Chapter 112: Behind Enemy Lines, Blossom in the Heart!

At the border of the Land of Wind, the Third Kazekage held intelligence reports from two sources in his hands, unable to suppress the excitement showing on his face. The intelligence in his hands came from two directions. One source was Ebizō. The other came from Kirigakure’s intelligence network. Both reports discussed the same matter - not only the western front but also the eastern front had recalled many of their roving ninja, including both jōnin and chūnin. Although some reinforcements had arrived, the overall numbers appeared to be decreasing. The two intelligence reports matched perfectly. "Kazekage-sama, what should we do now?" Rasa struggled to contain his own excitement. "Hmm..." The Third Kazekage still hesitated. Unlike Rasa. Rasa was just a jōnin who needed achievements, reputation and status. But the Kazekage didn’t need these - he only needed to take responsibility for everyone in Sunagakure. Therefore. Rasa could afford to be impulsive and warlike, but the Kazekage couldn’t blindly start a war. However. Beyond the village’s concerns, he also had to consider the attitudes of the Land of Wind’s daimyō and nobility. Currently, both the daimyō and nobles were eager for expansion. If he didn’t take action, the support Sunagakure received would decrease, which would undoubtedly be catastrophic for the village. After hesitating for a moment, the Third Kazekage picked up other intelligence reports. After reviewing them repeatedly, he said: "On our side, Konoha’s main base is near Kikyō Castle, correct?" "That’s right." Rasa nodded. The Third Kazekage slammed his fist heavily on Kikyō Castle’s location. "Tonight we attack Kikyō Mountain. Since no one else dares to strike first, we’ll take the initiative. Let’s test the quality of Konoha’s ninja." "Understood!" ... Night fell, blanketing everything in silence. Aburame Shibi suddenly sensed his insects becoming agitated. He immediately realized something was wrong. Soon, from information relayed by some of his insects, he obtained critical intelligence. Sunagakure was attacking! ... Boom! A signal flare exploded in the sky above. Orochimaru looked at the distant light, a cold smile curling his lips. The fish had taken the bait! Sunagakure. He walked out of Kikyō Mountain’s fortress and surveyed his surroundings. After the initial chaos, most of the ninja resting at Kikyō Mountain had gathered. They all looked up at him. Orochimaru. One of the Legendary Sannin, who had led them to achieve many victories on the battlefield. But this time being sent to the western front, everyone had heard some rumors. Some said Orochimaru had made mistakes and been demoted here. Others said... His arrival was meant to start a war. However. These rumors mainly circulated among the chūnin and genin ranks. Among the jōnin, hardly anyone dared to gossip about Orochimaru behind his back. The stronger one was, the more they understood how terrifying Orochimaru could be. Now. Orochimaru’s gaze swept across the assembled ninja. His voice was slightly hoarse as he spoke: "Sunagakure has attacked. Everyone prepare for battle. Now I will issue combat assignments. First squad..." He issued commands methodically and without pause. ... "Captain, look!" Kakashi pointed at the signal flare’s light in the distance. Minato’s expression turned grave. This was the most dangerous type of warning flare. Something had happened at the front! He looked back to see Kyohiko and Kurenai, who had just been resting, already gathered nearby. "No more rest. That signal flare means something’s wrong. We need to go provide support immediately!" Minato stood up. "We’ll talk while moving." "Understood." Everyone got up and rushed toward the source of the explosion. Along the way, the sounds of exploding tags and ninjutsu came continuously from ahead. Minato grew increasingly anxious. "Captain, don’t rush. We can’t afford to be hasty." Kyohiko remained calm. In the current situation, panic wouldn’t help. Even at their fastest speed, four people would only add four fighters to the battle. He observed their surroundings. "Our rear has several squads following. They’re coming as a group and represent our main force. Do they have protection?" "There are ten jōnin escorting them, so there shouldn’t be major issues. But we should send a warning back." Minato calmed down slightly. He immediately took out