Chapter 181: Solo Operations, Unrestrained
Inside the resting tent, three completely different scenes unfolded at once—one person busily packing supplies, one quietly reading, and one sitting there plotting something "evil," occasionally letting out strange "hehe" chuckles.
After finishing his preparations, Taichi walked over and smacked Yōhei on the head, snapping him out of his fantasies. "That's your cousin. Show some restraint."
What Taichi didn't say out loud was this—whether Obito Uchiha would go rogue in the future or not, at this rate, once Obito awakened the Mangekyō, he'd definitely come looking for Yōhei to "settle the score."
The only question was—by then, who would be stronger?
"You're the strongest one here while I'm gone," Taichi added seriously. "Take care of everyone. Don't act recklessly, got it?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Yōhei grumbled, fixing his clothes. "You're starting to sound like an old lady."
Despite his complaints, Yōhei was actually reliable—and he listened when it mattered. Especially with Saori supporting him, there was little to worry about.
The two of them walked Taichi to the camp entrance.
There, they happened to run into Kakashi Hatake and his group, who were also seeing off their teacher.
Nearby, Minato Namikaze was giving final instructions—no need to listen closely; it was the usual reminders about staying cautious on missions.
"Minato-senpai, ready to go?" Taichi greeted, nodding to Kakashi and the others.
"Mm, ready," Minato replied, then turned to Yōhei. "Yōhei, I'll leave Kakashi and the others in your care for a while."
Hearing that, Yōhei immediately thought of Taichi's earlier words. Just like him… Real captains all thought the same way.
"No problem, Minato-senpai. We're all friends."
After a brief farewell, Taichi and Minato finally set off.
Although Sunagakure had managed to halt Iwagakure's advance, due to the initial surprise attack, the battlefield still remained deep within the Land of Wind.
Iwagakure had even established their frontline base on what used to be Sunagakure's border outpost.
Blatant provocation.
They clearly didn't take Sunagakure seriously at all.
Taichi and Minato's route would take them from the Land of Rivers into the Land of Wind, then deeper inward toward the battlefield.
---
"Minato-senpai," Taichi asked while running, "for this mission, should we act together or separately?"
"If you hadn't learned Flying Thunder God, I'd say we stick together," Minato replied with a smile. "But now…"
He turned slightly.
"Separating will be more efficient."
"I thought the same," Taichi nodded. "Let's split before reaching the battlefield."
Because they had to avoid Sunagakure's detection, their pace wasn't particularly fast. It took them two full days to reach the outskirts of the warzone.
"Let's split here," Minato said.
"Alright."
Taichi pulled out several items from his pouch—antidotes, soldier pills, healing pills—and a specially made Flying Thunder God kunai, handing them over.
"These are for emergencies. Keep them on you."
Minato accepted them. Looking at the kunai engraved with the phrase "Where I stand, none can oppose me" he couldn't help but smile oddly.
He hadn't expected Taichi—normally so calm—to use something so… dramatic.
After storing the items, Minato handed over his own marked kunai in return, ensuring they could locate each other if needed.
As Taichi did a final check of his gear, something felt off.
Then he realized—
The forehead protector.
This was a covert mission. Wearing Konoha's symbol openly would be a mistake.
Just as he was about to remind Minato, he saw him already removing it and storing it away.
As expected of an elite jōnin…
Taichi quickly followed suit.
At that moment, Minato's gaze shifted to Taichi's forehead.
A green diamond-shaped mark.
He recognized it instantly—
The same as Tsunade's.
The Yin Seal.
Taichi noticed his gaze and casually covered it with a headband. "Tsunade-sensei taught me."
Minato simply nodded.
Taichi already had enormous chakra reserves—and now the Yin Seal on top of that.
There was nothing left to worry about.
With preparations complete, they parted ways and began their solo operations.
---
Land of Wind — Battlefield
Not far from an oasis town, a recent skirmish had just ended.
Over a dozen bodies lay scattered across the sand—half from Sunagakure, half from Iwagakure.
A draw.
Above them, scavenger birds circled.
Some had already descended, pecking at the corpses.
More gathered in the sky.
In the desert, these carrion birds were relentless. Wherever there were bodies, they would appear—and soon, nothing would remain. Flesh, bone, even blood-soaked sand—they devoured it all.
True cleaners of the wasteland.
Taichi was hidden among nearby ruins, waiting.
The victors would likely return to clean up the battlefield.
Sure enough—
Three shinobi approached.
Iwagakure.
As they got closer, they noticed the circling birds.
Their expressions darkened immediately.
What angered them most wasn't defeat—
But this.
No one wanted their comrades' bodies to be desecrated like this.
"Damn beasts!" they shouted, attacking the birds with Earth Release techniques.
But their accuracy was poor, and their power lacking.
Aside from one bird with a broken wing, the rest easily escaped, circling above.
Watching from the shadows, Taichi shook his head.
These were clearly expendable shinobi.
At their age, still only genin-level strength.
Confirming no reinforcements were coming, Taichi acted.
He had already planted Flying Thunder God kunai nearby.
In an instant—
He vanished.
Reappearing behind them—
And unleashing Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
A storm of slicing wind blades surged forward.
