Death Match

"Clang! Clang!"

Ayako Hyuuga deflected two incoming kunai, only for the annoying puppet to follow close behind.

Shinju Ishikawa flashed in from the side, repelling the ambushing puppet to stand guard by her side.

Veins bulged at the corners of Ayako Hyuuga's eyes as she spotted the puppet master several dozen meters away.

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

Two Sand Ninja squads were locked in a fierce battle with Konoha ninja in the dense forest.

Ever since Mo Jingxian had left the team, Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa had temporarily joined Hayama Shirakumo's squad.

Battles like this had been occurring almost daily for the past few days.

"Hold them off!"

Hayama Shirakumo repelled his opponent with a single strike of his blade and charged toward the position Ayako Hyuuga had signaled.

Behind him, the Sand Ninja launched hidden weapons—kunai bound with burning Explosive Tags.

"Your opponent is me."

At the critical moment, Tekuno intercepted them by throwing two kunai to block the path.

The four projectiles collided in mid-air, followed by "boom-boom" explosions that engulfed the entire battlefield.

The Sand Ninja puppet master realized his position was exposed and urgently recalled his puppet for defense.

But his movements were clearly a beat too slow; Hayama Shirakumo appeared before him in the blink of an eye.

"Sword Style: Vacuum Blade!"

The puppet chasing from behind spat out a dozen senbon, hoping to stall him for a moment.

But Hayama Shirakumo ignored it, seven or eight Vacuum Blades slashing out from his long blade to seal off all of the enemy's escape routes.

As the major battle erupted, both sides fought with genuine ferocity, and the intensity of the combat escalated sharply.

When enemies meet, there is no need for empty words; every move is a lethal strike intended to kill.

The Sand Ninja puppet master activated his Substitution Technique at the first opportunity, but he failed to dodge completely.

Blood splattered, and the puppet lost control, turning into a lifeless object.

Leaving behind one of his arms, the puppet master beat a hasty retreat.

The attacking Sand Ninja came quickly and left just as fast, disappearing into the dense forest after a few flashes of movement.

"Do not pursue!"

As the captain, Hayama Shirakumo issued the appropriate order at the right time.

The team members were not in good condition, with almost everyone nursing injuries; pursuing them would only lead to mutual destruction.

Even he himself...

Thinking of this, he felt a wave of dizziness.

In the final moments, although he had left behind one of the enemy's arms, he hadn't fully dodged the enemy's attack.

A senbon had pierced his flesh, and his right hand, which held the blade, was already feeling numb.

"Oh no, the captain is poisoned!"

Shinju Ishikawa hurried over to help him treat the wound.

Tearing open his clothes, he saw a senbon embedded in his back near his right shoulder, the skin around the wound beginning to turn black.

Shinju Ishikawa immediately began to treat the wound.

Refusing to leave the front line despite minor injuries, the remaining members split up to keep watch, preventing the Sand Ninja from launching a surprise counterattack.

Ayako Hyuuga hid on a tree trunk, using gauze to simply bandage a knife wound on her arm; fortunately, the enemy's weapons were not coated in poison.

She couldn't even remember how many times she had suffered such minor injuries, and at this thought, she couldn't help but miss Mo Jingxian.

If only he were here; she wondered how he was doing now.

Ayako Hyuuga had a dream she had never mentioned to anyone, one she kept buried deep in her heart.

She wanted freedom; she wanted to live freely, breathe freely, and then die freely.

She subconsciously touched the forehead protector on her head; beneath it lay an ugly mark.

Born into the Hyuuga clan, this dream felt more like a joke.

Ayako Hyuuga knew she was no genius and could not break free from her cage; perhaps she would spend her entire life living within someone else's life.

But she just couldn't stop wanting it.

Just like that day, when she first heard the name Mo Jingxian—a maverick who dared to announce his departure from the Uchiha clan.

At the time, most people in the clan had either mocked him or looked upon him with contempt.

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

Hidden in the canopy of the trees, Ayako Hyuuga smiled silently.

With the squad leader poisoned and the team unfit to continue holding their position, they retreated to the main camp.

The main camp command center.

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

Orochimaru's finger tapped the location of the main camp, then slid slowly, stopping at the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire.

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

Shikaku stared at the route Orochimaru had proposed, running through every factor in his mind once more.

He then nodded: "I think it's fine. Withdrawing to the border line is more advantageous for us; the Sand Ninja's supply lines will be passively extended, and our combat planning will be much more flexible."

Currently, the Sand Ninja had increased their forces to 12,000, and the intensity of their attacks was growing; it seemed their patience was wearing thin.

To make matters worse, the Rock Ninja had begun engaging Konoha, and although these were only small-scale skirmishes, the strain on Konoha's troop deployment was becoming obvious.

The 1,000 reinforcements that arrived later had stopped at the border line behind them, beginning to construct defensive fortifications on the spot.

Shikaku did not know the nature of the ideological conflict between Orochimaru and the Hokage, nor did he wish to know.

But this camp could no longer be held; it wasn't just the disparity in numbers, but the high-end combat power was also unequal.

Thinking of this, Shikaku sighed: "Sigh, Jiraiya being transferred to the Rock Ninja front is extremely disadvantageous for us. Fortunately... I heard Lady Tsunade has agreed to come and support us. We finally won't have to suffer from the Sand Ninja's deadly poisons."

Konoha ninjas had suffered heavy losses regarding poison; almost all of their casualties were related to it.

This had been giving Shikaku a massive headache, but now, as long as Tsunade arrived, these problems would be solved.

