Li Anshi arrived at the entrance to the basement. A chakra sphere the size of a basketball appeared in his hand.
"Rasengan!"
Boom!
With a loud explosion, the rocks at the entrance were pulverized. A large amount of rubble fell, quickly burying the opening.
Then, he went to the other entrance and destroyed it as well.
This way, even the Sky Ninjas themselves could not re-enter the basement from the outside passages.
After confirming that all contact between the basement and the outside world had been cut off, Li Anshi nodded in satisfaction.
If only he knew sealing jutsus, he would have wanted to place a barrier to envelop the area.
Otherwise, even with the passages destroyed, a ninja skilled in Earth Release could still infiltrate using a technique like the Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu.
However, the Sky Ninjas were just a village formed by a group of wandering ninjas. They did have some research talent and had created many auxiliary devices.
Presumably, if they had possessed elemental ninjutsu, they would not have had to resort to creating such items to fight.
Pinning a dagger with an iris mark on its blade to a desk, Li Anshi's figure flickered and disappeared from the basement.
By a large tree on the surface, his figure appeared in an instant.
This was the Flying Thunder God Technique!
Reaching out and retrieving the dagger embedded in the tree trunk, Li Anshi then put his hands in his pockets and walked towards Tsunade and the others.
…
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A dozen or so ninjas, with wooden, bat-like wings strapped to their backs, soared through the sky.
They swooped, spun, and carved arcs through the air...
Each time they came closest to Tsunade's group, they would drop round tools from above.
These tools would fall to the ground, either exploding in a cloud of white smoke to obscure their vision, or detonating like paper bombs with a huge roar, causing considerable damage to the surroundings.
"Damn it!"
On the ground, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were forced to maintain a high-speed movement state under the constant harassment of the smoke bombs and explosives.
And, to avoid involving the ordinary citizens of the Land of Sky, they always dodged towards less populated areas.
As he dodged, Jiraiya formed a series of hand seals.
Finally, as a Sky Ninja swooped down, Jiraiya leaped high into the air and unleashed his ninjutsu.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Jutsu!"
Instantly, dozens of fist-sized fireballs spewed from his mouth, enveloping the Sky Ninja diving down from above.
The only advantages the Sky Ninjas had were the flight granted by their wing suits and the attack range of their aerial bombs.
When faced with a ninjutsu attack, they had no defensive techniques to protect themselves.
Therefore, in the face of Jiraiya's Fire Style, this Sky Ninja could only desperately flap his wings, trying to slow his descent and evade the dozens of fireballs.
But unfortunately, after a period of observation, Jiraiya had completely grasped their flight patterns.
Furthermore, to increase the range of his jutsu, he had leaped high from a rooftop.
Even if the Sky Ninja wanted to change his direction, it was too late. He could only scream in terror.
"Aaaaaah..."
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
In the end, he was hit by more than a dozen fireballs.
The moment the fist-sized fireballs touched him, they erupted in violent explosions.
When the roaring subsided, a charred figure, wreathed in flames, fell from the sky.
"Ishikawa!"
Seeing their comrade hit by such an attack, a Sky Ninja cried out his name.
But unfortunately, he could no longer answer them.
Thump!
The charred body smashed onto a civilian house, crashing through the roof, the flames on it setting the house ablaze.
"Nice one, Jiraiya!"
Seeing him successfully shoot down a Sky Ninja, even Tsunade and Orochimaru couldn't help but cheer for him.
What a joke!
They were the disciples of the Third Hokage, the leaders of Konoha's new generation.
On their path of growth, the only ones they had considered "obstacles" so far were Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, and Little Li's Flying Dagger, Li Anshi.
As for the others, like Shinnosuke Sarutobi, Shisui Uchiha, Shinku Yūhi, and Kōmei Gekkō, although they were currently stronger, they were confident they could reach and even surpass them in the next two or three years.
Tsunade was even striving to become Hokage.
Before, she had never really had any thoughts about it.
But after spending a long time with Li Anshi, she had begun to have her own plans for the future of Konoha.
In the current village, if she were to just be a mascot, she would be its most respected princess. Even the Hokage would have to give her some face.
But if she wanted to do something, to have a say in the development of the village, the ninja clans would not just listen to her because she was the "princess."
In fact, they might even become an obstacle to her actions.
It couldn't be helped. The ninja clans had been passed down for hundreds of years, from the Warring States period to the era of the villages. There were certain rules that had been passed down through the generations.
In their eyes, these "rules" were indispensable to their continued existence.
Therefore, to ensure the continuation of their families, these "rules" could not be changed.
This was the "foundation" of their clans.
Unless Tsunade was the "Hokage."
And she could make them see that under her leadership, not only Konoha, but their own clans would also grow stronger. Only then would they support her.
Now, for these three, with such aspirations, to be forced into a passive position due to their unfamiliarity with the Sky Ninjas—it would be strange if they weren't angry.
"Hahaha, I am the strongest!"
Praised by Tsunade and Orochimaru, Jiraiya put his hands on his hips and laughed heartily.
But he was immediately forced to cover his head and run for cover from more smoke bombs and explosives.
"That guy!"
Tsunade shook her head, no longer paying attention to him.
In any case, those attacks were not something he couldn't avoid.
Then, she turned her gaze to Orochimaru and shouted, "Orochimaru!"
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Orochimaru slammed his hands on the ground. Instantly, an earthen wall, four or five meters high and over three meters wide, rose from the ground.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...
