Deep within the lush forest, Iwagakure shinobi were lying in ambush atop the thick trees lining both sides of a winding path.
One of the shinobi was forming hand seals, his eyes dull and unfocused. He was the sensory-type in the squad, using a technique to share vision with nearby beasts and scout through their eyes.
After Hizashi's group entered the forest and advanced about one kilometer, the sensory ninja's eyes regained their clarity.
"Lord Ishigaki, Konoha's shinobi are approaching!"
"How many?"
"Sixteen."
The sensory ninja reported, "Judging by their attire, most are Genin, and there's even a child who looks no older than ten."
Ishigaki quickly compared both sides' combat strength in his mind.
"It's likely a standard Konoha team, probably led by a Jōnin… but our mission is to destroy their supplies. As long as we keep them occupied, burning the supplies and eliminating the Genin won't be an issue."
"Everyone, get ready! We attack as soon as the target enters the ambush zone!"
At his command, the Iwa-nin immediately began preparing for combat.
Half an hour later.
Hizashi's team had entered the Iwa-nin's field of view. A few hundred meters more, and they would step into the ambush circle. The enemy was ready.
"Prepare…"
Ishigaki's cold voice echoed softly. But before he could give the signal to strike, a sudden chill crept up his spine, an intense sense of danger making the hairs on his neck stand.
He spun around quickly, trying to identify the source of this unease—and then, at his five o'clock, a ten-year-old boy appeared on a tree branch, hands completing a seal.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"
Yami leaned back, then abruptly lunged forward, spewing out four ferocious fire dragons, roaring toward the Rock-nin.
"Crap! We've been discovered!"
"Defensive positions, now!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Shocked by the enemy flanking them, Ishigaki had no time to question how they'd been exposed. The fire dragons were already surging toward them, forcing him to immediately organize a defense.
With loud booms, multiple earth walls rose up, blocking the raging flames. The Fire Release was overwhelming—despite several earth walls being destroyed, the fire dragons gradually dissipated.
Bang!
At the same time, the ordinary Chūnin from Hizashi's side canceled their Transformation Techniques, revealing their true identities.
Only now did the Iwa-nin realize how they had been exposed, against the strongest Byakugan perception user, their ambush was basically a delivery.
"Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm!"
Hizashi swung his palms forward in rapid succession, sending out waves of invisible force, the compressed air striking toward the enemy lines.
"Earth Release: Gathering Rock Technique!"
"It's useless. Hyūga are good at perception, but weak in actual combat. Just keep him at a distance—kill him!"
Ishigaki used an earth mound to block the vacuum palms and barked orders to his squad.
All the Iwa-nin charged, hurling ninjutsu, explosive tags, and kunai straight at the supply convoy.
Yugao drew her blade and danced across the battlefield, deflecting projectiles and preparing for close combat.
"Yugao! Hold up!"
Buzz~!
Amid the rumbling of explosions, a sharp buzzing sound stood out. Jōnin-level Iwa-nin Shigetsu glanced toward it.
The ten-year-old boy extended his arms—each hand holding a massive wind demon shuriken.
Both shuriken spun violently, wind whirling around them, reinforced with sharp Wind Release chakra that extended their cutting edges.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
Both shuriken were launched.
Whoosh!
With Wind Release reinforcement, the massive spinning blades sliced through the enemy's earth walls like paper, tearing through defenses and unleashing screams from within the Iwa ranks.
"Damn it! Stop those things!!"
Ishigaki roared, his blade shattering as soon as it touched the wind blades. He ducked instinctively to avoid being sliced apart. A Chūnin behind him wasn't so lucky—cut clean in half.
What kind of Nature Transformation was this?!
Ishigaki stared in horror, pupils dilated, fixated on Yami with disbelief.
In that brief opening, Hizashi had already closed in, pushing through multiple earth walls to engage Shigetsu in close combat.
At the same time, Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms surrounded Ishigaki, temporarily locking down both enemy Jōnin.
After cutting down seven Chūnin and one tokubetsu jōnin, Yami's twin shuriken spun far into the forest, severing dozens of trees before crashing into the ground.
Only then did Yugao, Kurenai, and the other three Konoha Chūnin dare to enter the battlefield.
It was terrifying. They weren't afraid of dying to the enemy, they were more afraid of dying to Yami's friendly fire.
