"Ninjutsu squad, prepare to release!"
Kenji raised his hand and swatted away a kunai flying toward his face. His eyes tracked the exchange of jutsu between both armies, massive elemental techniques colliding in mid-air with explosive force.
The kunai barrage looked dangerous to civilians, but any competent genin could deflect projectiles thrown at them directly. Kunai throwing and deflection were basic Academy curriculum. You learned it in your first year and drilled it until muscle memory took over.
Actually, now that he thought about it, the only notable ninja from the original timeline who'd actually died from a kunai was Pakura. And that had been an execution, not combat. Everyone else who got killed by throwing weapons died because they were already injured, outnumbered, or caught by surprise.
The order to charge was coming any second now. He used the brief lull to remind his students one more time.
"Remember, stay close to me when we advance. If we get separated, stick with other genin units. And don't go near the jonin fights. The collateral damage alone from their techniques will kill you."
"Yes, sensei!" All three responded.
This wasn't their first battle anymore. The initial panic and fear had faded over the past weeks. They could face a charge now with relative calm, weapons ready and minds focused.
The jutsu exchange concluded. Both sides had exhausted their ranged options. Now came the brutal part.
"Move out!" Kenji shouted, launching forward with the main Konoha force.
His chakra reserves had grown significantly since the day of the deployment. He was sitting at jonin-level capacity now, which meant he didn't need to conserve energy like before. His hands blurred through seals as he ran, fingers brushing across the kunai in his grip.
Wind chakra manifested along the blade's edge, visible as a white coating that extended the cutting surface by several inches.
"Wind Release: Gale Blade!"
It was a C-rank technique that wrapped weapons in wind chakra to dramatically enhance sharpness. Kaede had originally acquired it through mission credits to complement the katana he'd picked up. Kenji had learned it while teaching Kaede how to use the jutsu properly.
An enemy Suna ninja came at him from the side, kunai aimed for his ribs. Kenji sidestepped the thrust and countered with a reverse slash. His wind-enhanced blade cut through the man's throat like it wasn't even there. Blood sprayed hot across Kenji's hand and forearm. The enemy collapsed, clutching uselessly at the gaping wound, drowning in his own blood.
Kenji's expression didn't change. He'd stopped feeling anything about killing enemy ninjas. He glanced back to check on his students.
They were holding formation perfectly, fighting with the coordination he'd drilled into them through countless training sessions.
Haruto held the front position, engaging enemies directly with taijutsu and basic ninjutsu. When an attack came that he couldn't dodge or block, he'd activate Earth Spear to harden his body and tank the damage.
Kaede fought with the katana they'd looted from a dead Suna ninja during their first week at the front. The blade was wrapped in the same Gale Blade technique Kenji used, making it sharp enough to cut through bone. He waited for openings, then struck whenever an enemy dropped their guard.
The sword had been Kenji's spoils initially. He'd planned to sell it since he wasn't skilled with bladed weapons beyond kunai. But when he'd learned that Kaede's ancestors were samurai, he'd given the weapon to his student instead. Better in the hands of someone who could actually use it.
Aoi provided support from the safest position in their formation. As the team's medical specialist, her job was assisting in combat while avoiding direct engagement. She'd throw kunai when opportunities presented themselves and would immediately start treatment if any of them got injured.
Kenji and Aoi had actually gained some recognition on the front lines over the past month. Medical-nin were rare in active combat. Tsunade's medical reform program hadn't been implemented, so the only medical personnel in battle zones were the emergency response teams who worked after fighting concluded. Those teams stabilized casualties and transported them to rear hospitals. They were more like field medics or nurses than actual medical-nin.
Having two people in a single squad who could both perform medical ninjutsu was unusual enough that other Konoha ninjas had started recognizing Kenji's team. After each major engagement, he and Aoi would often stay behind to help treat the wounded.
He hadn't planned on becoming a dedicated medical-nin. His main goal was giving Aoi practical experience so she could develop her skills faster. But he wasn't hiding his capabilities either. Using medical techniques to save lives was excellent for building connections throughout Konoha's forces. The more friends you had in the village, the better your chances if the day ever came when the leadership turned on you.
He finished off another enemy with a quick thrust to the heart, then rapidly scanned the chaotic battlefield. He spotted his students about fifteen meters ahead, still maintaining formation but getting close to a cluster of jonin fighting nearby.
"Follow me!" he called out, sprinting toward them. "Moving left!"
