The Cruelty of War

In order to kill the Jonin Puppeteer as quickly as possible, Shuichi prepared a meticulous plan in advance.

When he killed Saki, his Flying Thunder God Technique was witnessed on the spot. The opponent must have been able to analyze some information, but this was actually a kind of interference. He is different from Minato; the Flying Thunder God Technique is not his main battle Ninjutsu.

Just as Takuya had predicted, Shuichi would now experience a brief period of stun when using this move, but that wouldn't prevent him from continuing to use it to draw attention.

His most reliable tactic was to use a combination of Flash X-ray vision to launch a surprise attack underground. So, taking advantage of the Smoke Bomb obscuring his vision, his main body had already burrowed underground and was stealthily moving towards Takuya's location, while his Shadow Clone used the Flying Thunder God Technique as a feint.

The spells on the Kunai in the previous rounds were actually fake, but the enemy didn't know the truth. Shuichi had a limited number of Flying Thunder God Kunai on him and would only use them when he was most confident.

At this point, only a little over half a minute had passed since the battle began.

Because the Sunagakure forces had formed an encirclement during the earlier explosion, each person retreated in a different direction.

Shuichi noticed that the enemy Jonin Captain Gen was quite far away, and it seemed that he hadn't noticed the situation here yet.

"Ding ding ding..."

Shuichi's Shadow Clone and Xuan were engaged in a fierce swordsmanship contest. Both of them moved very fast, and for a time they were evenly matched.

"Damn it! What an annoying guy. I wonder how things are going with Takuya?" Although Gen was anxious, he also knew that his opponent was not so easy to defeat.

After a powerful clash, he seized the opportunity to jump Hand Seals, "Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"

Two powerful Wind Blade slashed towards Shuichi, but the Shadow Clone, whose main purpose was to delay the opponent, acted cautiously and dodged left and right with great agility, causing Xuan's attack to miss.

"He's definitely not easy to deal with!"

Xuan drew his longsword again and charged forward. Suddenly, his figure swayed, making it seem as if several figures were ganging up on Shuichi.

"Earth Release · Yellow Springs Swamp!"

Unexpectedly, their opponent did not play by the rules. Just as they were about to get close, the ground beneath their feet suddenly turned into soft mud, and the originally threatening afterimage sword technique vanished instantly.

However, Shuichi's Shadow Clone remained calm and fearless as it lunged at Xuan, the two of them embracing each other like children rolling in the mud.

"What? You..."

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"

Three more Wind Blade slashed directly at the two of them, but this time the user was Shuichi himself. Sensing something was wrong, Xuan struggled desperately, but failed to shake off the interference of the Shadow Clone immediately.

Thump!

He seized the opportunity to strike the Shadow Clone with the hilt of his sword, but it was too late. The Wind Blade precisely sliced open his upper body, and the corpse sank directly into the mud, saving him the trouble of any further processing.

"Call..."

After taking down the opponent's former captain, Shuichi leisurely made his way to his teammates. When he returned, he saw Akiha and Shihei ganging up on Yukari.

"Only her is left. I've taken care of the others; none of them escaped." Shuichi's words sent a chill down her spine.

Several years have passed since the Chunin Ninja Exams. Although the Sunagakure have grown a lot, the gap between them and Shuichi has widened, and the life-and-death battles on the battlefield have left them in despair.

"Captain, should we use torture to extract information?"

Yukari had been hit in many places by Gentle Fist, and with Aburame Shihei harassing her from the side, she had long been unable to hold on. Now, hearing their conversation, she realized that the other party wanted to capture her alive.

"Don't even think about it! The Sunagakure ninjas will never admit defeat!"

Realizing she had nowhere to escape, she pulled out a Kunai from her person and stabbed it into her body, collapsing to the ground and never getting up again.

Seeing how fierce their opponent was, Shuichi had nothing to say. The Sunagakure were indeed quite tenacious, at least in terms of willpower. It was just a pity that they had chosen the wrong opponent.

The ninja battle was swift and bloody. Within minutes of the Sunagakure Squad's arrival, all ten of them were dead. One can only imagine how terrifying the battle must have been.

The three quickly disposed of the bodies, discovering that the traces of the battle were difficult to conceal; while the Explosion Release force was powerful, it also caused severe damage.

"This road seems rather remote; no second team has approached yet." Hyuga Akiha's Byakugan remained focused on their surroundings. "Should we continue intercepting them?"

"No, the real battle will begin soon."

Shuichi still has a lot of chakra left, so continuing to intercept the enemy squad might not be worthwhile. Many of his techniques could be more effective on the battlefield, so he should focus on recovering his stamina now.

After passing on the information to Orochimaru, the three of them vanished from the spot in a flash.

On the Land of Fire Border, dozens of kilometers away from Kikyo Castle, several Konoha Ninja were patrolling cautiously.

The Sunagakure has recently slowed its offensive, but this action is not reassuring; rather, it's like the calm before the storm.

"Rustle..."

As soon as they entered the forest, several Konoha Ninja faintly heard voices coming from their surroundings, shouting, "Everyone, be careful!"

"Swish swish..."

The sound grew closer, and a seasoned middle-aged ninja's expression changed drastically. "That's the sound of a large number of enemies! We have to get out of here!"

But as soon as they turned around, the scene before them filled them with despair. The area around them was now filled with Sunagakure. If it weren't for the last vestiges of their will to survive, they might have chosen to commit suicide immediately.

Without a word, the Sunagakure surged forward and overwhelmed the lone Konoha Squad.

"Time is almost up," said a stern-faced Sunagakure Ninja, none other than Tosha, the right-hand man of both Kazekage. "The other teams should all be assembled by now. Proceed according to plan!"

All the Sunagakure followed Tosha silently, their faces expressionless, their target the direction of Kikyo Castle.

A few hundred meters away, halfway up a small hill, a hidden cave concealed the three members of Shuichi's squad. Hyuga Akiha used her Byakugan to see the situation there clearly.

"They were wiped out. The Sunagakure's forces numbered over 300, and it seems the numbers at the other locations were roughly the same."

Shuichi remained crouched, silently lamenting, "No wonder ninjas tend to be detached in their feelings and have small social circles. It's too easy for someone to die in this world. We all have one head and two legs; no one is more noble than anyone else."

Although their village's ninjas had been killed, the three of them did not rush to act. Only those who can endure are true ninjas. What they needed to do now was to conserve their energy so that they could take down more enemies in the battle to come.

"We're almost there, let's catch up!"

After saying this, he rushed out of the cave first, and the other two silently followed. Although they were vastly outnumbered by the enemy, they each had the potential to change the course of the battle...

News of the Konoha Ninja's demise doesn't necessarily require witnessing it firsthand; within Kikyo Castle, ninjas quickly rushed into the commander's room to report the event.

"Lady Tsunade, there's an emergency. Half of the eight reconnaissance teams we dispatched have lost contact and haven't returned on time..."

"Based on the locations of the missions, we initially suspect that a large number of enemy troops are approaching our border!"

Tsunade frowned, but her tone was decisive. "All squads, attack immediately! First, clear out the north and south flanks to ensure our rear is safe, then choose terrain to ambush."

"Yes!"