The first war erupted in full

Boom!

Just as his thoughts were wandering, a deafening explosion erupted above the rock wall to his right, followed immediately by the clash of weapons.

Yechen looked up and saw Jonin dressed in Iwagakure uniforms fighting Konoha Jonin.

Off to the other side, more than a dozen Chunin stood ready for battle.

Ever since activating his two bloodlines, Yechen's eyesight had improved tremendously. Even without activating his eyes, his field of vision surpassed that of ordinary ninja.

Within his field of vision, the Rock Ninja Chunin took advantage of the Konoha ninja being occupied and unleashed ninjutsu together against the rock walls.

Yechen instantly understood their intent. He hurriedly grabbed Abe Rō and Miyuki and pulled them back.

Although neither understood why Yechen was pulling them away, they trusted their teammate and followed him back without resisting.

The moment they retreated, the sound of the rock walls cracking on both sides came from above.

Countless rocks of every size then fell from the walls like meteors descending from the sky, threatening to obliterate the entire area.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

Countless rocks tumbled down the walls. Some were hurled skyward by the force of the explosions before plunging back down.

In an instant, chaos engulfed the bottom of the canyon.

Even though ninja were physically stronger than ordinary people, getting struck by a massive boulder hurtling down at them would still end badly.

Every ninja below scrambled to dodge, desperate to get out of the way.

Several breaths later, when the dust settled, several unfortunate ninja who had failed to dodge lay pinned beneath boulders amid the dust. A great many Genin had also been caught in the collapse to varying degrees.

Scattered raindrops fell from the sky, and wet mud spattered the faces of Yechen and his teammates.

But none of them had the presence of mind to wipe it away. The scene before them was too terrifying.

"Yechen, thank goodness you were here."

Beside him, Abe Rō voiced his relief as he surveyed the devastated canyon.

The falling rocks might have been easy for Chunin to dodge or shatter, but for most Genin, they were a deadly attack.

Most of the ninja lying beneath the rubble were Genin.

They had come to the battlefield full of hope, never imagining their lives would end this way.

More tragically still, no one would remember whether they lived or died. On the battlefield, Genin were merely nameless nobodies. Once they died, that was it. No one would mourn them; perhaps only their families would remember them.

Only now did their real trouble begin.

Yechen looked out and saw nearly a hundred ninja charging toward them from each end of the canyon.

Although their side had just lost quite a few Genin, they still held an advantage in numbers. In quality, however, they fell far short.

The Rock Ninja had clearly come prepared. Most of their force consisted of Chunin, with more than a dozen Jonin among them. Even their Genin were battle-hardened elites.

By contrast, more than half of Yechen's side were raw recruits. What did they know about coordination or war? Faced with a battle like this, all they felt was panic.

Comparing the two forces, Yechen's group was in serious trouble.

The Jonin leading them recognized this as well. Their only option now was to buy time.

With such a huge commotion, headquarters would soon receive word. Only when reinforcements arrived would they have a chance of surviving. Otherwise, every newly promoted Genin they had brought along would be finished!

Yechen scanned the battlefield. Most of their Jonin were tied down by enemy Jonin, leaving only the Chunin escorting the group available to fight. Seeing how dire the situation was, Yechen took a deep breath and said to Abe Rō and Ito Miyuki,

"Stay close to me when the fighting starts, and conserve your strength as much as possible."

The two nodded blankly. Their hearts were racing, and only after moving a little closer to Yechen did they feel somewhat better.

Yechen still wanted to look after his two teammates whenever it was within his power. After all, they had spent two or three months risking their lives together.

It was impossible not to have grown attached to them, so Yechen did not want to stand by and watch them fall into danger without doing anything.

Of course, if he could barely protect himself, he would only do what he could.

The enemy ninja charged toward them like man-eating beasts. Fear was useless now. Under the leadership of several Special Jōnin, everyone readied themselves for battle.

The members of Team 7-Yechen, Ito Miyuki, and Abe Rō-slowly drew their kunai and stood ready.

At that moment, just as the two sides were about to collide, someone shouted, "Kill!"

In an instant, the battle erupted in full. Roars, screams, clashing weapons, and the thunder of ninjutsu attacks resounded across the battlefield.

That cry of "Kill!" was like a bugle sounding the charge, plunging the entire battlefield into chaos.

The newly promoted Genin, Yechen among them, were positioned in the middle and were also targets of the Rock Ninja assault.

Their mission was not only to destroy Konoha's provisions, but also to wipe out this batch of newly promoted Genin.

These Genin had only just graduated from the academy. On the battlefield, they were lambs awaiting slaughter.

But why were the Rock Ninja targeting them too?

Because once newly promoted Genin had endured the baptism of war, they would no longer be raw recruits. Their strength would also improve considerably, and facing them on the battlefield in the future would exact a much greater cost.

Better to eliminate them before they had a chance to grow.