Let the Killing Begin

Clang, clang, clang!

"Ah!"

A wave of weapons instantly shattered Konoha's defensive formation, killing two Chunin on the spot.

"Boom!"

A tremendous explosion rang out, and thick clouds of dust billowed up from the distant forest.

Orochimaru and the Sand Ninja had engaged!

Once the barrage of weapons ended, a large number of Sand Ninja attacked from all sides, aiming straight for the five medical ninja guarded at the center.

Sarutobi Hakuba quickly formed Hand Seals, took a deep breath, then immediately exhaled. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A huge fireball burst forth and hurtled ahead. The Sand Ninja in its path scattered at once.

Seeing this, Sen Chisato, who was being guarded in the center alongside the medical ninja, twitched at the corner of his mouth and thought, As expected of the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique. It can't kill anyone at all.

Hyuga Hihi's Byakugan kept darting around, and his expression grew worse by the moment.

Hyuga Clan ninja relied on the Byakugan and their family's Gentle Fist Technique. They excelled at close combat but were poor at fighting from a distance. If he stayed where he was, his strength would only be undermined, leaving him a sitting duck.

"This won't work. There are too many of them."

As he fought, he said to Sarutobi Hakuba, "I'll find a chance to break through the encirclement. Take the medical ninja and get out."

"No problem." Sarutobi Hakuba nodded.

Hyuga Hihi immediately charged out. As he dodged the Sand Ninja's attacks, he swung his chakra-infused palms again and again, striking the enemies around him.

"Eight Trigrams: Two Palms, Four Palms, Sixteen Palms, Thirty-Two Palms!"

One Sand Ninja after another was sent flying, their faces contorted in pain. The chakra inside their bodies began to stagnate, making even movement difficult. Those struck repeatedly had their bodies pierced by chakra and collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

"Go!"

At Sarutobi Hakuba's command, the others took the opportunity to charge out of the encirclement. They had barely gone two steps when several attacks suddenly came from behind.

Kunai, shuriken, and all kinds of weapons flew toward the Konoha Ninja, carried along by Wind Release.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hakuba used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind the group. He swiftly formed Hand Seals, then slapped the ground. "Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

A wall of earth rose from the ground, blocking the Sand Ninja's attacks. Sarutobi Hakuba and several Chunin crouched behind it, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Fss!"

The sound of paper catching fire came from behind the wall.

"Not good! Fall back!" Sarutobi Hakuba's expression changed. He grabbed the two nearest Chunin and immediately retreated.

Boom!

The earth wall exploded in an instant. Several Chunin who couldn't react in time screamed and fell to the ground.

Sarutobi Hakuba turned to look. They were surrounded again.

Worse still, the group had been split apart. The medical ninja were now without a Jonin to protect them.

Sarutobi Hakuba tried to break through and reach the medical ninja, but the moment he moved, an overwhelming sense of danger engulfed him.

Clang!

With a sharp ring, Sarutobi Hakuba retreated. He stared grimly at the Sand Ninja who had just ambushed him and slowly uttered two words. "Jonin!"

The enemy before him was powerful. He had no confidence he could defeat him quickly.

Now all I can do is hope Lord Orochimaru defeats his opponent soon and comes to our aid, he thought bitterly.

The Jonin from Sunagakure seemed to see what he was thinking and grinned. "Stop struggling. My comrade is keeping Orochimaru occupied. He won't be able to get here anytime soon."

"Now, be a good boy and die!" he roared, drawing his sword and charging at Sarutobi Hakuba.

The two quickly clashed.

The Sand Ninja around them easily killed two of the Konoha Chunin who had just been rescued, then closed in on the pair.

Elsewhere.

The medical ninja were in just as much danger.

Sen Chisato and the five medical ninja were still alive, but all the other Chunin had been killed. Now, besides them, only Maruboshi Kosuke was still fighting.

But...

"This is bad," Sen Chisato murmured.

They too had run into a Jonin. Under his command, the Sand Ninja kept attacking Maruboshi Kosuke.

The old man was powerful, and Sand Ninja fell one after another, but he couldn't break away either. He didn't even have time to spare a glance.

So the task of protecting the medical ninja had somehow fallen to him.

"Wait!" Sen Chisato suddenly thought of something, and his expression turned complicated. "Could Lord Orochimaru have left so decisively because he thought I could protect them?"

