Ambushed!

"We'll be leaving the Land of Fire's border once we cross this forest, Lord Ruohuo."

"Let's rest for a while."

The leaves blocked out much of the moonlight, leaving the dense forest pitch-black. A night breeze occasionally swept across the treetops, setting them rustling.

"Sensei, stay right here. I'll be back in a jiffy."

Ruohuo vanished with a whoosh.

It was pitch-black all around, but Ruohuo wasn't lacking in vitamin A. Combined with the visual boost from his Sharingan, he could still move around just fine in the dark.

The closer they got to the border, the fewer signs of human life there were. The forest was full of game, and Ruohuo had been eager to hunt for a while.

Whoosh!

A shuriken flew, sending one unlucky rabbit off to the Pure Land.

Ruohuo deftly began preparing the rabbit, but just as he was debating whether to braise it or cook it in a clay shell, the unexpected happened!

Whoosh!

A senbon concealed in the darkness sliced through the air without making much noise, heading straight for Ruohuo's neck!

"This rabbit has a partner?"

Ruohuo sensed the danger keenly. His Three Tomoe locked onto the senbon in an instant, and he lifted the rabbit to block it.

Thud—

The senbon sank three inches into flesh—but that flesh was rabbit meat. Ruohuo noticed a hint of green where it had pierced the rabbit. It was clearly poisoned.

That rabbit was definitely off the menu.

"I'll avenge you."

Ruohuo rose to his feet, his Sharingan fixed on the direction the senbon had come from.

This was clearly a chance encounter, with the enemy hidden and him exposed.

The mission's designated location was inside the Land of Earth.

But they were currently at the border of the Land of Fire, the Land of Rain, and the Land of Earth. The enemy was most likely from one of those three countries.

"So, which side's shinobi are they?"

Reason told Ruohuo there was a good chance the enemy was from Iwagakure.

The Land of Rain hadn't played much of a role in the Third Shinobi World War, while Iwagakure was currently launching one incursion after another against Konoha's defenses.

Besides, they hadn't noticed anyone following them along the way, so the attackers probably weren't from their own side.

But Ruohuo's instincts told him...

He'd already displayed far too much talent in Konoha. Some rat hiding in a gutter ought to be getting antsy by now.

As he pondered, the enemy's second wave of attacks arrived.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Shuriken after shuriken cut through the air. Some were kunai fitted with Explosive Tags, and they came hurtling in from every direction. The enemy had clearly surrounded him!

"So many of them?"

Ruohuo furrowed his brow. All he'd done was go after a rabbit. How had he ended up in this kind of mess?

"Fire Style: Fire Formation Wall!"

With two Hand Seals, Ruohuo cast the jutsu, spewing flames from his mouth and sweeping them in a circle around himself. A dense wall of fire quickly formed all around him!

This was originally a B-rank defensive Water Style jutsu. Using Fire Style to cast it naturally meant it was less powerful than Water Style, which had mass.

But Ruohuo had already found a solution: make the flames flow like water, using momentum in place of mass to reinforce his defense!

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

The Fire Formation Wall blocked the shuriken from every direction. Even the gaps caused by the Explosive Tags were quickly filled by the flowing flames.

Ruohuo was quite pleased with the result.

It proved that with the high-temperature immunity granted by Little Fire God, even the Fire Style, known for its destructive power, could be used defensively.

"Too bad my clothes aren't immune to high temperatures. Otherwise, I could use Fire Prison Jutsu and save some chakra."

Ruohuo raised an eyebrow.

At the same time, the enemy charged in!

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

A shout rang out from three directions at once, followed by a blast of wind that swept in from every angle!

They were trying to blow Ruohuo's wall of fire right into his face!

Ruohuo could ignore the heat, and he could temporarily disregard what happened to his clothes, but he couldn't ignore the impact of Wind Style. He also had to consider the risk of suffocation.

Ruohuo's solution was simple and brutal.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

A fire dragon quickly formed beneath his feet, launching him straight into the sky!

"Judging by the shuriken's trajectories, there are at least six enemies. Three of them can use Wind Style. Could they be from Sunagakure?"

As Ruohuo shot skyward, his brow furrowed. Poisoned senbon and Wind Style made it hard not to think of them.

But he soon dismissed the idea. Sunagakure had only just lost the Third Kazekage. Their entire defensive line was in disarray as they searched for their own leader, and Cloud Village was attacking them on top of that. How would they have time to make trouble for Konoha?

"Could they actually be shinobi from the Land of Rain...?"

Ruohuo muttered as he looked down at the forest, where the flames had already begun to spread. He found himself trusting his instincts more and more.

It wasn't as though Iwagakure Ninja were forbidden from using Wind Style.

But rather than believing this squad were "invaders," Ruohuo was more inclined to think of them as "backstabbers."

"Was it you, Elder Danzo?"

Ruohuo formed Hand Seals, his Sharingan fixing on the area where the enemy was most concentrated.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire!"

Fwoosh—!

A line of high-temperature flames broke through the canopy like a dragon's breath and rushed straight toward the enemy!

At this point, Ruohuo knew his strengths and weaknesses very well.

With Fire Style as his only option and Little Fire God boosting him, he was absolutely on the level of an elite jonin.

But beyond that, his physique, speed, and strength were clearly weaknesses.

With his Three Tomoe, he might be able to pull something off in a one-on-one fight.

But in a situation like this, where he was outnumbered, he'd better just stick to being a Fire Style wizard...

"Scatter!"

The enemies immediately broke apart, putting distance between themselves and dodging Ruohuo's first counterattack.

Ruohuo didn't stop the jutsu. His Sharingan locked onto the slowest one, and he redirected the Dragon Fire straight at the unlucky ninja!

The distance was considerable, but the Fire Style was clearly faster than the unlucky ninja!

"Someone, hold him off!"

Feeling the scorching heat closing in, the ninja panicked and hurriedly called for backup.

But all he got in response was a cold order.

"Now! Knock him out of the sky!"

As soon as the words fell, a ninja quickly formed Hand Seals and aimed them at Ruohuo.

"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

Boom!!!!

A massive surge of water burst from the ninja's mouth, carrying tremendous force as it hurtled toward Ruohuo in midair!

"So they really were after me!"

First Wind Style, then Water Style. All they were missing was Darkness Jutsu!

As the wave of water bore down on him, Ruohuo gritted his teeth but didn't stop the Dragon Fire. He'd take one of them out first!

"AAAH!!!!"

The scream rang piercingly through the night as the fire dragon beneath Ruohuo was hit by the water, too!

The Water Style was powerful. Ruohuo had lost his chance to dodge, and the fire dragon beneath his feet nearly got swept away completely!

But Ruohuo had prepared for this the moment he made up his mind.

He simply abandoned the fire dragon. As the Water Shockwave neared, his chakra was already ready.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"

With Little Fire God and his main skill boosting it, even this most basic C-rank Fire Style jutsu had five times its normal damage right from the start!

And Ruohuo had poured in plenty of chakra, too!

A giant fist of flame smashed into the Water Shockwave, crushing it with overwhelming force. Then it plunged down from the sky, swelling larger and larger until it slammed toward the Water Style ninja like a meteor!

"Nani!?"

The Water Style ninja stared in terror. Faced with a jutsu of this scale and such scorching heat, he couldn't even bring himself to try to dodge!

"Pretty stunned, huh? Didn't see that coming?"

Propelled upward by the recoil, Ruohuo continued to rise even after the fire dragon vanished. His excitement was tinged with a fierce grin.

"This isn't the Chunin exam, you bastards!"