Inside the carriage, Shang Qi discussed Taijutsu with Yusha Yushu, consulted Nishino Emi on Genjutsu, exchanged pointers on Mitani Marina's Shibari arts, and sparred in Medical Ninjutsu with Suzumori Remu. Shang Qi increasingly understood the mindset of his sworn brother Zhou Fa: the more women one comes into contact with, the more one unconsciously makes comparisons in the days to come, thereby drifting further and further down the path away from "true love." Perhaps this was a form of alternative equivalent exchange.
As the carriage pressed on, drawing ever closer to the Land of Rivers, Shang Qi and his party grew increasingly cautious. They knew deeply that they had reached the most critical moment and absolutely could not afford any mistakes on this final stretch. Even Shang Qi was operating his spider puppets with intense concentration to scout the surroundings, leaving no suspicious sign unchecked.
Yet the weather is unpredictable, and human fortune can turn overnight. When they were still five kilometers away from the Sand shinobi base, the spider puppet to Shang Qi's northeast suddenly lost its connection.
This sudden development instantly put Shang Qi on high alert. His nerves tightened immediately like a pulled bowstring. At the same time, the members of the two-hundred-and-thirty-strong "escort group" drew their weapons in unison, quickly forming a protective ring around the carriage.
"Who goes there? You've got some nerve trying to block our convoy!" demanded Uchao, acting as the captain of the guards, his voice booming like a great bell.
Yusha Yushu and Mitani Marina pulled back the carriage curtains from left and right, while Shang Qi stepped out, putting on a bold front. He straightened his back, lifted his chin, and strove to project a noble and unassailable aura—at the very least, he would overwhelm the opposition with sheer presence.
A group of shinobi wearing Konoha uniforms stood neatly blocking the road ahead. Shang Qi cast a quick glance: there were about fifty of them in total. Every single one of them possessed an agile physique and sharp eyes, exuding the aura of battle-hardened veterans. At their head stood a shinobi with long, silver-white hair—none other than Hatake Sakumo, known as the White Fang of Konoha.
Shang Qi's pupils contracted sharply behind his half-closed eyes, and he could not help cursing his luck inwardly. Could this be the arrangement of fate? How could he run into Hatake Sakumo by such a coincidence?
"This is a time of war. Which nobility are you from?" Hatake Sakumo asked, his voice low and powerful, carrying an unquestionable dignity.
Uchao followed the prearranged excuse and loudly declared, "Our young master is a prince of the Loulan Kingdom! Back down at once!" His voice was filled with arrogance, attempting to make the other party believe their false identity.
However, Hatake Sakumo and his men still stood firmly blocking the carriage. Hatake Sakumo's expression remained stern as he advised, "Ahead lies a group of vicious Sand shinobi. I must ask the Prince of Loulan to take an alternate route." A strange glint flashed in his eyes.
A flash of inspiration struck Shang Qi, and a plan formed in his mind. "Are you guys very strong?" he asked. "I'll hire you to escort me through the road ahead." He deliberately put on the appearance of an arrogant, ignorant scion of wealth, attempting to disrupt their rhythm.
Hatake Sakumo did not answer immediately, simply standing quietly in place as if waiting for something.
"If you're scared, get out of the way. I'll go see if the Sand shinobi dare to block me the way you do," Shang Qi continued to put on an overbearing act.
Suddenly, a flare soared into the air from behind the "escort group." The flare burst open in the sky, blooming with brilliant light that instantly illuminated the entire battlefield.
Upon seeing the signal flare, Hatake Sakumo instantly drew the short blade from his back, a faint white light shimmering along its edge. As it turned out, they had long since seen through the disguise of the grain transport team and were merely waiting patiently for the encirclement to form.
The battle erupted instantly. Hatake Sakumo led a hundred elite Konoha shinobi charging into the Sand shinobi grain transport team like tigers descending from the mountains. Hatake Sakumo took the lead himself, gripping his glowing short blade as his figure moved like lightning, instantly cutting into the ranks of the Sand shinobi. His movements were fluid and fierce, every swing of his blade carrying the resolve of a sure kill. Wherever he passed, Sand shinobi fell one after another. Every strike was precise and lethal, the white blade light flashing through the crowd like the merciless scythe of Death God reaping lives.
Akasuna Uchao was not to be outdone. As a formidable puppeteer, he rapidly summoned seven puppets. These puppets varied in form: some wielded sharp blades, some breathed fire, and others could unleash volleys of hidden weapons as they hurled themselves at the Konoha shinobi.
Akasuna Takase An followed closely behind her husband, summoning five puppets without hesitation. Unlike Uchao's puppets, Takase An's puppets were far more agile and covert. If Uchao's puppets were open and direct warriors, Takase An's puppets were assassination-style killers aiming for a single, fatal blow. The Akasuna couple cooperated seamlessly—one harassing, the other slaughtering—inflicting maximum casualties upon the Konoha shinobi.
The shinobi engaged in fierce combat. For a time, blade lights and sword shadows intersected, and sparks flew in all directions.
The Konoha elite shinobi fully utilized their respective specialties. Some excelled in Taijutsu, engaging the Sand shinobi in close-quarters combat with blows that landed solidly. Others were proficient in Ninjutsu, unleashing various powerful Fire Release, Wind Release, and Lightning Release techniques. Roaring flames, howling gales, and crashing lightning filled the air in a truly spectacular scene.
The Sand shinobi showed no fear either. Relying on their numerical advantage and stubborn fighting spirit, they locked into a life-or-death struggle against the Konoha shinobi.
Hatake Sakumo demonstrated overwhelming strength, fighting multiple opponents at once and moving through the encirclement of Sand shinobi as if no one was there. The light radiating from his short blade grew increasingly dazzling, seeming to transform into a streak of white lightning upon the battlefield, leaving fallen enemies in his wake.
Shang Qi did not hesitate to strike either. The tiger armor hidden beneath the carriage rapidly reconfigured, instantly transforming into a solid suit of armor that attached itself to Shang Qi's body. Hidden weapons flew from various parts of the armor like a dense rain of projectiles, turning Shang Qi into a merciless machine of war. Ten hair-thin steel wires, under his precise control, sliced through the lives of the Konoha shinobi like invisible reapers.
Amidst the fighting, Shang Qi keenly noticed members of the Hyuga clan among the Konoha forces. He immediately realized that the grain transport team's disguise had likely been seen through by the Hyuga's Byakugan. The Hyuga clan posed a tremendous counter to Sand shinobi puppeteers; relying on their Byakugan, they could easily pinpoint the true body of the puppeteer, and their chakra-infused Gentle Fist could precisely sever the puppeteer's chakra strings.
Yet Shang Qi was no ordinary puppeteer. He kicked off hard with both legs, and the mechanical transmission within the tiger armor granted him explosive propulsion. In a flash, Shang Qi crossed a distance of several meters, appearing before a Hyuga shinobi like a streak of lightning.
The Hyuga shinobi threw his hands wide, dropping into a deep lunge as he unleashed the "Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms." His movements were fast and fluid, the wind of his palms fierce.
However, as the two brushed past one another, the Hyuga shinobi was instantly sliced into a gruesome pile of minced meat by Shang Qi's steel wires. Shang Qi, by contrast, remained completely uninjured. The "Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms" had landed squarely on the tiger armor, producing a muffled thud, but the hard alloy completely blocked the impact, failing to inflict any harm upon Shang Qi whatsoever.