Forty-two: Unexpected Assailant

Eighty-three miles east of the border between the Land of Claw and the Land of Rain.

A convoy was making its way along the winding, zigzagging imperial road.

Their pace was not fast, but the formation was neat and orderly, showing no signs of chaos; one look was enough to tell they were no ordinary caravan.

This was a transport unit belonging to Iwagakure, carrying medicine, food, and other essential supplies for the front lines.

The main personnel responsible for the transport were mostly Chunin and Genin, but for the sake of security, Iwagakure had dispatched two Jonin to serve as guards.

Given that this location was quite far from the main battlefield, it was generally considered a very relaxed and cushy job.

One could tell from the expressions of the ninjas in the convoy; these Iwagakure ninjas looked relaxed, and the two leading Jonin were even sitting in a carriage in the middle of the convoy, with sake laid out on the table for them to sip.

"Come, come, let's drink."

Huang Yan, an Iwagakure ninja, beckoned to his companion, "Baishi, hurry and taste this sake of mine; the flavor is very crisp and sweet."

"Many thanks, Senior."

Compared to Huang Yan, who looked like a middle-aged man, Baishi appeared to be a young man in his early twenties, looking quite youthful.

He took the sake cup, took a shallow sip, and set it back down.

"Hahaha, you kid, your tolerance is no good."

Seeing the flush of red rising on his cheeks, Huang Yan laughed heartily, "I heard you're a man about to be married; if you don't train yourself now, what will you do later?"

"She... she doesn't like me drinking."

Baishi lowered his head, feeling shy.

"Hahaha, you, you—you're a famous Jonin of our village, don't be so soft when it comes to women."

Huang Yan laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "I've been through it all; big brother will teach you: women are the type that must be beaten into submission, otherwise, sooner or later, they'll be riding all over your face."

But I clearly heard that you, Senior, are the biggest henpecked husband in Iwagakure. Just a few days ago, you were chased and beaten by your wife for taking one extra look at a woman from Amegakure...

Baishi muttered to himself, but to avoid causing his senior to lose face, he nodded in agreement.

"When do you plan on getting married?"

Huang Yan poured himself another cup of sake and asked.

"After this mission is completed, I'll return to the village to get married."

Seeming to recall the wedding that was about to begin, a smile appeared on Baishi's face.

"Hahaha, then you must invite me to a proper wedding feast when the time comes."

Huang Yan laughed loudly.

"I will, once we return, we'll—"

"BOOM!"

A violent explosion suddenly erupted outside the convoy, accompanied by the wails of the Chunin guarding the perimeter.

"Captain, enemy attack!"

"Save me!"

"Argh!"

Accompanying the wails was a sudden surge of scorching heat.

Huang Yan and Baishi exchanged a glance, and as they bolted out of the carriage, they saw that the ninjas in their convoy had already been swallowed by flames, burning like human torches.

"Enemy attack!? Where are the enemies?"

Huang Yan looked around in confusion, unable to spot the source of the attack, but with a buzzing sonic boom, a scorching fire dragon descended from the sky, its face hideous and its intent murderous.

"Senior, watch out!"

Baishi instinctively pushed him away, but he was unable to dodge in time himself; he was bitten by the dragon's maw and, in an instant, was engulfed by the flames, losing his life.

"Baishi!!!"

Watching his companion, who had just been talking about a bright future by his side, now swallowed by the fire dragon and reduced to a corpse, Huang Yan's eyes turned bloodshot.

"You damn bastard... you damn bastard! Come out! Show yourself! I'm going to kill..."

A second fire dragon descended from the sky, swallowing his twisted face.

At the very end of his life, he looked blankly into the distance.

A figure slowly emerged.

Scarlet eyes, a handsome face with a hint of childishness, his right hand gripping a massive bow two meters wide, his left arm glowing red like fire, appearing somewhat ethereal.

What is this... the one attacking our convoy... is just a fourteen-year-old boy?

What kind of... joke is this.

Thud!

Sakuya stepped onto the ground with an expressionless face. As his left arm and the great bow vanished, the tomoe in his eyes gradually faded away.

After inspecting the scene, he finally nodded.

"Mission to sever the supply lines of the Iwagakure and Amegakure... complete."

More than two months had passed since the Second Shinobi World War officially began.

During this time, Sakuya had been rushing across the rear lines of the Amegakure and Iwagakure battlefields, cutting off numerous enemy supply routes. Because the only thing enemies saw when he struck was a flash of crimson flame, he had earned the nickname Red Flash.

"Do these people only know how to come up with nicknames involving 'Flash'?"

Sakuya grumbled, watching the arm and great bow formed from flames dissipate into the air.

Over these two months, he had encountered countless experts from other hidden villages.

Through life-and-death struggles with them, he had gradually gained full control over the abilities of his Mangekyō Sharingan.

The fact that he hadn't used Amaterasu just now, opting instead to condense ordinary flames into a great bow and arm, was proof of this.

It was a simplified version of "Thou Art the Vermilion Light that Burns the Heavens," incorporating the nature transformation of Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique. While its power was far lower than the Arrow of Vermilion Light and it lacked the ability to alter the weather or create a rain of fire, it had the corresponding advantage of not requiring him to open his Mangekyō or use Amaterasu, significantly reducing his chakra consumption.

Furthermore, like the Arrow of Vermilion Light, it required no hand seals and boasted a range of a full five hundred meters.

Relying on this technique, he had killed countless enemy jōnin on the battlefield during this period, and the moniker Red Flash was earned precisely because of it.

Sakuya named this technique Fire Style: Dragon Flame Raging Dance.

Naturally, because this technique required mastery over fire-attribute chakra nature transformation, its training difficulty was set at A-rank, making it the first A-rank Fire Style technique in history—a truly joyous occasion.

He tidied up the battlefield briefly, sealing the corpses into a storage scroll.

The scroll could be brought back to base to record battle merits and be exchanged for rewards.

Most importantly, these corpses could be interrogated by logistics ninjas to extract intelligence and secret techniques, laying the foundation for winning the war.

"Well then, let me see what supplies these Iwagakure ninjas were escorting."

He was just about to pry open the wagons the ninjas had been guarding when his expression suddenly tightened.

An octopus tentacle lunged out from the nearby woods, striking toward him.

He twisted his body to dodge, only to see a figure emerge from the forest.

It was a man of about twenty, with hair split symmetrically between white and green, and skin as dark as ink. At a glance, he looked unlike anyone from the four nations of Fire, Rain, Earth, or Wind.

The tomoe in Sakuya's eyes reappeared, and the flames in his hands once again transformed into a great bow.

Coupled with the octopus tentacle that had just attacked, it was obvious who the guy before him was.

"Well... looks like a formidable one has arrived."