Orochimaru turned back, gazing at the apocalyptic roaring of the Six-Tails on the beachhead before him.
"The Jinchuriki has reached his physiological limit," Orochimaru licked his pale lips, noting the erratic fluctuations in the beast's chakra signature.
A dark shadow materialized completely silently beside him.
He was dressed in a standard black ANBU cloak, wearing dark sunglasses that obscured his eyes. At the right corner of his mouth, there was a distinct, purple-patterned clan tattoo.
It was none other than the former prodigy of the Aburame Clan: Aburame Ryoma.
However, within the dark underbelly of Konoha, he held a much more terrifying title: the Vice-Commander of Root.
Theoretically speaking, his political and military rank was on the exact same level as Orochimaru's. He was Danzo Shimura's absolute right-hand man and chief executioner.
"Orochimaru," Ryoma's voice was a flat, emotionless drone. "Why did you allow the boy, Kiyohara, to deploy as a solo rearguard? Considering his genetic potential and the high strategic importance Lord Danzo places on acquiring him, his safe evacuation should have been prioritized over holding a flank."
"Heh heh..."
Orochimaru chuckled, his voice dripping with dark amusement. He turned his head to look at the insect master.
Ninja of Root, like standard ANBU, only operate under codenames. They are stripped of their identities. However, operatives who possess overwhelming, terrifying strength always earn themselves a "name" on the battlefield regardless of protocol. Ryoma was undoubtedly such a presence; his lethal application of parasitic Kikaichu for assassination and infiltration was unparalleled across generations of ANBU.
"Safety?" Orochimaru sneered softly. "There is no such concept as 'true safety' for a shinobi. If the boy cannot even survive a predicament of this level, then his genetic value ends right here."
Orochimaru shook his head. Did Danzo Shimura truly value Kiyohara as a human being? Not at all.
What the old hawk valued was merely the Magnet Release mutation within Kiyohara's cells, and how much killing power that mutation could contribute to Root.
Danzo constantly preached his grand propaganda: For the great tree of Konoha to bathe in sunlight, I am willing to be the darkness buried in the soil, rooting downwards.
But in reality, Danzo was ruthlessly seeking personal political power. He claimed to work himself to the bone for Konoha, but whether he was doing it for his version of Konoha or everyone's Konoha was a question written in blood. If everything he did was truly for the village, why did it matter so much to him that he wasn't the Hokage?
Orochimaru still remembered an elite senior named Kosuke Maruboshi, who was incredibly powerful but perfectly content to remain a Genin his entire life to serve the village. Danzo could never accept such a role.
"Even if the boy dies in the mud, I can simply retrieve his corpse and extract exactly what Danzo needs for his experiments," Orochimaru noted clinically.
"As long as his death does not affect Lord Danzo's grand plans," Ryoma replied coldly.
The so-called "Root" has no names, no emotions, and no past or future. All that exists in their hearts is the mission. Ryoma didn't care about Kiyohara's life or death; he only cared about calculating whether Kiyohara's value—alive or dead—was sufficient to advance Danzo's agenda.
"If he can survive this..." A flicker of intense, genuine heat flashed in Orochimaru's golden eyes. "...I wouldn't mind training him personally as my direct subordinate. A future Hokage naturally needs the sharpest blade."
Ryoma fell silent for a long moment, processing the implication.
"...Understood."
In the next second, Ryoma's figure dissipated into a swarm of black beetles.
He was well aware of Lord Danzo's political scheme to aggressively support Orochimaru's bid for the Fourth Hokage seat. But that was high-level politics, not something for a subordinate blade like him to speculate about freely.
'That old fossil Danzo really wants to prop me up as a political puppet,' Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth, his eyes narrowing.
Danzo's scheme was painfully obvious: make Orochimaru the public, controversial Hokage, while Danzo became the absolute controller behind the scenes, eventually forcing Orochimaru to step down and pass the title to him.
"OROCHIMARU—!"
A massive, booming shout from the distance violently pulled Orochimaru's thoughts back to the battlefield.
"Have you finally arrived, Jiraiya?" Orochimaru turned.
He saw a massive, mountain-sized red toad leaping continuously through the burning forest canopy. Standing proudly atop the toad's skull was a tall figure with a wild mane of spiky white hair.
