Ambush

In a forest not far from the other side of the camp, a Jonin watched coldly as the camp, now ablaze with fire, descended into total chaos.

"Begin!" The Jonin waved his hand, the raging fire illuminating the Konoha forehead protector on his brow. A signal flare exploded in the sky.

The Hidden Sand ninjas, who had charged into the camp, froze and looked up at the bursting flare. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Before the sound of the flare had even faded, the whistling of projectiles filled the air from all directions. Countless kunai flew out from the thick smoke and flames, striking the ninjas in the front and turning many of them into human pincushions.

Immediately following, over a hundred Konoha ninjas guarding the convoy surged out from beneath the ground, from inside tents, and from the surrounding woods, surrounding the enemies who had breached the camp. The sudden ambush caught the stunned enemies off guard, and dozens of ninjas fell in the blink of an eye.

"No, it's a trap!" the Hidden Sand ninjas cried out in alarm. Before the words had even left their lips, they were struck down by Konoha ninjas charging forward, their necks slashed in a single motion.

In the panic, the Hidden Sand ninjas had no idea how many Konoha forces were attacking, and as cries of despair filled the air, they began to consider retreating.

The Konoha ninjas, calm and composed, formed small squads to coordinate their strikes, slowly compressing the encirclement and tightening the net.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Two Konoha ninjas combined their jutsu; the wind fueled the flames, engulfing the Sand ninjas before them until only two human torches remained, struggling and screaming in the sea of fire.

"Lightning Style: Earth Flash!" After weaving hand signs, one ninja slammed his palm onto the ground. Lightning-natured chakra surged out along his arm, arcs of electricity dancing across the earth to form a web that paralyzed the surrounding Sand ninjas. His two companions immediately rushed forward, using kunai to execute the immobilized enemies one by one.

The Hidden Sand ninjas fought while retreating, suffering heavy casualties, but they had recovered from their initial panic and began to fight desperately to break out—like cornered beasts. The invading Sand ninjas had originally outnumbered the Konoha guards three to one; despite losing over eighty men, it remained difficult for the hundred Konoha ninjas to completely annihilate them.

Inside the camp, several Konoha ninjas surrounded two enemies. These two Sand Chunin stood back-to-back, covering each other, and for a moment, the Konoha ninjas could not crack this hard nut.

"Jiro, can you still hold on?" the Sand ninja asked his companion, holding his kunai steady.

"Big brother, I won't fall!" his companion Jiro replied, his eyes resolute.

"Then, we brothers shall die here today! Jiro! You..." The speaking Sand ninja's face was filled with disbelief. He never imagined that his brother, standing back-to-back with him, would plunge a kunai into his own ribs. A faint smile played on his companion's face, as if mocking his ignorance.

"Traitor! Die!" Enraged, he decided that if he were to die, he would take someone with him. He poured all his remaining strength into driving his kunai into the other's chest, his face twisted with the grim satisfaction of venting his fury.

The moment the kunai pierced him, his companion's expression shifted to one of surprise and confusion. "Big brother? You... why?" With that, he breathed his last.

The Hidden Sand ninja felt a flicker of bewilderment, but he no longer had the strength to ponder it. He closed his eyes in resignation, and the two fell to the ground, one after the other.

Meanwhile, not far away, Inoichi, who had been slumped beside Shikaku and Choza, suddenly woke up and smiled at his companions. "I used the Mind Transfer Technique to take out two of them."

"Inoichi, you must be careful. After all, if the body you occupy is injured, your own body will suffer as well," Shikaku reminded him with a nod.

"It's fine. The moment the opponent attacked me, I had already withdrawn," Inoichi replied, appearing quite confident.

At this moment, Choza stepped forward. "Then, it is time for our Ino-Shika-Cho team to take the stage!"

The three nodded and charged toward the enemy. A dozen enemies were blocking the Konoha ninjas' advance, covering their own people's retreat. Shikaku arrived nearby and, utilizing the raging firelight, shouted, "Shadow Possession Technique!" His shadow stretched out, splitting into a dozen strands that raced across the ground toward the enemies. Four Sand ninjas leaped away to dodge, but the others were caught, unable to evade in time.

"Ninja Art: Mind Destruction Technique!" Before the ones who had escaped could rejoice, they were instantly struck by Inoichi's technique.

"Damn it, I can't control my body!" The enemies' bodies refused to obey them; they turned around to face each other, driving their kunai into their own hearts. "No, don't! I don't want to die like this!!" They fell to the ground, having pierced each other.

