Below the Hokage Building.
Nearly a thousand people quickly divided into teams and lined up in different places, waiting for further instructions from their superiors.
Ninjas whose names hadn't been called yet were still standing in the crowd, waiting.
A weathered middle - aged ninja was boredly looking around while waiting. When he saw a small figure, his expression suddenly froze.
"What the hell is this world turning into? Even such a young kid..."
Especially after taking a closer look, he found that there was no mark on the kid's forehead protector!
This indicated that the kid wasn't even a ninja!
He couldn't help but sigh. He wondered who this kid had offended to be sent to the battlefield.
He couldn't help getting closer to the kid and whispered, "Hey, kid, don't say a word. Listen to me."
"What the hell?!"
Kaze was looking at the fishnet - clad beautiful legs of the girl in front of him. Suddenly, an old, wrinkled face appeared in front of him, scaring him.
"Kid, this selection process will take a while," the middle - aged man said in a low voice. "Go home quickly and get your family to scrape together some money. Then give it to the team leaders later. Maybe they'll assign you to a good place."
Hearing this, Kaze felt a warm feeling in his heart. So, this uncle was concerned about him.
"Don't worry, uncle. My family has got everything sorted out," Kaze said sincerely. "Besides, my family only takes money, never gives it away."
Middle - aged man: "...???"
Regardless of whether his father wanted fame or to train him, Kaze had figured it out in the past few days. He wouldn't really be sent to his death.
So, he shouldn't be sent to the front - line battlefield where the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire were at war.
Instead, he would be assigned to the second battlefield on the border of the Land of Fire to deal with the Sand ninjas trying to sneak in.
Sure enough, with the envious looks of the other ninjas, Kaze was called to the team going to the second battlefield.
"Phew~~"
When he heard his name, Kaze let out a sigh of relief.
On one side was a large - scale battle involving tens of thousands of people, and on the other side was a guerrilla fight among dozens of people. They were completely different!
The three people in Kaze's team were all old acquaintances.
Yuto Kurosaki, Yukino Shimura, and his personal bodyguard over the years, Haruna Ayako.
Haruna Ayako was 16 years old this year. She had the strength of a Tokubetsu Jonin. She had a young, doll - like face but a plump and alluring figure.
Moreover, she originally came from the communication team and was a rare sensor - type ninja, which would be very useful in battle!
"One Jonin and two Tokubetsu Jonin. This is a guaranteed win!" Kaze thought to himself.
At the border of the Land of Fire, the large army split into two paths. While the main force advanced deep into the territory of the Land of Rain, only a few dozen people stayed at the border to fill the gaps in the Land of Fire's defense line.
And Kaze's team was one of the teams that stayed.
They didn't have specific missions or defensive areas. Instead, they scattered, with each person responsible for guarding a certain area and keeping the enemy out of the country.
After the assignment, the teams broke up and quietly headed to their respective areas.
Kaze and the others were assigned to a rather large jungle.
In the jungle, it was not easy to detect the enemy's traces, but it was also difficult for the enemy to find them. At least, that's what slacker Kaze thought.
Right then, he looked at Yuto expectantly and asked, "Uncle Yuto, is there a possibility that my dad sent..."
"No way in hell!"
As soon as Kaze showed a sign, Yuto knew what he was up to. He immediately interrupted irritably.
"The front - line is in a tight situation. It would be a waste for those good hands to follow you. The front - line is where they belong."
"But..."
Just when Kaze was about to say more, Ayako beside him suddenly said, "Be careful, there's something up ahead."
The four of them immediately fell silent and concealed themselves on the spot.
"Damn it!"
Kaze's heart was in his mouth. He felt extremely nervous as if chaos was in his mind.
No way, no way. Could they have encountered the enemy just as they arrived?
So unlucky! What kind of luck did he have?
Ayako closed her eyes to sense for a while, then opened them and whispered, "That's right. There are chakra fluctuations up ahead. It should be a four - person team."
"And... whether intentionally or not, they're moving towards us quickly."
Yukino's delicate hand grasped the hilt of her sword and she looked at Yuto inquiringly. "Senior, what should we do now?"
Hearing this, Yuto frowned slightly. Appearing in this area at this time... most likely, the other side was an enemy rather than a friend.
"It's too late to retreat. Get ready to fight the enemy. After holding them back, immediately ask for help from nearby teams!"
