But Shinichi gave them no time to react.
The soaring flame tornado rapidly dissipated. The flames filling the sky seemed to be grasped by an invisible hand, shrinking and condensing in an instant into a flickering crimson ball at his fingertip.
He hovered in midair, his clothes fluttering in the night wind.
The next moment, he flicked his hand again.
Dark Sweep!
This Dark Sweep was more powerful, faster, and had an even more terrifying momentum!
The instant the crimson ball left his hand, it seemed to ignite the night sky. The blazing flames surged violently with the wind, transforming into a vast sea of fire that covered the sky, plunging downward like a roaring beast toward the ten stunned Sunagakure ninjas below!
"Evade!"
"Get out of the way!"
The Sunagakure ninjas shouted hoarsely while fleeing in all directions, but the sea of fire came too fast, faster than their speeds. Five of them were half a step too slow.
The flames instantly engulfed them.
"Ahhh!"
The screams were shrill and brief. The five figures twisted and fell within the sea of fire, then fell completely silent a second later.
The air was filled with the stench of burning flesh mixed with blood, which was nauseating.
The remaining five Sunagakure ninjas barely escaped the range of the flames while gasping for breath. They looked at the still-burning scorched ground and at the five unrecognizable corpses, their eyes filled with fear and confusion, like surviving the disaster.
At that moment, behind them, amidst rising dust, a mass of dark figures surged forward like a tide!
They're reinforcements from the Village Hidden in the Sand!
Over a hundred elite Sunagakure ninjas had finally arrived!
Hope instantly ignited in the eyes of the five survivors as they scrambled desperately toward the reinforcements.
"Shinichi!"
"Shinichi-kun!"
"We're here!"
At almost the same time, shouts came from the Konoha side!
Dozens of figures shot forward like arrows from behind, crossing the burning battlefield and rushing straight toward Shinichi!
Meanwhile, at the center of the sand battlefield.
Ebizo forced Tsunade back with a slash, then used the momentum to retreat and create distance while his gaze swept rapidly across the battlefield.
'It seems this mission has failed.'
Ebizo sighed inwardly, though his face showed nothing.
"Everyone, retreat!"
Hearing this, the Sunagakure ninjas from all directions quickly disengaged and withdrew into the darkness.
Tsunade stood in place, showing no intention of pursuing. She simply raised her hand, stopping the eager ninjas behind her.
"Lady Tsunade?"
Someone asked unwillingly.
"That's enough."
Tsunade stared in the direction of the retreating Sunagakure's ninjas and slowly clenched her fist. "Our primary task is to safely deliver supplies to the frontline and provide medical support, not to fight the Village Hidden in the Sand to the death here."
"Moreover, a cornered beast will fight to the death. If we push them too far, our casualties will be heavy. We already have quite a few wounded on our side. If we continue, the losses will only increase."
The ninjas around her fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
Then Tsunade looked at the blood-covered Monkey King Enma and called out loudly: "Thanks, Uncle Enma. We owe you this time."
"Haha, Tsunade, you're mistaken! The biggest contributor this time should be that kid!"
Enma laughed loudly, his voice shaking the air around him.
"It's only been a few months, and that kid has gotten so much stronger! That strike just now, tsk, even Hiruzen in his youth wasn't that fierce!"
As he said this, Enma himself felt astonished. He had thought that after that strike, Shinichi would have exhausted his chakra. That was why he charged so fiercely earlier, to cover for him and let him retreat.
Unexpectedly, Shinichi still had reserves. He had unbelievably turned to another side immediately and launched another attack, continuing to shatter the Village Hidden in the Sand's formation together with him.
Tsunade said nothing. She simply watched the figure approaching, her expression complicated.
Enma seemed to sense the awkward atmosphere, scratched his head, and chuckled.
"Well then, since the battle is over, I'll take my leave. See you next time, little Tsunade."
As soon as he finished speaking, with a bang and a puff of white smoke, the massive figure disappeared.
"Amazing, Shinichi!"
"You did great!"
"Thank you, Shinichi-kun!"
The Konoha ninjas, who had been catching their breath, all rushed over.
Shinichi wore his usual gentle smile while responding to everyone's enthusiasm one by one.
There was no pride or arrogance, just a calm acceptance, as if the earth-shattering events of just moments ago were nothing more than doing one's duty.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, he walked up to Tsunade and stopped.
"Tsunade-sensei."
Tsunade looked at him quietly.
Under the moonlight, the boy still bore the marks of battle, charred clothes, and blood on his face.
But his eyes remained calm, as if the slaughter just now had nothing to do with him.
After a long time, Tsunade spoke.
"Well done."
"Being able to hold this place and repel the Village Hidden in the Sand's attack today, you are the greatest contributor."
Hearing this, Shinichi smiled. "Then, Tsunade-sensei, remember to put in a good word for me before the third Hokage."
"Heh!"
Tsunade was amused, her complicated emotions easing slightly.
"You brat, don't worry, I won't forget you!"
"Then thank you, Tsunade-sensei."
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him, then turned to look over the devastated battlefield.
The smile gradually faded from her face, and her voice suddenly rose.
"Hurry up and clean up the battlefield! Recover the bodies of our comrades and treat the wounded!!"
At her command, the entire camp sprang into motion again.
Shinichi did not rest either. He moved among the wounded ninjas with green chakra glowing from his hands.
A few hours later, unexpectedly, the support unit that was supposed to arrive the next morning reached them at midnight.
Two hundred people, all elite ninjas, led by three stern-faced veteran Jonin, surveyed the ruined camp, their gazes pausing briefly on the bodies before quickly walking toward Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade! We sensed something was wrong on the way and sped up to get here."
Tsunade nodded without asking further. She briefly explained the situation, and both sides quickly reached an agreement.
Without waiting for dawn, they set out overnight.
…..
Ten hours later, the southwestern frontline, the main camp of Konoha.
The camp was bustling with activity, and in front of the camp gate, Jiraiya had already been waiting for quite a while.
He had changed into a neat standard Konoha flak jacket, and his iconic white hair swayed slightly in the cold wind.
As the dust rose in the distance and the figures gradually came into view, the tense expression on his face visibly relaxed, and he strode forward to meet them.
"Tsunade! You've finally arrived! The communications team sent word last night saying you were intercepted by the people from the Village Hidden in the Sand—"
"Hmph! I'd like to ask you instead, Jiraiya, is that how you do your job as the front line commander-in-chief?"
Tsunade snorted coldly and directly cut him off. "You actually let over five Sunagakure ninjas cross the border and infiltrate the Land of Fire without being detected at all."
"If we hadn't reacted quickly, you would be collecting our corpses today."
"This…"
Jiraiya opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he lowered his head. "It's my fault. I should have—"
"Enough!"
Tsunade interrupted him directly, clearly having no intention of pursuing it further, and turned to look at the team behind her.