Once the Hokage's speech concluded, the mobilization moved into high gear. Within minutes, the formations were finalized and the march began.
Just as Tetsumaru had guessed, the reinforcement unit was led by the Jōnin Jiraiya. Their objective: the front lines in the Land of Rain.
Aside from the over-strength battalion of fresh graduates, there was one standard battalion composed of over a hundred Genin past the age of thirty-five. These were the "bottom-tier" leftovers—shinobi with a "power level of less than five," the truest form of cannon fodder.
The unit also included several Chunin drafted from various administrative departments. These weren't battle-hardened veterans; they were "paperwork shinobi" who had earned their rank through seniority. While technically stronger than a Genin, there was a high probability they were less capable than the fresh graduates. After all, most hadn't seen a mission in years; they were undeniably rusty.
Including the logistics and baggage train that joined them outside the gates, the total force suddenly ballooned to over six hundred people.
The new Genin felt a false sense of security in their numbers, their chatter becoming increasingly lively. The veterans, however, looked grim. Jiraiya himself looked like he was about to burst into tears. He had too many "white-belts," a massive supply train, and a column that stretched over two kilometers. To make matters worse, there were almost no experienced hands to help him manage the chaos.
The Chunin were under even more pressure, each responsible for organizing over thirty Genin. There wasn't a single spare soul left. Consequently, for the scouting teams, Jiraiya had to appoint sensory-capable Genin as temporary squad leaders.
With no other choice, he concentrated everyone with a talent for detection into nine specialized scouting squads: three from the Inuzuka, four from the Aburame, and two others with minor sensory gifts, bolstered by a few Genin with decent combat stats.
Only after Jiraiya deployed these squads to the front and flanks of the main column did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. With scouts acting as a perimeter guard, it would be difficult for an attacker to bypass them and strike the main body. As long as there was a warning, Jiraiya would have the chance to intercept.
It wasn't a foolproof defense, but it lowered the risk to an acceptable level—though it shifted the brunt of that risk onto the twenty-seven Genin in the scouting squads.
Of the five hundred-plus people present, the elites with the most potential were all in these teams. A few elites protecting the mediocre majority—this was Jiraiya's philosophy. Had it been Orochimaru, he likely would have used the mediocre as a screen to preserve the elites. Neither way was strictly "right"; in an ambush, the "correct" choice was whichever one left more combat power intact.
After six days of marching, they neared the main camp. The signs of battle along the road became more frequent and more intense. The atmosphere of war was stifling.
Jiraiya and the Chunin grew visibly tense. The Genin stopped talking, focusing entirely on the road ahead.
Tetsumaru walked on the right flank, maintaining a distance of roughly one hundred and fifty meters from the main column. Because the convoy moved slowly, he only needed to release a small swarm of Kikaichu to form a semi-circular array a hundred meters ahead of him for early warning.
For longer ranges, he relied on his unique method: a visual scan using his Eye of Truth. However, having never been baptized by real combat, Tetsumaru was still feeling his way through the process.
Suddenly, the Snail-type Eye of Truth triggered a "Line of Sight" warning. Tetsumaru's pulse quickened. He adjusted the snail to infrared vision and immediately spotted four heat signatures lurking one hundred and fifty meters away.
To avoid alerting the enemy, he didn't stop. He directed his Kikaichu swarm to surge forward while simultaneously fishing a flare from his pouch.
Tetsumaru fired the flare first, then launched the Flight-Locusts attached to his right arm toward three of the heat sources. These three were hidden behind bushes and in the canopy, lacking thick, solid cover.
Once thrown, the Flight-Locusts unfolded their wings and accelerated. Powerful chakra drove their wings into a high-frequency vibration, the hum blending with the sound of their high-speed flight into a shrill, piercing scream.
In an instant, the three locusts hit peak velocity, each carving a distinct arc through the air to bypass solid tree trunks. Guided by the Kikaichu's markers, they slammed into the three heat sources.
They were indeed shinobi. Two hidden in the bushes were hit directly in the torso. Upon entry, the Flight-Locusts fractured and tumbled. The high-speed air jet trailing behind the insects followed the wound, creating horrific cavities inside the targets' bodies. Finally, the massive amount of chakra stored in the locusts' tails detonated.
The destructive power of the Flight-Locusts was beyond expectations. Between the impact, the hydrostatic shock, and the explosion, the targets' bodies were nearly torn in half. They were dead before they hit the ground.
The third ninja was behind a tree. The locust's trajectory hadn't quite cleared the trunk, so it punched through the edge of the wood first. The penetration sapped its speed and power, giving the ninja enough time to flinch; the locust merely pinned itself into his calf. However, because the subsequent explosion occurred on the surface, the blast shattered the man's leg bone and left a fist-sized crater in his meat.
He was a veteran. The shattered leg didn't stop his counterattack. Without a sound, he produced a stack of shuriken and unleashed a rapid-fire volley.
The fourth ninja remained unmoved behind a massive boulder, but in Tetsumaru's chakra vision, the man's energy was beginning to boil.
The Kikaichu had already marked the fourth target. Tetsumaru launched two more Flight-Locusts at the boulder while beginning a series of hand seals to target the third ninja. His Kikaichu had already surrounded the man.
"Secret Technique: Insect Smoke!"
