Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
In the woods.
As Yechen and the others approached the battle site, Aoki Midorino suddenly stopped and raised his right arm, signaling everyone to halt.
The others stopped as well, scanning their surroundings.
At some point, the woods had suddenly fallen silent. Even the insects had stopped chirping.
In the stillness of the night, the only sound seemed to be the breeze brushing through the treetops.
The silence around them was unnerving. It was far from normal.
They all knew danger was likely lurking here. The enemy might well be hiding among the trees.
As they surveyed their surroundings, a series of whistles cut through the air from the woods ahead.
Dozens of kunai shot toward them like arrows.
"Enemy attack!"
Aoki Midorino bellowed, immediately forming hand seals before slamming both palms against the ground. An earthen wall rose before them.
Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall.
In Captain Aoki's hands, this simple C-rank ninjutsu produced an entirely different effect.
Rows of earthen walls rose like shields, enclosing everyone within them.
The incoming kunai fell silent the instant they struck the walls.
Yechen furrowed his brows. Captain Aoki's mastery of the Earth Flow Wall must have reached an advanced level. He could reshape it at will and even absorb the force of the kunai. That feat alone was beyond an ordinary Jonin.
But it must consume a lot of chakra!
Still, a Jonin's chakra reserves were several times greater than a Chunin's. A superpowered Earth Flow Wall was nothing to Captain Aoki.
Just then, the roar of flames came from the distance.
Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique.
Three enormous fire dragons hurtled toward them.
Their terrifying explosive force slammed into the Earth Flow Wall.
Boom!
The Earth Flow Wall immediately began to crumble. Terrifying heat swept over everyone, leaving them feeling as though they were trapped in a kiln, the stifling heat almost unbearable.
"Fall back!"
Captain Aoki bellowed.
An opening appeared in the Earth Flow Wall behind them, while a Special Jōnin used Wind Release: Great Breakthrough to blast a gap through the scorching flames outside.
Everyone filed out. By the time Captain Aoki withdrew, the Earth Flow Wall struck by the Great Dragon Fire Technique lost his chakra support and collapsed instantly.
With a thunderous boom, a tremendous explosion erupted.
Blazing waves of fire surged in every direction. Most of the dry branches in the woods had already burst into flames.
Watching it all, Yechen marveled inwardly. A single Jonin was not frightening; a whole group of them was. The destruction they could unleash together would force even a Kage Level ninja to keep their distance for a time.
Waves of flame rolled outward as dust and smoke billowed.
At that moment, more than a dozen Rock Ninja emerged from the far side of the firelight.
If that was all they had, there was little to worry about. But would the enemy really dare intercept the First Detachment with so few people?
The answer was clearly no.
Ten more Rock Ninja emerged behind them. Judging by their uniforms, the enemy's overall strength was no lower than theirs. If anything, it was greater.
Yechen swept his gaze over them and felt somewhat reassured. The enemy might be stronger, but his side was no pushover either. At the very least, they could put up a fight.
The Rock Ninja were roughly divided into six squads, each led by someone wearing an Iwagakure Jonin uniform.
There was no telling how many were actual Jonin, but even in the worst case, they had six Special Jōnin. That already surpassed the number on Yechen's side.
Excluding the First Squad, which had stayed behind, their side had two Jonin, three Special Jōnin, nine Chunin, and three Genin.
No matter how they counted, the enemy was stronger.
Of course, individual ability still mattered. Otherwise, there would be no need to fight-they could all sit down together and compare numbers.
Fortunately, Ikeda Kura's eagle eyes had taken in everything happening here. They only needed to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Then every problem could be resolved. If things went well, they might even turn the encirclement back on the enemy.
But another problem remained. More than twenty Rock Ninja had come to intercept them, so how many were fighting the Second Detachment?
If the Second Detachment failed to hold out, they would be in danger.
Yechen had a vague sense of foreboding. The enemy's scheme could not be this simple.
But there was no time to worry about all that now. They would deal with whatever came their way, and this standoff would not last forever.
Sure enough, the Rock Ninja on both sides slowly advanced, forming a simple encirclement.
There was no room for idle talk on the battlefield. Once the fighting started, it would be a struggle to the death.
With the disparity in numbers, however, their side was clearly at a disadvantage.
Fortunately, both sides had Jonin, so the stronger fighters would not be free to prey on the weaker ones. It would come down to what each of them could do.
"Miyuki, Abe Rō, be careful. Try to keep their Genin occupied."
The two nodded. "Understood, Teacher Nakagawa."
Nakagawa Ichirō turned to Yechen. "You, I'm not worried about. Just don't go picking fights with those Jonin. Try to kill as many Chunin as you can."
For Nakagawa Ichirō to say that, he clearly had high expectations of Yechen.
Of course, that also had to do with Yechen's performance last time.
The others might not have paid much attention to Yechen, but as his teacher, Nakagawa Ichirō had kept a constant eye on him. He had a clear understanding of how much fighting strength this student possessed.
"All right," Yechen replied quietly.
The battle was about to erupt.
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