As soon as those words were spoken, the Konoha shinobi erupted in excitement.
"Hahaha! Finally, we have the antidote!"
"Damned bastards, I've been holding it in for too long!"
"Don't you love using cold weapons? Come on then!"
In an instant, the Konoha ninja picked up their weapons and charged at the Sunagakure shinobi in front of them.
Now that they had the antidote, there was no need to worry about being poisoned after getting injured.
All the frustration they had endured for so long could finally be released.
Their previously low morale flared back to life.
Everyone was filled with fighting spirit, itching to cut down the enemies before them.
The Sunagakure shinobi had never seen such a display and were instantly stunned.
Shock flashed in their eyes—Konoha had developed an antidote this quickly? What kind of joke was this?
This poison had been created by their village's genius poison maker!
Creating a counteragent should have taken a lot of time.
But just two days later, the antidote had already appeared.
The Sunagakure shinobi began to question their very existence...
Faced with the frenzied assault from Konoha's forces, the Sunagakure shinobi clearly couldn't hold out.
Their overall strength was already inferior to Konoha's—they had only managed to suppress them temporarily because of the poison.
In a fair fight, they were absolutely no match for Konoha.
That was why all the nations had formed an alliance to attack Konoha together.
Only by doing that could they hope to defeat the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Renya drew the katana from his waist and charged into battle.
He glanced to his left, where a comrade was being suppressed by a Wind Release attack from a Sunagakure shinobi. With his three-tomoe Sharingan, he locked onto the enemy's attack trajectory.
As his comrade was forced back by the wind technique, Renya vanished in a blur and appeared behind the enemy like a ghost.
Just as the enemy gathered Wind Release chakra in his palm, he saw a blade piercing straight through his chest.
Renya's katana skewered him cleanly, and blood slowly dripped from the blade to the ground.
The enemy's pupils shrank. His fingers were still held in the middle of forming a hand seal.
Renya swiftly withdrew the blade, and the Sunagakure shinobi collapsed backward, dead beyond a doubt.
Even after skewering someone completely, the blade of [Immaculate] remained pristine white—no need to wipe off any blood at all.
...
Just then, the sound of puppet gears turning echoed from the distance.
Mixed within were the muffled groans of a comrade.
Renya followed the sound. In his crimson eyes, three puppets were reflected, using threadlike chakra strings to suspend his comrade in mid-air.
The puppet in the center opened its mouth, releasing a cloud of violet poison mist.
Renya used Body Flicker Technique to appear before the puppets and slashed through the chakra threads, rescuing his comrade.
The puppeteer was hiding behind a tree and launched three poison needles at him.
Renya's Sharingan keenly tracked their path. Dodging to the side, he exhaled a massive fireball.
The fireball, trailing waves of intense heat, surged toward the puppeteer, forcing him out of hiding.
The puppeteer controlled two scythe-wielding puppets to strike in a crisscross pattern.
Renya ducked low and slid through the scythe blades, slashing across the joint of one puppet. The arm holding the scythe was sliced clean off.
Seeing this, the puppeteer flung several kunai.
Renya easily dodged them, his Sharingan locked onto every movement.
This puppeteer specialized in long-range combat. As long as he got close, the enemy was as good as dead!
As the last puppet swung down its scythe, Renya didn't retreat—instead, he advanced. He blocked the scythe with the back of his blade and immediately used the Body Flicker to appear right in front of the puppeteer.
The puppeteer didn't expect Renya's technique to be this fast. Before he could react, he was staring into a pair of crimson eyes.
His pupils dilated, and his body froze in place.
While the puppeteer was caught in the illusion, Renya's blade swiftly slashed across his throat.
Without pausing, Renya moved on to assist his comrades.
The Sunagakure shinobi were already at a disadvantage against the antidote-armed Konoha forces, and now, with Renya roaming the battlefield like a phantom, they were under tremendous psychological pressure.
Watching their comrades fall one after another, some of the Sunagakure shinobi began to think of retreat.
No one knew who shouted it first, but the moment someone yelled "Retreat!", the Sunagakure shinobi turned and fled.
Seeing them run, the Konoha shinobi weren't about to let the opportunity pass them by.
They gave immediate chase.
Especially Shimura Danzo—when he saw the "merit points" running away, he didn't hesitate to rush after them.
Seeing this, the other Konoha shinobi quickly followed behind Danzo.
The Sunagakure shinobi were nearly scared out of their wits by the Konoha shinobi charging after them. They picked up their pace and ran even faster.
The chase continued for dozens of miles. Only when they neared the enemy camp did the Konoha shinobi finally stop.
...
Inside the command tent—
Nara Mikage listened to his subordinates' reports, grinning ear to ear.
"Hahaha! A triumphant first battle!"
At first, the poison developed by Sunagakure had given him a serious headache. He had even prepared for the worst.
But with Renya's arrival, the tide of the battlefield was completely reversed.
Not only had he created the antidote, he even brought it personally to the front lines.
It was thanks to Renya's support that they were able to win the first battle!
He had to report this to the Hokage no matter what—and make sure Renya was credited for his achievements.
"Renya-san truly lives up to being the child raised by Hokage-sama himself—what a prodigy!"
Nara Mikage couldn't help but sigh emotionally.
Come to think of it, wasn't his own son a classmate of Renya's...?
With that thought, he sighed again.
"If that kid were even half as talented as Renya, I wouldn't have to worry so much."
Originally, Nara Motoha had accompanied him to the front lines.
But as the war drew near, he couldn't bear the thought of losing his only son on the battlefield. So he found an excuse and sent him to the rear.
"As long as that kid survives, I can die without regrets."
...
Before long, news of the victorious first battle spread throughout the camp.
Everyone who heard it couldn't help but cheer.
Morale reached unprecedented heights!
With the triumph of the first battle, Renya's name echoed through the camp.
People heard from Nara Mikage himself that Renya was the one who had created the antidote!
The Konoha shinobi genuinely expressed their gratitude toward Renya...
It was because of him that the antidote existed, and because of the antidote, they had won the battle!
Renya himself didn't feel much about it. Wasn't it just a poison? Anyone could make an antidote for something like that.
Looks like when there's time, he'll have to show Sunagakure what real poison looks like.
Shimura Danzo, seeing Renya being thanked and praised by everyone, was almost green with envy.
Just how many enemies would he have to kill to earn that kind of treatment?
...
Unlike the liveliness of Konoha's camp, the Sunagakure camp was deathly quiet.
Inside the command tent—
"Damn it! How did Konoha create the antidote so quickly?!" the Sunagakure commander roared, hurling the documents in his hand to the ground.
"Didn't you say no one could develop the antidote in such a short time?!"
He furiously pointed at the girl in front of him.
"If they managed to crack my poison, then Konoha must indeed have a true expert."
A moment of shock crossed the girl's face, but she quickly regained her calm.
"However, I've already developed an even stronger poison..."