"Will of Fire! Will of Fire!" the ninjas below shouted.
Sarutobi's words really were pretty inspiring. Hearing everyone shout about the Will of Fire even got Tianqi fired up.
"The first battle will decide the war. Move out!" Sarutobi waved his hand and charged ahead. The other ninjas followed close behind, and Tianqi blended into the crowd.
The ninjas raced across the snow. After advancing about five kilometers, they spotted the Cloud Ninja army. The two sides went straight into a massive melee. There were no ancient-style formations or ranks, and certainly no so-called commanders.
They just attacked whoever they didn't like. If one person couldn't beat someone, they brought in a second. If you called for backup, I called for backup too. The battlefield was utter chaos.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amid the constant explosions, the ninjas of both Konoha and Kumogakure fought relentlessly. Fresh corpses and severed limbs kept appearing across the battlefield.
As for Tianqi, he found himself facing three Genin and five Chunin.
"Eight against one? This is interesting. You think I'm an easy target, huh? Bring it on." Tianqi gripped his Kunai, ready to fight, when the system issued a mission.
Ding! Mission issued: Hundred-Man Slayer. Eliminate one hundred enemies to receive 300,000 Points. Enemies count regardless of whether they are Genin, Chunin, or Jonin. Failure will result in immediate execution.
Tianqi was a little surprised. Each enemy was worth an average of 3,000 Points, the same amount he'd gotten for defeating a Chunin in his previous mission. In other words, killing Chunin wouldn't cost him anything, killing Genin would be a huge profit, and killing Jonin would put him at a loss.
"Heh. Sorry, Chunin and Genin of Kumogakure." Blame the system. You've made its hit list.
"Since I have a mission, a Kunai won't cut it." Tianqi tossed aside the Kunai, switched to his Tang Dao, activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and charged forward.
In an instant, Tianqi, who had already reached Kage Level strength, cut down five weaklings.
Just after finishing them off, Tianqi was about to charge into the enemy ranks when several more Chunin leaped out at him.
Maybe it was because he looked young and easy to bully. Either way, a lot of people chose to come after him.
Too bad for them. Since awakening his Mangekyo yesterday, Tianqi's strength had undergone a dramatic transformation. Dealing with these rookies was like slicing watermelons—one slash, one kid down.
Tianqi then activated Kamui's passive ability, intangibility, and charged into the middle of the Cloud Ninja like a humanoid beast, slaughtering them left and right.
Thwack, thwack, thwack! After killing more than twenty people, Tianqi finally caught the Cloud Ninja's attention.
His prowess on the battlefield had at last drawn the notice of the enemy's strong fighters. Two elite Jonin appeared in front of Tianqi. Without the slightest hesitation, they formed Hand Seals and unleashed their ninjutsu at him.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The wind fanned the flames, and the flames fueled the wind. The two had actually combined their techniques, making one plus one greater than two.
Watching an enormous fireball rush toward him, Tianqi remained calm. He used Kamui's transfer ability to suck the fireball into the Kamui Dimension.
The sight terrified the two Cloud Ninja.
"What happened? Why did the ninjutsu suddenly disappear?"
"Be careful. There's something strange about this guy." They raised their Kunai and warily watched Tianqi.
"You dare to play with fire against an Uchiha? You're still too green." Tianqi quickly formed Hand Seals with both hands.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
That's right! It was the technique Uchiha Madara used against the Allied Shinobi Forces during his first appearance after Yakushi Kabuto revived him with Impure World Reincarnation. Its range was enormous. Twenty members of the Allied Shinobi Forces had needed to use Water Release together just to barely stop it.
"Tianqi's really going all out, huh?" Sarutobi had also noticed Tianqi's technique. It covered such a wide area that it was impossible to miss. He sped up his own movements.
"Holy crap! That technique covers a huge area. Is that kid really this strong?"
"Less talk! Hurry up and form Hand Seals to defend, or we'll be roasted!"
The two Cloud Ninja quickly formed Hand Seals. They finished just as the flames reached them.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Two walls of water rose in front of them, blocking the oncoming flames. A dense mist billowed up, completely obscuring everyone's view.
The two of them had managed to defend themselves, but the Cloud Ninja nearby weren't so lucky. A mass of flames suddenly appeared in front of them out of nowhere, and the Genin who couldn't react in time were burned alive.
The Chunin and Jonin, however, were fine. It was a wide-area technique, and naturally it was slower because of its range, so dodging it was easy enough.
Tianqi didn't sit idle. Taking advantage of the mist and the Cloud Ninja's obscured vision, he used his Sharingan to keep cutting down enemies as if nothing were amiss.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Help! Help!"
Hearing cries for help from inside the mist, the two Cloud Ninja realized what was happening.
"Damn it, it's that kid! Hurry and clear the mist!" The two immediately formed Hand Seals and used Wind Release to blow the mist away.
They saw another dozen or so people sprawled at Tianqi's feet.
"Damn brat! Somebody, come help! There's something strange about this kid. Let's take him down first!" They called over several reinforcements and charged at Tianqi.
Holy crap, more Jonin. What a pain in the ass. Killing Jonin took effort and wasn't worth it; they were worth hardly any Points. Only an idiot would bother!
Seeing the new Jonin coming for him, Tianqi immediately turned and began weaving through the battlefield. He dodged their attacks as he ran, picking off a few nobodies along the way.
The Cloud Ninja were furious that they couldn't catch Tianqi. He dodged every ninjutsu they threw at him and still managed to kill a few Genin along the way.
"Brat, if you've got guts, stop running! Just wait until I catch you!"
"When I catch you, I'll cut you into a thousand pieces!"
"You big, dumb Cloud Ninja, I'm not stupid! You've got a whole group of you attacking one of me. Why wouldn't I run? Should I stand still and let you hack me to pieces?" Tianqi was delighted. Every ninja village had only a limited number of Jonin. Now he had about five of them chasing him, and he could still pick off enemies and earn Points along the way. It was a good deal.
Just as Tianqi was in the middle of his killing spree, both sides ordered a retreat.
The five Jonin chasing him withdrew, gritting their teeth in frustration. Tianqi had no choice but to give up and retreat with the Konoha forces.
Inside the command tent, Tobirama Senju angrily pointed at the map and cursed.
"I didn't expect the Cloud Ninja to be so strong. Our losses in this battle were almost the same as theirs. We can't keep this up. Damn Cloud Ninja!"
Seeing Tobirama Senju's furious expression, no one dared to speak. Mitokado Homura and Torifu Akimichi also chose to stay quiet. (The author checked and found that Torifu Akimichi was also one of Tobirama Senju's students, so he added him here.)
Shimura Danzō spoke up. He was Tobirama's student, so he wasn't afraid.
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