The next morning, before the sky had fully brightened, the entire Konoha camp was already stirring. Shinobi moved quickly, packing gear and standing ready for orders to begin the withdrawal.
Taiichi received two separate mission scrolls from command.
He tucked his solo-ops order away and handed the other one to Yohei.
"The squad is yours now, Yohei," Taiichi said, gripping his shoulder firmly. "Remember what I told you yesterday—keep everyone alive first. Do not get greedy or take stupid risks."
Yohei took the scroll, his face tight with nerves. The weight of his teammates' lives now rested squarely on his shoulders.
"I'll bring them all back safely," he promised.
Taiichi gave a firm nod, then leaned in close and whispered one last warning. "Don't use your Mangekyō Susanoo unless it's truly life-or-death. I suspect a third party is watching the battlefield. Remember that."
Yohei's eyes widened, but he saw the gravity in Taiichi's gaze and nodded without question.
At that moment, orders rang out from the center of camp. The whole base came alive. Squads and solo operatives streamed out the gates, fanning out in every direction. Behind them, the rest of the forces and supply wagons rolled out in orderly columns, heading back toward the Land of Fire.
Sand Village had been pushing their forward line right up to Konoha's doorstep. The moment they spotted the Leaf camp emptying, word reached their command.
An emergency meeting of Sand's top brass was called. The moment the scouts confirmed the Leaf withdrawal, every officer agreed: pursue immediately and inflict maximum casualties.
The decision was unanimous, so the response was lightning-fast. Squad after squad of Sand shinobi formed into companies and battalions, surging after the retreating Leaf forces.
This was the perfect chance to kick a foe while they were down. With the Leaf already pulling back and their strength clearly exhausted after weeks of pressure, one solid push could shatter their formation and turn the retreat into a rout.
Sand morale was sky-high. Every shinobi moved with urgency, terrified that if they were even a second too slow, the glory and merit points would be snatched by the guy next to them.
On the Leaf side, every rearguard squad and solo jonin had already spread out through the vast forest. Their orders were simple: slow the Sand pursuit as much as possible.
First, it made the withdrawal look more convincing. Second, it bought time so the main retreating column wouldn't be overrun and broken.
Taiichi was among those operatives, positioned closest to the Sand camp.
He didn't have to wait long. The first Sand squad entered his sensory range—a chunin team moving fast in his direction.
Then a second squad. A third. More and more Sand forces poured into his perception, each keeping just enough distance to support one another without crowding.
Taiichi drew his short sword, locked onto the nearest squad, and flickered straight at them.
The hunt had officially begun.
He chained Body Flickers through the trees like a ghost, appearing and vanishing every dozen meters. By the time the Sand shinobi spotted him, a roaring golden Fire Dragon Flame Bullet was already screaming toward them.
The bright-gold flames didn't even need to score a direct hit. On impact they exploded outward in a fan of liquid fire, instantly incinerating the three closest shinobi into charred corpses.
Taiichi stepped through the flames, flickered behind the lone surviving chunin, and drove his short sword clean through the man's heart before he could even pull the pin on his signal flare.
He glanced down at the dead chunin's hand still clutching the unused flare, then looked toward the horizon.
More signal flares began rising in the distance—other Leaf rearguards engaging their own targets. Taiichi didn't know how those fights were going, but he knew one thing for certain:
This was war. You either killed or you died.
He picked up the dead chunin's flare, aimed it skyward, and fired it himself.
A bright red streak shot into the air, visible for miles.
Within his sensory range, every Sand squad that had been advancing in orderly formation suddenly changed course and raced straight toward him.
Taiichi's lips curled into a cold, satisfied smile.
"That's right… come to me."
He tossed the spent flare aside and charged the next closest Sand squad.
Same tactic: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet to soften them up, then close in with the blade. Two quick slashes later, another chunin was on the ground.
A second flare went up behind him—the lone survivor of that squad desperately calling for help.
But Taiichi never even looked back. He was already gone, racing toward the next group.
Over the next thirty minutes, signal flares rose from Taiichi's sector at a steady rate—one every six or seven minutes—pushing deeper and deeper into Sand territory.
By now, seven or eight full Sand squads were chasing him, including several jonin.
Ahead of him, Sand jonin who had received the alerts had already set up an ambush line, hoping to catch him in a pincer.
None of it mattered. Everything was crystal clear inside Taiichi's sensory net.
The moment the two forces were about to clash, Taiichi launched a Fire Dragon Flame Bullet at the densest cluster of enemies, then cut a sharp ninety-degree turn and vanished into the trees without even checking the results.
Behind him, the Sand ambush team watched the golden dragon streak overhead and slam into the ground right in front of them.
They sneered—such a long-range jutsu from that distance? Who couldn't dodge that?
Then the dragon exploded on impact, spraying countless golden fireballs in every direction.
Anyone hit in the torso or a vital spot died instantly. Those struck in the limbs were forced to hack off their own flesh to stop the flames from spreading.
"Damn it! What kind of fire is this?! You can't even touch it!"
