I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 89 The Great Escape of the Sand Village Ninja! (5 chapters, 15,000 words, please subscribe!)

Separated by the scorching barrier formed by "Scorching Escape - Over-Steam Kill".

The Konoha ninja were unable to advance further.

Considering the astonishing strength that the Sand Village ninjas had just displayed.

Given the strength of the Kikyo Castle garrison, it would be difficult to confront them head-on.

Instead of splitting up their forces or taking a detour, the temporary commander on the battlefield signaled several ninjas skilled in water-style ninjutsu to come forward and use water-style techniques to reduce the heat barrier created by "Scorching Release: Over-Steam Kill".

However, the brief time it took to use the Water Release ninjutsu was enough for Chiyo and the others to retreat a short distance.

above the sky.

While dodging the sharp ninja tools thrown by the puppeteers below, Nara Rinka carefully observed the retreat route of the Sunagakure puppet troops.

The barrier created by "Scorching Release: Over-Steam Kill" is enough to hinder the march of ground ninjas.

But what does this have to do with Nara Rinka, the "flying unit"?

After the battle just now.

Nara Rinka has confirmed that Sunagakure's puppet troops have virtually no effective countermeasures against mobile and agile "flying units" like him.

In that case, why not take this opportunity to kick a man when he's down?

Nara Rinka wasn't after the secret techniques of Sunagakure.

The poverty of Sunagakure is well-known throughout the ninja world.

Their village didn't have any high-level secret techniques passed down that were worth paying attention to.

What Nara Rinka is concerned about is whether he can take this opportunity to raise his ninja level if he performs well in this emergency siege battle!

According to Tsunade, she has already planned to incorporate Nara Rinka into a certain ninja team.

Participation in the Third Shinobi World War was now inevitable.

The problem is that Nara Rinka is currently only a "genin".

In war, genin are the cannon fodder soldiers who have the least say.

When Nara Rinka really got involved in the Third Shinobi World War.

Tsunade and her family are far away.

A local official is more powerful than a distant one.

Nara Rinka didn't want to be ordered around by some unknown Chunin or Jonin in the days to come.

Raising your ninja level can effectively prevent such minor troubles from occurring.

But if the ninja's level is high enough...

Nara Rinka might also be considered a "Jonin" who commands and shouts at other lower-ranking ninjas.

"The only problem is that it requires me to reveal some of my strength."

"However, through this battle, I have already demonstrated a great deal of my personal strength, so... [Shadow Clone]!"

Another clone emerged from the shadow of Nara Rinka.

The clone used the [Shadow Transformation Technique] to summon a [Shadow Creature], which then rapidly returned to Kikyo Castle.

Meanwhile, Nara Rinka's true form closely followed the puppet troops of Sunagakure, constantly monitoring their movement from the air.

"Sister, that brat from the Nara clan seems to have created a shadow clone."

Within the puppet army, Ebizo kept a close eye on the movements in the sky, and immediately reported any suspicious activity.

"He must be reporting our route to the Konoha ninja behind us."

"We have no way to deal with him for now! Let's ignore him!"

Although Chiyo was old, her speed was not much slower than that of the young ninja next to her.

"We just need to intercept the main force of Konoha's pursuit; he can't do much on his own..."

During the conversation, the puppet troops of Sunagakure quickly rushed into the dense forest outside Kikyo Castle.

The Konoha ninjas, who were lagging behind, were about to catch up with the remaining troops.

But at that moment...

"Scorching Release: Overheating and Killing!"

It was Yekura who made the move again.

Using her special "Scorch Release" bloodline limit ability, Yekura instantly evaporated the moisture in the surrounding trees and then ignited the dry trees directly with high temperature.

The raging flames instantly ignited the forest, then detonated the flammable materials that the Sand Village ninjas had placed along their retreat route, setting the trees that had not yet been affected by the Scorch Release blast ablaze as well.

Boom!

The raging flames transformed into towering beams of fire, illuminating almost half the sky.

"Those damned Sand Village ninja!"

Blocked by flames, the temporary commander on the battlefield cursed angrily.

Although he could have simply taken a detour.

However, the fire ahead was simply too intense.

If left unchecked, the wildfire could easily spread to other areas, affecting far more than just Kikyo Castle.

With only a few water-style ninjas under his command, who knows how much chakra it would take to extinguish this towering flame that had already shown its terrifying form!

After some deliberation, the temporary commander ordered the Konoha ninja to extinguish the fire first, and then consider other options.

During this period.

Nara Rinka's shadow clone has returned to Kikyo Castle and found the old clan chief.

"Lan Gui, you're back!"

Nara Kano couldn't hide his excitement.

He hadn't expected that Nara Rinka alone could essentially hold back the puppet army that Sunagakure was so proud of, and even inflict heavy casualties on them.

Is this the level of skill expected of a Nara clan ninja?

Nara Rinka's strength far exceeded the old clan chief's expectations.

"Perhaps... the Nara clan really can aspire to become the Fifth Hokage a few decades from now!"

"I'm just a clone right now."

Nara Rankei shrugged and quickly asked.

"Clan leader, where is Lady Tsunade now?"

Nara Shikano paused slightly, "Tsunade... is currently researching an antidote for the Sand Village's compound poison in the rear."

He was actually a little curious as to why Tsunade hadn't shown herself at all during the battle just now.

However, considering that Nara Rinka has already "dealt with" the enemy.

This minor issue was not within the scope of Nara Kano's concern.

Besides, Tsunade wasn't really slacking off; she was working hard too!

"Lan Gui, is there anything you need to discuss with Tsunade-hime?"

"No, to be precise, I need to negotiate with the current supreme commander of Kikyo Castle."

"Then just tell me."

