Ambush

"Haah… finally done."

Sensing that the barrier of the Fourth Gate had finally lifted, Kaede breathed a sigh of relief. He lay back on the ground, panting slightly and no longer moving.

With the opening of the Fourth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates and his quadrupled speed, his combat power now rivaled Orochimaru's. And with the added advantage of his time-reversal ability, he would be even more difficult to deal with than Orochimaru!

"With time acceleration included, I'm basically twelve now… almost thirteen… Uchiha Itachi awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan at thirteen."

Kaede murmured to himself.

His physical age was ten, but with the effects of time acceleration, his actual age was closer to thirteen. Having Kage-level strength at this age, he could finally say he hadn't brought shame to the title of a transmigrator.

After resting for a while, Kaede left the camp alone and went to the rear. There, he conducted a brief test of the state unlocked by the Fourth Gate of the Eight Gates.

Just as he expected, with the Fourth Gate activated and moving at quadruple speed, he could indeed unleash the Morning Peacock technique. Being able to use this move meant he now had genuine Kage-level offensive capabilities.

A short while later.

Kaede returned to the camp and went to rest in his tent.

…

The next morning.

In the central command tent of the camp.

Two scouting squads Orochimaru had dispatched returned early in the morning to report their findings. One of the teams, led by Hyuga Setsuna and sent to the northwest, had discovered numerous traces of ninja movement in the forest.

"The northwest… They're planning a flanking assault from the side, huh…"

After a brief pause in thought, Orochimaru said, "Rest for 45 minutes. We'll move out after that."

"understood!"

Hyuga Setsuna nodded and withdrew with his squad.

After issuing the order, Orochimaru turned to Kaede, who had just walked in from outside. With a sly grin, he said, "How was your rest last night? You've been training hard in the camp lately, your strength must have improved again."

"Your instincts are as sharp as ever, Orochimaru-sensei."

Kaede replied calmly.

Orochimaru let out a raspy chuckle. "Then I'll be looking forward to your performance. There are quite a few in the advanced unit who still doubt your strength."

Kaede smiled lightly. "I won't let you down, sensei."

Forty-five minutes later—

A squad of four ninja was left behind to guard the camp. The rest of the forces, under Orochimaru's lead, moved northwest to follow the trail of the Hidden Stone ninja.

…

Two days later.

Orochimaru's Konoha advance unit arrived at a region of red, barren terrain.

"Three o'clock! Hidden Stone ninja spotted!"

Hyuga Setsuna, running at the front of the group with his Byakugan fully activated, called out loudly upon spotting signs of enemy movement.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly. "So they've noticed us and are trying to draw us into a more favorable terrain for them…"

Once the number of shinobi reaches a certain threshold, setting up an ambush becomes extremely difficult—almost impossible. Both sides usually have sensory-type ninja, and it's nearly impossible to hide traces when moving in such large groups.

Hyuga Setsuna asked in a low voice, "Orochimaru-sama, what are your orders?"

With a glint in his eyes, Orochimaru replied, "The terrain might give them a slight advantage, but only just barely… How many are there?"

"Approximately 80."

After a careful observation, Hyuga Setsuna gave his report.

A flash of cold light passed through Orochimaru's eyes. "So our numbers are about the same… Prepare for battle. It's time we showed them a thing or two. Kukuku…"

As Orochimaru's voice fell, the Konoha shinobi behind him drew their weapons, readying kunai and other gear for the impending fight.

…

Meanwhile

Beneath a massive hill on the barren red land, a group of Hidden Stone ninja, about several dozen strong, had assembled. At their head stood the elite jonin of Iwagakure: Akatsuchi.

"Akatsuchi-sama, the Konoha forces are approaching!"

"What's their number?"

"Roughly 80."

A sensory ninja reported gravely, "Their leader's chakra is dark and cold, just like in the intel, it must be one of the Sannin, Orochimaru!"

Akatsuchi showed no sign of fear upon hearing this. Instead, a sinister smile spread across his face. "Good… This time, Konoha's going to suffer."

With a wave of his hand.

Roughly seventy elite Hidden Stone ninja under his command immediately readied themselves for battle.

"They're here!"

"Seven o'clock!"

A sensory ninja, eyes shut tight, suddenly shouted. He had sensed something, and just as he spoke, a cold, sinister figure appeared at seven o'clock.

It was Orochimaru, who had flanked them from the side!

Without hesitation, and without any unnecessary movement, Orochimaru revealed himself the instant he was detected. He opened his mouth wide, and an overwhelming flood of snakes poured out.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hands: Formation of Ten Thousand Serpents!

"Watch out!"

"Earth Style! Earth Flow Rampart!"

The Hidden Stone ninja immediately reacted, one of them shouting as he performed a jutsu. With a rumble, an earthen wall rose up, blocking the wave of snakes unleashed by Orochimaru.

Swish! Swish! Swish!!

In the next moment, the rest of the Konoha forces surged in from the front. Weapons drawn, they hurled shuriken and launched Fire Style jutsu in a devastating opening barrage.

The Hidden Stone ninja responded just as quickly, unleashing their own techniques and charging forward. The two sides clashed, and the battlefield descended into chaos.

Clang! Clang!

Kaede, without activating the Eight Gates, entered a simple two-times-speed state. Blending into the crowd, he exchanged a few quick blows with an elite Hidden Stone Chunin. His eyes flickered subtly as he scanned the battlefield.

Iwagakure's troop composition was clearly weaker than Konoha's, especially with Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, on their side. The Iwa leader, likely a quasi-Kage level fighter, could only barely hold back Orochimaru with help from two jonin. But it was clear they wouldn't last long.

under such circumstances, why wouldn't they retreat?

Choosing direct confrontation instead… something was off.

"An ambush…?"

Kaede swung his white chakra blade to deflect another attack from the Chunin in front of him, while his eyes scanned the perimeter.

Sure enough—

In the next instant, the ground erupted with a thunderous roar. The earth split open from the center of the battlefield, dividing it.

Nearly thirty Hidden Stone ninja burst forth from the fissure, all wearing Iwagakure forehead protectors, and all clearly elite shinobi.

"An ambush?!"

"Damn it! What were the sensory ninja doing? How did no one sense this?!"

Seeing this, the Konoha ninja's expressions changed drastically.

Even Hyuga Setsuna's face darkened. His Byakugan had x-ray vision, and he had scanned the area beforehand, but he hadn't expected the enemy to use Earth Style to burrow deep underground, hiding far below his detection range!