"Everyone pull back! Some of you treat the wounded—the rest follow me! We're ending that bastard right now!"
Meanwhile, Taiichi had already sensed the optimal window closing. If he lingered even a second too long, the squads chasing him would catch up and surround him.
But that was exactly what he wanted.
He tightened his grip on his short sword, knowing the next fight would be the fiercest one yet.
High above the battlefield, the overall picture was clear: on the small, localized skirmishes, Leaf was winning. Solo operatives and elite squads like Taiichi were few, but they were tying down far more enemies than their numbers suggested.
Still, the main Sand army continued its relentless push after the retreating Leaf column. A head-on collision between the two large forces was only a matter of time.
None of that concerned Taiichi right now. His only job was to kill as many Sand shinobi as possible.
He scanned the sensory net, picked out a chunin squad that looked manageable, and changed direction. Two kilometers was nothing—three or four minutes at full speed.
When he was close, he split off two Shadow Clones. Their goal was simple: kill every single one of them in the opening strike.
He flickered in. No fancy jutsu this time—just dozens of ice senbon formed in an instant and hurled at the enemy. The three shinobi didn't even have time to react before two of them were skewered.
The remaining two dodged the senbon barrage, but they had no answer for Taiichi and his clones appearing right on top of them. Less than two seconds later, both were dead on the ground.
The moment the fight ended, the two clones vanished into the forest to hide. Taiichi's real body stayed put, calmly turning to face the Sand pursuit force that had just appeared in the distance.
This was the first time today the two sides were meeting face-to-face—excluding all the Sand corpses Taiichi had already left behind.
More and more Sand shinobi arrived, staring at the ten-year-old boy standing alone. Their expressions were a mix of shock and fury.
This kid had wiped out seven full Sand squads in the last forty-plus minutes. Now ten more squads plus three jonin had been sent specifically to kill him.
The lead Sand jonin saw that everyone was in position and felt victory was already assured. He opened his mouth, ready to taunt the boy.
Before he could speak, Taiichi vanished.
The next thing the Sand forces heard was a chorus of dying screams.
"Such terrifying speed!" the jonin gasped.
Taiichi never wasted time talking. He preferred action over words. The only reason he had waited earlier was to let the pursuit force bunch up.
More people meant more power, but it also meant worse coordination—especially when the squads didn't know each other and had different command structures.
He channeled chakra into his feet and unleashed the longest Body Flicker of the day, appearing dead-center in the thickest part of the enemy formation.
Chakra surged into his short sword. Bright golden flames wrapped the blade. With a single sweeping arc, flame blades shot outward in every direction.
The technique burned a lot of chakra, but right now the results were devastating.
Dozens of Sand shinobi were cut down before they could even raise a defense. Those who tried to block were still sliced by the residual flame energy.
In the blink of an eye, seven or eight chunin and genin lay dead, with more than ten others wounded.
The remaining Sand shinobi saw red. This was outright humiliation—especially for the three jonin. Their faces burned with rage.
They charged, but the moment they moved, they realized how slippery this Leaf kid truly was. He refused to fight them directly, instead using the weaker chunin and genin as living shields while he carved through them.
The three jonin barked orders for everyone to pull back and switch to long-range support only.
But Taiichi wasn't about to let them regroup. With a thought, dozens of Phoenix Flower fireballs formed around him and rained down like machine-gun fire on the retreating Sand forces.
The chunin and genin were forced into a frantic, disorganized retreat.
At the same time, the three jonin finally saw their opening. Two of them circled wide while the third prepared a large-scale jutsu.
Wind Style: Wind Cutter!
Wind Style: Great Sickle Weasel!
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!
All three techniques launched at once. The wind fed the flames, turning a simple fireball into a roaring inferno packed with razor-sharp wind blades. It hurtled straight at Taiichi.
Taiichi's lips curled in disdain. You want to use Fire Style against me?
His hands blurred through seals.
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
A massive golden dragon roared out of his mouth, smashing straight through the enemy fireball and barreling toward one of the jonin with unstoppable force.
The three Sand jonin went pale. They had never expected a Fire Style jutsu with this kind of density and power.
They scattered immediately, refusing to let the flames touch them.
Two of them broke off and closed in for melee combat.
That was exactly what Taiichi had been waiting for.
He split off two Shadow Clones and sent them to meet the approaching jonin. At the same time, his two hidden clones burst out of the forest, raining Phoenix Flowers on the scattered chunin and genin.
The sudden appearance of "reinforcements" startled the Sand forces. For a split second, all three jonin were distracted.
That single heartbeat was all Taiichi needed.
His two clones sacrificed themselves to tie up the jonin's weapons. Taiichi flickered through the gap, short sword flashing.
One clean slash across the throat ended the jonin's life.
The battlefield froze.
The two remaining jonin immediately regrouped, their faces grim. They had never imagined this kid could kill one of their own while surrounded by so many enemies.
Without a word, both jonin reached into their pouches, pulled out signal flares, and fired them into the sky.
Taiichi watched the red streaks climb and smiled coldly.
The real fight was about to begin.