Chapter 165 Platycodon City

Looking at the map, in the westernmost part of the Fire Country, there is a large protruding area, which penetrates into the Wind Country like a sword. Kikyo Castle is located at the tip of the sword, and its strategic significance is evident.

Yeshan was no stranger to Kikyo Castle, and could even be considered very familiar with it. During the Second Ninja World War, he had been stationed here for a long time to guard against the counterattack of the Sand Ninja. He remembered every tree and blade of grass in the city by heart, but he didn't know what changes had taken place after several years had passed.

I have to say, it feels great to be a ninja who can fly. Not only does it look very cool, but you don't have to worry about being attacked by the enemy when traveling. The only drawback is that the chakra is consumed too quickly, which is difficult for ordinary ninjas to bear.

When the sun was about to set, a large plain appeared among the continuous ridges, which refreshed the tired Ye Shan and made him flap his wings faster. He knew that they had arrived at Kikyo City.

Kikyo Castle is located on a plain, surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on one side. It is a rare city in the Ninja World that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It originally belonged to the Wind Country, but was ceded to the Fire Country after the end of the Second Ninja World War. It has only been a few years now.

Why is it said that it is easy to defend but difficult to attack? You should know that for the non-human profession of ninja, any mountain obstacles are a joke. Chakra gives ninjas unimaginable mobility. Crossing rivers and lakes is like walking on flat ground, and climbing over mountains and valleys is like a common thing. The answer lies in the terrain.

The border between the Fire Country and the Wind Country is quite peculiar. It is like the Qinling Mountains in the previous life, covered with endless mountains. This mountain range is too long, nearly 700 kilometers! These are not ordinary hills, but all of them are thousands of feet high. They not only isolate the cultural and business exchanges between the two countries, but also block the hot and dry wind from the desert, allowing the Fire Country to maintain fertile land and humid climate.

There are no extra gaps in the nearly 700-kilometer-long mountain range. The only gap is the mountain road formed by the confluence of countless mountain streams, and Kikyo Castle stands above this river. In other words, if the ninjas from the Wind Country want to invade the Fire Country, Kikyo Castle is the only road and choice.

There may be so-called military geniuses who object. They may think that with the mobility of ninjas, they can cross the mountains, bypass Kikyo Castle and enter the Land of Fire, and launch a surprise attack.

Well, it’s not wrong to think so. In the eyes of a ninja, a mountain nearly a thousand feet high is indeed no different from a plain. But don’t forget that no matter how powerful a ninja is, he still has to eat, drink, defecate and urinate.

The ninja army can cross the mountains to enter the Fire Country to fight, but can the food and supplies also cross the mountains to the Fire Country? The answer is undoubtedly no. Without taking down Kikyo Castle, not a single grain of food from the Wind Country can enter the Fire Country!

Once they lose their logistical support, will the ninjas of Sand Village rely on love to generate electricity to fight? As for plundering the people's food as military rations, that's fine, but do ninjas have no other material needs besides food?

Explosive tags, ninja tools, food pills, and medicines are also essential items for ninja combat, and their functions are even far greater than food!

With the backward transportation capacity of the ninja world, it is already extremely difficult to ensure the daily needs of the frontline ninjas. It is unrealistic to expect a group of ninjas to carry heavy supplies over mountains and hills every day. Moreover, once the war breaks out, not to mention the Wind Country, even the Fire Country will not be able to transport all the supplies by ninjas.

Therefore, Kikyo Castle is the top priority target of the Sand Village. If they can't even take down Kikyo Castle, what's the point of talking about a ninja world war? At most, it's just a local conflict.

Only by taking down Kikyo Castle can the Sand Village have the logistical support to support the Ninja World War. In other words, the Ninja World War is not about the number of troops, but the strength of the country!

The reason why Konoha Village was able to win in every Ninja World War was not because it had many strong people or high-quality ninjas, but because the Land of Fire was rich and the daimyo was wealthy.

Otherwise, how could Konoha survive the siege of several villages? Judging from the number of ninjas, the number of Sand Village, Rock Village, and Mist Village combined is far greater than that of Konoha Village, and it's because they are rich.

