Chapter 174: Something Is Definitely Off
The Third Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone Village, Ōnoki, led a large force into the Land of Fire's borders—and along the way, they didn't encounter the slightest resistance.
They didn't even see a single Konoha ninja.
Such an abnormal situation immediately raised alarm bells in the battle-hardened Ōnoki's mind.
He ordered the entire force to halt.
"Lord Third Tsuchikage, something really doesn't seem right..."
A squad leader from the Land of Birds voiced his suspicion to Ōnoki. "There's no way the Land of Fire is unaware of our movements. Even if they didn't know everything, at the very least their border defense units should've picked up on us."
"But they haven't taken any action. Doesn't that suggest they might be up to something?"
Ōnoki had called for the halt precisely to analyze this issue.
Hearing this, he nodded. "Everyone, stay alert. There's a high chance we're walking into an ambush."
"Akatsuchi, dispatch a scouting squad. I want to know exactly what's going on up ahead."
He gave the order to Akatsuchi at his side.
Akatsuchi immediately sent out a scouting team to gather intel.
Some time later, the scouting team returned.
"Lord Third Tsuchikage, we found nothing. Within ten kilometers ahead, there's no sign of any enemy presence," the squad leader reported.
Now the entire force was in a bind.
The Land of Fire was one of the five great nations, and among the top in terms of power.
And Konoha wasn't some greenhorn when it came to war.
The more favorable the situation appeared, the more uneasy Ōnoki felt.
"Could they be planning to circle around and hit us from the flanks?"
A leading jōnin from the Land of Demons suggested.
Commanders from other small nations quickly chimed in, agreeing with this theory.
It wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
After thinking it over, Ōnoki immediately sent out more scouting units to survey their surroundings.
But he still wasn't at ease. He ordered the sensory unit to begin their work right away.
"There's no need to stay hidden any longer. Even if using sensory techniques exposes you to enemy counter-tracking, it doesn't matter now. Begin your mission!"
Ōnoki addressed the sensory unit.
Their primary role was detection and perception.
Each sensory ninja had perception abilities far superior to ordinary shinobi—they were one of the core assets on any battlefield. Without them, an army could easily become blind.
If the sensory unit could pinpoint the enemy's exact location, their next actions could be adjusted accordingly.
Upon receiving the command, the sensory unit sat down and began channeling their chakra.
A dozen individuals synchronized their chakra to amplify their range and precision, dramatically enhancing their collective sensory capabilities.
Soon, they locked onto the Konoha forces.
"Lord Ōnoki!"
The sensory unit captain shouted, his expression grave.
His reaction immediately added even more psychological pressure to the already tense troops.
Everyone turned to him at once.
"Have you located the enemy?" Ōnoki asked sharply, his eyes narrowing.
The captain nodded.
"Yes—yes, we have!"
"Where are they?"
"They… They're almost here…"
His face was drenched in sweat, and his voice trembled.
What they had just sensed was an utterly massive chakra signature.
It wasn't something an ordinary human could possess.
In fact, not even a Tailed Beast necessarily had chakra on this level.
And that's exactly why they were so shaken.
"What?!"
Ōnoki's expression darkened slightly upon hearing the report.
The scouts had found nothing earlier.
They had claimed there were no enemies within ten kilometers.
But how much time had passed since then?
And now the enemy was already right on their doorstep?
Moreover, they had approached so directly that they were practically in front of their main force.
"Send the order! All combat units—prepare for battle, immediately!!"
Ōnoki snapped back to attention and issued the battle command at once.
But the moment the words left his mouth, no one responded.
Puzzled, he turned around to look at his subordinates.
He noticed that everyone was staring blankly in one direction—their left. Many looked terrified, cold sweat pouring down their faces.
This bizarre scene made Ōnoki's heart sink. He instinctively turned to follow their gaze.
What he saw made his pupils constrict sharply.
A strange red, transparent light mass was rapidly spreading toward them from the distance.
If that were all, it wouldn't have caused such panic. Ōnoki and the others wouldn't have been so shocked.
But as the eerie red light screen spread forward, it damaged everything it touched.
All the trees, grass, and vegetation in its path burst into flames before their very eyes.
In a flash, roaring flames had consumed everything in sight.
And the cause of it all was that bizarre red barrier.
"There's one on this side too!!"
Someone deep within the ranks suddenly shouted.
Everyone turned to their left—and sure enough, there was an identical red light wall stretching from the ground to the sky, surging toward them.
It wasn't just fast—it also instantly ignited everything in its path.
"We've got one behind us too!!"
"And on the right!"
Soon, the allied shinobi from the Land of Earth discovered that these red light walls were closing in from all directions.
From east, south, west, and north—or rather, front, back, left, and right—the red light barriers formed a perfectly sealed cage.
They were surrounded.
Trapped inside this strange prison, with no way out.
"What's going on?!"
"What the hell is this?! It's getting closer! Someone think of something, hurry!!"
...
Snapping out of their stunned daze, the allied forces of shinobi quickly began trying to stop the advancing red barrier.
"Earth Style! Earth Flow Rampart!!"
A jōnin from the Hidden Stone used an Earth Style technique.
A massive earthen wall shot up from the ground to block the red wall's path.
But to everyone's horror, the seemingly solid wall didn't last even half a second.
The moment the red light touched it, it burst into flames and instantly crumbled to ash, completely and utterly destroyed.
Only drifting embers were left behind, floating in the air.
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