Half an hour later, Nakagawa Ichirō returned with bad news.
In four hours, another group of ninja would arrive to relieve them. Together, they would split into four squads and launch a surprise attack on a Rock Ninja outpost twenty kilometers away.
The order had come from the Main Camp, so they had no choice but to carry it out.
Of course, the Main Camp would not simply send them to their deaths. The order had gone out to more than just their outpost; almost every outpost facing the Rock Ninja along the front had received it.
In other words, Konoha was launching an all-out offensive to destroy that outpost.
Yechen thought this might be Orochimaru's plan for revenge, but it seemed rather rash.
What would this accomplish besides leaving both sides badly wounded? Konoha was already at a disadvantage on the battlefield in the Land of Rain. Only Orochimaru could have come up with this life-for-life approach.
Despite their extreme reluctance, they were ninja, and they had to complete their mission.
Ding-dong! A new mission has been generated: Mission objective: destroy the Rock Ninja frontline outpost. Rewards: evolution points +500, Spirit-Transforming Fruit +10, Lightning Release-Nine Changes of the Thunder God
Yechen brightened after reading the mission details. A mission had actually been triggered. It looked like he would have to go-and complete it, too. He did not want to end up with another incomplete version.
Although he could still train with it, evolving it even once would take considerable effort.
Over the next few hours, Nakagawa Ichirō told the three of them a great deal. His most important warning was that this mission would be extremely dangerous, and they had to keep themselves safe.
The three nodded, well aware of the danger.
Night fell.
The other groups of relief ninja arrived. After a short rest, the entire force split into four squads.
Naturally, Yechen and his two companions joined Nakagawa Ichirō's squad. They advanced, circling around to a position roughly a hundred meters to the right of the village.
Ahead lay a Rock Ninja outpost, the target of their mission.
As they observed the village, they could faintly make out scattered firelight within it.
When they reached a low hillside, Nakagawa Ichirō raised his right fist, signaling everyone to stop.
He checked the time. There were still ten minutes before the attack began, so he gestured for everyone to rest while they could. A bitter fight awaited them.
Time ticked by. Their surroundings were utterly quiet, save for their faint breathing and the rustle of a breeze through the trees.
Suddenly, an explosion boomed in the distance.
Yechen looked up and saw a ball of crimson flame rise from the other side of the village-the unmistakable sight of an Explosive Tag detonating.
Then came the clang of clashing weapons, piercingly loud in the night.
There was no doubt that fighting had already broken out over there. Someone had probably triggered an Explosive Tag by accident, alerting the Rock Ninja to their operation ahead of time.
There was no time to think. Since they had been exposed, they could only force their way in. Nakagawa Ichirō immediately gave the order.
"Change of plans! Everyone, charge with me!"
With that, Nakagawa Ichirō took the lead, rushing toward the Rock Ninja outpost.
Konoha's force had split into four squads, each attacking from a different direction.
The explosion had come from the north, while they were approaching from the east. Just as they neared the village outpost, another explosion sounded to the south.
Yechen felt a surge of delight. This would make things much easier for us.
With two approaches exposed, the Rock Ninja would surely send reinforcements to those two sides, leaving the defenses here much weaker.
That was what he thought, but an unexpected danger struck him a moment later.
Crack!
A faint cracking sound came from beneath his feet. Yechen looked down and felt a slight tremor in the ground. It was not particularly strong, but it filled him with a sense of impending disaster.
Without time to think, Yechen grabbed Ito Miyuki and Abe Rō and swiftly retreated.
At the same time, he called out a warning.
"Watch out! Something's wrong underground!"
At Yechen's warning, some remained bewildered, unsure what to do. Others reacted quickly, following his example and darting off to either side.
The next moment, the earth split open. Dozens of fissures erupted amid the tremors, instantly swallowing several Genin. Their fate was easy to imagine.
It happened so suddenly that by the time Nakagawa Ichirō and the other Jonin at the front reacted, disaster had already struck. Clearly, they had walked into an ambush as well.
Yechen had noticed the danger not because his senses were sharper than those of the Jonin, but because the Rock Ninja had deliberately avoided the Jonin and targeted the Genin instead.
Otherwise, with the strength of Nakagawa Ichirō and the others, there was no way they would have missed the movement underground.
Before they could retaliate, the tremors grew stronger. Then a dense mass of stone and earthen spikes burst out of the ground.
As though they had eyes, the spikes surrounded the Genin and began slaughtering them.
Several people failed to dodge in time and were cut by the spikes. Fortunately, they were all on guard now, and no one lost their life to them.
Nakagawa Ichirō and the other Jonin did not stand idle. They hurled Shuriken into the dark areas of the village.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A few muffled grunts rang out, and the earthen-spike ninjutsu stopped. Someone among the hidden attackers must have been wounded.
Tap, tap, tap!
An Iwagakure Jonin stepped out of the darkness. No other Rock Ninja accompanied him. They had probably been hit by the Shuriken and put out of action.
Nakagawa Ichirō glanced at a Jonin beside him, who immediately stepped forward to face the Iwagakure Jonin.
The rest continued toward the village. As they passed the hidden sentry post, they saw two corpses pierced by Shuriken and another person struggling to escape.
Without waiting for Nakagawa Ichirō to speak, Yechen used the Flash Teleportation Technique and slit the fleeing ninja's throat with a single stroke.
Evolution points +21
Yechen curled his lip. It had only been a Genin. No wonder the ninja had failed to dodge the Shuriken thrown by the Jonin.
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