The Fourteenth Chicken Flock had barely traveled a few kilometers along its shortcut when it felt the ground shaking.
Looking back, they caught sight of wooden giants and flying dragons ravaging their combat chickens.
Shocked, Plum Big Chicken hurriedly urged them on. "Pick up the pace! Our plan worked!"
Crossing remote mountains and scrambling over rugged mountain trails, they pressed on without stopping until they finally reached the outskirts of the Chicken Coop!
They arrived at an abandoned factory.
Plum Big Chicken said, "Have the troops rest here for an hour."
Hearing that they could rest, the exhausted Pot Chickens collapsed straight onto the ground.
"Get up! Look at yourselves! You call yourselves elite chickens?" War Chicken went over and kicked them twice.
"Forget it. They're exhausted. Let them get some proper rest," the chicken beside him advised.
Then he pulled War Chicken aside and whispered, "We'll still need them to risk their lives for us. With peasants like these, you have to promise them the world and coax them along.
"Besides, that Shinobi Country hasn't shown any other fighting forces yet. What if they're strong too?"
"Hmph, you coward! Once we take back the Chicken King, all of Pot Chicken will rally to our call. No matter how powerful they are, we'll overwhelm them." War Chicken dismissed the concern.
Instead, he sneered, "A great victory is right before us. I think you're just trying to use this chance to show off."
The mustached chicken flew into a humiliated rage. "Shortsighted fool! You're not worth discussing strategy with!" With that, he left.
"Pah! Pretentious bastard."
The mustached chicken then reported his earlier concerns to Plum Big Chicken.
"Well said. Star Chicken, was it? Stay by my side and help me come up with ideas."
"Yes!" Star Chicken bowed repeatedly in excitement and gratitude. "Thank you for recognizing my worth, Big Chicken. I'll do everything in my power!"
"Then take a look. Which route should we take, and how should we attack..."
"Report!" A voice came from outside the tent.
The chicken entered with fear written across his face, immediately dropped to one knee, and said in a trembling voice, "Reporting to Big Chicken! Something strange has happened."
As though recalling some scene, he instinctively shrank back and lowered his voice.
"I discovered that under the moonlight, the shadows of our patrol chickens have an eerie black glow around their edges. There seem to be eyes inside them. They may all be under someone's control."
Every chicken present was shocked. "What? Explain exactly what happened."
"After your order, we arranged patrols while the others rested. But when I was exchanging passwords as usual, I accidentally caught a pair of eyes flashing through Nakamura's shadow."
At this point, he shuddered, his voice trembling even harder. "Could there be ghosts..."
"Nonsense! Stop spreading these wild rumors!"
"Don't panic." Plum Big Chicken calmed the others, then asked him gently, "What else did you find?"
"After that, I deliberately watched more closely. Eyes flashed through several other patrol chickens' shadows too."
"Well done, Middle Chicken. You've earned yourself a commendation. Now you need to go back and act as though nothing happened. Understand?"
"Huh? Go back? I don't know whether I've been exposed. What if... if it really is a ghost, I'll run... urk." Before Middle Chicken could finish, someone stabbed through his chest from behind.
It was Star Chicken!!!
"Wh... why..." Middle Chicken tried to stop him from pulling out the blade.
"The dead are above suspicion!"
With a wet squelch, Star Chicken withdrew his sword and backhanded it across Middle Chicken's neck, severing his head.
Seeing this, Plum Big Chicken nodded inwardly. "Better to assume it's real. Infiltration by people with supernatural abilities is more dangerous than an enemy army!"
War Chicken immediately stepped forward to accuse him. "Star Chicken! You acted without authorization! How will you answer for this? Who will dare report anything now? Big Chicken, please punish him severely."
"Enough. Star Chicken handled this correctly. It's Middle Chicken who was suspect. Pass down the order for the entire army to attack immediately, and watch how the soldiers react!"
"Oh! Now I understand. We'll judge whether anything is wrong by their reactions. Brilliant, Big Chicken! I'll go right away." War Chicken turned and left the tent.
"Come out. I finally understand now. From the moment we stepped into this place, there was no escape." Plum Big Chicken spoke gravely to Middle Chicken's corpse.
