Chapter 163 — The Beginning, Unleashed
Early the next morning, before dawn had fully broken, the entire Konoha camp was already awake.
Shinobi moved quickly through the camp, packing supplies and dismantling equipment.
Everyone was preparing to withdraw at a moment's notice once the command center gave the signal.
Taichi's squad soon received their orders as well.
But this time, there were two separate orders.
Taichi folded the document authorizing his independent operation and tucked it away.
Then he handed the other mission order to Yōhei.
"From here on, you'll command the squad, Yōhei."
Taichi placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Remember what I told you yesterday."
"Your first priority is the safety of the team."
"Do not chase merit or take unnecessary risks."
Yōhei looked down at the mission scroll in his hand.
A knot of anxiety tightened in his chest.
It wasn't just because a major battle was approaching—
From this moment onward, the lives of his teammates rested on his shoulders.
"I'll bring everyone back safely."
Taichi nodded heavily.
Then he leaned closer and spoke quietly into Yōhei's ear.
"Don't use the Mangekyō's Susanoo unless it's a life-or-death situation."
"I suspect there's a third party on this battlefield."
"Remember that."
Yōhei's eyes widened slightly.
But seeing the seriousness in Taichi's expression, he nodded.
"I understand."
---
At that moment, orders began echoing from the center of the camp.
The entire base suddenly sprang into motion.
Shinobi rushed out through the gates—some alone, others in squads—spreading into the surrounding forest.
Meanwhile, the remaining forces began withdrawing in organized groups.
Wagons loaded with supplies rolled out of the camp alongside them, heading toward the Land of Fire.
---
On the Sunagakure side, their forward positions had already advanced to the edge of Konoha's territory.
So the massive activity in the Konoha camp was detected immediately.
A high-level emergency meeting was convened at once.
When the intelligence report confirmed that Konoha forces had begun retreating toward the Land of Fire, the commanders reached unanimous agreement almost instantly.
Pursue them immediately.
Inflict maximum casualties.
Opportunities like this—beating a retreating enemy—were rare.
And with the leadership united, the Sand Village's response was swift.
Squad after squad of Sand shinobi assembled under the command of jōnin.
Small teams merged into medium units.
Medium units formed larger detachments.
Soon, waves of Sand ninja surged forward, racing toward the direction of Konoha's retreat.
To them, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
The enemy was weaker.
The enemy was retreating.
If they could break Konoha's formation during withdrawal, what followed would be nothing more than harvesting military merit.
After suppressing Konoha for nearly half a month, the Sand shinobi firmly believed their enemy had already reached exhaustion.
All they needed was one final push.
Their spirits burned with excitement.
Every shinobi rushed forward eagerly, afraid that someone else might claim the glory first.
---
Meanwhile, scattered throughout the vast forest were Konoha's interception squads and lone jōnin.
Their mission was simple:
Delay the Sand shinobi for as long as possible.
Partly, this would make the retreat appear more convincing.
But it also served a real purpose—slowing the enemy's advance so the retreating forces wouldn't be overwhelmed.
Taichi was among these interceptors.
And as a solo operator, his position was even closer to the Sand Village's frontline.
He didn't have to wait long.
The first squad of Sand shinobi soon entered the range of his chakra perception.
A chūnin-led team, moving rapidly through the forest.
Then a second squad.
A third.
They advanced in staggered formations, maintaining distance so they wouldn't hinder one another while still remaining close enough to provide mutual support.
Taichi slowly drew his short blade.
In his perception, he locked onto the nearest squad.
Without hesitation—
He vanished.
In the next instant, he burst forward through the trees like a shadow.
With continuous use of the Body Flicker Technique, Taichi moved through the forest like a ghost.
One moment he flashed into sight—
the next he had already appeared more than ten meters away.
By the time the Sand shinobi finally noticed him, a blazing Fire Dragon was already roaring toward them.
The golden flames didn't aim at any individual target.
Instead, the fire dragon smashed into the ground before them.
The impact caused the flames to burst outward in a wide fan, sweeping across everything in its path.
Those who were far enough away barely escaped.
But the three shinobi closest to the blast were instantly burned into charred corpses.
By then, Taichi had already stepped through the flames and flickered forward.
He appeared beside the fleeing chūnin.
With terrifying speed, his short blade stabbed straight through the man's heart—no flourish, no hesitation.
Pulling the blade free, Taichi glanced at the corpse.
