In the border forest under a continuous drizzle, a Hidden Sand Village unit was advancing rapidly through the mud.
Suddenly, a deafening boom echoed through the trees. A flash of fire erupted beneath the feet of a Sand ninja at the front of the team, triggering a hidden explosive trap. The shockwave overturned nearby shrubs and sent a spray of dirt into the air.
All units, be on guard!
The leader, Saru, raised his hand and barked a low command to his men. The team halted instantly, all ninja swiftly dispersing into a defensive formation, their eyes sharply scanning the dense surroundings for an ambush.
With a single glance, they immediately discovered numerous other traps scattered along the path.
The traps are a bit crudely made for an elite ambush.
A Sand ninja crouched down, examining the remaining traces left in the dirt. The trigger wire is buried so shallowly. How could any of our scouts have fallen for something this basic?
Don't let your guard down. The enemy isn't a child from the Ninja Academy; they wouldn't make such a basic mistake without a reason. These traps were likely set in haste within a very short time.
Saru narrowed his eyes, surveying the environment cautiously while looking for movement. This also suggests the enemy might not be far from us right now.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a small figure with blond hair peeked out cautiously from behind a roadside rock ahead.
Upon clearly seeing Minato's appearance, the air suddenly fell silent as the Sand ninja processed what they were seeing.
He really is just a kid.
The ninja who had just inspected the trap couldn't help but mutter in a voice filled with confusion.
Saru glanced at the Konoha forehead protector on Minato's head and sneered at the sight. Has Konoha fallen so low? Sending such a young child to the battlefield to die?
Though he mocked the boy verbally, Saru felt not the slightest bit of relaxation in his heart.
However, after carefully observing the surroundings for several seconds, he was surprised to discover that there truly seemed to be only this brat alone nearby!
This was simply being sent to die by his commanders!
Brat, did you set these traps yourself?
Saru observed Minato, feeling some doubt in his heart, yet he couldn't pinpoint anything wrong with the boy's presence.
Facing Saru's question, Minato had no intention of answering or playing the part of a victim.
He calmly gazed at the hundred or so ninja before him and slowly formed the Seal of Confrontation.
Not good, it's a trick!
Seeing Minato's posture and sudden movement, Saru's expression instantly changed to one of panic. Disperse!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
In the blink of an eye, the previously somewhat dense formation of Sand ninja rapidly scattered into the trees.
However, after a brief moment of extreme vigilance, nothing happened unexpectedly to the group.
Pfft.
Minato couldn't help but laugh at the display of cowardice.
He hadn't expected that a single gesture from him would cause such a strong, panicked reaction from these seasoned Sand ninja.
Noticing Minato's smile, the gathered Hidden Sand Village ninja all cast complex, inscrutable glances towards Saru.
Lord Saru, it seems he was just forming the Seal of Confrontation as a challenge.
Hearing the blunt remark from a subordinate beside him, Saru's face darkened with embarrassment.
My apologies, I misjudged the situation.
Saru rubbed his temples as he tried to regain his composure. It's just strange. On a frontline battlefield like this, suddenly a child from an enemy village appears out of nowhere.
...
Hmph, he probably got separated from his team, accidentally ran into us, realized he couldn't escape, and is now resorting to mystification to buy time, right?
Come to think of it, managing to ambush and take out one of our Chunin with a trap, this brat won't have died for nothing today.
At the front of the crowd, a Sand Jonin drew a kunai with a predatory grin. Let me give him a quick end!
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Minato suddenly flicked his wrist, hurling three kunai towards Saru.
Perhaps due to the distance, the kunai were thrown a bit off-target from the leader. Only one wobbled and embedded itself in the ground in front of Saru's feet.
The remaining two kunai landed to the left and right, respectively, hitting empty patches of ground within the crowd.
Heh.
Seeing this, Saru was infuriated to the point of laughter at the boy's poor aim. Really, to be delayed by such a brat, our entire force of over a hundred... I was thinking...
Thwip.
