Sixty-eight days and nights had passed.
Guy already knew every sound of the Mountain Ridge at night like the back of his hand.
The sound of the wind blowing, insects chirping, birds singing, leaves rustling, and animals foraging through the grass... he had heard them all countless times before.
But this vibration was different.
He had never heard anything like it before.
Guy immediately crawled out from the hollow tree.
The area outside was pitch black.
He flipped over and pressed his ear tightly against the ground.
The vibration instantly became clearer.
Very faint.
Very distant.
But undeniably real.
These were not the footsteps of one person.
They were countless footsteps, orderly and rhythmic, advancing from the west.
"They really came!"
Guy instantly leaped several times upward and climbed to the top of the tallest nearby tree.
Dark clouds covered the moon, making the entire sky dim.
But over near the Mountain Ridge, something was moving.
A dense black mass.
Not shadows.
Not forest.
People.
An endless number of figures were crossing over the Mountain Ridge like ants relocating their nest.
The people at the front had already crossed over while those behind continued advancing endlessly.
Guy could not even count them.
There were simply too many.
Without hesitation, he slid down the tree and quickly dug out a signal flare from the bottom of his backpack.
He had hidden this thing carefully for two entire months, wrapping it in three layers of oil paper out of fear it would become damp.
Guy held the flare tube in his left hand and yanked the trigger with his right.
"Swoosh!"
A streak of red light instantly shot into the night sky before exploding over two hundred meters above the ground.
Guy stared fixedly at the red flare.
Even if the camp dozens of li away could not see it clearly, the frontline sentry station at Mount Kikyo, only ten li away, would definitely notice it.
As long as they saw it, they would immediately become alert and begin preparing.
Guy tossed the empty flare tube onto the ground and bent his body slightly.
[Weight of the Body] instantly released all restrictions.
Guy grabbed the Youth Blade tightly in his hand, did not even bother taking his backpack, and immediately turned around to retreat.
However, at that exact moment, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"A brat from Konoha?"
Guy's entire body instantly stiffened.
He sharply turned around.
Standing ten meters behind him was a female Ninja in her twenties.
Her dark green hair was tied into a high bun while two long orange bangs hung beside her forehead.
She clenched her fists tightly while sizing him up with an unfriendly expression.
Pakura.
Guy instantly recognized her identity.
Pakura of Sunagakure.
A Jonin who possessed the Scorch Release Bloodline Limit.
In the original story, this woman killed countless people during the Battle of Mount Kikyo.
Her Scorch Release was terrifying.
Once touched, flesh and skin would instantly dry out.
All moisture within the body would evaporate rapidly until the victim became a shriveled corpse.
This battle was also the beginning of her fame throughout the Ninja World.
But at this moment, Pakura's expression was extremely ugly.
She was the vanguard scout of Sunagakure, specifically responsible for clearing the path and scouting ahead for the main army.
Yet someone had hidden directly under her nose and launched a signal flare into the sky while she noticed only afterward.
To her, this was a complete humiliation.
Guy's expression was equally grim.
He had not sensed Pakura's presence either.
Even after she had approached within ten meters behind him, he noticed nothing at all.
Perhaps most of his attention had been focused on the Sunagakure troops advancing in the distance.
But this also made him realize just how enormous the gap between himself and a true Jonin still was.
Pakura glanced around before looking behind Guy.
After confirming he was alone, her expression relaxed slightly.
"Fortunately, it's only one person."
She slowly raised her hand.
Three fist-sized fireballs instantly floated around her body.
At first glance, they looked like ordinary Fire Release Ninjutsu.
But Guy's pupils instantly contracted.
He knew exactly what those fireballs were.
Scorch Release.
As long as even one touched him, all the moisture inside his body would rapidly disappear before he dried into a corpse.
Pakura looked at Guy coldly.
"You've already fired the signal flare."
"Now die."
The three fireballs instantly whistled toward him.
The moment Pakura attacked, Guy shouted without the slightest hesitation:
"Eight Gates!"
"Third Gate, Gate of Life!"
"Open!!"
Boom!
A violent airwave exploded outward.
Guy's skin rapidly turned crimson.
Veins bulged across his body while green steam burst from his pores.
With his right hand, he instantly drew the Youth Blade.
Precept-Breaking Blade, Final Form.
Broken Commandment!
The moment he moved, he directly unleashed his strongest strike.