"The Toad Spirit of Mount Myōboku! The Sage of the Immortal Path! Known to all as the Gallant Jiraiya... MAKES HIS ENTRANCE!"
Accompanied by a deafening, wildly exaggerated self-introduction and a dramatic kabuki pose, Jiraiya finally arrived at the front lines beside Orochimaru.
Orochimaru didn't even blink; he was already thoroughly exhausted by Jiraiya's eccentric behavior.
"With the two of us coordinating, stalling the slug won't be a problem," Orochimaru said indifferently.
Hidden Mist Raid Unit, Temporary Command Point.
Yama Higashino, the tactical commander of the Hidden Mist flank raid unit, stood on an elevated rocky outcropping. He was a cold-faced, veteran Jonin with a deep, jagged scar running vertically over his left eye. He looked out over the distant, dense forest where chaotic white mist and flashes of crimson blood-light were rising above the canopy.
Although his baseline chakra sensing was not as microscopically keen as a specialized Sensor ninja, even he could clearly feel that the Kirigakure chakra signatures in that specific sector were disappearing and flatlining at a terrifying, abnormal rate.
"Flank Zone D. What the hell is going on over there?" Yama demanded sharply. "Could Konoha have deployed an elite ANBU counter-ambush squad? How many signatures are you reading?"
Standing silently beside him was Zabuza Momochi, a young, lethal prodigy whose face was heavily wrapped in bandages, revealing only cold, dead eyes. He was standing guard with his eyes closed, his hand resting on the hilt of a standard greatsword.
Soon, a specialized Mist Sensor ninja scrambled up the rock to report, his face pale.
"Commander Yama! According to the intelligence gathered from the front... it seems there is only one hostile signature."
"One person?" The eyebrows under Yama's scar furrowed in deep skepticism. "One single Konoha shinobi is causing this scale of total operational chaos? How many of our infantry have been confirmed KIA?"
"Judging from the flatlining chakra signatures and the radio silence... at least over twenty-five confirmed dead, sir. Most of them are Chunin and Genin." The Sensor ninja's voice trembled with disbelief.
"His behavioral pattern is utterly psychopathic. He utilizes a massive, invisible Summoned Beast that rapidly spits highly corrosive quicklime powder to blind our squads and create absolute chaos. He moves at supersonic speeds, specifically targeting the weak points in our formations to strike. He executes one or two targets, and then immediately retreats. He absolutely refuses to linger for a sustained fight."
"Useless trash," Yama spat those two words coldly. It was entirely unclear whether he was cursing the twenty-five subordinates who were slaughtered like sheep, or the elite Mist Jonin who were apparently unable to stop a single enemy.
"Do we have a confirmed identity? Since when did Konoha possess a specialist so skilled in guerrilla melee and hit-and-run assassination? Is it an Uchiha? A Hyuga?"
The Sensor ninja fell silent, checking his mental registry before answering.
"From the surviving visual descriptions... he has medium-length black hair, wields a pitch-black ninja sword, and utilizes a highly advanced, possibly mutant version of the Body Flicker. He also manipulates magnetic fields. It must be... the Konoha boy known as 'Magnet Release Kiyohara'."
Zabuza opened his eyes at the mention of the name.
He had read this specific name in the heavily redacted intelligence reports sent back by Senior Terumī weeks ago. The boy had apparently performed brilliantly in the brutal skirmish at the Whirlpool Ruins, was highly lethal in kenjutsu, and was incredibly fast—a prime target among the new generation.
"Kiyohara? Never heard of him," Yama shook his head, his tone carrying his usual, arrogant contempt.
He only acknowledged established powerhouses who had already carved their names in blood across the Bingo Book. Even if this brat possessed a Magnet Release mutation, so what? Whether a Kekkei Genkai is actually powerful or not always depends entirely on the tactical competence of the user.
"He's just a cowardly brat who picks on the weak," Yama sneered. "A true powerhouse points his blade at even stronger opponents to test his resolve. A pathetic scavenger like this, who only harvests Genin on the edges of the battlefield, has merely disrupted our formation by relying on a bit of speed and a bizarre chemical trick."
Yama stopped paying attention to the "scavenger." The tactical chaos on the flank had to be quelled immediately; otherwise, the entire amphibious raid plan might stall. He wouldn't be able to explain a stalled advance to the brutal High Command back in Kirigakure. In the "Village of the Bloody Mist," mission failure often meant a fate infinitely more cruel than a quick execution.