"..."
"Then forget I said anything. Proceed according to plan!"
For a moment, Nara Kaze was terribly tense inside the shadow.
"Phew. Their leader is surprisingly perceptive. Good thing he didn't investigate further." He wiped away his cold sweat, then relayed everything he had seen and heard through the Mind Transmission Technique.
More than ten kilometers away, in the Chicken Coop's conference room...
Yamanaka Jiro sat cross-legged, wearing a device, when he suddenly spoke. "Report! Nara Kaze's position has likely been exposed. His observations indicate that the enemy has uncovered our infiltration plan. Please advise."
Tobirama was a little surprised. "Their leader is pretty composed. Not bad. Then let's close the net early. Big Brother isn't paying this force any attention anyway.
"Also, Big Brother has ordered that future wars will have large numbers of samurai face the enemy head-on, while shinobi handle special operations. Let's see how they perform this time. Pass the intelligence to Mifune as well."
Everyone answered in unison, "Yes!"
Under cover of night, the samurai advanced toward their target, excited to be carrying rifles for the first time.
Bang! A dark figure was hit and fell to the ground.
Their orders were to kill any enemies they saw!
The man who had just fired happily stroked his rifle. "This is so much easier to use than chakra metal."
"What use is junk like this? Strength is what really matters! Otherwise, why was His Majesty able to conquer this place so easily?"
"I..." Suddenly, a bullet pierced his helmet, spraying blood across the other man's face.
"Take cover! Return fire!"
The cherished rifle he had been polishing fell to the ground, now covered in mud.
As the samurai lay dying, he recalled His Majesty's imposing figure and murmured, "I should have practiced my kenjutsu more. Now I can't serve you..."
"Report! The gunfire is coming from the abandoned factory."
Mifune Hisashi considered this briefly, then swiftly split his force into three squads to encircle the factory.
He remained behind the troops to observe.
Sure enough, the moment they approached, tongues of flame erupted from the factory. Three heavy machine guns!
"The enemy has the high ground. We're at a disadvantage. Use the mortars!"
Ten mortars were quickly set up and aimed, but before they could fire, sniper rifles rang out from the neighboring abandoned building, preventing the mortar crews from firing.
"Damn it, we've walked into an ambush." Mifune Hisashi immediately ordered his subordinates to cover the mortar crews at all costs.
Boom!
Ten mortar shells instantly demolished the factory. Its walls collapsed with a crash, and blue-violet flames engulfed the three heavy machine-gun chickens, swallowing their screams.
Still, there probably hadn't been many enemies inside.
Just then, Nara Kaze's voice sounded in his ear. "That was bait! Pull back!"
Those words jolted Mifune to his senses, and he hurriedly ordered the mortar squad to withdraw.
Unfortunately, he was a fraction too late. Just as the squad began packing up, enemy mortars bombarded them.
The entire squad and its covering force, fifty men in all, were killed.
"Is this the gap in experience and eras? I refuse to believe it!"
Mifune Hisashi stroked his sword, and His Majesty's gentle smile flashed through his mind-the way he had taught the samurai to break the enemy with their blades and form a wall with their bodies.
Yet now he had watched mortar shells tear his subordinates apart. His expression darkened as he said, "Is kenjutsu... truly obsolete?"
Clang! He drew his sword in fury and roared, "I refuse to believe it! Charge! Charge toward those mortars! Snipers, take out their snipers!"
"Kill them!" The three squads charged separately.
Ten snipers sought cover on their own and began dueling the enemy.
"All troops, attack! Kill them!" At that moment, Plum Big Chicken, who had been waiting for so long, burst out of the sewers with the main force.
Mifune Hisashi smiled faintly. This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for. Before they set out, the shinobi had sent word that the enemy's deployment was unusual and they might launch a surprise attack from the sewers!
"Hahaha! Close combat! Come and witness the might of the Shinobi World's samurai!" Mifune Hisashi laughed loudly and immediately led his troops to meet them.
His five hundred against their five thousand!
The two sides clashed in hand-to-hand combat!
Before you continue