The Kikaichu swarmed the third ninja's head, targeting his eyes and ears to blind and deafen him. The intense pain of the insects gnawing on his eardrums and corneas drew a ragged scream from his throat.
But the secret technique was too slow. The enemy had already thrown fourteen shuriken. They whistled through the air, aimed not just at Tetsumaru, but at his entire squad.
It was only then that Tetsumaru's two teammates snapped out of their shock. In their frantic attempt to dodge, one of them was clipped by a blade.
The sight of his teammate's blood triggered a surge of primal fear and rage in Tetsumaru. He doubled his chakra output, commanding the Kikaichu to crawl into the enemy's mouth, nose, and eyes, tearing at the soft tissue within.
"A Konoha insect-user!" the fourth enemy shouted, recognizing the technique.
He used the boulder as cover to dodge the locusts, wove a set of seals, and leaped onto the top of the rock, his cheeks puffing out.
Tetsumaru's snail-eye caught the movement. His pupils shrank. "Everyone, GET DOWN!"
"Wind Style: Thousand Shearing Winds!"
A relentless wave of wind blades shredded the air. The three fresh Genin were completely out of their depth. One tried to weave a counter-seal in a panic; the injured one dove behind a tree.
Tetsumaru instinctively abandoned his secret technique. He drew a massive amount of chakra from his Grand Circulation, wrapping it around his body as he dropped into a huddle.
Under the onslaught of the wind blades, the forest was reduced to flying splinters and falling timber.
Underneath Tetsumaru's clothes, he was covered in Armor Beetles—insects with shells of extreme hardness. He curled into a ball, protecting his face and the expensive snail on his head.
In the storm, Tetsumaru was struck by at least seven blades. The impact sent him tumbling, but the beetles, gorged on his chakra, had increased their durability tenfold. They held firm against the shearing wind without a single scratch.
The boy who had stayed to weave seals—whose name Tetsumaru couldn't even remember—was torn apart by seven or eight blades. Blood sprayed meters from a severed artery in his neck. He was gone instantly.
The tree providing cover for the other teammate was sliced through; it collapsed on top of him, leaving his fate unknown.
Seconds later, the jutsu ended.
Tetsumaru sprang up from the debris only to find the enemy already upon him, thrusting a kunai toward his vitals. Tetsumaru ignored the blade, swinging a fist at the man's head while his other hand dove into his pouch for a kunai of his own.
The enemy's blade failed to pierce the beetles, but Tetsumaru's punch was easily dodged. The man's Taijutsu was elite—he was clearly a top-tier Chunin.
Tetsumaru counter-attacked with his kunai. The blades met in a flurry of sparks, clashing several times within a single breath. The enemy didn't just parry; he launched a relentless sequence of strikes that landed all over Tetsumaru's body.
Clang! Hit to the abdomen. No penetration. Clink! Hit to the thigh. No penetration. Clang! Hit to the wrist. No penetration. Shriek—! A blade skimmed his neck. No penetration. Thud! Hit to the armpit. No penetration.
A dozen strikes, all aimed at vitals or weak points, and not a single one broke the beetle armor.
The masked enemy's eyes were wide with shock. Tetsumaru's defensive coverage and durability were far beyond his imagination; except for the face, the boy was a literal tank.
The enemy shifted his focus entirely to Tetsumaru's head—the most flexible and reactive part of the body. It wasn't an easy target.
As the CQC intensified, Tetsumaru realized the enemy couldn't break his guard. He began constructing a Chakra Rune internally. Because the beetles on his body were already radiating massive amounts of chakra and he wasn't weaving hand seals, the enemy noticed nothing.
Tetsumaru wasn't yet proficient at "seal-less" rune construction. Between the combat interference and his own nerves, he was stabbed another seven or eight times before he finally completed the circuit.
With the rune active, Tetsumaru lashed out with both hands, using his kunai to force the enemy's attention. The man parried easily, his mind racing for a way to land a killing blow on the boy's face. Frustration began to set in, causing him to miss the subtle surge of energy.
"Wind Style: Dust Storm!"
Blinded by a sudden cloud of grit, the enemy fumbled. He desperately cycled through Substitution and Body Flicker to create distance.
He succeeded in backing away, but the rapid-fire use of multiple jutsus left his chakra in a state of chaos, plunging him into a brief "Silence" window.
A ninja who cannot mold chakra is a dead man. Tetsumaru launched two Flight-Locusts before charging in with his kunai.
The distance was too short for the locusts to hit peak speed. The enemy blocked them with a pair of kunai, but the subsequent explosions blew the weapons from his hands and shredded his palms.
Ignoring the pain, the man drew a tantō to block Tetsumaru's strike. The force of Tetsumaru's full-body charge sent the man stumbling back against a fallen trunk.
That was exactly what Tetsumaru wanted. He dropped his kunai and aimed his palm directly at the veteran Chunin's face. The man's eyes widened in terror as he saw Tetsumaru weave a single seal.
A one-seal jutsu? It can't be that—
"Wind Style: Troublesome Wind • Type 13."
A cloud of neurotoxic crystal dust slammed into the enemy's face. He was paralyzed instantly, his body stiffening mid-thrust. He toppled over like a statue.
Ten seconds later, his heart stopped. In less than thirty seconds, he lost consciousness. A few minutes later, he was dead.