Half a month later, at night.
The Kikyō Mountain camp was brightly lit. Bing San sat in the main tent, bored out of his mind as he listened to the arguments below.
This honorary commander of his was nothing more than a figurehead.
"Lord Shinnosuke, Lord Orochimaru hopes we can send them medical supplies as soon as possible.
That old woman Chiyo has gone mad. After more than ten days of relentless assaults and fighting day and night, over a thousand Ninja on both sides have been killed or wounded."
After speaking, the bandage-wrapped Jonin beside him gulped down water.
Another Jonin, a scar across his face, chimed in. "Exactly. The Sand shinobi have gone mad.
The entire northwest has become a battlefield. Lord Danzo has even sent all his guards out.
Ebizo is desperately trying to break through to Kikyo Mountain. If we don't send reinforcements to Lord Danzo soon, we may not be able to hold the line."
Just then, a Ninja from the Hyuga family spoke up. "Lord Sarutobi, the scouts are out in the field every day, and they're getting into several fights almost daily.
We've run out of supplies like shuriken and Explosive Tags. If you can't replenish them in time, our reconnaissance team will have no choice but to ask Lord Hokage for permission to withdraw."
"Enough. I know what the front lines are up against. But reallocating supplies and personnel takes time.
Besides, I sent every person and every supply I could spare to the front seven days ago.
Tell them to hold on, no matter what. Otherwise, don't blame me for showing no mercy.
The command headquarters has the authority to make decisions on the spot."
Sarutobi Shin'nosuke roared the words out. Did they really think he didn't know what was going on? There had to be a limit to lining their own pockets.
The Jonin kept arguing and arguing until Bing San could hardly stand it. He rose from the commander's seat and headed for the exit.
The Jonin glanced at him, then carried on arguing as if he weren't there.
Bing San stepped out of the camp and watched the Ninja hurrying about outside, his feelings in turmoil.
A month ago, he'd been an unremarkable student. One accident had turned him into the ever-anxious "Peerless of the West." Life really was unpredictable.
As Bing San stood there lost in thought, his vision suddenly changed. Orochimaru had summoned his intelligence clone.
Bing San looked around and saw Ninja fighting all around him. He felt disoriented, and before he could adjust, a long sword swung toward his neck. With a clang, Orochimaru's Kunai blocked it.
Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth and gave him a sly grin. "Bing San, my opponent is a very troublesome woman. I need you to hold her off for a little while.
Her jutsu is causing our side too much damage. But you happen to be the perfect counter."
Bing San had spotted her by then: a woman who spewed fiery mist wherever she went.
One of their Ninja was already lying on the ground, covered in burns and rolling around in agony. It was Pakura of Scorch Release.
Bing San looked at the Sand shinobi camp, its buildings collapsed and wounded scattered everywhere. His eyes narrowed slightly. Was Orochimaru trying to press their advantage?
After a moment's thought, Bing San sneakily cast Snake Illusion Body on himself, then followed Orochimaru's snake into a corner.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and grinned wickedly. He threw a Kunai with an Explosive Tag attached at Pakura, then ran off to harass the other Jonin and the camp.
Pakura stamped her foot in anger, only for another Jonin to take over the fight. That was Orochimaru's style: he liked to strike unexpectedly and from the shadows. Asking him to fight head-on was asking too much.
Bing San quietly started forming Hand Seals for a Genjutsu off to one side. After about three or four seconds, Orochimaru sensed Bing San's Chakra growing stronger and realized he could no longer stay hidden. He quickly summoned a yellowish-brown snake to protect him.
Pakura sensed it, too, though she was a little far away. She formed Hand Seals as she ran toward him, and in the end, they both unleashed their jutsu almost simultaneously.
Bing San: Ice Release: Water Clear Wave.
Pakura: Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder.
A stream of water circled Bing San rapidly, then swelled into a surging wave that rushed toward the camp. In midair, it became a river of ice and swept straight toward her.
Pakura exhaled, sending a blast of scorching steam at Bing San.
The two jutsu collided in midair with a hissing sound. The ice melted into water, which quickly heated into scalding liquid.
Pakura suffered from the elemental disadvantage. Not only did she fail to stop Bing San's jutsu, she turned his already enormously powerful Water Release into Boiling Release.
With a roar, the water slammed Pakura beneath the surface. When the rumbling torrent finally passed, twenty or thirty Ninja were sprawled on the ground, groaning. The tents within a hundred meters had been swept away, and the camp had nearly been flattened.
Seeing this, the Konoha forces were greatly encouraged. The Sand shinobi, scalded and wailing, lost heart.
Orochimaru saw the perfect opportunity and led his troops in a charge.
Bing San's intelligence clone had used up half its Chakra with that one jutsu. He thought about it. There was no point going back yet, so he might as well try once more.
He had only just started forming Hand Seals when a dark, blurry shape rushed right up to him. He heard half a sentence—"You little brat, I'll—"—before it was blown apart.
Bing San's body in the camp swayed slightly. When his intelligence clone was destroyed, his strength and speed clones were destroyed along with it. The distance was too great for the Chakra to return, but the sudden darkness in his vision still startled him.
Bing San patted his chest and said with a sigh, "Teacher Orochimaru sure knows how to pull a dirty trick. Pakura's probably furious. Hahaha."
Bing San had no idea just how deep a pit Orochimaru had dug for him.
Orochimaru saw that Pakura, her whole body red from the burns, had destroyed Bing San's clone. He merely gave a sinister smile.
His eyes rolled as he shouted toward the Sand shinobi camp, "The reinforcements of Peerless of the West, General Shimura Bing San, have arrived! Now's our chance to crush the Sand shinobi! Charge!"
Then he signaled his subordinates to retreat. A large group of Ninja quickly formed Hand Seals together and used the Great Waterfall Technique, adding it to the water from Bing San's jutsu. They flattened the Sand shinobi camp and fled.
By the time Chiyo arrived with a furious look on her face, the scene was a complete mess, almost too awful to look at.
There hadn't been many deaths: just two Jonin and a dozen or so Chunin. But the camp had been washed away, and many Ninja had been scalded.
Chiyo angrily demanded to know what had happened. Covered in scald burns, Pakura gritted her teeth and explained.
Chiyo looked at the Ninja sprawled on the ground, their bodies red and covered in blisters. Gritting her teeth, she spat out an order to abandon the area, then left.
When Orochimaru returned to the front-line camp, he spread word of the Sand shinobi's miserable condition to boost morale.
The Jonin had already heard about the power of Bing San's jutsu, but this time they'd seen it with their own eyes. The ice waterfall descending from the sky had been a spectacular sight.
Orochimaru then pinned the credit for flattening the Sand shinobi camp entirely on Bing San. Morale soared among the Konoha forces, while the Sand shinobi across the way were all downcast.
Every Sand shinobi who mentioned Bing San gritted their teeth in hatred. Especially the fiery woman who'd been scalded: Pakura of Scorch Release.
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