Cough, cough—
A hoarse cough echoed from within the rising cloud of smoke and dust.
"So even the hero of Sunagakure resorts to sneak attacks, huh?"
Tangping forced himself to stand, quietly downing a vial of healing solution in the process.
At that moment, he felt a surge of gratitude.
Thankfully, his clothes were made of heat-resistant material—otherwise, he'd be running around in a battle-damaged edition right now.
After all, this was the real ninja world—where battles could shatter the heavens, but your clothes wouldn't magically stay intact.
"You dare insult Lady Pakura!"
"Kill him!"
"Get him!"
Several Suna squads were stunned that Tangping had actually survived Pakura's Scorch Release, but the instant he badmouthed their idol, rage flared across every face. They were all about to strike—
—but a hand stopped them.
"We're ninja. What's wrong with a sneak attack? Besides, kid, you're hiding way too much."
Pakura wasn't angry in the slightest.
Tangping, however, was left speechless. She has a point… why do her words make so much sense?
Because, indeed, ninja weren't samurai—ambushes and deception were part of their craft.
Wait—no, something wasn't right.
If she was a true shinobi, why would she waste time chatting and give him the chance to heal?
Whoosh!
A violent burst of flames erupted from his hands, wrapping him once more in blazing armor. His arms opened wide, spinning and leaping as the fire swirled around him.
Golden Crow Flow Technique — Demon Burn!
The original technique was somewhat weak, so Tangping had modified it based on the Hyuga clan's Rotation, using motion to spin his flame chakra at high speed—turning it into a defensive technique of formidable strength.
Bang!
His right fist, wreathed in fire, met a descending figure head-on.
Pakura!
She had launched an aerial strike—what had been speaking to him just now was a Shadow Clone, explaining why he hadn't noticed a single flaw.
If he hadn't reacted in time, that would've been a one-hit defeat.
As the two forces clashed, a basin-sized fireball looped around from behind Pakura and slammed into Tangping's side.
BOOM!
Flames erupted violently.
But this time, the explosion wasn't nearly as effective as her first surprise attack.
Though Demon Burn couldn't rival the Hyuga's Rotation, its defensive power was still immense—and combined with Tangping's unique advantage, he endured it with relative ease.
Fire Resistance.
Against Pakura's Scorch Release: Superheated Steam Kill, that trait was literally life-saving.
Because the true lethality of Scorch Release wasn't the explosion or the fire—
—it was the instant evaporation of all moisture within the human body.
Without his high fire resistance and protective flame armor, he'd have been reduced to a dried husk by now.
That advantage alone allowed him to hold his ground against Pakura—for a few precious moments.
Otherwise, before a quasi-Kage, or even Kage-level opponent, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
Kage-level strength… terrifying beyond words!
And this was even with his innate resistance nullifying a large part of her bloodline's power. Without that, the result would've been disastrous.
But thankfully—he still had one last move.
Gwaaah!
A loud caw split the sky as a huge black shadow dove downward.
But before the creature reached them, a storm of fireballs rained down from above like a fiery monsoon.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each fireball, the size of a wagon wheel, slammed into the ground in rapid succession, blasting the battlefield into chaos.
Earth shattered. Flames and smoke filled the air.
Through the inferno, a blazing silhouette leapt skyward.
At the peak of his jump, flames burst from his hands and feet, propelling him even higher—right into the path of the diving giant crow.
Slap!
Tangping pressed his hand against Taiyi's massive claw—too thick to grasp, so he simply latched on.
Pakura's eyes narrowed.
Her strength was overwhelming, yes—but she couldn't fly.
And so, as the flames and smoke faded, all she could do was glare upward as Tangping vanished into the sky.
"Milady, are you hurt?"
A Suna shinobi approached cautiously, looking at Pakura's grim expression.
"I'm fine," Pakura replied, shaking her head. Her gaze sharpened like a blade as she turned toward the direction of the Konoha encampment.
"Pass my order—accelerate the march. We will breach the Fire Country border stronghold today!"
She was the vanguard commander of this campaign.
Capturing the border fortress and wiping out all Fire Country outposts along the frontier was her assigned mission.
Sunagakure was desperate.
Their missions had been stolen by Konoha for years, and now, with the Third Kazekage's disappearance, they had chosen to gamble everything.
It was either die slowly—or bet it all while they still had the strength to fight.
Anyone would make the same choice.
So even though they knew Konoha had nothing to do with the Kazekage's disappearance, the Sand still launched their invasion, using it as the perfect excuse.
Faced with a choice between letting her village die or letting Konoha die—Pakura chose the latter.
"Understood!"
A Suna ANBU bowed and darted off to relay the order to the main army.
Meanwhile—
Tangping escorted Fatty and the rest of their squad back to camp.
It turned out that the reason they'd been chased was that, during patrol, they had retrieved intel passed to them by a dying Konoha ANBU. That was why multiple Suna squads had gone after them.
Soon, they reached the command tent at the center of camp.
Jonin Tenzō Noyata first inspected the sealing marks on the scroll to confirm it hadn't been tampered with, then used a special method to unseal it.
Without that technique, even holding the scroll was useless.
Of course, Tangping's team took their leave at that point.
They were just a bunch of small fry—Chūnin-level nobodies who'd already reported in. Whatever came next was far above their pay grade.
Outside the tent—
"You think—" Honda Taka started to speak, but Tangping cut him off immediately.
"Don't."
This wasn't something they were qualified to discuss.
If a Jōnin or someone from the Hokage's faction speculated, no one would care—but a few Chūnin running their mouths could get into serious trouble.
"Get ready for battle," Tangping said quietly to his teammates.
The border camp's defenses were strong, sure—but this time, the enemy wasn't just some small raiding party.
They had Pakura—a Kage-level powerhouse—leading them.
Trying to resist head-on? Laughable.
Tenzō Noyata might be an elite Jōnin, enough for normal situations—but not for open war between nations.
The camp would fall. Tangping was certain of it.
That didn't mean they planned to flee—
until the camp fell or an evacuation order came, retreating would mean defection.
All they could do was prepare.
Meanwhile, Noyata, after reading the intel, immediately summoned all the camp's senior officers.
Which, to Tangping, only confirmed one thing—he wasn't the decisive type.
In moments like this, the commander should've acted instantly—fight or flee. No meetings.
Especially since Tangping's report had made it clear—the Sand army was already coming.
Every second wasted was a crime.
Of course, a "small-time" Chūnin like Tangping had no say in such matters.
Fortunately, ninja meetings were quick. The decision came fast—
Hold the line.
But—evacuate the wounded, the logistics staff, and the merchant caravans first.
And escorting them?
That was even more dangerous than staying.
Because those convoys couldn't move fast. They'd almost certainly be caught by the advancing Sand forces.
Defending the camp, at least, gave you terrain advantage and time to await reinforcements. But escorting refugees meant no defenses and a massive burden to protect.
The difficulty skyrocketed.
And, as fate would have it, Tangping's name appeared on the escort list.
Lucky him—he'd just hit the jackpot.
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