Suddenly, the explosions surrounding the camp stopped completely.
They did not gradually weaken before fading away. Instead, they stopped in an instant.
One moment the battlefield was still rumbling violently, and the next moment, absolute silence descended.
It felt as though someone had pressed a pause button on the entire battlefield.
Even the wind itself stopped blowing.
The insects stopped chirping.
The birds stopped singing as well.
The entire battlefield seemed sealed inside an isolated vacuum.
The people standing within the Konoha camp also became motionless.
No one spoke.
Everyone stared fixedly toward the dense forest located eight hundred meters away.
Between the forest and the camp was a vast open area.
That land had been deliberately cleared beforehand to prevent enemy forces from sneaking close.
But at this moment, the enemy was not sneaking in.
They were advancing openly and brazenly.
Inside the camp, the atmosphere became so tense that many people could clearly hear their own heartbeats.
Might Guy tightened his grip around the hilt of the Youth Blade while cold sweat spread across his palms.
He stared toward the dense forest.
The flickering firelight from before had disappeared completely.
Everything over there was pitch black.
Nothing could be seen.
But something felt deeply wrong.
It was too quiet.
Quiet enough to resemble the split second before a violent storm erupted.
Someone finally spoke in a trembling voice:
"Wh... what are they doing...?"
Nobody answered.
Nobody knew.
Then, suddenly, a sound emerged from the darkness.
Rustle... rustle...
The sound gradually approached from the distance.
Soon afterward, dozens of dark silhouettes slowly emerged from the dense forest.
They were Sunagakure Ninja.
Yet strangely, they did not charge forward.
Nor did they launch an attack.
Instead, they slowly walked out bit by bit.
The moment Choza saw this scene, his expression changed.
He immediately stepped several paces forward until he stood at the very front of the camp while squinting hard into the distance.
The torchlight could not illuminate that far ahead.
But he could hear it.
What he heard was not footsteps.
It was the sound of people rummaging through dirt.
Digging.
Pulling.
Dismantling.
Choza abruptly turned his head and shouted:
"They're dismantling our traps!"
Everyone's heart sank immediately.
Those traps.
Those explosive tags.
Those hidden shuriken, Kunai, and senbon buried beneath the ground.
They were the final barrier protecting the camp.
Sunagakure had too many people and feared triggering the traps recklessly, so they had sent advance personnel to dismantle them first.
Piece by piece.
Step by step.
Slowly pushing forward.
The distance of eight hundred meters would not delay them for very long.
And once every trap had been cleared away, three thousand Sunagakure Ninja would charge directly toward the camp.
"We can't let them dismantle everything!" someone shouted anxiously.
Choza remained standing at the front without turning around.
He stared silently into the darkness for several seconds.
Then, he suddenly spun around.
"Assault squad, assemble immediately!"
Before the others could fully react, the members of the 7th Battalion had already begun moving rapidly.
The 7th Battalion was Konoha's assault battalion.
Choza's battalion.
Following the brutal battle against Iwagakure, the original two hundred-man assault squad had already been reduced to roughly one hundred and thirty survivors.
The remaining personnel were divided into thirteen squads.
Ten men per squad.
Choza stood before them while his gaze slowly swept across the formation.
"Squads One, Two, Four, Seven, and Eight. Step forward."
The selected squads immediately obeyed.
Might Guy, Ebisu, and Genma were all among them.
Within only several seconds, fifty people had assembled.
Choza's gaze swept across the gathered troops before finally pausing briefly on Might Guy.
Might Guy stood calmly among the Seventh Squad with the Youth Blade already in his hand.
He nodded once toward Choza.
Choza silently withdrew his gaze before speaking in a low voice:
"Sunagakure has too many people and fears triggering our traps, so they sent advance teams to dismantle them first."
"They are unfamiliar with the terrain."
"But we are familiar with it."
His gaze swept across the fifty somewhat nervous Ninja standing before him.
"We are going to charge out and kill those dismantling the traps."
"If they pursue us, we lure them directly into the trap zone."
"If they refuse to pursue, then we continue killing them."
He paused briefly.
