Chapter 61: Chapter 61
"I’m counting on you." Jiraiya nodded.
This was exactly why he had called Kiriya over.
"The Mizukage’s presence has been detected at the Kirigakure camp across from us, so I can’t leave for now."
Kiriya paused.
Then he rubbed his chin.
"Why do I get the feeling this whole thing is aimed at me?"
"Because it probably is."
Jiraiya gave him a straightforward answer.
"You killed their Seven Ninja Swordsmen. If they don’t deal with you, the higher-ups in Kirigakure will become a joke."
"Fine! That works too."
Kiriya tightened the forehead protector on his head.
"If I hit them hard enough and make them hurt enough, maybe they’ll behave for a while."
"Don’t get careless." Jiraiya immediately warned him.
"Kirigakure still has plenty of strong shinobi. Don’t underestimate the world, kid."
"I know."
Kiriya waved his hand.
"Don’t worry. I’ll go all out."
"You don’t want to bring a few people with you?"
"Just give me a guide. Once I reach the area, the guide can come back, I move more easily on my own."
"All right. Be careful on the way."
Jiraiya gave him a few more reminders before finally letting him leave.
"Kid, you’d better be careful."
Jiraiya stood with his hands behind his back, his expression carrying a trace of worry.
...
While Kiriya rushed toward the battlefield at full speed, inside a valley nearly five hundred kilometers from the Konoha camp...
Almost thirty ninja lay scattered across the floor of a rocky cave.
Many had bandages wrapped around their bodies, with large patches of blood seeping through the cloth.
Even those who were not injured looked exhausted, their breathing weak and their chakra badly depleted.
"It’s already been two days. Our soldier pills and drinking water are almost gone," one genin said anxiously.
"What about those Kirigakure bastards? Still too scared to come in?"
A hot-tempered chūnin cursed, his eyes bloodshot.
Over the past few days, they had been forced to guard against ambush almost every moment.
Their nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
"Save your strength and stop wasting saliva," a jōnin nearby cut in. "Those bastards are here to pin us down. Why would they fight us head-on?"
"Yeah! I have to admit, they’re patient as hell. I already cursed the Mizukage’s whole family for them, and they still held back."
"Now that you mention it, I never realized your mouth was that vicious."
"Heh. Low-key, Gotta stay low-key."
The group bantered back and forth, forcing themselves to laugh through the misery, trying to loosen the tension gripping their nerves.
At that moment, a low, hoarse voice sounded from the cave entrance, carrying deep guilt.
"I’m sorry. I dragged all of you into this."
The people talking immediately fell silent and turned toward the man standing near the entrance.
Green bodysuit.
Bowl cut.
Thick eyebrows.
Stubble covering his face.
It was Might Duy.
Right now, Duy looked exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot, and his usually straight, powerful posture had become slightly hunched.
It was clear how much pressure he had been carrying during this time.
He had thought this was just an ordinary scouting mission.
Instead, they had fallen into a trap, and so many comrades had been dragged into danger with them.
If he were honest, he wanted nothing more than to open the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death, right now and use his life to carve out a path for everyone else.
Unfortunately, that plan would not work.
Those Kirigakure shinobi were slippery as loaches.
The moment Duy showed even the slightest sign of going all out, they scattered immediately, letting those farther back form another defensive line to keep blocking him.
Then, when he started to show signs of fatigue, they swarmed back in again, leaving him overwhelmed, exhausted, and constantly forced to respond.
All he could do was watch his comrades weaken little by little.
"Don’t say that, Duy."
A chūnin took a breath.
"Those people clearly came prepared. Even if it hadn’t been you, they would’ve trapped someone else."
"Exactly. Besides, if you hadn’t kept driving off the pursuers, we wouldn’t have lasted this long."
"Yeah, you’re the strongest pillar we’ve got right now. You can’t collapse on us."
Everyone spoke up one after another, trying to comfort him.
Only then did Might Duy’s mood improve a little, and he tried to encourage them in return.
