socalfunplaces Chapter 367 is not 1-on-1
Chapter 367 is not 1-on-1
Chapter 367 is not one-on-one
The scarred man had already climbed up from under the tree roots, his neck was bruised and purple, and his voice was as hoarse as sandpaper.
"The North Camp says four people are missing."
The female ninja returned from the low-lying area to the east, her face pale.
"What about the Eastern Camp?"
"Nothing's missing," the scarred man said, "but all the hostages are gone."
The female ninja sat down, resting her hands on her knees.
"He was alone. Wounded. He bypassed our patrol lines, reached the main camp, took down six men, captured four guards at the east camp, and released twenty-three civilians. Then he left."
The scarred man didn't say anything.
The female ninja raised her head.
"He didn't even kill a single person."
The scarred man plunged the dagger into the ground.
"Next time. He won't be so lucky next time."
The female ninja looked at him without saying a word.
She was thinking that if he could do this much even while injured, what about when he recovered? What about when he used the blade instead of just the scabbard?
She didn't say anything.
She stood up, went into the tent, and began writing the evacuation plan.
When Chi Quan returned to the western wall of Konoha, it was almost dawn.
His movements as he scaled the wall were much more clumsy than when he came out—the bandage on his left arm loosened half a turn during the movement, and the sling slipped down to his elbow, preventing him from using his left hand for support. He had to rely entirely on his right hand and his waist and abdomen for leverage. The wound on his abdomen was jolted when he landed, and he stood there for a few moments to catch his breath before continuing forward.
The back door of the medical department was unlocked.
It wasn't that he forgot to lock it; someone left it for him.
He pushed open the door and went inside. A wall lamp was lit in the corridor, casting a dim, yellowish light. Jingyin sat on a bench in the corridor, wearing a white coat, holding a cold teacup in her hand, with dark circles under her eyes.
Chi Quan walked up to her.
Jingyin didn't stand up. She looked up at him, her expression complex—anger, heartache, and a sense of helplessness that said, "I knew this would happen."
"Twenty-three for twenty-three," Shizune said. "You did it. Satisfied?"
Chi Quan didn't answer.
"Let me see your left arm."
Chi Quan stretched out his left arm. Shizune untied the loosened bandage, glanced at it, and frowned.
"The wound didn't reopen, but you strained a muscle in your shoulder. Did you use it to exert force?"
"No. It just swayed a bit when I was climbing over the wall."
"You strained your muscles just from shaking them?" Jingyin glared at him. "Your muscles are like paper soaked in water right now; they'll tear at the slightest touch."
I've told you so many times, your left arm can't move, can't move, can't!"
"Mute".
"Don't call me!"
Chi Quan shut up.
Jingyin took a deep breath, took out new bandages and ointment from the first-aid kit, and re-bandaged him. Her movements were a little heavier than usual, but she made no mistakes in any step. Chi Quan stood in the corridor, his right hand hanging down, letting her do as she pleased.
Footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.
When Shikamaru came over, he was carrying a cup of steaming tea. He handed the tea to Shizune, who took it, drank a sip, and said nothing.
Shikamaru looked at Ikezumi.
"Where are those coalition soldiers you arrested being held?"
"Fifteen miles west of here, there's an abandoned hunter's hut. I used Shadow Binding to tie them up, and left them water and dry rations, enough to last two days."
Shikamaru nodded.
"I'll have someone go and bring it."
Chi Quan hesitated for a moment.
"Shikamaru".
"explain."
"I didn't use Konoha's name when I went out this time. I used all private methods. If the Allied Forces retaliate, they will come after me, not Konoha."
Shikamaru's gaze towards him changed.
"Are you trying to distance yourself?"
"I'm trying to avoid dragging the village into it."
"But you've already dragged the village into this." Shikamaru's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "You climbed over the walls of Konoha, and someone from the Anbu saw you. You came back from the western border, and someone from the barrier team detected your chakra residue. You think you were doing something personal? Everything you did bears the mark of Konoha."
Chi Quan remained silent for a while.
"What should we do then?"
"There's not much to do," Shikamaru said. "Just admit it. Admit you're a Konoha ninja, and what Konoha ninjas do is what Konoha does. If the Allied Forces attack because of that, then let them attack. Konoha isn't afraid of being attacked."
After silently wrapping the last layer of bandage, she stood up.
"Could you two please stop talking like this in the hallway? Go back to your room."
Chi Quan took two steps toward the ward and then suddenly stopped.
"Shikamaru".
"What's wrong now?"
