◎
The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
The battle broke out early in the morning.
Clang, clang——
Thud, thud——
On the rain-soaked battlefield, the sounds of kunai and shuriken clashing echoed.
As they hacked at each other, one could hear the hysterical shouts of people.
The air held no warmth, only the thick scent of rust assaulting everyone's nostrils.
That was blood.
The sound of explosive tags detonating, ninja techniques striking, the heart-wrenching screams of enemies in their final moments.
The sky was dark, with heavy clouds gathering, making it difficult to breathe.
Corpses were everywhere.
Bloodstained weapons, deep craters from ninja techniques and explosive flashes.
Water bullets and fireballs, lightning and earth walls, sharp wind blades roared like beasts.
This is the war of ninjas.
"Earth Style: Earthquake Core!"
A Hidden Rock Jonin formed a seal, casting a ninja technique.
A vast area of land surged skyward, hurling a large group of Konoha Ninja into the air, then spat stones from its mouth.
Those stones grew larger as they flew, bombarding the airborne Konoha Ninja, causing them to scream in agony.
"Kitsuchi's quite capable, huh. I can't fall behind either."
The Hidden Rock Jonin with an explosion of hair chuckled, clenching his fist and striking the ground.
Immediately, the ground exploded, triggering a minor earthquake, making it impossible for the Konoha Ninja ahead to stay upright.
"It's an Explosion Style Ninja!"
"Haha, I'm so famous already?"
The Explosion Style Hidden Rock Ninja grinned at the panicked shouts of the Konoha Ninja, leaping over and causing a series of explosions, blasting many of the Konoha Ninja away.
He rampaged among the Konoha Squad as if he were in a land with no people.
Boom!
A massive shadow descended from the cloud-shrouded sky.
A thunderous sound echoed behind the Explosion Style Hidden Rock Ninja.
Dozens of Hidden Rock Ninjas died in the thunderous explosion.
Dust surged, stones scattered.
The earth trembled repeatedly, cracking with numerous marks.
The surrounding Hidden Rock Ninja trembled along with the earth, revealing looks of horror as they gazed at the massive figure before them.
It was a giant toad, as large as a small mountain, already having turned the Hidden Rock Ninja beneath it into a mass of flesh.
An attack from such a height was more ferocious and direct than any ninja technique.
"Cough, cough!"
The Explosion Style Hidden Rock Ninja withdrew from the swirling dust, blood trickling from his mouth, staring at the Konoha Ninja standing atop the giant toad—
One of the Sannin, Jiraiya!
"This seems a bit troublesome now."
Though the Sannin were once defeated, to most ninjas, they still represented an unparalleled existence.
The Explosion Style Hidden Rock Ninja quickly retreated; facing Jiraiya was too much for his abilities.
This guy, paired with a large summoning beast, needed several Jonin and a hundred Chunin to hold back.
"Humans always fight endless wars. And you too, Jiraiya, stop summoning me into battle every time."
The giant toad, summoned by Jiraiya, had a huge pipe in its mouth, scanning the ninjas below with a haughty gaze, complaining to Jiraiya.
"Sorry, Bunta, Konoha cannot lose this war."
Jiraiya understood the severity of the current situation.
If they lost here, the Hidden Rock Ninja could push deep into the Land of Fire and coordinate with the Hidden Sand, flanking Orochimaru's forces.
At that time, the Konoha Ninja here would suffer heavy losses and fall prey to the Hidden Rock and Hidden Sand.
"Understood."
With that, Gama-Bunta puffed up and spewed a massive amount of oil, spilling from the sky.
Jiraiya also formed a seal, spitting out a huge fireball.
"Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bomb!"
The fireball mixed with the oil spilling from the sky, instantly transforming into a sea of flames, burning towards the Hidden Rock Ninja.
Even in the rain, the attack of the sea of flames was unstoppable.
"Don't underestimate us, Konoha Ninja! Earth Style: Earth Flow City Wall!"
On the other side, Hidden Rock Jonin Kitsuchi slammed the ground with his palm, raising a fortress-like iron wall, blocking the oil and fire style combo attack.
Releasing a large amount of chakra at once left Kitsuchi panting, but he stubbornly glared at Jiraiya, undeterred.
"This guy's strength is troublesome."
The Explosion Style Hidden Rock Ninja came to Kitsuchi's side.
"After all, he's the Hokage's disciple."
Kitsuchi nodded.
"A joint effort between the two, Explosion Style ninja, and the Tsuchikage's son... they're both troublesome ninjas."
If facing these two, Jiraiya didn't think he had time to take care of the other Konoha Ninja.
If not careful, he might face defeat here.
Kitsuchi could be set aside for now; the Explosion Style Shou was a famed elite jonin of Hidden Rock, his Explosion Style Kekkeigenkai extraordinary.
◎
The fierce clashes between the three ninja villages of Konoha, Hidden Sand, and Hidden Rock immediately stirred the undercurrents of the Ninja Realm.
And the small countries caught between them once again became battlefields, with the scale of the war far more terrifying than the last Ninja World War.
In contrast, the Land of Demons, far from the battlefield, remained untouched by the conflict due to its isolated location.
"Bandit extermination?"
Ruri seemed a bit confused by Hakushi's suggestion.
Faced with Ruri's confusion, Hakushi nodded in response: