Making a Move! (Seeking Collections!! Seeking Follow-ups!!)

"Wind Style: Wind Blade!"

"Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu!"

More than a dozen wind blades whistled through the air like sharp arrows, striking toward the three guards at the entrance of Hot Spring Village.

"Ene—"

Blood splattered. Before the word "enemy" could even leave their lips, the three Hot Spring Village guards widened their eyes, clutched their throats, and collapsed in resentment.

"Move in quietly, don't let a single one escape!"

Seeing the guards taken down, Fuki gave a wicked smile and waved his hand. The troops behind him surged toward Hot Spring Village like a tidal wave.

Otani, a chunin of Hot Spring Village and one of the guards, had been drinking heavily at the grand banquet the village chief had thrown to welcome honored guests today.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, Otani was already dead drunk, but the village chief had ordered him to go notify the brothers at the main gate to come in and have a few drinks.

With no other choice, Otani stumbled toward the village entrance.

"Takumi, Keita, Ichiro, the village chief says..."

But when Otani saw the three corpses at the gate, a chill shot straight to his brain. He sobered up instantly and scrambled to flee back inside.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two kunai shot out, but unfortunately, they missed their mark, burying themselves deep into the dirt behind Otani.

"What a piece of trash, he actually got away!"

"Since that's the case, there's no need to hide anymore. Everyone, charge in and kill them all!"

Fuki spat on the ground viciously and led the charge toward Hot Spring Village.

Pakura, following behind him, looked at Fuki's back, lost in thought.

"Ah!!"

"Pfft!!"

"Sunagakure Village ninjas? Why are you..."

Although there were only a few hundred Sunagakure ninjas, their combat power was several times that of the Hot Spring Village ninjas. It was an almost one-sided slaughter, with the Hot Spring Village ninjas retreating steadily.

Years of peace had caused their combat abilities to decline significantly.

The villagers of Hot Spring Village, who had been immersed in the festive atmosphere of the banquet, were stunned when they saw the murderous Sunagakure troops.

It took a long while for them to react, and then they scrambled desperately toward the depths of the village.

As for the Hot Spring Village ninjas, they charged forward without fear of death to buy time for the villagers to escape, even knowing they were no match.

"Brother Seishin, it's the main force of Sunagakure Village attacking! You must leave quickly!"

Inside the reception hall, Village Chief Izumitani Yoju heard his subordinate's report and rushed to Uchiha Chen, grabbing him and running toward the door.

But as soon as they stepped out, they saw the fleeing villagers and the hundreds of Sunagakure pursuers behind them.

"Stop! All of you, stop right now!!"

Seeing his villagers being slaughtered, Izumitani Yoju, as the village chief, felt his eyes split with rage. He threw himself toward the Sunagakure pursuers regardless of the danger.

Watching Izumitani Yoju's back, Uchiha Chen sighed slightly and followed.

"Stop it, all of you! I am the village chief of Hot Spring Village, do not harm my villagers!"

Izumitani Yoju glared at the Sunagakure ninjas before him, his frail body trembling with fury.

Jaki, leading the vanguard, had already been driven into a bloodthirsty frenzy. As he was excitedly pursuing the villagers, he saw Izumitani Yoju blocking his path. He paused for a moment, then a cruel smile appeared on his face.

"Hmph, just an old geezer. Kill him!"

Whoosh!

A kunai shot straight toward Izumitani Yoju. With no means of defense, the old village chief could only widen his eyes, his heart filled with despair.

Clang!

Just then, a shuriken flew in from the side, knocking the kunai away and causing it to drop to the ground.

A phantom figure then instantly pulled Izumitani Yoju more than ten meters back.

"Brother Seishin, you... why didn't you leave!"

Seeing that his savior was Uchiha Chen, Izumitani Yoju became anxious. In his view, although Uchiha Chen was strong, he couldn't possibly fight a hundred men alone, not to mention that the Sunagakure force likely numbered more than a hundred!

"Heh, you treated me so well, old man. How could I just walk away?"

Uchiha Chen looked at the old village chief and smiled slightly.

"Alas, it is all my fault for dragging you into this!"

Izumitani Yoju sighed deeply. If he hadn't insisted on inviting him, Uchiha Chen wouldn't be here, and he certainly wouldn't be implicated today.

"You jest, old man. As for who is dragging whom into this mess today, that is truly hard to say."

Uchiha Chen shook his head and walked slowly toward the Sunagakure ninjas who were closing in step by step.

According to Uchiha Chen's deductions, the people appearing here were likely the vanguard unit of Sunagakure mentioned in the intelligence reports.

These vanguard forces were clearly aiming to catch Konoha off guard, and as for wiping out the Hot Spring Village, that was likely just a convenient afterthought.

"Hey, isn't it a bit excessive to lay hands on a defenseless old man?"

Uchiha Chen's gaze turned sharp, staring coldly at Jaki, the jonin within the Sunagakure ranks.

Among these dozen or so Sunagakure ninjas, the chakra energy emanating from this man was the most prominent; he was clearly the leader of this group.

"Wind Style: Net!"

Jaki ignored Uchiha Chen's questioning. Uchiha Chen's speed just moments ago had caught him off guard, and not wanting any accidents to occur, he chose to strike immediately.

As Jaki finished his hand seals, a massive, intersecting web of wind-natured chakra surged toward Uchiha Chen.

"Wind Style? It seems I know that one too."

"Wind Style: Wind Return Technique!"

Although Jaki had initiated the hand seals first, for a cheat-like existence like Uchiha Chen who did not require them, it was nothing to fear.

The moment he saw the net, Uchiha Chen flicked his hand, and an invisible ripple shot forth.

In the next instant, the net that had been rushing toward Uchiha Chen reversed its course, hurtling back toward the Sunagakure ninjas at an even greater speed.

A chorus of screams followed immediately as over a dozen Sunagakure ninjas fell, their bodies covered in wounds.

"I didn't expect to underestimate you. Everyone, attack together!"

Having dodged the net, Jaki glanced at the fallen Sunagakure ninjas, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

"Kill!"

A roar pierced the sky as nearly a hundred Sunagakure ninjas behind Jaki swarmed out, charging toward Uchiha Chen.

However, the Sunagakure ninjas at the very front suddenly froze in place without warning, then collapsed to the ground.

Such a bizarre scene terrified the remaining Sunagakure ninjas, who dared not advance any further.

Jaki was naturally shaken by this sight, but when he looked up at Uchiha Chen and saw the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes, he understood everything.

"To think I would encounter a Konoha ninja here, and one from the Uchiha Clan at that—what a surprise!"

"Twenty-something down; I suppose that's barely acceptable."

Uchiha Chen's tone was filled with regret.