"During the hostage exchange, the Allied forces said they would kill the people of Kushida Village, but that was a lie. They didn't kill them; they never intended to kill them in the first place."
Shikamaru frowned.
How did you know?
"That's what the female ninja from the Land of Wind said. She said killing me was just to scare me. They just wanted to force me out."
Shikamaru leaned against the wall, taking a few seconds to process what he had just said.
"So the coalition's strategy is to use civilians to force you to come forward, but not to actually kill you. Because they know that if they really kill you, you won't just be using a scabbard anymore."
Chi Quan nodded.
"They don't want to become my mortal enemy."
"They don't want to become your mortal enemy, but they still want to capture you?" Shikamaru scoffed. "These people are out of their minds."
"It's not that they're sick," Chi Quan said. "Someone is pressuring them from behind. It could be Helian, it could be an old nobleman from the Land of Fire, or it could be someone else. They don't want to fight, but they have no choice. So they've found a middle ground between fighting and not wanting to fight—they're just putting on a show."
Silently pushed Chi Quan's back forward.
"Get into the ward. If you don't go in, I'll lock the door."
Chi Quan was wheeled into the ward and sat on the bed. Jing Yin pulled the blanket up to cover his legs, her movements as rough as if she were laying a tablecloth.
Shikamaru followed him in and closed the door.
"Chiquan."
"Um."
"Besides rescuing people, what else did you do on this trip?"
Chi Quan looked up at him.
"I left some things in the coalition camp."
"What is it?"
"Explosive tag. It didn't detonate, but it left a chakra mark. They won't find it unless they dig three feet into the ground. If they make another move, I can detonate it remotely. It won't hurt anyone, but it will blow their supplies and camp to smithereens."
Shikamaru stared at him.
"When did you put it there?"
"When those six people were taken down."
Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment.
"You were hitting people with your scabbard while simultaneously planting mines in their camp?"
"Multi-threaded operation," Chi Quan said.
Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked at him, then suddenly smiled. Not the brief, sigh-like smile he'd given before, but a genuine, real smile.
The snort that came out of his nose carried a meaning of "I'm really impressed by you."
"You," he said again, but this time his tone was different. Last time it was a mixture of exhaustion and relief; this time it was a tangled mess of helplessness and admiration.
Jingyin was packing up the medicine box next to her, and said something without looking up.
"Can you two stop laughing? There are people watching in the hallway."
Shikamaru and Ikezumi both looked towards the doorway.
Outside the small glass window on the door, Akamaru rested its front paws on the windowsill, its round eyes peering inside. Kiba squatted beside Akamaru, its face pressed against the glass, its expression as curious as a child eavesdropping.
Shikamaru walked over and opened the door.
"How long did you listen?"
Ya stood up and chuckled twice.
I started listening "from the perspective of multithreaded operations."
"I didn't hear much about that."
"That's enough." Kiba walked in, picked up Akamaru, and said, "Twenty-three for twenty-three, flanking, setting up mines, using the scabbard, and you did a fucking great job without killing anyone."
Chi Quan glanced at him.
"Don't swear."
Ya was taken aback.
"What's wrong with me swearing?"
"Akamaru is here."
Kiba looked down at Akamaru. Akamaru tilted his head, looking innocent.
"It doesn't understand."
"It can understand," Chi Quan said.
Ya opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but after seeing Akamaru's eyes, he swallowed his words.
"————Okay. You're right. It can understand everything."
Akamaru let out a satisfied cry and buried his head in the crook of Ya's arm.
Shikamaru closed the door and walked back to the bedside.
"The question now is, if the coalition failed this time, what methods will they use next time?"
Chi Quan leaned against the pillow and thought for a moment.
"They won't use civilians anymore. If they didn't work this time, they'll definitely not work next time."
"So who will they use?"
Chi Quan did not answer.
The room was silent for a few seconds.
Silent hand rested on the medicine box.
Ya Bao Chiwan's hand tightened.
Looking at Izumi's face, Shikamaru already knew the answer.
Chi Quan finally spoke.
"I."
Everyone was looking at him.
"They will attack me directly," Chi Quan said. "Not a sneak attack, not an ambush, but a frontal assault. They will find a place where I cannot hide, cannot go around, and must fight head-on, using enough people to force me to exhaust my strength, exhaust my chakra, and bleed dry. They will not kill me, they will capture me."
Shikamaru's voice deepened.
"Will you let them catch you?"
Chi Quan reached his right hand onto the bedside table and grasped the knife handle.
The knife was not drawn.
He held on for a moment, then let go.
"Won't."
After returning from Kushida Village, Ikezumi spent three more days in the medical department.
