Fight to the Death

At the Taniguchi, the Sand Village's supply depot.

The continuous explosions echoed far and wide through the valley, their dull yet lingering resonance reverberating across every inch of the land, even making the falling raindrops seem to tremble.

The jackals lurking in the valley cowered desperately, hiding fearfully in their caves. Living in the Land of Rain, the jackals had learned lessons from the ninjas time and time again, paying a bloody price, and knew that some 'big monkeys' were not to be trifled with.

Upon hearing the familiar explosion, it immediately tucked its tail between its legs and scurried back to its lair. Even ants cherish their lives, let alone cunning creatures like jackals.

On the other side of the valley.

A convoy of over thirty large carts was making a difficult trek, with the Sand Ninjas trudging along with constipated expressions.

The turban-wearing men possess an extremely strong will and perseverance, that much is undeniable. Every Sand Ninja is an outstanding warrior honed in the scorching desert, and they can face even the desert storms with composure and equanimity.

However, when large numbers of Sand Ninja entered the Land of Rain, a land constantly damp and moldy from the rain, they experienced an environment far worse than the storms of the desert. Too many Sand Ninja were unable to adapt to the excessively humid air and had to return to their villages to recuperate.

The Sand Ninja who remained did so not because they had adapted to the land, but more because they relied on their tenacious spirit and warlike nature to overcome the discomfort caused by the environment.

The convoy slowly made its way to the entrance of the valley.

"Stop and rest."

The bearded Sand Ninja leading the group shouted, tugging at his beard as he stared blankly at the valley. His orders were quickly relayed down the ranks, and the massive force immediately halted, solidifying the valley along with their boss.

Did you hear that?

The bearded Sand Ninja asked a question.

"What? What did you hear?"

The Sand Ninja beside him watched the boss nervously, straining their ears to listen, but apart from the annoying sound of rain, there were only the occasional unpleasant cries of crows.

"······"

The bearded man glanced at the subordinates he had recently transferred to his side, pursed his lips, and looked sullen.

This is incredibly unlucky. Not only am I stuck with this lousy task of transporting supplies, but my subordinates are all useless. It feels like the higher-ups are dumping all the useless trash on me, as if they think this place is a garbage dump. It's simply unbearable.

He muttered a few harsh words in his mind, angrily plucked out a few hairs from his beard, but then grimaced in pain, his bull-like eyes wide open, the fine, dense blood vessels looking particularly eerie.

"Useless trash, get lost! Go find the sensory unit for me! A bunch of useless cowards who can't even poop but insist on occupying the toilet, you've utterly disgraced the Sand Village..." The bearded man cursed, glaring at his seemingly bewildered subordinate. "Hurry up and get there! What are you doing standing there like a wooden stake?!"

"Yes, yes, I'll go, no... I'll go right now."

The young man was so startled that he bit his tongue and ran away as fast as he could.

The Sand Ninja around them looked solemn, each holding their breath, fearing that they would be called out and scolded by the boss, which would be truly terrible.

Before long, eight Sand Ninja arrived together, each with an expression of heroic sacrifice. The surrounding Sand Ninja also offered their blessings and sympathy, quietly watching the brave warriors die... They stood in a row in front of the bearded man, their heights and shapes arranged neatly.

"Go ahead and investigate. I have a bad feeling; something's probably gone wrong at the supply depot."

The bearded man said with a solemn expression.

They probably didn't expect the meeting to be so 'gentle,' without any thunderous reprimands. The sensory ninjas who were summoned stood there dumbfounded, staring at each other like a bunch of silly geese.

"What? Is there a problem with not setting off yet?"

"No······"

The sudden rise in tone startled them.

"I'll go right away, I'll go right away."

A group of people rushed into the valley, but they did not lose their vigilance. The eight of them split up, climbed the steep rock face, and called out to each other as they made their way toward the supply station at the other end of the valley.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique"

The raging crimson flames transformed into the shape of a dragon, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, yet moving in a straight line. The falling raindrops were merely scorched by the churning flames, turning into wisps of water vapor that rose into the sky. Nothing could stop the fire dragon in its path.

The Uchiha's Fire Style are top-notch in the world, truly without any exaggeration.

Otoha and Otome were already quite skilled in Fire Style, but after witnessing Fugaku's simple C-rank Fire Style, they realized that there are always people more powerful than them. The power of the fire dragon was no less than that of a so-called B-rank Ninjutsu, and in terms of destructive power, it already fell into the category of B-rank Ninjutsu.

With a short scream, the fire suddenly surged upwards, and a charred, black mass crashed into the muddy water, barely revealing a human figure.

"Damn it!!! Those greenskins, die, die!"

Fugaku succeeded, eliminating the Sand Ninja in the granary, and then set fire to three granaries. The raging flames soared into the sky, and the orange-red flames reflected in his gray eyes, driving the large Sand Ninja almost mad, wishing he could kill the Konoha Ninja in front of him.

A person dies and that's it. The Sand Village ninja were never afraid of dying in battle. What they feared was the complete destruction of supplies in the supply depots, a loss they could not bear.

Blood vessels rose in his gray eyes, and thin lines of blood trickled down his cheekbones from the corners of his eyes.

The big Sand Ninja's Kakuzu bursting with rage. He hated these little green- Konoha ninjas from Konoha to the extreme. All the supplies stored in the supply depot were destroyed, and his future was ruined along with them. Moreover, if the Konoha Ninja in the granary came to his aid, he would surely die as well.

As a fellow Sand Village ninja, he knew very well the strength of his comrades guarding the granary; they were no weaker than him. But since his comrades had all died in battle, what right did he have to hope to survive?

However, it's all the same whether I die or not, so I might as well take a few down with me and not let these green-skinned people get away with it for nothing.

The twin blades whistled suddenly, producing a series of ear-piercing whistling sounds. Blue light swirled around the blades, creating a terrifying aura.

"Damn it."

The first to notice something amiss was naturally Katsuki. He used his sensory abilities to the fullest extent, and with the help of Otome, Nawaki, Hoshio, he barely managed to fight the giant Sand Ninja to a draw.

When it started self-destructively squeezing Chakra, Katsuki knew something was wrong.

"Otome, Nawaki, be careful, this guy's going to fight desperately!!"

As Katsuki offered her warning, she didn't retreat but instead charged forward upon hearing the short sword.

"Go to hell!!!"

The giant Sand Ninja's face was flushed red, like a boiled shrimp, with veins bulging on his arms. He made a slashing motion with his twin swords, sending out whistling wind blades that swept towards Katsuki and the others.