Chapter 068: Melee

A few days later, Bai finally approached Konoha with his large army.

Standing atop a mountain peak, he looked down and could easily see Konohagakure in the distance. He believed they would reach the village by tomorrow.

But what Bai found strange was that he hadn't encountered any of Konoha's main forces along the way.

Logically, since his movements were so blatant, Konoha should have already reacted. Why hadn't they mobilized to stop his advance?

Could it be that they really planned to resist only after he entered the village?

Weren't they afraid that the fighting between ninjas would affect the residents of Konoha?

What were these people thinking?

Bai was puzzled.

Just then, Shisui Uchiha suddenly appeared beside him, gazing at the distant Konoha village with him, and said with a sigh, "It's finally starting."

Bai nodded, then asked, "Are you planning to stop me now?"

Shisui Uchiha was taken aback.

Bai continued, "You're on Konoha's side, aren't you?"

He said it so matter-of-factly that even Shisui forgot to deny it and said with a wry smile, "When did you find out?"

"Of course, I knew from the very beginning."

"Were you suspicious of me from the moment we set out?" Shisui wondered how he had slipped up.

Bai shook his head. "Not that. By 'the very beginning,' I mean the day you joined Lord's command. From that day, Lord knew you were a spy. We never trusted you."

Shisui was horrified. After a moment, he suppressed his shock and couldn't help asking, "Why? If you knew I was a spy, why did you still take me in?"

Bai shook his head. "I don't know either. It was Lord's request. I'm just following orders."

Shisui fell silent.

Bai added, "Lord ordered me to kill you on the spot if you showed any sign of betrayal. I thought you would make a move on me when the battle started, but I didn't expect you to be so impatient."

As he spoke, he glanced around. "All of you, come out."

The next second, several more people appeared around Bai.

Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, Might Guy, and the current Ino-Shika-Cho trio: Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, and Inoichi Yamanaka.

Bai remarked, "The Copy Ninja, the son of the Hokage, the Eight Gates user, and the Ino-Shika-Cho formation. Aren't you afraid that if all of you die here, Konoha will be severely weakened?"

Shikaku Nara's eyes flickered a few times, then he shook his head. "I can't think of any reason why we would die here. With our strength, it's more than enough to take down any Kage-level opponent."

"You're right," Bai nodded. "With this lineup, you could indeed take down any Kage-level opponent. But unfortunately, I'm an exception."

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from everyone's sight.

Everyone was startled!

So fast!

Although they had heard from Kakashi Hatake that Bai had a special seal-less jutsu that allowed him to teleport without hand signs and at great speed...

But he had never imagined that the speed could reach such an extent.

This speed really felt somewhat like the Flying Thunder God Technique.

But their speed was not slow either; in an instant, they all moved, using the Body Flicker Technique to avoid giving the opponent a chance to lock onto them.

At the same time, Uchiha Shisui detected Haku's movement trajectory and followed without hesitation.

Years ago, he had already earned the title of "Shisui of the Body Flicker," and his mastery of the technique was at a supernatural level. Combined with the dynamic vision of his Sharingan, it was not surprising that he could see Haku in motion.

The two collided head-on at high speed, exchanging several blows in an instant.

Hatake Kakashi looked around but could only see occasional afterimages from their clash, unable to track their specific movements.

Only a series of clashing kunai sounds echoed through the air.

But just then, he suddenly heard Uchiha Shisui's voice: "Watch out!"

Before Shisui's words faded, Kakashi saw an ice-forged kunai appear as if out of nowhere, mere centimeters from his brow.

Kakashi reacted instantly, using the Body Flicker Technique to dodge the ice kunai.

Then, Haku suddenly appeared in midair, clapping his hands together.

"Senbon: Kunai!"

In an instant, a fierce cold aura emanated from his body, sweeping through the air, gathering moisture from the atmosphere to form countless ice-forged kunai.

In the sky, at least a thousand kunai pointed downward, aimed at everyone present.

The next second, the kunai descended like a storm, with the force to skewer everyone into pincushions.

Uchiha Shisui was not slow to react; he had already responded when Haku began creating the kunai.

He formed hand seals with one hand, six seals per second.

Just as the countless kunai rained down like a storm, he opened his mouth and spewed a vast sea of flames, covering a huge area and instantly engulfing all the ice kunai.

Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!

The terrifying sea of fire raged through the air, its heat capable of melting almost anything, vaporizing every ice kunai without exception.

But the next second, Haku's figure broke through the flames, descending from above, kicking toward Shisui's head.

Since he was outmatched in ninjutsu by Shisui, he would settle the fight with taijutsu.

"Don't even think about it."

Just then, a man wreathed in aura rushed out from the side, intercepting Haku's kick. This man was none other than the user of the Eight Gates.

Might Guy!

At that moment, his entire body radiated a green aura, indicating he had already opened the Sixth Gate, boosting his power to an astonishing level, allowing him to keep up with Haku's speed.

Bang!

The two clashed fiercely in midair, both retreating.

Haku's expression turned serious. Before coming, Wang Bo had carefully described Konoha's high-end combat power to him, naturally including this user of the Eight Gates.

He was an extraordinary combatant. Normally a jonin, but once all eight gates were open, he became a power above Kage level, even surpassing Haku himself.

However, his body was not strong enough to withstand the powerful backlash. With all gates open, his combat power was astonishing, but he could not sustain the fight. If he couldn't end the battle quickly, he would surely die.