For example, Konoha can equip every ninja fighting on the front line with five detonating tags. Can Sand Village do that? If it can do that, it won't develop the profession of puppeteer. The original intention of puppeteer is to increase the number of ninjas participating in the war without increasing the number of ninjas. That's all.

In a word, war costs money, and Kikyo City is vital to both sides.

Not long after, Ye Shan saw a large city appear in his sight from afar. He reached into his ninja tool bag with his left hand, took out a flare, and threw it out without hesitation. Then an orange-yellow light exploded, which was enough to alert the ninjas in the city.

Sure enough, a ninja immediately shouted loudly below: "Enemy attack!"

The slightly quiet city wall became lively, with shouts and the sounds of swords being unsheathed audible at the same time. Even the sharp-eyed Ye Shan saw a dozen large crossbow launchers, with thick stacks of detonating talismans tied to the black arrows, which indirectly reflected Konoha's wealth.

A ninja from the Hyuga clan opened his Byakugan and locked onto the invader in mid-air, constantly adjusting the position with his mouth. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically and he stopped his companions from attacking.

"Stop, the person coming is Lord Ye Shan!"

"Ah?! Lord Ye Shan is here? Are you seeing things?"

"I can't be mistaken. I met you last year and the chakra aura on you cannot be fake."

At this time, it was getting dark, and someone was afraid that Ye Shan would not be able to find the landing point, so he took out a spare flashlight and flashed it to guide him. Ye Shan nodded with satisfaction, and was very satisfied with the alertness of the ninjas in the city, and also satisfied with their cleverness.

Under the gazes of dozens of ninjas, Ye Shan rolled up a whirlwind and landed on the top of the city wall. After retracting his chakra mode, his true face was revealed.

"Master Yeshan!"

The ninjas did not dare to be negligent and hurried forward to greet them. Although Ye Shan and the higher-ups were not on good terms, they still had to observe the proper etiquette that ordinary ninjas should have. After all, the ninja world was a world that respected the strong.

"Well, are you on duty tonight?" Ye Shan nodded and asked.

"That's right. I wonder what instructions you have for me, sir?" A ninja who looked like a team leader stepped forward and replied respectfully.

"There's an emergency. Where is the command post in the city? I have important intelligence that needs to be disclosed immediately."

Everyone's faces grimly realized that something big had happened, and someone immediately led the way to the command post. The remaining ninjas remained silent and looked at each other, and the atmosphere unconsciously became solemn.

Not long after, Ye Shan arrived in front of a three-story building. Nara Shikatani and others who had received the news earlier stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting with bated breath. When they saw that it was really Ye Shan who came in person, they all came forward to greet him.

Nara Shikatsugu is the current head of the Nara clan and the father of Nara Shikaku. Now around 40 years old, he has an intimidating aura, especially his eyes, which are so sharp that they seem to be able to see through people's hearts.

"I didn't expect that Lord Ye Shan was the one who came. I was a little skeptical when I received the notification just now. Kikyo City is bitterly cold, and you didn't even inform us in advance, so we were unprepared."

It is indeed bitterly cold in Platycodon City. It is only June, but the temperature at night has dropped to around ten degrees. No one knows why.

Ye Shan smiled faintly and said, "I am not here to be a guest tonight, but to report urgent information."

Nara Shikasho's eyes flashed with brilliance, and he said with a smile, "This is not a place to talk. Let's go in and have some tea. You have to drink a few more cups when we have dinner later. It's been a long time since we last met."

The crowd surrounded Ye Shan and Nara Shikatsugi and walked into the conference room on the first floor. After some humility, Ye Shan sat on the main seat, and beside him was Nara Shikatsugi, the commander of Kikyo Castle.

Ye Shan hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day, and was extremely thirsty. He drank the tea in his cup in one gulp, lit a cigarette, and then said, "You are all acquaintances, so I won't beat around the bush. The Third Kazekage of the Sand Village in the Land of Wind has disappeared for no apparent reason. According to reliable intelligence, a new Ninja World War is about to break out."

