A Fight to the Death

"Clang! Clang!"

Ayako Hyuuga knocked aside the two incoming kunai, but the hateful Puppet immediately closed in again.

Shinju Ishikawa darted in from the side and drove off the Puppet trying to ambush her, then stayed by her side to protect her.

The veins at Ayako Hyuuga's temples bulged as she spotted the Puppet's master dozens of meters away.

"Seventy meters ahead, in the ten o'clock direction."

Two Sand Ninja squads were locked in fierce combat with the Konoha Ninja in the dense forest.

After Mo Jingxian left the group, Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa had temporarily joined Hayama Shirakumo's squad.

Battles like this had been happening almost every day over the past few days.

"Hold them off!"

Hayama Shirakumo knocked back his opponent with a single slash, then charged toward the direction Ayako Hyuuga had indicated.

Behind him, the Sand Ninja launched concealed weapons: kunai with burning Explosive Tags tied to them.

"Your opponent is me."

At the crucial moment, Tekuno intercepted them, throwing two kunai to block the attack.

The four weapons collided in midair. Then a series of explosions boomed, engulfing the entire battlefield.

The Sand Ninja puppeteer realized his position had been exposed and hurriedly recalled his Puppet to defend himself.

But he was clearly a beat too slow. In the blink of an eye, Hayama Shirakumo appeared in front of him.

"Sword Style: Vacuum Blade!"

The Puppet chasing him spat out more than ten Senbon, hoping to hold him back for a moment.

But Hayama Shirakumo paid them no heed. Seven or eight Vacuum Blades burst from his long sword, cutting off every escape route.

As the battle erupted in earnest, the Ninja on both sides fought with mounting fury, and the intensity of the fighting surged.

When enemies met, there was no time for words—only killing moves meant to put the other side in the ground.

The Sand Ninja puppeteer immediately used the Substitution Technique, but failed to evade the attack completely.

Blood sprayed through the air. The Puppet lost control and became nothing more than an inanimate object.

Leaving behind an arm, the puppeteer hurriedly retreated.

The Sand Ninja had struck quickly and left just as fast, vanishing into the dense forest after only a few bounds.

"Don't chase them!"

As the squad leader, Hayama Shirakumo gave the right order at the right time.

The squad wasn't in good shape. Nearly everyone was wounded, and pursuing the enemy would only leave both sides battered.

Even he...

At the thought, a wave of dizziness washed over him.

In the final moments, he had managed to take one of the enemy's arms, but hadn't fully evaded the attack.

A Senbon had pierced his flesh, and his right hand, the one gripping his sword, was already going numb.

"Captain, you've been poisoned!"

Shinju Ishikawa hurried over to treat the wound.

After tearing open his clothes, he found a Senbon embedded in his back near the right shoulder. The skin around the wound was beginning to turn black.

Shinju Ishikawa immediately set to work treating it.

A minor injury wasn't enough to take them out of the fight. The remaining squad members split up to keep watch, in case the Sand Ninja doubled back for another attack.

Ayako Hyuuga crouched on a tree branch and loosely bandaged the cut on her arm. Fortunately, the enemy's weapon hadn't been poisoned.

She'd lost count of how many times she'd suffered a minor injury like this. Thinking of it, she couldn't help missing Mo Jingxian.

If only he were here. I wonder how he's doing now.

Ayako Hyuuga had a dream she had never told anyone about, one she kept hidden deep in her heart.

She wanted to be free: to live freely, breathe freely, and then die freely.

She unconsciously touched the Forehead Protector on her head. Beneath it lay an ugly mark.

Born into the Hyuga Clan, her dream seemed more like a joke.

Ayako Hyuuga knew she wasn't a genius and couldn't break free of her cage. Perhaps she would spend her whole life living someone else's life.

And yet, she couldn't stop wanting it.

Just like that day, when she'd first heard the name Mo Jingxian—the outsider who dared to declare that he was leaving the Uchiha Clan.

Most of the people in the clan had either laughed at him or looked down on him.

Only she had hoped he would succeed, even though she didn't know him.

Hidden in the canopy, Ayako Hyuuga smiled silently.

With their captain poisoned, the squad was in no condition to keep watch, so they withdrew to the main camp.

The command center of the main camp.

Only Orochimaru and Shikaku were in the tent, studying the map on the table.

Orochimaru placed a finger on the location of the camp, then slowly traced a route until he stopped at the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire.

"What do you think of this route? Any thoughts?"

Shikaku studied the route Orochimaru had mapped out and considered all the factors once more.

Then he nodded. "I think it'll work. Retreating to the border will give us the advantage. The Sand Ninja's supply lines will be stretched even farther, and we'll have much more flexibility in planning our operations."

The Sand Ninja had now reinforced their forces to twelve thousand, and their attacks were growing more and more intense. Their patience was probably wearing thin.

To make matters worse, the Rock Ninja had begun clashing with Konoha. The fighting was only on a small scale, but it had already put Konoha under obvious strain when it came to moving troops around.

The thousand Ninja sent as reinforcements had stopped at the border behind them and begun building defensive fortifications there.

Shikaku didn't know about the conflict between Orochimaru and Lord Hokage over their differing ideas. Nor did he want to know.

But the camp was beyond saving. They were outnumbered, and even their top fighters couldn't match the enemy's.

At the thought, Shikaku sighed. "Jiraiya being transferred to the Rock Ninja front is a serious disadvantage for us. Still... I hear Lady Tsunade has agreed to come support us. At least we won't have to worry about the Sand Ninja's deadly poison anymore."

The Konoha Ninja had suffered greatly from poison. Nearly all their casualties were related to it.

It had been giving Shikaku no end of headaches lately. Now that Lady Tsunade was coming, all those problems would finally be resolved.

