Surprise Attack

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out one after another, shrouding the entire forest in smoke.

Shuriken and Kunai flew in every direction. Figures darted through the dappled shadows as blades clashed and sparks flew. Wind, lightning, water, fire, earth—every kind of ninjutsu collided in a relentless barrage.

The charred tree trunks were covered in crisscrossing slash marks.

In a corner far from the main battlefield.

Thump!

A figure suddenly came flying back, his back slamming hard into a tree trunk. The violent impact left him weak all over. He slid slowly down the trunk, and the Konoha Headband on his forehead nearly fell off.

At that moment, a Kunai flew toward him, its blade gleaming with a chilling light.

The Konoha Ninja's eyes widened, his pale pupils trembling violently. He desperately wanted to dodge, but the weakness flooding his body left him powerless. All he could do was watch death draw near.

The next second, a Kunai dropped from above and knocked away the blade that had nearly reached him.

"Who?!"

The Sand Ninja who had just attacked quickly retreated to put some distance between them. He crouched slightly, his expression dark.

He'd nearly succeeded, only for someone to interfere at the last moment.

Killing a ninja from the Hyuga Clan was a major achievement—and a rare opportunity!

His gaze shifted upward, swiftly locking onto his target.

A brat!

"Tch, is Konoha out of shinobi?" Though he taunted his opponent, the Sand Ninja didn't let his guard down. He quietly reached behind himself and pulled several Shuriken from his ninja pouch.

The Hyuga Clan ninja leaning against the tree looked up as well. The first thing he saw was a very young face. The boy was crouching on a branch, looking him up and down.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm all right. Thank you," the Hyuga Clan ninja replied instinctively.

"Tsk." The boy clicked his tongue, seeming... disappointed?

The Hyuga Clan ninja shook his head hard, trying to banish the absurd thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the Sand Ninja across from him making a move and hurriedly shouted a warning. "Look out!"

"I don't care who you are. You're dead!" the Sand Ninja roared with a vicious grin. He hurled the Shuriken in his hand. They traced graceful arcs through the air: three flew toward the boy in the tree, and one toward the Byakugan user below.

The Hyuga Clan ninja struggled to get up, but his whole body felt weak, and a sharp pain gripped his chest and abdomen.

His ribs were broken!

Cold sweat poured down his face.

"Don't worry." The boy's calm voice rang out. He leaped from the branch, dodging the three Shuriken, and drew his sword in one smooth motion.

Clang!

The only Shuriken thrown at him was knocked aside as well.

"Damn it!" the Sand Ninja cursed under his breath.

The boy across from him was too nimble. Throwing weapons wouldn't work. In that case... Looking at the boy's slight frame, he sneered and drew a Kunai, gripping it in reverse.

He'd attack at close range and take the boy down with Taijutsu!

He stepped forward, then froze in place. A bead of cold sweat slid down from his temple.

He slowly raised his head, stiffly. More than twenty Konoha Ninja had appeared in the surrounding trees, all staring coldly at him.

"Gulp."

The Sand Ninja swallowed, his face deathly pale. "Y-you've got to be kidding me!"

The Hyuga Clan ninja was just as stunned. Then he saw the boy in front of him turn his back on everything happening behind him and casually wave a hand. "Take care of him. Leave no mess."

More than twenty people swarmed forward, instantly burying the Sand Ninja. Only a scream escaped.

The Hyuga Clan ninja stared blankly at the scene.

Then the boy asked him, "Can you still move?"

"Ah, yes! I can!" the Hyuga Clan ninja hurriedly nodded.

"Then make your own way back to camp."

"O-okay." The Hyuga Clan ninja forced himself to his feet and obediently headed toward Konoha Base Camp. Before long, he disappeared into the forest.

Sen Chisato finally turned around. "Our position?"

"We haven't deviated. We're two kilometers from the main battlefield," someone replied in a muffled voice.

"Any word from the main battlefield?" Sen Chisato asked again.

"Nothing..." The ninja responsible for communications had barely started to speak when a figure emerged from the shadows.

"Latest intel: a large force of puppet ninja has appeared on the main battlefield. Sunagakure's forces are being led by their advisor, Chiyo!"

Sen Chisato furrowed his brow. The word "Move!" he'd been about to shout died on his lips.

Chiyo, known as the Flower of Shinobi, was the wife of the First Kazekage. She excelled at the Puppet Technique, Taijutsu, medicine, Sealing Jutsu, and poison. She was a woman who could do it all.

Not only that, the old woman had remarkable political acumen. Even though Sunagakure had already reached its Fourth Kazekage, she still wielded considerable influence in the village.

For one thing, a major reason the Fourth Kazekage felt constrained on all sides in the village was that old woman.

But according to the earlier intel, she should still have been in Sunagakure, handling logistics. Why had she suddenly appeared on the battlefield?

If the old woman was in command on the main battlefield, where had the Fourth Kazekage Rasa gone?

At that thought, Sen Chisato's eyes lit up.

Oh, wow!

Maybe Rasa was sneaking around with his men, doing exactly what he was doing!

Sen Chisato immediately asked, "If Sunagakure wanted to launch a Surprise Attack on Konoha, which route would they take?"

The ninja in the Surprise Attack unit looked at one another. Finally, someone asked, "Do you mean a Surprise Attack on the First Unit?"

"No. A Surprise Attack on Konoha Base Camp!" Sen Chisato declared with certainty.

With Rasa leading them, how could they be after a mere thousand members of the First Unit? Even with the Second Unit added, that would only make two thousand.

Why settle for that when they could strike at the enemy's home?

"That can't be right," someone objected. "Lord Orochimaru is at the camp."

"Don't rush to argue. Do as I say. If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility!" Sen Chisato insisted.

Their reasoning made sense. With Orochimaru stationed at the camp, there was no way Rasa could successfully attack it by surprise.

But what if Rasa wasn't the only one launching a Surprise Attack?

The members of the Surprise Attack unit stopped questioning him. They took out a map and analyzed the situation according to Sen Chisato's line of thought.

A few minutes later, they found the most likely route—Guchuan Gorge!

Sen Chisato was full of anticipation. At his command, they changed their mission and route, leading the Surprise Attack unit into the forest.

Guchuan Gorge lay in the southern part of the Land of Rivers. It was a vast canyon more than ten kilometers long and nearly a hundred meters wide. Even at its narrowest point, it was dozens of meters across.

Because of the terrain, Konoha had sent ninja to guard the area after the war began, but hadn't considered it a major concern.

After all, launching a large-scale attack from there would be extremely difficult.

But now, a battle had just ended there.

On the open ground along the banks of the gorge, on the side nearest the Land of Fire, Konoha Ninja lay scattered across the ground, with Shuriken and Kunai strewn everywhere.

The only person still standing was a man with short brown hair, dressed in black ninja attire.

The Fourth Kazekage—Rasa!