Moryo's New Discovery

Land of Swamps.

A team of twenty-one people was advancing rapidly; it was the assault squad led by Taiichi.

They chose a hidden mountain path, bypassing the main battlefield and penetrating deep into the Land of Swamps from the flank.

Ishikawa led the way; he was indeed familiar with the terrain and could always find the most hidden and safest path.

The initial journey was indeed smooth, with almost no encounters with any Ghost Legion Puppet Soldier.

But as they ventured deeper, the malevolent aura in the air grew stronger, and a purplish-black mist began to permeate the forest.

"Stop." Taiichi suddenly raised his hand.

The group froze instantly, and all the ninjas tacitly dispersed, hiding in the shadows of the trees and rocks.

A hundred meters ahead, a squad of ghostly soldiers was slowly advancing. There were about thirty of them, their movements stiff but their steps synchronized, and eerie green flames flickering in their eye sockets.

"Should we go around it or clear it out?" Ishikawa asked in a low voice.

"Clean it up," Taiichi judged. "There aren't many; we can't leave any traces."

He Hand Seals, his movements so fast they were almost invisible.

Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves

Dozens of invisible Wind Blade shot out silently, precisely slicing through the necks of each ghost soldier. Their heads rolled to the ground, their bodies stiffened for a moment, and then turned into piles of rubble.

The entire process was conducted without making a sound.

The Jonin Iwagakure exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.

Such precise control of Wind Style and such efficient methods of clearing the field—this is the power of the "White Reaper."

As the group passed by the rubble, Taiichi casually tossed down a piece of platinum-gold flame. The intense heat, capable of melting gold and iron, cleared away the trembling rubble in just a few breaths, completely severing their chances of recovery.

The group continued forward. The deeper they went, the more Ghost Legion units they encountered.

Sometimes they were groups of Clay Puppet, sometimes they were floating Resentful Spirit, and a few times they encountered Rogue Ninja controlled by Moryo. Those people had fanatical eyes and were surrounded by purplish-black mist, and they did not look like normal humans at all.

Taiichi was always at the forefront.

His fighting style is simple yet deadly: Wind Style for cutting, Fire Style for burning, and occasionally Lightning Style for paralysis. He never lingers in battle, striking and retreating immediately.

The Jonin Iwagakure responsible for eliminating any remaining enemies and protecting the flanks, working together seamlessly.

Two hours later, the group had approached the border of the Land of Demons.

The scene here was even more horrifying. The earth had turned purplish-black, the vegetation was completely dead, and the air was filled with a mixture of putrid and clay smells.

In the distance, the enormous silhouette of the Moryo could be vaguely seen, standing like a mountain in the night.

"Ten kilometers to the target." Ishikawa glanced at the map in his hand and reported to Taiichi, "But the road ahead will be even more difficult; there are no shortcuts left."

Taiichi closed his eyes and remained silent, his senses spreading out like a tidal wave. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and looked in the direction obscured by the hillside ahead. "Five hundred meters away, there is a large Ghost Legion, numbering over three hundred, moving in our direction."

"Have we been discovered?" an Iwagakure asked Jonin.

"Not necessarily." Taiichi shook his head. "It could be a regular patrol. But in any case, we can't avoid it."

He quickly made his deployment. "Ishikawa, you take ten men and flank from the left to draw their attention. I'll lead the remaining ten to break through from the right and try to bypass them. If we can't, we'll force our way through. We'll meet up in the valley where the Moryo are."

"Understood!" Ishikawa didn't hesitate and immediately selected ten ninjas to sneak to the left.

Taiichi then led the other ten people to move to the right. Their movements were extremely light, almost blending into the night.

However, less than a minute after the two teams separated, a sudden change occurred.

"Roar!!!"

A deafening roar came from ahead, the sound containing a violent mental shock. Several Iwagakure Jonin guard, grunted, and almost exposed their hiding place.

Immediately afterwards, the earth began to shake.

It wasn't the vibration from one or two Puppet walking, but the roar of thousands upon thousands of footsteps stomping on the ground at the same time!

Taiichi's expression darkened; they had exposed themselves too quickly.

His Chakra Perception was released and then withdrawn in an instant, and he saw that Ishikawa and the others who had attracted the target were now surrounded by layers of earthen Puppet, and in the land around them, a large number of earthen Puppet were constantly reviving.

Taiichi's expression changed completely. He unleashed his full Chakra Perception, focusing his investigation on the underground.

Beneath the entire earth, countless rock and soil Puppet lay densely packed, resembling real terracotta figures. They were motionless, like inanimate objects, yet awaiting their chance to be revived.

"Damn it, this is a trap!"

Before the words were even finished, eerie green flames lit up simultaneously from all directions. These were not torches, but the soul fire from the eye sockets of the ghost soldiers. Thousands of these soul fires, like stars in a ghostly realm, slowly rose from the ground, illuminating the entire area in a ghastly green light.

