As the Border Line was breached, both Iwagakure Ninja and Konoha Ninja abandoned long-range attacks, picking up their Kunai to engage in taijutsu combat.
"Konoha Style: Crescent Moon Slash!"
Several sword Shadow Clones emerged, flying towards the Iwagakure Ninja with whistling sounds.
"Damn it!"
The Iwagakure Ninja, who had been targeted, was about to dodge when he felt his vision go black. After a moment of daze, he regained his senses, but by then, the sword Shadow Clone was already upon him, leaving no room to evade.
The two crossed paths in an instant. The sword Shadow Clone dissipated into the air, while the Iwagakure Ninja's body swayed before collapsing with a crash, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Keep going!"
Shio retracted his long sword, his voice calm as he remained vigilant of his surroundings.
"Shio, our combination is invincible."
Yao, standing behind him, lowered her hands and said with some excitement.
They kept Brother Ren's instructions in mind, avoiding the most intense parts of the battle and using quantity to make up for quality.
Indeed, in less than fifteen minutes, the group, working together, had killed seven Genin and one Chunin. Shio and Suzuki focused on offense, while Yao provided support with genjutsu, making their efficiency much higher than a solo operation.
"Alright, slow down the pace and constantly monitor your Chakra consumption."
Brother Ren, standing behind them, reminded them in a timely manner, while also taking out several Soldier Ration Pills from his body and throwing them to the group.
The operation had just entered its most intense phase, and excessive Chakra consumption at this point would definitely not be good news.
"Understood, Captain!"
The three began to contract their formation, chewing on Soldier Ration Pills while also selecting their next target.
"Itachi, watch your Chakra consumption."
Brother Ren's gaze shifted to Itachi, who was not far away, and he cautioned him.
"I understand, Brother Ren."
Itachi, not far away, was panting, his hands on his knees, beads of sweat dripping from his head. Even so, he remained constantly alert to his surroundings.
"Let's go, Itachi, more casualties have appeared."
Shadow Clone Number One, who was closely protecting him, patted Itachi's shoulder and whispered.
"Coming!"
Itachi perked up, following Number One with a few strides to an open space. Among the scattered corpses, two Konoha Ninja lay on the ground, their faces pale, but thankfully their chests still rose and fell.
"Excessive Chakra consumption, and a severe blow to the abdomen from Earth Release Ninjutsu."
Number One squatted down and took two glances, roughly understanding their injuries. He then stepped forward and carried the larger Ninja on his back, then turned his gaze to Itachi.
"He's yours, Itachi."
"Yes!"
Itachi didn't hesitate, taking two steps forward to carry the remaining young Ninja on his back, and then sped off behind Number One. They needed to transport these severely wounded individuals to the logistics unit.
Fighting was still too difficult for Itachi, but letting him stand there was also agonizing, so Brother Ren simply had the Shadow Clone take Itachi to do battle rescue work.
They were located at the very edge of the battlefield, and with people protecting him both openly and covertly, Itachi's safety was guaranteed.
"Tsk, I wonder how Uncle Fugaku is doing over there."
Brother Ren looked at the flames rising in the distance, inevitably feeling a bit dejected.
Watching them fight made Brother Ren's hands itch, but being limited by the presence of the others, he could only watch longingly.
He even regretted it a bit, thinking he shouldn't have brought them. That way, he wouldn't be in this situation now.
"Die, Konoha scum!"
Just as Brother Ren was lost in thought, a "corpse" at his feet suddenly sprang up, gripping a Kunai and lunging at Brother Ren, a look of madness on its face.
"So annoying!"
A look of impatience appeared on Brother Ren's face. His left hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the opponent's swinging arm, while his right hand clenched into a fist, aiming at the enemy's abdomen and striking directly!
Already annoyed, this "resurrected" Iwagakure Ninja had truly run into trouble. Brother Ren, in his anger, directly used the Full Power.
"Pfft!"
The severe pain in his abdomen made his pupils dilate, and he spat out saliva, his entire body flying backward. Immediately after, a sensation of dizziness came over him, and he finally stopped after crashing through a tent.
"Uh…"
The "corpse" struggled to lift its head from the smoke, looking at Brother Ren in the distance with fear, opening its mouth as if to say something, but before any sound could escape, its head drooped, and it lost all signs of life shortly after.
The huge commotion here also attracted the attention of many. The collapsed tent and Brother Ren, still in his punching posture not far away, left everyone speechless for a moment, but they all instinctively swallowed their saliva and then silently moved several paces away. They didn't want to be caught in the crossfire.
"…No matter how many times I see it, it's still so shocking."
Shio and the other two, not far away, had witnessed the entire scene. Yao looked at Brother Ren, who was retracting his fist and walking towards them, and couldn't help but exclaim.
"The Captain's title as Konoha's number one genius is recognized by the Five Great Villages."
Suzuki stood by, agreeing with Yao's words.
It had been almost a year since the war began, and Brother Ren had moved between various battlefields, achieving brilliant results.
In his first battle on the Sunagakure battlefield against Pakura, he made his mark.
On the Iwagakure battlefield, he killed the Explosion Release Ninja Gari, showing his initial prowess.
On the Kirigakure battlefield, he overpowered the Ninja Swordsmen, gaining fame overseas.
On the Kumogakure battlefield, he fiercely fought A against Minato, becoming widely known.
Brother Ren's current status and position were earned through his own hard work and battles, so even though Brother Ren became a Jonin at such a young age, there were no complaints among the Ninja, which showed that everyone recognized Brother Ren's promotion.
"You've rested enough, let's go deeper."
Brother Ren approached, sensing that their Chakra had mostly recovered. These Soldier Ration Pills really took effect quickly.
"Yes!"
As time passed, a hint of dawn appeared in the distant sky, and the shouts of battle on the battlefield also weakened. After several hours of fighting, both sides were exhausted, but Iwagakure's casualties were clearly greater.
The Border Line was broken, and with the help of subsequent reinforcement troops, the remaining scattered forces were rescued.
Konoha's night raid operation achieved a great victory!
"Is it over…"
At this moment, Shio and Suzuki were resting back to back, listening to the gusts of wind, and couldn't help but murmur.
"Captain, what do we do next…"
Yao put away her Kunai and asked Brother Ren, who was beside her.
Compared to the two facing the enemy head-on, her status as support meant she was in much better condition.
"Follow me, I'll give you a lesson."
"Yes."
Although the group was very tired, they still forced themselves to stand up and follow Brother Ren's steps into the jungle, speeding forward.
Soon, they emerged from the jungle, and what greeted their eyes was a broken cliff. Looking down, the entire battlefield was visible.
"I brought you to watch the sunrise and to feel something."
Brother Ren sat down at the edge of the cliff, looking at the rising sun in the distance, and said calmly.
"What war is."