Rope Tree's Death Wish

Among the ninja squad led by Orochimaru, Nawaki Senju was prominently among them.

He nervously looked around. As if he had spotted something, he immediately shouted, "Orochimaru-sensei, there are enemies!"

As Tsunade's younger brother and Hashirama Senju's grandson, the resources he enjoyed were far beyond what any civilian could compare to.

Having mastered quite a few secret techniques at such a young age, his strength alone was already comparable to that of a chunin.

Thus, when the Sand ninja squad approached, he was the first to discover their movements.

Orochimaru, who had long detected the Sand ninja squad's movements, revealed a satisfied smile.

Nawaki Senju was truly a student who pleased him greatly.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Orochimaru raised his left hand, and great snakes shot out from his sleeve.

The many snakes summoned in an instant rapidly slithered along the ground, silently binding every Sand ninja in the squad.

He deliberately spared one Sand ninja with chunin-level strength and let him fight Nawaki and the others.

Faced with the combined assault of several genin and Nawaki, the Sand ninja was no match for them at all.

Seizing an opening, Nawaki knocked the Sand ninja unconscious with a heavy punch.

"Orochimaru-sensei, I did it!!"

Seeing that he had defeated the enemy, Nawaki immediately bragged excitedly.

Orochimaru nodded approvingly, then controlled the snakes and had them bite all the Sand ninja to death.

He then reminded him, "Do not show mercy on the battlefield. You must be resolved to kill your enemies!"

"Whew... I understand, Sensei."

Nawaki's smile faded, and his expression turned somewhat solemn.

Only after truly watching an enemy die before him did he realize that war was completely different from what he had imagined.

I wonder how Big Brother Indra is doing right now.

Thick-nerved as he was, Nawaki quickly adapted to the situation.

He promptly shouted excitedly, "Then I'll head ahead first, Orochimaru-sensei!"

Nawaki sped past Orochimaru's side and dashed forward at full speed.

Watching Nawaki's youthful, energetic figure, Orochimaru could not help sighing inwardly. To adapt to the battlefield environment so quickly... it seems you'll soon become a powerful ninja, Nawaki.

"He's about to die, and you're still standing there spacing out?!"

In midair, Indra's soul was already too exhausted to complain.

The easy battle just now had clearly caused Orochimaru to relax somewhat as well.

Ahead was no longer forest, but a hilly region piled with rocky outcrops.

Once they left the forest, they would reach the Land of Rain!

Even more excited, Nawaki charged recklessly ahead, completely forgetting that he was on a battlefield.

Within Indra's field of vision, several Rock ninja whose soul outlines were visible were hidden underground not far away.

Besides them, concealed explosive tag traps had been set along this side of the Land of Rain's border.

Without even looking to see whether there were traps ahead, Nawaki took a great leap and landed directly on an explosive tag trap laid by the Rock ninja.

BOOM!!!

Intense flames erupted violently, instantly illuminating the dim surroundings.

Indra's soul activated telekinesis and protected Nawaki's body at the critical moment.

Because of the distance, however, the telekinesis was ultimately not strong enough, and the explosive tag's blast still sent Nawaki flying into the air.

Judging solely by his injuries, Nawaki had gotten off incredibly well.

Only his left leg had been injured in the blast. At most, it would need to be amputated later; there was nothing seriously wrong otherwise.

But Nawaki's situation was still far from optimistic. The Rock ninja hidden underground also emerged to attack at once.

"It hurts!!!"

Nawaki, his left foot injured in the blast, crashed heavily to the ground and rolled around while clutching his left leg.

How could the Rock ninja who burst from the earth possibly let such an opportunity go?

"This idiot!"

Indra could not take it anymore. Cursing inwardly, he immediately flew down from the air and pushed Nawaki's soul out with a palm strike.

He and Nawaki were close, after all. There was no way he could stand by and watch him die.

"Huh? It doesn't hurt anymore!"

Nawaki, who had still been rolling around, immediately realized that the pain was gone.

