Return

In the blink of an eye, several hours passed.

Qian had worried that more enemies might come after him, but seeing that dawn was about to break and he still had not seen a second person, his taut nerves eased slightly.

If the enemy held the advantage, they could not possibly ignore whether Shiroishi Kurato lived or died, so in all likelihood, his side had won.

Next, he only had to wait calmly for rescue.

As for returning on his own...

Qian thought it over, then gave up on the idea.

After all, his side having won was only his guess. What if it was because the fighting was deadlocked and the enemy simply could not spare attention for this side for the time being? If he went back, would he not be walking right into a trap?

So he might as well wait patiently!

And that wait lasted two hours.

Two hours later.

The sky was bright.

In the forest.

Four Leaf Ninja were moving swiftly.

Suddenly, the Jonin in the lead stopped, flicked his wrist, and threw a kunai, shouting, "Who's there?"

At that, the three Leaf Village Genin immediately scattered, faintly forming a defensive formation.

Ding~

The kunai was intercepted in midair.

Qian walked out from behind a tree.

Seeing his attire, one Leaf Village Genin facing him said in surprise, "A Leaf Ninja?!"

"Mm."

Qian nodded.

Seeing this, the leading Jonin still did not lower his guard, but questioned him, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

At that, Qian told him his identity and everything he had experienced last night, leaving nothing out.

After listening to his account and glancing at the wound on his chest, the leading Jonin thought briefly, then took him back to the Temporary Garrison.

About an hour later, Furukawa appeared inside the Temporary Garrison.

After his identity was verified, Qian was brought back to the Main Camp.

From the other man, Qian finally understood the whole story.

At first, he had felt that the Rock Ninja's surprise attack this time made no sense.

There had been no important facilities in their previous defensive zone. Taking it would not mean much, and they could not hold it either. Attacking this place was entirely more trouble than it was worth.

Now, Qian finally knew that it had not been meaningless.

Because last night, it was not only their defensive zone that had been hit by a surprise attack. Several defensive zones adjacent to theirs, as well as several defensive zones on the opposite side of the Main Camp, had also been attacked.

And it was not only Rock Ninja who had taken part in the raids. There had also been Sand Ninja.

No one knew what agreement these two villages had reached, but they had actually launched a surprise attack on the Leaf's Main Camp at the same time.

That was right—the Main Camp.

The ninja attacking these outer defensive zones of theirs could only be considered a feint. The true main force had actually waited for a while before launching their attack.

Last night, after the Main Camp received distress signals from all sides, it immediately sent out several units as reinforcements.

However, not long after the teams set out, the main forces of the Rock Ninja and Sand Ninja appeared, charging straight at the Main Camp from the east and west.

These main forces were not the "rabble" Qian and the others had encountered. The moment they entered the battlefield, the defensive zones to the east and west simply could not hold.

In just a short time, they were broken through.

Seeing that the enemy was about to reach the Main Camp, Orochimaru had no choice but to order the support units to return.

And so, while Qian and the others had been struggling bitterly to hold on, an extremely brutal slaughter had also taken place at the Main Camp.

Needless to say, the Leaf ultimately managed to defend the Main Camp.

Otherwise, he would not be seeing Furukawa now.

However...

Qian glanced at Furukawa's empty right sleeve and could not help but sigh at how dangerous the battlefield was.

That was right. Furukawa had lost an arm in last night's battle, and it was even his dominant right hand. Without a doubt, this would cause his strength to drop by a large margin.

But this was already the best outcome.

Of the four Jonin on the Leaf's side last night, only he and one Special Jonin survived. The Squad Captain—Nakajima Hiroshi—and the other Special Jonin both died in battle.

In addition, only one Chunin was left alive.

Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko, on the other hand, had suffered serious injuries, but they had luckily held out until Okura Seiya arrived to support them.

That was right. Though the Main Camp had been unable to send support in time, Okura Seiya, the Jonin left to hold the station, had come to their aid.

It was precisely because of that that Ryosuke and the others had survived.

At first, Furukawa had thought Qian was dead. When he suddenly heard news of him, he even thought someone was impersonating him.

After all, Qian had not shown himself for so long, and when he left the battlefield, he had been pursued by a Special Jonin. It would have been perfectly normal for him to die.

But no one had expected Qian to actually survive—and even kill the enemy.

This greatly comforted Furukawa.

As for the process of killing him...

Qian emphasized the enemy's contempt for him, as well as his own caution and prudence.

In any case, no one had ever seen Shiroishi Kurato going all out, so wasn't his exact combat strength up to Qian to say?

Even if someone guessed there might be some problems with the story, as long as he refused to admit it, was anyone really going to stand up for Shiroishi Kurato, an enemy?

After some time passed and his strength rose, this little issue would no longer be an issue.

After returning to the Main Camp, Qian first went to check on Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko.

When the two of them saw him, they could practically be described as weeping with joy.

Seeing that they were all right, Qian also revealed a rare faint smile.

The three of them talked for a while, then Qian went over to the medical team to have his injuries treated.

The other superficial wounds were nothing, but the injury on his chest had to be dealt with as soon as possible.

Although the high heat carried by the lightning had already carbonized his wound and stopped the bleeding, if it was not handled carefully, it was very likely to leave lingering aftereffects.

Qian did not want to end up like the later Hayate Gekko, coughing for a long while after taking just a couple of steps.

Speaking of Hayate Gekko, Qian thought of "Crescent Moon Dance."

Last night's battle had made Qian understand that in terms of long-range attacks, his ninjutsu was enough for the time being.

Next, he only needed to keep raising their levels.

On the contrary, when it came to close combat, "Basic Body Technique" was clearly no longer enough. He had to learn more advanced techniques as soon as possible.

Of course, it was not that he wanted to learn "Crescent Moon Dance."

When performing this secret technique, one first had to use "Shadow Clone Technique" to summon two shadow clones. Then the clones and the main body would quickly Body Flicker in front of the enemy. Finally, they would attack the enemy's vital points from above, the left, and the right.

Just from this process, it was clear that this move consumed a huge amount of Chakra and focused on killing with a single strike. It was only suitable for ninjas like Hayate Gekko, who specialized in surprise attacks and assassinations.

Qian's goal was to become a Hexagonal Warrior, not an assassin, so this move did not suit him.

What he wanted to learn was its prerequisite sword technique—Leaf-Style Swordsmanship.

Among the Leaf Ninja, this technique could not be considered widely spread, but there were indeed a small number of people who knew it.

For example, the eternal Genin, Maruboshi Kosuke, and the Leaf Village Jonin, Shirakumo Hayama, both knew this technique, and had even developed their own secret techniques from it.

Qian felt that if he learned this technique and then raised its Proficiency, he should also be able to develop sword moves that belonged uniquely to him.

Of course, none of that was the most important part.

The most important part was that it was relatively widespread, and the village did not restrict it too strictly. Basically, as long as one had enough military merits, it could be exchanged for.

Its relatively low acquisition difficulty was the main reason Qian had set his sights on it.

As he walked, Qian calculated the battlefield merits he had accumulated over the past month or so. They were just about enough.

Qian planned to finish treating his injuries, then go to the Logistics Department to exchange for this technique.