Facing the Enemy Alone

"Ice Release: Ice Sword"

Several slender Ice Sword flew up, radiating a chilling aura, and shot towards the white-haired youth opposite them.

The Ice Sword thudded into a wooden stake.

A large chunk of ice fell into the grass, flattening a patch of vegetation. Its restrained chill burst forth, covering the surrounding vegetation within a three- or four-meter radius with a layer of pure white frost.

Looking at the withered grass and trees not far in front of him, Kakashi shrank his neck, glad that he had run fast enough and far enough. He hadn't expected that this seemingly unremarkable Ice Sword would inflict secondary damage. How insidious!

"Damn Substitution Technique..."

Kuyue stamped her foot, filled with resentment. It was bad enough that the technique she had painstakingly developed had been thwarted by Teacher Katsuki, since her teacher was as strong as a monster—no, she should be called a monster among monsters!

But even Kakashi wasn't affected.

I'm so unwilling to accept this!

"Kuyue, don't get distracted during the battle, or you'll suffer a great loss."

The short sword suddenly leaped from the ground behind him, its sharp blade gleaming with a chilling light, and without hesitation stabbed towards Kuyue's back.

Kakashi is ruthless; even in sparring, he goes all out and holds nothing back.

He knew very well that the girl he was fighting was not one of Might Guy's idiots, and holding back would only make him lose faster!

As for safety, with Brother Katsuki keeping an eye on things, he wasn't worried about anyone getting hurt.

"Alright, that's enough."

A hand gripped the blade, preventing it from advancing an inch when it was less than three centimeters from Kuyue's heart.

"Brother Katsuki."

Kakashi sheathed his short sword, and grinned as he looked at Katsuki's unharmed hand.

"Teacher."

Kuyue turned around and hung her head in dejection.

Even though she possessed Kekkei Genkai, she was still defeated by Kakashi, which was a huge blow to the proud girl.

"Kakashi, your Earth Release are quite good. You haven't let Teacher Sakumo down."

"I'm still far from good enough! I'm far behind both my father and Brother Katsuki!"

Kakashi shook his head, his eyes filled with sincerity, genuinely dissatisfied with his current abilities.

This is also a proud and arrogant child.

However, to be fair, Kakashi is a young man with the right to be arrogant. His talent is almost universally acknowledged. Anyone who has met Kakashi cannot help but admire that the Konoha's White Fang has a worthy successor. He has taken on a good disciple and now has a good son. Countless people in the village are envious of him.

"Pretending!"

Across from her, Kuyue parted her pink lips and muttered resentfully.

"Slow as a duck, dull-witted." Kakashi rolled his eyes and retorted without holding back.

The relationship between the two wasn't particularly good, but it wasn't bad either. They were classmates and had trained with Katsuki, but that didn't mean their relationship was particularly close.

Both of them were proud and arrogant, and being of similar age, they were often compared to each other, and they themselves were constantly competing with each other.

From minor tests and exams at the Ninja Academy to major training exercises and real combat missions, everything needs to be compared!

In terms of the outcome, it was a 50/50 chance. Today, Kuyue was careless and suffered a loss, but it is estimated that she will be able to make up for it in a few days.

"Alright, you two, behave yourselves. The Stone Ninja are about to attack. If you want to compete, go compare Stone Ninja heads and see who's stronger."

Katsuki tried to smooth things over, not wanting the two little ones to start arguing and cause a headache.

He subdued the two younger ones and had them taken away. Katsuki had important matters to attend to, as he needed to prepare for the battle against Stone Ninja. He dared not waste his chakra by using Shadow Clone Chakra, even though he had enough confidence in his strength, and the battle in the Land of Water had proven his confidence.

However, it's always better to be cautious than to make a big mistake.

Besides, it's difficult to judge whether the Third Tsuchikage's Dust Release technique poses a threat to him without witnessing it firsthand; relying solely on memories from his past life is of little use.

Sitting in the camp, having finished dealing with a pile of miscellaneous official business, before I even had a sip of hot tea, an urgent report from the reconnaissance troops at the front arrived.

The Stone Ninja are almost here!

According to the report, the Stone Ninja will officially invade the Land of Grass today, and the war between the two behemoths, Konoha and Stone Ninja, is finally about to break out.

"They're so slow!"

Katsuki slammed the report on the table and let out a cold laugh.

Strictly speaking, the Stone Ninja's actions weren't slow, but compared to Konoha's proactive approach, they were indeed rather sluggish. After all, upon receiving news of the Stone Ninja's southward advance, Konoha's reinforcements rushed north, arriving before the Stone Ninja reached the Land of Grass.

"It's probably the Lord Tsuchikage waiting for the Mist Ninja's move!"

Inside the large tent, Uchiha Otoha sat in the lower position, raising an eyebrow.

"For the past two years, we've kept to ourselves and the Stone Ninja. If that Lord Tsuchikage wants to start a war, he needs a reason, otherwise they'll be in the wrong."

"An invitation from the Mist Ninja? Heh, once you're in, it's not so easy to leave." Katsuki grinned, exuding a murderous aura.

"What are you planning to do?"

Otoha asked.

"Simple, head-on confrontation!"

This answer made Otoha shake his head and smile wryly. It was truly Katsuki's consistent style: if he could go straight, he would never take a detour.

"Otoha, you and Nawaki discuss the defense line. I'll go and greet the Stone Ninja first. Speaking of which, I've fought against the Sand ninja, defeated many Mist Ninja, and even killed Cloud Ninja. The only ones I haven't fought are the Stone Ninja. It'll be a good opportunity to see Stone Ninja..."

"You're the commander-in-chief, you make the decisions."

Otoha shrugged and watched Katsuki leave the tent.

Walking through the wilderness where wild grass could reach up to my knees, I trod out a straight path and climbed up the hillside that was about a hundred meters high. This was the northwestern end of the Land of Grass. The mountain range at my feet served as the boundary between the two countries. This side of the mountain was the Land of Grass, and the other side of the mountain was the Land of Earth.

"A boundary created by the Stone Ninja using Earth Release?"

The hillside beneath their feet was not naturally formed, but rather a defensive line erected by the Stone Ninja using Earth Release during the last great battle to defend against the pursuit of Konoha Ninja.

However, in the end, it was not used. Konoha was satisfied with repelling the Stone Ninja and did not pursue them too deeply. This defensive line eventually became the boundary between the two countries. The Kitsuchi mountain range that once rose up is now covered with green grass.

"My lord, the vanguard of the Stone Ninja is still eight kilometers away."

"... Six kilometers."

"... The Stone Ninja are already four kilometers away."

Ninjas dressed Anbu kept appearing around Katsuki, reporting on the latest movements of the Stone Ninja.

Until a unified hum came from afar, the earth seemed to tremble, and billowing dust appeared in the field of vision.

The Stone Ninja are here! (To be continued)