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"Lightning Release: Purple Electricity!"
The sharp crackle of electricity pierced the clouds, like a thousand birds singing in unison, arcing a deep purple line through the lush forest, instantly traversing dozens of meters and directly piercing the chest of the Sand Ninja at the very front.
Before the opposing Sand Ninja squad could react, Kakashi's figure was seen inverted, stepping on a nearby tree trunk, then suddenly pushing off with his foot and immediately shooting out again.
"Be careful!"
The Sand Ninja Captain behind him first issued a warning, then quickly manipulated the Chakra threads in his hands, causing two completely metallic puppets to fly out in a cross pattern. Countless shuriken and poisoned needles erupted from the puppets' bodies, suddenly covering a large area.
Kakashi's movements, however, did not falter in the slightest; he charged directly forward, enduring the rain of arrows.
Before the poisoned needles and darts could reach him, a roar echoed from a nearby bush:
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
A violently erupting fire dragon traversed horizontally, its surging momentum carrying immense force, instantly sweeping away all obstacles in front of Kakashi.
On the scorched earth, Kakashi's figure was enveloped in a thin, white mist, pointing like a sword towards the Sand Ninja opposite him.
The Sand Ninja Captain's expression instantly changed to one of great alarm. Just as he was drawing a Kunai from his waist, Kakashi's Purple Lightning had already reached him.
"Sizzle—!"
The surging lightning pierced his heart, emitting a faint burning smell of cooked flesh.
The Sand Ninja Captain struggled to raise his arm, wanting to plunge the Kunai in his hand into the body of this damned Konoha Ninja, but as his blood drained, he lost all strength.
Finally, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Pfft."
Kakashi laboriously pulled out his arm and turned to look behind him.
A Sand Ninja squad of over ten people had been completely wiped out by their single squad.
By this point, even he was at the end of his rope, so utterly exhausted that he couldn't even gather a wisp of Chakra. He was only able to remain standing by relying on the exoskeleton suit he wore.
However, he still didn't relax his guard, turning to Rin beside him and asking, "How much further to the support point?"
"It's just past that narrow pass ahead."
Nohara Rin looked at him with concern: "Kakashi, let's rest for a bit before we go."
"Hoo, hoo..."
"No, we'll rest at the camp ahead."
Kakashi took two long breaths, and once he had recovered somewhat, he spoke in a low voice.
This wasn't Kakashi deliberately trying to be strong; he knew that in their current state, even if they were thrown into the front lines, they probably wouldn't be of much use.
However, the days of battle on the battlefield had already given this young Jonin Captain experience.
The Sand Ninja's objective in surrounding their frontline camp was clearly to encircle a point and strike at reinforcements, specifically using this support point as bait to break down the incoming Konoha squads one by one.
Therefore, entering the camp would be much safer than the nearby Land of Rivers forest, which still offered some cover.
However, no sooner had he finished speaking than he stumbled.
"Tch."
"You can barely stand, what are you trying to prove!"
Obito, also wearing an exoskeleton suit, emerged from the bushes, covered in dust. Though his words were impolite, he immediately helped Kakashi up by one arm, slung him over his shoulder, and dragged him forward.
After the Chunin Exams, their squad's excellent performance led to Kakashi being exceptionally promoted to Jonin, and both Obito and Rin were promoted to Chunin, making them the first Chunin appointees among their graduating class.
Originally, according to the previous plan, they should have entered Ninja High School for a period of study.
However, after the war began, they all abandoned their unstarted academic careers and chose to go to the front lines.
The only thing they probably didn't expect was this:
This war entered a white-hot phase from the very beginning.
The Sand Ninja's performance in the war was unbelievably fanatical.
This also forced their nascent battlefield squad into a state of extreme pressure from the moment they entered the battlefield.
Whether it was Kakashi, Obito, or Rin, they were all growing at an astonishing rate.
"Hmph."
Supported by Obito, Kakashi snorted irritably, but said nothing, allowing him to be dragged forward.
A few more miles, and they would be out of this forest.
However, just as they were about to continue towards their destination.
"Beep beep beep!"
The drone display by Obito's ear suddenly emitted a sharp, urgent low hum.
Kakashi and Obito both froze, turning their heads in confusion.
