Kill, Kill

Clang, clang, clang!

"Ah!"

A barrage of ninja tools instantly shattered the Konoha shinobi's defensive formation, claiming the lives of two chunin in an instant.

"Boom!"

A massive explosion rang out, followed by thick plumes of dust rising from the forest in the distance.

Orochimaru and the Hidden Sand Village forces had already clashed!

As the barrage of ninja tools ceased, a large number of Sand shinobi swarmed out from all directions, their target fixed squarely on the five medical ninja protected in the center.

Sarutobi Hakuba quickly formed hand seals, took a sharp breath, and then spat it out: "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A colossal fireball erupted, hurtling toward the front. Seeing this, the Sand shinobi scattered to avoid the blast.

Sen Chisato, who was being protected in the center alongside the medical ninja, felt his mouth twitch. As expected of the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, it never actually manages to burn anyone to death, he thought to himself.

Hyuga Hihi's Byakugan pulsed rapidly, his expression growing increasingly grim.

The Hyuga clan shinobi relied on their Byakugan and the ancestral "Gentle Fist Technique" for close-quarters combat; they were not suited for long-range battles. If he remained in place, his strength would only be stifled, turning him into a sitting duck.

"This won't do, there are too many of them."

While parrying attacks, he spoke to Sarutobi Hakuba, "I'll find an opening to break the encirclement. You take the medical ninja and get out of here."

"Understood." Sarutobi Hakuba nodded.

Hyuga Hihi immediately charged out. While dodging the Sand shinobi's attacks, he moved his chakra-infused palms in a blur, striking the surrounding enemies.

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

Sand shinobi were sent flying one after another, their faces twisted in agony. The chakra within their bodies began to stagnate, making even the simplest movements difficult. Those struck multiple times had their bodies pierced by his chakra, collapsing to the ground lifeless.

"Go!"

At Sarutobi Hakuba's command, he led the others to seize the opportunity and break through the encirclement. They hadn't taken two steps before several attacks suddenly rained down from behind.

Kunai, shuriken, and various other tools, propelled by Wind Style, flew toward the Konoha shinobi.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hakuba used a Body Flicker technique to appear behind the group, quickly formed hand seals, and slammed his hands onto the ground: "Earth Style: Earth Wall."

A wall of earth rose from the ground, blocking the Sand shinobi's assault. Several chunin huddled behind the wall with him, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Hiss!"

The sound of paper igniting echoed from behind the earth wall.

"No, retreat!" Sarutobi Hakuba's expression shifted. He grabbed the two nearest chunin and immediately fell back.

Boom!

The earth wall shattered instantly, and the chunin who couldn't react in time collapsed with screams of agony.

Sarutobi Hakuba looked back and realized they had been surrounded again.

Not only that, but they had been split up. At this moment, the medical ninja no longer had any jonin protecting them.

Sarutobi Hakuba wanted to break through to protect the medical ninja, but the moment he moved, a massive sense of crisis enveloped him.

Clang!

With a sharp metallic ring, Sarutobi Hakuba retreated. He looked at the Sand shinobi who had ambushed him with a grim expression and spat out two words: "A jonin!"

The enemy before him was formidable; he had no confidence in ending this fight quickly.

Now, I can only hope that Lord Orochimaru finishes off his enemies and comes to our rescue immediately, he thought bitterly.

Seeming to read his mind, the Sand jonin grinned, "Don't struggle. Orochimaru is being held back by my companions; he won't be able to get here anytime soon."

"Now, be a good boy and die!" With a roar, he drew his blade and charged at Sarutobi Hakuba.

The two quickly engaged in a fierce duel.

The surrounding Sand shinobi easily finished off the two Konoha chunin who had just been saved, then closed in on the pair.

Elsewhere.

The position of the medical ninja was equally precarious.

Sen Chisato and the five medical ninja were still alive, but the other chunin had all been wiped out. Aside from them, only Maruboshi Kosuke remained in the fray.

However...

"This is bad," Sen Chisato muttered under his breath.

They, too, were facing a jonin. Under that jonin's lead, the Sand shinobi were relentlessly swarming Maruboshi Kosuke.

Although the old man was incredibly strong and the Sand shinobi were falling one by one, he was unable to break away; he didn't even have a moment to spare a glance elsewhere.

And so, the task of protecting the medical ninja had unexpectedly fallen to him.

"Wait!" Sen Chisato realized something, his expression turning subtle. "Lord Orochimaru left so decisively—could it be that he figured I could protect them?"

