Sasori of the Red Sand

"You damn brat!" Sha said, enunciating every word.

Lihuo was not intimidated by his appearance, though he truly admired his conduct. After all, not everyone could manage to go streaking in broad daylight.

Feeling Lihuo's gaze sweeping up and down, Sha could no longer suppress the rage in his heart and lunged at Lihuo with the speed of a cheetah.

At this moment, Lihuo remained unhurried, silently chanting in his heart:

"System, extract rewards."

"Ding! Touched the head of A-rank ninja: Sha. Please select three of the following rewards:"

"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere"

"Moderate physical enhancement"

"100,000 Ryo"

"Wind Style: Vacuum Blade"

"Mastery of assassination techniques"

Lihuo's eyes lit up the moment he saw the rewards.

As expected of an Anbu, he actually dropped mastery of assassination techniques.

Without a moment's hesitation, Lihuo made his choice.

"I choose 'Mastery of assassination techniques,' 'Vacuum Sphere,' and 'Moderate physical enhancement.'"

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold, mechanical voice rang out.

"Rewards have been issued."

A familiar wave of pain caused Lihuo to knit his brows, but immediately afterward, he felt his body surging with unprecedented power!

Not only that, but Lihuo had also mastered the usage of "Vacuum Sphere" and countless assassination techniques.

If Lihuo had been completely ignorant of assassination before, he could now be called an outstanding master of the craft!

"You dare to be distracted in the middle of a fight!"

With a wild roar from Sha, his figure appeared directly in front of Lihuo, and he kicked out at lightning speed.

Bang!

Lihuo blocked Sha's furious strike with his arm. Clearly, after receiving the "moderate physical enhancement," Lihuo's strength had increased by a significant margin!

This action truly shocked Sha, causing him to calm down from his rage.

The two then became entangled in a fierce struggle. Although Sha possessed the strength of an elite Jonin, he was unable to use chakra and had been stabbed by Lihuo earlier, causing his strength to plummet; he was now fighting Lihuo to a standstill.

As for Lihuo, despite having powerful ninjutsu and superior physical fitness, the now-calm Sha was as slippery as an eel, and Lihuo could not find a way to secure a quick victory.

For a time, neither could do anything to the other, but just then, a violent fluctuation of chakra erupted from the direction where Orochimaru was fighting the three Jonin.

Lihuo felt a surge of joy; it seemed the Third Hokage's Anbu had arrived, and the outcome was decided!

Sha realized this as well. He glanced toward Orochimaru's direction, then turned and bolted toward the borders of the Land of Wind.

Lihuo certainly could not let him leave so easily, as he possessed a great deal of useful intelligence. Once Sha returned to Sunagakure, all the information regarding himself and the village would fall into the hands of the enemy.

However, Lihuo did not rush to pursue him; instead, he calmed his heart and focused his mind.

"Simplified Sage Mode, activate!"

In an instant, a powerful surge of Natural Energy radiated outward with Lihuo at the center.

Without the slightest hesitation, and without caring whether Orochimaru and the others would notice, Lihuo immediately opened his most dense sensory net. Aided by the Sage Mode and the secret techniques of the Yamanaka Clan, Lihuo could see the status of Orochimaru and the others with perfect clarity.

At this moment, all the Jonin locked in the chaotic battle sensed Lihuo's blatant probing.

Although this perception was extremely crude, Orochimaru still recognized the chakra of his own student. When the people of Konoha heard Orochimaru's explanation, they slowly lowered their guard.

The Jonin of Sunagakure, however, wore grave expressions, for they knew that the battle over there was likely over, and the two Chunin were more than likely doomed.

After confirming that Orochimaru and the others had no time to focus their attention on him, Lihuo held his breath, concentrated all his mental energy, and whispered:

"Flying Raijin Jutsu."

To be safe, Lihuo had left a Flying Thunder God Mark on Sha earlier!

Before the words had even faded, Lihuo vanished from the spot, leaving behind only a crimson afterimage on the Uchiha crest.

Sha, currently sprinting, saw the border of the Land of Wind; in the distance lay the endless desert and Gobi. After experiencing so much, Sha even felt a sense of nostalgia for the desert he had once grown tired of looking at.

Suddenly, accompanied by a flash of red light, Uchiha Lihuo's figure appeared directly above Sha.

"My apologies, but please stay here."

"What... how did you..."

