Chapter 37 (Patreon)

Kushina was not completely unfamiliar with the Rasengan.

Combined with Roy’s clear and easily understood explanation, she quickly mastered the rotation and compression required for the first two stages of the technique.

As for the final stage—maintaining the completed sphere without allowing its power to burst outward—she certainly could not practise that directly against her own body.

If the Rasengan truly detonated, both Naruto and a certain other person would suffer an unbearable loss.

“Roy-kun… you really are… quite skilled at teaching…”

Unfortunately, standing behind Kushina, Roy could not see the alluring look that had entered her eyes.

Even now, he still found the composure to joke.

“Only one skill? I’m clearly demonstrating two.”

As he spoke, Roy used his spiritual power to draw several tissues from the nearby table into his hand.

Kushina had not fed little Naruto for more than a day. With the intensity of their recent training, some of the milk she had been holding inevitably leaked out.

Had Roy not feared being branded a pervert, he truly would have struggled to let what remained on his hands go to waste.

Kumogakure remained quiet throughout the night.

The bounty hunters, however, cared little whether it was day or night.

From their perspective, a sudden attack carried little risk. If it failed, they could simply withdraw. If it succeeded, the reward would be enormous.

Kumogakure’s shinobi understood that night raids were only truly effective when the enemy was unprepared.

After fighting Konoha for so long, both sides had already established strict precautions against surprise attacks.

Furthermore, with the bounty hunters constantly harassing Konoha’s forces, the Kumogakure army was perfectly content to remain idle and allow those outsiders to exhaust their enemy.

In any case, Kushina’s first night on the front lines passed rather comfortably.

The following morning, Shikaku originally intended to inform the commanders of the various units that Kushina had arrived.

However, when she entered the command tent disguised with the Transformation Technique, he immediately understood her intentions.

Without showing the slightest surprise, Shikaku introduced her as an ANBU operative dispatched by the village for a special mission.

Uchiha Shisui and Hyūga Hizashi, both highly skilled dōjutsu users, also chose not to expose her identity.

They already knew that Kushina and several ANBU had arrived on the front lines the previous night. The traces of the Transformation Technique were perfectly visible to their eyes, making it obvious who stood before them.

Since Kushina had chosen to conceal herself, she must have had a reason.

Roy and Kushina’s plan was simple.

As long as Kumogakure remained unaware of her arrival, they might be able to catch the enemy off guard and achieve an unexpected victory.

Admittedly, the idea had only occurred to them after reaching the camp.

Had they planned everything properly from the beginning, Kushina would have concealed her identity before arriving at the front lines the previous night.

Fortunately, while Shikaku had intended to inform the command staff of Kushina’s presence that morning, the patrol squad that escorted her from the rear had not yet been permitted to leave its resting quarters.

That effectively prevented the information from spreading.

Otherwise, attempting to conceal Kushina’s identity now would have been meaningless.

Roy was a typical armchair strategist.

His plans always sounded reasonable when explained, but he frequently overlooked details during their actual execution.

Still, it was not entirely his fault.

Whether before arriving in this world or during his time in the Soul Society, he had never participated in a war of this scale.

He could only offer ideas whenever they occurred to him.

Kushina trusted him enough to continue listening. Anyone else would probably have grown tired of his constant suggestions long ago.

The morning meeting contained little that was new.

Shikaku merely instructed the supply, patrol, reconnaissance, and defensive units to continue fulfilling their respective duties.

The orders were not significantly different from those issued on any other day.

The conflict with Kumogakure had become a war of attrition.

For the moment, victory depended on which side’s supply lines and reserves collapsed first.

As for Kushina, Shikaku had not yet decided how best to deploy her.

He intended to allow her some freedom of movement and observe the results.

Once Kumogakure discovered her presence, they could reconsider their strategy.

After receiving an identification token proving she belonged to Konoha’s forces, Kushina left the command tent and rejoined the four ANBU waiting outside.

“Lady Kushina, what are your orders?” Flame asked.

“Let’s inspect the forward defensive line first.”

Flame instinctively wanted to object.

However, after exchanging glances with the other members of his squad, he swallowed the words that had risen to his lips.

