Konoha returned in a grand triumph, every face brimming with joy.
The shinobi looked at Ren Kurogane with pure adoration. It didn't matter that he was young; someone capable of unleashing an attack like that was destined to stand at the apex of the world. He was simply on a different level. To have fought alongside such a future legend was something they would be bragging about for the rest of their lives.
On the Sand side, however, it was a tragedy. Not only was their front-line commander dead, but their morale was shattered. To continue fighting Konoha, they would likely have to deploy a Tailed Beast. But this wasn't a fight to the death; the Third Kazekage would never agree to a full-scale war over a border skirmish.
In other words, Chiyo died for nothing.
Thud!
Kiruga slammed his fist into the ground, crumpling the incoming message bird's scroll into a ball. "Damn that cowardly Kazekage!" After a bout of roaring, his gaze hardened. "Tomorrow, we settle this with Konoha. We go all out!"
Upon learning of Chiyo's death, the Kazekage had ordered an immediate retreat to end the senseless conflict. Attacking Konoha had been Chiyo's initiative anyway; now that she was gone, he intended to use the withdrawal as a bargaining chip to extort a peace treaty settlement from Konoha. Using Chiyo's death to squeeze out one last bit of value for the village—it was cold, but that was the way of the shinobi.
Ren thoroughly enjoyed the idolization from his peers before returning to his "Sage" cultivation. Nearby, Minato was getting anxious, still unable to perceive the so-called "natural energy" Ren spoke of.
The next day.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" "Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!"
Boom!!
Fire and water collided, and the resulting steam instantly blanketed the battlefield. Vision was obscured by a thick white mist, leaving everyone blind.
Just as Kiruga began maneuvering his puppets for an indiscriminate area-of-effect strike, that familiar, ear-piercing whine echoed through the mist once more.
"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"
Zzzzzzzzt—!
Whoosh!
A streak of blue-white light tore through the steam, clearing the air and revealing the startled ninja within. Ren stood in a throwing pose, while the glowing chakra sphere had already traveled dozens of meters.
"Run! Get out of the way!" "Whatever you do, don't let that thing touch you!" "Retreat! Run for your lives!!"
Seeing the Rasenshuriken again, the Sand forces fell into utter chaos. Their organized formation vanished instantly; it was every man for himself, with no one caring about the lives of their comrades.
Kiruga and his wife were stunned. They hadn't expected Ren to be able to use that move again today. Usually, a "Forbidden Jutsu" of that scale required a long cooldown period, didn't it? But there was no time for analysis. Kiruga performed a Body Flicker, vanishing from his spot.
BOOM!!
The explosion tore through the earth, adding several more names to the casualty list. It was far more effective than a Great Fireball.
"I don't believe you can cast such a jutsu consecutively!" Kiruga's face was twisted with malice. Ignoring his wife's warnings, he drew his blade and charged at Ren.
"Hey! Don't act like we're not here."
A flash of white light intervened. The handsome, white-haired man appeared in front of Kiruga, blocking his path.
"Sakumo Hatake!" Kiruga roared. "Get out of my way! My only target today is that brat!"
"Heh." Sakumo let out a cold laugh, his short blade descending in a lethal arc.
"Bastard!" Furious, Kiruga realized he couldn't simply bypass the White Fang. He gritted his teeth and threw out several scrolls.
"Secret Technique: Thousand Machinery Link!"
A series of smoke puffs erupted in the air, followed by dozens of high-grade puppets. Kiruga manipulated them with frantic fingers, screaming at Sakumo, "Move! Hundred Machine Slash!"
Under his command, the puppets simultaneously swung chakra-bladed swords, sending a storm of blue energy waves toward the White Fang.
"Are those all genuine chakra blades?!" Ren's eyes lit up. Chakra blades were rare and expensive; he hadn't expected Kiruga to possess so many. Then again, as a high-ranking official of the Sand, it shouldn't have been a surprise.
Sakumo Hatake blurred through the air, dodging the barrage of energy slashes with minimal movement.
"Now!" Kiruga's face lit up with joy. His target was never the White Fang; it was the boy behind him. With Sakumo momentarily occupied with the puppets, the path was clear.
The swarm of puppets lunged toward Ren. "Die, you brat!"
"Spiraling Dance!"
Ren clasped his hands together. A violent turbulence of chakra erupted from his body, batting away everything in his immediate vicinity. The puppets that reached him were knocked back by the chaotic flow, unable to land a single scratch.
"How is that possible!" Kiruga's eyes widened. He couldn't believe his strongest move couldn't even get close to the boy.
"Why wouldn't it be possible?" Ren mocked. "What gave you the illusion that you could actually hurt me?"
"However," Ren continued, "since you've come all this way, letting you go back in one piece would make me look as incompetent as you Sand ninja."
As he spoke, Ren's arm rose again. That high-pitched, shrieking sound once more tore through the air.
"You've got to be kidding me..." "He can use that jutsu consecutively?!" "How the hell are we supposed to fight this!"
The Sand ninja finally broke. Many threw down their kunai and fell to their knees in immediate surrender.
Ren didn't hesitate, releasing the second Rasenshuriken. The blue-white chakra star tore through the air toward Kiruga. Anything in its path—puppets and chakra threads alike—was instantly sheared apart, reduced to scrap wood by the razor-sharp wind.
Kiruga tried to flee, but the Rasenshuriken detonated right beside him.
"AAAAHHH!"
Kiruga wasn't fast enough. His arm was caught in the vortex of the explosion. Instantly, he felt as if a thousand steel needles were being driven into his flesh. The agonizing pain overwhelmed his mind, and his scream echoed across the entire battlefield. By the time he managed to rip his arm free from the blast, the entire limb was mangled and devoid of sensation.
"You bastard!" He glared at Ren with hatred, but Ren was no longer paying him any attention.
Ren walked over to the discarded puppets, gathering the fallen chakra blades. He beckoned to Nawaki, "Get over here and help me carry these!"
Nawaki, who was standing in a daze, didn't even use his brain to process the command; his body moved on instinct. As Ren piled the bundle of chakra blades into his arms, Nawaki finally snapped out of it. He looked at Ren, then at the massive crater from the second blast, his mouth agape, making incoherent "Abba-abba" noises.
"Hey, I know you're shocked, but did your language center actually break?" Ren looked at him, amused. "Forget it. There's nothing left for us to do here. Let's head back."
Looking around, the Sand forces had all laid down their weapons and were kneeling in surrender. The war on this front was over.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
⭐ Read chapters early on Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/Nyxen_ ⭐
BONUS CHAPTER REWARDS
• Every 20 reviews = 1 bonus chapter
• Every 100 Power Stones = 1 bonus chapter
Your support directly unlocks more content and faster releases.