Naruto: From Novice to Grave

Zhongji believed this was the best solution at the moment. He felt that the sacrificed comrades would not be without value, and that with his perception, there was still a chance to find a way to survive.

Konoha had somehow set a trap for them, but with the chaotic battle raging and their chakra fluctuating wildly, their senses were being disrupted, making it the perfect opportunity to deceive them.

Little did he know that a group of elusive old men were following behind him.

He had no idea that the dense search team he sensed was actually just a kid from Konoha putting on an act for him.

So when they turned back to try and rush into the forest, they were utterly dumbfounded to see a group of Konoha ninjas rushing out from inside.

Who are you? Where did you come from? Why is it that even though I see you all in front of me, my senses are completely blank?

Could it be that we've encountered a ghost?

Sarutobi Asuma didn't care about any of that. Seeing the enemy appear was like seeing credit beckoning to him, like seeing the Hokage position waiting for him. Seeing his annoying old man, he couldn't help but sigh to himself: Asuma has really grown up!

Then he found himself drifting further and further away from these things, with even the woman he admired, Kurenai Yuhi, standing in his way.

How could the Jonin leading the team, Sarutobi, let him act recklessly? It was one thing to be a little rebellious normally, but now they were going to fight against elite enemies, a time to risk their lives.

So he kept his eyes on Asma from the beginning, and when Asma charged out, he decisively grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him behind him.

The Jonin reacted extremely quickly. Just as this Sarutobi Jonin rushed to the front, two Uchiha with three tomoe, Yatsushiro and Inahime, also made their move.

[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique] x2

Fire Release: Great Flame Technique

Uchiha and Sarutobi unleashed their signature ninjutsu, spewing out two fireballs and a sea of ​​fire.

[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough] x2

Higashino Makoto and Gekko Unmi stood on either side, fanning the flames.

The five elemental ninjutsu have mutual restraint and enhancement relationships. For example, in a clash between ninjutsu of similar strength, fire ninjutsu restrains wind ninjutsu.

However, if it is not used in combat but rather in one direction, Wind Release can enhance the power of Fire Release.

The wind, fueled by the fire, amplified its power and swept directly towards Zhongji and his companions.

The highly skilled Chuji and another Mist Ninja reacted swiftly, raising their hands to perform a simple Water Ripple Technique to defend themselves.

However, the two Mist Ninjas who rushed to the front and didn't react quickly enough were unlucky. First, they were burned by the fire, and when they instinctively tried to retreat, they were swept into the sea of ​​fire by their teammates' Water Release techniques.

The experience of being torn apart by fire and water, a truly exhilarating sensation, resulted in someone dying instantly, their face completely disfigured.

After exchanging ninjutsu, the Konoha members quickly drew their weapons and rushed out, chasing after Chuji and his companion who were running back.

Higashino pointed at Nakayoshi and shouted, "Watch out for that Kirigakure guy with the red glasses. He's the leader of this team and a sensory ninja."

This is a big fish.

The Uchiha Eighth Hokage squad immediately rushed over, and the two sides quickly closed the distance with the chaotic battlefield to the east, allowing Konoha to form a pincer movement to strangle Kirigakure.

Higashino didn't blindly charge ahead. Instead, he, along with Hayate and Yugao, led by Gekko Unmi, maintained formation and charged forward.

His team has already done enough in this operation; now the safety of his comrades is the priority.

In this chaotic battle, Gekko Hayate was alright, but with Uzuki Yugao's strength, she could easily be taken down by a few strikes from an enemy expert who suddenly appeared beside her.

The Jonin of the Sarutobi clan also adopted the same formation, protecting their squad in front of them.

After assessing the situation, Nara Suzaku's Ino-Shika-Cho trio decisively rushed towards the distant battlefield to provide support.

Sarutobi Asuma: "..."

I wish I wasn't the Hokage's son.

----------

Chunji and his remaining companion were desperately trying to fend off the attacks of the Uchiha quartet. He was wearing red glasses and kept his head down as much as possible, but his teammate accidentally caught a glimpse of the red eyes of the Eighth Hokage during a clash of his ninja swords.

