A real man never looks back at an explosion, and Saitama doesn't bother turning his head to glance at the Sand ninja's gruesome aftermath. Swinging his blade a few times after grabbing it, he locks eyes on his next target!
The Puppet Master he just dealt with seemed to hold a high position among the Suna ninja. Many Sand ninja looked at Saitama in shock, unable to believe this young kid had taken down that ninja, yet forced to accept the fact they'd lost a Jonin.
"This battle is only one piece of the larger war, and Konoha's situation remains dire," Saitama mutters, scanning the battlefield. He notices many comrades who charged forward with him have already been swallowed by the enemy ranks.
"Boom!" He kicks a massive opponent and slashes again mid-motion, splitting open the foe's back and exposing their crimson insides as arcs of electricity surge across the body.
"Hmph!" Another unknown Suna ninja appears, thinking Saitama didn't spot him. He covertly hurls several poisoned Hidden Weapons gleaming ominously in the air.
"Ding! Ding!" A flash of lightning zips past—Saitama effortlessly deflects the projectiles aimed at his right side with his sword.
Marching directly toward whoever ambushed him from behind, Saitama has no intention of letting such a coward live any longer.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!" Seeing Saitama charging straight for him, the enemy's face pales dramatically. His earlier sneak attack not only failed but also drew hatred upon himself, so he curses inwardly as fear causes him to hastily retreat a few steps.
"You don't come near me!" The Suna ninja, outwardly fierce but inwardly weak, seems terrified by Saitama's aura, lacking all traces of malice shown during his surprise attack.
Remaining completely expressionless, Saitama keeps his face stiff, ignoring the enemy's words entirely. With his blade raised, he attacks relentlessly.
"Crack!" Kunai shatters—this adversary also heads off to where he belongs. On the yellow sands appears another splash of red.
In a battlefield filled mostly with Chunin, Saitama becomes a living weapon, cutting through enemies effortlessly. He doesn't even glance at the bodies falling behind him. Electricity crackles around him as he darts wildly about!
"Ahhh!" "Ahhh!" "Ahhh!" Nearby Sand ninja meet the deadly Shinigami, clutching their throats before being swiftly put down by Konoha shinobi.
The rescued Konoha ninja nods appreciatively at Saitama before rejoining other skirmishes. This is far from over—it's still a full-on war.
Realizing this, Saitama gazes toward the furthest edge of his vision—the location where Orochimaru fights Rasa! Flying sand obscures his view, yet intense tremors let him know combat there isn't simple; although he dominates here, he lacks the ability to interfere in that confrontation.
"The outcome of this fight hinges heavily on how Orochimaru fares. Victory would be advantageous while defeat could instantly demoralize our forces. Orochimaru, leading this battlefield's charge, serves as everyone's pillar of hope! Whereas Rasa, despite being the opposing Kage, still counts as an emerging talent whose fame hasn't reached Orochimaru's level—Suna ninjas can accept Rasa's defeat more easily," Saitama muses internally mid-combat.
[Skyborne Annihilation!]
"Saitama, head east! Leave these to them!" [From behind, a familiar voice cuts through the chaos.] After cutting down several more Chunin and Genin, Saitama hears Uchiha Hayashi's voice.
"That's where the jonin are fighting," a voice rang out again. "Our Konoha jonin unit is under attack and needs backup!" Hayashi immediately dashed eastward, leaving Saitama behind. Many powerful chunin and jonin in the surrounding area were also slowly moving in that direction.
Crackling lightning danced across his body as arcs of electricity surged through him. Saitama maintained the most basic form of Lightning Release—channeling chakra—and simply covered his body with an electric current to stimulate his cells and keep them active.
"Shhhk!" His boots skidded across the sand, sending up a cloud of golden dust. He weaved through enemy lines, cutting down every Suna ninja in his path. In the blink of an eye, he left behind only enemies writhing in pain.
"Kill them!" "Finish off these Sand ninjas!" Saitama's assault brought enormous relief to the Konoha ninjas here; half their burden instantly lifted. They gleamed with greenish eyes toward those enemies still lying on the ground—defeated, unable to fight back, yet not quite dead yet.
Without caring about the fate of those fallen Suna ninjas, Saitama continued forward. Though the number of Sand ninjas around him remained large, the moment their eyes met, they immediately backed away, unwilling to engage him in battle.
Rather than chasing after those retreating Suna ninjas, Saitama wanted to reach the battlefield mentioned earlier by Hayashi as quickly as possible. The jonin battlefield would ultimately determine the outcome of this war. Put plainly, these regular ninjas here were just expendable pawns.
The electricity crackling along his blade never ceased, nor did his footsteps. Every ninja here knew Saitama was not someone to mess with, and no foolish soul dared block his path.
...
After all, this was a battlefield involving thousands of fighters, far larger and more stretched-out than Saitama had imagined! Before he even reached the jonin engagement site mentioned by Hayashi, a strong, full-voiced shout reached his ears.
"You Konoha ninjas can see it with your own eyes — this war will be ours!"
"Delusional thinking, you Sand insects!"
"Konoha will absolutely not lose this war!"
"Don't waste words — wipe out these Sunagakure bastards!"
"Finish things here quickly! Orochimaru-sama still needs our support elsewhere!"
The Konoha ninjas scoffed at Sunagakure's boasts, each filled with delusional confidence, their fighting spirit rising steadily.
Konoha would not lose this war, nor could it afford to — this was the doctrine Orochimaru had instilled in them before the war began, and the belief these ninja themselves clung to firmly.
