Ninja Ambush

After one or two days of preparation—treating all the minor injuries, stabilizing the critical ones, and earning another wave of goodwill for the Senju Clan's Medical Unit—Li Yu set off on the road back to the village with a group of wounded.

"Teacher, are we heading back so soon? Won't the Sunagakure ninja from the Land of Wind attack again?"

"Exactly, exactly! As long as you are there to hold the line, those Sunagakure ninja wouldn't dare show their faces."

Watching Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao chime in one after the other, Li Yu couldn't help but smile.

"That's right. The Sunagakure ninja no longer dare to fight; they have surrendered."

The three students looked at Li Yu with disbelief, asking excitedly, "Really? Is the war over?"

"That's wonderful!"

Although the news of the Land of Wind's surrender was limited to the Jonin who attended the meeting, the average ninja remained unaware of the specific details.

In Li Yu's view, the surrender was a foregone conclusion. From the original plot, he knew that the Land of Wind had surrendered after losing the Battle of Mount Kikyo to the Land of Fire.

Moreover, this time, because of Li Yu's presence, Konoha's casualties were significantly reduced. Unlike the original story where victory came at a heavy price, the situation now left the Land of Wind with no choice but to surrender—the circumstances were simply too overwhelming.

A random Genin whose name Li Yu couldn't recall overheard the conversation and interjected, "What if the Sunagakure ninja are faking their surrender?"

Sarutobi Asuma glanced at the Konoha ninja and retorted with a single sentence, "If they fake a surrender, we'll just beat them again."

Hearing this domineering reply, Li Yu thought to himself, You even stole my line. But then again, Asuma is truly the son of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Maintaining his facade as a master, Li Yu cast a casual glance at the interjecting ninja.

The ninja immediately shrank his neck, shuddered, and lowered his head. His two companions nearby, seemingly affected by Li Yu's gaze, also bowed their heads.

Once Li Yu looked away, the two companions immediately flicked the ninja on the forehead. "Ouch!"

One of the ninja whispered, "You idiot, whatever Lord Senju Nawaki says is the truth."

"Exactly. You can't even read the battlefield situation. Anyone with eyes can see the signs; the Sunagakure ninja have suffered heavy losses, and even the Fourth Kazekage is no match for Lord Senju Nawaki. What else can they do but surrender?"

Li Yu, possessing keen hearing, caught their "hindsight is 20/20" behavior and smiled slightly. They were quite the actors with a real talent for performance.

He mentally labeled them Ninja A, Cannon Fodder B, and Sissy C. The one who had asked the foolish question was Ninja A; throughout the journey, he had been a total sycophant, fawning over Li Yu and his students, serving tea and water, which provided quite a bit of amusement during the tedious trek.

After several days of travel, the group slowly entered the borders of the Land of Fire. At their current pace, it would take another four or five days to reach Konoha Village—a stark difference from the speed at which they had arrived.

Suddenly, Li Yu's senses picked up seven ninja moving rapidly underground in his direction.

His brows furrowed as he realized these seven were targeting him specifically.

"Watch out! Ninja underground—enemy attack!"

Two blades erupted from the ground, thrusting upward from different angles toward Li Yu, while two others burst from the earth behind him, their ninja swords whistling as they slashed at his back.

The remaining three ninja exploded from the ground: one aimed a strike at Uzuki Yugao's neck, one thrust upward at Yuhi Kurenai, and the third swung a vicious blow at Sarutobi Asuma's legs.

Puff, puff, puff, puff.

The ninja grinned as they struck their targets. It was a tried-and-true tactic: skewering their opponents like candied haws, decapitating them, or severing their legs to leave them at their mercy.

The nearby Konoha Genin and Chunin were stunned, watching as the only Jonin and the three Chunin in their group were seemingly ambushed and dismembered in an instant.

Cannon Fodder B and Sissy C grabbed the interjecting Ninja A, their faces pressed together.

