Over where Orochimaru was, a crowd of Jōnin were fighting a furious battle.
Yet Weibei Tuisì, a mere Chunin, actually said he wanted to help!
Bieshu Feifan wanted to beat him to death. Where on earth did his confidence come from?
Hadn't he noticed that the other Chunin were all pairing off against their opponents?
Was a battle on Orochimaru's level something one Chunin leading three Genin could interfere in?
However, Bieshu Feifan noticed that Orochimaru currently used mostly ninjutsu from the five elements, with relatively few snake techniques.
But he really was strong.
Watching Orochimaru fight from a distance, he saw him unleash all sorts of powerful ninjutsu with effortless ease.
This was Bieshu Feifan's first detailed look at a Kage Level Shinobi in action. He would have been lying if he said he didn't yearn for that.
But Weibei Tuisì spoiled the mood.
"Charge with me! Support Lord Orochimaru!"
With that, Weibei Tuisì charged toward Orochimaru.
Then he ran straight into a squad of Sunagakure Ninja.
"Kill!"
That cry came from the side, from several badly battered Iwagakure Ninja.
The three groups soon became embroiled in a melee.
Bieshu Feifan quietly formed a few hand seals, instantly releasing the refined steel from the scroll sealed on his arm.
Then, under the effects of Magnet Release, it rapidly spread over his entire body, forming a suit of armor.
He then looked at the two pieces of cannon fodder beside him.
"Qiuteng, Yeshan, protect me."
Hearing Bieshu Feifan speak, Qiuteng and Yeshan were about to lose their tempers.
Why should we protect you?
Who do you think you are?
But the instant they turned and met Bieshu Feifan's eyes, the anger in their eyes was soothed away.
"No problem, Feifan. I'll repay the kindness you showed me back then."
"Same here, Feifan. We're brothers by blood."
Good. With the ocular power of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, hypnotizing two cannon-fodder Genin was a breeze.
And so, during the battle, Bieshu Feifan hid between Qiuteng and Yeshan.
And all three of them hid behind Weibei Tuisì.
Amid the three-way melee, Bieshu Feifan suddenly felt much less pressure than before.
The enemies didn't seem as terrifying as they had when he first entered the battlefield.
Watching these Chunin and Genin fight to the death, Bieshu Feifan had the feeling that he could hold his own against a Chunin on Weibei Tuisì's level.
Watching Weibei Tuisì genuinely fight for his life, Bieshu Feifan resisted the urge to give him a dose too.
He was a Chunin, after all. If it backfired, it wouldn't be worth it.
Bieshu Feifan had no intention of exposing his strength.
He had heard before that both sides in a war specifically targeted the enemy village's geniuses, especially young ones.
Bieshu Feifan felt that, with his current strength, he might well be taken for a genius too.
So Bieshu Feifan took Qiuteng and Yeshan with him, fighting a Sunagakure puppeteer as they retreated, gradually moving away from Weibei Tuisì.
The three of them surrounded the Sunagakure Genin puppeteer, locked in a fierce struggle.
Moreover, all three focused on attacking the puppet, never attacking the puppeteer himself.
Seeing that the fighting on Weibei Tuisì's side was nearly over, Bieshu Feifan gave Qiuteng a meaningful look.
Qiuteng immediately roared:
"Kill him! Push harder! He's nearly done for!"
And so, just as the battle on Weibei Tuisì's side ended, Bieshu Feifan and the other two joined forces and slew the Sunagakure puppeteer with great difficulty.
This sudden battle was over.
Weibei Tuisì had actually survived.
It seemed Konoha's Chunin were fairly reliable in terms of quality.
A flicker of surprise crossed Weibei Tuisì's eyes when he saw all three of them unharmed.
But he didn't dwell on it and beckoned them over.
"Rest for two minutes."
Weibei Tuisì ate a Soldier Pill and began resting right there on the battlefield.
Just then,
Whoosh!
A kunai with an Explosive Tag attached embedded itself at Weibei Tuisì's feet.
Bang!
Weibei Tuisì was nearly blasted away. Had he not reacted fast enough, he would have died.
Once he steadied himself, he caught sight of his three Genin out of the corner of his eye. They were lucky; they were already somewhere safe.
"Charge! Kill the Konoha Shinobi!"
Several Iwagakure Shinobi rushed out of the woods, apparently led by a Chunin.
The two sides soon began hacking at each other.
But Bieshu Feifan's side had fewer people, and Weibei Tuisì had just been worn down by another fight. They quickly fell into a disadvantage.
With his Byakugan active, Bieshu Feifan looked all around, ready to run the moment anything went wrong.
Just then, another squad of Shinobi rushed out. They were from Konoha.
This group of Stone Ninja was quickly wiped out.
Although Bieshu Feifan remained completely unharmed, the two bodyguards he controlled were nearing their limits.
Just then, another group of Sand Ninja charged over.