However, as soon as Obito opened the high-altitude surveillance drone's display interface, his expression froze.
"Ahead! It's the camp ahead!"
"There are many hostile Chakra signatures!"
"How can this be?!"
Kakashi's expression stiffened, and he spoke in astonishment.
"Could it be that the front line has already been breached?" Nohara Rin also couldn't believe it.
Konoha's war preparations over the years weren't for nothing; for a frontline position garrisoned by only three hundred people, it would take at least two thousand Sand Ninja to break through it quickly.
What's more, these three hundred people weren't isolated; there were still a large number of support troops behind them.
"Let's go!"
With that thought, Kakashi immediately made a decision.
He released his hand from Obito's body, then, with a pained expression, took a test tube from his waist, uncorked it, and gulped down its contents.
"Chakra Replenishment Agent Type A3"
This agent stimulates cells, allowing the user to recover one-third of their stamina in a short period, but it has significant side effects, and each person only has one dose.
Originally, Kakashi had intended to save it for a life-or-death situation, but with the current emergency, he couldn't afford to worry about that.
Obito and Rin didn't hesitate; hearing Kakashi, they immediately nodded in agreement.
Once the medicine had taken effect slightly, the group immediately rushed towards the front line at top speed.
However, upon bursting out of the forest.
The three young Ninja stopped dead at the edge of the cliff, staring blankly at the scene before them.
Before their eyes, the camp, built against the mountain, was already a vast expanse of craters. The surfaces of the fortresses constructed at the front line were scarred with large gashes, and smoke still lingered.
Scattered personnel, while maintaining the barrier, flowed like water towards the front combat positions, desperately resisting with uncleared explosive traps and long-range Ninjutsu.
The frontline, which should have had a standard of three hundred people, now likely had less than a hundred.
However, the enemies appearing before them were...
Kakashi stood on the edge of the cliff.
Thanks to the high-altitude surveillance drone's vision, the scene they could see was infinitely clearer than what their comrades on the front line could perceive.
In front of the entire front line, a dense mass of Sand Ninja surged like a tide, roughly numbering at least a thousand.
Behind them, there was an uncountable stream of people, all forming into squads and charging simultaneously towards this position.
Just looking at this scene sent a shiver down the spines of the three young Ninja, their hair standing on end.
"Are the Sand Ninja crazy?"
"Are they abandoning their other positions?"
The first to speak was Obito, who was the most impatient.
He stared wide-eyed, looking at the approaching forces with disbelief.
"No, that's not right."
Kakashi's voice was still steady, but there was a hint of gritting teeth.
He saw it clearly.
Among the Sand Ninja forces ahead, there were many old and young faces, and many people with slightly poorer stamina, lagging behind the main force, clearly having not undergone regular training for some time.
Based solely on these details, he drew a conclusion.
"The Sand Ninja have re-mobilized their entire Village."
"It's likely that even former Ninja who were laid off and eliminated have been forcibly conscripted into this force."
Upon hearing this, Obito had little reaction, but Nohara Rin's expression was one of astonishment.
As a Ninja, she certainly knew what the outcome would be for Ninja who hadn't undergone specialized training for some time and had to busy themselves with making a living, only to be re-conscripted into the ranks.
No wonder the pressure on Konoha's various front lines had been so immense recently.
The Sunagakure was truly sparing no expense.
"Why?"
"Such a general mobilization usually only begins when a war is nearing its end, right?"
"..."
Kakashi was silent for a moment, then said:
"Perhaps, it's because of Sawara."
"Huh?"
This time, even Obito couldn't help but exclaim.
Kakashi, however, grew even more silent.
He suddenly had a different feeling.
After personally witnessing Sawara's god-like power, he couldn't help but put himself in the shoes of others.
If he were another Ninja Village, would they see any hope of defeating Konoha?
Probably not.
So, in such a situation, to avoid being swallowed, they could probably only gamble on one possibility.
"As long as we are desperate enough, even if you are Sawara Kiri, you can't kill all of us."
Advisor Chiyo stood at the very rear of the army formation, watching the tide-like surge of troops and the Konoha Ninja ahead, who were facing a formidable enemy, muttering to herself.
It was both like a fierce determination and a form of self-comfort.
"What if you are strong alone?"
"Can all of Konoha's people be unafraid of death?"
