38 - The True Suna Strategy Revealed

---Third POV---

"Damn, fuck it! Die"

A Suna ninja, seeing Pakura and his comrades slain, glared furiously with bloodshot eyes. His voice broke as he added, "She was worth a hundred of you!"

Did he love her? Ryouma thought as he easily parried the attack with Lostvayne. Clearly, that rage provided no strength to the Suna ninja.

He formed a single-handed seal, channeling the Chidori Current through Lostvayne, directly shocking his opponent's body.

With his enemy paralyzed, he put more force into his blade, deflecting the opponent's weapon before delivering a swift decapitation.

"Don't make it seem like I'm some kind of villain, alright?" Ryouma muttered as he flicked the blood off his sword.

The battle here was over. This marked the conclusion of the clash between Pakura and Ryouma.

Ultimately, the victory belonged to Ryouma.

---

This outcome was witnessed by countless eyes on the battlefield. Across the field, both sides registered what had just occurred.

Even now, many Suna ninjas found it hard to believe. A Konoha brat, at most 12 years old, had killed one of their elite jonin within just a few exchanges.

This was Pakura, after all—a potential candidate for the Fourth Kazekage after the Third Kazekage went missing.

Is Konoha's new generation always this unreasonable?

Even Konoha's side was shocked. Until now, the name "Aotsuki Ryouma" had always been mentioned alongside Minato.

The general understanding was that he was Konoha's most promising talent—exceptionally skilled in ninjutsu and the inventor of a powerful Wind Release jutsu.

His future was considered bright.

But now, it seemed his future wasn't just bright; it was dazzling. He had easily killed an elite jonin with a bloodline limit and emerged unscathed.

How terrifying would he be in a few more years? Would Konoha have another "God of Shinobi" on their hands?

---

Leaving aside the astonishment of ordinary ninjas, Minato observed the battle from another part of the field. When he saw Ryouma take down Pakura, he was thrilled.

A slight smile crossed his face—pride in his village's rising star, mixed with the tactical relief of eliminating a major threat.

Just as I expected from him. He might surpass us all someday, he thought.

At this rate, Konoha might not suffer significant losses while dealing a severe blow to Suna.

Chiyo, locked in an intense fight with Minato, also noticed Pakura's defeat. Her puppets clicked and clattered, responding to her agitation.

"That boy... he's not normal," Chiyo said bitterly, her hands maintaining precise control of her puppets.

"Impressed? He's the pride of Konoha's new generation," Minato replied, reading her concern.

"Pride? He's a monster in child's form. What have you been feeding your young?"

"The Will of Fire burns differently in each generation."

She had wanted to rush to Pakura's aid when Ryouma trapped her with Earth Release, but Minato quickly saw through her intentions.

Using his Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, Minato unleashed a barrage of kunai that forced Chiyo and her puppets to focus solely on defense. She had no choice but to activate her Three Jewels Suction Crushing for protection.

But maintaining this technique required her full attention, leaving her unable to assist Pakura.

Pakura's death was a bitter regret for her, but this was no time to mourn. Her brother was doing his best to hold off Jiraiya, and now she was firmly held back by Minato.

And that Ryouma—not only was he powerful, but his combat intelligence was remarkable. Even after defeating Pakura, he was completely unscathed.

Moreover, Chiyo sensed that Ryouma's chakra reserves hadn't diminished at all. This meant his chakra was still abundant.

Ridiculous!

Being young and talented was one thing, but this level of chakra?

The intelligence reports did suggest that this brat had high chakra reserves, but this was too much. Even now, that dark purple fireball he conjured still hovered in the air!

Could he actually be a Senju or Uzumaki child raised by mistake?

At this point, Suna's forces had no one left who could go head-to-head with him.

Now we can only hope Rasa and the others can succeed, Chiyo thought.

---

After defeating Pakura, Ryouma prepared to assist Minato.

From his perspective, capturing or killing Chiyo would break Suna's morale. Without their backbone, the Suna ninjas would lose their will to fight.

Even if the Suna ninjas chose to resist, with himself and Minato freed up, they could dominate the battlefield.

Suna's defeat was inevitable.

And yet… Something felt off.

When something seemed too easy, it usually was...