"Partial Multi-Size Technique!" Choza's arm elongated, his palm growing massive. With a horizontal sweep, he batted the enemies controlled by Shikaku away like a baseball, sending them flying dozens of meters until they were dead beyond a doubt. Bang! Bang! Choza then swatted a few more distant enemies like flies. In just two minutes, the dozen enemies were wiped out.

On the other side, at the camp gate, the Hidden Sand ninjas risked everything to carve a bloody path, escaping through the very gate they had used to enter.

"Retreat, quickly!" the leader waved his hand, and the group fled, sprinting for their lives. They ran for hundreds of meters in one breath, and the Konoha ninjas did not pursue.

"Huff... did we make it out?" Dozens of Sand ninjas breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hm? What is this!" A sharp-eyed ninja noticed that the tree trunks, rocks, road surface, and even the soil around the path were densely covered with hundreds of Explosive Tags!

"Damn it! It's an ambush! Quick—" Before the word "retreat" could be uttered, the tags were detonated. BOOM BOOM BOOM... A blinding light swallowed the dozens of men, and a massive explosion echoed through the forest. A giant fireball rose from the road, the shockwave snapping trees in half. Dust and smoke billowed, and flames soared into the sky. It took over ten seconds for the smoke to slowly dissipate, revealing a crater fifteen or sixteen meters in diameter.

The few Sand ninjas who had been running slowly were the only ones to escape the disaster. They stumbled to their feet, shaking the dirt from their bodies, still in shock. "That was terrifying..."

"There is something even more terrifying!" A voice appeared in their midst. The few were startled, and as they focused their eyes, they saw a small, thin figure suddenly appear in the center of the four of them.

"Gentle Fist Art: Thirty-Six Death Point Rotation Strike!"

Riyue's Byakugan was already active. With a push of his right foot against the ground, his body began to spin at high speed in place. He raised both hands, his fingers striking out like swords in a frenzy. His fingers left dazzling afterimages in every direction.

"Feishu Point! Jueyin Point! Xinshu Point! Shenshu Point! Mingmen Point! Zhishi Point! Qihaishu Point! Weilü Point! Baihui Point! Shenting Point! Taiyang Point! Ermen Point! Jingming Point! Renzhong Point! Yamen Point! Fengchi Point! Renying Point! Jianjing Point! Taiyuan Point! Zusanli Point! Sanyinjiao Point! Yongquan Point! Danzhong Point! Jiuwei Point! Juque Point! Shenque Point! Qihai Point! Guanyuan Point! Zhongji Point! Qugu Point! Yingchuang Point! Ruzhong Point! Rugen Point! Qimen Point! Zhangmen Point! Shangqu Point!!!"

Riyue's fingers moved faster and faster, blue chakra dancing at his fingertips. After spinning several times, he suddenly planted his feet, and only after he retracted his hands did the afterimages vanish.

The four men stood there like wooden statues. Riyue did not pause for a moment, using a Body Flicker Technique to appear before another enemy not far away.

That enemy was clearly startled by Riyue's speed and roared, "Damn it, don't underestimate Hidden Sand ninjas!" He raised his hand to attack. Riyue had already seen the movement of his arm muscles; he blocked the incoming kunai with his left hand and struck the man's chest with his right.

"Gentle Fist Art: Five-Finger Heart-Piercing Break!" Riyue executed this move with even greater proficiency than when he had fought Dan Kato. His palm appeared to land lightly on the man's chest, but in reality, his fingers had formed a claw, rapidly striking the heart to use finger strength and chakra needles to destroy the autonomic nerves and the sinoatrial node. The final strike to the heart felt as simple as a light tap from an open palm.

The enemy froze, then his face twisted; clutching his chest, he collapsed to the ground as his muscles spasmed.

At the same time, the four men Riyue had struck earlier suddenly vomited blood, their eyes glazing over as they fell dead to the ground.

The Gentle Fist Art: Thirty-Six Death Point Rotation Strike was a new technique Riyue had devised to deal with multiple enemies. It incorporated the rotational footwork of the Eight Trigrams Palms: Rotation and the multi-directional attacks of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, targeting the death points of enemies in all directions.

Depending on the enemy's stance, he would strike the back points if they were turned away, the axillary and limb points if they were sideways, and the chest and facial points if they were facing him. An ordinary person would die instantly from a full-force strike to a death point, while a ninja protected by chakra would require three or four strikes to be fatal. Riyue estimated that once he mastered this technique, he could kill nine to twelve enemies surrounding him in one go.

