On the Eve of Battle

"Aw, it was nothing special!"

Hearing the heartfelt praise, Kushina instead became modest.

"All right, Teacher Kushina, time to get to work."

Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!

At her words, Kushina's expression turned serious, and she instantly created more than a hundred Shadow Clones.

With her amount of Chakra, she could easily create thousands, or even tens of thousands, but the more clones she made, the less Chakra each one would possess.

If the enemy sensed that every person approaching had such a small amount of Chakra, they would soon figure out what was going on.

Besides, sending more than a thousand people for a mere four opponents would be difficult to justify no matter how one looked at it.

More than a hundred was just right.

"Let's go!"

As the Shadow Clones scattered, Chiga and the others followed the smallest group of Shadow Clones and ran off.

The night began to darken. A half-moon slowly rose into the sky, its pure moonlight bathing the earth in radiance.

On the mountainside, a small, thin figure resting with his eyes closed suddenly opened them and looked toward the Red Rock Boar beside him, which had just let out a snorting sound.

"Hm?"

Before the thin figure could ask anything, the Red Rock Boar suddenly grew restless.

Its great commotion had already caught Sida's attention. Sida's brow furrowed at once. "What's going on?"

The thin figure hurriedly replied, "This is bad, Captain Sida. The Red Rock Boar sensed a large amount of Chakra at the foot of the mountain, at least a hundred people. They've already formed a perimeter and are rapidly moving toward us."

Hearing this, Yosuke flew into a rage. He pointed at the thin figure and roared, "Bastard, this is all your fault! Damn it, I'll kill you first!"

"Stop. It should not be our side that's been exposed."

Sida stepped in front of Yosuke and restrained him, explaining, "With so many ninja, Konoha must have discovered that we stole Konoha's intelligence. It seems our intelligence operative has been exposed."

Then he said to the thin figure, "Have the Red Rock Boar look for a gap. Before they tighten the encirclement, we'll break through!"

"Understood!"

After the thin figure said a few words to the Red Rock Boar, it sniffed around with its snout, then raised its nose toward one direction.

"Captain, this way!" the thin figure immediately said.

"There's no time to lose. Move out at once!"

With a shout, Sida led everyone toward the direction indicated by the Red Rock Boar.

Meanwhile, the moment the Iwa ninja began to move, Kushina, who had been waiting for Sida and the others to arrive, suddenly spoke. "They're here!"

The two ANBU exchanged glances and began setting up traps. Whether they would be effective depended on how sharp the enemy was.

After setting up the traps, the two ANBU each found a hiding place and silently watched the movements in the forest ahead.

Kushina, meanwhile, took Chiga with her and hid nearby.

At this moment, Chiga's hand gripping the Samurai Sword was trembling slightly, and an indescribable light flashed in his eyes.

He was not worried about their safety.

After all, they had three jōnin on their side.

There was no need to mention Kushina. She had excellent talent to begin with, and as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, her strength was also above average among jōnin.

The two ANBU whom Hiruzen Sarutobi had arranged to protect Kushina needed no explanation either. Their strength was certainly solid.

Therefore, Chiga was not overly concerned about his own safety.

The only thing troubling him was the fact that he was about to kill someone.

This was his first time. Personally ending a person's life was not an easy thing.

His heart was filled with conflicting emotions.

Fear, anxiety, excitement. All kinds of emotions were tangled together.

Kushina had originally been focused on watching the area ahead. When she noticed Chiga's condition, she thought for a moment before suddenly calling out, "Chiga!"

"Teacher Kushina?"

Chiga turned his head in confusion.

Kushina met his gaze. Concern showed on her face as she asked, "This is your first time killing someone, right?"

"Yeah!" Chiga nodded.

"I see! If you throw up, I won't laugh at you. I'll even keep it a secret for you!"

With that, Kushina smiled faintly and used her hand to ruffle Chiga's hair, patting his small head.

"..."

Chiga had thought Kushina would say something comforting.

Although it did not lessen his nervousness about killing, Chiga's hand stopped trembling.

After some time, Sida's Iwa ninja team finally arrived. They moved swiftly through the forest, leaping from tree to tree.

Kushina watched Sida, who was leading them, from a distance, her eyes narrowing slightly.

The man had a well-proportioned build, and every leap was clean and decisive. In such a dense mountain forest, he made not the slightest sound even while running at full speed. His control over himself had clearly reached an extremely high level.

The two people close behind him were no ordinary fighters either.

But they were not her main concern. Her gaze slowly shifted to the thin figure riding the Red Rock Boar and barely keeping up with them from behind.

The childlike face and anxious expression made it obvious at a glance that he was also a genin who had only just left Newbie Village. Kushina could not help relaxing, and she even felt a little proud. He's leagues behind my disciple!

After observing the enemy, Kushina exchanged glances with the two ANBU and used hand signals to redistribute their targets.

In her view, the man leading them was powerful, and even she had to take him seriously. As for the two people behind Sida, though they were not weak, an ANBU of jōnin level would be more than capable of handling them, so she assigned them to Heiha.

Kazuma would be responsible for support from the side, going wherever an ally fell into a disadvantageous position.

Chiga's target remained unchanged.

As the Iwa ninja squad drew closer and closer, Kushina's expression grew increasingly solemn.

At the same time, thanks to the Red Rock Boar's senses, the enemy also discovered Kushina and the others.

"Captain Sida, there are four ninja ahead!"

"Good. Everyone, attack with all your strength and finish them quickly!"

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Sida's mouth as he charged toward the opposite side with his team.

"We've been discovered!"

Watching the Iwa ninja charge forward without hesitation, Kushina murmured to herself. She was not particularly surprised.

The four of them immediately stopped hiding. After revealing themselves, they stood ready for battle.

Soon, under Chiga and the others' watchful eyes, Sida and his team were about to enter the trapped area.

However, only a few steps away, Sida, who was leading them, suddenly stopped dead and raised an arm.

Seeing this, the three people behind him also stopped.

"A trap?"

Sida cast a cold glance at the inconspicuous thin wire stretched between two giant trees. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and he gave a cold laugh. "Is that all Konoha's ninja are capable of?"

Seeing that the Iwa ninja had noticed the trap, Kushina's expression shifted slightly. She ended the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and withdrew the massive amount of Chakra.

At that very moment, the thin figure spoke again. "Captain Sida, the pursuers behind us have disappeared!"