Raising his hand, he used Lostvayne to deflect several incoming kunai. The projectiles fell harmlessly to the ground. He formed his left hand into a gun-like gesture, aiming at the Suna ninjas who had just launched the ambush.

"Is he... mocking me?" one ambusher whispered from his hiding place.

That Suna ninja, puzzled by Ryouma's hand gesture, froze in confusion. Seeing the boy who had killed Pakura standing still without acting for several seconds, he assumed Ryouma might have exhausted his chakra.

"Let's go! Even if we can't beat him, we need to report this to—" the first ambusher started.

"Look at him just standing there! The great prodigy can't even move!" his partner interrupted.

"I don't like it. Something's wrong. Pakura-sama wouldn't have—"

"She is dead because we weren't there to help! Now run!"

Realizing the ambusher had failed to kill Ryouma, the Suna ninjas quickly turned to flee.

Though the first ambusher wished to avenge Pakura, he knew his limited abilities were only enough for tossing a few projectiles. In an actual fight, he doubted he could last even a single move against the brat.

In the context of war, Ryouma had never been the merciful type. If someone dared to attack him, they had to be prepared to face death.

At his fingertip, chakra began to condense and rotate. Unlike the traditional Rasengan that required concentration and both hands to form, this miniaturized version required minimal effort. The tiny sphere, no larger than a marble, spun with incredible density and speed, emitting a high-pitched whine as he maintained his finger-gun stance.

"Flying Finger Gun: Rasengan."

Whoosh—

The Rasengan shot out like a bullet, piercing the heart of the fleeing Suna ninja, who had already gained some distance.

The ninja died instantly. His body, propelled by inertia, continued forward until it collided with a tree and finally came to a stop.

"Anyone else feeling brave today?" Ryouma called to the remaining hidden attackers.

Seeing the gruesome end of their comrade, the surrounding Suna ninjas, who had been emboldened by the belief that Ryouma might have drained his chakra after killing Pakura, finally restrained themselves.

A tense silence enveloped the area around Ryouma. But his mind remained unsettled.

That strange feeling of unease was still there.

This battlefield configuration is wrong. Suna wouldn't commit to a major offensive without their strongest assets, he thought, mentally tallying Suna's displayed strength against their known capabilities.

He closed his eyes briefly, channeling chakra to enhance his visual perception. When he reopened them, his vision extended far beyond normal human limits, allowing him to survey the entire battlefield at once.

Chiyo was still locked in combat with Minato, while Jiraiya was being held off by Ebizō. Pakura had just been dealt with.

At this point, Suna's main pillars of strength seemed to consist only of Rasa and the One-Tail jinchūriki, Bunpuku.

From the beginning, Ryouma hadn't seen either of them among the Suna forces. He hadn't been concerned, assuming Suna wouldn't send everyone to the battlefield, leaving their village defenseless.

Surely, Rasa was left behind to maintain order in the village.

There was no way Suna would risk everything by sending both Rasa and the jinchūriki to attack Konoha's rear lines, right?

... Surely not. Suna wouldn't be that reckless.

Besides, Konoha's rear camp was under Tsunade's command. Even if Rasa and Bunpuku attacked, she would at least be able to hold them off until Minato and the others returned to defend.

Ryouma decided to suppress his doubts for now. His priority was to assist Minato in taking down Chiyo. Once that was done, they could rely on Minato's Flying Thunder God to quickly respond to any emergencies at the rear.

Just as he prepared to move, he suddenly heard something faint.

A vibration. So faint that only someone with his enhanced senses could detect it.

That was...

The ground trembled ever so slightly beneath his feet, like the distant passing of a massive beast.

In one fluid motion, he leapt to the top of the nearest tree, looking toward Konoha's frontline camp. He oriented himself toward the medical corps and command center, where Rin, Kakashi, and Obito were assigned.

In the distance, a massive mushroom cloud was rising into the sky. The faint sound he had just heard was an explosion!

The Konoha frontline camp was over 100 kilometers away from this battlefield. For the explosion to be audible from such a distance, the sheer magnitude of its power was unimaginable.

Cold dread settled in his stomach, hardening instantly into murderous intent. His expression darkened as he sheathed Lostvayne.

His breathing grew deep and steady, and a chilling killing intent radiated from his body.

"Suna..."