Solving the Sand Ninjas 2

The sooner the better; striking until the Hidden Sand Village lacks the strength to continue the war is the only path to victory.

Orders were disseminated quickly. Knowing that tomorrow would be the decisive battle, everyone was eager and restless; after all, they had been away for a long time and missed their wives and children back home.

Li Yi returned to his tent to find Kato Taka lying on his bed, looking carefree. Despite having several injuries on his body, he clearly didn't care about them at all.

Nearby, Maruboshi Kosuke sat with a helpless expression. Seeing Li Yi return, he said, "This kid is truly reckless. You should find some time to talk to him; acting like this will easily get him killed on the battlefield!"

Li Yi smiled. Kato Taka possessed an immortal body, so he wasn't that easy to kill.

He replied, "The decisive battle is tomorrow. You should be careful yourself."

Kosuke nodded. They were among the ranks of the genin, and with his strength, self-preservation shouldn't be a problem.

The night passed in silence. By the next morning, after everyone had assembled, Mitokado Homura waved his hand, and the group charged toward the border of the Land of Rivers.

The Land of Rivers had long since been occupied by Konoha. That was their dominance; battles were never fought within the Land of Fire, and the surrounding small nations had always served as the battlefield.

Of course, if the fighting were to reach the interior of the Land of Fire, that would be a true crisis.

As the army of thousands of ninja set out toward the Hidden Sand camp, the Sand ninja received the news. Bunpuku took personal command, determined not to let the Konoha ninja cross the line.

In a war between great nations, it was a matter of face. Once the Hidden Sand Village was forced to retreat into the desert, it would signify their defeat.

What face would a defeated ninja village have left to stir up trouble?

"Kill!" At that moment, Akimichi Kufū suddenly expanded, letting out a roar as he transformed into a massive giant and charged forward. On the other side, the Hidden Sand ninja unleashed a barrage of Wind Style techniques to stop him.

Standing high in the sky, Li Yi watched the scene below. He had already spotted the monk; he must be the legendary jinchūriki of the One-Tail. If not for Li Yi, this monk would likely have been the longest-living jinchūriki in history.

At this moment, Bunpuku looked up at the sky, spotting Li Yi hovering there. He pressed his palms together, and a massive mound of sand erupted beneath his feet, lifting him into the air.

"Bunpuku?" Li Yi said.

Bunpuku looked at Li Yi and asked, "I didn't expect you to know me."

Li Yi smiled. "Judging by your state, your relationship with Shukaku seems quite good. You could almost be considered a perfect jinchūriki!"

Bunpuku didn't answer. Instead, he extended a hand and said, "Please."

Li Yi nodded. "Let's go somewhere else. You wouldn't want your Hidden Sand ninja to suffer heavy losses, would you?"

Bunpuku glanced down at the chaotic melee between the Konoha and Sand ninja, then gave a nod and flew toward the deeper desert.

Li Yi followed. His role was to resolve the trouble of the One-Tail and completely strip the Hidden Sand Village of its ability to fight; only then would they be forced to concede.

They landed quickly. Li Yi pulled up his forehead protector, his Three Tomoe Sharingan spinning as he fixed his gaze on Bunpuku.

Genjutsu was useless against a jinchūriki; since two types of chakra existed within their bodies, they could break free from illusions instantly.

"Sand Hand!" Bunpuku made his move. He extended his hand, and a massive hand of sand erupted from the ground, slamming toward Li Yi. As Li Yi dodged, he quickly formed hand seals and took a deep breath. "Scorch Style: Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!"

He started with a powerful technique; facing a jinchūriki, he couldn't afford to be careless.

Following his movements, a massive fireball erupted from his mouth, burning with scorching flames as if to consume everything in its path. The black-red flames emitted a heart-stopping aura, like hellfire, dazzling and intense.

Bunpuku knew the power of Li Yi's fire techniques, so with a wave of his hand, walls of sand rose from the ground to block the massive fireball.

Though the sand was quickly melted into large holes, there were enough layers to eventually stop the fire. However, as the fireball dissipated, the flames spread across the ground.

Bunpuku frowned. Knowing he couldn't let Li Yi's flames touch him, he retreated through the air. Li Yi had already formed new seals and whispered, "Scorch Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"

Instantly, a massive dragon head formed within the sea of fire, charging toward Bunpuku with such speed that even he barely had time to react.

This was Li Yi's strategy: as long as he created a battlefield favorable to himself, he could execute ninjutsu rapidly. That was why he hadn't hesitated to waste a large amount of chakra to create a sea of fire at the start.

However, Bunpuku was a jinchūriki with vast reserves of chakra. Just as the fire dragon was about to bite him, a massive amount of sand erupted from his body, marked with special patterns. With a burst of speed, he dodged the attack. Not only that, but his arm, transformed into that of a giant beast, punched the fire dragon into the ground, scattering it into mere flames.

"Scorch Style: Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!" Li Yi had already finished his seals, exhaling a vast sea of fire that descended upon Bunpuku like a tidal wave.

Facing such a technique, Bunpuku knew he had no choice but to use the Feigned Sleep Technique.

He closed his eyes, and countless grains of sand gathered from his body and the ground, forming a tanuki-like monster.

As soon as the monster emerged, it laughed wildly, "Bunpuku, I told you! Let me out and I'll beat him to death!"

It was arrogant—a classic trait of Shukaku, who always felt that the heavens were first, the earth was second, and it was third.

But no sooner had Shukaku appeared than it was engulfed by Li Yi's flames. The black-red fire burned Shukaku until it shrieked; this was Li Yi's Scorch Style, not ordinary fire.

The surface of Shukaku's body was beginning to melt into glass.

"Ah, damn it! Wind Style: Air Bullet!" Shukaku roared in fury. It was outraged at being burned like this the moment it appeared.

A massive wind sphere formed, instantly sweeping up all of Li Yi's fire and blowing it deep into the desert. As for whether anyone would be unlucky enough to be in the way, well, that was completely outside of Shukaku's concerns.

"Little bug, you're dead!" Shukaku grew twice its size, and a massive palm slammed toward Li Yi.

Li Yi leaped backward to dodge, only to see a small sphere forming in Shukaku's mouth—it was a Tailed Beast Bomb!