Under normal circumstances, Chiyo would naturally not dare to speak like this.
But the situation was different now.
As Konoha developed more and more prosperously over the years, the living conditions of Konoha Ninja became increasingly superior, while the lives of Ninja from other Villages worsened day by day.
The previous and current Kazekage could still rely on Magnet Release to excavate mineral veins in the desert, providing both subsidies for the Village and some preferential treatment for their own small families.
But for other Sand Ninja, if the path of being a mercenary was cut off, then there would truly be no way out.
In the vast sea of sand, there were only scattered, pearl-chain-like oases. The Land of Wind, seemingly immense in area, could not provide many places for them to live comfortably.
Whether it was commerce or banditry, both were already overcrowded paths; was it something one could squeeze into?
The Sand Ninja had long been unable to survive.
Given that, what was there to fear in fighting for their lives now?
As long as they could carve out a path to survival.
However, even though Chiyo often muttered such thoughts to herself.
Sawara Kiri's ruthless and decisive methods on the battlefield, and his cunning in cutting off the livelihoods of Ninja from surrounding countries without bloodshed, still caused a faint tremor in her heart.
The more she worried, the more she subconsciously clenched her fists.
In her palm, she held three fragments of the Shikon no Tama, faintly shimmering with an eerie glow.
No matter what she thought in her heart now, from the moment they decided to assassinate Sawara Kiri and destroy Konoha's industrial district, they had no other choice.
Just as Chiyo was gazing into the distance.
The Sand Ninja at the front had already begun to engage Konoha's frontline position.
"Kill!"
Splashes of saliva flew out with the roars of countless people.
Figures with bloodshot eyes, fearless of death, charged like arrows from a bowstring into Konoha's frontline minefield.
The continuous roar of explosions vibrated everyone's eardrums. After the blood mist shattered in the explosions, another person's footsteps immediately followed.
The Konoha Ninja in the fortresses controlled their scroll launchers, unleashing one wide-range Ninjutsu after another.
Fire and thunder covered the sky and earth. The sound of Kunai embedding into the fortress walls occasionally echoed in their ears, and sometimes a unlucky person would be hit by a shuriken shot from afar through a window, quickly falling silent after being pinned into their cheek.
But beside him, another person immediately stepped up.
Around the perimeter of the fortresses, one squad after another maintained the outer barrier, and a portion engaged in close combat with Sand Jonin who approached through the blind spots of the windows.
This form of trench warfare, which Konoha had developed through wartime experience, dealt a considerable blow to the Sand Ninja, who were still in the pre-Ninja Village era.
However, by continuously expending numbers and lives, the distance between the two sides continued to shrink.
"Ding! Thump!"
After a continuous series of metallic clashes and sounds of flesh being pierced, a taijutsu-type Sand Ninja, wielding a short blade, charged with burning eyes into this Konoha position that had blocked them for several days.
Through this small breach, a continuous stream of his comrades, who had also passed through the minefield and the barrier breach, followed closely behind him.
The Ninja of the barrier squad watched as this breach showed signs of continuously expanding, and many of them already had a look of resolve to die in their eyes.
However, just as they were preparing to fight these bastards to the death, they saw the Sand Ninja in front suddenly stop, as if they had seen something, and all stared blankly at the sky.
The Konoha barrier squad Ninja were startled and instinctively turned their heads to look towards the sky.
The next moment.
A deep shadow obscured the bright sunlight, covering the sky and clouds, pressing directly down upon them.
What covered the entire cloud layer was not sand, but rather disc-shaped, fortress-like flying objects.
What are those things?
Both Konoha and Sand Ninja simultaneously had this same thought in their minds.
Immediately after.
A sudden burst of fire instantly engulfed the entire Sand Ninja position, sweeping with a roaring sound and a rumbling explosion that made the very ground tremble. Shattered human bodies erupted in a surging mist of blood, staining the borderland between the yellow sand and the forest with a dark, somber crimson.
"Enemy attack—!"
The distant alarm sounded a beat too late. The center of the large Sand Ninja unit, which had been continuously advancing with the flow of people, had already been blasted into a clear, empty space.
Then, in the sky, white flowers began to bloom.
Falling.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones=1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr | 16 novels being updated, I can't read all comments