Frontline Battlefield

"They're gone!" At the entrance to the Konoha camp, Orochimaru said with a smile to Yueguang Han, who had come to see off the Gekko Clan members leaving with the wounded.

"Yes. They're finally gone. This is the best arrangement for them." Yueguang Han nodded. Escorting the wounded was currently the best assignment for the Gekko Clan.

"The Land of Earth has begun invading the Land of Grass. It looks like war is about to break out!" Orochimaru said. "We need to end the battle here as quickly as possible. Lord Han, you'll give it your all, right?"

"Of course. I still have a blood feud with the Sand Shinobi." Yueguang Han's already cold voice grew even colder.

"Then get ready to show them what you can do!" Orochimaru said with a smile before turning and leaving.

——Three days later——

"Is that kid the peerless genius of the Hayate Clan? The one beside Lord Orochimaru?"

"Yes, I think his name is Yueguang Han. I heard that in just one month, that kid has killed more than three hundred Sand Shinobi, including over twenty Jonin and even at least two Elite Jonin. His battle achievements are astonishing. Ordinary Sand Shinobi are so frightened when they see him that they don't even dare show their faces. I finally get to see him in person today."

"I heard he only graduated as a Genin this year. How could he possibly be so powerful? He must be a genius whose abilities have been exaggerated."

"Exactly. Even Kakashi, who graduated at the age of six, didn't have such an impressive record. Yueguang Han graduated at twelve and has only been on the battlefield for a few months. How could he possibly have achievements like that? Even I, a Chunin, haven't killed a fraction as many as he has. It's impossible. It must be exaggerated."

"That's what the Mitarashi Clan and Kurama Clan members said. They carried out missions with Yueguang Han and saw it with their own eyes. I heard Yueguang Han awakened an extremely powerful bloodline limit. Once he targets someone, even a Jonin dies before having the chance to react. I also heard he's a ninja who can fly, and that he's immune to Lightning Style."

"Impossible. What kind of bloodline limit could be that powerful? It must be a rumor that's been exaggerated with every retelling. Even with a bloodline limit, it would be impossible to achieve such a record in just one month. You should know that even Senior Shirakumo Hayama hasn't killed that many enemies, and Senior Shirakumo Hayama is a Jonin who participated in the Second Shinobi World War."

Among the Konoha Ninja army of more than four thousand people, several ninjas near Yueguang Han quietly discussed him as he walked beside Orochimaru. Thanks to the malicious and vigorous publicity spread by the Mitarashi Clan and Kurama Clan, Yueguang Han had become something of a celebrity on the battlefield between Konoha and the Sand Shinobi. Even his reputation as a super genius had already spread back to the village and reached other countries.

"Lord Han, it seems that many people are questioning your reputation as a genius!" Orochimaru said with a smile at the front of the marching army.

"I'm not a genius. They're questioning my battle record. They won't be questioning it for long." Yueguang Han spoke expressionlessly.

A day later, Konoha's forces finally reached the place where they were preparing to engage the Sand Shinobi. It was a stretch of farmland near a village, a full two kilometers wide. Once they broke through it, they would only need to continue fifty kilometers to reach Mount Kikyo.

On the opposite side, the Sand Hidden had long since made thorough preparations. Thousands of Sand Shinobi stood in formation across the farmland, while enormous mechanical ninja weapons, each shaped like an eight-legged snail shell and as large as a house, were positioned at the front. Each one was loaded with giant darts more than five meters in diameter. The power of these giant darts was terrifying once launched; ordinary Earth Style could not possibly withstand them. There were also rows of ballistae, already drawn and loaded, ready to fire at any moment.

(These things do exist. When Gaara was captured by the Akatsuki in Sunagakure, a crossbow bolt appeared. Giant ninja tools also appeared during the conflict between Konoha and the Sand Shinobi when Gashira became the Fifth Hokage. The technology of this era is somewhat more primitive, so cannons and rockets have not appeared yet. Of course, although these are large mechanical ninja tools, they cannot reach the formations of either side. Otherwise, the two armies would not have stopped two kilometers apart.)

On Konoha's side, the ninjas likewise pushed rows of large weapons to the front of the formation. They were enormous mechanical weapons of a different design, loaded with Fuma Shuriken covered in Explosive Tags, as well as ballistae of a similar style.

(Konoha copied the Sand Shinobi's Puppet Technique. It also appeared in the original work.)

"Lord Han, you should fire the first shot of the war! Let me see an attack that can reach two kilometers." Looking at the Sand Shinobi across from them, Orochimaru smiled at Yueguang Han with anticipation.

"No problem. Please assign several Lightning Style ninjas to restore me." Yueguang Han nodded. Right in front of Orochimaru, he created two DJI Drones and sent them into the sky. Then he brought his hands together, and without forming any hand seals, transformed both arms into 75-millimeter mountain cannons.

Orochimaru gestured to an Anbu beside him. At the Anbu's signal, ten Lightning Style ninjas immediately came to stand behind Yueguang Han, ready at any moment. Orochimaru had clearly known for some time that Yueguang Han could absorb Lightning Style to replenish himself and had prepared accordingly.

When the surrounding ninjas saw Yueguang Han's hands transform into strange objects, they all turned curious gazes toward him.

"Boom!" Once the Lightning Style ninjas were in position, Yueguang Han said nothing more and immediately opened fire.

Orange flames spurted from the 75-millimeter muzzles. Accompanied by a dull boom, a shell let out a shriek as it flew toward a Giant Ninja Tool in the Sand Shinobi formation at a speed of 440 meters per second. The stone casing was ejected from the cannon, and once the barrel returned to position, another shell instantly materialized inside it.

"Boom!" Another dull explosion rang out.

"Elder Chiyo, the person beside Orochimaru on the other side is that genius Konoha youth. His abilities are extremely dangerous. Please be careful." In the Sand Shinobi formation, Rasa lowered his Binoculars and spoke respectfully to Chiyo.

"The two sides are a full two kilometers apart. Even a Giant Ninja Tool cannot shoot that far, so what danger could he pose? During the battle, however, Earth Style ninjas will do their best to get close to him. You must kill him, and the ninjas nearby will give you their full support. His bloodline limit is too well suited to warfare. We absolutely cannot let this bloodline limit mature in Konoha." Chiyo lowered her Binoculars as well and shook her head. She was not concerned about her own safety. Instead, she warned Rasa that he had to kill Yueguang Han.

(By the time of the Third Shinobi World War, electric lights already existed, and so did glass. Of course Binoculars had appeared as well. The technology tree in Naruto developed in strange directions, so there is no need to worry about it.)

"Yes!" Rasa replied confidently. The farmland ahead was already saturated with his Gold Dust.

"Boom!" The instant Rasa finished speaking, a shell came flying at high speed. Before the nearby Sand Shinobi could react, it slammed into a Giant Ninja Tool in the distance. A violent explosion erupted, blasting the Giant Ninja Tool into pieces.

"What happened?"

"It's the Konoha Ninja! They seem to have fired something over from that direction just now. It was moving incredibly fast."

The sudden explosion left the Sand Shinobi staring at one another in confusion. Some of them had seen the shell flying toward them, but it had been moving too fast. By the time they saw it, there was no chance of stopping it.

"Boom!" Before the confused Sand Shinobi could figure out what had happened, another explosion rang out from within their formation. The adjacent Giant Ninja Tool was blown apart, and the giant darts clanged as they scattered across the ground.