The ninja had been clutching a signal flare.
But he had died before he could fire it.
Taichi paused for a moment, considering.
If he wanted to eliminate the enemy as efficiently as possible, hunting them down one by one wasn't ideal.
Better to make them come to him.
He picked up the signal flare.
Then fired it into the sky.
A crimson flare shot upward, leaving a long trail of smoke.
Even several kilometers away, it would be impossible to miss.
Just as expected—
Within Taichi's sensory range, the Sand squads that had previously been advancing normally immediately changed direction.
They began rushing straight toward him.
Taichi smiled faintly.
"Good… come to me."
He tossed aside the now-useless flare and charged toward the nearest squad.
---
The same tactic again.
Fire Dragon Flame Bullet opened the attack.
However many enemies it killed was a bonus.
Then Taichi dashed forward through the flames.
His short blade swept down—
Horizontal slash.
Vertical cut.
Within a single exchange or two, another chūnin was already on his way to the Pure Land.
At that moment, another flare shot into the sky.
The final surviving Sand ninja had managed to ignite it before dying.
But it didn't matter.
Taichi didn't even glance up.
Cold energy gathered in his left hand.
Three ice kunai formed instantly.
He flicked them forward.
At the same moment, he flickered forward behind them.
When the Sand ninja swung his weapon to deflect the projectiles—
Taichi was already in front of him.
The short blade pierced straight through his throat.
Taichi withdrew the blade and gave it a casual flick.
The blood slid off.
The blade gleamed clean again.
---
Within his sensory field, more Sand squads were rushing toward the area.
Two flares had already drawn them in.
Taichi's lips curled into a dangerous grin.
"Yes… that's right."
"Come to me."
In the distant sky, more flares rose in different directions.
Those came from Sand ninja encountering other Konoha interceptors.
But whether those encounters ended in victory or death—
No one could say.
That was war.
A war where only one side could live.
Taichi stopped thinking about it.
He selected another target in his perception.
Then charged.
---
Over the next half hour, along Taichi's path, signal flares rose into the sky roughly every six or seven minutes.
Like a trail of fire, his rampage cut deeper and deeper toward the Sand Village frontline.
By now, seven or eight Sand squads were chasing him.
Among them were even several jōnin.
Ahead of him, more Sand ninja had already organized interception forces.
They intended to trap him between front and rear.
But none of it escaped Taichi's perception.
When the two sides were about to meet—
Taichi launched another Fire Dragon Flame Bullet toward the densest cluster of enemies.
Then he suddenly turned ninety degrees and vanished.
He didn't even bother checking the results.
---
At the ambush point, the Sand shinobi were confident their prey was about to walk into the trap.
Instead—
A golden fire dragon shot into the sky.
Then plunged down directly into their position.
The Sand ninja sneered.
A ninjutsu launched from such a distance?
Did this Konoha brat really think they couldn't dodge?
Sure enough—
The fire dragon struck the ground without hitting anyone.
But the attack had never been about direct impact.
When it exploded, the dragon shattered into countless golden fireballs.
Within twenty meters—
Any shinobi struck by those flames was doomed.
The lucky ones could cut away burning flesh or sever limbs to stop the fire.
The unlucky ones struck in the torso or head died instantly.
"What the hell is this fire?!"
"Don't touch it!"
"Damn it! Leave some people to rescue the wounded!"
"The rest of you—after me!"
"We're killing that bastard today!"
---
At that moment, Taichi understood something.
The best phase of his rampage had ended.
If he slowed down even slightly, the pursuing forces behind him would catch up and surround him.
But—
That was exactly what he wanted.
He tightened his grip on the short blade.
The next battle would be the fiercest yet.
From a wider view of the battlefield—
Small skirmishes still favored Konoha.
Solo shinobi like Taichi and scattered Konoha squads were holding back larger numbers of enemies.
But overall—
The Sand army continued pressing forward toward the retreating Konoha forces.
The two main armies would inevitably collide.
But that wasn't Taichi's concern.
His only task now was simple.
Kill as many Sand shinobi as possible.
---
He carefully evaluated the strength of nearby enemy squads.
The next target couldn't be too strong.
After all, once he finished them, he still had to turn around and fight the pursuing forces.
Soon, a chūnin squad entered his sensory range.
Perfect.
Taichi changed direction.
Two kilometers of distance meant only three or four minutes at full speed.
As he approached, he created two shadow clones.
