"Wind Release—Wind Blade!!"
"Wind Release—Wind Cutter Technique!"
More than a dozen wind blades shrieked through the air like arrows, hurtling toward the three guards at the entrance to Hot Spring Village.
"En..."
Blood sprayed. Before he could finish shouting "Enemy," the three guards from Hot Spring Village widened their eyes, clutched their throats, and fell to the ground, unwilling to accept their fate.
"Move in quietly. Don't let a single one escape!"
Seeing the guards taken down, Fuki gave a sinister smile and waved his hand. The troops behind him surged toward Hot Spring Village like a rising tide.
Otani was a Chunin from Hot Spring Village and one of its guards. Today, the village chief had thrown a lavish banquet to welcome their honored guest.
After all the drinking and merrymaking, Otani was already dead drunk. But the chief had asked him to tell the brothers guarding the gate to come inside and have a few drinks.
With no choice, Otani staggered toward the village entrance.
"Takumi, Keita, Ichiro, the chief said..."
But when Otani saw the three bodies at the entrance, a chill shot straight through him. The alcohol instantly left his system, and he stumbled back into the village.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two kunai shot through the air, but unfortunately, neither hit its mark. They sank deep into the dirt behind Otani.
"What a useless lot. You even let him get away!"
"Fine, then there's no need to hide anymore. Everyone, charge in and kill them all!!"
Fuki spat viciously on the ground, then led the charge toward Hot Spring Village.
Pakura, following behind him, gazed at his back, deep in thought.
"Ah!!"
"Pfft!!"
"Sunagakure shinobi? Why are you..."
Though Sunagakure had only a few hundred men, their fighting strength was several times greater than that of the Hot Spring Village shinobi. The battle was practically one-sided, and the defenders were driven back again and again.
Years of peace had caused their combat abilities to deteriorate significantly.
The people of Hot Spring Village, still immersed in the banquet atmosphere, were stunned when they saw the murderous Sunagakure forces.
It took them a while to react. Then they fled for their lives toward the depths of the village.
The shinobi of Hot Spring Village fought to buy the villagers time to escape. Though they knew they were outmatched, they still charged forward without fear of death.
"Brother Seishin, a large force from Sunagakure is attacking! You need to get out of here!"
Inside the reception hall, the village chief, Izumitani Yoju, heard the report from one of his subordinates and hurried over to Uchiha Chen. He grabbed Chen and tried to pull him outside.
But as soon as they left the room, they saw the fleeing villagers and the more than one hundred Sunagakure shinobi pursuing them.
"Stop! All of you, stop right now!!"
Seeing his villagers being slaughtered, Izumitani Yoju was consumed with rage. Ignoring all danger, he charged toward the pursuing Sunagakure shinobi.
Watching Izumitani Yoju's back, Uchiha Chen sighed softly and followed him.
"All of you, stop! I'm the chief of Hot Spring Village. Don't hurt my people!"
Izumitani Yoju glared at the Sunagakure shinobi before him, his slight frame trembling with anger.
Jaki had led the vanguard in a frenzy of slaughter. As he excitedly pursued the fleeing villagers, he spotted Izumitani Yoju blocking the way. He paused for a moment, then a cruel smile spread across his face.
"Hmph. Just some old man. Kill him!"
Whoosh!
A kunai shot straight toward Izumitani Yoju. The old chief had no means of defending himself. He could only stare wide-eyed, his heart filled with despair.
Clang!
Just then, a shuriken flew in from the side and knocked the kunai away. It clattered to the ground nearby.
A moment later, a blur appeared and pulled Izumitani Yoju more than ten meters back.
"Brother Seishin, you... Why didn't you leave?"
When Izumitani Yoju realized that the person who had saved him was Uchiha Chen, he panicked. In his eyes, Chen was powerful, but he couldn't possibly take on a hundred men by himself. Besides, Sunagakure might have sent more than a hundred shinobi!
"Heh, after such generous hospitality, how could I just leave?"
Uchiha Chen looked at the old chief and smiled.
"Ah, I've dragged you into this!"
Izumitani Yoju sighed deeply. If he hadn't insisted on inviting him, Uchiha Chen wouldn't have been here—and wouldn't have been caught up in this today.
"You're joking, Chief. It's hard to say which of us has dragged the other into this."
Uchiha Chen shook his head and slowly walked toward the approaching Sunagakure shinobi.
Based on Uchiha Chen's assessment, these were probably the Sunagakure vanguard forces mentioned in the intel.
They were clearly trying to catch Konoha off guard. As for wiping out Hot Spring Village, that was probably just something they planned to do along the way...
"Hey, isn't it a bit much to attack an old man who can't even fight back?"
Uchiha Chen's gaze sharpened as he stared coldly at Jaki, the jonin among the Sunagakure forces.
Of the dozen or so Sunagakure shinobi here, this man's chakra stood out the most. He was probably the leader of the group.
"Wind Style: Net!"
Jaki ignored Uchiha Chen's challenge. Chen's speed had surprised him, and he didn't want to risk anything going wrong, so he chose to attack at once.
As Jaki finished forming his hand seals, a huge net of intersecting Wind Release chakra rushed toward Uchiha Chen.
"Wind Release? Looks like I can use this stuff too."
"Wind Style: Wind Return Technique!"
Jaki had formed his hand seals first, but that was no threat to a cheat like Uchiha Chen, who didn't need to form any.
The instant he saw the net, Uchiha Chen waved his hand. A formless wave of force shot forward.
In the next moment, the net that had been rushing toward Uchiha Chen abruptly reversed direction and charged toward the Sunagakure shinobi at even greater speed.
Screams rang out as more than a dozen Sunagakure shinobi fell, their bodies covered in wounds.
"I underestimated you. Everyone, attack together!"
Jaki had dodged the net. Seeing the Sunagakure shinobi lying on the ground, he felt a growing sense of dread.
"Kill!"
A roar rose to the heavens as nearly a hundred Sunagakure shinobi surged out from behind Jaki and charged at Uchiha Chen.
But the shinobi at the very front suddenly froze in place without warning, then collapsed to the ground.
The bizarre sight terrified the Sunagakure shinobi behind them. They were so frightened that they didn't dare advance.
Jaki was naturally shaken as well. But when he looked up at Uchiha Chen and saw the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes, he understood.
"I never expected to run into a Konoha shinobi here—and one from the Uchiha Clan, at that. What a surprise!"
"More than twenty down. That's passable, I suppose."
Uchiha Chen sounded full of regret.