paper and began writing. "I left a Flying Thunder God kunai at the rear camp. We can use it to instantly transmit this warning and have them increase vigilance." "After sending the warning, we’ll go provide support..." Minato thought for a moment but still felt something wasn’t right. As Kyohiko said, four people might make a big difference in small missions, but their impact on a large battlefield would be limited unless they reached an extraordinary level of strength. He frowned worriedly. "Kyohiko, what are your thoughts?" "Now that we’ve warned the rear, we should proceed to the front lines and make decisions based on the actual situation. There’s no point speculating now." Kyohiko’s mind was working furiously. Orochimaru was an expert at setting traps. According to intelligence, Konoha really had withdrawn significant forces - otherwise there wouldn’t be ten elite jōnin at the rear. He’d used a powerful lure! With such preparations, it would be hard for the Third Kazekage not to take the bait. But this meant the front lines would suffer losses... His heart grew heavy. To minimize casualties, their priority should be decapitation strikes - attacking what the enemy must protect. Alternatively, they could cut off the enemy’s retreat and make Sunagakure pay a heavier price! An idea began forming in Kyohiko’s mind. As they approached Kikyō Mountain, he used his sensory abilities to detect the surroundings. Though unfamiliar with the terrain, the chakra signatures stood out like beacons. Sunagakure had taken the bait, but they were attacking fiercely. Just from what he could sense, there were already three to four hundred combatants. Some were Konoha ninja, others from Sunagakure. Without knowing the specific ninja from both sides, he couldn’t make precise judgments based solely on chakra sensing. But if they circled around to the rear, everyone there would be enemy forces! "Minato, should we take a gamble?" "What kind of gamble?" Minato looked over. Kakashi and Kurenai were handling reconnaissance and guard duties, but remained close enough to hear their discussion and orders. Kyohiko didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he began drawing lines on the ground. By the moonlight, Minato could barely make it out. He understood. This was Kyohiko’s sensory depiction of the battlefield. Hundreds of fighters in fierce combat. Just four of them couldn’t instantly change the course of such a large battle. "It’s nighttime. If we fight on the front lines, it’ll be hard to quickly distinguish friend from foe. Instead, we should penetrate behind enemy lines where everyone is an opponent - no identification problems." Kyohiko pointed toward the Land of Rivers direction. "Let’s blossom at their heart." Minato was stunned. Blossom at their heart? Was he joking? Four people charging into the heart of enemy forces would be suicidal! But... As he thought more carefully, he realized Kyohiko’s suggestion actually made some sense. If they could penetrate directly behind enemy lines and disrupt the opponent’s formations, it might provide even greater assistance to the frontline. However... "Can Kurenai keep up?" "I’ll be fine." Yuhi Kurenai responded immediately. During her year at the hospital, though she hadn’t undertaken many field missions, she had never neglected her physical training. In fact, Tsunade had personally guided her, intensifying her strength and conditioning regimen. Throughout their journey, her performance had been commendable. Compared to Might Gai, she might not match Kyohiko or Kakashi’s pace, but she was more than capable of holding her own—certainly not a burden to the team. "Then let’s move." ... "Rasa, this operation is too reckless!" "Taira, these are the Kazekage’s orders, not my decision. Complaining to me is pointless." Rasa observed the frontline situation while dealing with the jōnin beside him. Taira was also a Sunagakure jōnin, specializing in puppets and poison—a different skillset from Rasa’s. But as fellow jōnin, he had every right to question the strategy. Hearing it was the Kazekage’s command, Taira fell silent. "Then I’ll take a squad to reinforce Pakura. She always fights recklessly. If Orochimaru regains his footing and targets her directly, we’ll—" Mid-sentence, Taira’s eyelids twitched. Something was wrong. "Rasa, do you feel that—?" His gaze swept the surroundings. A moment ago, he had caught a faint sound—like the