"Everyone, hold on a little longer. Lord Jiraiya will send strong reinforcements soon."
"With the situation this bad, unless Lord Jiraiya personally brings troops here..."
A chūnin could not help saying it, and the atmosphere in the cave immediately sank.
"No. There is still one person."
Might Duy raised his voice.
"There is still Kiriya-kun! He is incredibly strong, If he comes, the people outside won’t be able to stop him at all."
"That boy?"
Many of them looked doubtful.
"Isn’t he a medical ninja?"
"Just wait and see! He’ll surprise all of you."
When Might Duy thought of Kiriya, his face filled with confidence. He raised his thumb toward everyone.
"That man’s youth shines even brighter than mine."
Although the others still had doubts, Might Duy’s confidence gave them some comfort.
Before long, even they began to feel a small flicker of expectation.
...
Outside the valley, at Kirigakure’s position.
"Heh... This setup is kind of overkill, isn’t it?"
Mei Terumi looked at the elite force of over a hundred shinobi gathered around them and clicked her tongue.
"Don’t let your guard down. The target is strong enough to kill the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in an instant," Ao reminded her from the side.
"Even then, this is way too much."
Mei counted on her fingers.
"Eighteen jōnin, thirty chūnin, and almost sixty genin. This force is enough to overthrow a small country, and now we’re using all of it on one kid?"
’You forgot one more,’ Ao added silently in his heart.
Out loud, he said, "This is to make sure nothing goes wrong. Mizukage-sama gave the order personally. This operation must be absolutely foolproof."
"But..."
Mei still wanted to say more, but an impatient voice cut in from nearby.
"Is that brat still not here? How many more days does he plan on making me wait?"
The speaker was a tall woman with a lean, sharp build.
Her short hair was messy and rough, and the lower half of her face was hidden behind bandages.
The exposed skin was an unhealthy pale color.
"Not yet, Lady Kusui."
A chūnin beside her lowered his head, cold sweat already forming on his forehead.
The people around him were no better, their expressions filled with obvious fear.
"Tch..."
The woman named Kusui clicked her tongue in irritation and kicked the chūnin away.
"You’d better pray that brat gets here soon! If I stay annoyed for too long, I’ll start killing people."
"This woman..."
Mei’s eyebrow twitched, and she was about to step forward when Ao grabbed her arm.
He shook his head.
"It’s still under control, Leave her alone for now."
Mei was already planning to let it go, but Kusui noticed her movement.
A cruel smile flashed in her eyes.
"Hey, ugly woman over there. Got a problem with what I said?"
"Ugly woman?"
A vein bulged on Mei’s forehead.
She was a beautiful, graceful, full-blooming woman, and this lunatic had just called her ugly?
There were things one could tolerate, and then there was this!
"Ao, don’t stop me this time. I’m gonna teach her a lesson! She needs to learn what manners are."
"Hah? A hag like you thinks she can teach me anything?"
Kusui grew even more excited and rolled up her sleeves as if ready to start swinging.
"You want me to knock your teeth all over the ground?"
The people around them immediately grew tense.
Some had even started quietly backing away.
Ao felt a headache coming on and was trying to think of a way to smooth things over when a voice rang clearly across the area.
"Hey, Kirigakure scum. How are you all doing?"
The entire scene went dead silent.
They had imagined that Kiriya might come.
They had prepared for all kinds of possible entrances.
The one thing nobody expected was for him to stroll in so openly, like he owned the place.
"Is... is he insane?"
Mei’s eyes filled with disbelief.
He did not know how many troops they had here.
He did not know their strength.
Yet he still dared to walk straight in like this?
Had a donkey kicked his brain loose?
"Good brat! You’ve got guts!"
Kusui threw her head back and laughed.
She slapped the chūnin beside her straight into the ground, then leapt forward, her voice booming through the valley.
"Brat, come here and die!"
The next instant, a deafening roar exploded across the battlefield.
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