The forest atop the mountain.
The cold winter had passed.
New buds had just begun to sprout, leaving the area still mostly bare, save for a few patches of green.
Hidden behind the trees, the Konoha ninja held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
Someone gulped, suppressing the fear in their heart.
Fifty ninja against three hundred enemies—such a scenario was beyond their wildest nightmares.
Only the thought of the White Fang among their ranks eased their fears slightly.
Hidden in the shadows of the trees, Kin watched as black dots in the distance rapidly approached.
Their speed was so great that only streaks of black could be seen.
"Boom!!"
A deafening explosion rang out, followed by a continuous barrage of detonations.
The Cloud ninja were the first to fall victim to the explosive tags, marking the beginning of the battle.
The White Fang drew the short sword from his back and charged forward.
The surviving Cloud ninja had no time to tend to their wounded comrades, as the enemy from Konoha was already upon them.
The White Fang transformed into a white crescent, poised to cut down a Cloud ninja, when a giant windmill shuriken suddenly flew toward him.
"Clang!" The shuriken was deflected with a single slash from the White Fang, landing in the hands of a man who looked utterly relaxed.
"Didn't expect to face such a dangerous man right off the bat," the lazy-eyed man muttered, his expression turning serious as he hefted the shuriken.
"Konoha's White Fang."
This was no ordinary opponent.
"Toroi," the White Fang replied, recognizing the man.
"I'm honored that the legendary White Fang knows my name," Toroi said with a smirk, pulling a scroll from his waist.
With a "Poof!", four massive windmill shuriken appeared on his back.
"Though I'm no match for the famed White Fang, I can at least stall you for a while."
Toroi hurled the shuriken from his back and hand toward the White Fang.
The five shuriken flew at him independently, weaving through the air.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The White Fang deflected the shuriken while scanning the battlefield.
Though the explosive tags had taken out many Cloud ninja, they were still vastly outnumbered.
Leaping from a branch, he slipped through the gaps between the shuriken—only for them to reverse course and chase after him.
Yet the White Fang paid them no mind, his focus shifting to the Cloud ninja overwhelming the Konoha forces.
His pupils contracted sharply.
An invisible ripple spread outward.
"Conqueror's Haki."
A powerful genjutsu formed from immense chakra, killing intent, willpower, and yin release.
It could instantly render weaker opponents unconscious—and even had a built-in targeting function.
"Crafted by Uchiha Kin. Guaranteed quality."
A Cloud ninja mid-hand seal suddenly went limp, his eyes glazing over as he fell from the tree branch.
Konoha ninja seized the opportunity, ending him with a volley of shuriken.
Another Cloud ninja, poised to strike down a Konoha shinobi, collapsed unconscious, only to be finished off by a desperate kunai thrust to the throat.
A third, locked in combat, suddenly froze—his body consumed by a Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
Standing conspicuously on a branch, Aburame Shibi faced no opponents, as if ignored by everyone.
Now he understood why his father had sent him to such a dangerous battlefield.
His kikaichū buzzed around him, aiding his allies.
In an instant, swathes of Cloud ninja collapsed unconscious, leaving only a handful of elite chūnin and jōnin standing.
Shibi's gaze turned to the White Fang, still fending off the five windmill shuriken.
"So this is the White Fang's power?"
"Slice!"
A white flash of steel shattered all five shuriken.
The White Fang's eyes locked onto Toroi.
The battle wasn't over yet.
From what he knew, the title of "Toroi" was passed down through generations in Kumogakure—and this one bore the name of the strongest Toroi yet.
"Tch. Fighting the White Fang really is no joke," Toroi sighed, though his eyes sharpened.
"But you shouldn't have broken my shuriken."
"Swish!"
The shattered fragments suddenly launched themselves at the White Fang again—far harder to evade than the intact weapons.
Yet in the next moment, the White Fang stood before Toroi.
Toroi's pupils shrank.
He hadn't even seen the man move.
The blade flashed toward his throat—only for his body to dissolve into lightning.
"Magnet Release: Gathering Technique!"
Toroi's real body appeared behind the White Fang, his hands completing a seal.
In an instant, every kunai and shuriken on the battlefield hurtled toward the White Fang.
His body was pierced—then dissolved into smoke.
A shadow clone.
The White Fang reappeared behind Toroi.
"Konoha's Secret Taijutsu."
"One Thousand Years of Death!"
Toroi's body once again turned to lightning.
Hidden in the shadows, the real Toroi broke out in a cold sweat.
"That technique is just vile."
His face twisted in agony—even his lightning clones transmitted memories.
The phantom pain lingered.
Forcing himself to focus, he surveyed the battlefield.
In mere moments, all the genin and most of the chūnin had collapsed unconscious.
Only elite chūnin and jōnin remained—reducing their numbers from five hundred to a mere dozen.
If these weren't elites, the fight would already be over.
"What a pain, White Fang," Toroi muttered.
Now, his only hope lay with his other teammate.
He wasn't the only one leading this squad.
Alone, he stood no chance—but together, they might hold the White Fang off for a while.
A white figure materialized before him.
Toroi managed a strained smile.
He might not last long enough for backup to arrive.
Meanwhile, Toroi's companion glared at the boy hanging upside-down from a distant branch.
"Not running anymore?"
His eyes darted around—no other Cloud ninja were in sight.
He hadn't planned to chase this brat, but the kid's strength was absurd.
In a single encounter, he'd taken out several elite chūnin and nearly killed a jōnin.
Only his timely intervention had saved their side from losing a key fighter.
Yet the boy had fled the moment he appeared.
"Run?" Kin scoffed.
"You've got it wrong."
"I just didn't want to reveal too much."
The Cloud ninja's eyes narrowed.
"You're one of Kumo's elite jōnin, right?"
On par with Konoha's Sannin in their prime.
"So what if I am?" the Cloud ninja snapped.
"Then let me see what a Cloud elite can do."
Darkness unfurled behind Kin.
...
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(End of Chapter)