Konoha Main Camp.
Orange-red flames devoured the tents, and billowing black smoke continued to rise.
The air was thick with the scent of blood, charcoal, and damp mud.
Cries of battle and pleas for help echoed throughout the camp.
The Fourth Raikage A stood before the fire, casually swinging his muscular, knotted arm.
The Konoha Chunin whose neck he held in a vice-like grip flew out uncontrollably, crashing into and collapsing half of a wooden watchtower, silenced forever.
"Lord A, Area A has been cleared."
The Kumogakure Jonin Dodai knelt on one knee, head bowed. New tears marked his combat uniform, and his breathing was somewhat ragged. "However, some Konoha Ninja escaped through a defensive gap on the western side."
He instinctively gripped his hilt, waiting for Lord A's order to pursue and eliminate them at the root.
A's massive frame cast a long shadow, completely enveloping Dodai as he reported.
"Just a few small fry, ignore them," A's voice was flat, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
Dodai's movement to stand up froze.
Ignore them?
A turned around, the camp's firelight illuminating his sharp, angular profile.
"Leave a few alive during the cleanup. Get someone skilled in Genjutsu to pry their mouths open. I want to know the patrol areas and personnel composition of those Konoha Genin."
"Genin?" Dodai finally couldn't control his astonishment.
He looked up, questioning A's order for the first time during a mission. "My Lord... do you mean those children who just graduated from the Ninja Academy?"
In such a critical raid that would determine the course of the battle, wasting precious time and manpower on a group of children? It was completely illogical.
A then knocked down a Konoha Ninja who rushed at him and explained, "Intelligence from Konoha's internal lines says the Hokage sent recent Ninja Academy graduates here, and there are many geniuses among them."
A's mouth twitched, his face full of mockery. "Since he's so generous as to deliver the Village's future to our doorstep, we have no reason not to take it."
Those words made Dodai's head buzz. He seemed to understand something but didn't dare to think further.
A continued, "When you arrange the interrogations later, focus on extracting the patrol areas of the geniuses from the major clans. We'll wipe them out on our way, and by then, we should be just in time to meet Orochimaru's returning reinforcements."
"Yes!" Dodai nodded in response, then added with a worried tone, "Lord A, we've diverted a portion of our forces to raid Konoha. The front lines..."
"No matter!" A's tone was confident. "On the front lines, both Bee and I have left Lightning Clones. Based on past experience, as long as we don't take the field, Orochimaru and his group won't either."
He pointed a thick finger at the signal flares bursting in the sky and the Ninja Hawks flying high. "By the time he realizes something is wrong, he'll have to return."
"Konoha's future is all here. No matter how reluctant he is, for the sake of those geniuses from the major clans, he must return."
...In the woods.
The Konoha group watched Killer Bee, who was holding seven Ninja Blades in a bizarre stance, and were all dumbfounded.
Kakashi was equally puzzled.
As a member of the Hatake Clan known for their sword techniques, he had never seen such a strange style.
It was simply illogical. With so many Ninja Blades clamped on his body, let alone fighting an enemy, he would have to be incredibly careful just to Move without cutting himself.
Under his bewildered gaze.
Killer Bee's body became like an out-of-control spinning top, carrying seven treacherous and bizarre blade lights as he transformed into a steel storm, sweeping toward Aokawa!
"Cloud Style: Acrobat!"
Clang clang clang clang clang!
In an instant, the frequency of clashing blades in the field increased several times over.
Killer Bee's chaotic sword style seemed to have no rhyme or reason, yet it blocked all of Aokawa's avenues for evasion.
Facing the sudden appearance of six Ninja Blades, Aokawa's pressure increased tremendously.
But even so, he still didn't fall into a disadvantage.
The Spirit Blade in his hand had already blurred into afterimages, catching all of Killer Bee's attacks coming from every angle.
If it were before, Aokawa would likely have found this unpredictable Chaotic Blade Style very difficult to handle.
But now, the [Sword Mastery] crest glowed faintly in his consciousness.
A 30% increase in swing speed, and most importantly, a 30% combat prediction for sword techniques!
In Aokawa's Byakugan vision, Killer Bee's torrential attacks seemed to have their frame rate slowed down.
The trajectory of every blade and the next possible point of impact appeared clearly in his mind.
Relying on the high-speed movement of Hirenkyaku, his figure shifted rapidly within millimeters. With the swing speed boost from [Sword Mastery], the Spirit Blade in his hand turned into a curtain of light.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The dense, tooth-aching sounds of metal clashing merged into one.
His movements were no longer bound by any Konoha-style or Uchiha-style techniques; they were the purest, most efficient parries, deflections, and redirections.
A strike from Killer Bee's right armpit was lightly tapped by his blade's spine, guided toward another strike coming from the left, causing the two forces to cancel each other out in mid-air.
He didn't even take half a step back, standing firm like a reef amidst stormy waves, allowing the seven Ninja Blades to hack wildly at him, yet they could never break through the thin curtain of light before him.
Killer Bee grew more alarmed as the fight progressed.
His Chaotic Blade Style was an original creation paired with the Eight-Tails' rhythm, focusing on using "chaos" to break all techniques under heaven.
But the boy before him seemed to have foresight, always finding the weakest link the moment he struck, using the least amount of effort to neutralize his most violent attacks.
This could no longer be explained by mere high-level swordsmanship.
"This guy..." Kakashi watched the dazzling offense and defense, waves of shock crashing in his heart.
He considered himself a Genius, but seeing Killer Bee's insane swordsmanship, he was even more shocked that Aokawa could parry it all.
Asuma Sarutobi's heart was a whirlpool of emotions. An enemy who had instantly defeated the five of them together was now being matched single-handedly by a heavily injured Aokawa.
During the fierce battle, the corner of Aokawa's Byakugan vision swept toward the rear, confirming that Rin Nohara had completed preliminary first aid for Hyuga Ryosuke and Asuma Sarutobi.
The group was preparing to evacuate.
The time had come.
He seized a brief gap as Killer Bee changed his stance, Wind-natured Chakra flashing on his Spirit Blade.
"Vacuum Blade!"
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