Winter Assault

The next day, Asuma and the others became more disciplined. Besides carrying out missions with Shintaro daily, they also trained diligently.

Asuma mainly focused on developing the Wind Element [Rasengan], Tetsuo specialized in Fire and Earth Elements, practicing ninjutsu from these two attributes, and Hamasu concentrated on Fire Element training.

Shintaro primarily tried to combine the [Limitless Technique] with [Rasengan] and also attempted to use the [Limitless Technique] for space-time movement.

The first idea was Shintaro's own inspiration, and the latter was inspired by [Hiraishin no Jutsu].

These peaceful days lasted for several months.

Initially, Asuma and the others wouldn't have been able to endure such a peaceful life.

However, after encountering enemies during that reconnaissance mission, the three of them understood the meaning of war and trained peacefully while completing their missions.

After the beginning of winter, the cold of the forest in the Land of Forst became even more intense.

It was now the 49th Year of Konoha.

During these days, the Kumogakure Ninja seemed very quiet.

It seemed they were waiting for spring to launch their attack.

It was another routine reconnaissance mission. Shintaro's team arrived at the northern border of the Land of Forst, but this time the reconnaissance location was a bit far, in the northwestern coastal area.

"Hahaha..." Tetsuo patrolled with boredom and yawned.

Hamasu, on the other hand, had a vigilant expression on his face. He was always meticulous in his duties.

Asuma sighed heavily and covered his mouth with his hand to keep warm, "It's so cold..."

Shintaro played with a leaf in his palm, and the leaf swayed in the air as a blue light glowed in his palm.

By activating the automatic [Infinity], the cold air around his body was isolated, so there was no feeling of cold in the middle of this winter.

"Just wait, it won't be cold until spring arrives." Shintaro said casually.

Asuma wore a brown leather coat with warm white fur at the collar. Even so, he still complained about the cold from time to time.

He looked at Shintaro wearing a thin white shirt bought by Kurenai in the fall and a black jacket with the Uchiha Clan emblem, but he didn't feel cold at all.

Asuma couldn't help but complain, "You wear the same clothes all year round, yet you dare say you're cold in front of all of us."

Shintaro waved his hand.

Since mastering the automatic [Infinity] boundary, he had lived a clean life with warm winters and cool summers.

Suddenly, Shintaro turned and looked toward the border and said firmly to the three, "Someone is coming, you need to return immediately."

Asuma drew his Chakra Blade and said, "We are no longer the fools we used to be. We can help you."

Tetsuo and Hamasu agreed.

Shintaro said, "A thousand people are coming, are you sure you can help me?"

This left the three of them silent.

"How is that possible? Since the beginning of winter, Kumogakure's attacks have stopped. They only attack in small forces of a dozen or so at a time. How can..."

Asuma couldn't believe Kumogakure would launch an attack of a thousand people in the depths of winter.

Shintaro looked at Asuma with his blue eyes and said, "This is what I see with these eyes."

Seeing this, Asuma believed his words, and Tetsuo and Hamasu showed unconditional trust.

The three of them were no longer newcomers on the battlefield.

Asuma and the others also understood that staying would only cause trouble for Shintaro, so they didn't pretend and rushed to the rear.

Shintaro then walked out of the forest and faced the thousand-strong Kumogakure Ninja forces.

This thousand-man force moved very quickly, and they were likely all elites.

The number one thousand was also very specific. This number wouldn't be too large to put Konoha on full alert.

Additionally, they chose a remote northwestern corner of the defense line. If Shintaro wasn't patrolling here, this thousand-man force could easily kill the reconnaissance team and sneak past the defense line to directly attack the Konoha camp.

It seemed this was a long-planned winter assault by Kumogakure.

Shintaro stood alone at the edge of the forest in the Land of Forst.

Ai was the one rushing at the forefront of the Kumogakure Ninja forces.

As soon as Ai saw Shintaro, he immediately activated his Thunder Chakra mode and didn't dare relax at all.

He stopped, and the Kumogakure forces behind him also halted.

"Long time no see, Ai. I thought you'd become obedient."

Shintaro walked slowly towards the other side and said.

Ai faced him with a face full of hatred and didn't respond.

"I heard that the Hachibi Jinchuuriki in your village hasn't died yet? It was indeed my negligence at that time that allowed him to escape by chance."

Shintaro's words were full of mockery.

Ai gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, I have sent Bee back to the Land of Thunder to train. One day, you will pay the price."

He valued Killer Bee greatly as his brother. When he learned that Killer Bee narrowly escaped the battlefield, he had lingering fears and sent him to the Thunder Canyon for secluded training, hoping his power would increase.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Shintaro suddenly laughed like a villain, then said, "That's right. I will wait for him to come to me, saving me the trouble of going to the Land of Thunder to take his life."

Often only villains give others a chance to grow, but he did this.

Shintaro's idea was to wait until Killer Bee thought he could take revenge on him after working hard, and then cruelly crush his mind, delivering the most fatal psychological blow.

This idea was very counter-intuitive.

The premise of this idea was that Shintaro had complete confidence in his own strength.

His words were accompanied by two fingers pointing at Ai.

The hair on Ai's head stood up instantly.

Red light condensed at the fingertips and then exploded. Ai reacted quickly, and a lightning arc appeared all over his body as he quickly left the spot.

But the Kumogakure Ninja behind him were pitiful.

A gap in the Kumogakure Ninja forces was blown up in an instant. Several people died directly, and dozens were affected.

For Shintaro, this was just an ordinary attack at this level.

"Spread out! Everyone spread out!"

Ai yelled at the Kumogakure Ninja as he fled in panic.

Shintaro seemed to keep raising his hand to bombard the Kumogakure Ninja forces.

Scorching heat blasted out, and an enormous repulsive force contracted and exploded, blasting flesh and blood one by one in the Kumogakure Ninja forces.

Each gap contained several bleeding and mutilated limbs and broken arms of Kumogakure Ninja, their deaths pitiful.

The Kumogakure Ninja fled in all directions, utterly panicked.

Ai was stunned as he watched this.

He never imagined that the long-planned winter assault would coincidentally encounter Shintaro, the death star of Kumogakure Ninja.

"Retreat!"

Although Ai was unwilling, seeing so many casualties and Shintaro's unpredictable methods, he could only make the decision to retreat.

To reduce losses, he could only rush towards Shintaro and try to stop him.

Shintaro turned and smiled faintly, "I've been waiting for you."

He suddenly flipped his fingers and shot towards Ai.

Ai screamed, and his body flew immediately.