Naruto: I have an attribute panel

Chapter 470 The New Discovery of the Demon

Swamp country.

A team of twenty-one people was advancing rapidly; it was the assault team led by Taiyi.

They chose a hidden mountain path, bypassing the main battlefield, and penetrated deep into the Swamp Country from the flank.

Ishikawa led the way; he was indeed familiar with the terrain and could always find the most hidden and safest path.

The initial journey was indeed smooth, with almost no encounters with any Ghost Legion puppet soldiers.

But as they ventured deeper, the malevolent aura in the air grew stronger, and a purplish-black mist began to permeate the forest.

"Stop." Taiyi suddenly raised his hand.

The group froze instantly, and all the ninjas tacitly dispersed, hiding in the shadows of the trees and rocks.

A hundred meters ahead, a squad of ghostly soldiers was slowly advancing. There were about thirty of them, their movements stiff but their steps synchronized, and eerie green flames flickering in their eye sockets.

"Should we go around it or clear it out?" Ishikawa asked in a low voice.

"Clean it up," Taiyi judged. "There aren't many; we can't leave any traces."

He formed hand seals, his movements so fast they were almost invisible.

Wind Release: Vacuum Waves.

Dozens of invisible wind blades shot out silently, precisely slicing through the necks of each ghost soldier. Their heads rolled to the ground, their bodies stiffened for a moment, and then turned into piles of rubble.

The entire process was conducted without making a sound.

The Jonin from Iwagakure exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.

Such precise control of wind techniques and such efficient methods of clearing the field—this is the power of the "White Reaper."

As the group passed by the rubble, Taiyi casually tossed down a piece of platinum-gold flame. The intense heat, capable of melting gold and iron, cleared away the trembling rubble in just a few breaths, completely severing their chances of recovery.

The group continued forward. The deeper they went, the more Ghost Legion units they encountered.

Sometimes they were groups of clay puppets, sometimes they were floating vengeful spirits, and a few times they encountered rogue ninjas controlled by Kui Liang. Those people had fanatical eyes and were surrounded by purplish-black mist, and they did not look like normal humans at all.

Taiyi was always at the forefront.

His fighting style is simple yet deadly: Wind Release for cutting, Fire Release for burning, and occasionally Lightning Release for paralysis. He never lingers in battle, striking and retreating immediately.

The Jonin from Iwagakure were responsible for clearing out any remaining enemies and protecting the flanks, working together seamlessly.

Two hours later, the group was approaching the border of the Land of Demons.

The scene here was even more horrifying. The earth had turned purplish-black, the vegetation was completely dead, and the air was filled with a mixture of putrid and clayy odors.

In the distance, the enormous silhouette of the demon could be vaguely seen, standing like a mountain in the night.

"We're still ten kilometers from our target." Ishikawa glanced at the map in his hand and reported to Taiichi, "But the road ahead will be even more difficult; there are no shortcuts left."

Taiyi closed his eyes and remained silent, his senses spreading out like a tidal wave. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and looked in the direction obscured by the hillside ahead: "Five hundred meters away, there is a large ghost army, numbering over three hundred, moving in our direction."

"Have we been discovered?" a Jonin from Iwagakure asked nervously.

"Not necessarily," Taiichi shook his head. "It could be a regular patrol. But in any case, we can't avoid it."

He quickly made his deployment: "Ishikawa, you take ten men and flank from the left to draw their attention. I'll lead the remaining ten men and charge in from the right to try and bypass them. If we can't get around them, we'll force our way through. We'll meet up in the valley where the demons are."

"Understood!" Ishikawa didn't hesitate and immediately selected ten ninjas to sneak to the left.

Taiyi then led the other ten people to move to the right. Their movements were extremely light, almost blending into the night.

However, less than a minute after the two teams separated, a sudden change occurred.

"roar!!!"

A deafening roar came from ahead, containing a violent mental shock. Several Iwagakure Jonin were caught off guard, grunted, and almost exposed their hiding place.

Immediately afterwards, the earth began to shake.

It wasn't the vibration from one or two puppets walking, but the roar of thousands upon thousands of footsteps stomping on the ground at the same time!

Taiyi's expression darkened; they had been exposed too quickly.

His chakra perception was released and then withdrawn in an instant, and he saw that Ishikawa and the others who had attracted the target were now surrounded by layers of earthen golems. In the land around them, a large number of earthen golems were constantly regenerating.

Taiyi's expression changed completely. He unleashed his full chakra perception, focusing his investigation on the underground.

Beneath the entire earth, countless rock and soil golems lay densely packed, resembling real terracotta figures. They were motionless, like inanimate objects, yet awaiting their chance to be revived.

"Damn it, this is a trap!"

