CHAPTER 56

The Ninja Leader Enters

Minato Namikaze stood rigid, his fists clenched in barely contained fury. But despite the boiling anger in his heart, he couldn't refute Chi Yu's words.

Because Chi Yu was right.

In a situation like this—where chaos reigned and death lingered in the air—being gravely injured often meant one thing: dying alone, forgotten amidst the battlefield carnage.

And in the end, Daigo had willingly chosen to die.

Minato's heart ached with sorrow—but it was the circumstances of Daigo's death that stoked his rage. If Daigo had fallen to an enemy's blade, Minato would have mourned him as a comrade slain in honorable combat. But this? This was different.

Daigo had died by the explosive tags Chi Yu had given him.

It was Chi Yu who had sent him to his death.

"Chi Yu," Minato growled, his voice strained and raw, "are you really that cold-blooded? If you're in danger one day… wouldn't you hope a comrade would risk everything to save you?"

Chi Yu didn't flinch. He scoffed, lips curling in a sardonic smirk.

"Cold-blooded?" he repeated mockingly. "Call it whatever you want. If I fall in battle, then I was too weak. I don't need your pity… or your rescue.

But here's what you should care about, Namikaze—every second you waste whining over corpses is a second someone else dies. Keep stalling like this, and those deaths are on your head."

Before Minato could reply, Chi Yu vanished in a blur, the Body Flicker Technique dispersing his figure into a smattering of smoke and wind.

Minato stood in silence for a moment, fury melting into regret. He had let emotion cloud his judgment in the middle of battle—and now wasn't the time for personal squabbles.

So he did what all shinobi must do.

He channeled his grief into action, flashing across the battlefield with lethal precision, kunai and Flying Thunder God Technique cleaving through enemy ranks. Commander or grunt—it didn't matter. Every enemy fell the same.

Chi Yu was no different.

After Minato and Chi Yu began hunting down enemy command posts, the higher-ranking enemy ninjas quickly went to ground, issuing orders from the shadows. But even with the leaders in hiding, the killing didn't slow.

The true tide-turners were Orochimaru and Jiraiya, both drenched in blood and chakra, their legendary skills carving through the opposition like reapers in a field of wheat. Orochimaru's serpents twisted and strangled; Jiraiya's summons and Rasengan cleared swathes of foes.

Meanwhile, the giant summoned beasts—Gamabunta and Manda—no longer rampaged unchecked. The Kumo (Cloud) and Yu no Kuni (Land of Hot Water) ninjas had responded by summoning their own creatures. The battlefield rumbled as titanic monsters clashed, thunder and flame roaring through the haze.

Gamabunta and Manda fought with savage brilliance, but they were outnumbered, beset on all sides by lesser summons and ninja techniques. Even they could no longer dominate the field.

Chi Yu's gaze snapped to a figure cutting through the chaos.

A man, weathered with age, yet sharp-eyed and radiating authority—roughly Hiruzen Sarutobi's age. The man wore a Hot Water Village forehead protector, but his strength clearly set him apart from the rest of his countrymen.

Chi Yu snagged a nearby Hot Water ninja by the collar and dragged him close.

"That man—who is he? You have three seconds to answer."

The terrified shinobi blurted out, "H-He's the chief! The village leader!"

Chi Yu didn't let him finish. The ninja's life ended in a flash of steel.

His eyes narrowed. So the leader finally stepped in.

Chi Yu's mission wasn't to conquer the Hot Water Village. Konoha didn't have the manpower or strategic interest for full occupation. No—their goal was more nuanced:

Break the alliance between Yu no Kuni and Kumogakure.

And to do that, they had to make the Hot Water Village regret ever letting Cloud shinobi use their territory as a base of operations.

The plan he'd worked out with Orochimaru was simple, brutal, and elegant: Make the cost of cooperation too high. Remind minor nations that when the giants go to war, standing too close is a good way to get crushed.

Chi Yu summoned a serpent and sent it slithering through the battlefield to Orochimaru, bearing the message: The leader of the Hot Water Village is here.

Elsewhere, the village leader fought with fury.

He hadn't planned for this. Letting the Cloud forces station troops in his village had seemed the safest choice. Kumogakure had promised protection—security in exchange for passage and resources. And perhaps... survival.

But now?

Cloud ninjas were using Hot Water land as cannon fodder and cover, treating his people like expendables. His ninjas and villagers died in droves, and the Cloud shinobi didn't lift a finger to shield them.

His conscience snapped.

Though he'd kept his forces neutral until now—hoping to avoid Konoha's wrath—he could no longer stand by.

Even if neutrality was already lost.

He unleashed jutsu after jutsu, venting his rage upon Konoha's troops. In his mind, they were as responsible as the Cloud for the death and destruction raining down on his home.

The serpent returned to Chi Yu, flicking its tongue.

"Orochimaru-sama says he cannot disengage. He requests that Lord Chi Yu keep watch on the Hot Water leader."

Chi Yu's eyes locked onto his target.

Strong—but not overwhelming. In Konoha, this man would rank as a solid elite jonin, maybe on par with someone like Asuma Sarutobi or Kurenai in their prime. He had battlefield awareness and decent chakra control.

It was enough to make Chi Yu's blood stir.

He clasped his hands into seals, drawing chakra into his lungs.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!"

Four flaming dragons erupted from Chi Yu's mouth, corkscrewing toward the leader with intense heat.

The Hot Water leader reacted fast—years of combat evident in his swift response.

"Water Style: Water Wall!" A thick sheet of water rose to block two of the fire dragons, steam hissing from the collision.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

From the surrounding water, he summoned a fierce serpent of liquid, which coiled through the air and met the other two dragons mid-flight—extinguishing the assault with a thunderous splash.

The steam cleared.

The two warriors locked eyes.

Chi Yu smirked.

The Hot Water leader's face twisted with fury. He had seen Chi Yu cut down Hot Water shinobi by the dozen—perhaps even more than the Cloud. Even if Chi Yu had spared his village on purpose, the devastation wrought couldn't be forgiven.

Their clash was inevitable.

And now the true battle began.

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