A dozen or so round black balls exploded against the wall. White smoke and flames filled the air, but in the end, they could not destroy it.
It was no joke. Orochimaru, after all, was a powerhouse who had mastered the earth chakra nature transformation. He was only one more transformation away from being a Jonin.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the current Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were "Special Jonin."
However, the title "Special Jonin" was given to ninjas whose potential had been exhausted, who had no possibility of further advancement.
They might be comparable to, or even surpass, an ordinary Jonin in a specific area, but overall, they were not as well-rounded, or they had obvious weaknesses or flaws compared to a Jonin.
For ninjas with the potential to become Jonin, or who already possessed Jonin-level strength, the village would not give them the title of "Special Jonin."
They were an important part of the village's core strength, each responsible for some of the village's external affairs. When the time was right, they would be directly promoted to Jonin by the village.
The smoke bombs and explosives invented by the Sky Ninjas were indeed extraordinary.
However, for those at Tsunade's and the others' level, their vision was not as limited as that of an ordinary ninja.
The saying that a Jonin had no obvious weaknesses was not just talk.
In terms of sensory abilities, although they couldn't compare to a specialized sensory ninja, every Jonin had their own methods of perception.
Although they were still a bit short of being Jonin, all three of them had been developing in a well-rounded manner. Attack, defense, speed, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu—they might excel in one area, but they had no obvious shortcomings.
Even without their sight, they all had their own ways of sensing their enemies and comrades.
Boom!
In the smoke, Tsunade stomped her foot on the ground. The immense force created a large crater.
With her left foot as the center, black cracks spread across the ground.
Then, some of the rocks shattered by the cracks were shaken loose. She scooped them up in her hand and threw them into the sky.
When she had thrown the rocks, she had already used her "monstrous strength."
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—
Thump, thump, thump—
Dozens of pieces of gravel flew out of the smoke, like a goddess scattering flowers, whistling through the air and piercing through three of the Sky Ninjas.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah..."
It was hard to say whether the luck of these three was good or bad.
If you said their luck was bad, not a single one of the dozens of pieces of gravel had hit a vital spot.
Although their bodies were pierced and their wing suits were torn with several large holes, from their full-throated screams, it was clear they were in no mortal danger.
But if you said their luck was good, they were currently dozens of meters in the air.
Injured, and with their wing suits damaged, they could not control them properly and began to fall from the sky.
Falling from such a height, in their current state, their chances of survival were slim to none.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Without any surprise, after losing control of their wing suits, the three Sky Ninjas plummeted into the village, their screams coming to an abrupt end.
Clearly, they had not managed to grasp that slim chance of survival.
"Sugii!"
"Koizumi!"
"Genichi!"
"Damn it!"
With another three comrades dead, the Sky Ninjas were even more enraged.
Ever since their village had created the wing suits, it had always been them attacking others. When had others ever had a chance to fight back?
Even the last time they had attacked the caravan guarded by Konoha ninjas, they had not suffered any losses.
As far as they knew, for such a caravan, even a great village would have to assign a Jonin to the mission.
Although those three Konoha ninjas had been very strong, worthy of the name of Jonin from a great village, they had still been forced to retreat under their continuous attacks, ultimately ending with one dead and two wounded.
And this had only fueled the Sky Ninjas' arrogance.
They felt that as long as they had their wing suits, they would be invincible!
This was also why, upon seeing the Konoha headbands on the three of them, they had guessed they were from Konoha to investigate the last incident.
Therefore, to teach Konoha a lesson, they had gathered together to attack them.
However, they probably never imagined that the three Konoha ninjas guarding the caravan they had robbed last time were not Jonin at all, but three Elite Chunin.
Konoha's mission load was so high that they were already using their Elite Chunin as Jonin.
But the Sky Ninjas' strength was mostly in their auxiliary devices, so the strength displayed by the three Elite Chunin, in their eyes, was definitely Jonin-level.
In their village, that would be enough to become the leader.
Well, an Elite Chunin from Konoha would be considered a relatively strong Jonin in a small village.
Every ninja village had the ranks of Genin, Chunin, and Jonin.
But in the ninja world, only the ranks of the five great villages were accepted by everyone.
Even if you were a Jonin from a small village, no one would care.
But if you were from one of the five great villages, even if you were just a Chunin, you would be taken seriously by the other villages.
There was no helping it. That was reality.
Even a commoner ninja from one of the five great villages had received a better education, had access to more ninjutsu resources, and had seen more powerful individuals than the ninjas of an ordinary small village.
The actions of Tsunade and the others were, for the Sky Ninjas, undoubtedly a huge slap in the face at the height of their pride. How could they not be angry?
However, they also sensed that although the three of them were younger than the Konoha ninjas from last time, their strength was much greater.
Could it be that these three are Elite Jonin?
Looking at their appearance, it was indeed possible.
With this realization, the Sky Ninjas became much more cautious. When throwing their smoke bombs and explosives, they no longer lowered their altitude.
As a result, it became difficult for Tsunade and the others to launch an effective counterattack against them high in the sky.
However, with the increased distance, the Sky Ninjas' aim was not as good, and their attacks posed little to no threat to the three of them.
After about ten minutes, after they had used up all the smoke bombs and explosives they were carrying, they no longer had any way to trouble them.
Thus, the remaining dozen or so Sky Ninjas had no choice but to retreat.
If they stayed any longer, they would run out of chakra.
Although the wing suits provided assistance, both adjusting them and keeping the body warm while flying consumed chakra.
If they couldn't land before their chakra ran out, they would die.