"This is not suicide."
"This is using our mobility to wage guerrilla warfare against them."
Nobody spoke.
But every person's expression changed.
Not only the assault squad, even the surrounding battalion captains looked shocked.
Choza's expression remained unchanged while his voice grew louder.
"I know what all of you are thinking."
"There are three thousand enemies out there. If fifty of us charge at them, it sounds suicidal."
He took one step forward beneath the torchlight, allowing everyone to clearly see his face.
"But look behind you."
Everyone instinctively turned their heads.
Behind the camp was complete darkness.
Nothing could be seen.
But every person present knew what lay in that direction.
Konoha.
Choza's voice became heavy.
"Three hundred miles behind us is Konoha itself."
"There are no defensive lines behind us."
"No fortifications."
"Nothing."
"If we retreat, Sunagakure will follow us directly into the Land of Fire."
"When that happens, how many people do you think will die?"
Nobody answered him.
Choza slowly raised his fist.
"So we cannot retreat."
"Not even one single step."
He paused before continuing:
"And the most important point is this."
"Sunagakure currently believes we are too afraid to launch an offensive ourselves."
"We are not charging out recklessly to die."
"We are striking first in order to catch them off guard!"
The members of the assault squad immediately clenched their fists tighter.
The same was true for everyone else nearby.
At that moment, Choza's gaze suddenly shifted toward Ebisu and Genma.
"You two stay behind."
Ebisu's face changed immediately.
"Captain, we're not afraid of death!"
But Choza waved his hand and interrupted him before he could continue.
"I know that."
He paused briefly.
"But this operation is not something anyone can participate in simply because they aren't afraid of death."
"I need speed."
"I need an assault force."
"You two..."
Choza stopped speaking halfway through.
But the meaning in his eyes was already perfectly clear.
Too weak.
Ebisu's face instantly flushed red.
His lips trembled as though he wanted to argue.
But Genma suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.
"The Captain is right."
Genma's voice remained flat, but the senbon clenched between his teeth creaked audibly.
Ebisu clenched his fists tightly until his knuckles turned white.
He looked toward Choza.
Then toward Might Guy.
Finally, he lowered his head silently and stepped aside.
His fingernails dug deeply into his own palms.
Choza no longer looked at them.
Instead, he turned back toward the darkness ahead.
"Assault squad members."
"Follow me!"
The instant he finished speaking, he charged out.
Whoosh!
The selected squads immediately followed behind him without hesitation.
Choza took the lead.
Despite his enormous body, he charged forward like a heavy armored tank while maintaining astonishing speed.
Forty-eight Ninja plus Choza himself.
Forty-nine people in total.
Under the cover of darkness, they surged out from the camp like a sharpened blade stabbing violently into the night.
Might Guy ran several meters behind Choza with the Youth Blade already drawn in his hand.
Soon, enemy figures began appearing ahead.
Sunagakure personnel.
Dozens of them crouched along the ground.
Some were digging up explosive tags.
Some were cutting wires.
Others were dismantling traps.
The moment they heard approaching footsteps, they instinctively looked upward.
Then their expressions changed drastically.
"Konoha Ninja!!"
"How did they rush out?!"
"They actually dared to attack?!"
"Retreat immediately—!"
It was already too late.
Choza charged at the very front while his body rapidly expanded in size midair.
"Multi-Size Technique!"
Two enormous palms smashed downward like gigantic iron doors.
Bang! Bang!
Two Sunagakure Genin were instantly crushed into the ground before they could even scream.
Choza landed heavily and immediately kicked a third enemy flying backward.
A fourth enemy turned around to flee but had his neck sliced open by a charging Konoha Chunin from behind.
The fifth.
The sixth.
The seventh.
Forty-nine Konoha Ninja swept through the area like a dense steel rake.
The Sunagakure Ninja dismantling traps panicked completely.
Those fast enough escaped toward the forest.
Those too slow were directly cut down where they stood.
Might Guy charged directly toward one enemy.
That person had just risen to his feet while clutching several explosive tags in his hands.
The moment he saw Guy, he froze in shock.