After saying that, he looked at Kaze and said, "It'd be best if you can hold off one person. If not, don't force it. Just protect yourself."
Before they set off, he had sized Kaze up, which was why he said this.
"Got it, Uncle Yuto." Kaze replied, but there was a bit of nervousness in his heart.
The rustling sound of the breeze through the surrounding branches sounded to him as if four big men with knives were stepping on the fallen leaves and approaching him grinning wickedly.
So scary!
"Bad, retreat quickly!" Ayako, who was hiding behind a tree, suddenly changed her expression. Regardless of hiding anymore, she shouted loudly.
Boom!
Along with a loud noise, the ground beneath their feet suddenly collapsed. Countless sharp stone spikes shot up like spears, stabbing indiscriminately at the ground.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
With their spirits highly concentrated, the four of them reacted quickly. They flashed and landed outside the attack range of this combined Ninjutsu.
At this time, four figures in yellow - brown combat uniforms leaped out of the forest and rushed towards them.
The leader of the Sand ninjas shouted harshly, "One for each! Quickly take care of these Konoha guys! Their reinforcements could arrive at any moment!"
"Damn it!" Yuto cursed. They had been careless and let the enemy seize the initiative!
In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two squads was only a few meters.
Although Kaze and his three companions were relatively scattered, they were all ready to face the enemy.
"Kill!" Yuto drew his katana from his waist, growled, and bravely charged towards the leader of the Sand ninja squad.
"Humph, so rude." The leader of the Sand ninjas snorted. With a wave of his hands, the puppet on his back soared into the air and attacked Yuto with him.
"Zhongli, watch out for yourself!" Ayako passed by Kaze, formed Hand Seal with both hands, and spat out a series of disc - shaped, scorching fireballs.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
A Sand ninja turned around and faced Ayako. "Wind Release: Wind Chaos Dance!"
Apparently, both of them were more proficient in ninjutsu, exchanging blows back and forth.
Yukino was good at taijutsu. The short sword in her hand seemed weightless. With quick swings, it produced a cold glint, forcing a Sand ninja to keep retreating.
The last Sand ninja grinned evilly and pounced on Kaze.
"Lucky me. I got a little kid as an opponent. I'll take him out quickly and go help the captain and the others," the Sand ninja thought.
Watching the enemy approaching him with a steel knife, Kaze broke out in cold sweat, and his hand holding the knife trembled non - stop.
Is his knife poisoned too?
Did he secretly use poison like I did?
Is he going to chop my head off?
The more Kaze thought, the more frightened he became... No, I have to kill him quickly!
Seeing Kaze shakily point the knife at him with a comical movement, the Sand ninja showed a mocking smile.
"Is this little guy scared out of his wits by me?"
He didn't dodge but rushed straight at Kaze, suddenly slashing at him!
It's just a little kid. How could he...
"Pfft!"
Their figures passed by each other, and the dull sound of the blade cutting through flesh rang out.
The Sand ninja looked down in shock and saw a small, long cut on his abdomen.
How could this little kid be so fast?!
In such a short time, after parrying his steel knife, he could even swing a second time?!
"Phew~~"
The Sand ninja heaved a sigh, put away his contempt for Kaze, and his expression became solemn.
Even a lion uses all its strength to fight a rabbit.
He had been careless just now. Otherwise, with his strength as a Tokubetsu Jonin, how could he be injured by a little kid.
As long as he got serious, he would definitely...
"Thump!"
Suddenly, the Sand ninja's legs went weak, and his body uncontrollably knelt on the ground.
His expression was painful and twisted. Foam kept coming out of his mouth, and his body trembled violently.
He felt that his current state was like having a pot of boiling water mixed with blades forcefully poured down his throat. His whole body was being burned and torn!
Damn it! This kid looks trustworthy, but he actually put poison on the knife!
Looking at the fallen Sand ninja, Kaze rushed forward with a panicked look on his face and said in a quivering voice, "Sorry, I was afraid you'd hurt me, so I had to kill you."
He seemed too shaky to hold the knife firmly, but actually, he stabbed out swiftly and violently, instantly splitting the Sand ninja's skull open.
"I... I've killed someone..."
Looking at the slowly collapsing body, an unusual feeling welled up in Kaze's heart.
Just as he was slightly distracted, a figure quietly emerged from behind him and slashed down violently with a knife.
"Go to hell, you bastard!!"