Regardless of everything else, Kushina was a jōnin and the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.

She also had four ANBU accompanying her as protection.

As long as she did not charge directly into Kumogakure’s position, merely inspecting Konoha’s front line should not be particularly dangerous.

The foremost defensive positions of Konoha and Kumogakure were separated by less than two kilometres.

Konoha was fighting within the Land of Fire and could rely upon the fortified defensive line it had constructed.

Although Kumogakure was fighting far from home, its shinobi had also altered the surrounding terrain to suit their needs.

Whenever necessary, they could retreat and attempt to lure Konoha’s forces away from the safety of their fortifications.

As a result, neither side dared advance too deeply into territory controlled by the other.

The Konoha shinobi stationed along the forward line had expected the day to proceed as usual.

Both armies would exchange insults across the distance, throw several ninjutsu and volleys of ninja tools at one another, and attempt to provoke the opposing side into leaving its defensive position.

Because of that expectation, they did not react until a terrifying Fire Release technique was already about to strike the defensive wall.

The Hyūga shinobi assigned to observe the enemy had been recovering his chakra only moments earlier.

He immediately activated his Byakugan and focused upon the person responsible for the attack.

“Only one person?”

Hyūga Tokuma cried out in disbelief.

More than ten Konoha shinobi had been forced to combine their techniques merely to block the attack.

Yet such overwhelming power had been produced by a single enemy.

When had Kumogakure acquired a shinobi like that?

None of them had ever seen him before.

“Tokuma, are you certain?”

Although no one present wished to question the Byakugan, his claim was simply too difficult to believe.

Had the attacker been the Raikage or one of Kumogakure’s jinchūriki, it might have made sense.

However, the person standing in the distance was clearly neither of them.

“Be careful! He’s forming hand seals again!”

The moment Tokuma’s warning sounded, an immensely powerful Lightning Release technique crossed nearly a kilometre and surged toward their position.

Its destructive force was no weaker than the Fire Release attack that had preceded it.

“What is happening? Did the Raikage launch that?”

“No! It’s still the same man!”

Cold sweat formed across Tokuma’s forehead.

The sudden appearance of this mysterious shinobi had genuinely frightened him.

He had already used two chakra natures—Fire Release and Lightning Release—and both attacks possessed power approaching the Kage class.

Could an ordinary shinobi truly accomplish such a thing?

Although Tokuma did not want to admit it, even the current Third Hokage might struggle to unleash ninjutsu of such destructive scale.

The expressions of the surrounding Konoha shinobi immediately changed.

“You must be joking. All of that came from one enemy?”

Konoha was the target of the assault, but the Kumogakure shinobi watching from the opposite defensive line were equally astonished.

At first, when they noticed another bounty hunter approaching Konoha’s position, they had simply watched with amusement.

Then the man opened with a devastating Fire Release technique.

Immediately afterward, he unleashed Lightning Release whose destructive power seemed comparable to that of the Raikage.

The Kumogakure shinobi could no longer remain relaxed.

Both armies immediately sent reports to their respective commanders.

Who would believe that such a terrifying shinobi was merely a bounty hunter?

He was far more likely to be an operative from one of the great hidden villages who had disguised his identity and come to provoke further conflict.

“As expected of Konoha’s shinobi. You possess some skill.”

The distant attacker’s voice carried across the battlefield.

“Then how will you handle this?”

Powerful chakra fluctuations erupted around him once again.

“This is bad!”

Tokuma’s Byakugan clearly perceived two different chakra natures merging together.

“He’s combining Wind Release and Fire Release!”

“Everyone below chūnin rank, fall back!” the jōnin commanding the defensive line immediately shouted. “The rest of you, prepare Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall and Water Release: Water Formation Wall! We’ll block it together!”

The Konoha shinobi hurriedly began forming hand seals.

Before they could release their techniques, however, a clear incantation sounded from behind them.

“Ohh lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, you who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium! Hadō #31: Shakkahō.”

“Wall of silence, divide the heavens. Halt all that approaches and cast it beyond reach—Bakudō #81: Dankū.”