"Boom—!"
The command post's side wall exploded as if a giant beast had smashed into it. A wave of splinters, bricks, and dust surged into the room, carrying a hulking figure as massive as a mountain. Black rock gathered over his body, forming a suit of armor!
It was "Black Bear."
He didn't waste time roaring. The first thing he did after charging into the room was slam his rock-armored shoulder into the main support pillar holding up the roof.
Orochimaru immediately formed hand seals!
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The ground instantly turned into a swamp, making Black Bear unable to move.
"Wait, he's not the elite ninja from the outpost in the intel. He's Orochimaru!"
A woman's low voice called out a quick warning! A slender woman hurried in right behind Black Bear.
"Rattlesnake!"
"Right!"
"Lightning Release: Earth Flow!" A flash of piercing lightning appeared!
Lightning countered Earth!
It was an elemental advantage!
Orochimaru quickly retreated, while the effects of the Swamp of the Underworld were rapidly undone by Earth Flow, the transformed mud swiftly breaking apart.
The enormous visual impact instantly seized Nawaki and Kushina's full attention. They had never seen such a violent entrance.
However—
The true killing blow wasn't coming from Black Bear.
[Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!]
Suddenly, the ground trembled, and a hand silently emerged beside Nawaki!
A kunai was already in its grip, its handle wrapped with a thin wire. The other end of the wire was attached to a bundle of Explosive Tags!
Nawaki's pupils suddenly contracted. He had time for only a brief cry before the shadow of death completely enveloped him.
Kushina's body had already moved on instinct. She tried to rush over and push Nawaki out of the way, but she was too far away. She wouldn't make it in time.
However, someone was faster than "Monkey."
Assassination_Plan_Unchanged.1og: "The inside man really did fail! What a bunch of useless trash! Orochimaru's still at the outpost. Looks like Black Bear and Rattlesnake will have to draw him away!"
Assassination_Plan_Is_Working.|og: "Orochimaru's attention has been diverted! Good! That means Skinny Monkey should be able to assassinate his target!"
Hiroki didn't hesitate for a second. He kicked Nawaki squarely in the body!
"What!" Skinny Monkey cried out, his face darkening. But in the next instant, he burrowed back into the ground.
Damn it. The intel never said Hiroki was a sensor ninja too!
In such a cramped space, Hiroki had actually reacted right away to his assassination attempt from underground!?
How was that possible!?
How had he done it!?
"Gah!"
The kick sent Nawaki stumbling forward. He lost control of his body and fell.
Assassination_How_Can_This_Be!?|og: "He's just a Genin, and he managed to stop Skinny Monkey!? How is that possible? Could the rumors be true? Does that kid really have what it takes to take down a Cloud Village squad!?"
Assassination_Plan_Unchanged2.|og|: "No! We've already made a promise. If we fail, we'll lose more than just this job. We have to keep trying. If it doesn't work, then tell them to retreat!"
"Rattlesnake!" The same cry rang out again!
It was impossible to tell where it came from.
Hiroki narrowed his eyes.
It looked like Scar—the only one who hadn't appeared on the battlefield—was the one directing this fight, and the commander of the operation!
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
"Genjutsu: Binding!"
Orochimaru quickly formed hand seals. Countless little snakes poured out, restraining Black Bear's limbs. Then, Orochimaru looked straight at him.
He needed to restrain or defeat their main attacker quickly!
Genjutsu was the best choice against this reckless fool who'd charged in wearing a turtle shell!
"Lightning Style: Noise Wave!" The slender woman codenamed Rattlesnake rushed behind Black Bear. Another Lightning Release jutsu! Its piercing noise instantly disrupted Black Bear's chakra.
Black Bear stiffened for just a moment, then quickly recovered.
The enemy wasn't easy to deal with!
Orochimaru realized that at once.
One long-range sensor, two Earth Release users, and one Lightning Release user! They had a standard lineup, with an attacker, an assassin, a sensor, and a support ninja!
This was a standard S-rank mission team of elite jonin!
This wasn't good. He couldn't take them out so easily in a short time!
Orochimaru took a deep breath and formed hand seals again!
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
This cramped battlefield was perfect for Earth Release! But Earth Release was more Jiraiya's specialty—that idiot was better at it! Orochimaru needed to expand the battlefield!
Then he could use sharper wind to finish them off!
He drew a deep breath. A violent gale swept in!
Whoosh~~~!
In an instant, the wind howled. The already wrecked command post had its roof torn right off!
But outside, the Inuzuka Clan ninja were facing two attackers wearing Konoha Forehead Protectors!?
An inside man!
Orochimaru pressed his lips together!
This attack had been planned well in advance!
On the other battlefield, Skinny Monkey tried to ambush Nawaki again.
He couldn't do it.
Almost every time he tried to attack, his target immediately sensed that he was about to make a move!