As he excitedly got up and hopped around, he finally discovered that he had become a soul floating in midair.

Nawaki stared at his own body and shouted in bewilderment, "Huh? Huh?! Why am I on the ground?!"

As he spoke, Indra took control of Nawaki's body and stood up.

At that moment, an Iwa ninja had already rushed up before him, thrusting a kunai straight at Nawaki's heart.

Using Nawaki's body, Indra shot the Iwa ninja a glare.

Buzz!

Telekinesis erupted fiercely, forming a barrier that blocked the incoming kunai.

The Iwa ninja's right arm trembled. He had already used all his strength, yet he still could not push the kunai forward even half an inch!

Under the Iwa ninja's incredulous gaze, Indra gave a light shove, and the man's soul was instantly sent flying out of his body.

His body lost consciousness and collapsed limply to the ground.

Before the Iwa ninja's soul could react, Indra snatched the kunai and stabbed downward.

Pfft!

The kunai pierced straight into the back of the Iwa ninja's head, killing him in a single blow.

"No... no!!"

The Iwa ninja's soul struggled, but to no avail, vanishing into thin air.

The two nearby Iwa ninja were terrified. They had never imagined that the Konoha child they had ambushed would actually turn around and kill their companion!

"You damned Konoha brat, die!!"

"Earth Release: Rock Iron Cannon Technique!"

The two Iwa ninja formed hand seals with both hands. Just as they opened their mouths to spit out stones, Indra's gaze met theirs.

"Hell Viewing Technique!"

Their movements froze, terror appearing in their eyes as they saw the thing they feared most.

Even though they came to their senses the next second and dispelled the genjutsu, it was already too late.

Orochimaru rapidly closed in beside Nawaki and instantly killed the two Iwa ninja.

Indra immediately left Nawaki's body, his soul floating out lightly.

Hovering in midair, Nawaki's face lit up as he excitedly pounced forward.

"Big bro~ Why are you here?!"

"Idiot, I just saved you."

Indra kicked Nawaki's soul away in annoyance, but Nawaki still clung to Indra's leg like a stubborn plaster, grinning foolishly.

"Hehehe~ Good thing you saved me, big bro! I'm going to become Hokage!"

"Don't worry, big bro. Once I become Hokage, I'll immediately appoint you as my second-in-command!"

Indra rolled his eyes at Nawaki's eager flattery. "Who cares about being second-in-command? I can save you once, but I can't save you a second time."

"You're right, big bro. I'll definitely be more careful from now on!"

Nawaki immediately patted his chest in promise, still shaken by the close call.

He had not expected that, after getting carried away and running a little too fast, he would fall right into their trap.

Seeing that Indra had no interest in being second-in-command, Nawaki's eyes darted around as another idea immediately came to him.

"Oh, right, big bro, didn't you say you liked my sister? How about I get her drunk and send her to your room later?!"

Nawaki remembered Indra mentioning it when they had been bragging together before.

Indra was speechless as he looked at Nawaki.

Other people screwed over their fathers—this guy was screwing over his sister!

"Ahem~ But we can discuss that later. Now isn't the time..."

Indra lowered his voice, forgetting that he was currently in soul form.

Nawaki immediately showed an understanding expression. Just as he was about to say something else, he caught sight of his own body.

He scratched his head awkwardly. "This is bad, big bro. I think I'm dead, so I can't repay you!"

"You're not dead. Your soul just left your body. Remember not to expose me, and don't tell anyone else about what happened tonight."

With a gentle push, Indra sent Nawaki's soul back into his body.

Tears filled Nawaki's eyes as he shouted loudly at Indra, "I promise I won't tell anyone..."

The next second, Nawaki's body sprang upright and he shouted, "Big bro!!"

Smack!

Indra slapped his forehead, utterly speechless at that thick-headed idiot Nawaki.

Fortunately, Nawaki realized what he had done and immediately shut his mouth.

Orochimaru did not think much of it either, assuming Nawaki had merely hallucinated from his injuries before suddenly waking up.