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

Orochimaru knew the state of his old friend and did not hold a very optimistic view of the matter.

However, there was no need to spread that sentiment.

"Put the matter of Tsunade aside for now. Since we are going to retreat, we might as well be bold."

Orochimaru pressed his finger onto the map, right on the location of the main camp.

"I intend to leave a grand gift for the Sand Ninja. I need Advisor Shikaku to help me fill in the details and minimize any flaws."

Orochimaru laid out the thoughts in his heart.

Shikaku was horrified after hearing them; Orochimaru's appetite was enormous. He wanted to take a vicious bite out of the Sand Ninja before leaving.

But the plan was also cruel—not just to the enemy, but even his own people were included in the calculation.

Regardless of whether the plan succeeded or failed, once implemented, he would be nailed to a pillar of shame.

Thinking of this, cold sweat seeped from Shikaku's forehead, and his mouth felt dry.

He shifted his gaze from the map to Orochimaru's face and advised: "Is this really okay? If we truly do this, we won't be able to answer to the village. I implore the Commander to think thrice."

"Advisor Shikaku, this is war."

Orochimaru straightened his back and leaned against the chair, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

"What we must do is use every means necessary to eliminate the enemy's vital strength."

His hoarse voice carried a chill as he turned to stare at Shikaku, saying word by word:

"I will emphasize this again: this is war, and war means people die.

As the decision-makers on the battlefield, our job is to achieve victory. The rest is not for us to dwell on. Do you understand?"

Under the dual pressure of strength and authority, Shikaku had no choice.

"Yes! I understand, Commander."

As if he hadn't heard Shikaku's dissatisfaction, or perhaps he simply didn't care.

After discussing the details with Shikaku for a while, Shikaku asked to be excused.

"Right, there is one more thing."

Just as Shikaku was about to walk out of the command center, he was called back by Orochimaru.

"Add that ninja named Mo Jingxian to the deep-cover infiltration squad. You can arrange the mission details."

"Oh... alright, I understand."

Shikaku left, leaving Orochimaru alone in the large tent.

Not knowing what he was thinking, he opened Mo Jingxian's mission record once more.

"An interesting little brat. Just what kind of secret are you hiding..."

Inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

Mo Jingxian widened his eyes, staring at the feathers growing out of his arm, his mind in turmoil.

"Only just realized? Hahaha... Interesting. Do you know what it feels like to become the very monster you speak of?"

Long Yunzhi completely tore off his disguise, feeling quite pleased as he watched his enemy's helpless state.

Mo Jingxian automatically filtered out the boring information, quickly searching through his memory to find how he had been struck.

He reviewed the experience of entering the Box of Ultimate Bliss in his mind.

It seemed that from the very moment he entered, he had begun to "Satori"-fy without even realizing it.

Every time he cleared a stage, the rewarded rule only served to accelerate this process.

How laughable that he had once considered it a reward, working hard to clear stages just to lift his chakra restrictions.

What a brilliant manipulation of perception.

It wasn't that he hadn't seen the changes, but rather that his perception had been twisted by the rules, his consciousness actively erasing the information about the transformation.

In his perception, the "Satori" rule within his body was not yet complete, missing only a fraction.

Mo Jingxian looked at his opponent, observing the more thoroughly "Satori"-fied Long Yunzhi, and understood the cause and effect.

He must be the final trial for his own "Satori" transformation, right?

This was the final hurdle set by the Box of Ultimate Bliss, intended to select one true "Satori" from the two of them.

And then what? The information was too scarce; he could not deduce the ultimate goal of the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

Seeing that Long Yunzhi had no intention of attacking, he decided to fish for more intelligence.

"Long Yunzhi, look... we've both turned into monsters, doesn't that mean we're the ones on the same side?"

"Put away your petty cleverness. It doesn't matter if I tell you: this world can only contain one 'Satori'."

Long Yunzhi cast a contemptuous glance at him and mocked:

"Just as there can only be one king in this world, so, are you ready?"

Seizing the moment of Mo Jingxian's surprise, as the last word fell, Long Yunzhi's figure vanished from where he stood.

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

His scale-covered right hand, fingers joined like a blade, thrust directly at Mo Jingxian's chest.

The opponent was experienced, and the timing of his choice was impeccable.

As the palm passed through the body, Long Yunzhi's expression tightened; the sensation transmitted through his arm was wrong.

It was not the feeling one should get from a body of flesh and blood.

Mo Jingxian's body turned into water, immediately splitting into two vortices that pinned him in place.

Water Release: Tidal Vortex

That wasn't all; where Mo Jingxian had just been standing, three Explosive Tags were left behind, ready to detonate.

The offense and defense of the match reversed in an instant.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A black shadow darted out from the smoke, the pursuit reaching his eyes once more.

Long Yunzhi seized the brief moment of stiffness after his opponent used the Substitution Technique, delivering a lethal strike with his hand-blade.

The Explosive Tags only caused minor damage to Long Yunzhi; the opponent relied on his superior defense to tank the attack.

High damage, high speed, strong defense, and a keen combat instinct.

The combat proficiency Long Yunzhi displayed had absolutely no shortcomings; if one had to find a flaw, it could only be said that he was not skilled in ninjutsu.

The hand-blade swept across Mo Jingxian's throat, but nothing happened.

It was as if he had missed.

Mo Jingxian's timing was equally sharp, with four Water Flood Dragons striking from behind.

Utilizing the enemy's fixed mindset, he caught him off guard and pinned his four limbs.

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

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