Night, Chaos, and Battle (Part 1)

Since Hanyu's poisoning had been thoroughly cured, his companions who had been spontaneously guarding his hospital room door ceased their watch. When Hanyu arrived at the frontline hospital with his newly replaced weapon, he was finally informed that he must leave by tomorrow; otherwise, he would be forcibly evicted, and the medical ninjas would record a remark of "cowardly and fearful of the enemy, shrinking from battle" in his ninja file.

Hanyu had no intention of bearing such a "bad reputation," and more importantly, there was no longer any need for him to remain at the frontline hospital, so he would naturally leave before tomorrow morning.

In all likelihood, his squad would receive new orders shortly thereafter, leading them to the battlefield for their next engagement.

Similar to Hanyu, Hatake Sakumo, whose body had been gaunt from hunger, had recovered after a period of recuperation and would be leaving the hospital at the same time as Hanyu. Unfortunately, the two did not belong to the same squad, so they would likely not see each other for quite some time afterward.

He hoped that neither of them would die on the battlefield. Although in the stories Hanyu knew, Hatake would remain active on the frontlines for a long time at this age, who could guarantee that no accidents would happen now? As the first people they had encountered in Konoha, "friend" was the word that best described their relationship at this moment.

However, Hatake did not overthink things like Hanyu. Although he was younger, he was far more adapted to war than Hanyu; to him, war was merely one mission after another. At worst, he would just go hungry for another month somewhere.

It had to be said that this was an attitude worth learning. From Hatake, this "senior" of the battlefield, Hanyu had learned quite a bit of experience. Thus, he steadied his emotions and began to study Lightning Style once more.

Hanyu formed hand seals, and faint electric arcs began to flicker across his body again. He concentrated chakra in his palm, and in the blink of an eye, lightning began to dance within his hand, too intense for his five fingers to contain. In every sense of the word, calling it a Lightning Blade was perfectly accurate.

However, after mastering Lightning Style: Shadow Control, this was merely a small trick to regulate the intensity of lightning chakra in different parts of the body. If he wanted to, he could even release a "Lightning Blade" from his foot.

After only a brief attempt, Hanyu quickly dissipated the lightning in his hand. He had no intention of testing the power of this technique inside the hospital room; that would be a bit too suicidal.

Next, Hanyu drew a short sword from behind his back, and as he unsheathed the entire blade, it was instantly covered in bright lightning.

"A chakra blade? Where did you get that?" Seeing the intensity of the lightning on the blade, Hatake couldn't help but ask. Could it be that Hanyu had just taken a stroll and managed to find a chakra blade? Was Konoha actually owned by his family?

Lightning Style was a nature transformation that conducted easily through metal, but given the intensity of the lightning on Hanyu's short sword, ordinary metal could not withstand it. Therefore, Hatake Sakumo mistook it for a chakra blade at first glance. However, metal capable of conducting high-intensity chakra was not easy to come by.

Hanyu was merely a new ninja with no special status or backing, so under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for him to obtain such an item.

To Hatake's question, Hanyu simply smiled and said, "As long as I wish, any weapon in my hands can become a chakra blade."

Perhaps chakra blades were rare weapons, but they held little value to Hanyu. As he said, he could turn ordinary weapons into chakra blades, and the method was very simple—it was nothing more than a further application of the Great Ancestral Record and Shadow Control. Just like now, all he did was pave the way with Water Style on the blade and let the lightning pass through it.

After figuring out Hanyu's method, Hatake Sakumo couldn't help but say with a hint of envy, "What a convenient ability..."

Hanyu thought to himself that perhaps he should try practicing the simultaneous use of two nature transformations; he might actually be able to learn it.

With one person constantly tinkering with Lightning Style and the other never ceasing his voracious eating, a day passed by in the blink of an eye.

It was often the case with Hanyu that even when he had made full preparations for battle—both psychological and material—the fighting would arrive a step earlier than he expected. He truly didn't know if this was because he was unlucky or if war just loved to disrupt the plans of every participant.

Late at night, Hanyu was awakened from his sleep by a tremendous noise. In the darkness, the Konoha camp, which had been silent, strict, and orderly, instantly erupted into chaos.

Hanyu and Hatake exchanged a glance, then stood up without a word. They hurriedly pulled on their shoes, threw on their armor, weapons, and ninja tools, and rushed out of the tent.

In the night, the slaughter had already begun.

Espionage, rebellion, or an invasion?

Outside the tents, things had descended into total chaos. Almost subconsciously, Hanyu and Hatake turned their gazes toward the location of the frontline command center, and then, a shocking scene unfolded.

"What... is that?" Without a doubt, the young Hatake Sakumo was a good straight man to Hanyu's observations.

He was ready to charge toward the command center the moment he saw the sight, but Hanyu grabbed him by the arm.

"It's the Susanoo of the Uchiha," Hanyu said. He was familiar with that "blue giant" standing dozens of meters tall, but the pressure it exerted when seen at such close range was not something an ordinary person could withstand.

Hanyu held Hatake Sakumo back and continued rapidly, "If I'm not mistaken, that should be Kagami Uchiha. Since he chose to use his ultimate technique right from the start, we can imagine the situation we are facing—either a small, elite infiltration unit or a large-scale, campaign-level invasion. The identity of the enemy is self-evident; only the Sand Village could pull off something like this. It is highly likely that Konoha's command system was destroyed in the first wave. If we rush over there without accurate orders, we will only increase the confusion in the camp!"

"Besides, you don't need to be in such a hurry. Regardless of the situation, the enemy will be coming our way soon enough," Hanyu asserted.

One had to remember that he and Hatake were currently at the Konoha frontline hospital, and such units were always the enemy's top priority for destruction.

As he spoke, Hanyu turned his gaze back to the command center, and then, something even more astonishing happened: regardless of friend or foe, the most conspicuous target on the battlefield was undoubtedly Kagami Uchiha's Susanoo. However, the giant of chakra energy did not engage in combat immediately; instead, it raised one arm high, and then...

It began to signal in Konoha's secret code with a single hand.

Yes, Konoha's command system could certainly be destroyed in the first moment, but by the same token, no one could stop Kagami Uchiha from restoring it in the second.

This was... the way of the ninja.