Or maybe Orochimaru believed he could protect himself.

As for everyone else, Orochimaru didn't care at all.

Of course, Sen Chisato was strong enough to protect himself. If he revealed a little more of his ability, he could protect the medical ninja too.

But he had come to the battlefield only to collect "seeds," earn system rewards, and grow stronger.

He had always thought of himself as nothing more than "Konoha's corpse collector." Why did it feel like Orochimaru was actually treating him as a "ninja"?

Why was Orochimaru suddenly so driven? He was even willing to make such reckless use of a valuable test subject like him.

Had he fooled Orochimaru too successfully?

After thinking it over, Sen Chisato finally decided, Forget it. I just need to protect myself. Even if everyone else dies, Orochimaru won't blame me.

Besides, he could always collect their corpses afterward. He'd gladly avenge them too. He didn't mind having more corpses to work with.

Just then, three Sand Ninja lunged at him.

"They're sending someone this young to the battlefield? Is Konoha that short on manpower?"

"At this age... He must be one of Konoha's geniuses. Perfect. I love killing geniuses most of all."

A long sword slashed down at Sen Chisato's head. A man some distance away casually tossed a kunai, while another watched him warily from farther off.

Close, midrange, far.

Attack, support, and watch.

It was a complete ninja squad, made up entirely of Chunin.

Sen Chisato kept his attention on Maruboshi Kosuke's fight, not even sparing them a glance.

Just as the sword was about to strike him, he stepped back, dodging the blade as he caught the incoming kunai and tore off the Explosive Tag attached to it.

He casually slapped the Explosive Tag onto the Sand Ninja with the sword, then kicked him toward the one who had thrown the kunai. Meanwhile, he threw the kunai in his hand at the farthest one.

The movements flowed seamlessly.

The Sand Ninja who had thrown the kunai hurriedly caught his comrade, but as soon as they hit the ground, the Explosive Tag detonated, killing them both instantly.

The Sand Ninja farthest away hurriedly dodged the kunai, then glared at Sen Chisato with a savage expression.

"Damn brat!"

He cursed as he charged at Sen Chisato. The other Sand Ninja also shifted their attention to him.

The medical ninja could wait. Killing this brat seemed more important!

"We can't let this brat grow up. We have to kill him!"

Sen Chisato finally looked away from the fight. As the Sand Ninja charged at the front, he drew his short blade across the man's throat.

"Shhk!"

The Sand Ninja's eyes widened. He desperately clutched his neck and collapsed helplessly to the ground, while Sen Chisato had already charged into the Sand Ninja's encirclement.

Even as they surrounded him, Sen Chisato remained calm and composed.

"You're the ones who attacked first!"

As he spoke, Sen Chisato darted through the crowd, dodging one attack after another as the short blade in his hand reaped the Sand Ninja's lives.

Sen Chisato had changed his mind, but he didn't think it was his fault.

What did he care if the medical ninja or the Konoha Ninja lived or died?

But these Sand Ninja had something wrong with their heads and insisted on attacking him.

Since that was the case, he had no choice but to play the part of an exemplary Konoha Ninja and send these Sand Ninja to their graves.

When luck came, you couldn't stop it. The Sand Ninja were practically delivering system rewards right to his doorstep.

Sen Chisato licked his lips, his eyes bloodshot.

Let the killing begin!

In just two minutes, the Sand Ninja who had surrounded him had fallen one after another. The survivors backed away in terror, their hands trembling around their weapons.

The other Sand Ninja were shaken too.

"Hey, hey, you've got to be kidding!"

"Who is this kid? How can he be so strong?"

Maruboshi Kosuke saw this and let out a breath of relief, his heart finally settling.

No wonder the Third specifically mentioned this kid. He smiled warmly, looking relieved.

He had thought this mission was doomed to fail and that he would die here too. He hadn't expected Sen Chisato to have been hiding his strength.

That meant they could hold out a little longer. Once Lord Orochimaru returned, the danger would pass.

But the moment he thought this, his expression changed. He hurriedly shouted, "Senri, get back!"

At a time like this, Sen Chisato should have retreated at once, protecting himself while doing what he could to protect the medical ninja. But instead, he charged at the Sand Ninja without a word, as if he'd lost his head.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared behind Sen Chisato, and the long blade in his hand came crashing down.