At the Bottom of the Valley

Call out!

Just as they took their first steps, an unexpected attack occurred: Blade-like Steel Needle, over a meter long, flew from the side.

"Hmm? That's fast!" Shuichi, disguised as Sunagakure Shuichi, raised an eyebrow, recognizing the sword as the longsword, Nuibari. "But it's probably a little short of hitting me."

Despite having his movement route predicted, Shuichi used some unknown method to move his body sideways in mid-air, successfully avoiding the direction in which the Nuibari flew.

"It's not over yet!"

Ringo Ameyuri gripped the Steel Wire connected to the Nuibari, and surprisingly, she quickly completed Nature Transformation, releasing an electric current. The tip of the knife trembled slightly due to this, and she aimed at Shuichi again to stab him.

"Oh! That's something!"

Shuichi was very curious and decided to give the other party face.

With a ferocious expression, he forcefully turned his body back, barely dodging the rapidly changing attack that was right in front of him.

However, the needle Nuibari the outside of his thigh, causing a huge gash that instantly stained half of his pants with blood.

"Ah!"

A timely cry of pain rang out, and this time he lost his footing on one leg. He immediately clutched his injured area and fled frantically into the distance without looking back.

"Well done! No wonder you're a super genius who can combine Lightning Release and Nuibari!"

Oro exclaimed, "He's injured! Let's speed up and catch up; he certainly won't last much longer!"

Several teams of Kirigakure responded verbally, their footwork accelerating as they drew closer to Shuichi.

"You all forced me to this! Art is Explosion!" Shuichi realized he had reached his position and mentally shouted as he formed a hand seal.

Boom boom--

A huge rock in front of them exploded, and the Explosion Release Clay he had secretly thrown away while running away landed right under the feet of several Mist Ninjas and detonated at the same time, successfully sending them into the air.

Then a Smoke Bomb landed, further escalating the chaos.

What's strange is that there were people shouting loudly in front of and behind him, less than 50 meters apart, and the voices were clearly audible.

"Beware of traps!"

"Enemy attack!"

The thick smoke slowly dissipated. The Kirigakure had lost nearly a whole squad, but several of their top fighters were unharmed.

At this moment, they were on high alert, looking ahead, their long and short swords gleaming coldly.

Soon, the suspects who carried out the landmine ambush emerged from behind the smoke. The two teams of somewhat bewildered Sunagakure ninja stared awkwardly at each other through the sparse grass and trees...

"What's going on? So many Mist Ninja have come straight to us, where is Wendou?"

A Sunagakure looked extremely grim. "Wasn't he told to be cautious? Did he betray the village?"

"Impossible! He would never betray the village, even if he died!" Wendou's friend in the group immediately retorted, suddenly realizing something in his haste.

"Captain, look, people from Kirigakure have also been killed in the explosion. It definitely wasn't us. Could it be... a conspiracy?"

The Sunagakure captain looked closely and confirmed that it was indeed true.

But can they make peace with this large group of Kirigakure now? Six teams against two teams, an overwhelming disadvantage, and the enemy is still in a state of anger over the loss of their teammates.

Furthermore, our side ventured into the Land of Fire specifically to investigate the strange changes in Kirigakure, so encountering this situation...

"Run! Split up in pairs and retreat, then regroup at Outpost 2."

Swish--

Before the Kirigakure Village could fully encircle them, the two Sunagakure Village squads immediately scattered and fled.

Oro and the others initially thought the swordsman was a decoy, meant to lure them into an ambush. However, to their surprise, the moment they saw the two groups of Sunagakure, the enemy turned tail and fled without a second thought...

"Captain Oro, there's no one else around!" the team's Sensory Ninja shouted in exasperation.

"Chase after them and kill them!"

The elite warriors of Kirigakure immediately rushed out, with Ringo Ameyuri having set off even earlier.

Using Lightning Release to stimulate cells and enhance physical activity, he traversed dozens of meters in the blink of an eye, Nuibari a long-range attack on two Sunagakure.

Crackle crackle--

She hurled the Nuibari like a javelin, transmitting Lightning Release Chakra through the Steel Wire, subtly changing direction as it flew, firmly locking onto the Sunagakure's back.

Pfft!

One person died instantly after having their heart pierced, while another was only injured in the shoulder, but the paralyzing effect of the Lightning Release rendered them unable to move, allowing the Lightning Release to easily catch up and take their head.

"Great idea!"