Meanwhile, "Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!" Shibi controlled a dense, black mass of insects that spread out over a wide area before suddenly converging to envelop several enemies. The enemies screamed repeatedly, being devoured by the Kikai Insects until nothing remained. Mizuki also used the Gentle Fist to finish off the last two enemies before coming to join Riyue.

Riyue looked at the crater on the ground, pursed his lips, and sighed, "Shibi, your insect army is truly impressive; you even managed to bury so many Explosive Tags."

Shibi pushed up his sunglasses, his expression unchanging. "This is my secret legion."

Mizuki looked at Riyue and smiled. "Riyue, it is fortunate that you discovered the enemy in time and took action, otherwise the consequences would have been unthinkable." Riyue nodded in agreement.

Time returned to a few hours earlier. After Mizuki had rested, Riyue had activated his Byakugan to scan the area. He had opened his eyes eight times that day, and each time he noticed a problem: he could not see any small animals nearby. The animals had naturally been scared away by something. Upon closer inspection, he saw faint chakra flowing beneath the camp, indicating that people were hiding underground.

Thus, Riyue had discovered the enemy ambush before the camp was even built and had notified everyone. To avoid alerting the enemy, he had said at the time, "It 'appears' there are no abnormalities." In reality, he was telling everyone to proceed according to plan.

Shikaku anticipated that the enemy would attack between three and four o'clock, so everyone closed their eyes to rest, recovering chakra and preparing for the battle. Choza gorged himself on food to store up physical strength for the fight. Inoichi left the tent to pace around, delivering the information he had gathered. Meanwhile, the task of monitoring the enemy was left to Shibi's insects.

Most of the main force had quietly laid an ambush while the camp was being built. Many were hidden in the surrounding trees, and all supplies had been moved to inconspicuous corners; the tents in the center contained only empty crates. Most of the sentries were simulated Substitution Puppets, while those patrolling or lying in the tents were Shadow Clones. The cries and screams were all staged by the Konoha ninja.

The enemy, believing their sneak attack had succeeded, charged into the camp only to be caught off guard by the ambushing Konoha ninja and suffer heavy losses. However, the enemy's numbers were more than double those of Konoha. Consequently, Riyue planned to let some of them escape, intending to finish them off later and facilitate the closing of the net.

The enemy then "broke through" along the path they had come from, and the encirclement tightened once more. Once the enemy had charged into the camp, Shibi's insects carried Explosive Tags one by one to set an ambush along the road. After the dozens who escaped were wiped out by the Explosive Tags, Shibi, Riyue, and Mizuki finished off the remaining stragglers.

At this point, only half of the enemy remained within the encirclement, and the hundred Konoha ninja were certain to annihilate them.

At this moment, watching the sky ahead blaze with fire, a deafening roar erupted. After the massive explosion, the dark figure could no longer remain calm.

"Go and see what happened!"

"Yes!" One of the seven dark figures behind him departed using the Body Flicker Technique.

Before long, the man returned, knelt before the dark figure, and reported, "My Lord! We have fallen into a Konoha ambush! The enemy has surrounded our troops!"

"Damn it! Were we discovered by Konoha? It seems our jonin must join the battle as well. Fight for the Kazekage! If this mission fails, we won't escape death upon our return!"

"Yes! My Lord!" the seven shouted in unison.

They were the Kazekage's direct-line jonin; if the mission failed, the Kazekage would inevitably be attacked by the Council of Elders, so there would be no point in returning if they failed this time.

Suddenly, the ninja who had reported the news leaped up and lunged straight at the dark figure. The dark figure was caught completely off guard as a kunai sliced directly across his throat. Blood gushed out instantly, and the dark figure clutched his neck as he collapsed to the ground.

"My Lord!" the other six cried out in alarm, their composure shattered. Several of them attacked the traitorous ninja, who stood still without dodging or parrying, allowing himself to be run through the chest. At the same time, the ninja's kunai slashed the artery of another man, and the two perished together.

"Damn it! This is..." the remaining five jonin exclaimed in horror.

From the body of the fallen ninja, a completely transparent figure emerged. The figure radiated wisps of white light and was enveloped in a soft, pale blue halo. It had no feet; instead, its lower body consisted of a long, flowing ribbon of light.

Spirit Transformation Technique, Dan Kato!