A master who could fight, heal, and neutralize poison could completely change the course of a war.

Orochimaru knew how his old friend was doing and wasn't particularly optimistic about this. Still, there was no need to spread the word.

"Let's set Tsunade aside for now. Since we're retreating, we might as well be bold."

Orochimaru pressed his finger against the map, right where the camp stood.

"I'll leave the Sand Ninja a little parting gift. I'll need you, as my advisor, to help me fill in the details and make sure there are no oversights."

Orochimaru laid out his thoughts in full.

Shikaku was taken aback. Orochimaru was aiming high—he wanted to take a big bite out of the Sand Ninja before they left.

But the plan was cruel. It didn't just target the enemy; it also took their own people into account.

Whether it succeeded or not, once carried out, it would earn him a place on the pillar of shame.

At the thought, beads of cold sweat appeared on Shikaku's forehead, and his mouth went dry.

He shifted his gaze from the map to Orochimaru's face and tried to dissuade him. "Can we really do this? If we go through with it, we won't be able to explain ourselves to the village. I urge you to think this over, Commander."

"Advisor Shikaku, this is war."

Orochimaru straightened, then leaned back against his chair. There was no emotion in his eyes.

"Our job is to use every means at our disposal to eliminate the enemy's fighting strength."

A chill crept into his hoarse voice. He turned to stare at Shikaku and spoke slowly, one word at a time:

"I'll say it again: this is war. People die in war.

"As the ones making decisions on the battlefield, our job is to win. Everything else is not ours to worry about. Do you understand?"

Under the combined pressure of Orochimaru's strength and authority, Shikaku had no choice.

"Yes! I understand, Commander."

Orochimaru either hadn't noticed Shikaku's displeasure or simply didn't care.

After discussing the details with Orochimaru for a while, Shikaku took his leave.

"Oh, one more thing."

Just as Shikaku was about to leave the command tent, Orochimaru called him back.

"Add that Ninja named Mo Jingxian to the squad tasked with gathering intelligence behind enemy lines. You can arrange the mission."

"Oh... All right. Understood."

Shikaku left, and Orochimaru was alone in the tent.

As if something had occurred to him, he opened Mo Jingxian's mission records again.

"An interesting kid. Just what secrets are you hiding..."

Inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

Mo Jingxian's eyes widened as he stared at the feathers covering his arm, his thoughts in turmoil.

"You're only noticing now? Hahaha... This is interesting. How does it feel, knowing you're about to become the very monster you talk about?"

Long Yunzhi had completely dropped his act. Seeing his enemy at a loss left him feeling quite pleased.

Mo Jingxian tuned out the useless chatter and quickly searched his memories for how he'd fallen into this trap.

He replayed his experience inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss in his mind.

It seemed that the moment he entered, he had begun to transform into a "Satori" without realizing it.

Every time he cleared a trial, the rule he received as a reward had only accelerated the process.

How ridiculous that he'd taken it for a reward and worked so hard to clear the trials, all to break the Chakra restriction.

What a clever alteration of perception.

It wasn't that he hadn't noticed the changes. The rules had twisted his perception, making his mind actively erase all awareness of them.

He could sense that the rules transforming him into a "Satori" were still incomplete. Just a little remained.

Mo Jingxian looked at his opponent. Seeing how much further along Long Yunzhi was in his transformation, he finally understood what had happened.

Was Long Yunzhi the final trial in his own transformation into a "Satori"?

This was the final challenge set by the Box of Ultimate Bliss. It would choose one of them to become the one true "Satori."

What came after that? There was too little information for him to work out the Box of Ultimate Bliss's ultimate goal.

Seeing that Long Yunzhi had no intention of attacking, Mo Jingxian decided to fish for a little more information.

"Long Yunzhi, look at us... We've both turned into monsters. Doesn't that mean we're on the same side?"

"Drop the tricks. I don't mind telling you: only one 'Satori' can exist in this world."

Long Yunzhi gave him a contemptuous look and sneered,

"Just as this world can have only one king. So, are you ready?"

He caught the instant of surprise on Mo Jingxian's face. As his final word fell, Long Yunzhi vanished from the spot.

When he reappeared, he was less than half a meter away.

His scaled right hand was held like a blade as he thrust it straight at Mo Jingxian's chest.

His opponent was experienced, and he had chosen his moment perfectly.

His hand passed through Mo Jingxian's body. Long Yunzhi's expression tightened as he felt something wrong through his arm.

That wasn't what a body of flesh and blood should feel like.

Mo Jingxian's body turned into a splash of water, which immediately split into two whirlpools and trapped him in place.

"Water Release: Tidal Vortex!"

That wasn't all. Three Explosive Tags had been left where Mo Jingxian had just stood, about to detonate.

The offense and defense switched in an instant.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A dark figure burst out of the smoke and charged straight back at him.

Long Yunzhi seized the brief moment of stiffness after his opponent used the Substitution Technique and struck a deadly blow with the edge of his hand.

The Explosive Tags had only inflicted minor injuries on Long Yunzhi. He'd relied on his formidable defense to withstand the blast.

High damage, great speed, strong defense, and sharp battle instincts.

Long Yunzhi's fighting ability seemed to have no weaknesses. If there was one flaw to pick, it was that he wasn't good at Ninjutsu.

The edge of his hand swept across Mo Jingxian's throat. Nothing happened.

It was as if he'd missed.

Mo Jingxian was just as quick to seize his opportunity. Four Water Flood Dragons surged out from behind him.

He took advantage of his enemy's assumptions, catching him off guard and pinning all four limbs in place.

The tip of the short blade was now just one centimeter from Long Yunzhi's right eye.

The killing intent hidden in the shadows suddenly descended...