Before the words were even finished, eerie green flames lit up from all directions. These were not torches, but the soul fire from the eye sockets of the ghost soldiers. Thousands of these soul fires, like stars in a ghostly realm, slowly rose from the ground, illuminating the entire area in a ghastly green light.

Rock golems and vengeful spirits emerged from the forest, behind rocks, and underground, surging towards the assault team like a tide.

Even more terrifying, a new type of unit has appeared: a five-meter-tall rock giant that moves slowly but has incredible defensive capabilities.

"Kui Ryou knew we were coming all along. Our intelligence was leaked?" a Jonin from Iwagakure hissed.

Taiyi had no time to consider whether it was an intelligence leak or if the other party had anticipated it. He rapidly formed hand seals, frantically mobilizing his chakra within his body.

Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song!

Nine platinum-gold fire dragons spewed from Tai's mouth, each as thick as a water bucket, baring their fangs and claws as they pounced on the surging monster.

Wherever the fire dragon passed, the earthen golems melted, the resentful spirits evaporated, and the surface of the rock giants was burned red and cracked.

But there were too many monsters.

The fire dragon cleared a space, and more monsters immediately filled it.

"Form ranks! Defend!" Taiyi shouted.

The ten Jonin from Iwagakure immediately formed a circle back to back and unleashed a series of Earth Release ninjutsu.

Earthen walls, earthen prisons, and rock pillars rose from the ground, temporarily blocking the monster's first wave of attack.

Unfortunately—the rock giant smashed the rock wall with his fist, and the earth golems swarmed up, which was no match for this level of earth magic.

Intense fighting and ninjutsu explosions came from the left, and Ishikawa's squad was subjected to even more intense attacks.

"Lord Taiichi, this can't go on!" shouted a Jonin from Iwagakure, whose arm, injured by a vengeful spirit, was rapidly festering.

Taiyi gritted his teeth and looked around the entire arena.

He can use large-scale Sage Mode to clear the field, but that would consume a lot of chakra and could potentially harm his teammates.

More importantly, it was clear that the demons had made prior arrangements. Once the assault team was separated from them, they simply could not hold out for long within the ghost legion.

"Move towards Ishikawa's squad!" he decided. "The two squads will merge and concentrate our forces to break through!"

The ten men began to move, fighting as they retreated.

Taiichi charged ahead, using Fire Release to clear the way, while the Jonin from Iwagakure took charge of the flanks and rear.

It took them a full ten minutes to walk a distance of three hundred meters.

When the two teams met, only five of Ishikawa's original ten-man team were still able to stand, and the rest were all injured.

Ishikawa had a deep, bone-revealing wound on his face, but he seemed oblivious to the pain, his eyes still fierce: "Lord Taiichi! The demon is only three miles ahead! Charge!"

Taiyi looked ahead. Through the gaps in the monster's body, he could see the enormous body of the demon faintly visible in the night, its five dragon heads slowly turning, its eerie green eyes looking in this direction.

There was a mocking look in his eyes.

"It's been waiting for us all along," Taiyi suddenly realized. "It knew we would come, so it set this trap. It's toying with us."

"We have to charge!" Ishikawa roared. "We're already this far! Even if we die, we'll bite a piece of flesh off it!"

The Iwagakure ninja roared in fury. Their chakra erupted once more. Earth Release, Fire Release, Lightning Release—all sorts of ninjutsu rained down on the monster horde without restraint.

Taiichi took a deep breath. He knew the plan had failed.

In their current state, even if they rushed to the demon's face, they wouldn't have the strength to fight. Moreover, there might be Akatsuki members lying in ambush in the shadows.

but----

He looked at the Iwagakure ninja around him. The words Huang Tu had spoken when they set out echoed in his ears: "You must bring them back—back alive."

We can't let them die here in vain.

"Everyone!" Taiichi's voice boomed over the battlefield's clamor, "Move towards me! Prepare to retreat!"

"What?!" Ishikawa turned his head sharply. "Lord Taiichi! We can still fight!"

"This is an order!" Taiyi spoke with unusual firmness. "The demon is right there; it won't run away. But our people, once they die, will never return! Now, immediately, move closer to me!"

The Iwagakure ninja hesitated. They looked at Ishikawa, who looked at Taichi, then at his heavily wounded comrades, and finally gritted his teeth: "Listen to Lord Taichi! Move together!"

The fifteen people quickly formed a tighter formation. Taiyi stood at the very front, his hands forming a complex hand seal.

Immortal Technique·Fire Release·White Flame Barrier!

Platinum flames surged from Taiyi's body, not attacking forward, but spreading outwards to form a huge flame shield that enveloped everyone.

Monsters crashing into the shield were instantly ignited, but more monsters followed one after another, and the flames on the shield visibly diminished and thinned.

