Konoha Lightning

The war between Konoha in the Land of Fire and Iwagakure in the Land of Earth had been escalating for a month. Both the number of troops involved and the ferocity of the fighting had reached new highs since the war began.

The battle between the two countries had finally entered a fever pitch.

Moreover, Sunagakure of the Land of Wind, Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning, and Kirigakure of the Land of Water had successively joined the war to pursue their own interests.

At this point, the Third Shinobi World War had entered its middle phase.

Every country was waging campaigns on multiple fronts.

Take Konoha, for example. On one hand, it had to fend off Iwagakure's invasion from the northwest. On the other, it had to guard against surprise attacks from Sunagakure in the southwest.

Yet Kumogakure in the northeast was also watching them covetously.

This situation was not unique to Konoha. It was practically the reality facing every country.

Iwagakure, for instance, was fighting Konoha while also resisting Sunagakure's attacks, paying a devastating price in the process.

Once war began, every nation's finances and strength were rapidly drained. Without gaining sufficiently vast territories and substantial benefits, the fighting would be even less likely to end easily.

Meanwhile, after Long Ye and Shisui completed the Hokage trials, they truly began participating in battles against shinobi from every country.

From killing one person during their first missions to wiping out an entire squad together several months later, their growing strength was accompanied by brutal slaughter at every step.

The war raged like wildfire, and smoke rose everywhere.

In just three short months,

the Long Ye and Shisui combination had traversed massive battlefields with thousands of soldiers and infiltrated enemy rear areas. Even the most difficult and dangerous missions had been overcome by the two of them one after another.

Gradually,

their names began spreading throughout the various countries.

Then, one day half a year later,

Long Ye and Shisui were ordered to intercept a four-man squad composed entirely of Jonin. Only then did they truly become famous throughout the Shinobi World.

Another pair that rose rapidly to fame and became renowned throughout the Shinobi World was "Killer B and A" of Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning.

Both combinations had achieved glorious undefeated records in the wars they participated in.

One day, half a year later,

in the Shinobi World's most primitive forest,

a group of more than a dozen people leaped forward across branches thicker than a person's waist.

Their movements were all small, keeping the noise to a minimum.

This time, led by two Tokubetsu Jonin, they had silently reached the rear of a thousand-man Konoha army. They intended to intercept a supply unit, cutting off the Konoha army's supplies and improving their odds in the battle between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire.

The operation was far from easy. Everyone was on edge, terrified of encountering that nightmare combination.

"Move faster! The destination is just ahead. The shinobi escorting the supplies can't be too strong. Once we succeed, we must retreat immediately, without leaving a trace..."

A Jonin at the front turned around and lectured the dozen or so Chunin behind him.

These Chunin had only recently been selected from among the Genin. This mission was an opportunity for field experience given to them by Kirigakure's higher-ups.

If the mission succeeded, it would greatly boost their confidence and allow them to rapidly mature into reserve forces.

"C-Captain... quick, look..."

A young man tremulously pointed in a direction.

The Jonin followed his finger.

The moment he saw what lay there, his face turned deathly pale.

A streak of blue lightning was flashing toward them.

"Konoha... Lightning Flash!"

The Jonin lost all color.

"The Konoha Lightning Flash is here! Body Flicker Shisui must be nearby too. Abandon the mission and split up!"

Another Jonin shouted.

He changed direction and fled for his life, with six Chunin following behind him.

Kirigakure's higher-ups had issued clear instructions: unless a Jonin possessed Near-Kage Level strength, any shinobi on a mission who saw the blue lightning had to abandon the mission and flee immediately.

The leaders of the other four countries had conducted detailed studies of the "Flying Lightning Body Flicker" combination. In the end, they had concluded that unless they faced a Near-Kage Level shinobi, the pair was invincible.

Even Elite Jonin could only survive under their hands.

Elite Jonin were the pinnacle of each country's combat strength, and their numbers were extremely limited. Even Konoha, one of the two strongest countries among the Five Great Nations in overall strength, had no more than twenty Elite Jonin.

Jonin with that level of power could only flee for their lives from the pair. This ragtag group naturally had no courage to resist. Escaping was their first priority.

The blue lightning halted on a tree, revealing a man wearing a Konoha forehead protector.

It was Long Ye.

At that moment, someone silently appeared beside him out of thin air.

It was Shisui Uchiha.

"Same as always. We split up."

After Long Ye finished speaking, he crackled and transformed into lightning, vanishing.

Shisui said nothing. He disappeared on the spot and chased after the other group that had fled...

"Run! Your lives are in your own hands."

The Jonin leading the group had barely finished speaking when a streak of blue lightning flashed across his eyes, and a figure appeared directly in front of him.

Everyone stopped abruptly.

The six at the back, especially—the boys and girls who had only just become Chunin—looked at the youth ahead of them. He seemed only a few years older than they were, and their curiosity was mixed with fear.

The Jonin's face hardened with resolve.

"I'll hold him off. You split up and run."

"Water Release—Hidden Mist Technique!"

The Mist Ninja Jonin had no intention of fighting Long Ye to the death.

He knew he could not possibly be a match for the famed "Konoha Lightning Flash." He immediately cast the mist technique, hoping to disrupt his opponent's vision and create a chance to escape.

The moment the thick mist formed, before he could celebrate, a flying hound made of electricity shot forward with the speed of lightning. Dragging a streak of radiance behind it, it pierced through the mist and struck the Jonin in the chest before he could react.

The high-voltage current contained in the flying hound entered his body. The lightning beam connected to its tail pierced through the mist and stretched a hundred paces away.

A hundred paces away, Long Ye held out his right hand, his palm seething with electricity.

Because of the thick mist, he could not see what was happening a hundred paces away, but he knew clearly that he had not missed.

He suddenly clenched his fist.

An explosion thundered a hundred paces away.

The Jonin who had been struck was blown apart, his body torn into pieces without leaving the slightest trace.

This was one of the applications he had developed after fusing his Lightning Flash with Explosion Release.

Unlike Shū, who had made explosions occur wherever his fists struck, Long Ye had built on that foundation to use Explosion Release over long distances.

He did this to conceal his methods as much as possible and make people overlook the fact that this power belonged to Explosion Release.

The battle had begun and ended in the span of a single breath.

After killing the Jonin, a flash of lightning carried Long Ye's figure in front of the youths who were just about to flee.

There were six of them, one a girl. Every one of them looked at him in terror.

Seeing their wandering gazes, Long Ye smiled and said,

"Since you know my name, you should also know that no one can escape from me. The moment you try to flee, I can link you together with a current of electricity and then trigger an explosion..."

As he spoke, he studied the group.

Especially the timid girl among them. She suddenly reminded him of Rin.

Rin should be carrying out her own missions just like them now. Could she end up in a perilous situation like the people before me?