"Earth Style: Rock Fist!"
In the dim forest, a loud shout rang out, followed immediately by a scream and an explosive crash.
Amid the scattering rubble, a tall figure straightened up. In the massive crater before him lay a Konoha ninja, eyes rolled back white.
"Why did we have to run into Kitsuchi, damn it?!"
Not far in front of Kitsuchi, two other Konoha ninjas stared at him warily.
Behind Kitsuchi stood two squads of Iwagakure ninjas, all wearing cold smirks.
The Earth Style coating on Kitsuchi's right hand slowly faded.
"Surrender, or die."
The two Konoha ninjas instinctively took a step back—surrender wasn't much better than death.
Just as Kitsuchi was about to make another move, a hoarse voice suddenly interrupted him.
"Uh, excuse me, could you tell me the way?"
Everyone turned in uncertainty. A tall man with six eyes was casually walking toward them.
"Kokushibo!?"
Kitsuchi's pupils shrank, and both the Iwagakure and Konoha ninjas beside him were visibly shaken.
"Huh."
Akashō glanced at Kitsuchi, raising a brow. "You know me?"
"The Moon Sword Demon who slaughtered countless people on the Wind-Fire battlefield, rampaged through the Sand Village camp, and fought head-on against the Magnet Release duo—anyone with some strength knows you."
Kitsuchi calmly listed everything Akashō had done on the Wind-Fire battlefield.
"I've heard that you went against the Sand Village because of a personal grudge, but then you mysteriously disappeared. Now you show up on the Earth-Fire battlefield—what's your goal?"
"Ah…"
Akashō scratched his head. So Kokushibo had already become this famous? Even Iwagakure ninjas from another front had heard of him.
In that case, the twenty or thirty thousand reputation points he gained after entering Konoha—could it have come from this?
"I don't really have any special reason for being here. I just… want to cause some more chaos."
"I'm asking you because I want to know the locations of the Konoha camp and the Iwagakure camp. Mind telling me?"
"Are you kidding me!?"
An Iwagakure ninja couldn't help but curse.
"You say you want to cause trouble, and then you ask Iwagakure ninjas for the location of our camp? Are you brain-dead?"
As he spoke, he drew a kunai.
"You pretentious bastard—I'll see what you're really capable of!"
But just as he was about to attack, Kitsuchi raised a hand to stop him.
"Kitsuchi-sama?"
Ignoring the man's confusion, Kitsuchi stared grimly at Akashō.
"So, Kokushibo—you didn't join Konoha after all?"
Back when intelligence on Kokushibo first arrived, Ōnoki had analyzed him.
In Ōnoki's words, Kokushibo's strength was undoubtedly at Kage level. However, based on the information, he was most likely actually affiliated with Konoha, and the so-called revenge was nothing more than a smokescreen.
No one knew why Konoha would do this, but the fact that Kokushibo disappeared from the Wind-Fire battlefield and appeared on the Earth-Fire battlefield was the clearest evidence.
"Who said I joined Konoha?"
Akashō sighed. Asking for directions was such a hassle. Forget it—he'd just start killing. Once only one person was left, there wouldn't be so much nonsense.
"The Iwagakure camp is fifty kilometers southeast of here!"
Just as Akashō was about to act, one of the previously silent Konoha ninjas suddenly shouted.
"Oh?"
Akashō blinked, momentarily caught off guard. "Oh, got it. Thanks."
Kitsuchi's face darkened instantly. His figure flashed as he rushed toward that Konoha ninja.
"You just had to open your mouth!!"
Though he suspected Kokushibo was with Konoha, that didn't stop him from wanting to test it.
Originally, he planned to first reveal the location of the Konoha camp to see whether Kokushibo would actually attack them. But before he could say anything, that Konoha ninja blurted out the location of the Iwagakure camp—how could he not be furious?
But just as Kitsuchi was about to smash the ninja's head with a punch, a sharp sound cut through the air from the left.
Kitsuchi's expression changed. His charge halted abruptly as he flipped backward, narrowly avoiding the blade wind slashed out by Akashō.
"Kokushibo! Didn't you say you weren't with Konoha? Then why stop me!?"
Akashō planted his long blade into the ground, expression indifferent.
"No rush. You can tell me the location of the Konoha camp first."
Kitsuchi snorted coldly. "Head west for over a hundred li."
"Fifty kilometers southeast, over fifty kilometers west."
Akashō nodded. "Got it. Thanks, everyone."
"As a reward, I'll give you all a lesson in swordsmanship."
A savage smile spread across his face. The long blade formed from his Blood Demon Art instantly evolved, and with shattered stones scattering beneath his feet, he shot forward like an arrow toward Kitsuchi and the others.
These were all delicious reputation points—there was no way he'd let them go so easily.