A Tiger Among Sheep, One Man's Show!

Five minutes later.

Asuma and the other two came upon a large gathering of Sand Ninja—and the Sand Ninja spotted them as well.

"Nitta, why are there only three of you?"

A Sand Ninja asked.

Asuma and the other two approached and said, "We ran into serious trouble!"

"That brat from Konoha's Sarutobi Clan—the one who created an S-Rank Wind Style Ninjutsu at nine and has a thirty-million-ryō bounty on his head—got away."

"And aside from us, everyone else has already..."

The Sand Ninja's expressions changed drastically at those words.

"Sarutobi Asuma, was that his name?"

"That guy should only be around ten years old, yet he's that powerful?"

The Scarred Sand Ninja Leader furrowed his brow deeply.

Having such a thorn at their backs at a time like this was no good thing.

"Yes, he's extremely powerful."

Asuma looked grave. "That brat isn't merely proficient in Wind Style. He's also skilled in Fire Style. He's a ninjutsu-focused ninja, and he casts incredibly fast."

"We have to deal with him as soon as possible. It'll take at least three squads to surround and kill him!"

The Sand Ninja Leader shook his head. "There's no time!"

"We're about to face an attack from Konoha's border defense force. Leave that brat to the reinforcements."

Asuma frowned. "But..."

The Sand Ninja Leader cut him off with a shout. "Say no more. One person alone can't have much of an impact on us unless he's someone as powerful as Hatake Sakumo."

"The reinforcements will be arriving soon as well. He won't get away!"

Asuma immediately said nothing more.

Two minutes later.

Konoha's defense force arrived.

The Sand Ninja, lying in wait for their prey, had already prepared their ninjutsu. The moment the Konoha ninja appeared, they all opened their mouths.

Boom!

A massive storm swept through the area. Tree after tree was torn apart, and the forest was reduced to level ground in the blink of an eye.

The Konoha ninja on the other side were also well acquainted with the Sand Ninja's methods. Those charging at the forefront were all ninja proficient in Earth Style.

The moment the Sand Ninja unleashed their Wind Style, they joined forces to use Earth Style.

Earth Walls rose one after another, blocking the large-scale Wind Style jointly unleashed by the Sand Ninja.

However, the Sand Ninja had already achieved their objective.

They had cleared out an open area and created terrain favorable for combat.

For the Sand Ninja, open terrain was more advantageous.

After the first wave of ninjutsu, Asuma immediately made a hand signal.

Move!

Crackle!

Brilliant electric light erupted from Asuma's body and radiated outward.

He was standing in the first rank and had just used Wind Style.

At that moment, the Sand Ninja standing on either side of him were all within his attack range. They were instantly struck by the electric light, their bodies paralyzed.

Meanwhile, Yūhi Kurenai cast a Genjutsu, directly enveloping all the Sand Ninja from two nearby squads.

Shizune leaped forward to strike. With the Chakra Scalpel and the support of Yūhi Kurenai's Genjutsu, she killed two Sand Ninja Chūnin in the blink of an eye.

Asuma was even faster.

In Lightning Style Chakra Mode, the two men affected by his Lightning Style lost their heads within a second.

By the second second, the Sand Ninja affected by Yūhi Kurenai's Genjutsu had broken free—but it was already too late.

Asuma split into four figures and decapitated four men in an instant.

In less than three seconds, two squads—a total of eight enemies—had all been slain.

Only then did the other Sand Ninja on both flanks react.

However, the Sand Ninja on either side were more than a hundred meters away from Asuma's group.

"Damn it!"

"They're Konoha ninja!"

The Sand Ninja were shocked and furious.

The Sand Ninja Leader instantly understood. "Sarutobi Asuma!"

On the other side, Hatake Sakumo was overjoyed and immediately gave the order. "Charge!"

The Konoha ninja advanced across the entire line.

Meanwhile, the four Asumas each faced one side of the Sand Ninja defensive line.

Level 8 Fire Style—Fire Bullet 19%!

Level 6 Wind Style—Pressure Damage 49%!

Rumble!

Two blazing firestorms swept toward the Sand Ninja on both sides. The two Sand Ninja squads on the flanks hurriedly used Wind Style to resist them.

Yet even though Asuma had cast his ninjutsu from over a hundred meters away, he still fought them to a standstill.

Once the ninjutsu ended, Asuma dispelled his Shadow Clones and led Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune in a charge toward the Sand Ninja on the left.

When the clash between the two sides' ninjutsu ended and the aftershock dispersed, Asuma had already crossed over a hundred meters and charged into the crowd in Lightning Style Chakra Mode.

At that moment, it was like a tiger among sheep!

He immediately smashed the Sand Ninja puppeteer's puppet, then flickered twice and killed two more men.

Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune arrived, using Genjutsu and poisoned needles to assist and restrain the enemy. Relying on his high speed and powerful attacks, Asuma killed two more—one Jōnin and one Chūnin.

Of the two Sand Ninja squads, only four men remained in the blink of an eye.

The charging Konoha ninja had arrived as well.

In less than five more seconds, Asuma wiped out the remaining Sand Ninja squad too.

At that moment, everyone else had become his support.

He was simply too fast. Every flash of blue light was followed by a head hitting the ground. No one could block his blade!

From the moment Asuma made his move to the collapse of the Sand Ninja vanguard, less than three minutes had passed.

The sudden betrayal by Asuma's squad had been utterly devastating.

Not only had they eliminated two elite Sand Ninja squads in a short time and opened a breach for Konoha,

They had also disrupted four squads while the Konoha ninja charged forward.

The Sand Ninja vanguard had only ten squads in total, excluding Asuma's group.

Even if all ten squads were elite.

However.

After defeating the Sand Ninja vanguard, Hatake Sakumo did not lead anyone in pursuit. Instead, he immediately arranged defenses and prepared for the arrival of the main Sand Ninja force.

The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan had already detected that the Sand Ninja reinforcements would arrive in five minutes at most.

And there were more than five hundred of them.

That was a fivefold advantage in manpower.

However, five minutes was not enough time for any complicated arrangements.

Thus, Hatake Sakumo immediately led the team back into the forest and established a circular defensive perimeter around a central point.

In his view.

The Sand Ninja force numbered far more than just five hundred; there would definitely be a larger force behind them.

And the Sand Ninja likely would not commit all their men against them. They would surely leave some behind to contain them while the rest continued deeper into the Land of Fire, attacking towns and villages, creating chaos, and seizing supplies.

"Everyone, our objective is to tie down as much of the enemy's strength as possible and wait for reinforcements from headquarters!"

Hatake Sakumo conveyed his objective to the captains of each squad.

"Understood!"

The captains all nodded.

News of the Sand Ninja invasion had already been sent back through Summoned Beasts.

And if the reinforcements were quick, they should arrive by dawn!

"Asuma, how is your Chakra?"

Hatake Sakumo looked at Asuma.

"Don't worry, Teacher Sakumo. There's no problem at all. I still have plenty left!"

Asuma was full of confidence.