The Suna-nin captain saw the figure that had appeared without warning and did not hesitate for even a moment.
He gave a cold laugh and raised his hand. Dozens of poison-coated kunai shot out in an instant.
However, Chiya had already anticipated it. He raised his hands, formed seals, and opened his mouth.
"Fire Style, Grand Fireball Jutsu!"
Mixed within the scorching flames was concealed Lava Release.
It surged from his mouth. The massive fireball struck the Suna-nin squad like a meteor crashing down.
Flames shot into the sky. The explosive shockwave unique to Lava Release instantly sent several Suna-nin tumbling. Their figures were swallowed by the inferno amid screams and reduced to charred remains.
"Damn it. That is Uchiha Fire Style!"
The Suna-nin captain snarled through gritted teeth.
"Spread out. Do not let his jutsu hit you."
Chiya's Sharingan rotated slightly. The three tomoe in his crimson pupils turned slowly.
"Genjutsu, Shackling Stakes."
In an instant, the three Suna-nin who had been charging at the front froze completely.
Inside their mental world, countless black stakes pierced through their bodies. The searing pain left them unable to move.
In reality, all they could do was watch helplessly as Chiya walked toward them at an unhurried pace, a senbon gleaming coldly in his hand.
Three bodies collapsed. Blood soaked into the earth.
"He... that is Uchiha Chiya!"
One of the Suna-nin recognized him.
The remaining Suna-nin fell into complete panic.
'How could we run into this killing god of Konoha today? He was not in the intelligence report at all.'
They rapidly formed hand seals and tried to counter with Wind Style.
"Wind Style, Great Breakthrough!"
A savage torrent of wind blades came sweeping in.
"Fire Style, Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
The scorching fire that poured from Chiya's mouth took the shape of a roaring dragon. It tore straight through the Wind Style barrier in an instant and swallowed two Suna-nin whole.
Wherever the fire dragon passed, trees ignited and the ground turned black.
The Suna-nin did not even have time to scream before they turned to ash.
The Suna-nin captain fell into complete despair. He roared and charged at Chiya, the wind blade in his hand condensed to its utmost.
"Wind Style, Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Chiya simply looked at him with cold indifference and formed hand seals.
"Fire Style, Great Fire Annihilation!"
An even more terrifying blaze than the Grand Fireball erupted, and a wave of fire like a volcanic eruption swept the entire battlefield in an instant.
The Suna-nin captain had no time to evade. The flames consumed him. His body twisted and carbonized in the extreme heat, and he was finally reduced to ash.
The fire gradually died out. The battlefield fell into complete silence.
Chiya stood on the scorched earth. His Sharingan rotated slowly, confirming there were no survivors.
The entire battle had lasted only a few minutes.
The Suna-nin squad had been annihilated. Chiya had not even shifted from where he stood. Using only Fire Style and genjutsu, he had reduced every enemy to nothing.
Chiya leaped down from the treetop and landed lightly beside Sakumo.
His Sharingan gave off a crimson glow in the darkness of the night.
"Captain Sakumo."
The corner of Chiya's mouth curved slightly, a faint trace of teasing in his tone.
Sakumo sheathed the White Fang and said in a grave voice.
"Chiya, what are you doing here?"
Chiya's gaze swept across the fallen Suna-nin bodies around them and said evenly.
"I heard there were enemy ninja in the area and came to take a look. I did not expect to actually run into you."
Sakumo's brow furrowed tightly. Something felt off to him.
This mission had been strictly confidential. How could Chiya have known...
Strictly confidential?
Sakumo caught himself immediately.
If the mission had truly been kept secret, enemy ninja would never have known their whereabouts in the first place.
"Thank you for the support."
Chiya gave a faint smile, but his gaze had already shifted to the old lady in the palanquin some distance away.
His Sharingan flickered briefly, as though he had noticed something unusual.
"Is this the mother of the Land of Fire's Daimyo?"
Sakumo nodded.