He cut down their remaining opponents, then immediately started leading them away from their current position. They angled left toward a denser concentration of Konoha forces, deliberately putting distance between themselves and the jonin battle on the right flank.
Only after they'd regrouped with a larger friendly unit did he relax slightly.
That jonin fight on the right had been getting intense. Multiple elite ninjas from both sides trading high-level techniques, the kind that could level buildings. If he'd let his squad wander any closer, they could've easily been killed as collateral damage.
Not worth dying for the shit pay they earned as chunin and genin.
He settled into a sustainable combat rhythm, fighting conservatively while keeping his students close. No heroics, or unnecessary risks. Just survival and killing enemies when convenient opportunities presented themselves.
Then his sensory technique detected something wrong.
A chakra signature had appeared at the far left edge of the battlefield. It was moving fast. Really fast. The signature tore through Konoha's defensive line like it wasn't even there.
Every Konoha fighter in its path went down. The speed was insane, almost like the enemy was teleporting between positions. He could only pinpoint the location during the brief moments when the attacker stopped to engage someone. The signature was heading directly toward his position.
"Incoming!" he shouted. "Powerful enemy approaching fast! Defensive positions!"
His hands flew through seals even as he called the warning.
Earth chakra flooded through his body, hardening his skin into a dense protective layer. He threw a kunai to finish off a nearby Suna ninja who'd been moving to flank them, then immediately started pulling his squad back.
"Fall back! Move left toward friendly forces! Now!"
Haruto and Aoi heard the urgency in his voice and reacted instantly. Their hands blurred through the same seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
The coating spread across their bodies, transforming their skin into hardened earth. Unfortunately, Kaede couldn't use the technique. His chakra nature was wind, which meant earth-based jutsu were beyond him. Haruto and Aoi immediately shifted positions, putting themselves on either side of Kaede to shield him with their bodies.
"Not enough!" Kenji's eyes locked on the approaching threat. The chakra signature was getting closer way too fast. They weren't going to make it to safety in time.
He formed another sequence of seals and slammed both palms against the ground.
The earth erupted upward, forming a massive barrier of compacted soil and rock between his squad and the incoming threat. Even if it only delayed the enemy for a second, that second might buy them enough time to reach the Konoha forces nearby.
But despite their quick reactions, his team had barely managed two seconds of retreat before the enemy appeared.
The figure materialized like a ghost, suddenly just there in the space they'd occupied moments before. Ninjas on battlefields naturally spread out to avoid being clustered targets for area-of-effect jutsu. The spacing meant there were gaps between squads. Two seconds of movement hadn't been enough to get clear of those gaps.
Kenji's sensory technique confirmed what he'd feared. His squad was the only Konoha unit still within the enemy's immediate attack range.
The enemy ninja's head turned, locking onto him. Then the bastard moved.
One instant he was thirty meters away. The next instant he was right in front of Kenji's face, fist already in motion.
The impact hit like a battering ram. Kenji's Earth Spear absorbed most of the damage, but the sheer kinetic force launched him backward. He flew through the air, hit the ground hard, and tumbled across the churned earth for several meters before slamming into a boulder.
The Earth-Style Wall hadn't even slowed the enemy down. The ninja had just gone around it like it didn't exist.
Kenji pushed himself upright, assessing the damage. His ribs ached from the impact, but nothing felt broken. Earth Spear had done its job. The technique was supposed to be tough enough to withstand attacks from tailed beasts. As long as you had sufficient chakra to maintain it, the defense was solid.
His sensory technique tracked the enemy's movements. The ninja had already hit Haruto, Kaede, and Aoi, sending all three of them flying in different directions. The moment Kenji stood up, the enemy's attention snapped back to him.
The ninja moved again.
Same result. Kenji got hit, got launched, crashed into the ground. His Earth Spear held, preventing serious injury, but getting knocked around was getting old fast.
After the third exchange, he started piecing together his opponent's capabilities.
The enemy's chakra reserves were only upper-jonin level. Not particularly impressive by elite standards. And the attack power itself wasn't that high. The Earth Spear was tanking the hits without breaking so far. If this ninja had been using techniques on par with someone like Tsunade's Chakra Enhanced Strength, the Earth Spear would've shattered on first contact.
But the speed was absolutely monstrous.
The enemy moved so fast that his sensory technique could only lock onto his position during the split-second of impact. Even with his enhanced spiritual power providing superior sensory capabilities, his body simply couldn't react quickly enough to defend or counterattack. All he could do was maintain Earth Spear and endure the assault head-on.