At least a hundred Suna ninjas had gathered here. While not all were jonin, the majority were, supported by other powerful chunin. The Konoha ninjas, however, numbered only about half theirs — clearly at a disadvantage.
"Clang!" "Boom!" Brilliant jutsu battles unfolded, with brutal taijutsu clashes constantly erupting.
Though the Konoha ninjas possessed superior skills, they couldn't hold out forever against Suna's overwhelming numbers. By now, many casualties had already occurred — almost everyone had sustained injuries.
Among the Konoha ninjas, Saitama spotted a familiar face — Gekko Masano. Without breaking stride, he kept running forward behind the other ninja.
"Masano, are you alright?" A gentle voice reached Gekko Masano's ears — a jonin from the Gekko clan addressing him.
Previously, with his teammates providing cover and wielding the Gekko clan's ultimate sword technique, Gekko Masano caught his enemies off guard. He decisively eliminated two Jonin of the same rank but was still struck by the enemy's desperate final attack. A deep wound tore through his right shoulder. With his right arm rendered useless, Masano began evading frantically.
"At least the enemy's weapon wasn't poisoned," Masano said, holding his blade in his left hand while dodging attacks from Suna ninja. Between movements, he spoke to the clan member guarding him.
"Reinforcements should be arriving soon. Let's hold on a little longer." The Gekko ninja fell silent and looked in Saitama's direction. Since Saitama and the others were quite far away, and his eyesight wasn't as strong as those with Sharingan or Byakugan, he couldn't see the approaching Konoha reinforcements.
"Saitama, get ready. We're going to break through—Konoha ninja are surrounded," Uchiha Hayashi said coldly, his three-tomoe Sharingan visible in his eyes as he spoke to Saitama, who had just caught up.
"Hmm," Saitama nodded, meeting Hayashi's gaze—those familiar bloodline eyes—and scanned the battlefield as ninjas gathered from all directions.
[Lightning Release: Electrification Technique!]
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!]
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!]
[Earth Release: Earth Dragon Jutsu!]
...
Even before the reinforcements fully arrived, Konoha's ninjutsu rained down, slamming into Sunagakure's formation.
"Dare to die!" "Konoha bastards!" As soon as they drew near, the Suna ninja spotted the approaching Konoha forces. Since their numbers weren't large, the Suna side didn't take them seriously and remained confident.
They hadn't expected Konoha to actually dare strike first. The Suna forces grew enraged, convinced that Konoha hadn't even tasted real despair yet.
"Boom! Boom!" "Crash!"
"Arrgh!"
These techniques weren't aimed directly at people. The Konoha ninja simply wanted to tear open a gap in Sunagakure's encirclement—to allow their trapped comrades to escape or for themselves to enter.
"They're reinforcements from the other battlefield!" Naturally, the surrounded Konoha ninja saw their arriving comrades and shouted aloud.
"Hm." Gekko Masano's eyes locked onto the flash of lightning leading the incoming force, and a faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" Saitama rushed straight through the gap created by the Suna forces, landing among Konoha's ranks.
At this moment, the battle between Konoha and Suna paused. Both sides seemed to be waiting for each other to take position.
"You alright?" Saitama landed beside Masano, clearly seeing his injuries.
"Hmph, what do you think?" Masano still found humor in teasing Saitama at this moment.
Saitama redirected his gaze without responding, clearly seeing through Masano's show of strength masking inner weakness.
"Boom!" "Boom!" More Konoha ninja continued arriving, taking their place in Konoha's battle formation and glaring angrily at the Suna ninja.
"That's all Konoha brought?" On the Suna side, a middle-aged ninja spoke—he likely being the current field commander of Sunagakure.
Including the newly arrived support, there were barely about 70 Konoha ninja in total, significantly fewer than the number of Suna troops.
"Cut the chatter, Suna brats! Bring it on if you've got guts!"
"Gekko Masano seems to hold a high status here," Nagare muttered, his strength draining along with the blood flowing from his wounded shoulder.
"Hmph!" A Suna ninja swung his hand, and figures began charging forward. A wave of shinobi rushed forward, waving their ninja tools.
"Zzzzt!" Arcs of electricity crackled, making nearby Konoha ninjas' eyes light up. Who was this genius that suddenly appeared? Judging from his young age, he was already a jonin? The earlier surge in chakra misled many into thinking Saitama was a jonin. Saitama's reputation hadn't spread widely enough among all the frontline troops of Konoha yet—many might have heard his name but had never seen him, so naturally couldn't recognize him.
"Forward!" "Kill!" By now, the Konoha ninjas' chakra wasn't as abundant as when the battle first started. If Suna wanted close combat, they wouldn't back down either—Konoha ninjas were ready for blade-to-blade!
"Thud!" Leading the charge fearlessly, Saitama charged ahead. The chakra within his body was sufficient to maintain the Lightning Release — Chakra Mode continuously with plenty left over. He welcomed enemies who chose to fight him head-on.
Each step he took scorched black marks into the yellow sands. Holding a ninja sword shimmering with electric currents, Saitama's expression turned grim.
"Pshhh!" Upon impact, Saitama cleaved down one sand ninja wielding a sickle. His blade left a wound across the enemy's body. Before Saitama could follow up with another strike, several weapons emerged from the side, blocking his attack.
This was a whole new level of battle intensity. Previously, on the other side, coordination and combined attacks between shinobi weren't nearly as tight as these opponents'.
Squinting slightly, at the instant a huge blade approached his face, Saitama pulled back his sword, flipped backward with his body, and created some distance.
Pressure fell upon Saitama now—he was no longer the scourge on the battlefield; what awaited him were tightly coordinated elite chunin—or even jonin!
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