"One each."
Yugao took on one tokubetsu jōnin. Kurenai handled another. Yami made no move to help—the two were strong enough to use this fight for training.
Yami unsheathed his Kusanagi sword and began harvesting the remaining Chūnin. Using the Body Flicker Technique and his sharp swordsmanship, none of them could survive beyond three exchanges.
Some tried desperate counterattacks, but their blades only struck afterimages.
Within thirty seconds, all nine remaining Iwa-nin Chūnin were slain. The three Konoha Chūnin stood frozen.
He's… too strong.
What were they even doing here? Watching might be more valuable.
After clearing out the small fry, Yami didn't waste a moment. He leapt over the corpses and joined the battle between Hizashi and Shigetsu.
"Sensei, I'll take Ishigaki!"
Knowing how his system worked, Yami had done his homework, he regularly browsed Root's intelligence on other villages and was familiar with enemy personnel.
He had seen both Jōnin in the Iwagakure intel files.
"Ishigaki, remember this—Shimura Yami is the one who will kill you!"
Hizashi gave way, fully focusing on Shigetsu. The pressure on him dropped instantly.
The Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist specialized in close-range combat. Fighting two Jōnin at once had genuinely been overwhelming.
"Brat, you die today!"
"Ishigaki, kill him!"
The two Iwa-nin Jōnin erupted with murderous intent, their hatred for Konoha peaking.
Why did Konoha have so many prodigies? How could a child have such terrifying strength? If he were allowed to grow, he might become another Fourth Hokage!
Even if they died here, they had to eliminate Shimura Yami!
[Host and Ishigaki have established a deadly enemy bond. Reward: Earth Attribute Chakra (Excellent), 0.5 standard unit Jōnin Chakra]
[Host and Shigetsu have established a deadly enemy bond. Reward: Earth Attribute Chakra (Excellent), Earth Release: Earthquake Core]
Two bond rewards were triggered, confirming how intense their hatred for Yami was.
Clang!
The Kusanagi sword clashed with a kunai.
Ishigaki tried to use his superior physical strength to quickly kill Yami, but he soon realized that, while he had the edge in raw power, Yami's speed and Body Flicker Technique were too fast.
He already had multiple wounds and had it not been for instinct and battle experience avoiding vital points, he would've been critically injured.
He quickly switched tactics—stalling.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
The solid ground turned to sticky mud, forcing Yami to leap onto a tree. The swamp also limited his Body Flicker movement.
As expected from a seasoned Jōnin, one jutsu had already neutralized his speed advantage.
Ishigaki continued weaving hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Mud bombs launched from the swamp. Yami responded instantly, forming hand seals and pressing his palms forward.
"Wind Pressure Scroll!"
A strong gust gathered into a solid wind barrier, blocking the projectiles.
Then, several wind blades followed, tearing across the forest.
In the elemental chart: Water overcomes Fire, Fire overcomes Wind, Wind overcomes Lightning, Lightning overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water.
There was no direct counter between Earth and Wind. It came down to who had the superior chakra transformation and ninjutsu mastery.
Yami was like a ninjutsu machine gun, firing Wind Release after Wind Release, forcing Ishigaki to hide behind earthen walls, cursing in frustration.
Where is this kid getting all this chakra from? He's like a mini-Tailed Beast!
Luckily, Earth Release users were known for their defense.
"Wind Release: Thousand Faces Gale!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
"Wind Release: Whirlwind Slash!"
Huh?
Kurenai blinked in confusion.
She had just prepared an illusion to finish her opponent, then a stray wind blade flew over and cut him in half.
"Yami! Stop kill-stealing!" Kurenai yelled in frustration.
But Yami was already immersed in the fight. His hands formed seals so fast they blurred. There was no such ideal target to practice on in the village.
Suddenly, he dropped to the ground and pressed his hands against the muddy swamp.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
A dazzling arc of lightning surged up, forming a spear that shot straight at Ishigaki.
He knows Lightning Release too?!
Ishigaki was stunned.
He hadn't expected Yami to know Lightning Release, the natural counter to Earth.
Still, his Jōnin-level experience kicked in. He slapped his hands to the ground.
"Earth Release: Earthquake Core!"