The Shinobi on Konoha's side showed no fear either, charging forward with shouts.
When this charge ended,
Qiuteng was dead.
Bieshu Feifan immediately slipped up to another Konoha Genin who was still in fairly good shape and patted him on the back.
When the Genin looked over, some additional memories appeared in his mind, and he suddenly felt close to Bieshu Feifan.
"Don't worry, brother. I'll protect you. After all, you're our family's only surviving son."
"Come on, let's keep going to help Lord Orochimaru."
Having caught his breath, Weibei Tuisì immediately began issuing orders again.
Bieshu Feifan's expression darkened. Did this Chunin have a death wish?
There were now a dozen or so Konoha Ninja on Bieshu Feifan's side.
Under Weibei Tuisì's leadership, they once again charged toward Orochimaru.
Fortunately, a squad of Rain Ninja intercepted them along the way.
"Kill!"
Both sides charged once again.
Then,
By the time Bieshu Feifan fought his way out of the encirclement, Yeshan had disappeared too, at some point.
Bieshu Feifan cursed inwardly. Using Genjutsu repeatedly was exhausting, and now he was down another bodyguard.
Then Bieshu Feifan repeated his trick and hypnotized another Genin.
This older Genin, who was in his twenties, patted Bieshu Feifan on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, big brother. You're Mom's favorite boy. Your little brother will protect you."
Although Bieshu Feifan could hypnotize them with Genjutsu, he hadn't crafted the stories well in his haste, and had no idea what they had filled in themselves.
After resting for a while, Weibei Tuisì once again led everyone in a charge toward Orochimaru.
By now, Bieshu Feifan could tell that this guy was most likely a fanatical admirer of Orochimaru.
Bieshu Feifan no longer wanted to follow him to his death.
Even if Bieshu Feifan now had some ability, he would still have a hard time surviving a battle on Orochimaru's level.
But this time, they were nearly at Orochimaru's position, yet not a single squad had intercepted them.
Bieshu Feifan was so anxious that cold sweat broke out. Where were the enemies?
Hurry up and stop us!
Don't just focus on the Konoha Ninja in front of you!
Just as they drew close to Orochimaru's battlefield, the ground suddenly shook.
Shhk, shhk, shhk!
Countless hard spikes erupted from the ground.
"Aaaah!"
The Konoha Ninja who failed to react in time were instantly skewered like sausages.
A stone spike shot up right along the right side of Bieshu Feifan's clothes, nearly skewering him like a sausage too.
Cold sweat poured off Bieshu Feifan. If the Sharingan's powers of observation hadn't been good enough,
He would probably have been dead by now.
Swallowing, Bieshu Feifan stayed still, hanging motionlessly on a spike.
Only then did a Shinobi emerge from the ground a short distance away.
He looked middle-aged and was from Iwagakure.
On Konoha's side, only Weibei Tuisì and a handful of others with both good luck and decent strength had survived.
But the sight of the Stone Ninja emerging from the ground made all the Konoha Ninja look grave.
That guy was definitely a Jōnin.
"Orochimaru must die today. So must you."
The Iwagakure Jōnin shouted, his hands rapidly forming seals as he unleashed another Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears.
Countless hard spikes once again erupted from the ground.
Weibei Tuisì dodged while rapidly forming hand seals.
Earth Release: Earth Square.
A shield made of stone appeared in his hand, blocking the Iwagakure Jōnin's attack.
The fighting that followed involved more Taijutsu, and the Konoha Shinobi were beaten back.
Although Bieshu Feifan hung motionless on the spike, he kept watching their battle.
Just when none of them were paying attention to him, Bieshu Feifan suddenly activated his Magnet Release.
The metal covering his body carried him away in an instant.
Within a single breath, he vanished from everyone's sight.
Upon reaching a safe position, Bieshu Feifan surveyed his surroundings with the Byakugan.
Everything was fine.
Then he hid, burying himself in the earth.
That Iwagakure Jōnin had emerged from underground earlier.
And Bieshu Feifan hadn't noticed him.
This made Bieshu Feifan even more vigilant. Shinobi really did have an endless variety of tricks.
He had only just started making progress. He couldn't die here.
Bieshu Feifan suppressed his chakra fluctuations, leaving only the Byakugan's visual range active.
Whatever the purpose of this war was, a little piece of cannon fodder like him had no interest in it.
As long as he lay low for a few days and nights, he should be safe.
Things went against his wishes, however. After Bieshu Feifan had hidden for several hours, he suddenly felt the ground tremble.
Bieshu Feifan abruptly pushed his Byakugan to its limit, then mustered his chakra.
He leaped out of the ground.
At the very moment Bieshu Feifan left the ground,
Shhk, shhk, shhk.
Another vast patch of hard spikes burst from the earth.
"Found you, bug."
It was the Iwagakure Jōnin from earlier.
"Fuck!" Bieshu Feifan cursed, turned, and ran.
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