triggering of a trap. Subtle, but unmistakable. "What?" "I think someone’s disarming our traps. I heard something." "Impossible." This was their rear camp. Rasa paused, then immediately knelt, forming hand seals. Golden sand spread silently from his position, scouting the area. But Taira wasn’t satisfied with mere sensory ninjutsu. He signaled his subordinates. "Search the perimeter. Check if any traps have been tampered with." "Yes!" The Suna ninja fanned out. A scream pierced the night. Enemies! Rasa’s mind blanked momentarily before he snapped back to focus. Now wasn’t the time for hesitation. He charged toward the forest, golden sand coalescing beneath his feet into a floating platform that lifted him skyward. Then— He saw them. Dozens of figures—though at a glance, many were mere shadow clones. The real assault force likely numbered only one or two squads. Otherwise, Suna’s patrols would have detected them sooner. His eyes narrowed. At that instant, a barrage of kunai streaked toward him. Rasa smirked, manipulating magnetism to divert the projectiles midair. Simultaneously, waves of gold sand surged toward the attackers’ position. Around him, the sand sharpened into gleaming spears. Just as he prepared to launch them— A figure materialized beside him. Flying Thunder God! Though Minato remained at a distance, he hadn’t come alone. Kyohiko’s shadow clone—crackling with Lightning Release chakra—lunged through the air with terrifying speed. Rasa’s pupils constricted. That boy—Konoha’s prodigy jōnin? He couldn’t afford carelessness. Layers of gold sand compressed into a shield between them— CRACK! A single punch shattered the golden barrier, leaving a gaping hole. Impossible! Rasa’s breath hitched. Since mastering Magnet Release, nothing had breached his defenses. Yet now— No time for shock. Through the breach, the clone hurled a wooden tag etched with a seal. Non-metallic. Unaffected by his magnetism. Damn it! Rasa’s instincts screamed danger. He contracted his sand into a protective cocoon while extruding jagged spikes— But Kyohiko’s clone erupted with chakra. Lightning Chakra Mode combined with superhuman strength—every movement unleashed devastating force. An elbow strike. The golden shield— Shattered. Then the clone dispersed deliberately, its chakra returning to the original. But the trap had been sprung. BOOM! The sky ignited. Explosive tags—teleported via Flying Thunder God using the wooden marker—detonated amidst a hail of redirected projectiles and poison needles (originally aimed at Minato by Taira’s squad). The night lit up in a deadly firework display. Taira gaped upward—then spotted movement in the treetops. A girl. Hand seals flashed as her form dissolved into swirling cherry blossoms. Genjutsu: Falling Cherry Blossom Illusion. His consciousness blurred. No—! He fought to dispel the illusion— ZZZT! A strange buzzing filled his ears— Then searing pain erupted through his chest. Kakashi’s lightning-cloaked hand withdrew from the jōnin’s ribcage, his breath ragged. A swift kick sent the corpse flying. One elite, eliminated silently. Minato appeared in a golden flash. "Retreat!" "But that—" Kakashi’s gaze shot skyward. The Magnet Release user still lived. Eliminating him would be a greater victory. Yet within his golden cocoon, Rasa trembled. Never had he faced such a terrifying assault. Worse—trapped airborne, he could only watch as his subordinates fell one by one. Helpless. Then the poison seeped through his defenses. His vision swam. Survival first. He willed the sand platform higher— ROAR! A water dragon wreathed in lightning erupted from below. Combination: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet! Though not amplified by Sage Mode, Kyohiko’s fully charged technique surged upward, timed perfectly with Rasa’s distraction. Moonlight glinted off the kunai and shuriken spinning within the watery vortex—each a lethal blade propelled by lightning. Dodge! But how? The dragon outpaced his sluggish flight. SPLASH! The impact sent golden sand scattering like rain. Below, Kyohiko prepared a follow-up strike— Minato’s clone grabbed his shoulder. "Move! The Kazekage’s coming." His senses already detected the approaching storm—a figure soaring on black iron wings. No countermeasures against aerial combat. Deep behind enemy lines. Continued engagement meant death. Yet around them, four Suna squads lay annihilated. Primary objective: achieved.