An immense amount of chakra filled the sky and earth, making the ground tremble. Countless grains of yellow sand formed a circle, and amid the shaking, the ground slowly sank.
The caravan boss stared at the scene, dumbfounded. He was outside the circle and had been lucky enough not to be caught in it.
But when he looked at the more than three-quarters of the caravan and all the goods that had been swallowed up, his eyes reddened.
"This deal was worth more than three million!"
"Boss, don't go over there! There's quicksand! Once you go in, you won't come back!"
"If this deal falls through, our entire caravan is finished! Where are the Konoha Ninja? They promised to escort us to the Land of Wind!"
"Boss, they're in the quicksand too."
Miura Mingyuan's expression changed drastically. He leapt into the air, only to find that he couldn't escape the quicksand's reach.
"This isn't natural quicksand. It's Ninjutsu! Everyone, prepare for battle!"
His three Genin teammates hurriedly gathered together. But all they could see was the silent, dangerous quicksand sinking away. There wasn't an enemy in sight.
Miura Mingyuan's face turned pale.
"The enemy's beneath the sand!"
"A Ninjutsu with such a wide range and such powerful chakra—the enemy must be a Jonin!"
"What kind of enemy is this? A Jonin wouldn't care about this little bit of cargo. And if they wanted to kill us, they wouldn't need to go to so much trouble."
Compared to dying after fighting with all their might, being swallowed by quicksand, unable to find their enemy or do anything about it, was far more despairing.
And the enemy was clearly stronger than them, yet still hid away like a coward. It was utterly shameless!
"Gate of Opening: Open!"
"Gate of Healing: Open!"
"Gate of Life: Open!"
Three Gates opened in an instant!
Gong Yi reached the edge of the quicksand, his body radiating green energy. He looked at the enormous Earth Style: Death Quicksand before him, controlled by two Jonin and supported by six Genin, and drew a deep breath.
Three Gates weren't enough. He had to open the Fourth Gate.
And the Fourth Gate meant completely leaving the safe zone of the Eight Inner Gates and entering its danger zone. It meant truly entering the Eight Gates state.
Gong Yi clenched both hands tightly and let out a roar toward the sky.
"Gate of Pain: Open!"
An apparently endless energy surged from his body. Feeling his body in that moment, Gong Yi thought he could ignore anything!
He glanced down at the ground, which was sinking faster and faster, then raised his foot—
And stomped hard!
"Get out here!"
Boom!
An unmatched, terrifying force thundered into the ground.
At that moment, pressure like collapsing mountains and flooding seas crushed down upon the earth.
The ninjas hidden underground felt as though every bone in their bodies was about to shatter. Without hesitation, they frantically fled from beneath the desert.
One!
Two!
Three, four, five, six!
Then two Jonin, their faces dark with fury, slowly emerged from the ground as well, glaring at Gong Yi.
"Eight ninjas. Good, very good! You've sent two Jonin squads just to deal with a mere Konoha Chunin squad!"
Gong Yi grinned fiercely. In the Eight Gates state, he looked like a demon god.
The two Jonin exchanged glances. One of them barked, "Kid, this has nothing to do with you. Get lost!"
Gong Yi pointed to the Forehead Protector on his head and laughed menacingly. "You tell me—does it have nothing to do with me?"
Hyuga Senso and Ogawara finally arrived. They were both astonished when they saw Gong Yi's current state.
Gong Yi waved a hand. "Go rescue everyone. They're not dead yet!"
"But..." Ogawara looked at the eight ninjas across from them, who were watching them like hawks, and said worriedly, "Gong Yi, you're on your own..."
"I said go!"
"Yes, Captain!" Hyuga Senso nodded, grabbed Ogawara, and headed toward the center of the area previously covered by Earth Style: Quicksand.
One of the Jonin across from them suddenly shouted, "Stop them!"
Two Genin darted forward, ready to intercept Hyuga Senso and Ogawara.
But before they had gone even halfway, a figure appeared in front of them like a ghost.
Thud!
Thud!
With just two kicks, the two Genin were sent flying.
Their bodies flailed through the air like rags as blood sprayed from their mouths.
The two Jonin who had been watching Gong Yi narrowed their eyes.
Fast! Too fast!
They had been watching Gong Yi, but they hadn't even noticed him move.
"Are you from Konoha?"
Gong Yi didn't answer the enemy's question. He simply stood there, radiating a terrifying aura.
The presence of a ninja in the Eight Inner Gates state was truly shocking.
With Gong Yi standing guard, none of the six surviving enemies dared take a single step forward.
Soon, Hyuga Senso brought out Miura Mingyuan and the other three ninjas.
As for the ordinary people, not a single one had been brought out.
Gong Yi turned to look.
Hyuga Senso hurriedly explained, "The civilians aren't dead, just unconscious. Ogawara knows Medical Ninjutsu and is treating them."
Gong Yi nodded.
Miura Mingyuan stared at Gong Yi in astonishment. Though he was shocked by how young Gong Yi was, he didn't dare underestimate him in the slightest.
"May I ask who you are, sir?"
"Konoha Special Jonin, Gong Yi!"
After answering, Gong Yi paid no further attention to Miura Mingyuan and looked straight at the six enemies watching them warily.
"Sand Ninja? Or Stone Ninja?"
The enemy Jonin leading the group was still wondering how Konoha had produced someone like this. The name Gong Yi was completely unfamiliar to him.
Hearing Gong Yi's question, he instinctively started to nod, but immediately shook his head.
"No. We're Missing-nin."
"Heh." Gong Yi sneered. "Makes no difference to me."
"Hyuga Senso, Miura Mingyuan, the five of you take out the four Genin across from us. I'll handle the two Jonin!"
Hyuga Senso looked up sharply, worried. "Captain, we can have Ogawara and the others take on those four Genin. Captain Miura and I can work together to hold off one of the Jonin."
Gong Yi waved a hand. "No need. Leave them to me."
Faced with Gong Yi's confidence—bordering on arrogance—the two Jonin were enraged.
"Arrogant!"
"Conceited!"
Gong Yi whipped around and shot forward.
"Come on, die!"
Before you continue