Ambush!

"Once we cross this forest, we will be leaving the border of the Land of Fire, Ruohuo."

"Let's rest for a while first."

The leaves blocked out much of the moonlight, leaving the dense forest in pitch darkness. The evening breeze swept over the canopy from time to time, creating a rustling sound.

"Teacher, stay here and don't move. I'll be right back."

Ruohuo vanished with a whoosh.

The surroundings were pitch black, but Ruohuo was not lacking in vitamin A, and the visual enhancement of his Sharingan allowed him to maintain sufficient mobility even in the dead of night.

The closer they got to the border, the fewer signs of human activity there were. The forest was teeming with game, and Ruohuo had long been impatient.

Whoosh!

With a single shuriken, an unlucky hare was sent off to the Pure Land.

Ruohuo cleaned the hare with practiced efficiency, but just as he was hesitating between braising it or making beggar's chicken, a sudden change occurred!

Swoosh!

It was a senbon hidden in the darkness, slicing through the air without making much sound, aimed straight for Ruohuo's neck!

Does this rabbit have accomplices?

Ruohuo keenly sensed the danger. His Three Tomoe Sharingan quickly locked onto the senbon, and he raised the hare to block it.

Thwack—

The senbon sank three inches into flesh—the rabbit's flesh. Ruohuo noticed a hint of green where the senbon had pierced; it was clearly coated in a deadly poison.

This hare was obviously no longer edible.

"I will avenge you."

Ruohuo stood up, his Sharingan locking onto the direction from which the senbon had been fired.

This was clearly an encounter, and the enemy was hidden while he was exposed.

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

Since they were currently at the intersection of the Land of Fire, the Land of Rain, and the Land of Earth, the enemy was most likely from one of these three nations.

"So, which side's ninja could it be?"

Reason told Ruohuo that the probability of the enemy being Iwagakure was quite high.

The Land of Rain had little role to play in the Third Shinobi World War, whereas Iwagakure was currently constantly harassing the Konoha defensive lines.

Furthermore, they hadn't noticed any signs of being followed along the way, so the attackers were unlikely to be his own people.

But his intuition told Ruohuo otherwise...

He had displayed too much talent in Konoha one after another; some rats in the gutter must be unable to sit still any longer.

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

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Shuriken after shuriken tore through the air, interspersed with kunai attached to explosive tags, firing from all directions. The enemy had clearly surrounded him!

"So many of them?"

Ruohuo frowned. He was just catching a hare; how did he end up in this situation?

"Fire Style: Fire Formation Wall!"

Ruohuo performed the seals to activate the jutsu, spewing flames from his mouth in a circle to quickly create an airtight wall of fire around him!

This was originally a B-rank defensive Water Style, and when performed with Fire Style, its defensive power was inevitably weaker than the mass-based Water Style.

However, Ruohuo had already found a solution: making the flames flow like a current, using kinetic energy instead of mass to reinforce the defense!

Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff!

The Fire Formation Wall blocked the shuriken from all sides, and even the gaps caused by the explosions of the explosive tags were quickly filled by the flowing flames.

Ruohuo was quite satisfied with the effect.

Facts had proven that with the high-temperature immunity of the "Little Fire God," Fire Style, known for its destructive power, could also possess defensive capabilities.

"It's a shame my clothes aren't immune to high temperatures, otherwise I could just use Fire Prison Jutsu and save some chakra."

Ruohuo raised an eyebrow.

At the same time, the enemies charged in!

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A roar erupted from three directions simultaneously, followed by a gale sweeping in from all sides with no blind spots!

They intended to blow Ruohuo's wall of fire directly into his face!

Ruohuo could ignore the high temperature, and he could temporarily disregard his clothes, but he could not immunize himself against the impact of Wind Style, not to mention the risk of suffocation.

And Ruohuo's way of solving it was simple and brutal.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

A Fire Dragon rapidly coalesced beneath his feet, launching Ruohuo directly into the sky!

"Judging by the trajectory of the shuriken, there are at least six enemies. Three of them can use Wind Style—could they be from Sunagakure?"

As Ruohuo ascended, his brows furrowed. Between the poisoned senbon and the Wind Style, it was hard not to associate them with that village.

But Ruohuo quickly dismissed the thought. Sunagakure had just lost their Third Kazekage; their entire defensive line was in chaos as they searched for their missing leader. Coupled with the attacks from the Cloud Village, how could they possibly have the spare energy to trouble Konoha?

"It couldn't be ninjas from the Land of Rain, could it..."

Ruohuo muttered to himself, looking down at the forest where the flames were already spreading, his intuition growing stronger.

Although there was no rule stating Iwagakure ninjas couldn't use Wind Style.

But compared to the label of "invaders," Ruohuo was more inclined to view this squad as "backstabbers."

"Is it you, Elder Danzo?"

Ruohuo formed hand seals, his Sharingan locking onto the area where the enemies were most densely packed.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire!"

Whoosh—!

High-temperature flames broke through the canopy in a straight line, like a dragon's breath, surging directly toward the enemies!

At this stage, Ruohuo was very clear about his own advantages and shortcomings.

Restricted to using only Fire Style, with the augmentation of the "Little Fire God" title, he was absolutely at the level of an elite Jonin.

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

With his Three Tomoe Sharingan, he might be able to maneuver in a 1v1 situation.

But in a 1vMany scenario like this, it was better to honestly play the role of a Fire Style mage...

"Scatter!"

The enemies dispersed immediately, putting distance between each other and dodging Ruohuo's first counterattack.

Ruohuo did not stop the technique; his Sharingan locked onto the slowest unlucky soul, and he steered the Dragon Fire to blast toward him!

Although the distance was not short, the speed of the Fire Style was clearly faster than the movement speed of that unfortunate ninja!

"Help me block him!"

Feeling the scorching heat drawing ever closer, the ninja panicked and hurriedly called for his companions' support.

But what awaited him was a ruthless command.

"Take this chance to knock him down!"

As soon as the words fell, a ninja immediately formed hand seals, aiming at Ruohuo.

"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

BOOM!!!!

A massive torrent of water erupted from the ninja's mouth, carrying immense impact force as it surged toward Ruohuo in mid-air!

"So they really were aiming for me!"

First Wind Style, then Water Style—the only thing missing was Darkness Jutsu!

Facing the incoming water, Ruohuo gritted his teeth but did not stop the Dragon Fire; he would take one of them out first!

"Ah!!!!"

The scream was piercing in the night sky, and the Fire Dragon beneath Ruohuo's feet collided with the impact!

This Water Style had considerable power; Ruohuo had lost the initiative to dodge, and the Fire Dragon beneath him was nearly dispersed by the force!

But Ruohuo had prepared himself the moment he made his decision.

He simply abandoned the Fire Dragon, and just as the Water Shockwave was about to hit him, his chakra was already primed.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"

Under the augmentation of Little Fire God and his primary skill, this most basic C-rank Fire Style had five times its initial damage output!

Not to mention that Ruohuo had poured his full chakra into it!

A giant fist of flame smashed into the Water Shockwave, crushing the Water Style in a landslide victory before descending from the sky. The fireball expanded further, slamming into the Water Style ninja like a falling meteor!

"Nani!?"

The Water Style ninja's face was filled with terror. With a ninjutsu of this scale and such scorching heat, he didn't even have the thought to dodge!

"Stunned, aren't you? Dumbfounded, right?"

Using the recoil, Ruohuo—who had risen instead of falling after the Fire Dragon vanished—wore an expression of excitement mixed with ferocity.

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