"Yes. Our mission is to escort her safely to the Land of Fire's residence."
Chiya did not respond. He simply stared at her.
Sakumo noticed and instinctively asked.
"Chiya, what are you doing?"
"Captain Sakumo, does this not strike you as strange? How were the Suna-nin able to ambush you with such precision?"
"And this old lady's composure is far too remarkable."
Sakumo was briefly taken aback. He turned to look at the old lady, whose back was toward him.
She was still seated upright in the palanquin, her expression utterly calm, as though she had paid no attention whatsoever to the bloody battle that had just taken place.
That was not normal at all.
Chiya's voice cooled.
"Let me verify something."
Before the words were finished, a senbon appeared in his hand. Without hesitation he threw it toward a vital point at the old lady's back.
"Stop!"
Sakumo was alarmed, but it was already too late to intervene.
Then something shocking happened.
The old lady's figure flashed. She evaded the senbon with remarkable agility. There was not the slightest trace of an elderly person in how she moved.
Sakumo's pupils contracted sharply, and a surge of cold dread rose inside him.
The old lady herself was also startled. Her instinctive reaction had made her dodge the attack.
She snapped her head around and looked at Sakumo and Chiya.
She immediately understood that her identity had been exposed.
She gave a cold laugh, slowly rose to her feet, and tore off the elegant robes she was wearing to reveal a black form-fitting outfit beneath.
Her face also began to shift under a flow of chakra, gradually changing until it settled into an unfamiliar one.
"Worthy of the Uchiha Clan. You were never going to be fooled."
She said coldly.
Sakumo clenched his fist, his voice low.
"Who are you?"
The person gave no answer. Instead she reached into her clothing, produced a kunai, and drove it into her own throat without hesitation.
Chiya watched with cold eyes and made no move to stop her.
Blood sprayed. Her body slowly sank to the ground, her eyes full of resolve until the end.
Sakumo stood frozen. A wave of towering fury crashed through him.
'All of this was a trap.'
'A trap designed to swallow him whole.'
Chiya walked to the body, crouched down to examine it briefly, then stood and said evenly.
"Just as I suspected."
Sakumo turned to look at him sharply.
"Chiya, what is going on?"
Chiya let out a quiet sigh. A trace of something like pity entered his gaze.
"Captain Sakumo, you were set up."
"The real old lady was already quietly escorted away by Root operatives long before this."
"What you were guarding was nothing but a decoy."
"What?"
The words struck Sakumo like a thunderbolt. He could barely believe it. His face went pale in an instant.
"Someone deliberately leaked your location to draw the Suna-nin's ambush."
"They wanted to use another's hand to kill you, to have you and the Anbu elites die out here."
"As for the purpose, it may have been to undermine your reputation, or it may have been to stir up conflict between Konoha and Suna."
Sakumo's fist tightened until it cracked, his fingernails digging deep into his palm.
He thought back to the meaningful look in Danzo's eyes before the mission had started, and the Third's unusual silence. Everything fell into place.
"Why..."
He murmured, his voice carrying suppressed anger and pain.
"Why would they betray a comrade? Why would they send innocent ninja to their deaths?"
Chiya looked at him.
Sakumo was far more driven by feeling than Chiya had expected.
'Do you really believe that because you treat others with sincerity, they will treat you with the same sincerity in return?'
'That is an absurd premise from the start.'
"Because to them, power matters more than lives."
"Captain Sakumo, your existence has already threatened certain people's interests."
Sakumo was silent for a long time.
Finally he drew a slow, deep breath. The light in his eyes dimmed.
"Chiya, thank you for telling me the truth. I will not let this matter end here."
"If you need support, the Uchiha Clan will be ready to back you at any time."
Sakumo looked at him with a long, steady gaze, then said gravely.
"Thank you."
"However, I want to find my own answers in my own way first."
The two exchanged a look, and without further words they left the battlefield and headed together toward Konoha.