Chapter 35 — The Sunagakure Offensive
The calm lasted only three days.
At dawn on the fourth day, a sharp alarm cry pierced the morning mist, and the entire Konoha encampment instantly shifted into combat readiness.
"The main force of Sunagakure is approaching!"
A breathless scout sprinted into camp, his voice laced with urgency.
"Chiyo is leading the charge—they've broken through the first defensive perimeter!"
Rin quickly dressed in full gear and burst out of her tent, nearly colliding with Hyūga Yumeko, who was hurrying out at the same moment.
Upon the high platform at the center of camp, Orochimaru's figure appeared, his long black hair billowing in the morning wind.
"First and Third Units, engage the enemy head-on. Second Unit, move to flank from the side. Medical Division, prepare to receive the wounded."
His golden eyes then fell on Rin. "Rin, you're with me."
Rin swiftly followed Orochimaru, and the two shot toward the front lines.
Along the way, injured shinobi were being carried off the battlefield one after another, and the stench of blood thickened the air.
"Bunpuku has yet to appear," Orochimaru said, his voice low. "If the Jinchūriki is on the battlefield, there's no reason he wouldn't be deployed. Chiyo is the bait. The real threat is the tailed beast."
Rin nodded grimly, her thoughts echoing Orochimaru's. She had been worrying about the presence of Shukaku from the beginning. That creature was a walking disaster.
Then Orochimaru looked back at her.
"Rin, from this moment forward, I want you to fight without restraint. Hold nothing back."
She blinked in surprise. Was he truly placing this much faith in her? Believing she could shift the tide of a war? Her full effort might actually change the outcome?
Together with Orochimaru, she surged out from the encampment.
Orochimaru immediately confronted Chiyo, who had already summoned her Ten Puppets of Monzaemon. Rin, meanwhile, set her sights on the puppet masters accompanying Chiyo.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind Release: Scythe Weasel!"
The wind-based ninjutsu of the Sand shinobi formed terrifying slicing gales in the forest, toppling entire swathes of trees. The Konoha shinobi were forced to form defensive formations to withstand the onslaught.
Rin's eyes swept across the battlefield and spotted Kakashi engaging three puppet users on the flank—one of whom was Kyōtarō, whom they had encountered previously.
Without hesitation, Rin's figure flickered—Gutsuei Shunpo activated. She vanished from her original spot like mist in the wind.
A Suna-nin charging forward suddenly stumbled mid-run, clutching his throat. He staggered forward a few more steps before collapsing to the ground, crimson blood pooling beneath him, never to rise again.
In battle, the greatest weapon is not power—but speed.
At that moment, Rin had reached the pinnacle of speed. She weaved through the ranks of Suna-nin like a phantom. There was no need to lay intricate traps or place markers—once she locked onto a target, it meant certain death.
It was in this very moment—slaughtering enemies like wheat before a scythe—that Rin finally understood why Namikaze Minato had become a legend with his "Flying Thunder God Technique," earning the title "Yellow Flash", and forcing the enemy villages to issue standing orders: "If encountered, abandon the mission immediately without punishment."
Now, she too was beginning to write her own legend with Gutsuei Shunpo.
Before long, some among the enemy began to notice the bizarre number of casualties on the field—and the ghostly flicker that danced through their formation.
Rin hurled a kunai in mid-stride, striking down a Suna-nin aiming a sneak attack with pinpoint precision to the throat. Her feet never stopped moving. The flash of her blade bloomed like blood-colored petals within the enemy ranks. In the blink of an eye, seven more Suna-nin had fallen.
"That kunoichi! Eliminate her first!"
The Suna jōnin finally identified her as a significant threat. Five jōnin lunged toward her simultaneously, their Wind Release techniques forming vacuum blades that sealed off every possible retreat.
Rin's lips curved into a slight smile—and she allowed herself to be swallowed into the storm of Wind Release.
"Did we get her?"
"Wait—watch out!"
Shlick—
The jōnin closest to Rin suddenly froze in place.
A glint of cold light flashed like lightning tearing through the sky.
The man trembled slightly—then a thin red line opened across his throat.
Blood arced into the air, still suspended in mid-flight as his body slowly collapsed.
And Rin? She had vanished once again.
So fast, not even death could keep up.
