"What's going on?"
Ryujin stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the empty crates scattered throughout the base. His movements remained calm, but his brows furrowed slightly as the truth became clear.
Something was wrong.
Orochimaru's expression sharpened instantly, his golden eyes turning cold.
"We've been played…!"
His voice dropped.
"Retreat—NOW!"
But—
It was already too late.
In the next instant—
The shadows moved.
From every direction, figures began to emerge. At first it was only a handful—then dozens—then hundreds. One after another, silhouettes stepped out of the darkness, their presence swallowing the battlefield whole.
Rain ninja.
Everywhere.
At least several hundred.
This wasn't a response force.
This was a full encirclement.
"This is an ambush!!" Jiraiya gritted his teeth, his expression hardening as he scanned the surroundings. "We walked straight into their trap!"
The battlefield flipped instantly.
From hunters—
To prey.
Ryujin's eyes narrowed slightly.
Information leak.
That was his first conclusion.
There was no other explanation. Their attack timing, their route, their target—everything had been anticipated in advance.
This level of preparation…
Could not happen by chance.
"There's a spy."
The thought surfaced clearly.
…Troublesome.
But even then—
Ryujin didn't look worried.
Not even a little.
Because at that exact moment—
His attention shifted somewhere else entirely.
Inside the Guild.
Busujima Saeko's message appeared first, her tone calm yet carrying a trace of concern as she asked whether he was still in battle.
Eriri followed immediately, unable to contain her curiosity as she asked whether ninja fights were actually as dangerous as they sounded.
Asuna's message came more quietly, her words carrying unease as she pointed out the obvious truth—people would die in a fight like this.
Curiosity filled the chat.
Concern followed close behind.
Then—
Ryujin replied.
"We've fallen into the enemy's trap."
"We're surrounded."
Silence.
A heavy, suffocating silence.
Then—
"???"
"???"
"…?"
The entire guild froze.
He had just said that—
So casually.
Eriri reacted first, her panic immediate and unfiltered as she demanded to know why he was still chatting if the situation was that dangerous.
Even Saeko paused, struggling to find the right words to describe what she was feeling.
Calm?
Fearless?
Or simply—
Treating the enemy as nothing?
Asuna's message came softly.
"Please be careful…"
Then—
Eriri typed again.
Hesitant this time.
"Boss… can you stream it?"
A pause.
"…Only if it's safe!"
Even she realized how absurd it sounded.
But the idea—
Had already spread.
They were curious.
Curious about the battlefield.
Curious about this world.
Curious about—
Him.
Ryujin glanced up.
Hundreds of enemies.
Complete encirclement.
Rain falling.
Killing intent rising.
Then—
He opened the guild interface.
And tapped.
[Live Stream — ON]
[Ding! Trainee Guild Master Ryujin has started a live stream!]
Darkness filled the screen at first.
Rain.
Cold wind.
The sound of distant movement.
Then—
The image stabilized.
Utaha was the first to enter.
Her vision blurred for a moment before clearing, and when it did, her breath caught.
"…This…"
It felt real.
Too real.
As if she were standing there herself, surrounded by danger—yet unable to interact with anything around her.
"A full-immersion projection…?"
Even with her intelligence—
She couldn't fully comprehend it.
One by one, the others joined.
Asuna.
Eriri.
Saeko.
Inori.
And then—
They saw it.
Hundreds of ninja closing in from all sides, weapons drawn, killing intent rising like a suffocating tide. The rain intensified, hammering against the ground, turning the battlefield into a dark, living nightmare.
The pressure alone—
Was overwhelming.
"YOU'RE REALLY SURROUNDED?!" Eriri's voice trembled despite her excitement.
"…This feels dangerous even through the stream…" Asuna whispered, her fingers tightening slightly.
Linglong looked around in confusion, trying to make sense of the scene.
"…Uh… how do we tell which side is yours?"
Saeko answered calmly, her voice steady despite the tension.
"Clothing. Symbols. Headbands."
Utaha narrowed her eyes.
"…Where is he?"
Her gaze swept across the battlefield again.
"…Why can't we see the Guild Master?"
That was the strange part.
Everything else was visible.
The Rain ninja.
The Konoha shinobi.
The battlefield itself.
But Ryujin—
Was nowhere to be seen.
"I wanted to see what Boss looks like…" Eriri muttered.
Utaha's lips curved slightly.
"…Hiding himself?"
Then—
A voice echoed.
Clear.
Calm.
Dominant.
"Everyone in the guild…"
"Can you hear me?"
The battlefield—
Froze.
For a single moment.
Even the rain seemed to pause.
Even the killing intent—
Stalled.
Because something—
Was about to happen.