"Damn it! So this is the Land of Earth? What a desolate, wretched place. This bitter wind is so harsh it's making my skin breakout," Karin grumbled, pulling the scarf wrapped around her face a little tighter.
"Hmph. A woman with your kind of gorilla-strength wouldn't find anyone to take her even if her skin were smooth as silk."
Sasuke Uchiha decisively toggled his "poison tongue" mode, offering a sarcastic sneer with his trademark arrogance.
He had been thoroughly thrashed by her lately. Almost every daily sparring session ended with him bruised and swollen. In more severe instances, he'd suffered broken bones and internal hemorrhaging; twice or thrice, he had nearly been beaten to death.
If not for the effectiveness of Allen's healing potions, the grass on his grave would be three meters high by now.
But "Sasuke-kun" was true to form! No matter how many times he was disciplined, he never learned his lesson, nor did he ever take a hint. He insisted on provoking her again and again. At this point, it was the only way he could vent the pain and frustration of being constantly overpowered.
Yet, through these brutal, near-death bouts, his strength was increasing at a visible rate. Thus, despite the abuse, he refused to leave the team.
"Hey! You're itching for another beating, aren't you?"
Karin's eyes snapped wide as she cracked her knuckles loudly. It looked as if she might swing her fist into that loathsome face at any second.
Whether it was due to a bad first impression or a natural personality clash, these two hadn't known a moment of peace since they met. They couldn't stand the sight of each other, and bickering was their daily bread. Neji, walking nearby, completely ignored them, merely activating his Byakugan occasionally to scout the perimeter.
He knew that if things went too far, Allen would step in. These verbal spats that hadn't yet escalated to actual blows weren't worth getting worked up over.
Suddenly!
Allen, walking at the head of the group, came to a halt. Without turning his head, he commanded, "Neji! Karin! Go drag those little mice hiding behind the rocks out for me."
"Understood!" x2
Instantly, two silhouettes blurred forward like lightning.
Before the four hidden Iwa shinobi could even register what was happening, they were pinned down, unable to move. The one who appeared to be the Jonin leader managed to maintain a modicum of composure, but the Genin were flattened in the blink of an eye.
One of them had his chest cavity completely caved in by a fist reinforced with Nen and chakra; blood and viscera erupted from his back in a spray. It was a gruesome sight that would make any normal person's skin crawl.
With her Uzumaki bloodline fully awakened, Karin's reserves of both chakra and Aura were growing at an unbelievable pace, making her strikes increasingly lethal.
Sasuke, who had been bickering just moments ago, watched this with dilated pupils, his heart burning with an even deeper hunger for power.
"An Iwa patrol?" Allen frowned slightly.
"I-It's you?!!"
The Jonin leader clearly recognized the group. His face was a mask of shock and terror. With the conclusion of the Konoha Crush, Allen's name had saturated the shinobi world; he was officially recognized as the individual possessing the most dangerous ideology on the planet.
"Should we dispose of them?" Neji asked, his tone uncertain.
Allen gave a casual wave of his hand. "No, there's no need. Besides, I want him to deliver a message to Tsuchikage Onoki."
"A message?"
Hearing that he wasn't going to die, a lightly injured Genin let out a visible sigh of relief.
"Yes. Tell Onoki he has three days to evacuate the innocent civilians and merchants. In three days, I will pay a personal visit and wipe Iwagakure off the map, physically. No matter what preparations he makes, he cannot change this predestined outcome."
Allen declared this world-shaking news in a perfectly flat, conversational tone.
"Destroy the entire Stone Village? Have you lost your mind?" the Iwa Jonin blurted out, staring in horror.
"Mad? No. I am simply fulfilling a promise. Three days is not long; you will understand my meaning then. Now, take your subordinates and go. Deliver those words to Onoki as fast as you can."
With that, Allen ignored the captives and continued his trek.
Not long after, once the freed Iwa shinobi regained their wits, they scrambled back toward their village. Ten hours later, the intelligence was on the Tsuchikage's desk.
"Curse it! The thing I feared most is finally starting! Issue the notice immediately, put the village on full war alert. Get all non-combatants into the shelters and activate every barrier!" Onoki barked out orders with methodical precision, despite the curses under his breath.
As a Kage, he knew panic was the enemy. He was fighting on home turf, which provided a natural advantage. Furthermore, Iwagakure was a massive fortress, famously difficult to besiege. Anyone attempting a frontal assault would have to pay a price in blood.
However, he also knew that if Allen claimed he could wipe the village off the map, he must possess some unknown trump card, one that could potentially plunge the Stone Village into an abyss from which there was no return.
…
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
When Allen and his group arrived openly at the entrance of Iwagakure, tens of thousands of mobilized Iwa shinobi were already standing in formation. They awaited only the Tsuchikage's command to tear these arrogant interlopers to shreds.
"With this level of defense, a frontal assault by just the few of us won't be very effective," Neji muttered, his brow furrowing as he surveyed the terrain and the sheer density of enemies with his Byakugan.
"A frontal assault? No. I'm not here for an assault. I'm here to destroy this village and announce the arrival of Truth to this world. If you don't want to die, start retreating now. Get as far back as you can, because otherwise... you really will die."
As he finished speaking, Allen triggered the transformation of his red dragon necklace into its armor form. With a pair of crimson dragon wings unfurling from his back, he took to the skies in full view of the masses.
"Not good! The brat can fly!"
Tsuchikage Onoki didn't have time to think. He immediately performed the Earth Release: Super Light-Weight Rock Jutsu, launching himself into the air to intercept the figure soaring higher and higher.
His plan was simple: stop the enemy before he could unleash any large-scale, high-risk attack. Armed with his Kekkei Tota: Dust Release, Onoki was confident that no matter what trick Allen had up his sleeve, he could nip it in the bud.