Fierce Battle! The Attacker's Identity?

Without a word, without the slightest hesitation, the four Iwagakure Jonin charged straight toward Uchiha Lihuo!

Watching this righteous gang-up, Lihuo dared not let his guard down for even a second.

He decided to play all his trump cards in this battle.

Seeing the distance between himself and the Iwa ninja closing rapidly, Lihuo remained calm.

He tapped his left wrist with his right hand, and a specially crafted, high-quality kunai appeared in his grip.

With a surge of strength in his right arm, Lihuo swung his hand, and the kunai shot toward the four Iwa ninja like a bolt of lightning!

But Lihuo's goal went beyond that; his hands moved in a blur of seals, unleashing a ninjutsu he had acquired since his transmigration but had never dared to use.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone!"

The solitary kunai instantly multiplied from ten to a hundred, then to a thousand!

A dark, oppressive downpour of steel surged toward the four men.

The Iwa ninja had never expected that, despite their extreme caution, the boy before them would display such formidable power right from the start.

Lihuo was not having an easy time, however; the sudden consumption of chakra required for such a massive ninjutsu left him with little energy to cast anything else.

Yet, this sky-filling barrage of kunai was more than enough to give these Jonin a headache.

Facts proved that even simple ninja tools could cause a terrifying qualitative change when they reached a certain scale.

The thousand kunai blasting toward them posed a grave threat to the four Iwa ninja.

But the reason Jonin were Jonin was their wealth of combat experience.

Facing this situation, the four exchanged a glance and immediately performed rapid hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Rampart!"

Despite having already released a large-scale Earth Core, they still had energy to spare!

A wall, dozens of times larger than a standard Earth Style Wall, rose rapidly before them.

It intercepted every single kunai just before the iron rain could strike.

Looking at the kunai embedded deep into the earthen wall, a chill ran through the four men.

"We must finish him quickly!"

But they did not know that every one of those kunai embedded in the wall bore Lihuo's Flying Thunder God Mark!

Just then, the sounds of fighting that had lingered in everyone's perception gradually ceased.

Lihuo understood that Orochimaru and Mifune were finishing their tasks.

The expressions of the four Jonin turned exceptionally grave.

Lihuo quickly recovered his chakra, while the four Jonin took the opportunity to coordinate their tactics.

The four Jonin performed rapid seals, then simultaneously slammed their hands onto the ground.

Bang!

Four pairs of hands kicked up clouds of dust from the earth.

The four Iwa ninja poured their remaining chakra into the ground without reservation.

"Earth Release: Earth-Splitting Palm!"

No sooner had the words left their lips than Lihuo felt the ground beneath his feet come alive, shaking violently.

Sensing carefully, Lihuo detected surging chakra hidden underground, like a beast waiting to devour its prey!

Lihuo dared not show off and immediately mobilized his chakra.

"Dengdengdong!"

Flying Raijin Jutsu, activate! A flash of crimson light streaked by.

At that very moment, the ground beneath Lihuo's feet compressed instantly, slicing through everything in the area like a meat grinder!

Feeling the intense earthquake caused by the Earth-Splitting Palm, the four Iwa ninja slowly exhaled. They did not believe Lihuo could escape alive from such a fierce attack.

But reality often goes against expectations!

Hum!

With the buzzing sound of a blade leaving its sheath, a massive slash appeared on the giant Earth Style Rampart that had provided the Iwa ninja with such infinite security!

With a deafening roar, the massive wall was split clean in two!

A figure walked slowly through the gap—it was Uchiha Lihuo!

He held a Flying Thunder God kunai in his left hand, while the ninja sword Flame, reflecting a scarlet glow, was held in his right. His face was filled with endless murderous intent and coldness.

Seeing this, the lead Iwa ninja's face turned ashen.

He could not understand it; facing such a massive Earth-Splitting Palm, even a Jonin would surely lose their life!

How could this brat appear before him unscathed? And still have the strength to cleave through the Earth Style Rampart!

But years of mission experience told him: don't think about why, think about what to do.

He quickly assessed the situation; with Orochimaru and Mifune returning soon, the chakra of his four-man team was nearly exhausted.

