Konoha's Status Bar Ninja

"We can't sense Jōnin Ōura's chakra!"

"There are two signatures in the forest ahead… no, they're clones!"

"Most likely both are clones. We're too late!"

The sensory-type Suna-nin quickly came to a conclusion.

"Could it be… they've all already—"

"Impossible! According to previous intel, at least twenty people were deployed. There's no way Jōnin Ōura and the others could've been wiped out this quickly!"

"But this is the legendary Wood Release that once brought peace to the warring era…"

The surrounding Suna-nin couldn't help but murmur anxiously.

Ebizō frowned and issued a swift command.

Several Suna-nin immediately darted off—swish swish swish—to scout around the forest.

Moments later, the reconnaissance team returned.

"There are no visible signs of battle."

"But based on other traces, it's clear that everyone entered this forest."

"Yet… this forest didn't exist before!"

Ebizō nodded.

From the moment they arrived, it was obvious that this forest had been conjured by Wood Release—it wasn't difficult to deduce.

Now, it was clear: the battlefield lay within.

A heavy silence fell.

Even if they didn't want to admit it, as the earlier analysis suggested, their comrades had most likely…

All eyes turned to Ebizō, commander of this operation.

Staring at the forest, thick enough to bury everything in sight, Ebizō's gaze turned cold. "Use Wind Release. Flatten this forest."

"Understood!"

The Suna-nin leapt into position, forming three rows. Then, all at once, they began forming seals.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

Wind Release: Cast Net!

The front line—four Suna-nin—released concentrated blasts of wind, which merged into a massive, sweeping storm.

RUMBLE—!

The air crackled with friction, filled with razor-sharp wind blades and crisscrossing web-like gusts.

Wherever it passed, towering trees were sliced into chunks and fell in heaps.

But four people weren't enough to level the entire forest in one go.

So, the first row crouched down to rest and re-seal, while the second row seamlessly took over and unleashed their jutsu.

Then came the third row.

Then the second round.

After two rounds, the forest ahead had been reduced to a wasteland of stumps, fallen branches, and scattered debris.

Immediately, Ebizō ordered Suna-nin skilled in Fire Release to ignite the remains.

A roaring blaze lit up the night sky—and illuminated the entire area.

But not a single corpse was found.

Just as Ebizō was about to issue the next order to advance, two figures suddenly emerged from underground.

Hajime's wooden clones!

The corpses—drained into mummified husks—had already been disposed of. They were buried deep within the root network using Wood Release.

The reason? To conceal every shred of intelligence.

And that wasn't all…

…

Gazing at the two suddenly materialized figures, Ebizō's eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he commanded, "Attack!"

In an instant, over thirty Suna-nin surged forward to kill.

Clap!

Wood Clone #1 pressed his hands together in the Ram seal.

Wood Clone #2, blades drawn—one long, one short—charged headfirst into the wave of Suna-nin, fearless and unyielding.

Shu-shu-shu!

Suddenly, a barrage of shuriken flew in from all directions.

Wood Clone #2 spun both blades in a blur—clang clang clang—deflecting the incoming projectiles.

Simultaneously, vines erupted from the ground, swiftly intercepting the shuriken laced with explosive tags and flinging them back toward the Suna-nin.

BOOM! BOOM!

The Suna-nin detonated them without hesitation.

Right after the first wave of ranged attacks, the Suna-nin completed their prepared ninjutsu.

The storm rose again!

But a wall of vines and tree roots burst forth from the earth, blocking the advancing tempest.

As the winds faded, three puppets had already closed in from the front and both flanks, attempting to trap Clone #2 in a pincer.

Shu-shu-shu!

Countless senbon and shuriken shot out like a torrential downpour, each coated in deadly poison.

At that moment, Wood Clone #2 held the short blade in his mouth while his left hand completed a hand seal. His exposed skin turned pitch black—

Daimond Body Technique!

As the bladed weapons rained down, his muscle tissue had already hardened like steel.

Then, with a thunderous roar, his speed skyrocketed as he charged headlong into the dense barrage of poisoned tools.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Flashes of green light danced beneath the night sky—the three puppets exploded almost simultaneously, their fragments scattered like shrapnel.

"So fast!"

The three puppet masters gasped in shock and instinctively retreated, unrolling scrolls as they moved. With a flick of one hand, smoke erupted—

New puppets had been summoned.

At the same time, other Suna-nin charged in, intercepting Wood Clone #2.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Blades clashed, sparks flying.

Vines danced, winds howled.

The two wooden clones coordinated seamlessly, clashing head-on with over thirty Suna-nin—blow for blow, strike for strike. It was an even match.

Screams of pain and death rang out from the Suna-nin.

And yet, Ebizō and the others were increasingly unnerved.

Physical attacks meant nothing. Poison had no effect. Not even their sharp Wind Release techniques could suppress him.

His swordsmanship—so refined that not a single Suna-nin on the battlefield could match it.

Strong!

Far too strong!

Even without the Wood Release secret techniques, Ebizō could see that this individual would rank among the elite of the Jōnin.

But…

Even with this level of power, he still couldn't believe that someone like this could annihilate Jōnin Ōura and the others in such a short time—without leaving a single corpse.

He's still holding back. He has more up his sleeve!

Ebizō's instincts screamed at him. He began adjusting their strategy, pressing the attack while reserving some of his forces as backup.

Meanwhile, the wood clones clearly sensed the difference too. Not only were there more enemies than before, but this new wave of Suna-nin fought with far greater coordination and precision in their assault.

The commander this time is no ordinary shinobi—stronger than the last one.

The clones began losing ground, gradually being pushed back.

