Just as Orochimaru led Konoha's reinforcements into Kikyō Castle, Sunagakure's main force arrived at the forward camp where Pakura and her squad had been stationed.
"Chiyo-sama!"
Outside the camp, Pakura stepped forward with the Sand shinobi who had been waiting there.
When she saw Chiyo at the head of the army, she forced herself to greet her, even though her expression was strained.
"You didn't take Kikyō Castle?" Chiyo frowned. "Was Konoha prepared in advance?"
After all, Sunagakure had dispatched two advance assault teams before the main force was fully assembled.
"It wasn't that they were prepared, it's just…"
Pakura's voice trailed off. The shinobi beside her exchanged uneasy looks, no one willing to finish the sentence.
They had charged into a battle where the enemy outnumbered them ten to one.
In the end, two-thirds of their forces had been wiped out.
For a moment, none of them knew how to put that into words.
"Where is Ebizō?" Chiyo asked sharply. "Why isn't he here?"
Seeing Pakura's hesitation, Chiyo's expression darkened. She wanted to question the commander directly, only to realize Ebizō was nowhere to be seen.
"…This…"
Silence fell over the group. A heavy, defeated atmosphere spread through the ranks.
"Speak! What happened?" Chiyo demanded.
It wasn't just Pakura. The Sand shinobi around her all wore grim expressions.
A chill ran through Chiyo's heart, an ominous premonition taking root.
At that moment, a faint breeze drifted in from the direction of Kikyō Castle, carrying with it a metallic, blood-tinged scent. The unease in her chest tightened.
"Lord Ebizō… has been captured."
After a long silence, Pakura gritted her teeth and forced the words out.
The declaration hit Chiyo like a bolt of lightning.
Her vision spun. She staggered, then collapsed backward.
"Chiyo-sama!"
"Chiyo-sama!!"
The Sand shinobi behind her cried out, rushing forward to catch her.
"Make room! Give her air!"
The camp erupted into hurried first-aid efforts. After a tense moment, Chiyo coughed weakly and regained consciousness, her face pale.
"What… what exactly happened?!" she demanded hoarsely, grabbing Pakura by the arm.
Her son and daughter-in-law had died in the Second Shinobi War. Her grandson, Sasori, had vanished long ago.
Ebizō was her only remaining family.
Hearing that he had been captured had shaken her so badly she had blacked out.
"Chiyo-sama," Rasa said gravely, stepping forward. "We should discuss this inside headquarters. This isn't the place."
The commotion had already drawn the attention of the troops behind them. Chiyo's sudden collapse had unsettled the army.
"Yes, Chiyo-sama. Let's move inside first," several Sand shinobi urged gently.
Bad news like this could crush morale if spread carelessly.
After a moment, Chiyo nodded. She still didn't fully grasp the situation, and arguing here would accomplish nothing.
Rasa issued a sharp order for the units to remain on standby. Then he and the others followed Pakura into the command tent.
Once inside the assembled headquarters, everyone took their seats. Pakura began recounting the events of the previous day's battle in detail.
She started from the moment they encountered the explosive tag traps and continued step by step—until Ebizō's capture and the final casualty count.
As she spoke, the Sand shinobi commanders inside the tent gasped repeatedly, drawing sharp breaths.
"Yagami?"
"One man killed over six hundred of our shinobi?"
"Since when did Konoha have someone like that?"
"How could such a powerful ninja remain unknown until now?"
"Has Konoha been deliberately hiding him?"
"What are they planning?"
A brief silence followed Pakura's report. Then the command tent erupted into heated discussion.
Every village maintained intelligence networks to monitor its rivals, and Konoha was always a primary focus. Yet none of them had ever heard of a shinobi named Yagami.
It was as if he had appeared out of nowhere.
"We don't know the details either," Pakura said solemnly. "We only learned of Yagami's existence after the vanguard unit was wiped out."
Of everyone present, she alone had witnessed his strength firsthand. No one else understood more clearly than she did how terrifying he was.
That man was not someone who could be defeated simply by throwing numbers at him.
His fighting style was completely unlike that of ordinary shinobi.
"Enough. Quiet!" Chiyo snapped.
Her sharp command cut through the noise, and the tent gradually fell silent.
"Describe his abilities and combat style in detail," she ordered Pakura.
"Yes."
Pakura closed her eyes briefly, recalling everything she had seen.
"He uses an S-rank Wind Style technique. Its destructive power is enormous, with an effective range of roughly one hundred meters in diameter.
"His speed is extraordinary—several times faster than a normal shinobi. By the end of the battle, he was even moving at what felt like supersonic speed.
"He's protected by an unknown defensive barrier. Its durability was enough to withstand my attacks head-on.
"And finally… his swordsmanship. He can unleash slashes over twenty meters high, like a tidal wave cutting through the battlefield."
With each ability Pakura listed, the atmosphere in the command tent grew heavier.
By the time she finished, the silence was so deep it felt as though a falling needle would echo.
Attack, speed, and defense—he possessed all three at an overwhelming level.
A single thought surfaced in the minds of the Sand shinobi commanders:
Is that man even human… or a monster?
--------------------------------------
Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters and R-18 Content!
--------------------------------------
Update schedule: 7 chapters/week
Every 200 power stones = 1 Extra Chapter
By voting with [power stones], you can easily get double the number of chapters.