For the next three days, he didn't climb out the window again. Every time Jingyin came to change his dressing, he lay there obediently, taking his medicine and having his bandages changed as needed. Jingyin, however, felt something was off—it was too quiet. Quiet like Chiquan.
On the fourth night, Shikamaru was summoned to the Hokage Building.
When he arrived, he found only three people in the meeting room. Tsunade sat in the main seat, with a large map of the western border of the Land of Fire spread out in front of her. Kakashi leaned against the wall, his eye outside his mask half-closed, making it impossible to tell whether he was awake or asleep. There was another empty seat, next to which was a chair with a dark Jonin vest draped over it.
Shikamaru recognized it as Ikezumi's disguise.
"He hasn't arrived yet?" Shikamaru sat down.
Tsunade glanced at him.
"He's here. He's next door." She gestured with her chin toward the door behind her. "I told him to wait. I need to ask you something first."
"What is it?"
"Chi Quan mentioned a plan to me three days ago. He said he had already discussed it with you. I want to hear you say it to me yourself."
Shikamaru remained silent for a long time.
The lamp on the conference table illuminated the topographic map clearly, with the mountains, rivers, plains, and depressions of the western region marked with lines of different colors. Shikamaru's gaze fell on a small depression in the southwest corner of the map, where a line of small text was marked: "Rain-cracked basin, low-lying, waterlogged, loose soil."
"Is this the place he's talking about?" Shikamaru pointed to the indentation.
Tsunade didn't look at the map; she kept staring at Shikamaru's face.
"Yes."
Shikamaru withdrew his hand and placed it on his knee.
"He mentioned it to me," Shikamaru said. "Not a discussion, but a notification."
"What did he say?"
Shikamaru closed his eyes.
That night, the day after Ikezumi returned from Kushida Village, when Shizune went to the pharmacy to get her medicine, Ikezumi called Shikamaru to the ward. The curtains were drawn tightly, the door was closed, and only a small lamp was on by the bedside.
Chi Quan sat on the bed, not lying down.
"Shikamaru".
"Um.
""
"The war will not stop."
Shikamaru leaned against the door and didn't reply.
"This time I traded twenty-three for twenty-three, but they won't stop. Next time they use a hundred men to pressure me, I can still trade a hundred men for them. And the time after that? A thousand? Ten thousand? I don't have that many hands, nor that much time." Chi Quan's voice was calm, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself. "The logic of war isn't reciprocal retaliation. The logic of war is who can't hold on first."
Shikamaru asked, "What are you trying to say?"
Ikezumi pulled a map with many folds from under her pillow, unfolded it, and spread it on the bed. Shikamaru went over to look at it.
It was a map of the western border of the Land of Fire, not the standard version issued by Konoha, but one drawn by Izumi herself. The lines weren't pretty, but every line was clearly marked—the height of the mountains, the width of the rivers, the extent of the wetlands, and several locations circled in red.
Shikamaru immediately understood what those red circles meant.
"This is the only way to advance westward into Konoha." Shikamaru pointed to a narrow valley on the map. "If the Lightning, Wind, and Earth armies want to attack from the west, no matter which route they take, they will eventually converge in this valley. It's surrounded by mountains on both sides and lowlands in the middle, making it the most suitable."
He stopped.
Chi Quan finished speaking for him: "It's most suitable for large-scale earth-escape techniques. Blow up the mountain walls on both sides and seal off the entire valley. People inside can't get out, and people outside can't get in. If there happen to be tens of thousands of low-level ninjas from the allied forces in the valley..."
"Chiquan."
They would be buried tens of meters deep under the earth and rocks. Not killed, but buried. Not one-on-one, but altering the terrain. Ninjutsu can do that. I've calculated it; it would require twelve Jonin-level Earth Release ninjas, at the same time and place...
Simultaneously. The mountain walls will fold like paper, and the valley will turn into a tomb within ten seconds.
Shikamaru's hand pressed on the map, his fingertips turning white.
"You know it's not all ninjas inside. The Allied forces' logistics, laborers, and medical teams will also be there."
Chi Quan did not avoid the question.
"I know."
Do you know how many people that would be?
"The total strength of the Allied forces on the western front is approximately 40,000 to 50,000. Of these, low-ranking ninjas comprise about 70%, roughly 30,000. Logistics and support personnel number around 10,000. If the plan succeeds, these 30,000 to 40,000 will be rendered combat ineffective within ten minutes. (Death toll...)"
He paused for a moment.
"The death toll could exceed 20,000."
Shikamaru removed his hand from the map and put it in his pocket.
"are you serious?
""