The Youth Blade had already slashed downward.
Precept-Breaking Blade, First Form: Severing Purity!
The slash rose upward from below.
The enemy's wrist was sliced apart instantly while the explosive tags scattered across the ground.
The second slash followed immediately afterward and cut deeply into the enemy's shoulder.
The man collapsed instantly.
Might Guy did not pause even briefly.
He immediately turned toward his next target.
In less than one minute, over twenty Sunagakure corpses already littered the battlefield.
The surviving enemies fled desperately back toward the dense forest while shouting loudly:
"The Konoha forces counterattacked!!"
Movement immediately erupted deeper within the forest.
More torches ignited.
More shadows appeared.
The true main force of Sunagakure had begun moving forward.
Choza stood at the front while glancing toward the retreating enemies and then toward the forest itself.
"Retreat!"
With that single command, all forty-nine Konoha Ninja immediately turned around and sprinted back toward camp.
The Sunagakure troops behind them immediately gave chase.
Dozens of Sunagakure Ninja burst out from the forest while pursuing aggressively.
Some chased while rapidly forming hand seals.
Fireballs.
Wind blades.
Kunai.
Projectiles flew toward the backs of the retreating Konoha Ninja.
Choza ran at the very rear of the formation while glancing backward.
"Enter the trap zone!"
Everyone immediately rushed into the open area before the camp.
That area had already been packed densely with hidden explosive tags beforehand.
Choza calculated the distance carefully while waiting for the pursuing enemies to step into the designated zone.
Then
"Detonate!"
Boom————!!
The explosive tags detonated simultaneously.
Flames shot violently into the sky while dirt and shattered rock exploded over ten meters high.
The dozen or so Sunagakure Ninja at the front of the pursuit were instantly blasted away.
Their bodies flipped repeatedly through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground without moving again.
The Sunagakure troops behind them immediately stopped dead in place and dropped low to the ground, no longer daring to advance recklessly.
Choza did not stop moving.
He led everyone directly back toward the camp entrance before finally turning around to look backward.
The enemy had retreated.
Scattered across the battlefield were over a dozen corpses from the explosion in addition to the twenty or thirty enemies killed during the ambush earlier.
Nearly fifty enemy casualties in total.
Forty-nine Konoha Ninja had launched the assault.
And every single one returned alive.
Several people had sustained injuries, but none were severe.
Choza stood at the camp entrance breathing heavily while his chest rose and fell violently.
Then he turned his head toward the dense forest.
More torches had appeared over there now.
The shadows within the darkness had become denser.
Yet the enemy no longer advanced recklessly.
Choza suddenly grinned.
Then he turned and walked back into the camp.
"Count heads!"
"Check injuries!"
"Bandage the wounded!"
"Resupply immediately!"
Might Guy crouched near the camp entrance with the Youth Blade stabbed into the ground beside him while breathing heavily.
Although the assault had lasted only a short time, his nerves had remained stretched taut throughout the entire engagement.
His physical exhaustion was considerable as well.
He intended to recover as much strength as possible during this brief pause.
Guy lowered his head toward the blade in his hand.
The blood staining the weapon had not dried yet.
He wiped it twice against his sleeve, but the blood still refused to come clean.
Eventually, he simply gave up trying.
While resting, he lifted his head again toward the dense forest.
Everything over there remained pitch black.
Yet countless enemies were hidden inside.
And now they had stopped moving completely.
Clearly, they were preparing something larger.
Beside him, Ebisu still stood silently with clenched fists.
When he noticed Guy looking over, his lips moved slightly as though wanting to speak.
But no words came out.
Guy grinned and flashed his white teeth toward him.
"Save your energy."
"There'll be plenty for you to fight later."
Ebisu froze briefly before lowering his head and giving a muffled response.
"Mm."
Although Konoha appeared to have won this first skirmish...
Might Guy knew very clearly.
This was only the beginning.
Three thousand Sunagakure Ninja would never retreat simply because several dozen of them had died.
The true battle had not even started yet.
And just as expected.
After the brief silence ended, the ground near the dense forest suddenly began vibrating rhythmically once more.
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