Or rather, Orochimaru trusted that he could protect himself.

As for the others, Orochimaru didn't care in the slightest.

Of course, his strength was indeed sufficient for self-preservation; if he exposed a bit more, it would be enough to protect the medical ninjas as well.

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

He had always positioned himself as nothing more than a "Konoha gravedigger." How did it feel like Orochimaru was actually using him as a "ninja"?

Why had Orochimaru's ambition suddenly spiked so high that he was willing to risk a precious test subject like him in such a chaotic manner?

Could it be that his own deception had been too successful?

Sen Chisato pondered for a long time before finally deciding, "Forget it, as long as I protect myself, that's enough. Besides, even if the others die, Orochimaru won't blame me."

Well, at worst, he could just harvest their corpses afterward; he was more than happy to avenge them, anyway. He never complained about having too many bodies.

At that moment, three Sand Ninjas lunged toward him.

"Sent to the battlefield at such a young age? Is Konoha running out of people?"

"At this age... he must be a Konoha genius. Perfect, I love killing geniuses the most."

A long blade slashed down toward Sen Chisato's head, while the guy not far away casually flicked a kunai, and another stood in the distance, watching him vigilantly.

Close, medium, and long range.

Attack, support, and defense.

This was a complete ninja squad, all composed of Chunin.

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

As the long blade was about to strike him, he took a step back to evade the edge while reaching out to catch the incoming kunai, tearing off the explosive tag attached to it.

He casually slapped the explosive tag onto the Sand Ninja holding the blade and delivered a flying kick, sending the man crashing into the one who had thrown the kunai, while he threw the kunai in his hand toward the one furthest away.

The entire sequence of movements was fluid and seamless.

The Sand Ninja who had thrown the kunai hurriedly caught his comrade, but the moment they landed, the explosive tag detonated, killing them both instantly.

The Sand Ninja furthest away dodged the kunai and glared at Sen Chisato, his face twisted in a savage expression.

"Damn brat!"

Cursing, he charged at Sen Chisato, and the other Sand Ninjas, seeing this, shifted their attention to Sen Chisato as well.

Forget about the medical ninjas; killing this brat seemed far more important!

"We absolutely cannot let this brat grow up! We must kill him!"

Sen Chisato finally withdrew his gaze. Looking at the Sand Ninja charging at the front, he slashed his short blade with force.

"Sshhh!"

The Sand Ninja's eyes widened as he desperately clutched his throat, collapsing powerlessly to the ground, while Sen Chisato had already proactively charged into the encirclement of the Sand Ninjas.

Facing the siege, Sen Chisato's expression remained calm and utterly composed.

"You guys started this, you know!"

As he said this, Sen Chisato weaved through the crowd, dodging attack after attack while his short blade continuously reaped the lives of the Sand Ninjas.

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

What did the lives of medical ninjas or Konoha ninjas have to do with him?

But these Sand Ninjas had something wrong with their heads, insisting on attacking him.

Since that was the case, he could only reluctantly act as an excellent Konoha ninja and send these Sand Ninjas to their graves.

When luck comes, you can't stop it; these Sand Ninjas were practically lining up to deliver system rewards to him.

Sen Chisato licked his lips, his eyes bloodthirsty.

Time to kill!

In just two short minutes, the Sand Ninjas who had surrounded him lay dead on the ground. The survivors were filled with terror, retreating uncontrollably, their hands trembling as they gripped their weapons.

The other Sand Ninjas' expressions shifted as well.

"Hey, hey, hey, you've got to be kidding me, right?"

"What kind of background does this brat have? How is he this strong?"

Seeing this scene, Maruboshi Kosuke let out a sigh of relief, his suspended heart finally settling.

"As expected of the child the Third Hokage specifically mentioned." He smiled, looking thoroughly gratified.

He had thought this mission would end in failure and that he would die here, but he hadn't expected Sen Chisato to still be hiding his true strength.

With this, they could hold out a little longer. Once Lord Orochimaru returned, the crisis would be resolved.

Just as he thought this, his expression changed drastically the next second, and he hurriedly shouted, "Chisato, get back!"

At this moment, Sen Chisato should have retreated immediately to protect himself while trying his best to guard the medical ninjas. Yet, Sen Chisato charged toward the Sand Ninjas without a word, looking as if he had lost his head.

And at that very moment, a figure abruptly appeared behind Sen Chisato, the long blade in their hand descending with lightning speed.