"What the hell is she?!"
"Deploy the Machine Light Shield!"
Just as Rin was about to press her advantage and strike down another jōnin who couldn't react in time, a chakra shield suddenly blocked her blade.
Rin looked up—and saw Chiyo.
At some point, she had broken through the front lines. Ten of her puppets swirled around her like living beings.
"You arrogant little girl," Chiyo sneered coldly, her fingers twitching as she directed the puppets toward Rin.
Yet inwardly, she couldn't help but marvel: How does fate continue to favor Konohagakure so endlessly? How can one village produce so many geniuses?
Three puppets launched toward Rin at once, their joints ejecting poison-tipped blades that gleamed with lethal light.
Rin darted back at high speed—but just then, a white blur shot in front of her.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
Kakashi's dog-headed earthen wall rose just in time, halting the puppets' assault. Blood stained the edge of his black mask, and his sharp eyes locked onto Chiyo.
"Old hag," he said coldly, "your opponent is me."
The moment Chiyo saw him clearly, her expression twisted in rage. Her trembling hand pointed at Kakashi's silver hair.
"Silver hair? You're the White Fang's son?!"
Her voice cracked under the weight of hatred.
"Bunpuku! Crush them all for me!!"
Her son and daughter-in-law had both perished at the hands of Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang. How could she not loathe that bloodline?
From the distance came a heavy sigh.
Then—the earth began to tremble violently.
A wave of panic surged through the Suna ranks.
"Retreat! Shukaku is coming out!"
Rin turned and looked back—only to see the hunched figure of Monk Bunpuku had somehow appeared in the very center of the battlefield.
He collapsed to his knees in anguish, and dark red Tailed Beast chakra began to rise from his body.
"Damn it!" Kakashi gritted his teeth. "Suna actually sent their Jinchūriki to the battlefield!"
Before the words had even faded, Bunpuku's body rapidly expanded into the colossal form of Shukaku, the One-Tail.
Sand billowed into the sky.
Shukaku's bloodshot eyes gleamed with madness as it unleashed a deafening roar.
"Hahahaha! I'm finally free, you worms! Die! All of you, die!!"
"Summoning Technique: Array of Ten Thousand Serpents!!"
From the far end of the battlefield, Orochimaru's summoning array ignited. Dozens of enormous serpents burst forth from the ground. The largest among them, Manda, roared upon arrival.
"Damn you, Orochimaru! What kind of opponent have you summoned me to face this time?!"
Orochimaru stood atop Manda's head.
"What's wrong, Manda? Are you afraid of Shukaku?"
Manda, of course, refused to admit it.
"Afraid? Who's afraid of that overgrown raccoon?! No! But this time, I demand 100 live human sacrifices in return—no, make that 200!"
Orochimaru agreed without hesitation.
"There are plenty of Suna-nin on the battlefield. Eat as many as you like."
The massive summon beast immediately tore toward Shukaku, seizing its attention.
Shukaku opened its maw wide.
"Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet!"
Manda ducked its massive head, easily avoiding the blast. The cunning Orochimaru directed Manda to charge toward the Suna forces instead—precisely what Manda preferred.
With one snap of its jaws, it devoured several Suna-nin who couldn't escape in time. Its serpentine body crushed even more beneath its weight.
Shukaku, however, made no distinction between friend and foe.
To him, all humans were detestable.
Feigning rage, he launched Drilling Air Bullets one after another at Manda—but more often than not, they "accidentally" struck clusters of Suna-nin instead.
In mere moments, the casualties caused by Shukaku surpassed even those caused by Manda.
Chiyo watched in horror, her eyes bloodshot.
She tried to shout for a retreat—but there was no need.
The moment Shukaku appeared, the Suna-nin had already scattered and fled in terror.
The clash of two titanic beasts created a shockwave that tore through the battlefield like a hurricane. Rin had to leap aside to avoid the blast. She spotted Orochimaru atop Manda's head, rapidly forming hand seals, preparing some kind of binding technique.
Orochimaru was likely attempting to seal Shukaku in place.
Rin understood immediately—and launched herself at Chiyo with renewed fury. She unleashed every weapon, every technique, every ounce of power she had. If Orochimaru was going to seal Shukaku, then Chiyo had to be pinned down.
Rin would make sure of it.
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