Rock Puppet and Resentful Spirit emerged from the forest, behind rocks, and underground, surging towards the Strike Force like a tide.

Even more terrifying, a new type of unit has appeared among these: Rock Giant standing five meters tall, slow-moving but with astonishing defensive capabilities.

"Moryo knew we were coming all along. Our intelligence was leaked?" an Iwagakure Jonin.

Taiichi had no time to consider whether it was an intelligence leak or if the other party had anticipated it. He rapidly Hand Seals, frantically mobilizing his Chakra within his body.

Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song!

Nine platinum-gold fire dragons spewed from Taiichi, each as thick as a water bucket, baring their fangs and claws as they pounced on the surging monster.

Wherever the fire dragon passed, the earthen Puppet melted, the Resentful Spirit evaporated, and the surface of the Rock Giant was burned red and cracked.

But there were just too many monsters.

The fire dragon cleared a space, and more monsters immediately filled it.

"Form ranks! Defend!" Taiichi shouted.

The ten Iwagakure Jonin formed a circle back to back and unleashed a series of Earth Style Ninjutsu.

Earth Style Wall, Earth Style: Earth Prison Dome, Earth Style: Rock Pillar Technique—walls of rock rose from the ground, temporarily blocking the monster's first wave of attack.

Unfortunately, the Rock Giant smashed the rock wall with his fist, and the earth Puppet swarmed forward; this level of Earth Style was simply no match for them.

Intense fighting and Ninjutsu explosions came from the left, and Ishikawa's squad was subjected to even more intense attacks.

"Taiichi, this can't go on!" Jonin an Iwagakure, whose arm, injured by Resentful Spirit, was rapidly festering.

Taiichi gritted his teeth and surveyed the entire arena.

He can use large-scale Senjutsu to clear the area, but that consumes a lot of Chakra and could potentially harm his teammates.

More importantly, it was clear that the Moryo had made prior arrangements. Once the Strike Force was separated from them, they simply could not hold out for long within the Ghost Legion.

"Move towards Ishikawa's squad!" he decided. "The two squads will join forces and concentrate our strength to break through!"

The ten men began to move, fighting as they retreated.

Taiichi charged ahead, Fire Style clear the way, Jonin Iwagakure charge of the flanks and rear.

It took them a full ten minutes to walk a distance of three hundred meters.

When the two teams met, only five of Ishikawa's original ten-man team were still able to stand, and the rest were all injured.

Ishikawa had a deep, bone-revealing wound on his face, but he seemed oblivious to the pain, his eyes still fierce. "Taiichi! The demon is just three miles ahead! Charge!"

Taiichi looked ahead. Through the gaps in the monster's body, he could see the enormous body of the Moryo faintly visible in the night, its five dragon heads slowly turning, its eerie green eyes looking in this direction.

There was a mocking look in his eyes.

"It's been waiting for us all along." Taiichi suddenly realized, "It knew we would come, so it set this trap. It's toying with us."

"We have to charge!" Ishikawa roared. "We're already this far! Even if we die, we'll bite off a piece of flesh from it!"

The Iwagakure Ninja roared in fury. Their Chakra erupted once more. Earth Style, Fire Style, Lightning Style —all sorts of Ninjutsu rained down on the monster horde without restraint.

Taiichi deep breath. He knew the plan had failed.

In their current state, even if they rushed to the Moryo's face, they wouldn't have the strength to fight. Moreover, there might be Akatsuki lying in ambush in the shadows.

But----

He looked at the Iwagakure Ninja around him, Kitsuchi's words of advice echoed in his ears when they set off, "You must bring them back—back alive."

We can't let them die here in vain.

"Everyone!" Taiichi's voice boomed over the battlefield, "Move towards me! Prepare to retreat!"

"What?!" Ishikawa turned his head sharply. "Taiichi! We can still fight!"

"This is an order!" Taiichi rare, forceful tone. "The Moryo is right there; it won't run away. But our people, once they die, will never return! Now, immediately, move closer to me!"

The Iwagakure Ninja hesitated. They looked at Ishikawa, Ishikawa looked at Taiichi, then at his heavily wounded comrades, and finally gritted his teeth. "Listen to Taiichi! Gather together!"

The fifteen people quickly tightened their formation. Taiichi stood at the front, his hands forming a complex hand seal.

Sage Art · Fire Style · White Flame Barrier!

Platinum flames surged from Taiichi's body, not attacking forward, but spreading outwards to form a huge fire shield that enveloped everyone.

Monsters crashed into the shield and were immediately ignited, but more monsters followed one after another, and the flames on the shield diminished and thinned at a visible rate.