The goal—
Eliminate the squad instantly.
Taichi flickered forward.
This time he didn't use ninjutsu.
Instead, dozens of ice kunai formed in his hands and flew toward the enemy.
The attack speed rivaled ninjutsu—but consumed far less chakra.
Two Sand ninja failed to dodge in time.
The ice blades pierced them.
They were dead before hitting the ground.
The remaining two avoided the projectiles.
But facing Taichi and his clones at close range—
They lasted less than two seconds.
Their bodies fell silently to the forest floor.
---
The clones immediately dispersed.
They vanished into the forest to hide.
Taichi himself remained standing where he was.
Calmly.
Waiting.
In the distance, Sand shinobi finally appeared through the trees.
This would be the first true face-to-face confrontation between Taichi and the Sand pursuit forces.
Not counting the many souls already sent to the afterlife by his blade.
More and more enemies arrived.
They stared at the ten-year-old boy standing before them.
Some were shocked.
Others furious.
In just forty minutes—
This child had annihilated seven Sand squads.
Now ten squads and three jōnin had gathered to hunt him down.
The leading jōnin looked around, confident victory was certain.
He opened his mouth to mock the boy—
But before he could speak—
Taichi vanished.
Screams erupted instantly.
"So fast…!"
Taichi had no interest in talking.
He believed in a simple rule:
If you could fight, there was no need to talk.
The only reason he had waited was to let the enemies gather together.
Because large numbers brought both advantages—
And weaknesses.
Especially when those numbers consisted of shinobi from different squads with uneven strength.
Their coordination would be terrible.
Taichi gathered chakra into his feet.
Then executed the longest Body Flicker of his life.
In an instant he appeared in the center of the enemy formation.
Golden flames surged along his blade.
As Taichi moved, arcs of blazing sword energy burst outward.
The technique devoured chakra—
But the results were immediate.
Before the Sand shinobi could react, the flaming slashes tore through them.
Even those who blocked were cut by the lingering energy.
Within seconds—
Seven or eight genin and chūnin lay dead.
More than ten were injured.
The remaining Sand shinobi were enraged.
Especially the three jōnin.
This was a blatant humiliation.
Yet when they tried to chase Taichi, they discovered something infuriating—
He refused to fight them directly.
Instead he weaved among the weaker shinobi, using them as shields while slaughtering them.
The jōnin finally panicked.
"Pull back!"
"Don't approach him!"
"Support with ninjutsu!"
But Taichi wouldn't let them.
Without even forming hand seals, dozens of Phoenix Fire techniques formed around him.
They blasted toward the retreating enemies like machine-gun fire.
Each fireball was small—
But there were so many.
The Sand shinobi were completely overwhelmed.
---
As the battlefield cleared around Taichi, the three jōnin finally seized their chance.
Three techniques erupted simultaneously.
"Wind Release — Wind Cutter!"
"Wind Release — Great Sickle Weasel!"
"Fire Release — Great Fireball!"
The wind amplified the flames.
The flames rode the wind.
The massive fireball grew several times larger, tearing toward Taichi with slicing wind blades.
Taichi smirked.
"Fire techniques?"
"You picked the wrong element."
His hands flashed through seals.
"Fire Release — Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A golden dragon of flame burst forth.
It smashed through the combined attack and surged toward one of the jōnin.
The three jōnin's expressions darkened.
They hadn't expected Taichi's fire technique to be so condensed—almost like a physical entity.
Remembering its explosive aftereffects, they immediately retreated.
Two of them began circling to engage him in close combat.
And that—
Was exactly what Taichi wanted.
With the three separated, they could no longer support one another.
Taichi chose the jōnin on the right.
Two shadow clones appeared beside him.
They rushed forward together.
At the same time, the two clones hidden earlier burst from the forest.
They unleashed a storm of Phoenix Fire toward the surrounding Sand shinobi.
The sudden attack shocked everyone.
For a moment they even thought Konoha reinforcements had arrived.
That tiny distraction was all Taichi needed.
The two clones sacrificed themselves to block the jōnin's attack.
Using their cover, Taichi slipped through.
His blade flashed.
The jōnin's throat opened in a single clean cut.
The battlefield froze.
The remaining two jōnin instantly regrouped.
Even under siege by so many enemies—
Taichi had just killed one of them.
Without hesitation, they reached into their robes.
Two signal flares shot into the sky.
Reinforcements were coming.