Suddenly, Wood Clone #1 lowered his eyes.

Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!

From the scattered stumps, new trees and vines sprouted at an alarming speed.

"Watch out!"

"Ahhh!"

"Damn it, there's too many!"

"Use Wind Release!"

The Suna-nin's formation immediately fell into disarray.

Wood Clone #2 seized the chaos and went on a rampage, cutting down several Suna-nin in rapid succession.

But soon, large-scale Wind Release techniques erupted from within the formation, sweeping outward.

Meanwhile, several Suna-nin combined efforts to pin down the flailing tree vines.

Their tactics worked.

The power of Nativity of a World of Trees was suppressed in a short time.

Then, following the Wind Release, Ebizō decisively gave the order to combine it with Fire Release, transforming the forest—save for the battlefield's core—into a raging sea of flames.

Their numerical advantage became glaringly obvious at that moment.

Moreover, Wood Clone #1's chakra was nearly depleted.

As the fire spread, corpses that had been buried underground surged upward with the shifting roots—only to be consumed by the flames.

Wood Clone #2 was still fighting.

But without the support of Clone #1, he was visibly struggling, on the brink of collapse.

His chakra was nearly exhausted.

Suddenly, Wood Clone #2's body began to woodenize—sharp vines burst outward in all directions.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Three Suna-nin were too slow to dodge and were impaled by wooden spikes.

The battle was over.

A heavy silence fell over the remaining Suna-nin.

Both enemies had, as suspected, only been clones.

But just those two clones had cost them seven lives.

"Extinguish the flames," Ebizō ordered.

The fire had already spread too far.

Wind Release combined with Water Release—the inferno was gradually doused.

"There's a body over here!"

Suddenly, a sharp-eyed Suna-nin spotted a corpse that hadn't been fully burned.

Ebizō immediately leapt over. Soon, many charred and blackened corpses began to emerge.

"Looks like these bodies were all buried underground."

"This guy… is terrifying…"

Gulp~

Skeleton after skeleton was dug out. Ebizō and the others looked on, their expressions growing darker and heavier.

Even though they had already accepted that Ōura and the others were most likely dead—

When the corpses were finally laid out before them, the impact was overwhelming.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Ebizō found his mind circling a single question.

The corpses were buried—yet why had they suddenly reappeared and been set on fire?

An accident?

Or intentional?

If intentional—why?

What was he trying to hide?

…

Land of Rivers—Hoshita Hajime paused his steps for a moment, then continued moving forward.

Inuzuka Ryo couldn't help but ask, "Captain, are the Suna-nin still chasing us?"

Hajime gave a slight nod. "They probably won't catch up anymore."

"But just in case, let's wait until we've crossed into the Land of Fire before resting."

Inuzuka Ryo and Aburame Ryoma both nodded in agreement.

Though they were already exhausted, they could still hold on a little longer.

As dawn began to break—

Hajime's group finally crossed the border and entered the territory of the Land of Fire.

Only then did Ryo and Ryoma let out a long breath, their taut nerves finally relaxing.

Beside a riverbank—

After enjoying a meal of freshly grilled fish, Hajime turned to the others. "You two rest first."

The two nodded without hesitation and immediately lay down by the riverside to sleep.

Hajime sat silently in front of the campfire where the fish had been roasted, quietly reviewing and analyzing the battles they had fought during this mission.

At the same time—

Sunagakure.

The Third Kazekage, who hadn't slept all night, finally received the report delivered back by Ebizō's ninja beast.

Just one glance at the intelligence made his pupils contract and his face darken.

Samaru Ōura and the entire squad—completely wiped out!

"…Truly worthy of the legendary Wood Release secret arts…"

The Third Kazekage's expression was grim.

The losses were devastating—too painful to bear.

This was far beyond what they had anticipated.

The only consolation was that all the high-ranking officials of the Land of Zen had been annihilated, and the few ninja remaining in the country were dead as well.

The daimyo had taken control of the Land of Zen, and Sunagakure had, in turn, gained a new source of missions.

After reading the report, the Third Kazekage fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he gave several orders.

He commanded that the limited intelligence they had on the Wood Release user be distributed to every shinobi in the village.

He also issued a bounty for the so-called Wood Release Emissary—thirty-six million ryō!

And finally—

If any ninja encountered the Wood Release Emissary during a mission and had fewer than six Jōnin present, they were permitted to abandon the mission.

"Wood Release Emissary"—this was the codename the Third Kazekage had assigned to the unknown user of the Wood Release secret techniques, whose face no one had yet seen.

…

Kumogakure, Raikage's Office.

"Lord Third Raikage, according to intel from Konoha, they currently have no known Wood Release users on record," reported Dodai.

"However, considering that the Wood Release experiments were originally top secret within Konoha, we suspect that the user who appeared in Land of Zen is likely hidden within Konoha's Anbu."

The Third Raikage's voice dropped coldly. "Gather every piece of intel we can on this individual."

"Wood Release secret arts… If Konoha produces another Hashirama Senju, that will be a huge problem!"

Dodai nodded grimly in agreement.

Just then, a female ninja knocked and entered. "Lord Third Raikage, a report from the bounty exchange—a new intelligence update concerning the Wood Release user."

"Hm?" the Third Raikage raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Dodai took the intel and scanned it, eyes narrowing. "Lord Raikage, someone just issued a bounty—thirty-six million ryō. That's a bounty level for an elite Jōnin."

"'Wood Release Emissary'—he must be the one using Konoha's Wood Release techniques."

"Looks like that person has already drawn the attention of other hidden villages."

(End of Chapter)

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