"Sora Mizurugi," Yama commanded in a deep voice.
"Here."
A figure materialized completely silently from a puddle of water behind him.
This man was lean, wearing a modified Hidden Mist ANBU uniform. He carried a uniquely shaped, serrated ninja sword strapped to his back, and his face was a mask of cold, absolute indifference.
He was an elite candidate competing for a seat among the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. His combat strength was firmly at the elite Jonin level. He was especially infamous for his Water Stream Self-Dancing Technique, a lethal combination of Water Release and the Mist Body Flicker that made him one of the fastest assassins in the entire village.
If four of the seven legendary swords hadn't been recently seized by Konoha during the Might Duy incident, Sora would have likely already earned his title.
"Go and end the chaos in Zone D," Yama ordered coldly. "That brat named Kiyohara—bring him back dead or alive, it doesn't matter. But make absolutely sure to restore operational order in Zone D within ten minutes. We do not have time to play hide-and-seek with a Konoha mouse."
"Yes, Commander. I will be back in ten minutes," Sora gave a brief, deadpan response.
His physical body flickered, instantly dissolving into a puddle of clear water that rapidly seeped into the rocky ground. In the next microsecond, he reformed flawlessly in a small, muddy stream dozens of meters away, rushing toward Kiyohara's coordinates at an alarming, liquid speed. Wherever he passed, faint, chilling traces of water vapor lingered in the air.
Yama turned back to the battlefield, aggressively issuing commands to his transmission ninja to adjust infantry deployments and cover the massive, bleeding gaps in Zone D.
Meanwhile, beyond the mountain range, over ten kilometers away from the chaotic beachhead.
At this safe distance, only a direct hit from a Tailed Beast Ball could threaten the evacuated Konoha logistics base.
While the majority of the medical personnel were organizing triage, several ninja from the Yamanaka Clan sat in a tight circle. Beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads as they exerted their full mental effort to sense and map the chaotic chakra fluctuations of the battlefield miles away.
Their mission was not only to monitor the overall strategic situation and prevent enemy infiltration routes, but also to "record" the battle data as accurately as possible.
By sensing the intense eruptions and sudden flatlines of chakra signatures, as well as tracking the movement trajectories of specific, high-value individuals, they would later compile the verified battle results for each Konoha unit.
The accurate statistics of battle merits were the absolute foundation for post-war payouts, punishments, and rank promotions. While the results of standard squad operations belonged to the collective unit, an individual who clearly caused massive, verifiable casualties in an isolated sector was recorded separately for bonus payouts.
Kurenai, Genma, Kakashi, and Rin—who had all successfully evacuated and were receiving simple field dressings for their minor cuts—were gathered anxiously around the Yamanaka communication hub, waiting for any news.
"Senior Shintoku, what is the situation on the main beachhead?" Rin asked worriedly, wringing her hands.
Shintoku Yamanaka, a veteran Sensor, kept his eyes squeezed shut, his fingers steepled in concentration. "Lord Jiraiya has arrived. He is currently coordinating with Lord Orochimaru to suppress the Six-Tails Jinchuriki. The frontline has stabilized for now, but the raw artillery power of the Six-Tails is catastrophic. The two Sannin are mainly stalling to buy time for the infantry's retreat."
"Then... what about the eastern flank?!" Kurenai couldn't help but interject. Her fingers were unconsciously twisting together, her ruby eyes filled with raw panic. "Has Kiyohara... has he successfully retreated yet?!"
Shintoku's brow furrowed tightly in pain.
The battlefield was a chaotic ocean of screaming chakra signatures; how could he possibly have the mental bandwidth to focus on a single, isolated Chunin?
He shook his head slowly. "The flank is quite far from my optimal range. The chakra signals over there are violently mixed with a massive amount of Water Release fluctuations and high-yield explosions; it's absolute chaos. I can only feel that an incredibly intense, localized bloodbath has broken out... and a massive amount of Kirigakure chakra signatures have flatlined in a very short time. But I can't distinguish exactly who is causing it."
"However... I can help you patch into the relay network," Shintoku offered sympathetically.