In such a lethal situation, any hesitation would lead to the failure of the mission!

Thinking of this, his eyes sharpened.

"Execute... Plan C."

The lead Rock ninja gritted his teeth as he spoke these words, for he knew that this plan, originally intended only as a precaution, had now truly reached the point of execution.

The other three Rock ninjas nodded silently upon hearing this. There was no need for further words; at this moment, there was only the firm execution of their captain's orders.

The three Jonin drew their Kunai, preparing to engage Lihuo in a life-or-death struggle using taijutsu.

The trio stepped forward rapidly, engaging Lihuo in a fierce clash!

Lihuo understood that even though his physical constitution had been continuously strengthened, facing three Jonin simultaneously would still be a difficult battle.

However, with the bonuses provided by the Hatake Sword Technique, the situation would be different!

Gripping Flame tightly in his hand, the essentials of the Hatake Sword Technique surfaced in his mind!

Lihuo darted and weaved between the three men; with every step he took, another wound appeared on his enemies' bodies.

Following a series of clashing metal, blood sprayed! Lihuo severed the neck of the final enemy.

Blood splattered onto Lihuo's youthful face, making him appear somewhat bewitching.

Suddenly, Lihuo snapped back to reality!

"Wait! Why are there only three Jonin?"

He whipped his head around to see the Rock ninja captain, having utilized the time his teammates bought him, already standing before Nakajima.

He thrust his cold Kunai with all his might toward his former teammate!

"Don't you dare!"

Lihuo circulated his chakra frantically. At this moment, the Flying Thunder God Mark he had planted on Nakajima in advance proved its worth once again!

"Dengdengdong!"

The Rock ninja captain's head was severed by a single slash!

In mid-air, he vaguely saw the Flying Thunder God Mark on Nakajima, along with Lihuo, who had appeared amidst a crimson flash, and he smiled with relief.

"If it's space-time ninjutsu, I accept this defeat."

Thud. Watching the Rock ninja captain collapse like a ragdoll, Lihuo felt neither sorrow nor joy.

Because he saw that Nakajima's body was also slowly falling.

At the very last moment, although Lihuo had successfully decapitated the Rock ninja captain, the Kunai in the captain's hand had also successfully struck home!

Nakajima revealed a smile of relief and slowly closed his eyes.

In the open space where the inn had stood, only Lihuo remained.

Although he had carried out many missions involving slaughter, facing a scene like this, Lihuo still sighed at the cruelty of the ninja world.

"Oh my, the battle was quite tragic, wasn't it?"

Orochimaru's playful voice echoed from above the deep pit, and standing beside him was the stern-faced Mifune.

Neither of them appeared to be in bad shape, though they were covered in dust and the blood of their enemies!

Leaving the samurai to handle the scene, Orochimaru pulled Lihuo up first.

In a secluded corner, Mifune, Orochimaru, and Lihuo stood in silent contemplation.

"What do you two think is the origin of these attackers?"

Mifune spoke first, breaking the silence.

"I believe they are Rock ninjas. Both their attire and the ninjutsu they used are very similar to those of the Rock ninjas."

With the system's endorsement, Lihuo spoke decisively.

Orochimaru nodded.

"Mifune-san and I initially thought the same, but when we arrived at their hideout..."

"They were set up... too much like Rock ninjas."

Mifune took over the conversation.

"Whether it was the decorations, the artifacts, or the food, they were all too much like Rock ninjas. But if Rock ninjas were going to launch a sneak attack, why wouldn't they use a disguise?"

This question left even Lihuo bewildered, as it sounded like a tongue-twister about "you predicting that I predicted your prediction."

The key lay in which layer these attackers were operating on!

Orochimaru spoke calmly.

"I looked at their intelligence; it only went as far as what is already known to all major ninja villages."

"It looks more like a fake Rock ninja base."

The three of them pondered for a while longer, only to realize that without new intelligence, this was an unsolvable puzzle.

Mifune spoke up.

"Regardless, it is my responsibility that the two of you were attacked in the Land of Iron. I will personally write a statement of the situation and submit it to Konoha Village."

Orochimaru nodded, acknowledging this course of action.

The matter came to a temporary close.