Engagement

Whoosh!

Four towering walls of gold sand rose around the vortex. The walls joined together, sealing it off completely.

From above, it looked like a rectangular house built on a floor of gold sand.

Inside the sand house, points began to bulge from the walls. They quickly grew, stretching into a series of incredibly sharp golden spears.

Souya planned to unleash a volley the moment Orochimaru broke free.

But events took an unexpected turn. A sudden thump rang out from inside the "House of Golden Thorns."

Orochimaru must have broken through the Sealing Technique. Without hesitation, Souya directed the golden spears to shoot in unison toward the center of the vortex.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The spears struck the gold sand with a series of dull sounds, but Souya furrowed his brow. He hadn't sensed that Orochimaru had been hit.

Suddenly, a figure burst out from the lower right side of the "House of Golden Thorns." It had been hidden in the gold sand, and now it was swimming away at tremendous speed.

For a moment, Souya was at a loss. Orochimaru shouldn't have been the type to shy away from a fight...

Judging by Orochimaru's speed, his Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation was clearly highly advanced. Even with control over the gold sand, Souya couldn't hold him there...

Still, not having to keep fighting Orochimaru was a good thing.

Souya took a Military Rations Pill from his ninja pouch and put it in his mouth.

He crushed it with his back teeth, chewed it a few times, then swallowed.

A bitter, acrid, faintly foul taste quickly spread through Souya's mouth, followed it down his throat, and settled in his stomach.

He'd specifically asked the medical team to add extra ingredients to these Military Rations Pills. The greater the medicinal effect, the more challenging the taste.

His stomach acid quickly enveloped the pill's powder. Souya felt Chakra begin to course through his body's meridians, and only then did he relax a little.

In wartime, keeping his Chakra reserves as full as possible was what kept him alive.

He gripped the Starfall Rod in his right hand, stepped onto the Gold Cloud, and sped toward Kikyo Mountain.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Earth Release: Earth Style: Earth Style Wall!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Water Release: Water Wall..."

Toyokawa Etsushi stared at the Konoha Ninja before him, his Two Tomoe Sharingan locked firmly on the man's figure.

"Give up, Sand Ninja!"

"How could you possibly stand a chance against the Sharingan with your pathetic Taijutsu and ninjutsu?" The Uchiha Clan ninja stood on a tree branch, his blood-red eyes full of mockery and disdain.

"Ah! Without those eyes, you're nothing!" Toyokawa Etsushi gasped for breath. Blood running down from his forehead had seeped into his eyes.

They stung terribly, and the world before him seemed veiled in a hazy red.

He held a Kunai in his right hand and clutched a wound in his abdomen with his left. It was deep enough that he could just make out his organs shifting inside.

"If you have anyone to blame, blame your lowly birth!" The Uchiha ninja's eyes narrowed. His Tomoe began spinning faster, and then he vanished in a blur.

Toyokawa Etsushi braced himself, gritting his teeth as he tried to locate his enemy.

A faint whistle cut through the air. Toyokawa Etsushi spun around and knocked away two shuriken with his Kunai.

Twang!

Steel Wire snapped taut. His pupils suddenly dilated as a powerful warning of danger overwhelmed his mind.

But his body had already stopped obeying him. No matter how hard he tried to move, his legs remained rooted in place.

Suddenly, the view before him seemed to rush backward.

Thud! He had been bound to a tree by Steel Wire. His limbs had been tied up, which was why he hadn't been able to move.

Toyokawa Etsushi still struggled to spot his enemy. At last, he saw him standing ahead and to the right.

"Attack..."

That was Toyokawa Etsushi's final thought, but he could no longer manage any effective move.

"Tsk..."

The man with blood-red eyes looked utterly contemptuous. He didn't even glance at Toyokawa Etsushi again, only yanking hard on the Steel Wire.

Snap!

The broken tree trunk toppled to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. A moment later, a flood of blood poured from among the lush green leaves, like a pool of blood.

But no one on the battlefield noticed the mangled pieces of flesh there. Both sides had eyes only for the enemies still alive!

The brutal slaughter continued. The strong preyed on the weak, and the majority of the Uchiha Clan's ninja were undoubtedly among the stronger fighters.

Most of those who took part in the war had Two Tomoe Sharingan. Their Sharingan's exceptional visual acuity, greater Chakra reserves than ordinary ninja, and the variety of ninjutsu taught within their clan...

All this meant that Sandun Chunin often couldn't last more than a few exchanges against Uchiha Clan ninja of the same rank. Even ordinary Jonin could struggle to defeat them.

It was only because the Sand Ninja outnumbered them that the battle lines seemed to keep advancing.

If anyone had counted the dead, they would have found that the number of Sunagakure Ninja dying was rising rapidly.

After all, most Konoha Ninja had endured the trials of war, while many of Sunagakure's young ninja were seeing the bloodshed and brutality of battle for the first time.

"Human Boulder!"

A huge, house-sized sphere burst out from the shade of the trees, bearing down on more than a dozen Sand Ninja with crushing force.

The grass was ground to flying scraps beneath it, exposing the brown earth below.

"Get out of the way!"

A Sand Ninja in his forties shouted. A hideous scar marked his jaw. If it had been a little lower, he probably wouldn't have been standing there.

Though someone had managed to warn them in time, a Sand Ninja who looked barely into his teens froze in fear.

His still-youthful face was filled with terror. Beads of sweat slid down his skin, and drool slipped unconsciously from the corner of his mouth. His mental defenses had clearly crumbled completely.

"Jump aside!"

The middle-aged Sand Ninja's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. He roared as he flung several Kunai.

But the young Sand Ninja remained rooted to the spot, and the enormous sphere showed no mercy as it rolled straight toward him.

"Ah!"

A piercing scream rang out, then abruptly cut off a moment later.