Konoha Reinforcements

"This feels really strange."

A hint of delight flashed across Qin Yu's face.

Normally, even when someone was used to their own weight, they sometimes felt as if they were trudging forward under a burden.

But now, as Qin Yu used Lightning Release Chakra Mode, his entire body felt as light as a feather.

However, the chakra inside him was being consumed just as quickly.

With the amount of chakra Qin Yu had now, he could maintain it for at most twenty minutes.

If he used any other jutsu, the time he could sustain Lightning Release Chakra Mode would likely be even shorter.

That was probably why A had developed Nintaijutsu—to reduce his chakra consumption.

"Let's test my speed!" Qin Yu took a step.

With a sharp crack, he vanished from where he stood. Apart from a few flickering arcs of lightning, he shot straight out of the cave like a streak of blue light.

The Konoha Ninja stationed not far from the cave entrance froze, then couldn't help rubbing their eyes.

"What's wrong?" Inubou and Uzuki Cangwu walked over at a leisurely pace.

"I—we think we just saw a flash of blue light."

"But before we could get a good look, it vanished into thin air."

Blue light?

Inubou and Uzuki Cangwu froze, then hurriedly asked, "Did it look like A using Lightning Release Chakra Mode?"

"Senior Uzuki, now that you mention it, it did look a little similar."

"Senior Uzuki, do you mean the Cloud Ninja came back for revenge?"

A hint of nervousness crossed the faces of the two younger Chunin.

The battle had only just ended, and they had Qin Yu to rely on.

But the Cloud Ninja had suffered a heavy loss last time. They probably wouldn't fall for the same trick again.

"No. I'd rather the Cloud Ninja came back to cause trouble than believe what I'm thinking." Uzuki Cangwu and Inubou exchanged a glance.

They had clearly thought of the same thing.

"Go check the cave. Is Qin Yu still inside?"

At this, the two younger Konoha Ninja finally understood.

If that flash of lightning had looked exactly like Lightning Release Chakra Mode, then the one using that secret technique was either Raikage successor A—or Uchiha Qin Yu.

It had only been a few hours since the battle ended and they obtained the scroll recording Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

If Qin Yu had really learned the secret technique—

What could you even call that?

A genius?

A prodigy?

A monster?

Or the God of Shinobi?

Qin Yu, several thousand meters away, had no idea his actions had shocked them so much.

With Lightning Release Chakra Mode activated, his speed had reached the speed of sound.

In the blink of an eye, he crossed several hundred meters.

And with his cells activated, Qin Yu's reflexes, attack power, and senses had all improved dramatically.

He could even clearly hear insects chirping hundreds of meters away.

"Stop! We're Konoha Ninja!"

A shout rang out.

Qin Yu immediately pinpointed where it had come from.

He didn't have any extraordinary Sensory Ninjutsu, but he could still estimate how many people there were from the sound.

"Seven people ganging up on two? This is interesting." Qin Yu gave a faint smile.

With a flicker of his body, he decided to see what had happened to the Konoha Ninja.

In a clearing in the forest,

two slender figures stood back-to-back, surrounded by Ninja in sinister animal masks who watched them warily.

"We're Konoha Ninja. Here's our proof of identity," said a pale-faced boy of about twelve or thirteen.

Behind him stood a clear-skinned, pretty girl with purple hair.

Judging by their proof of identity, the two were newly promoted Chunin.

Of course, in the peaceful era depicted in the Original Work, becoming a Chunin required passing the Chunin Ninja Exams and receiving approval from the daimyos of the various countries.

Unfortunately, during the Third Shinobi World War,

most Chunin had been promoted by necessity.

First, opening three battlefronts at once had depleted Konoha's core forces.

Second, a prolonged war came down to attrition. With Konoha's limited manpower, it couldn't hold out for long.

Third, hastily promoting Ninja to Chunin was meant to deceive the enemy. In truth, they were strong only on the surface.

As Qin Yu understood it, the Chunin qualification process worked like this:

The candidate only had to complete one B-Rank Mission with their squad and return alive before they could apply to become a Chunin.

Qin Yu clearly remembered that during the Third Shinobi World War, Obito—who had been at the bottom of his class and hadn't even awakened his Sharingan—

had still been promoted to Chunin and sent on a special mission with Kakashi as his team leader.

That was proof enough of how much the rank of Chunin had been watered down.

"Yugao, stay behind me and be careful. We're not far from the checkpoint. These Anbu Ninja have mistaken us for enemy impostors. I just need to explain who we are," Gekko Hayate said quickly.

A hint of nervousness appeared on Uzuki Yugao's face.

This was her first time officially setting foot on a battlefield since graduating from the Ninja Academy.

Until then, she had only taken small jobs: looking for lost cats and dogs, guarding Konoha Hidden Leaf Village, and other simple tasks.

She had also taken part in a few harmless skirmishes to gain experience.

Three days ago, she had suddenly been promoted to Chunin.

Uzuki Yugao knew it was because the front lines were in crisis.

They needed to urgently draw on the forces stationed in Konoha's rear to send reinforcements.

Uzuki Yugao had originally been trying to figure out how to avoid going to the front.

But then she heard the Cloud Ninja had launched a surprise attack, and her father, Uzuki Cangwu, was taking part in the fighting.

The Flying Thunder God Kunai belonging to the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, needed to be delivered to the battlefield urgently, so she had volunteered for the mission.

As for Gekko Hayate, a strange feeling in his heart had made him accept the mission too.

After three days of continuous travel, they had reached a point not far from the checkpoint.

They had thought they would arrive without incident, never imagining that Konoha's Anbu would stop them at such a critical moment.

"Honored seniors, I'm Gekko Hayate, a newly promoted Konoha Chunin. My father is Gekko Kuro Yoru, one of the Eight Colors of Konoha. This is my family's token," Gekko Hayate said quickly, bringing up his powerful family connection.

Unlike Uzuki Cangwu, Gekko Hayate's father, Gekko Kuro Yoru, was one of the Eight Colors of Konoha.

With his mastery of the Konoha Style Crescent Moon Sword Technique and the Kekkei Genkai Transparent Release,

he was a feared assassin on the battlefield.

Among all of Konoha, his strength stood out even among the Jonin.

Gekko Hayate figured that all he had to do was prove who they were and mention his father. The Anbu Ninja would be impressed—

and let them through without a fuss.

They might even escort them to the outpost.