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"What!!?"
Jin woke up early in the morning to news that left him completely dumbfounded.
Sakumo wanted to take him to reclaim a stronghold in the Land of Rivers.
He was not built for this!
"Sakumo-sama is waiting for you."
The Chūnin who delivered the message left the tent immediately after, clearly not wanting to get involved.
How realistic.
Jin looked through the opened tent flap at the sunlight outside, but he couldn't feel any warmth.
What could he do? He was utterly hopeless.
There wasn't much to pack, as his belongings were still left in Ryūchi Cave. He strapped his sword to his waist and walked out of the tent.
Compared to yesterday, the camp was much quieter, without the wails and cries that had filled the air before.
Unlike the calm of the Iwagakure frontlines, this camp had many ninjas walking around and chatting with each other.
The moment they saw Jin, the passing ninjas suddenly showed respect, some even bowing to him.
You're overdoing it!!
It felt like they were sending someone to the gallows.
Though, to be fair, that's pretty accurate.
Jin's eyes were dull, devoid of light.
He arrived at the command tent.
Sakumo was sitting on the ground, sharpening his sword. Upon hearing Jin's footsteps, he looked up.
"You're here?"
"I shouldn't have come."
"But you did."
"Can I leave?"
"Only if you become a rogue ninja."
"Heh." Jin sighed, his eyes dead. This was clearly Sakumo's way of saying he wasn't letting him off the hook.
He didn't think he had ever offended Sakumo before.
"Meet your teammate."
Sakumo sheathed his sword behind his back.
It was only then that Jin noticed another person in the tent.
And it was a woman.
She was dressed in a loose gray cloak that covered her entire body, making it impossible to tell her figure. She also wore sunglasses, adding to her mysterious appearance.
"Aburame Mushihime." The woman nodded at Jin.
"Hiss." Jin drew a sharp breath.
"Women of the Aburame clan are terrifying in many ways," Sakumo remarked, echoing Jin's thoughts.
Mushihime instantly deflated like a defeated dog, her whole body slumping as a strong sense of gloom emanated from her.
"As a member of the Aburame clan, I deeply apologize."
Jin cast a questioning look at Sakumo. Was this really his other teammate?
This didn't feel very reassuring.
"Don't worry, Mushihime has strong survival skills. You should be more concerned about your own life."
Sakumo didn't bother comforting Jin at all, instead, he was opening up his wounds.
Jin hung his head in despair. He had a feeling that Mushihime's gloomy demeanor was entirely Sakumo's doing!
"Are you both ready?"
Sakumo awaited their responses.
"I'm ready anytime," Mushihime nodded.
"I'm ready to run anytime."
Jin had already planned his escape route. The moment things got dangerous, he would bolt.
Even if it meant becoming a rogue ninja.
"Don't worry, it's not as dangerous as it seems."
Sakumo smiled, turned, and opened the tent flap.
"Move out!"
...
The Land of Rivers.
Mostly covered in mountains and forests.
Sakumo led Jin and Mushihime through the trees, their eyes fixed on a distant sand fortress.
"That close?"
Jin curiously looked at the sand fortress in the distance, noting that it wasn't far from the Land of Fire.
Even for an ordinary person, it would only take about half an hour to reach it.
"Their goal is to break into the Land of Fire. Right now, they have the upper hand and are setting up defenses in the Land of Rivers to prevent future counterattacks from Konoha."
"When their defenses are complete, they will directly invade the Land of Fire."
Mushihime explained this to Jin as they stood nearby.
"And our remaining forces at the border aren't easy to break through."
Mushihime was one of the ninjas constantly defending the border. Sunagakure launched an attack every so often.
Each time, Konoha suffered heavy losses, and it was a struggle just to hold the line.
"So, what are we supposed to do now?"
Jin had always been on defense with Jiraiya; he wasn't familiar with how to attack.
"Eliminate their lookout post."
Sakumo silently drew his sword from his back.
"That sand fortress up ahead?"
Jin pointed to the sand fortress ahead, finding it rather conspicuous for a lookout post.
"That's just a trap. These Sunagakure ninjas are hiding underground."
Sakumo tied a mask around his face, specially designed to protect against Sunagakure's poisons.
Jin also unsheathed his sword.
"You two don't need to do much."
But Sakumo had no intention of letting them charge forward.
"Just stay alive."
"Hmm?" Jin looked at Sakumo in surprise. Then why did he bring them along?
Mushihime, obedient to orders, suddenly dissolved into countless black insects that disappeared, leaving only a few on Sakumo's shoulder.
Mushihime's voice came through.
"Sakumo-sama, these insects will help you locate the targets."
Sakumo nodded and then, with a swift step, dashed towards the sand fortress.
"That's Shunpo!?"
Jin recognized the movement technique Sakumo used. The Six Styles were gradually becoming popular in Konoha.
In the blink of an eye, Sakumo appeared inside the fortress.
The next moment, a loud "boom" resounded as the fortress exploded violently.
A strong gust of wind from the explosion swept through the area.
Sakumo immediately used Shunpo to avoid getting caught in the blast.
Then, countless kunai and shuriken flew towards him, even a massive Fūma Shuriken among them.
Sakumo moved like a flickering image, dodging between the weapons. Even in mid-air, he stepped on the flying weapons to use Shunpo.
One by one, Sunagakure ninjas emerged from the ground, their puppets attacking first, but Sakumo severed the chakra strings with a single slash.
Next, the Sunagakure ninjas rushed in to surround him.
At that moment, Sakumo's speed increased dramatically, and no ninja could engage him for more than a second.
One Sunagakure ninja was still forming hand seals when Sakumo suddenly appeared behind him. The ninja's head dropped to the ground a moment later.
Sakumo's figure continued to wreak havoc among the enemy, slicing through the Sunagakure ninjas like a crescent moon of death.
The unluckiest were those who had their backs turned to Sakumo. They would clutch their backsides and shoot into the sky, landing near Jin, reaching out to him in desperation.
But they couldn't stop the blood spurting from their wounds.
Konoha Taijutsu Secret Technique! A Thousand Years of Death!
Jin stood there, black lines forming on his face as he looked at the ninjas sprawled on the ground. There were quite a few Sunagakure ninjas with this particular injury.
He knew Sakumo had created this technique, but seeing its destructive power for the first time was a bit much to handle.
A blade that big, stabbing from behind...
Just the thought was painful.
He looked up at the battlefield where the fight was still ongoing.
There weren't many Sunagakure ninjas left, and in just a moment, the last one fell.
(End of Chapter)