The Great Battle (3)

Observing the battlefield, Li Yu saw his three students performing brilliantly. Seeing their seamless coordination, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Yugao, the Flying Thunder God the teacher taught you is truly amazing."

Yuhi Kurenai watched as Uzuki Yugao moved with uncanny agility. Combining the Flying Thunder God with her Konoha-style swordsmanship, she easily cut down the chunin and genin rushing toward her; no one could withstand even a single blow from her.

"Yuhi Kurenai, what kind of ninjutsu did the teacher teach you? I haven't seen you use it even once after all this time."

Hearing this question, Sarutobi Asuma curiously eyed his childhood friend, Yuhi Kurenai, hoping for an answer.

Just then, a Sunagakure jonin leading a squad noticed the trio wreaking havoc and killing a large number of sand ninja. After observing their coordinated efforts from afar, he decided to move in and eliminate the three Konoha ninja.

As a wind-style taijutsu specialist, he flew toward them at high speed, immediately swinging his ninja blade at Yuhi Kurenai—the weakest of the three in taijutsu—intending to finish her in one strike.

Sarutobi Asuma had been keeping a peripheral eye on his girlfriend, Yuhi Kurenai, throughout the battle. Seeing the situation, he abandoned his own opponent, shoved Yuhi Kurenai aside, and crossed his Wolf Fang Cleaving Awls to block the overhead strike, producing a metallic "clang."

Having blocked the blow in a rush, Sarutobi Asuma nearly lost his grip on his weapons. He dropped to one knee, his impact creating a shallow crater in the ground.

Yuhi Kurenai steadied herself after a few steps back, threw several shuriken to force the enemy to retreat, and hurried to Sarutobi Asuma's side to help him up. "Are you alright?"

Sarutobi Asuma, his hands numb, shook them out. "I'm fine. I can keep fighting."

Uzuki Yugao and Yuhi Kurenai stood beside Sarutobi Asuma, their eyes locked on the formidable Sunagakure taijutsu expert.

Seeing the critical situation, Yuhi Kurenai knew it was time to use the high-level genjutsu Li Yu had taught her. She explained quickly, "The genjutsu the teacher taught me is a high-level technique that can steal the light from an enemy's eyes."

"That's perfect!"

After a brief whisper, they settled on a tactic.

"You little Konoha brats, what are you whispering about?"

As he spoke, he charged toward the three of them. Sarutobi Asuma, the best taijutsu fighter in the group, met him head-on, clashing with the ninja blade infused with wind-attribute chakra.

Uzuki Yugao threw a special kunai. The moment she saw the enemy dodge, she activated the Flying Thunder God, appearing behind him. She swung her blade without hesitation, but with a "clang," her sword was snapped in two.

The enemy's blade continued its momentum, a smug smile on his face as he prepared to slice the cute, purple-haired Konoha girl in two.

Just then, Yuhi Kurenai finished her hand seals and activated her ninjutsu.

"Genjutsu: Bringer of Darkness!"

The world went black. The enemy's blade swung at empty air. For someone who relied heavily on their eyes in combat, the sudden loss of sight meant death had arrived.

He pulled back his blade and retreated, but after only a few steps, he collided with the broken half of a blade. As his vision returned, he looked down at the steel protruding from his chest and died in resentment.

The three of them let out a sigh of relief. Yuhi Kurenai, exhausted from casting an A-rank ninjutsu, collapsed to the ground.

With a flicker of light and shadow, Li Yu appeared beside his three students.

"Teacher, you're here."

"I am very satisfied with your performance. You've killed a Sunagakure jonin and grown quite a bit."

He patted Uzuki Yugao's head with his left hand and pulled out a special kunai with his right.

"Let me be the one to end this battle, then."

Li Yu had calculated that he had consumed nearly forty percent of his chakra. He intended to use the upcoming combat to cancel out that "nearly"—this trip to the Land of Wind had cost him forty percent of his reserves.

On the battlefield, Li Yu was fast as lightning, specifically hunting down the more arrogant-looking sand ninja. Generally, those who acted cocky were quite skilled; if they were weak and cocky, they would have been dead long ago.

Swish! Swish!

One by one, they fell in bizarre ways. Those who sensed the danger turned to flee, and one sand ninja, unable to bear the massive loss of his comrades, threw down his weapon.

"I surrender! Don't kill me!"

With someone taking the lead, many sand ninja knelt and surrendered one after another.

Seeing the battle settled, Li Yu realized he was still a tiny, tiny bit short of actually hitting his forty-percent consumption mark.

"What a pity. Why is my 'tiny bit' of chakra so vast?"

"Sigh, it's truly a bother."

This war resulted in many prisoners from Sunagakure in the Land of Wind; these ninja were bargaining chips for negotiations with the village. Konoha had also suffered many casualties, and the wounded were being rushed to medical care.

The Senju Clan's Medical Unit saved many Konoha lives. This war reminded Konoha Village of the name "Senju" and the glory that the surname represented.

Nara Shikaku, wearing a green flak jacket stained with blood, panted heavily as he sat on a large rock, watching Li Yu's figure in the distance from the corner of his eye.

Before departing for the Land of Wind, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had actually instructed him to let Li Yu handle the Fourth Kazekage and Chiyo. He remembered questioning that order at the time.

Given the initial situation, it should have been a long, drawn-out conflict. Now, it was clear that the Third Hokage had planned for this all along, which was why the war had ended so smoothly.

"Because of this war, the prestige of the Senju Clan has soared. Could they have other motives?"

With these questions in mind, Nara Shikaku ordered the Konoha ninja to clear the battlefield and prevent any further ambushes by Sunagakure.

The next day.

Sunagakure sent a letter expressing their surrender and requesting peace talks to resolve the war once and for all.

Inside the tent on the mountaintop, the jonin sat down to discuss the intelligence from the village and the aftermath of the battle.

Looking at these jonin—many were injured, with bandages on their heads or arms—it was a miserable sight. Everyone was wounded and covered in blood, except for Li Yu, who looked exactly the same as he had during the last meeting (well, his hair was a little messy).

A quick scan revealed several empty chairs; perhaps those occupants were receiving treatment for severe injuries, or perhaps they had already sacrificed their lives in this battle.

Nara Shikaku cleared his throat a few times before speaking.

"I have already relayed the news of the Land of Wind's surrender back to the village, into the hands of the Third Hokage."

"The Land of Wind will be sending representatives to Konoha Village to negotiate the terms of their surrender."

"This battle was won entirely thanks to Senju Nawaki, who blocked the Fourth Kazekage Rasa's Gold Sand ninjutsu and repelled the Fourth Kazekage, Chiyo, and fifteen Sunagakure jonin."

Li Yu asked in surprise, "Oh? The eight ninjas I killed—they were actually Sunagakure jonin?"

"That is correct; the intelligence has been confirmed."

Nara Shikaku replied with a smile, "I have already reported the details of this battle to the Third Hokage."

"The village has sent orders from the Third Hokage for Nawaki to lead a portion of the ninjas back to the village, and to escort the wounded back to Konoha Hospital for further treatment."

Great, I was just wondering when I'd get to go back. Li Yu felt a surge of joy. The fighting here had ended, and he had been trying to think of a reason to return to the village; this was exactly what he needed.

With his reputation currently at its peak, Li Yu had important matters to attend to back in the village. Calculating the time, Tsunade should have already returned; he figured that if she hadn't seen him, she was likely furious and looking for someone to vent her anger on.