So he really was a sensor ninja?
It looked like he had to deal with this guy first if he wanted to kill Nawaki.
Skinny Monkey gritted his teeth.
He wasn't good at fighting head-on. If he was forced aboveground, Orochimaru would definitely focus his next attacks on him.
Orochimaru was the Third's student, and the Third could use all five chakra natures. No one knew how many kinds of elemental ninjutsu Orochimaru could use, or how strong he really was.
Elite jonin like him were practically candidates to become the next Kage. Unless you fought someone on the level of a Kage, you couldn't know the limits of their strength.
Then I'll risk it!
I'll take out Hiroki first! He wasn't part of their mission, but they had no choice!
In the next instant, Skinny Monkey attacked, grabbing Hiroki's ankle with both hands.
But—
Attack attack attack attack take him out take him out take him out take him out—
Skinny Monkey... stopped?
All anyone could see was a pair of hands emerging from the ground and grabbing Hiroki's ankle. Then they didn't move.
"Black Bear," who was fighting Orochimaru, and "Rattlesnake," who was farther away, both stopped moving. They watched the scene in disbelief, puzzled.
What was Skinny Monkey doing?
Why had he suddenly stopped moving!?
What was going on?
But Orochimaru didn't freeze!
This was his chance. Wind Release: Wind Cutter!
A sharp gust of wind gathered around his arm. In the next instant, he swung it at Black Bear!
Black Bear raised his arm to block!
"Earth Style: Hardening!"
But—
It was useless!
The sharp wind sliced through his armor and severed his arm in an instant!
At the same time, Skinny Monkey's arm suddenly went limp, then began to spasm.
Assassination_Question.1og: "Skinny Monkey!? His chakra's fading? What's going on?"
Assassination_Plan_Changed_Prepare_To_Retreat.|ogl: "No, Skinny Monkey looks like he's about to die! Black Bear's arm's been cut off too! They couldn't even draw Orochimaru away! Damn it! The client's intel was wrong!"
Assassination_Plan_Changed_Prepare_To_Retreat2.1ogl: "Orochimaru's stronger than we expected. No wonder he's the Third's student. There's no way to lure him away like this. They seem to have anticipated this ambush!"
Assassination_Plan_Changed_Prepare_To_Retreat3.1og: "I have to warn Rattlesnake right away—?"
1
|Assassination_No_Way_To_Retreat.ogl: "Are we all going to die here on this mission—? I think I—"
Assassination_No!_There's—!.|og: "There's a Yamanaka Clan ninja!!"
Assassination_No!.|og: "Damn it, I think I've been poisoned! When did that happen!?"
[Access denied. Administrator privileges are required to write.]
Did he realize something was wrong that quickly?
Hiroki took a deep breath. He'd only altered two thoughts, and the other guy had immediately noticed the intrusion! Fortunately, before he reacted, Hiroki had already installed the muscle self-growth patch!
One:
Of course, it was the double-power version!
Judging from the last thought the enemy had before locking him out, it seemed there were only two enemies left in front of them!
"Orochimaru-sensei! They're the last two!" Hiroki shouted without hesitation!
Orochimaru's pupils contracted. The corners of his mouth lifted.
The sensor had been taken care of!?
Rattlesnake and Black Bear also shuddered and exchanged a look.
"Retreat!!"
"Don't let them get away!"
"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!" Hiroki formed hand seals and attacked instantly! The Wind Release jutsu shot straight at Black Bear.
Poor Black Bear's Earth Release armor was pierced in an instant, and blood spurted out!
"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!" Orochimaru formed hand seals at the same time!
But Rattlesnake turned and ran without hesitation. A faint gleam of lightning still surrounded her. It seemed she was using that Noise Wave jutsu to disrupt her own chakra!
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!" Orochimaru didn't stop. He chained into a second jutsu!
"Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Then came the third!
"Demonic Illusion: Fox Spirit Technique!" The fourth!
"Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique!" The fifth!
Rattlesnake's steps began to slow, and her eyes grew unfocused.
"Hiroki!" Orochimaru suddenly called out loudly. "Don't kill them. Keep them alive!!"
"Understood!" Hiroki charged forward without hesitation.
[Brain Overload! Activated!]
Rattlesnake stopped completely, frozen in place!
Kushina and Nawaki stared with their mouths open, dumbfounded as Hiroki slowly lowered his hand.
What had just happened!?
The whole fight had begun and ended so quickly that their minds could barely process it.
Just a moment ago, they'd been terrified by the hand emerging from underground and shaken by the mountain-sized enemy. Now the fight had ended in a way they couldn't understand at all.
What was going on?
What had happened?
It made sense that they couldn't understand how Orochimaru-sensei had handled things, but wasn't Hiroki their age?
Kushina knew even better than the others that just a month ago, Hiroki had been one of the most unremarkable students in class!!
