's a nice puddle over there—I'm going first!" Suigetsu shouted gleefully, morphing into liquid and surging across the terrain.
Jūgo's body twisted as he activated Sage Transformation, while Guren released waves of shimmering pink crystal, Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Blade Dance, impaling enemy troops or trapping them in glittering coffins.
Kimimaro leapt into the fray, launching Dance of the Larch—countless bone spikes erupted from his body, cutting down the nearest enemies like wheat.
He followed with a powerful Wood Release technique—Deep Forest Emergence—sending a wave of massive trees crashing through the enemy ranks.
Back on the hill, Haruna's ministers stood slack-jawed.
So this was the power of a true shinobi…
They hadn't witnessed Saibai's coup firsthand and had no concept of what the Lengya Three Brothers had truly been. Now they understood. Their own soldiers were little more than decoration—fit for ceremonies, not war.
"This is... this is a massacre!"
Even so, the number of fatalities was low. Kimimaro and his allies hadn't slaughtered the troops; their goal was terror and disruption. In terms of sheer kill count, fewer than a thousand had died—but the psychological impact was enormous.
Troops dropped weapons. Some fled. Others froze in fear. A third of the enemy was routed within minutes.
Haruna turned to her ministers with firm command. "Have our troops advance. Forget the deserters. Those who remain will be too frightened to fight properly."
"Yes, Lady Haruna! We will act immediately and follow Lord Kimimaro's strategy!"
When Kimimaro activated both Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) and Wood Release, he discovered that his current level of mastery allowed him to absorb life energy without direct contact, using the bone structures and wooden constructs he created as conduits.
However, this ability only worked effectively on ordinary people. Against trained shinobi, especially those with strong chakra control or resistance, life force absorption was nearly impossible.
Before long, his absorption capacity hit its current ceiling: 20,000 units of life energy.
"I wonder when I'll be able to raise this limit..." Kimimaro mused.
The battle had ended with astonishing swiftness—unsurprising, given the overwhelming gap between shinobi and regular soldiers. This confrontation would serve as a brutal reminder to the Land of Vegetables: using sheer numbers to resist ninja, especially one of Kimimaro's caliber, was a futile endeavor.
A report soon arrived.
"Report: 1,038 enemies confirmed dead on-site, 3,395 captured. The remainder fled."
Kimimaro reviewed the aftermath. In addition to the 20,000 life energy he had absorbed directly, he had managed to extract and convert just over 6,000 more from the battlefield through collected remains. However, this amount was limited—too many corpses were scattered across the area, and he couldn't roam the battlefield like a scavenger. Besides, the chakra essence and cellular integrity of weaker individuals deteriorated quickly.
"Gather all the corpses in one place. I'll take care of them."
"My Lord?" one of the subordinates asked in surprise.
"What? I'm a shinobi. One fire-style jutsu will cremate them faster than any manual effort."
Kimimaro wasn't concerned about losing some essence of flesh and blood—what truly mattered were the bones. With over a thousand dead, he had ample material to repair and reinforce his Bone Dragon. Though the construct had proven invaluable in the battle, it had also taken considerable damage.
Then there were the prisoners.
"Screen them. Interrogate and cross-examine. Identify those who willingly served under Saibai and isolate them. The rest can be temporarily detained elsewhere."
"Yes, Lord Kimimaro!"
He wasn't going to execute them all—not just because it might trouble Haruna, but because indiscriminate slaughter wasn't efficient. Those who were truly coerced deserved a chance to live; those who had committed atrocities in Saibai's name would face justice.
After two days of thorough interrogation and cross-referencing testimonies, just over 1,000 prisoners were deemed worthy of leniency.
Kimimaro brought Haruna to the camp.
"You people—these one thousand or so—were deceived. That's why Lady Haruna has come in person to see you," Kimimaro said, his voice cold but firm.
Haruna stepped forward, her expression solemn. The prisoners straightened instinctively, some lowering their heads in shame, others blinking in disbelief. Their fate—though uncertain—had not yet ended in blood.
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