The First Battle

"Everyone, form a defensive formation!"

A sharp shout came from the front of the group.

At the order, the Chunin in the formation immediately sprang into action, organizing the Genin around them into defensive positions according to proximity.

The Special Jonin also began moving according to their areas of expertise.

Those skilled in combat immediately rushed out of the formation to support the ninjas in charge of scouting.

Those skilled in sensing sat down on the spot and began casting ninjutsu to probe the surroundings and guard against ambushes.

The others each had their own tasks as well.

Everything was so efficient it was as if they had rehearsed it dozens or even hundreds of times; every person could find their place.

Only rookie Genin like Qian understood nothing and could only act according to the instructions of the Chunin beside them, like puppets on strings.

It was a terrible feeling, as if his fate rested entirely on someone else's whim, without the slightest sense of security.

Even so, Qian still did not act rashly.

In a situation like this, it was not the place for a mere Genin like him to stand out.

Over the past three weeks, because there were too many eyes around and they had been traveling, he had not had much time to grind Proficiency. Even when he compressed his rest time as much as possible every day, he could only squeeze out three or four hours for training at most.

As a result, the chakra he could use was only around fifteen hundred points.

To avoid drawing attention, he had spent all that chakra on practicing the Mind Reflection Technique, raising its Proficiency from lv3 (683/1000) to lv3 (875/1000).

The total increase of one hundred and ninety-two Proficiency points had also raised his Sharingan's Proficiency by nineteen points, making it (69/1000).

Although the increase was small, even a mosquito's leg was still meat. Qian did not disdain it.

Aside from that, there was the Chakra Refining Technique.

With three to four hours of training every day, plus three days of full-intensity training before setting out, its Proficiency had already gone from lv3 (346/1000) to lv3 (454/1000).

Affected by this, his Chakra Limit had increased by 864 points and had now reached 4074 points.

At this point, he once again faintly sensed his body's limit.

Qian estimated that once his Chakra Limit grew to around five thousand points, it would probably enter a stagnant state.

Still, this was already much better than he had expected.

Boom—

Just as Qian's thoughts were wandering, a massive explosion suddenly came from the cliffside. Immediately after came a clanging series of metal collisions.

Qian looked up and saw several ninjas wearing Iwagakure Jonin uniforms fighting Leaf Village Jonin. Beside them, there were also more than a dozen Rock Hidden Chunin.

"Sharingan!"

Seeing that no one around him was paying attention, Qian quietly activated his Sharingan.

In an instant, everything before his eyes became clear.

In his line of sight, those Rock Hidden Chunin took advantage of the Leaf Village Jonin being tied down to complete their hand seals at high speed, then all slapped their palms against the rock wall.

At the sight, Qian seemed to think of something. He cursed inwardly, quickly shut off his Sharingan, grabbed the two companions beside him, and leaped backward.

After being yanked so suddenly, Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko both lost their footing and staggered on the spot.

However, out of trust in their companion, they did not struggle.

And in the very next moment after they retreated, the sound of rock cracking came from the cliffside.

Then countless stones of all sizes fell from the sky like a meteor shower, all smashing toward the area where Qian had been standing.

Chaos immediately erupted below.

Although ninjas were not ordinary people, their defensive ability was not much stronger than that of ordinary people. If they were hit by falling rocks like these, even if they did not die, they would be severely injured.

So everyone was desperately dodging.

After a few breaths, the dust settled.

The light drizzle struck their faces, leaving streaks of mud behind.

"Qian, we owe you one!"

Beside him, Ryosuke looked at the mess in the field and spoke with genuine sincerity.

That wave of falling rocks might not have meant much to Chunin, but to Genin like them, especially rookie Genin, it had been rather dangerous.

Right now, more than a dozen Genin were lying in the surrounding piles of rubble.

"Who knows whether they're dead or alive?"

However, Qian and the others had no time to worry about whether those people lived or died, because their own trouble had arrived.

They saw nearly a hundred Rock Ninja appear at both the front and rear of the canyon, closing in on them from both sides.

If one looked only at numbers, their side still held an absolute advantage, but in terms of quality, the difference was rather large.

The Rock Ninja had clearly come prepared this time. There was not a single Genin in their ranks; they were all elites of Chunin level or higher.

And on their side?

In a force of nearly four hundred, Genin made up more than half, and many of them were fresh rookies like Qian, who had only graduated not long ago.

It could be said that this battle was extremely dangerous.

"Now I can only hope the frontline Main Camp reacts as soon as possible. Otherwise..."

Qian swept a glance over the Jonin from both sides still locked in battle on the cliff walls to either side, took a deep breath, and said quietly, "You two, don't get too far away from me later."

Hearing that, Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko's nervously pounding hearts settled a little.

As for these two companions, Qian still wanted to look after them as much as he could.

After all, they had spent nearly four months together. Qian did not want to see them die just like that.

Of course, if there was nothing he could do, he would not force it either.

In any case, he had made the corresponding mental preparations as early as when the team had first been formed.

Time ticked by second after second. The field was silent, and everyone had prepared themselves for battle.

At last, just as the two sides were about to make contact, someone in the crowd shouted, "Kill!"

In an instant, the entire battlefield erupted into chaos. Roars, screams, the clash of weapons, the blasts of ninjutsu—every kind of sound rang out without end.

That cry of "Kill!" was like some switch had been flipped, throwing the whole battlefield into disorder.

Although Qian and the others were positioned near the center of the unit, they had been attacked by falling rocks, leaving their formation rather scattered, so they were targeted right away.

Over thirty Rock Hidden Chunin immediately cast Earth Style, rapidly approaching this area from underground.

Judging from the way they moved, they were clearly aiming for a Center Breakthrough, splitting the entire convoy into two parts to expand the scope of the engagement and inflict the greatest possible casualties on the Leaf Ninja.

Qian carefully sensed one person's position, quietly drew a Kunai, and the instant the man leaped out of the earth, he threw the Kunai in his hand.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out.

The Rock Ninja had only just burrowed out of the ground when a Kunai accurately struck his eye socket.

Blood slid down his cheek. The other party still wanted to see who had launched the Sneak Attack on him, but in the next moment, another Kunai shot over and drove into the position of his heart.

After taking this fatal blow, the Rock Ninja unwillingly closed his eyes.

The process of Qian killing this Rock Hidden Chunin looked simple, but in reality, it was anything but.

First, he needed to have a precise grasp of the other party's position. Only then could he throw the Kunai at the first possible moment.

Second, the accuracy required for throwing the Kunai was extremely high. Otherwise, it would not achieve the effect of killing in one blow. If the other party had been given room to fight back, he would not have been so easy to kill.

Lastly, he needed a powerful mental fortitude, one that would not be disturbed by external factors.

Just like now, another Rock Hidden Chunin had already engaged Ryosuke. If Qian had chosen to intercept him just now, he definitely would not have been able to kill the Rock Ninja before him in a single blow.