"Go!" Taiichi shouted, maintaining the protective barrier as he began to move backward.

Retreat is more difficult than attack.

The monsters seemed to have received a command, surging forward frantically, attempting to completely overwhelm the squad.

Gaps began to appear in the flames that made up the protective shield.

Earth Style · Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!

Ishikawa and several other ninjas who could still use Ninjutsu simultaneously Hand Seals, constructing another layer of rock wall within the flame shield behind them.

The double defense temporarily hindered the pursuing enemies from behind, allowing Taiichi to focus on dealing with the Puppet in front of him.

Senjutsu: Fire Style - Majestic Destroyer Flame.

Platinum-gold flames surged forth, unleashing a raging inferno.

Senjutsu: Wind Style - Great Breakthrough.

The explosive hurricane, carrying the sea of fire, fueled the flames with the wind, and the fire, aided by the wind, made the already rapid flames even faster. In the blink of an eye, Puppet on the retreat route were wiped out.

"Take this opportunity and stick close to me."

Taiichi spoke, he took the lead and charged straight out, with Ishikawa and the remaining Rock Ninja following closely behind, not daring to hesitate for a moment.

No sooner had they left their spot than earthen Puppet rose from the ground, and if they hesitated even for a moment, they would be entangled by these Puppet again.

A kilometer away, Moryo with five heads and ten eyes was fixed on Taiichi's back. Seeing that Taiichi had broken through the seemingly flawless trap, the Moryo let out a deafening roar in resentment.

"Roar--!!"

Taiichi and his party retreated and fought, fought and hid, hid and retreated, and finally returned to the front-line Camp on the morning of the third day.

Seeing the disheveled state of the group, Kitsuchi knew without asking that the plan had failed. He quickly ordered the Medical Ninja to take the wounded to be treated, and personally led Taiichi to the camp to inquire about the specific situation.

"A trap? The Moryo actually knows how to set up a trap?"

After listening to Taiichi's account, Kitsuchi was filled with disbelief, and his understanding of Moryo underwent a radical change.

"The Moryo is also a sentient being; we cannot treat it as a mindless beast," Taiichi appropriately reminded him.

The plan failed, and the Radical Faction in the Camp quieted down. It wasn't that Taiichi was incompetent; they simply couldn't keep up with Taiichi pace.

Over the next period of time, the atmosphere at the western Gorge Defense Line of the Land of Demons underwent a subtle change.

Taiichi's arrival was like a shot in the arm for the exhausted garrison.

He not only repelled the Ghost Legion's fierce attacks on the front lines with his absolute strength, but also greatly alleviated the medical pressure on the defensive line with his superb Medical Ninjutsu.

Every morning, Taiichi would patrol the wounded soldiers' camp.

Pale green Chakra light flowed in his palm, and wherever it passed, deep wounds that exposed bone healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and festering areas corroded by Resentful Spirit gradually regained life.

Those seriously wounded soldiers who would normally need weeks or even months to recover can often return to the battlefield in just a few days under Taiichi's treatment.

"Taiichi, my legs—they can really move again!"

A young Iwagakure Chunin excitedly tried to stand up. Three days earlier, during a night raid, his shinbone had been broken by Rock Giant's powerful punch. According to normal medical procedures, he might never be able to fight as nimbly as before again.

Taiichi withdrew his palm, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

Treating dozens of seriously injured patients in succession was a considerable burden even for him.

"He needs to rest for two more days and should avoid high-intensity combat for the time being."

"Yes! Thank you, Taiichi!" The Chunin's eyes reddened as he bowed solemnly.

Scenes like this play out every day.

Soldiers from the Land of Demons, ninjas from Iwagakure, and even some wounded Civilian all received treatment from Taiichi.

The mortality rate on the defensive line dropped significantly, the recovery speed of the wounded improved dramatically, and morale also rebounded.

With a relatively stable rear, the ninjas were able to devote more energy to intelligence Scout and tactical analysis. Kitsuchi organized several elite reconnaissance teams, which, under Taiichi's cover, repeatedly ventured deep into the occupied territory and brought back valuable information.

On the evening of the third day, the main camp tent was brightly lit.

Kitsuchi, Taiichi, and several core Jonin Iwagakure sat around a huge topographical map, which was densely marked with the distribution and movement patterns of the Ghost Legion, as well as the activity areas of what appeared to be the true form of the Moryo.

"This is the intelligence gathered by the reconnaissance team over the past three days." Ishikawa pointed to several red dots on the map. The wounds on his face had scabbed over, but his expression was more composed than ever. "We've discovered a pattern: the Ghost Legion's area of operation has clear boundaries."

He moved his finger, drawing an irregular ellipse on the map. "With this area where the Moryo are active as the center, the density of the Ghost Legion decreases radially. The outermost patrols will not go beyond this boundary line."