Konoha's Counterattack

The Sand Ninja was still standing there showing off when the Chidori in Chen's hand changed shape, forming something like a javelin. Before the Sand Ninja could react, it pierced straight through his chest!

"Wha... What? You can actually...!" The Sand Ninja, impaled by the Chidori Sharp Spear, stared at the wound in his chest and spoke in disbelief.

"Tch! That'll teach you to show off!"

"Ding! Host has killed one Special Jonin. Reward: 3,000 Points. Total Points: 13,343." After Chen killed the Special Jonin, the system chimed with a notification.

"Y-You... damn you! Die!" Seeing his comrade killed by Chen once again, the Sand Ninja who had been forming Hand Seals finished the last one and roared as he launched a ninjutsu at Chen.

"Vacuum Wave!"

The Sand Ninja sent dozens of spinning Wind Cutters at Chen in rapid succession. In the blink of an eye, they struck him and sent him flying a great distance, his body mangled by the wind blades!

"Did I get him? There's no way he survived taking the full force of Vacuum Wave." After unleashing the powerful ninjutsu, the Sand Ninja panted as he stared at Chen's motionless body on the ground and muttered to himself.

"That was dangerous!"

The words suddenly came from beside the Sand Ninja's ear. Then something seemed to pierce the back of his head, and his consciousness began to fade. But I hit him already. How could... With his final breath, he glanced at Chen, who lay on the ground where the ninjutsu had struck.

"Poof!" The Chen lying on the ground suddenly turned into a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, the Chen who had just been struck had become a piece of deadwood.

"So that's it. I see! He used the Substitution Technique..." After saying this, the Sand Ninja breathed his last. The confusion in his eyes made it clear he was wondering when Chen had used the Substitution Technique.

"Ding! Host has killed one Special Jonin. Reward: 3,000 Points. Total Points: 16,343." After the Sand Ninja died, the system notified Chen.

"Good thing this time's opponent was only a Special Jonin. If he'd been a real Jonin, it wouldn't have been so easy." Chen had been keeping an eye on the Sand Ninja who had launched a surprise attack with ninjutsu. When he saw the man forming Hand Seals, he prepared himself. Chen had used the Substitution Technique right after killing the Sand Ninja with the kunai. Sure enough, the moment he finished substituting, the Sand Ninja's ninjutsu struck. But Chen had already gotten out of its range. The Sand Ninja thought he had killed Chen and let down his guard. Chen took advantage of that moment to appear behind him and use Finger Gun to pierce his head. Although it seemed like a long time had passed, only a few seconds had elapsed from the moment the Sand Ninja launched his ninjutsu to Chen circling around and killing him.

Might Guy, standing on high ground, was already amazed by Chen. "Kakashi, you can do that with the Chidori?"

"Yeah. He mastered the Chidori, created a technique that used it across his whole body for both offense and defense, and even shaped it like a javelin to strike from a distance. Of all the people his age I've met, that boy has the greatest talent." Kakashi watched Chen below, thinking to himself.

"Kakashi, look..." Guy suddenly called out, gesturing for Kakashi to look up. High above Konoha, an eagle was soaring through the sky.

"That's the signal! It's finally begun. Let's go." Kakashi glanced down at Chen, then leaped away. Guy quickly followed.

Meanwhile, the battle between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru was nearing its end. The Third Hokage had Orochimaru pinned by the shoulders, leaving him unable to move, but the Kusanagi Sword had also pierced the Third Hokage's chest. A gigantic phantom had appeared behind him—the Shinigami, visible only to those who used the Reaper Death Seal. One of the Shinigami's arms had passed through the Third Hokage's body and reached toward Orochimaru, trying to drag out his soul.

My hands are still being held tight. I can't perform a technique! Orochimaru thought resentfully, then sneered at the Third Hokage before him. "You should let go now, don't you think?"

The Third Hokage gritted his teeth and struggled to speak. "Your ambition to threaten Konoha ends here."

Orochimaru looked at the Third Hokage and spoke in his hoarse voice. "My ambition cannot be stopped. You'll die here soon. You're old and on the verge of death—do you still think you can save Konoha as the Third Hokage? Have you even understood the situation? My subordinates and the Sand Ninja have attacked the village. Konoha's ninja, women, and children will all be slaughtered. The Konoha Crush Plan is a success! Hahahahaha!"