The three shinobi didn't even have time to react.
Their bodies were shredded instantly.
For this mission, Taichi deliberately avoided using his signature techniques.
Instead, he relied on wind and earth release—
Both to conceal his identity and to stir confusion between the two villages.
After confirming their deaths, he retrieved his kunai and prepared to leave.
He glanced at the circling birds—
Then at the bodies.
For a moment, he considered burning them.
But in the end—
He didn't.
In nature, humans eat animals.
Animals eat humans.
And on a battlefield—
There was no room for sentiment.
This was already Taichi's third day here.
He had witnessed several skirmishes, but opportunities were rare.
And even when he acted—
The targets were minor.
It made little difference to the overall war.
Back at his hidden resting point, Taichi thought carefully.
Large-scale battles were too risky.
Small ones—
Too insignificant.
In the end, he made a decision.
The Land of Birds.
Deep within Iwagakure's territory.
If he could intercept their supply lines—
That would matter far more than killing a few low-ranking shinobi.
After a quick meal and brief rest, Taichi disguised himself.
Wearing a Sunagakure headband—
He slipped into the Land of Birds.
Inside, he quickly noticed something interesting—
There were already multiple Sunagakure teams operating behind enemy lines.
Reconnaissance.
Sabotage.
The war—
Was far from simple.
Since Iwagakure currently held the upper hand, Taichi didn't go out of his way to hunt Sunagakure forces. But if someone unlucky happened to run straight into him—
He wouldn't mind taking another life or two.
Like the Sunagakure jōnin in front of him.
Over the past few days, Taichi hadn't encountered a single isolated Iwagakure jōnin. Yet somehow, this one had the worst luck—walking right into him.
There was nothing more to say.
Taichi activated Body Flicker. His short blade flashed with a sharp arc of light.
Even a jōnin, caught completely off guard, couldn't last more than a few exchanges before losing his head.
Looking at the corpse lying on the ground, eyes still wide open, Taichi couldn't help but feel speechless.
What kind of bad luck is this…
He was clearly here to target Iwagakure—yet a Sunagakure jōnin delivered himself straight to his blade.
No vigilance at all.
Maybe he had been too confident in his own strength—seeing Taichi dressed as a fellow Sand ninja and approaching without caution.
If not you, then who deserved to die?
Still, this was just a minor incident.
Taichi's real objective remained—
finding and destroying Iwagakure's supply points.
After two days of searching in the Land of Birds, Taichi finally locked onto a target—
A small Iwagakure supply depot.
From his observations, it was guarded by roughly one platoon: two jōnin, two special jōnin, and the rest chūnin.
For a small depot, that was already a strong defensive force.
But for Taichi—
It wasn't impossible.
He found a concealed location and used Earth Release to carve out an underground chamber, resting and conserving energy.
Only after nightfall, when darkness fully settled, did he emerge and begin his approach.
The night was perfect for an ambush.
Clouds drifted across the sky, intermittently covering the moon, plunging the land into deep shadows.
Taichi silently crept to the outer wall of the depot.
He had already confirmed earlier—
No sensory barrier.
No sensory-type ninja.
With that, he cautiously released his perception, keeping it restrained just enough to avoid detection by the stationed jōnin.
From this "god's-eye view," he moved precisely—
Timing his steps with patrol patterns, slipping through blind spots.
He entered a tent housing four shinobi.
Likely a squad.
Using faint light filtering in from outside, Taichi approached the one who seemed to be the leader.
His blade was already drawn.
In the darkness—
One hand covered the mouth.
The blade fell.
A nearly inaudible slice.
The squad leader died in his sleep.
Taichi moved like a shadow.
Between the cramped beds, he flowed silently, harvesting lives one by one.
Warm blood soaked into the bedding, dripping onto the ground.
The metallic scent of blood quickly spread through the tent.
He didn't stop.
One tent cleared—
He slipped into the next.
This one belonged to another special jōnin's squad.
Same method.
Same precision.
But this time—
After eliminating the leader and two members, the scent of blood could no longer be concealed.
Outside the first tent, a patrolling Iwagakure ninja suddenly stopped.
He sniffed the air.
His expression changed instantly.
He tore open the tent—
And saw four lifeless bodies.
"Enemy attack—!"
The shout rang out across the camp.
Moments later—
Alarms shattered the night's silence.
Taichi's gaze sharpened.
No more hiding.
The last target jolted awake—
Only to have his throat slit in a single stroke.
With the final kill done, Taichi immediately formed hand seals.
Wind Release: Vacuum Barrage.
Dozens of sharp, scythe-like wind blades tore through the air, sweeping toward the final jōnin squad's tent.
Everything in their path was shredded instantly.
And Taichi—
Was fully exposed.
From the direction of the attack, screams erupted.
When the dust settled, only one ninja staggered out—
Clothes in tatters, left arm completely gone, blood pouring from the wound.
Barely alive.
Now surrounded by the remaining Iwagakure forces—
Taichi showed nothing but disdain.
Lowering his voice deliberately, he sneered:
"With all those people earlier, I still dared to sneak in and kill."
"And now?"
"Only this few left—and instead of running, you choose to surround me?"
"You really don't know your place."