Far from the battlefield, Shuichi, perched on a treetop, watched with satisfaction. He couldn't help but applaud and cheer at the attack pattern, remarking, "Using the magnetism generated by lightning to control the Nuibari is somewhat similar to Kidomaru's State Two of archery."

"Information within the village indicates that Ringo Ameyuri is the most talented among the second batch of Ninja Blade, which seems to be true."

Samehada is still pending, Thunder Swords has been melted down into Twin Pistols and stuck in Shuichi's waist, and this girl is quite adept at using Nuibari; she seems like a target worth dealing with.

Perhaps in this life she wasn't diagnosed with a terminal illness, and the Konoha Jonin might not be a match for her in the future.

So Shuichi decided to become her terminal illness himself, the kind that takes effect immediately...

He didn't get to watch the show for long before the chase ended quickly.

Three of the Sunagakure escaped, and of the remaining five, four were killed by Ringo Ameyuri.

The reason why Kirigakure didn't pursue them to the end was because red smoke was rising in the sky behind them, which they estimated to be not far from the Seven Star Tree area.

"A powerful enemy encountered them in another direction? It's a diversionary tactic!" Oro and the others realized they had figured out Sunagakure's plan.

It turns out that the swordsman and the two Sunagakure teams were bait. So the main force of the Sunagakure must be much larger and is currently besieging Zabuza and Daichi.

"Let's rush over there to provide support!"

The only puzzling point is that the intelligence report didn't mention that Sunagakure had such powerful reconnaissance experts who could completely ascertain Kirigakure's defensive arrangements in the Seven Star Tree area.

If such a person exists, why hasn't he appeared in the years of competition?

Could it be that Rasa deliberately sacrificed himself to consolidate his power and eliminate dissidents?

Upon closer reflection, it became chilling. Oro suddenly realized that his own village didn't seem so dark after all; in fact, it was even a little brighter than Sunagakure...

This group of Kirigakure soldiers kept moving and rushed to the location of the signal. They were responsible for guarding one side of the mountain, and there was only one flat access route in this direction.

We need to provide immediate support to the main battlefield, so we can't afford to waste time crossing the hill. Besides, they just came out of the passage to pursue us; going back so quickly would be extremely risky...

The One-Line Sky Passage looks very narrow from a distance, but once you get closer, you'll find that it's more than 20 meters wide and its length can be seen at a glance.

Tap tap--

The Kirigakure members rushed in quickly, their ninja shoes making a crisp, rapid sound with an unusual rhythm, until...

"What?"

The clear sky suddenly darkened, and after being enveloped in shadow, Oro and the others came to a complete stop. Looking up, they saw a huge round stone falling from the sky, heading straight for their faces.

Earth Release: Tengai Shinsei!

"Back off!"

Without the leader's prompting, all the Mist Ninja took off running in the opposite direction.

But the boulder appeared too quickly, and about a third of the people didn't have time to dodge and were crushed into the ground with a thud.

Thump!

The ground inside the passage shook violently, and the still-shaken Mist Ninja nearly lost their footing.

Fortunately, the impact was brief, and things quieted down again after a few breaths. However, the entrance to the passage was completely blocked by Taiseki.

Swish!

A figure flashed and landed atop the highest point of the boulder. Upon hearing the sound, the Mist Ninja immediately looked up.

Wearing a light blue vest, arms crossed, and a calm expression, most notably, a red hat with a Konoha Forehead Protector headband embroidered on it.

Shuichi had scouted the surroundings beforehand and knew that all the nearby Mist Ninjas were already below, so he stopped pretending.

"Excuse me, everyone from Kirigakure," Shuichi said with Kunai in one hand, "This path is blocked."

"Purple Aurora -Takeda Shuichi!"

Oro's face was extremely grim. Seeing the power of this Ninjutsu and that distinctive attire, the morale of the other ninjas immediately plummeted...

Oh! They really are at rock bottom!

"So that person was you, and you even infiltrated our base in secret." Oro wasn't stupid; he quickly realized that the sword-wielding Sunagakure lured them out was Shuichi in disguise.

After throwing down Smoke Bomb, the opponent used Flying Thunder God to leave, leading them to believe that the person had been picked up and joined by two teams of Sunagakure.

"Oh no, how could this happen!"

Oro looked at Ringo Ameyuri beside him, feeling a pang of pain in his heart.

He himself was not afraid of death, but the new generation of talented young men from Kirigakure were likely doomed today, including Zabuza and the others who were currently fighting.

The village is growing increasingly indifferent, and powerful figures are dying in droves. What will become of them...?