This sentence was like a bomb, instantly detonating the atmosphere in the conference room. All the ninjas had expressions of astonishment on their faces, and they all stared with their eyes wide open in disbelief.

The Third Kazekage is missing? A new Ninja World War?

They knew that Ye Shan came for an emergency, but they didn't expect it to be so urgent.

"Are you serious, sir?" A ninja in his twenties stood up and asked without caring about etiquette.

"Of course it's true."

Nara Shikasho came to his senses and asked hurriedly, "Does the village know?"

"do not know."

Nara Shikatani took a deep breath, suppressed his anxiety, and his usual calmness returned to him: "Xinsi, immediately encrypt the information and send it to the village, using Eagle Maru!"

"Yes!"

Ye Shan nodded approvingly. He had heard of Yingwan. It was said to be the fastest falcon in Konoha Village and could fly a thousand miles a day. If nothing unexpected happened, the information could be delivered to Konoha Village tonight.

Nara Shikasho's fingers tapped unconsciously on the wooden table, making a "dududu" sound, and then said, "Immediately recall the patrol team, from now on no one can leave the city without my order!"

"Yes!"

"Lord Hayama, I hope you can stay in the city. Of course, I will send a request to the Hokage immediately."

Ye Shan did not refuse Nara Shikatsugu's request, which was also the main reason why he rushed to Kikyo Castle: "Of course, I will stay in the city unless the Hokage sends someone else to take charge."

In peacetime, Kikyo Castle is able to cope with the situation under the command of Nara Shikatsugu. However, once a war breaks out, his combat power will not be enough. After all, the Nara clan is known for their intelligence, and most of their members are smart, but their combat power is not strong.

Without a strong man guarding it, Kikyo Castle would have no chance of resisting the attack from the Sand Village. In front of a Kage-level strong man whose power surpassed that of ordinary ninjas, the so-called numbers were a joke. Chiyo had a record of destroying a small ninja village by herself.

Nara Shikasho felt relieved and issued orders in an orderly manner. They were nothing more than some instructions to tighten the defense line, which was similar to what Uchiha Masato did.

"Does Lord Yeshan have anything else to add?"

After getting Ye Shan's promise, Nara Shikatani started addressing him as "sir" and no longer dared to act like the clan leader and treat him as an equal.

Ye Shan laughed secretly in his heart, thinking that the ninja was also a person who changed his attitude according to the situation, and said meaningfully: "Don't the civilians and caravans in the city need to be evacuated?"

Nara Shikatani gave a bitter smile. With his wisdom, how could he forget these things? This was because the involvement was too great, so great that he did not dare to give orders without authorization: "Your Excellency does not know that the caravan in the city involves many dignitaries of the Land of Fire, and even the Daimyo is involved. I dare not disperse them without the order of the Hokage."

Since ancient times, smuggling, business and other highly profitable industries have been inseparable from the secret support of the powerful. The Kingdom of Wind is poor, and a pound of grain transported from the Kingdom of Fire to the Kingdom of Wind can make five times the profit, not to mention salt, steel, tea and other goods that sound profitable. How could those nobles who value money more than their lives be willing to be lonely? Naturally, they all secretly connected with each other and started doing business.

Ye Shan smiled coldly. He knew the filth involved very well. He could turn a blind eye in peacetime, but once the Ninja World War broke out, smuggling would be like digging at the roots of Konoha!

He remembered clearly the incident of the Fire Country Daimyo reselling military rations during the Second Ninja World War. These so-called nobles had no sense of propriety or shame, and when they saw money they went crazy as if they had seen their own father.

"Don't be afraid, just do it. If anything goes wrong, the Hokage will take care of it."

Ye Shan acted as if he had someone behind him and spoke very confidently, but I wonder if Sarutobi Hiruzen would be so angry that he would curse his mother when he found out.

If you think about it carefully, you will definitely curse, and even miss your good friend Shimura Danzo, because he was the one who took all the blame before. It's a pity that he is gone, and the blame king is no longer here...

But Ye Shan didn't care about all this. As long as he was not the one to take the blame, even if he poked a hole in the sky, who wouldn't say it was for Konoha?