"You probably don't know this, Orochimaru, but you shouldn't underestimate the ninja of this village!" Though the Third Hokage was already very weak, he held on and argued back. "Konoha's ninja will risk their lives to protect the village. True strength in this world doesn't come from learning every ninjutsu. I taught you that before, didn't I? When you protect someone important to you, a ninja's true strength will emerge."

Orochimaru glared furiously at the Third Hokage.

Elsewhere, the Sand and Sound Ninja had entered Konoha's inner district. They were searching through the houses one by one.

"No one in here."

"None here either!"

"Not a soul here!"

After searching, the Sand Ninja gathered together.

"What's going on? We've clearly made it into Konoha's inner district, so why haven't we seen a single woman or child? What's going on?" One Sand Ninja stared at the empty houses, completely baffled.

"Hmph! They must have hidden in the shelters. Find them. Let's go!" The Sand Ninja set off toward the deeper parts of the village.

Suddenly, several sharp whistles cut through the air! A few Sand Ninja failed to dodge and were struck by Shuriken. The remaining ninja from both villages looked up toward a rise ahead. A group of ninja wearing Anbu Outfits stood on the high ground, looking down at them.

"From this moment on, we won't let you take another step forward." A purple-haired kunoichi declared Konoha's resolve to the Sand Ninja below.

Konoha's counterattack had begun.

Konoha's ninja poured into the fight, and the various secret-technique clans sent out their elites to battle the Sand and Sound Ninja throughout the village.

"I... I can't move!" A Sand Ninja caught by the Nara Clan's shadow realized in terror that his body wouldn't respond.

"Is this your first time seeing Konoha's secret Shadow Binding Technique? Then let me show you Konoha's secret Shadow Strangulation Technique as well." Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru Nara's father, leaned against a wall and spoke casually to the Sand Ninja he had pinned in place with his shadow. Then he used the strangulation technique and snapped the necks of several Sand Ninja.

Inoichi Yamanaka also used the Yamanaka Clan's secret Mind Disturbance Technique, making the Sand Ninja turn on one another. The Akimichi Clan's Expansion Jutsu crushed the Sand Ninja, and the three of them gathered together.

"This takes me back," Inoichi said with a chuckle.

"The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is together again!"

"Yeah!" the three of them shouted in unison!

After taking care of the Sand Ninja, Chen heard the sounds of battle and the cries of wounded ninja coming from all across Konoha. Looks like Konoha's started fighting back. This is getting lively! But I need to kill a few more quickly. If Konoha wipes out the Sand and Sound Ninja, how am I supposed to finish my mission? With that, he rushed toward the direction of the heaviest fighting.

Chen arrived at a rise and looked down. A group of ninja were engaged in a fierce battle. Shuriken flew in every direction, and dark figures darted back and forth. Whenever two figures clashed, metal rang out and sparks flew, sometimes accompanied by a scream!

"The fighting's intense! I'm getting fired up just watching!" Chen said, excitement in his voice as he looked at the battle below.

The ninja below moved at high speed. From a distance, all he could see were flickering shadows, but once Chen activated his Sharingan, he could make out their figures!

"I've used Chidori three times in a row. My Chakra is almost depleted. I'll need to find a way to increase my Chakra reserves. System, can you restore my Chakra?"

"Restoring Chakra requires Points. Would you like to exchange?"

"Exchange?"

"Ding! Points deducted. Remaining Points: 15,343."

After another wave of warmth, the Chakra Chen had used up was restored.

For some reason, the fighting below suddenly stopped, and the ninja split into two groups. One side was made up of Konoha Ninja in uniform; the other was an alliance of ninja from the Sound and Sand Villages. They stared at each other, panting heavily, locked in a standoff!

Seeing the Sand and Sound Ninja gathered below, Chen came up with an idea!

"Exchange for another Flying Thunder God Kunai!"

"Ding! Marked kunai. Item type: tool. Item rank: C. Exchange cost: 500 Points. Would you like to exchange?"

"Exchange!"

"Exchange successful. 500 Points deducted. Remaining Points: 14,843."

As soon as the system's notification ended, a marked kunai appeared in Chen's hand out of thin air.

Chen gripped the kunai and looked at the crowd of Sand and Sound Ninja below, a cruel smile spreading across his face!

"Heh heh! The hunt begins..."