Nara Kano Road.

"I, an old man who has already retired, have just been appointed to this critical position, and am currently the highest-ranking person in Kikyo City."

"Alright... Clan Chief, should we continue pursuing the Sand Village's puppet forces?"

"Of course!"

A cold glint flashed in Nara Kano's eyes.

"Since the Sand Village ninjas dared to launch a surprise attack on Kikyo Castle, they should know what the price of failure will be!"

"Enma just sent word that the Third Hokage is leading his troops towards Kikyo Castle. We certainly won't let these Sunagakure ninjas get away easily!"

"That's good..."

Just as Nara Rinka was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something.

"Clan leader, is that S-rank mission that Tsunade mentioned earlier considered complete?"

"The enemy has been driven away, so the mission must be complete..."

Nara Kano glanced at Nara Rangsuke with some surprise.

"Lan Gui, is it just my imagination, but you seem...very interested in high-level missions?"

A task maniac?

There is no precedent for this in the entire history of the Nara clan!

The old clan chief had barely finished speaking.

Several new messages popped up on Nara Lan Gui's panel.

[S-Rank Mission: Defense of Kikyo Castle - Completed!]

You have obtained an S-rank [Ninja Scroll]!

"It is indeed a bit... Chieftain, let's not talk about it now."

Nara Rinka raised a finger to dispel the effect of the [Shadow Clone] spell.

"Then I'll continue to hold off those Sand Village ninja."

Bang!

Nara Rinka's Shadow Clone exploded into a cloud of smoke, and his experiences and memories flowed back to his original body along with the Yin Release chakra.

the other side.

The message from the old clan chief has been confirmed.

Nara Rinka stopped wandering around and manipulated the [Shadow Creature] to accelerate the pursuit of the puppet troops from Sunagakure.

The puppet troops of Sunagakure are moving at high speed through the mountains and forests.

Thanks to the concealment provided by the trees, they did not immediately notice Nara Rinka's approach.

Riding the [Shadow Creature], Nara Rinkei stealthily approached the Sunagakure ninjas. He took out a thick stack of explosive tags from his ninja tool bag, unfolded them one by one, and then tied them to his shuriken to increase their weight.

If funds allow, Nara Rangatsu doesn't mind preparing more ninja tools for self-defense.

Explosive tags are simple to use, have considerable power, and do not consume one's own chakra.

Aside from being a bit pricey, it has no other problems.

"There's a reason why things are expensive."

Nara Rinka grabbed an explosive tag strapped to his sword, made a quick assessment of the direction, and hurled it at the puppet troops below.

"But this isn't a problem with the detonation tags..."

呲味——

The sound of the detonator being ignited was particularly clear in the quiet night.

The puppet troops, being elites of Sunagakure, quickly realized that someone was throwing explosive tags at them and determined the source of the tags by the direction of the sound.

"Those brats from the Nara family are like persistent ghosts!"

Chiyo had no choice but to issue the order.

"Everyone be careful to dodge the explosive tags coming from the sky!"

However, Nara Rinka's attacks were not so monotonous.

Just as the puppet army's ninjas were preparing to dodge the exploding tags falling from the sky...

Under the cover of darkness, a jet-black bullet flew downwards at high speed, accurately striking the shadow of a Sand Village puppeteer.

【Spiral Shadow Binding Bullet】!

The Yin Release chakra erupted instantly, transforming into a powerful restraint that pinned the Sand Village puppeteer to the spot, preventing him from dodging in time.

"save--"

Boom!

The puppeteer from Sunagakure hadn't even finished uttering his plea for help when the exploding tags abruptly cut him off.

Before the other Sand Village ninjas could react, they lost another teammate.

"Damn Konoha ninjas!"

Blood welled up in Ebizo's eyes. He gripped the ninja fan in his hand and swung it heavily towards the sky.

"Wind Release: Net Hanging!"

With the help of the ninja fan, the wind-type chakra was transformed into wind blades with extremely strong cutting power, and after intricate shape changes, it turned into a huge net-like wind.

The giant net formed by "Wind Release: Hanging Net" flew towards Nara Rinka in the sky, seemingly trying to trap him within it.

[A Rank B Ninja Battle Mission has been detected!]

[Rank B Mission: Ebizo]

[Mission Objective: Defeat/kill Ebizo, a Jonin from Sunagakure]

[Mission Reward: Rank B Ninja Scroll]

"Whoa! A battle mission has been triggered!"

"So it was because of the S-rank mission coverage that the additional combat mission wasn't triggered..."

Nara Rinka glanced at the mission information on the panel, her mind racing with thoughts.

At the same time, his hand seals did not falter in the slightest.

The fire-attribute [Nature Mask] hung around Nara Rinka's waist, constantly providing him with the fire-style chakra he had already refined.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The enormous fireball crashed into the net-like wind that resembled a net covering the sky.

Based on the principle of mutual destruction of elements, Fire Release counters Wind Release.

This was clearly a wind-style ninjutsu intended to attack and hinder Nara's attempt to seize power, but the moment it touched the Great Fireball Technique, it became "fuel" to ignite the latter, and was torn apart on the spot.

If it weren't for the limited range of the [Great Fireball Technique]...

That enormous fireball, its shape clearly swollen, is very likely to launch a counterattack against the Sand Village's puppet forces.

Wait for the fireball formed by the [Great Fireball Technique] to dissipate in mid-air.

Nara Rinka once again threw out an explosive tag with a sticky shuriken attached.

His target this time was none other than Ebizo, who had just triggered the combat mission!

I woke up this morning with a dry and sore throat. I don't know if it's the flu or if I've tested positive again.

Everyone, please take care of yourselves...

(End of this chapter)