War Clouds

"Boom! Boom! Boom~~"

In a secluded clearing in the dense forest not far outside Konoha’s main camp, Orochimaru and Tsunade were putting Gu Sheng and the other two through their daily training. Bursts of fire and howling wind continuously erupted.

"Lord Sheng’s improvement is impressive!"

Orochimaru watched Gu Sheng rapidly form hand seals and unleash the B-rank Fire Release technique, Great Dragon Fire Technique. The high-temperature flames condensed into the shape of a giant dragon and surged toward the stream ahead, its power astonishing. The entire stream was instantly steamed dry.

"That brat isn’t as good as you make him sound. My Nawaki is still more impressive!"

Tsunade pursed her lips unhappily. She seemed determined to argue with Gu Sheng. Whenever anyone praised him, she immediately contradicted them. This training had nothing to do with her in the first place, yet she had insisted on coming over.

"Big Sister! Teacher Orochimaru!"

After Gu Sheng and the other two finished their day’s ninjutsu training, Nawaki immediately ran toward Tsunade. The Chakra in their bodies had been depleted considerably, and continuing would not produce any results.

"Teacher Orochimaru!"

Gu Sheng walked up to Orochimaru and respectfully bowed. Although Orochimaru was somewhat cold, he was definitely a good teacher. Since Nawaki had not died, Orochimaru still retained some human warmth. He genuinely appreciated Gu Sheng and had taught him quite a lot.

"Lord Sheng’s improvement is very fast! Unfortunately, I’m not very skilled in Fire Release, and that fellow Jiraiya is still stationed in Rain…"

Orochimaru smiled gently and nodded at Gu Sheng. He was very satisfied with this disciple. Although Nawaki was his favorite disciple, his Nindo was closer to Tsunade’s, so he was not a very suitable successor.

Orochimaru was a ninjutsu fanatic, and his greatest strength lay in his unpredictable array of techniques. Gu Sheng possessed a Sharingan that had already developed to the Two-Tomoe stage, along with an extremely strong ability to learn. This made Orochimaru very satisfied.

"Xin-chan is also very impressive. Her control over Fire Release is even better than Lord Sheng’s…"

Orochimaru smiled and evaluated Chu Xin. Like Gu Sheng, she had absorbed a large amount of Vermillion Fruit Wine back then, which had made the Fire nature in her body exceptionally active. As a result, the power of her Fire Release was also outrageously strong.

Although Hyuga was a great clan in the Shinobi World, it had never been known for nature-based ninjutsu. Thus, Chu Xin had not gotten the chance to develop her talents until she came under Orochimaru’s command.

Just as Gu Sheng had said, her Phoenix Sage Fire Technique and Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson were extremely fierce, with such high accuracy that they were difficult to evade.

"Nawaki, you still need to work harder!"

Orochimaru’s evaluation made Nawaki deflate immediately. But there was nothing he could do. Looking at the two people beside him, who could independently release B-rank ninjutsu and whose strength had firmly reached the Jonin level, he could not say anything else. He could only nod silently.

Tsunade, standing nearby, did not know how to comfort her little brother either. Setting aside Gu Sheng, that monster whose overall strength had reached her level, even the seemingly delicate Hyuga Xin was a bug-level figure.

Hyuga’s Byakugan had probably been learned from that detestable brat, Uchiha Sheng. Combined with the unique taijutsu formed from the Hyuga clan’s Soft Fist, her powerful physique completely overwhelmed that of ordinary Senju. She also possessed exceptional Fire Release ninjutsu ability. She was an extremely well-rounded and troublesome Jonin.

Nawaki was a genius too, possessing strength close to the Jonin level despite his young age. Even when fighting Rasa, he would not be at a disadvantage. But compared with Gu Sheng and Chu Xin, he was completely outclassed!

"Lord Orochimaru! Lady Tsunade!"

Just as Orochimaru was commenting on the three people’s performance and going over the details with them, a Chunin messenger hurried over.

"What is it?"

A trace of displeasure flashed through Orochimaru’s eyes. He hated being disturbed while teaching his disciples.

"White Fang, Lord White Fang is looking for—"

Before the ninja could finish speaking, a series of wailing alarm sounds suddenly rang out from Konoha’s main camp ahead.

"Are the Sunagakure Shinobi preparing for a major battle?"

Orochimaru noticed the rumbling in the distance. Konoha had no plans to provoke a fight for the time being, so this could only mean that the Sunagakure Shinobi had launched a surprise attack against them. The situation seemed quite serious.

"Lord Sheng, Tsunade and I will head back first. Take Nawaki and Xin-chan back with you. This battle may be dangerous, so protect yourselves."

As Orochimaru spoke, he and Tsunade leaped away together. The speed of Kage Level experts was still beyond what Gu Sheng and the others could keep up with.

"Another decisive battle?"

Gu Sheng glanced at the battlefield ahead, where fighting seemed to have already begun, then hurried over with Nawaki and Xin’er.

The battle looked extremely fierce. The shouts of slaughter had already reached them, making it seem very much like a final decisive battle.

However, Gu Sheng, who knew the plot well, knew that the Second Shinobi World War would last five or six years! A major battle like this might become the norm in the future.

The war had come far more suddenly than expected. The Sunagakure Shinobi had fallen behind in their clashes with Konoha’s scouts on the front line, and every aspect was unfavorable to them. Yet under such circumstances, they had actually launched the attack first.

This attack caught Konoha off guard. Fortunately, the sentry ninjas responsible for keeping watch had never relaxed their vigilance. After a brief panic, they quickly organized an effective counterattack, and the great battle with the Sunagakure Shinobi erupted under these circumstances.

Gu Sheng and the other two hurried forward. Not long after passing through Konoha’s main camp, they entered the battlefield. At a glance, ninjas were fighting one another across the mountains and plains. Shouts of slaughter and screams rang out without end, and ninjas died almost every second.

The scene on the battlefield was exceptionally bloody. Fresh blood splattered everywhere, while severed limbs flew through the air. Flames, gale-force winds, thunder, and sandstorms raged across the field. Some powerful ninjutsu could even blast people directly into heaps of mangled flesh!

Their experiences during this period had long since accustomed the three of them to the battlefield, and they could now cooperate seamlessly. After observing for a short while, they quickly cut into the fighting.

The first enemies Gu Sheng’s group encountered were a squad of Genin. These Genin carried quite a few Kunai and Shuriken. Compared with ninjutsu, which took time to activate, ordinary Genin relied more heavily on ninja tools and taijutsu.

It was easy to understand when one thought about it. The requirement for graduating from the ninja academy was merely mastering the Three Body Techniques, and even the proficiency requirement was only average. Their general level of ninjutsu could be imagined.

For civilian ninjas, learning nature-based ninjutsu was another major hurdle. In addition, graduation requirements had been considerably relaxed during the war. Many so-called ninjas were really just warriors who knew how to use Chakra!

Gu Sheng felt no pity for these people. He charged ahead and killed them directly with the Shuriken in his hand, without even needing to draw his Tachi.

Compared with the scout ninjas who served to gather intelligence, most of the ninjas on this battlefield performed terribly. Many of them were recruits experiencing the battlefield for the first time.

Although the first wave of enemies had been easy to eliminate, as the battle continued, the three of them encountered more and more enemies. After one squad was killed, another appeared, seemingly endless.

Fortunately, the enemies they encountered were only Chunins, Genin, and a few warriors and soldiers. Since they had not gone deep into the enemy army, they did not encounter much danger.