A gigantic golden blade phantom exploded outward from the sword and slashed straight toward Pakura.
Pakura's expression instantly changed drastically.
She had not taken this Konoha brat seriously at all.
But now, this brat had actually unleashed a slash no weaker than a B-rank Ninjutsu.
Pakura had no time to think.
She did not even have time to form hand seals.
She could only force the three fireballs forward to collide head-on with the golden blade phantom while her body rolled violently sideways across the ground.
The golden slash instantly split apart the fireballs.
Boom!
The three fireballs exploded into sparks.
The blade phantom paused for only a split second before continuing toward Pakura.
Fortunately, that brief pause gave her enough time to escape.
The golden slash brushed past her shoulder and swept by.
A massive trench over ten meters long was carved directly into the earth behind her.
"That... that was close..."
Pakura stared at the huge trench while gasping heavily for air.
Her eyes were filled with lingering fear.
Just a moment ago...
She had nearly died at the hands of a Konoha brat.
The shaken Pakura immediately reacted.
She hurriedly jumped back up and assumed a combat stance toward Guy's position.
Five more fireballs instantly floated around her body protectively.
This was a battlefield.
If the enemy's first strike failed, then a second attack would definitely follow immediately afterward.
But in the next second, Pakura froze.
"Where... where did he go?!"
She looked carefully.
Guy was no longer anywhere in the clearing.
Only far away in the distance did a streak of green light flash briefly before vanishing.
Guy had already escaped.
He slashed once and immediately ran.
He had absolutely no intention of remaining behind to fight her.
"That damned brat actually toyed with me!"
Pakura's face flushed red from humiliation and anger.
Without hesitation, she immediately chased after Guy.
But after chasing only ten metersβ
Boom!!
The ground beneath her suddenly exploded.
It was an explosive tag trap.
Although Pakura sensed danger instantly and dodged aside in time, escaping injury, she was still blasted completely black with soot and dust.
After stabilizing herself, Pakura still wanted to continue the pursuit.
But ahead of her, there was already no trace of Guy whatsoever.
"Damned brat!"
"I'm going to kill you!!"
Pakura gritted her teeth furiously.
This was her first appearance in the Ninja World War.
She originally intended to make everyone remember her name.
Yet before she could even begin establishing her reputation, she had already been toyed with by a Konoha brat.
If word of this spread, how could she continue facing others afterward?
Just as Pakura prepared to continue chasing, a low voice suddenly sounded behind her.
"No need to pursue him."
Footsteps slowly approached.
Rasa was the first to emerge from the darkness while the massive Sunagakure army followed behind him.
"Lord Rasa."
Pakura immediately lowered her head respectfully.
Ever since the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, Sunagakure had fallen into chaos without a leader.
Rasa had stepped forward during the crisis and become the supreme commander of Sunagakure's forces.
In fact, he had already effectively been designated as the Fourth Kazekage.
Even though Pakura possessed a Bloodline Limit, she still did not dare act arrogantly before him.
Yet she still felt unwilling.
"Lord Rasa, that brat definitely used some kind of temporary secret technique. If I continue chasing, I might still catch him..."
"There's no need."
Rasa interrupted her once more.
He slowly walked forward and stood at the highest point of the Mountain Ridge.
Moonlight pierced through the gaps in the dark clouds and illuminated his face faintly.
He turned around and looked behind himself.
At this moment, the entire Mountain Ridge was densely packed with Sunagakure Ninja.
An endless mass of people stretched from one end to the other.
Forehead protectors, Ninja pouches, and blade scabbards reflected faint glimmers beneath the moonlight.
His true objective had never been a single Konoha brat.
Their goal was the surprise assault on Mount Kikyo.
And beyond that...
The heartland of Konoha itself.
Having already infiltrated this deeply without being detected, their surprise attack plan had effectively succeeded.
Being discovered now no longer mattered.
Even Rasa himself found it somewhat unbelievable.
Most of Sunagakure's forces had actually managed to cross this far before Konoha noticed anything at all.
Rasa stood at the very front of the army and slowly raised his hand.
Then he pointed directly toward the direction of Mount Kikyo's camp.
"All forces."
"Discard your camouflage."
"Attack the Konoha camp."
After pausing briefly, Rasa spoke once more.
"Leave no survivors."
In the next instant, the expressions of more than three thousand Sunagakure Ninja simultaneously turned savage.
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