Where Did This Idiot Come From?

"Huh?"

The Iwagakure Chunin on watch shivered, his eyes widening as he stared at the figure walking towards him, completely exposed.

What in the world is going on?!

This guy's a Konoha ninja, right?

Where did this Konoha ninja come from, and why is he just walking over here?

Is this Genjutsu?!

"Hahaha, idiot, come and catch me!"

The "Konoha ninja" reached the vicinity of the mountain peak stronghold, waved with a grin, even stuck out his tongue and made a face, then turned and ran.

"..."

The Iwagakure Chunin was still stunned.

But he quickly reacted, shouting an enemy attack and immediately giving chase.

Damn Konoha ninja, I want to see what trick Konoha is playing!

"Stupid, stupid, you super big dummy, you can't catch me."

The "Konoha ninja" taunted over his shoulder as he ran, infuriating the Iwagakure Chunin behind him. The two ran down the mountainside.

Directly towards where Qingye's team of three was hiding!

The Iwagakure ninja in the stronghold, hearing the watchman's shout, rushed out.

"?"

Qingye suddenly looked up, listening intently.

What the hell is that noise?

"Himon!"

"Understood."

As soon as Hyuga Himon activated his Byakugan, he saw a "Konoha ninja" on the slope ahead, looking like he had lost his mind with that grin, sprinting down the mountain. He was already close to their hiding spot.

"???"

What's going on?

Who is that Konoha ninja?

Did the village send other ninja to destroy our supplies here?

"Wait... no!"

Hyuga Himon's expression changed. The "Konoha ninja" leaped high from the top of the slope, and upon landing, stomped on the vegetation above their trench, causing it to collapse as he fell.

Qingye: "..."

Yūhi Kurenai: "..."

Iwagakure Chunin: "..."

"You guys?!" The "Konoha ninja" exclaimed in shock upon seeing the three of them, then as if suddenly realizing something, "Could it be that your mission objective is also here? Damn it, I've dragged you down!"

With that, the "Konoha ninja" abruptly turned, pulled out an Explosive Tag, and stuck it onto himself before lunging straight at the pursuing Iwagakure Chunin.

"?!"

The Iwagakure Chunin, who was still shocked by the sudden appearance of Qingye and the others, no longer had time to think and quickly dodged.

Boom!

The flames from the Explosive Tag completely engulfed the "Konoha ninja"!

As the flames and smoke dissipated, only a charred corpse remained.

"???"

The Iwagakure Chunin grew more and more confused.

Why did this guy self-destruct?

Who the hell is this?! Qingye was about to curse. Where did such an idiot come from?

His original plan was going smoothly: hide here, wait for the Explosive Release Ninjutsu user Gari to arrive, then find a way to ambush and take down either Gari or the Special Jonin Sumoshi, and then destroy the stronghold.

After that, he would retreat with the fifty million before the Iwagakure ninja from the surrounding strongholds arrived.

Now, his plan was ruined!

"Die for me!"

A flash of the blade, and Qingye, full of resentment, easily dispatched the still-confused Iwagakure Chunin with a single strike.

"Konoha ninja?! You guys are..."

Sumoshi, the Iwagakure Special Jonin leading the stronghold on the mountain peak, arrived, his face a mask of shock and anger.

"Uchiha Style - Lightning Sword!"

Qingye saw that he was completely exposed and decided to start the fight directly. He poured lightning chakra into his blade and went all out, slashing towards Sumoshi at full speed.

Clang!

The blades collided with a sharp ringing sound!

"Such speed!"

Cold sweat trickled down Sumoshi's forehead. The short sword in his hand barely managed to parry for a moment before it was cut in half. However, this bought him enough time, and he quickly retreated.

"Fire a signal flare to call for reinforcements!" Sumoshi roared.

Instantly, streaks of red light shot up into the sky.

Seeing the signal flare successfully launched, Sumoshi breathed a sigh of relief.

There were two Iwagakure ninja strongholds within a twenty-mile radius. At this distance, with full-speed support, reinforcements would arrive in minutes!

The moment the signal flare ascended, a figure suddenly burst out from the dense forest within visible range at the foot of the mountain.

"Senior Gari!"

Sumoshi was overjoyed. He hadn't expected Gari to arrive so early!

Now he was safe.

"Damn it!"

Qingye really couldn't hold back anymore.

What was going on now?

Didn't they say the Explosion Release ninja Gari wouldn't arrive for another half hour?

It couldn't be that these people had already discovered them and deliberately lied to deceive them, right?

But their reactions didn't seem like it!

Seeing Gari sprinting towards them from the foot of the mountain, Qingye's head was pounding. Where had his plan gone wrong?

Where did that inexplicable Konoha ninja come from?

Why did Gari arrive early?

If he had known it would turn out like this, he should have taken a gamble earlier. Perhaps he could have wiped out everyone on the mountaintop before they even had a chance to fire the signal flare!

Now it was trouble!

Qingye quickly formed hand seals. In an instant, a brilliant light erupted behind him, completely engulfing the vision of Sumoshi and the others!

Genjutsu, Lightning Illusion · Lightning Pillar!

This was originally a lightning-style Genjutsu popular in the Land of Lightning.

But as everyone knows, the Uchiha clan are the biggest copyright thieves in the ninja world. Over 90% of all regular Ninjutsu and Genjutsu from across the ninja world are recorded by the Uchiha clan.

"This is... No, be careful of Genjutsu!"

Sumoshi had clashed with Kumogakure ninja many times before and immediately recognized this move. He quickly tried to disrupt the chakra within his body to dispel the Genjutsu.

Swish--

The sound of rustling paper reached his ears.

What was that sound? Was it also Genjutsu?

As his vision recovered from the Genjutsu world, the dazzling white light had not yet dissipated. Sumoshi could barely make out that Explosive Tags, at least dozens of them, were floating around him and the Iwagakure ninja behind him.

"Quick, dodge--"

Before he could finish speaking, the deafening sound of explosions drowned out Sumoshi's last words.

Below, on the mountainside, the Explosion Release ninja Gari finally charged up. Upon seeing this scene, he abruptly stopped.

"Konoha ninja?"

Gari frowned.

This stronghold was also attacked by Konoha ninja?

He was originally responsible for leading a team to escort a batch of medical supplies when he was suddenly attacked by a strange person midway. He abandoned his team and pursued, but the strange person vanished into thin air.

Instead, he saw the signal flare rising from the mountain stronghold!

He still didn't understand what was happening!

"Sumoshi!"

Gari saw the corpses scattered everywhere after the smoke cleared. One of them vaguely resembled Sumoshi.

Chii!

A blade pierced Sumoshi's heart from top to bottom.

Fearing that the Special Jonin wasn't completely dead, Qingye added after the finishing blow, "Red, you two handle the rest. This guy is mine. Let's finish this quickly."

There were still some Iwagakure ninja who were slower and were lucky enough not to be killed by the explosion.