Before Saru could finish his sentence, a sharp short sword traced a white arc of light, like a fierce wolf's fang, instantly severing his head!
In front of Saru, Sakumo Hatake stood in a low bow stance, maintaining his sword-slashing posture as blood sprayed.
Minato's main body crouched half behind him, one hand resting on his thigh, the other retrieving the kunai from the ground.
In a mere instant, the two had completed the decapitation of the unit's commander!
The moment Saru's head flew, before the enemy could react, the two figures flickered again, appearing at the location of another kunai.
Another flash of blade light followed. The person in the Sand formation, besides Saru, who had the strongest chakra in Minato's perception, was instantly killed. Two high-level combatants had fallen, the entire process taking less than half a second!
Just as Minato retrieved the second Flying Thunder God kunai, the gathered Hidden Sand Village ninja finally reacted to the slaughter.
It's Space-Time Ninjutsu! Be careful of the kunai that brat throws! a Jonin shouted immediately.
However, even without his warning, the surrounding ninja had already scattered far away from the markers. They even threw several kunai tied with exploding tags near that remaining kunai to destroy the landing zone!
Yet the next second, Minato suddenly threw another kunai into the air.
Knock that kunai down!
A nearby Jonin temporarily took command and ordered the projectiles to be intercepted.
Although Flying Thunder God was unpredictable and mysterious, its combat mechanism was easy to understand, almost discernible at a glance.
But understanding it was one thing; whether they could actually defend against it was another matter entirely.
Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!
Minato formed hand seals with one hand, completing them in less than half a second with practiced ease.
The three-pronged kunai in mid-air split into two, then four, transforming in the blink of an eye into a sky-obscuring rain of kunai.
Wind Release: Turbulent Air Dance!
A Sand ninja carrying an iron fan stepped forward, swinging the fan fiercely, blowing away and dispersing the sky shadow clone kunai.
Tsk tsk, your spatial coordinates are useless now, brat. Our Hidden Sand is never short of Wind Release ninja to clear the field.
Seeing this, the commanding Jonin couldn't help but sneer, his smile grim and mocking. And you, Konoha's White Fang! Even if you two can scurry around like rats, can your camp grow legs and run away too?
This is troublesome.
Sakumo Hatake tilted his head to look at Minato, his grip tightening on his blade. I didn't expect them to find a countermeasure so quickly. Should we retreat first?
It's not that troublesome. Since they like to blow things around so much...
Minato took out a scroll from his pouch. With a poof, white smoke exploded, revealing a massive steel ball, one meter in diameter, appearing in front of them!
The steel ball's surface gleamed with a cold, hard metallic sheen, exuding a heavy sense of oppressive feeling.
Minato pressed a Flying Thunder God mark onto the steel ball, then took half a step back, twisting his torso.
Under the disbelieving gazes of Sakumo Hatake and the gathered Hidden Sand Village ninja, Minato threw a powerful punch!
Clang!!!
A deafening metallic roar tore through the air. The steel ball transformed into a blurred afterimage, shooting out with terrifying, cannonball-like speed!
Wherever it passed, the ground was carved into a deep trench. Its whistling sound was like the roar of a dragon, carrying an aura of destroy as it charged straight at the Sand forces!
In that instant, the Sand ninja opposite could even hear the grim reaper's chant mixed within the wind!
What—what the hell is that thing?!
Scatter!!!
The Sand ninjas' exclamations were drowned out by the steel ball's whistling sound. However, this was only the beginning.
Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!
Poof poof poof poof!!!
In an instant, that massive steel ball split into two in mid-air, then four.
In the blink of an eye, hundreds, thousands of steel balls of the same size filled the sky, blotting out the sun!
Carrying their the whistling sound that cuts through the air, they cascaded down towards the Sand forces like a massive mountain avalanche!
Under Sakumo Hatake's stunned gaze, Minato's face suddenly revealed unconcealable excitement at his creation.
This move shall be called... Training's Steel Flying Thunder Starfall Annihilation Ball, First Form!
Sakumo Hatake stood frozen, staring at the carnage.
----------------
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion