Transfer orders

Within mere seconds, the laser melted through the first wind wall. The second and third followed in seamless succession as the ten puppets took turns activating their Wind Release defenses, stacking layer upon layer without a gap.

Chiyo's mastery of the Puppet Technique had long since reached perfection. One could even say she had surpassed its founder.

An ordinary ninja's puppets might only be capable of close combat and physical offense and defense, but every one of her modified Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu contained an independent chakra storage core.

"Don't embarrass yourself by showing off such paltry tricks. These things aren't even as good as the ninja tools Ebizo usually gives Sasori to play with."

The sharpness in Chiyo's eyes abruptly intensified, and she raised her fingers again.

All ten fingers danced wildly, several Chakra Threads vibrating at tremendous speed.

Seven puppets in midair opened their mouths simultaneously, their internal Wind Release chakra cores running at full power!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

With a series of thunderous booms, seven enormous storms instantly rose from the ground!

Wind Release: Thousand Blades of Wind Slash! ×2

Wind Release: Dragon Twister Heaven-Crusher! ×2

Wind Release: Chaotic Sand Burial Prison!

Seven Wind Release Ninjutsu erupted simultaneously!

Razor-sharp blue-green wind blades spread in dense waves, falling like rain from the sky. Giant tornadoes spiraled upward, sweeping up yellow sand that filled the air and forming enormous pillars connecting heaven and earth. Chaotic gales carried broken stones and sharp blades, stretching without end.

Furious winds howled throughout the world around them, utterly transforming the skies over the desert!

Orochimaru stood before the sky-filling prison of wind, without the slightest trace of panic on his face.

He lowered his eyes slightly and raised his hands to form hand seals.

Riiip-!

Dozens of thick, fearsome, ink-black snakes surged from his sleeves and rapidly grew larger.

Each giant snake was as thick as a pillar, with pitch-black scales, stark white fangs, and a flickering tongue, exuding a powerful bloody stench and a murderous aura.

Immediately afterward, Orochimaru formed different seals with each hand simultaneously.

"Summoning Technique: Quintuple Rashomon!"

"Summoning Technique: Mechanical Armor!"

The seals were complete.

Rumble-!

The ground suddenly shook, as though a giant beast were burrowing out from the earth's core.

Five enormous pitch-black gates, each a hundred feet tall, burst from the earth. Their surfaces were covered in reliefs of evil spirits roaring soundlessly, ghostly flames burning in their eye sockets, while demonic figures with chains wound around their arms overlapped.

Boom!!!

Amid a violent roar, Rashomon blocked the endless wind blades.

Immediately afterward, glowing patterns lit up on all ten giant snakes. In an instant, dark silver armor began covering their entire bodies.

As the Mechanical Armor attached itself, ten armored giant snakes fully appeared before Orochimaru. At their armor joints, hydraulic rods pulsed faintly as their tongues flickered.

Diamond-shaped steel helmets covered their heads, their compound eyes were replaced with scarlet targeting scopes, and alloy tubes took the place of venomous fangs, their nozzles hissing with green mist.

The Mechanical Armor along their sides was segmented, each plate engraved with heat-dissipation grooves. Liquid metal flowed where scales meshed with steel plates, like saliva mixed with blood.

Triangular drill bits were welded to their tailbones, whipping up a howling wind as they spun at high speed.

"Toys? Then be buried beneath these toys' fangs."

After fitting all the summoned giant snakes with Mechanical Armor, Orochimaru lightly licked the corner of his lips and spoke coldly.

"You think putting another layer of skin on these beasts will let you defeat this old woman? Utterly laughable."

Chiyo looked at Orochimaru, her eyes filled with killing intent.

Meanwhile, inside the Land of Fire's border.

Severed limbs and broken remains lay scattered across the ground.

"As expected, Iwagakure ninja have started appearing too."

Uchiha Gen flicked the blood from the Demon Blade in his hand and spoke calmly as he examined the skin characteristics of the corpses before him.

The rest of Team 8 were all beside him.

After wiping out Sunagakure's suicide squad, Team 8 had regrouped and begun carrying out other missions.

Now, Uchiha Gen and the others were tasked with eliminating every enemy village ninja who had infiltrated the Land of Fire within this area.

"Yes. According to intelligence from the front, Iwagakure's main force has already reached the Land of Grass. It looks like the village will soon have to fight on separate fronts."

Beside him, Shibi Aburame spoke quietly as he raised a hand and summoned countless kikaichū to dispose of the corpses on the ground.

"Not just Iwagakure. According to my older brother, this time... Konoha will also have to face Kumogakure, which has already declared war on us, as well as... Kirigakure, which has kept quiet for years."

Asuma Sarutobi also spoke, his expression grim.

This time, Konoha was under simultaneous attack from all four great ninja villages.

Under such pressure, even he understood that the slightest misstep could very well send Konoha into utter ruin.

Right now... that damned old man must be frantic too.

Asuma Sarutobi's expression was complicated. For the first time, he truly understood how difficult it was to be Hokage.

"Konoha will definitely win again this time. Don't you think so, Gen?"

Kurenai Yuhi spoke up as well.

"That's not something we need to consider. Shibi-sensei, since Kakashi and the others have already been transferred away, does that mean we'll be leaving here too?

"After all, there's no way they would keep this many people just to defend the border. Although most of these ninja teams consist of newly graduated genin, every team still has a jonin.

"The strength of genin is insignificant, but jonin... are already an elite force on any battlefield. Leaving elite troops in the rear to deal with this trash is clearly a waste of their abilities."

At her words, Uchiha Gen merely shook his head lightly. As for whether Konoha would win, if this had been the Shinobi World he knew before, he could have thumped his chest and guaranteed that Konoha would win.

But now... he really couldn't say.

Who knew whether the other ninja villages might have some monstrous surprises in store?

From the moment he met White Fang, Uchiha Gen had stopped taking the plotlines he knew seriously.

This was a real world. Both the people and the plot could only serve as references. Applying things from an anime to reality and trusting them completely was a foolish act in itself.

Especially in a Shinobi World whose entire style had changed so drastically.

"Very perceptive. I have indeed received transfer orders. Tomorrow, Team 8 will head to the Land of Grass to join Team 7. In the Land of Grass... traces of a jinchūriki have appeared.

"A jinchūriki poses an enormous threat. Although Minato is strong enough to handle one, I also need to go, just to be safe. As for you two, you'll need to merge with Team 7 and carry out missions together."

At his words, Shibi Aburame gave Uchiha Gen a somewhat surprised look, then took out a scroll and placed it before the three of them as he spoke quietly. As he spoke, Shibi Aburame looked at Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi.

"Us two?? What about Gen??"

Asuma Sarutobi couldn't help feeling puzzled.

Why had Uchiha Gen been left out again?? It seemed that every time, Uchiha Gen's mission was somewhat different from theirs.