Nawaki was even more baffled!
Hiroki was two years younger than him, yet he'd already managed to make a difference in a battlefield like this!?
The attacker called "Skinny Monkey" had grabbed Hiroki's ankle and then collapsed on his own.
The last enemy, a woman ninja who'd looked powerful, had also frozen like a puppet after Hiroki rushed over and touched her.
Was it over? Just like that?
"Hiroki—you..." Nawaki's voice trembled slightly. He stared at Hiroki, his eyes full of shock and confusion. "You—you just now... what did you do? Why did the guy who grabbed you just fall over?"
"Yeah!" Kushina came back to her senses too. She rushed over to Hiroki and grabbed his arm, bombarding him with questions. "And that woman ninja! You only touched her, right? Why did she stop moving? Was that the jutsu you used against that white-haired elite jonin before?? You've gotten so strong so fast!"
Orochimaru ignored the two children. His voice was hoarse and flat, giving no hint of his feelings.
"Hiroki, you should be able to read their memories, right? Find out who hired them and what they wanted. Leave that to you!"
He crouched down to meet Hiroki's eyes. His snake-like pupils fixed on Hiroki.
"Yeah."
Hiroki looked at Orochimaru. He knew there was no avoiding the question. He didn't know how Orochimaru had found out, but he didn't deny it.
Copying jutsu from an opponent's mind when they hadn't used those jutsu was also part of his ability to read them.
Maybe Orochimaru had figured it out from that.
He nodded without saying anything and walked straight over to the woman ninja he'd controlled with Brain Overload, "Rattlesnake." He crouched down and placed his hand on her forehead.
[Would you like to open and view the file?]
Yes.
Hiroki chose to confirm with a thought.
Thought File Name | Thought Content |
Intel_Orochimaru_Confirmed.|og""Scar's intel was right. That's one of the Sannin, Orochimaru. We have to draw him away."|
Tactic_Lightning_Counters_Earth.|og""Use Lightning Style: Earth Flow to destroy his Earth Release and free Black Bear. The plan's working."
Question_Hiroki_Reaction_Speed.|og""That kid—his reflexes are too fast. Skinny Monkey's ambush actually failed."
Alert_Skinny_Monkey_Chakra_Disappeared.|og|"Skinny Monkey's chakra signature—it's gone?! He was taken out in one hit? How is that possible?!"
Order_Scar_Retreat_Signal.|og"Scar's given the retreat signal. We have to leave now!"
Genjutsu_Failed_Why!og!"Orochimaru's Genjutsu—my Lightning Style: Noise Wave disrupted it—but something's wrong. I can't move my body!"
Hiroki's thoughts became a mouse cursor. He clicked on the [Combat Ninjutsu] folder and several key [Memory Fragments], then pressed [Ctrl+C].
[Calculating required time and space...]
[5 files in total, size: 73.7 MB]
[Copying files from another computer (Rattlesnake_Kamisawa Oto), D Drive (Memory Disk), to My Computer (Sawada Hiroki), D Drive (Memory Disk): Ninjutsu Backup_Rattlesnake]
File Name | Size | Estimated Time
Lightning Style: Earth Flash.ee | 7.8 MB | About 7 min 48 sec
Lightning Style: Noise Wave.ee | 6.1 MB | About 6 min 6 sec
Secret Technique: Snake Call Communication.dat | 2.3 MB | About 2 min 18 sec
Memory Fragment_Mission Briefing.mp4 | 45.2 MB | About 45 min 12 sec
Memory Fragment_Contact with Employer (Blurry).mp4 | 12.3 MB | About 12 min 18 sec
Total | 85.2 MB | About 1 hr 4 min 42 sec
He directly "opened" the most important file, Memory Fragment_Mission Briefing.mp4, and started "watching it online."
[Calculating required time and space...]
[4 files in total, size: 39.3 MB]
[Copying files from another computer (Black Bear_Kuroishi), D Drive (Memory Disk), to My Computer (Sawada Hiroki), D Drive (Memory Disk): Ninjutsu Backup_Black Bear]
File Name | Size | Estimated Time
Earth Style: Hardening Technique.ee | 15.2 MB | About 15 min 12 sec
Earth Style: Rock Armor.ee | 18.9 MB | About 18 min 54 sec
Taijutsu: Bear Charge.dat | 5.4 MB | About 5 min 24 sec
Total | 49.4 MB | About 39 min 30 sec
"Hm!?" Hiroki, who was downloading the files, suddenly looked at Orochimaru in surprise and uncertainty.
"I remember that seven frontline outposts were attacked, right?" Hiroki asked quietly.
"Yes." Orochimaru confirmed it, but in the next instant, his eyes widened too.
He already knew what Hiroki was going to say.
Sure enough!
"But they only attacked the patrols three times!"
Before you continue