Cannon Fodder B and Sissy C let out high-pitched screams, "Ah!" as they twisted their faces, squashing Ninja A's face out of shape. Ninja A, slow to react, finally pulled out a kunai to defend himself.

Bang! Bang!

The bodies that had been struck transformed into logs and fell to the ground.

"Damn it, it's a trap!"

"We were discovered in advance!"

"Retreat!"

A dozen specialized kunai were hurled toward the seven Iwa Ninja.

Swish.

"Too late."

Li Yu caught a kunai in mid-air with his right hand and appeared in the center of the seven ninja. His left hand struck an Iwa Ninja with a Rasengan, and with a twist of his waist, his right hand swept in a horizontal arc, slicing across the necks of two other ninja.

His legs lashed out like whips, kicking the two remaining stunned Iwa Ninja.

Bang! Bang!

The powerful, heavy kicks sent them flying in opposite directions.

"Flying Raijin Slash!"

Seizing the opportunity, Uzuki Yugao utilized the Flying Raijin, her blade piercing an enemy's heart for an instant kill.

"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"

Sarutobi Asuma spat out a cloud of high-temperature ash, engulfing his enemy before igniting it with a Fire Release technique. In an instant, the black smoke transformed into a searing crimson flash, and a charred corpse collapsed to the ground. He flicked a kunai into the neck of the smoldering ninja without a second glance.

The last two ninjas realized the situation had turned dire and immediately dove back underground, attempting to flee.

"Teacher, we can't let them get away!"

Yuhi Kurenai spoke with frantic indignation.

The reason for her agitation was that among the fleeing ninjas was the one who had attempted a sneak attack with his blade, nearly skewering her like a piece of candy—a prospect that seemed to strike a raw nerve for the woman.

Few female ninjas would accept such a humiliating way to die, even if they were destined to perish.

Even the usually gentle Yuhi Kurenai could not stomach this.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Asuma did not hesitate; for the sake of the woman he loved, he took off in hot pursuit.

Li Yu shook his head as he watched the scene unfold.

Asuma, you're chasing in the wrong direction.

Young men were always so easily blinded by their impulses. It seemed he would have to take action himself. Relying on his sensory perception, Li Yu stomped his foot and caught up with a few leaps. Since the speed of fleeing underground was slower than on the surface, he didn't hesitate and began weaving hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Stone Grand Funeral!"

This was a modified version of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa's Gold Dust Grand Funeral. Since he didn't want to crush the two Hidden Stone Village ninjas instantly, he had to slowly channel his chakra, applying pressure until they were forced out of the ground.

Bang! Bang!

As the density of the earth and stone increased, the pressure underground spiked. Unable to withstand it, the two men burst out from the soil.

Li Yu gripped two specialized kunai, ready to finish them off, but someone was faster than him. A single kick sent the two side-by-side ninjas flying.

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

Trees sprouted from beneath the opponent's feet, binding the Hidden Stone ninja who had attacked Yuhi Kurenai. Kurenai emerged from the trunk and finished him off with a single strike.

The other ninja was surrounded by the arriving Uzuki Yugao and Sarutobi Asuma, and was ultimately dispatched by Asuma's Wolf Fang Cleaving Awl.

Though it seemed as if the two sides had clashed many times, it all occurred in the blink of an eye. Seven Hidden Stone Village ninjas had been slain.

"It's finally over!"

Ninja A, Cannon Fodder B, and Effeminate C hugged each other, jumping for joy as they saw the battle in the distance conclude.

The wounded Konoha soldiers behind them let out sighs of relief.

"Lord Senju Nawaki's squad is truly formidable."

"Indeed, I thought we were done for."

"The battle isn't over yet."

"That's right, they're coming."

The calm Sarutobi Asuma had also noticed the signs in the distance. After sensing for a moment, Li Yu spoke up.

"Forty-three Hidden Stone Village ninjas are heading this way."

"That's quite a number."

Hearing the conversation between Li Yu and the others, the Konoha genin and the wounded on the stretchers grew tense, knowing that if a fight broke out, they—the injured—would likely die here.

