The Battlefield

"You guys..."

Kamiya Ki was turning back to instruct his three subordinates when he discovered that Kamimura and Natsuki had already charged ahead.

"Bastards!"

Seeing this, he almost shattered his own teeth.

It was one thing for those two to be reckless normally, but to be so brainless even when facing an enemy.

He had just said that there should be four people on the other side, and only one had appeared. It was clearly a lure to draw them out and expose their location.

Yet, these two idiots, solely focused on achieving merit, couldn't even see such a simple trap and were rushing headlong to their doom.

They were like teammates from hell!

"Die, Konoha scum!" Kamimura, who was charging at the front, immediately threw the kunai in his hand at the Konoha ninja.

Clang clang!

A series of crisp metallic collisions echoed, and several dark kunai scattered around the Konoha ninja's feet.

Just as the kunai were about to hit him, he drew the short sword from his back and quickly knocked them away.

"Die! Bastard!"

Just then, another slightly immature voice came from above him.

It was Natsuki, who had launched a surprise attack from above while Kamimura drew the enemy's attention.

This was a combined tactic they had devised long ago to deal with a single enemy. They had practiced it countless times in private until it was "impeccably proficient."

They were confident that they could even achieve a few victories against their teacher, Kamiya Ki.

Unfortunately, they hadn't encountered any enemies for half a month, leaving them with a burning desire for achievement and a "flawless" tactic with nowhere to be used, which was truly frustrating.

Today, they had finally encountered a ready meal, and they were overjoyed, unable to suppress their inner excitement and decisively striking.

Clang clang!

Natsuki timed his attack perfectly, firing three kunai from above the enemy's head, but they were still casually blocked.

Immediately after, he saw the man look up, flash a playful smile, and then disappear from his spot in an instant.

"Kid, your speed is nothing in my eyes!"

A teasing voice reached his ears, and Natsuki felt a strange chakra presence appear beside him.

"Natsuki, be careful!" Kamimura shouted a warning.

As an observer, he could see more clearly than his companion.

After blocking Natsuki's kunai, the man had bounced off the tree trunk above at extreme speed, landing next to Natsuki.

At the same time, hearing the warning and sensing the approaching abnormal chakra, Natsuki instinctively turned his head, only to see a flash of silver light fill his vision.

In an instant, he felt a coolness on his neck, as if something had sprayed out from it.

He quickly covered his neck, but his body felt limp, devoid of any strength. He fell straight from the tree trunk, and then his vision went black, losing all sensation.

Natsuki was dead.

"Natsuki—" Kamimura's eyes widened in fury.

Just moments ago, a living person, a comrade who was supposed to achieve great things with him, was now separated by life and death in a matter of mere breaths.

On the other side, Qi Shuang and Kamiya Ki were also helpless. The two idiotic teammates had attacked too suddenly, and the enemy's counterattack was incredibly fast. They were completely unprepared and couldn't even intervene in time, only watching Natsuki die on the spot.

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"

The moment Natsuki's body hit the ground, Kamiya Ki's ninjutsu finally caught up.

The moisture in the air condensed rapidly, and centered on him, a thick white mist quickly spread outwards, enveloping a radius of ten meters in an instant.

"I'll save him, you cover!" Kamiya Ki greeted Qi Shuang beside him and immediately rushed out of the bushes.

There were four people on the enemy side. Besides the one whose location had been exposed, the remaining three should be like them, preparing for a surprise attack from the rear.

Kamimura and Natsuki, those two fools, had exposed their positions too early and had undoubtedly become living targets for the enemy's three remaining ninja.

He could no longer worry about Natsuki's body. The only thing he could do was try his best to save Kamimura's life.

Without time to reply, Qi Shuang simply nodded slightly, his fingers dancing as he began to form hand seals, preparing for the situation that was about to unfold.

Seeing the dense fog suddenly fill the forest and the reckless Kirigakure kid disappear from sight, the three Konoha ninja hidden in the dark exchanged glances and immediately rushed out of the bushes, heading straight for the spot where they remembered the kid had been.

Undoubtedly, it was the two hidden Kirigakure ninja who had made their move.

If they didn't seize this opportunity to kill that reckless kid, they might not get another chance!

The fog was thick, and they could only see about two meters around them. To avoid being ambushed by Kirigakure ninja, they didn't dare to spread out too much, all keeping their companions within their line of sight.

As they approached the target location from their memory, the three of them once again caught sight of the reckless kid's blurry figure.

"In your next life, don't be a ninja, kid!"

One of them muttered, and then the three of them simultaneously pulled out several kunai and hurled them directly at the blurry figure.

On the other side, Kamimura hadn't even recovered from his companion's sudden death when he realized that the surroundings were foggy and he couldn't see anything.

A nameless fear crept into his heart. The thick, white mist surrounding them felt like a beast ready to devour him, and his heart leaped into his throat.

Swish, swish!

Just then, a series of sharp whistling sounds came from within the dense fog.

Unfortunately, the mist was too thick. He heard the strange noises, but couldn't pinpoint their source. All he felt was a chill running down his spine.

He sensed danger. He wanted to escape, to flee this place.

However, he found his legs wouldn't obey him. They trembled uncontrollably, completely unable to carry their master away from here!

"Am I going to die?" Just as despair washed over him, a familiar figure appeared before him.

It was their team leader, Kamiya Ki.

He saw Kamiya Ki wildly brandish a kunai in front of him, accompanied by a series of clanging sounds. Kunai scattered on the ground around them.

At the same time, that inexplicable sense of crisis finally dissipated.

"Teacher, Natsuki he..." Kamimura burst into tears.

Only now did he finally understand that the battlefield wasn't a fun place, nor was it somewhere one could easily achieve great deeds.

Behind every glorious achievement of killing the enemy, no one knew how much hardship and helplessness lay hidden.

Perhaps they hadn't even thought of achieving great deeds, only of returning safely to Kirigakure.

Now, this cruel reality was laid bare before him, and he finally awoke.

Perhaps, returning safely had become a luxury!