Lihuo spread his hand, and a pale blue Rasengan formed in an instant!

BOOM!

A massive roar erupted, followed by billowing clouds of thick smoke.

However, the law of "no damage if there's smoke" did not seem to apply here.

As the smoke cleared, a large crater blasted out by the Rasengan was slowly revealed on the ground, containing Sha's corpse and Lihuo standing to the side.

"It's finally over."

Lihuo wiped the sweat from his forehead, relaxing his guard slightly.

But just then, a set of ill-timed footsteps suddenly approached.

"It seems you've killed a Sunagakure Anbu on the border of the Land of Wind, little friend from Konoha Village."

It was Oniichiro and Sasori of the Red Sand.

Sensing someone approaching, Lihuo instantly entered a combat state and said indifferently, "One wave after another, it never ends."

Oniichiro sneered upon hearing this.

"Who exactly are you, and why are you carrying the short blade of the honorable Konoha White Fang?"

At these words, Sasori, who had been hiding in the shadows, slowly looked up and scrutinized Lihuo.

Lihuo recognized Sasori at that very moment, thinking to himself, Is this Sasori of the Red Sand? Although his presence isn't that terrifying, my intuition tells me that fighting him is extremely dangerous.

Although he knew Sakumo had killed Sasori's parents, Lihuo did not want to disgrace the good intentions of Sakumo lending him the blade, so he chose to tell the truth.

"Konoha White Fang is an elder of mine. What? Do you want to face him?"

Though Lihuo's words were insolent, Oniichiro did not show a shred of anger.

"Konoha White Fang is renowned for his might; I would likely face a grim fate if I crossed blades with him."

"However... you killed our Anbu on Sunagakure territory. How do you answer for that?"

Hearing this, Lihuo realized that these were not ordinary people who could be intimidated by the name of Konoha White Fang.

Facing two formidable opponents, Lihuo's eyes darted, and a plan immediately formed in his mind!

Lihuo stopped his defensive stance, instead dropping his arms and looking at Oniichiro with his head held high.

"You of Sunagakure attempted to steal classified intelligence from Konoha, and I have brought you to justice on the spot."

"And now you want to attack me? What? Is Sunagakure trying to incite a war!"

Oniichiro: (ﾟoﾟ;;

Is that how the script is supposed to go?

This sharp retort left Oniichiro completely stunned.

After all, Oniichiro had just arrived at the border and hadn't even had time to conduct an investigation.

Now, being branded with such a charge by someone from Konoha, his instinct was to explain himself clearly.

But the moment he started to explain, Lihuo knew he had taken the bait!

Lihuo could see that Oniichiro was an elite Jonin and that Sasori was also exceptionally strong.

If a conflict broke out now, he would certainly be the one to suffer; he figured Orochimaru would soon discover his absence.

As long as he kept stalling, victory would surely belong to him!

If he were to decisively use the Flying Thunder God Technique to run away now, his greatest trump card would be exposed to Sunagakure, which was something Lihuo did not want to see.

Just then, a sound rang out.

"Clack, clack."

With the sound of mechanisms shifting, the puppet named Crow charged straight at Lihuo.

This unexpected turn of events did not throw Lihuo off balance; after multiple physical enhancements, this speed was mere child's play in his eyes!

Lihuo activated Paper Art, dodging Sasori's attacks with ease while continuing to pressure Oniichiro.

"As a Jonin, are you not going to control your subordinate?"

"Should I interpret this as you declaring war on Konoha?"

When it came to strength, Oniichiro's prowess as an elite Jonin was well-known in Sunagakure.

But when it came to politics, Oniichiro was completely clueless, and just as he fell into a dilemma—

Sasori spoke up.

"Regardless, he killed Sha, didn't he? That alone is more than enough."

Lihuo thought to himself.

Oh, no!

He saw that the hesitation in Oniichiro's eyes had vanished, replaced entirely by killing intent. Oniichiro said coldly to Lihuo, "I don't know about declaring war or not, I only know that you killed my colleague."

Hearing this, Lihuo let out a cold snort.

"The Sand Village's most genius puppeteer, Sasori of the Red Sand—truly lives up to his reputation."

Sasori, however, ignored Lihuo entirely and said coldly, "Tell me your relationship with the Konoha White Fang, and I will leave your corpse intact."

"Such arrogance."

Lihuo formally assumed a combat stance, firing on all cylinders!

A fierce battle was inevitable!