Li Yu glanced back at the genin, whose eyes were filled with fear and desperation. He knew there was no avoiding this.

A decision formed in Li Yu's mind. Getting these wounded back to the village will boost the Senju Clan's reputation and help build my own influence. I can't lose these people, especially not the ten precious members of the Medical Unit.

He turned back and shouted loudly.

"Since I am leading this team, it is my responsibility to bring everyone back to Konoha Village safely."

"I will not let a single person die on the road."

The hundred or so Konoha ninjas behind him instantly regained their confidence and their will to live. Buying hearts and minds cost nothing, so why not use a few words to do it?

Li Yu nodded in satisfaction after seeing everyone's reaction. Even his three students looked at him with admiration. It seems I'm quite the master of 'Talk no Jutsu.' You have to give credit where it's due.

Seeing that the Hidden Stone ninjas were within range, he quickly wove hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Travel Wave!"

A massive volume of water condensed out of thin air around Li Yu's body, swirling rapidly before surging toward the Hidden Stone ninjas like a dam bursting.

"To be able to perform such a powerful Water Release technique even in a place without water..."

"As expected of Lord Senju Nawaki."

"Brother-in-law is truly amazing."

With one hand, he wove seals to create two Shadow Clones.

Li Yu spread his hands, blue spiral chakra rotating rapidly in opposite directions, while his clones continuously rubbed their hands against the spheres.

Seeing the massive torrent of water rushing toward them, dozens of Hidden Stone ninjas wove seals in unison.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

Thirty earthen walls rose from the ground to block the assault of the massive wave.

"Bang! Bang!"

After shattering over twenty earth walls, the water flow finally lost its momentum and diverted to both sides.

"It's not over yet."

A brilliant white light flared from Li Yu's hands, taking the shape of a shuriken.

"Poof! Poof!"

As his clones vanished into two puffs of white smoke, Li Yu successfully completed his jutsu under the cover of the water flow and the Earth Style Wall.

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"

Li Yu stomped his feet hard, sprinted forward, leaped into the air, performed a front flip, and hurled the Rasenshuriken with all his might.

"Happiness should be doubled. Let me give you a sandwich."

"What is that?"

"Boom! Boom!"

Two massive, glowing spiral orbs ignited, spinning rapidly in opposite directions, creating a meat grinder in the center.

Before they could even let out a few screams, flesh and blood flew everywhere. The Hidden Stone Village ninjas, who had thought they blocked the Water Release and were preparing to weave signs for an offensive jutsu, were struck with devastating force before they could even finish their seals.

When the jutsu finally subsided, two spiral craters a hundred meters in diameter appeared on the ground, and not a single intact corpse remained in the vicinity.

Seeing this, the Konoha Village ninjas all dropped their jaws in shock, their faces filled with an indescribable, overwhelming excitement.

Uzuki Yugao grabbed Li Yu's arm and acted coquettishly.

"Brother-in-law, can you teach me this jutsu?"

Yuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma also looked at Li Yu with faces full of anticipation.

Li Yu coughed twice to ease the awkwardness, pulled his arm from Uzuki Yugao's embrace, and said, "Wind Release: Rasenshuriken is an S-rank jutsu. Using it causes irreparable damage to one's arms."

Upon hearing this, the three of them immediately deflated.

"However, you can start by learning the basic Rasen-gan. As a seal-less A-rank jutsu, it takes one to two years to master, or even longer."

"My advice is to focus on the jutsu that suit you and that you excel at. A person's energy is limited; it's already quite an achievement to master just one high-level jutsu."

After hearing Li Yu's explanation, the group immediately abandoned the idea of learning the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.

They tidied up the battlefield and continued their journey back to Konoha Village. Along the way, relying on his powerful sensory abilities, Li Yu discovered several small squads of enemy ninjas who had infiltrated the Land of Fire, all of whom were easily dealt with by Li Yu's team.