In a split second, the ninja turned around and swung his sword at Nakayoshi, as if possessed.

"Damn it!" Zhongji cursed under his breath. He knew perfectly well that he had fallen under the Uchiha's genjutsu. That's why people in the ninja world hated this clan that was favored by the heavens so much. Because when you fought them one-on-one, you might not even know how you died.

Damn Konoha, why can't they learn from Kirigakure and wipe out all these red-eyed bloodline ninjas? We even went after those handsome red-eyed effeminate men and women, are the Uchiha clan more handsome than those effeminate men and women?

At this moment, all Zhongji wanted was to survive, so after parrying a slash from his companion, he kicked the companion towards his opponent and then accelerated back to the group.

Although it's not safe there either, at least you can find people to help share the pressure.

We Hidden Mist Ninja are like this: Comrades? What comrades? A good comrade is someone who can take a hit for you!

The Uchiha quartet, eager to catch fish, were too lazy to deal with the pitiful Mist Ninja who was under genjutsu, and simply left him to their teammates behind them. Gekko Kumomi easily ended the suffering of the opponent with a single slash.

Large-scale ninja battles often only involve a couple of exchanges of ninjutsu before the two sides come into contact. Once they are mixed together, it becomes a brutal confrontation of weapons and physical techniques.

White blades go in, red blades come out; kunai and ninja swords either slash necks or pierce hearts, limbs fly everywhere and blood spurts wildly.

Because there's simply no time to form hand seals and unleash ninjutsu at that moment. Even if you do manage to unleash it, it might kill your own people. Reality isn't a game; friendly forces don't have immunity to damage from your own side.

Although the Mist Ninja were all elites, they were at a significant numerical disadvantage, and their manpower kept falling. However, neither side, blinded by rage, cared about such losses.

As Zhongji charged into the battlefield, he used a massive, spreading mist concealment technique to temporarily hide himself, shouting to his remaining comrades, "Don't linger! Split up and break through to either side!"

The disorganized remnants, now devoid of any independent thought, mechanically ran off in opposite directions upon hearing the sound.

Zhongji led a few people north, while the rest fled south, but it was no use, because it was an encirclement, with Konoha reinforcements on both the north and south sides.

From the moment they were discovered by Konoha, their fate was sealed.

The Hidden Mist Technique spread too far and couldn't block much of the view. The two Konoha factions joined together and split up to pursue each other in opposite directions.

Higashino Makoto's squad and Shisui's squad chose to head north, while Asuma's squad followed the Ino-Shika-Cho trio south.

Soon, both sides joined forces with reinforcements from the north and south, turning the large encirclement into two smaller ones, but serving the same purpose.

Zhongji finally admitted that their situation was hopeless, the mission had been a complete failure, and they would all die here.

Since that's the case, then we can only drag a few more bastards from Konoha down with us.

With red eyes, he began to abandon defense and adopt a life-for-life fighting style. The other Mist Ninja did the same, after all, this was the final fate of ninjas, and no one could escape dying in battle.

However, Konoha, with its advantage, wouldn't be foolish enough to needlessly increase casualties.

They began to divide the battlefield, employing a hit-and-run harassment tactic, constantly bleeding their desperate opponents dry.

In the end, Zhongji found that he had no teammates left and was all alone.

He mustered his strength to parry the senbon needles aimed at his vital points, letting the rest of his body be riddled with thorns, and swung his sword at the little devil carrying the senbon needles, trying to take one last person with him before he died.

But a flash of green light appeared before his eyes, and he was kicked in the face by a Leaf Whirlwind attack, flying backward.

That familiar outfit? Could it be the opponent the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist encountered in the intelligence report?

Why are there such weirdos in Konoha?

But he could no longer think; the pain in his heart indicated that his life as a ninja had come to an end.

Mechanically turning his head, he saw a little brat, who seemed to be the one who had previously revealed his identity as a sensory ninja.

He used his last senses in his life. The person in front of him was clearly standing there, but some kind of ninjutsu had pierced his heart, yet in his senses, there was nothing there.

"So it was you!"

He understood everything before he died!