The earth beneath him surged upward, shielding him from the lightning strike while also lifting him out of his defenses.
"You turtle, you finally showed yourself!"
"Not good!"
Ishigaki looked up just in time to see Yami airborne, speeding toward him, Kusanagi sword wrapped in a fierce wind.
"Flickering Moment: Flash Slash!"
A slash of wind blades rained down like a storm. Ishigaki was cleaved in two, and the sword energy carved a long trench through the forest.
[Host has killed Ishigaki. Reward: Earth Release – Digging Earth Technique]
"Ishigaki!"
Shigetsu, who had been fighting Hizashi, screamed in horror. Distracted, he took two direct Gentle Fist strikes to the chest.
"Don't scream. You're next. Be companions on the road to the underworld."
Swoosh!
Yami vanished again.
A streak of blue light shot forward, cutting everything in its path.
In an instant, he appeared in front of Shigetsu.
With a surge of sword force, the kunai in Shigetsu's hand was cleaved in half like paper. Yami's blade slit his throat, blood gushing.
"Ugh…!"
Shigetsu groaned weakly, eyes full of hatred. Then, he collapsed with eyes wide open.
At this point, the only remaining opponent was the tokubetsu jōnin fighting Yugao.
Knowing he had no chance of survival, the enemy tried a suicidal strike—but Kurenai, still bitter from earlier, landed an illusion and finished him painlessly.
Bang!
Yami kicked a body aside, sheathed his sword, and calmed his surging chakra.
"For this level to qualify as Jōnin… Iwagakure's really starving."
Hizashi awkwardly defended the enemy. "Ahem, Yami… don't underestimate your opponent. Have you considered that maybe you're just too strong?"
What else could he say, that Ishigaki and Shigetsu were weak?
Then what did it say about him, who had trouble fighting them?
Hizashi now looked at Yami like he was a monster.
He had thought he understood Yami's strength. But now… it felt like he'd been blind.
Lightning Release? Chakra reserves rivaling a Jōnin? This was way beyond anything he expected.
He had no doubt—if he fought Yami one-on-one, he'd end up like the others, never getting up again.
"Sensei…" Yami said flatly. "Your expression is making me uncomfortable. Thinking something weird?"
"No, no." Hizashi panicked and quickly came up with an excuse. "I was just thinking, anyone taking the Chūnin Exams with you is really unlucky."
He meant it.
Having someone who could kill Jōnin take the Chūnin Exam… it was like bullying children.
Kurenai and Yugao joined them, and the other three Chūnin began cleaning the battlefield.
Kurenai commented, "Yami, since you're close to the Third Hokage, why not just ask him to promote you to Jōnin? You're going to crush those kids' dreams."
Yami rolled his eyes. "Compared to them, I'm still a child."
Kurenai: "Fair."
She smiled and ruffled his hair. "You're not just a child—you're a baby."
Yami slapped her hand away in annoyance. "If I don't grow taller in the future, I'll throw you off Hokage Rock."
"If I break my legs, I'll live off your rice for the rest of my life."
"No."
"Okay, enough!"
Seeing the two about to bicker again, Hizashi stepped in. "We still have things to handle."
Looking at the battlefield, he said gravely, "The mission briefing didn't mention enemy ambushes. This clearly targeted our supply convoy."
"We must report this to the Hokage immediately."
"Let's move out. We don't have a communication summoning beast, so we'll have to rely on the front line."
Hearing that, Yami and Kurenai stopped.
Hizashi sealed Shigetsu's body into a scroll, hoping to extract intel, then led the team out of the forest.
The Genin who had been guarding the carriages had disappeared, they were actually Yami's Shadow Clones in disguise.
The real supplies had been placed outside the forest, guarded by the Genin.
On the battlefield, the Genin couldn't help—they'd only be a liability.
Yami had swapped the targets based on the enemies' limited scouting range—a trick inspired by Uchiha Shisui.
Soon, the convoy resumed its journey.
Hizashi was even more cautious now, keeping his Byakugan activated almost constantly. Their rest was cut down to just four hours a day. The team endured, but even the horses were foaming at the mouth.
Finally, two days later, the convoy reached the front lines safely.
After handing over the supplies, Hizashi went to find the commander in charge, Konoha Elite Jōnin.
(To be continued.)
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