"Go!" Taiyi shouted, maintaining the protective barrier as he began to move backward.

Retreat is more difficult than attack.

The monsters seemed to have received orders, surging forward frantically, trying to completely overwhelm the squad.

Gaps began to appear in the flames that made up the shield.

Earth Escape·Earth Current City Wall!

Ishikawa and several other ninjas who could still use ninjutsu simultaneously formed hand seals, constructing another layer of rock wall inside the flame shield behind them.

The double defense temporarily hindered the pursuing enemies from behind, allowing Taiyi to focus on dealing with the puppets in front of him.

Sage Technique: Fire Release - Extinguishing Flames.

Platinum-gold flames surged forth, unleashing a raging inferno.

Sage Art: Wind Release - Great Breakthrough.

The explosive hurricane carried the sea of ​​fire, the wind fueling the flames and the fire taking advantage of the wind's power, making the already extremely fast-moving flames even faster. In the blink of an eye, all the puppets on the retreat route were wiped out.

"Take this opportunity and stick close to me."

As Taiichi spoke, he took the lead and charged straight out, with Ishikawa and the remaining Iwa ninja following closely behind, not daring to hesitate for a moment.

No sooner had they left their spot than earthen golems rose from the ground, and if they hesitated even for a moment, they would be entangled by these golems again.

A kilometer away, the demon with five heads and ten eyes was locked on Taiyi's back. Seeing that Taiyi had broken through the flawless trap, the demon let out a deafening roar in resentment.

"roar--!!"

Taiyi and his party retreated and fought, fought and hid, hid and retreated, and finally returned to the front camp on the morning of the third day.

Seeing the disheveled state of the group, Huang Tu knew without asking that the plan had failed. He quickly ordered the medical ninjas to take the wounded to be treated, and personally led Taiyi to the camp to inquire about the specific situation.

"A trap? The demon actually knows how to set a trap?"

After listening to Taiyi's account, Huangtu was filled with disbelief, and his understanding of Kuiliang underwent a radical change.

"Kuiliang is also a sentient being; we cannot treat it as a mindless beast," Taiyi appropriately reminded.

The plan failed, and the radicals in the camp quieted down. It wasn't that Taiyi was incompetent; they simply couldn't keep up with his pace.

Over the next period of time, the atmosphere at the western canyon defense line of the Land of Demons underwent a subtle change.

Taiyi's arrival was like a shot in the arm for the exhausted garrison.

He not only repelled the Ghost Legion's fierce attacks on the front lines with his absolute strength, but also greatly alleviated the medical pressure on the defensive line with his superb medical ninjutsu.

Every morning, Taiyi would patrol the wounded soldiers' camp.

Pale green chakra light flowed in his palm, and wherever it passed, deep wounds that revealed bone healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and festering areas eroded by vengeful spirits gradually regained life.

Those seriously wounded soldiers who would normally need weeks or even months to recover can often return to the battlefield in just a few days under Taiyi's treatment.

"Tai-ichi, my legs—I can really move them!"

A young Iwagakure chunin excitedly tried to stand up. Three days earlier, during a night raid, he had his shinbone broken by a rock giant's powerful punch. According to normal medical procedures, he might never be able to fight as nimbly as before again.

Taiyi withdrew his palm, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

Treating dozens of seriously injured people in succession was a considerable burden even for him.

"You need to rest for two more days and avoid high-intensity combat for the time being."

"Yes! Thank you, Taiichi!" The chunin's eyes reddened as he bowed solemnly.

Scenes like this happen every day.

Soldiers from the Land of Demons, ninjas from Iwagakure, and even some wounded civilians all received treatment from Taichi.

The mortality rate on the defensive line dropped significantly, the recovery speed of the wounded increased dramatically, and morale also rebounded.

With a relatively stable rear, the ninjas were able to devote more energy to intelligence gathering and tactical analysis. Huang Tu organized several elite reconnaissance teams, which, under Taiyi's cover, repeatedly ventured deep into the occupied territory and brought back valuable information.

On the evening of the third day, the main camp tent was brightly lit.

Huang Tu, Taiyi, and several core Jonin from Iwagakure sat around a huge topographical map, which was densely marked with the distribution and movement patterns of the Ghost Legion, as well as the activity areas of what appeared to be the true form of the Wraith.

"This is the intelligence the reconnaissance team has compiled over the past three days." Ishikawa pointed to several red dots on the map. The wounds on his face had scabbed over, but his expression was more composed than ever. "We've discovered a pattern: the Ghost Legion's area of ​​operation has clear boundaries."

He moved his finger, drawing an irregular ellipse on the map: "With the area where the demons are active as the center, the density of the ghost legion decreases radially. The outermost patrols will not go beyond this boundary line."