Hyuga Chiba vs. Sunagakure

"Then let us wish for our success."

Looking at the confidence on Rasa's face, Orochimaru did not say anything more.

In fact, as a member of the Akatsuki who had once witnessed Pain in action with his own eyes, Orochimaru did not believe that the Tenseigan, which was touted as being on par with the Rinnegan, would be so easy to deal with.

However, Hyuga Chiba was only 12 years old, and he had only recently awakened the Tenseigan. These two conditions determined that his strength could not possibly reach the level of Pain.

Moreover, the value of the Tenseigan was enough for Orochimaru to take a gamble.

On this side!

At the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers!

"As expected of the Land of Wind, this environment really isn't great."

Wherever Chiba looked, there was nothing but endless yellow sand.

Under the direct glare of the scorching sun, the air became incredibly hot and dry.

Just by being in this environment, one would have the terrifying illusion that they could be drained of all moisture at any moment, turning into an ugly, dried-up corpse.

"It's a good thing I'm a ninja. The physical enhancement granted to me by the Tenseigan is also far beyond that of most Jonin."

Chiba felt somewhat uncomfortable as well, but it was still within a tolerable range.

"Even so, I shouldn't travel slowly, otherwise my condition will be affected before I even reach Sunagakure."

With that thought, Chiba instantly activated his Tenseigan. His body quickly soared into the sky under the effects of Almighty Push and Banshō Ten'in, and he then shot toward the direction of Sunagakure like a green meteor.

It was fortunate that Sunagakure was built in the center of the Land of Wind, and that the long-range vision of Chiba's Tenseigan far exceeded that of other Hyuga, and even his own Byakugan.

Otherwise, in this boundless desert, he might have faced another fatal problem: getting lost!

At the same time!

"Hyuga Chiba has increased his speed."

Hyuga Nozomu, who had entered the Land of Wind from another direction along with Kakashi, glanced at the sky and said, "His Chakra has changed as well. He must be using the abilities of the Tenseigan."

"His scent has moved into the air, and his speed is too fast. I'm afraid we can no longer catch up to him," the ninja dog Pakkun added.

"As expected, Hyuga Chiba's condition has already fully recovered." Kakashi's expression was grave as he then said, "We will proceed as we decided before and head directly to Sunagakure."

"We must stop him before he obtains the Tailed Beast's Chakra!"

"Understood!" Hyuga Nozomu nodded in response.

But neither Kakashi nor Hyuga Nozomu held much hope for that.

It was unclear how much time had passed.

"Almost there."

Chiba had been flying rapidly through the air. Gradually, a special village that resembled a fortress began to appear within the vision of his Tenseigan. Its perimeter was surrounded by a ring of towering rocky cliffs, with only a narrow slit left for passage to block sandstorms and enemies. The interior was filled with houses, Training Grounds, and other structures built from clay, sand, and stone.

"Oh?"

"Does Sunagakure seem to know I'm coming in advance?"

After observing carefully, Chiba discovered that Sunagakure was currently in a state of maximum combat readiness, with Sand Ninjas stationed everywhere inside and outside the village, alongside various defensive installations.

However, what was strange was that a youth wearing a brown Sunagakure uniform, with short red hair, the character "Love" tattooed on his left forehead, and a large gourd strapped to his back, was standing outside the rocky cliffs of Sunagakure, in front of all the other Sand Ninjas with his arms crossed. His expression was gloomy and terrifying.

That was none other than the son of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and the current One-Tailed Jinchuriki, Gaara!

"Oh?"

Chiba raised an eyebrow, quite surprised. Konoha must have calculated that my target might be the One-Tailed Jinchuriki based on my trajectory and my current greatest weakness, and then passed the information to Sunagakure.

But as a result, instead of heavily protecting Gaara, Sunagakure has placed him in the most dangerous position?

Is this because they are extremely confident they can stop me, or is this a trap specifically for me?

Or perhaps—is it to prevent the battle from spreading into the village?

The good news was that if that really was Gaara, Chiba wouldn't have to waste effort searching for his target.

The bad news was that regardless of whether that Gaara was real or fake, he might have to fight the entire village of Sunagakure alone.

If Orochimaru was also present, his pressure would only increase.

Moreover, this situation was very different from when he attacked the Hokage Building.

At the very least, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Yamato hadn't necessarily wanted him dead back then.

But these ninjas from Sunagakure would, in all likelihood, not want him to survive.

"Still, it is what it is."

As long as Chiba calculated the duration of his Tenseigan Chakra Mode, he could still escape at the speed of light if the situation turned against him.

Furthermore, when he was in Konoha, he hadn't actually intended to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others either.

Otherwise, his Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion wouldn't have just destroyed the Hokage Building and half of the Hokage Rock.

Most importantly, as long as Chiba obtained the chakra of Shukaku inside Gaara, he could keep his Tenseigan Chakra Mode active almost indefinitely.

By then, let alone the combined combat power of Sunagakure and Orochimaru, he would dare to go head-to-head even if Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama were resurrected!

Not only that!

"They seem to be unaware, or rather, they have overlooked one issue: I can actually absorb the Chakra from within the body of any ninja."

Theoretically, any ninja who does not possess sufficiently powerful Taijutsu or cannot suppress Chiba in certain aspects can be turned into a power bank for Chiba.

Previously, when facing the pursuers from Konoha, the only reason Chiba did not use this ability was that he was not a pure villain, and he still held, more or less, some lingering attachment to Konoha, his "hometown" in this life.

However, Sunagakure—they really shouldn't have let so many Sand Ninja join this great battle together!

"Since that's the case, before the official battle begins, let me give you a little welcoming gift."

As the distance to Sunagakure grew shorter, to the point where both sides could almost see each other with the naked eye, Chiba suddenly curled his lips into a smile, a plan forming in his mind.

"Wind Style: Great Sandstorm Technique!"

The next moment, Chiba raised both hands upward. The yellow sand within a radius of over a hundred meters beneath his feet rapidly rose into the sky, forming a sandstorm that blotted out the sun and swept toward Sunagakure.

Of course, this "Wind Style: Great Sandstorm Technique" was not a simple Wind Style, but a composite ninjutsu combining Wind Style with Almighty Push and Banshō Ten'in.

Coupled with Chiba's Chakra reserves, which were no less than those of Uzumaki Naruto, it immediately triggered a scene that, at least to those on the ground, resembled a small-scale natural disaster.

"W-what is that?"

"Is this the enemy we have to face now?"

"This kind of ninjutsu—it's simply terrifying!"

"Guys, are we going to win?"

"Don't worry, with Lord Kazekage, the One-Tail Shukaku, and that Lord Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, we will win!"

Watching the massive sandstorm sweeping toward them rapidly, countless Sand Ninja felt a chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to their scalps.

In their hearts, a sliver of fear could not help but emerge involuntarily.

Fortunately, the presence of Rasa, Gaara, and Orochimaru prevented these Sand Ninja from truly losing the confidence to fight.