He began to perform a specialized, highly classified transmission ninjutsu known only to the Yamanaka Clan's intelligence division. It could convey mental information over vast distances by bouncing signals between designated sensory nodes.
Soon, Shintoku successfully established a mental link with Natsu Hyuga, who was stationed several kilometers closer to the front lines.
Every few miles, a ninja from the Hyuga Clan or another elite Sensor would be stationed as a hidden node. Information was then passed along this chain by Yamanaka telepaths. In this way, the command tent could explore the "fog of war" like a constantly updating map. Relying entirely on this real-time relay, Konoha was able to preserve its effective strength while fighting blindly on multiple fronts.
"Kiyohara? Let me try to locate him," a clear, female voice echoed directly into the minds of the squad.
It was Natsu Hyuga, a young female shinobi from the Hyuga Branch House and a graduate from Kiyohara's academy year. While the VIP Main House members had already evacuated with the first wave, the "expendable" Branch House members were ordered to stay behind in hidden bunkers to provide absolute visual intelligence.
Natsu took a deep breath in her bunker and formed the specialized seal.
"Byakugan!"
The veins around her eyes bulged aggressively. Her absolute vision instantly pierced through miles of dense trees, earth, and stone, casting directly toward the distant flank battlefield.
A few seconds later, her body shook violently.
"I see him! It's Kiyohara!" Natsu's voice, relayed through Shintoku, was filled with absolute shock.
"He suddenly summoned a massive Chameleon and charged directly into the center of the Hidden Mist formation! And then... oh my god, so much quicklime powder! The Mist infantry are completely blinded and in total chaos!"
"How is he doing?!" Kurenai asked urgently, her voice cracking.
Shintoku's relay speed increased rapidly, channeling Natsu's frantic commentary.
"He's moving through the chemical mist... he's so fast, I can barely track his chakra pathway! The Hidden Mist troops are falling one after another under his blade... it's a slaughter!"
"The Jonin are desperately trying to chase him down, but he uses magnetic repulsion to evade them and specifically slaughters their blinded Chunin and Genin... wait. The mist is clearing. His Summoned Beast has taken several kunai hits; its movements have slowed down and it's retreating!"
"And then?!" Genma demanded, gripping his short sword. He knew exactly how Kiyohara operated; Kiyohara loved to brag about being an honorable, "traditional" shinobi while simultaneously throwing blinding powder in people's eyes.
"Is Kiyohara surrounded?!" Rin asked, terrified.
"The remaining Mist ninja are encircling his position!" Shintoku relayed hurriedly, his face sweating.
The expressions of the Konoha squad changed drastically. Could something have really happened to him? Even with his massive stamina, fighting at supersonic speeds while manipulating magnetic fields must have nearly exhausted his chakra reserves by now.
"And then?!" Kakashi pressed, his lone eye narrowed in grim anticipation.
"And then... all those Mist ninja surrounding him suddenly dropped dead!" Shintoku relayed, his voice carrying a mix of awe and complete bafflement.
Kurenai: "..."
Kakashi: "..."
Rin: "..."
Genma: "..."
"What is the situation now?!" Kurenai demanded, staring at the sweating Yamanaka. This senior was relaying information in terrifying fragments; it was agonizing.
"On the Mist side... it seems an incredibly powerful chakra signature has arrived and is quickly approaching Kiyohara's exact coordinates. As for Kiyohara..." Shintoku paused, struggling to maintain his professional, serious expression. "Kiyohara is... he's furiously looting the corpses!"
Even if a shinobi was greedy for wealth and military merit, there shouldn't be anyone this insane. Is he really bold enough to stop and loot bodies while an elite assassin is bearing down on him?!
Flank battlefield, edge area.
The choking white mist formed by the corrosive lime powder had finally become thin and patchy under the wind and the desperate disruption of Mist Water Release jutsu, completely losing its tactical concealing effect.
The Invisible Chameleon had several deep kunai lacerations on its flanks, and thick blood stained its optical-camouflage skin. It gave Kiyohara a deeply weary, traumatized look.
After spitting out one final, small puff of lime powder to blind a distant Mist Chunin, the beast was actively released from the summoning contract by Kiyohara, disappearing gratefully into a cloud of white smoke to recover.
.....
.....
.....
Give me powerstones.
Support me and read advance chapters on patreon.com/ImmortalDaoWriter