Returning to the house, two Iwagakure's Shinobi's corpses were already lying on the floor.
Ryuji looked stunned. "What happened?"
"These two suddenly broke in and were killed by me."
Aka stood beside the corpses, replying respectfully.
Her maid dress was half-stained red with blood, and her forehead was splattered with it. Her gentle smile looked somewhat terrifying and eerie.
"I'm asking why there are outsiders breaking into the village. Was the main gate breached that quickly?"
"I just heard shouts for reinforcements at the gate from outside. They're probably rats who infiltrated the village."
"I see!"
Ryuji heaved a great sigh of relief.
Sunagakure's main gate is a strategic choke point where one defender can hold off thousands. If the enemy breached it so quickly, their strength must far exceed imagination, and he'd have to consider fleeing.
Thankfully, it's fine.
After relaxing, Ryuji pondered slightly. "The village gate isn't easily breached. Rather, these infiltrators are a hidden danger. If these guys cause chaos within the village, making the defense system struggle on both fronts, thus creating an opportunity to open the entrance from inside, then it's over."
"Should I go capture those rats?"
"No, you stay and guard the house. I'll go."
"Yes."
Ryuji nodded, then rushed out of the house.
The howling wind and sand, men's furious roars, clashing weapons, booming explosions, dazzling flames shooting skyward, flashing lightning... All sorts of sounds and scenes came one after another, making adrenaline surge and tension rise unconsciously.
This had nothing to do with strength; it was purely a human physiological reaction to intense confrontational environments.
This was war.
Ryuji felt his hands trembling, unsure if it was excitement or fear, or perhaps both.
'Calm, calm, calm. It's just a slightly larger-scale conflict than usual missions, nothing major.'
Thinking this, Ryuji's heated mind cooled down.
He jumped onto a building's roof, looking around, quickly assessing the current situation based on sounds and firelight.
The biggest commotion was at the gate direction.
Intense fighting and shouts came from there.
But explosions also occurred sporadically throughout the village, flames leaping skyward, illuminating tragically falling figures.
Ryuji wasn't in a hurry to assist but coldly observed everything, only taking action after five minutes.
He took out a scroll, opened it, and formed hand seals.
"Release!"
Poof!
With a puff of white smoke, a dense swarm of Scarabs appeared on the roof.
Ryuji continued forming seals while giving commands. "Five east, six southwest, three north, and six heading toward the Kazekage Building. Eliminate them all."
As he finished speaking, the last seal was precisely completed.
The Scarabs' shells glowed faintly, then dimmed.
They waved their large forelegs, digging into the ground at a frequency hard to discern with the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye, burrowed underground, disappearing from the streets.
Ryuji looked at the empty street but didn't take further action. Instead, he continued pondering, considering if there were any shortcomings in his previous arrangements.
'Since it's infiltration, the enemy can't maintain the four-person team formation.'
'Judging from the frequency and scale of destruction on the streets, the number is around twenty people.'
'The incident locations are random, likely just causing destruction to scatter the village's defensive forces, ideally drawing gate defenders over to reduce assault pressure, while also creating opportunities for those hiding in the shadows, preparing to coordinate with the main force outside to breach Sunagakure's gate in one fell swoop.'
'Considering the enemy's main goal is to destroy the village and the mission difficulty, those participating in the inside-outside coordination will definitely be elites, requiring careful precaution.'
'However, the Kazekage Building also holds many classified materials.'
'If I were the enemy commander, I wouldn't mind taking these important materials along the way.'
'So, the six heading to the Kazekage Building should also be an elite team.'
'But probably not as strong as those attacking the gate.'
Ryuji reorganized the intelligence and deductions, adding to his just-made plan. 'Although the Kazekage Building should also have tight defenses, considering the village's current state, it can't be that tight.'
'And, can't rely on others.'
'So, the Scarab puppets might not handle the enemies at the Kazekage Building, needing reinforcements. Then...'
Ryuji took out another scroll, opened it, and formed hand seals.
"Release."
Poof!
With a puff of white smoke, a silver-haired beautiful girl appeared before him.
Ryuji formed seals, awakening the girl's consciousness, and said, "Gin, go guard the Kazekage Building. Eliminate any enemies attempting to invade."
"Understood!"
Gin nodded, leaping from the roof toward the Kazekage Building. Her agile figure made one feel reassured at a glance.
"Then, the enemies trying to open the village gate from inside, I'll deal with them personally." Ryuji looked toward the gate direction where flames raged, revealing a cold smile.
…
In the dark night.
In an alley of Sunagakure, ten Shinobi crouched inside.
Suddenly, one Shinobi looked up. "Captain, twenty Shinobi were pulled from Sunagakure's gate to deal with the bait we scattered."
"Tsk tsk, the gate guards total just over two hundred, yet they dare to separate twenty for other tasks." The man called captain stepped forward.
The firelight outside vaguely illuminated this person's figure.
Spiky hair, wearing a single-sleeved vest, with an Iwagakure's forehead protector.
— Gari.
That's his name, also known as Explosion Release Gari.
He's a member of Iwagakure's Demolition Team.
"Gari, give the order quickly!"
From behind, another person stepped out.
Gari glanced back, recognizing the newcomer.
A middle-aged man, honest-looking, wearing a Kumogakure's single-shoulder armor, with a Kumogakure's forehead protector.
Gari frowned slightly, displeased. "Toroi, are you telling me what to do?"
"Our villages formed an allied force for the same goal, but that doesn't mean we're your subordinates. If you can't lead the team well, we'll act on our own."
As Toroi spoke, the people hidden in the alley all stepped out.
Two wore Iwagakure's forehead protectors, two wore Kumogakure's, two wore Kusagakure's, two wore Amegakure's.
Including Gari and Toroi, ten people total, but from four different villages.
Each had sharp eyes, emanating a powerful aura, faintly discernible. Even the weakest wasn't much worse than Gari.
If a seasoned battlefield veteran were here, they'd exclaim loudly.
Because each of these ten was a renowned figure in the Shinobi World. Almost every one of their experiences could be written into a legendary story.