The Joy of Picking Up Easy Kills

He was about to continue scolding his teammate when he realized the man had suddenly gone quiet. He couldn't help turning to look.

The sight before him made his pupils contract sharply.

In his eyes, countless Konoha Ninja were rushing toward Kikyo City. The Genin had already been scared stiff.

"Enemy attack!"

With no time to think, the squad leader shouted at the top of his lungs.

He was just about to pull a flare from his pouch and set it off when the Uchiha Clan, Konoha's main attacking force, led by Uchiha Tayama, reached the top of the city wall in a few leaps.

A flash of steel streaked past, and a severed arm spun through the air, still clutching the flare he had just lit.

But the flare didn't explode in the sky as the Sunagakure squad leader had hoped. Instead, it burst beside the city wall.

The next moment, a sword pierced his throat.

Uchiha Aoba, who was a step behind, wasn't about to pass up a chance to claim an easy kill.

As the Sunagakure squad leader closed his eyes, his face twisted with resentment. He could still hear a faint mutter by his ear: "Tch, I almost let you pull it off."

Although the flare hadn't exploded in the sky as intended, leaving the Sunagakure position on the front line without warning, it was enough to rouse everyone in Kikyo City.

At least some of them wouldn't be slaughtered by Konoha Ninja without any warning.

Orochimaru's plan for a surprise attack couldn't be called a success, but neither could it be called a failure. By the time Sunagakure began organizing its counterattack, all the Konoha Ninja under his command had already stormed into the city.

The whole of Kikyo City had become a battlefield. The civilians had all locked their doors; some hid beneath their beds, while others crouched under tables, trembling with fear of becoming collateral damage.

But this was inevitable.

The fighting was taking place in the city. Even if Konoha and Sunagakure tacitly agreed to avoid the civilians, stray ninja tools and jutsu flying in every direction would inevitably cause injuries by accident.

Orochimaru stood impassively on the rooftop of the tallest building in Kikyo City. In theory, if he joined the fight, the already advantageous siege would surely become a complete rout.

Yet he didn't make a move.

He had to conserve his strength in case the One-Tail Jinchuriki appeared at any moment.

Meanwhile, at the Sunagakure front-line position,

Jiraiya, who was leading the feint, was directing more than four hundred Konoha Ninja as they fought and retreated.

This strange method of attack left Rasa, the Sunagakure front-line commander, puzzled.

If this was a clumsy attempt to lure him in, did they think he was a fool?

As far as Rasa could tell, Jiraiya was clearly setting an ambush somewhere ahead, waiting for him to lead his men into it before teaming up with Orochimaru to deal him a fatal blow.

"Hmph. A cheap trick."

Rasa couldn't help sneering at the thought.

After all, he was the man who would become the Fourth Kazekage. He wasn't going to fall for such an obvious ploy.

He didn't even feel like launching an attack. He sent only a handful of men to defend the position and watched Jiraiya waste his time.

But for Jiraiya, Rasa's response couldn't have been more convenient.

If the situation had been any less urgent, Jiraiya would have given Rasa a thumbs-up for being so cooperative.

Keep stalling. Keep it up. He was waiting for good news from Orochimaru.

Still, Jiraiya had no intention of keeping up the act forever. He knew Rasa wasn't an idiot. If they kept this up, the other man might notice something was amiss.

Only by mixing feints with real attacks could they carry out the plan flawlessly.

So Jiraiya kept track of the time in his head. When he figured the moment was right, he quickly formed Hand Seals.

"Summoning Technique!"

With a tremendous poof, a giant toad with a pipe in its mouth appeared on the battlefield.

Rasa, who had been heading back to camp in the distance, saw it and his face darkened at once.

"Damn it, Jiraiya! You're really going through with this?!"

Jiraiya leaped onto the toad's head. Hearing that, he couldn't contain his amusement and grinned.

"Gamabunta! Spit oil!"

"Got it!"

A deep voice boomed across the battlefield.

"Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"

As the scorching fireball rushed toward him, Rasa's expression turned dark. With a wave of his hand, a massive cloud of Gold Dust rose up to block it.

The intense heat distorted the air.

But once the heat had died down, Rasa withdrew his Gold Dust and was about to lead his troops forward to engage Jiraiya.

There was no sign of the Konoha Ninja.

At the sight, Rasa's heart gave an inexplicable jolt. A powerful sense of foreboding rose within him.

Just then,

a battered Sunagakure Ninja, his face streaked with blood, stumbled over and reported with grief and indignation:

"Sir, Orochimaru led the main force in a surprise attack on Kikyo City!"

"What did you say?"

Rasa grabbed him by the collar and hauled him up in front of him, his face grim. "Why are you only reporting this now? What were the patrol guards doing? And where's the Jinchūriki?"

The Sunagakure Ninja flushed red. "The city is full of Konoha Ninja. I only managed to escape and report to you because everyone covered my retreat at the cost of their lives."

"As for Lord Bunpuku, the Jinchūriki, he transformed into the Tailed Beast shortly after I left Kikyo City. Judging by the fighting in the city, Konoha's Orochimaru is fighting him now."

Rasa didn't have time to think. He released the Sunagakure Ninja and immediately gave the order. "Everyone, follow me to reinforce Kikyo City! We absolutely cannot let Konoha take the city!"

"But, sir, what about the camp?" one Sunagakure Jonin asked, worried.

Rasa glared at him.

"Who cares about the camp at a time like this? If we lose it, we can always start over."

"If Kikyo City falls to Konoha, forget whether we can continue this war. Konoha will be able to march into the Land of Wind at any time, and all of Sunagakure will be put in an incredibly difficult position."

After speaking, Rasa finally realized what had happened.

"So that was it, Jiraiya! No wonder you're one of the Konoha Sannin. This was your plan all along."

"I'll remember this grudge, Jiraiya!"

"Roar!"

A shrill roar echoed outside Kikyo City.

Orochimaru's expression was grave. Standing atop Manda, he kept maneuvering around the transformed Jinchūriki.

Meanwhile, inside the city,

Uchiha Aoba was following his clanmates around, frantically picking up easy kills.

At that moment, there was no sign of the ferocity he'd shown the day before when he charged alone into the enemy ranks.

It wasn't that Aoba didn't want to fight that way. When he first entered Kikyo City, he'd gone out of his way to pick fights with some Sunagakure Chunin. But then a Sunagakure Jonin set his sights on him, and his attack came to a halt.

Fortunately, the man was only an ordinary Jonin. Though Aoba sustained some minor injuries, he managed to take his opponent down.

After that, Aoba stopped actively seeking out enemies.

And then he got to experience the joy of picking up easy kills. Every slash earned him either 0.1 or 0.5, and his fusion level rose with ease.

It felt amazing.