On the second day, as night falls, the sound of endless waves crashing can be heard from the sea. Under the light of the moon and countless stars, standing on the beach and looking out at the sea bathed in moonlight, it seems as though the deadly dangers of the sea are veiled in a beautiful lunar glow.
The waves continually hit the shore, making the sound of the surf. Under the moonlight, black spots appeared on the sea surface.
A team of about sixty elite Mist Ninja, each with a bloodthirsty and cold gaze, were running quickly on the sea surface, looking at the faint lights in the distance.
"In the Leaf Village, there are the Hyūga clan's Byakugan users. Everyone, launch a quick attack," said the leading Mist Ninja in a cold voice. His followers nodded indifferently. As experienced fighters, they were well-prepared with intelligence.
The Byakugan is indeed extraordinary but only within a one-kilometer range. So, as long as they move fast enough, even if discovered, it doesn't matter.
Though the Byakugan is troublesome, it only makes the surprise attack a bit difficult.
Two kilometers away from the sea, in a forest watchtower, a ninja with a Leaf Village headband tensed the muscles around his eyes. His white eyes seemed somewhat ferocious and appeared to be filled with shock.
"Not good! Enemy attack!"
With this yell under the cover of night, the Leaf Ninjas here quickly became alert and began preparing for battle. However, their team leader, a special Jōnin from the Hyūga clan, shouted, "Abandon the camp, retreat!"
"Team leader!" Many Leaf Ninjas, not knowing what happened, showed expressions of surprise. Retreat without fighting? But their team leader, Hyūga Jōnin, sternly shouted, "There are sixty enemy ninjas, and their chakra is extremely large. Set traps along the way to slow down the enemy."
"Yes!"
Ninjas are trained to complete missions. Though they were confused, they all shouted in unison, choosing to obey the order.
The Hyūga Jōnin also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that Lord Yoru was right; this elite Mist Ninja team, judging from their chakra levels observed through the Byakugan, didn't seem that strong.
Hidden Mist Technique
At this moment, a dense fog rose in the forest under the cover of night. Seeing this, the Leaf Ninjas didn't panic; under the leadership of their team leader, they chose to retreat.
Two kilometers is just a distance of two thousand meters; in almost the blink of an eye, the Mist ninjas, as fierce as wolves and tigers, have transformed into arrows and swooped down. At the same time, several leading Mist ninjas chose to release the Mist Hiding Technique.
Under the night sky, the forest was instantly filled with dense fog, obscuring vision to the point where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
In the white dense fog, shadows flickered. A Mist ninja just moved past a tree when the sound of a barely audible steel wire snapping was heard.
Pupils instantly filled with a color of fear; before they could make a sound, traps set around them suddenly lit up with fire. A loud rumble awakened birds resting in the forest under the night sky.
Flocks of startled birds took off, and explosions from triggered exploding tags echoed around the Leaf ninjas shrouded in fog. Flares of fire constantly flickered in the fog.
"Damn it, the Leaf ninjas have escaped, chase them!"
Among the Mist ninjas, some saw the retreating silhouettes of Leaf ninjas in the distance, each carrying heavy wooden boxes, like armored knights.
"Chase!" When they saw the Leaf ninjas carrying wooden boxes as they ran, all Mist ninjas revealed a look of bloodthirsty greed. These were boxes of fine iron and even contained chakra metal.
The explosions from the exploding tags in the forest near the beach awakened countless animals.
Hundreds of miles away at the Leaf base, most of the Leaf ninjas did not know what had happened tonight, but the sudden call to be ready for combat at any moment had already put them on alert.
Ninjas are tools, one could say they exist for battle.
"Lord Yoru, a message from the flying hawk. Our base near the coast has been attacked by Mist ninjas, here is the intelligence."
In a well-lit tent under the night sky, a Leaf ninja rushed in, handing over the information just received from the flying hawk.
Looking at the intelligence in his hands, Uchiha Yoru narrowed his eyes and revealed a confident smile, "As expected, the surprise attack on our rear tonight is to draw the tiger away from the mountain."
As Uchiha Yoru's insightful words landed, the elite Leaf ninjas who had been waiting in the tent for some time all revealed solemn expressions.
Uchiha Yoru calmly commanded, "Proceed as planned, dispatch eighty elite ninjas under the pretext of support. Make it look a little rushed and urgent, then circle around."
With a light flick of his finger on the map, Uchiha Yoru looked at everyone and confidently laughed, "Now, let's just wait for the real intentions of the Mist ninjas."
"Yes!"
Upon the issuing of an order, one after another, elite jonin and jonin from the Leaf Village stepped out of their tents and began to notify their subordinates to be on alert.
At the same time, within the large camp of the Leaf Village, a team of ninjas with somewhat flustered expressions hurriedly headed towards the rear. This scene, under the cover of night, was observed by a pair of eyes.
The person wearing this gaze wore the Leaf Village's ninja headband but emanate an eerie aura. His face looked unpleasant as he clenched his teeth and muttered, "Don't blame me."
Ninjas are inherently deceptive. Among those with loyalty, there naturally also exist those who betray. Beauty, ninjutsu, wealth, fear of death, or falling into the hands of the enemy—ninjas are human too, and there are those among them with weak wills.
In the dark forest, even the bright moonlight couldn't penetrate the dense canopy. Only strands of fortunate moonlight formed various sizes of beams that shone down, adding a touch of beauty to the dark forest.
Within the quiet forest, shadows of figures could be seen everywhere among the dark corners of the surrounding trees. Each Mist Village ninja stood motionless, as if lifeless.
"My Lord, this is the information our insider has sent us."
The methods of ninjas are diverse and bizarre; even the most experienced among them wouldn't claim to know all the techniques in the ninja world.
Looking at the report from his subordinates, a shadowy figure emerged, massive as a small mountain. It was the 2.5-meter-tall Suikazan Fuguki, revealing a bloodthirsty smile.
"Hehe, it looks like the fish has taken the bait."
Holding the shark muscle on his back, Suikazan Fuguki's figure, as massive as a mound of flesh, along with his crude appearance, gave off a barbaric vibe. But those who knew him never dared to underestimate him.
His crude appearance was merely a disguise. Everyone knew that this Suikazan Fuguki was notoriously cautious and sinister, and he was also the confidant of the current Fourth Mizukage.
Looking at his subordinates lurking in the shadows, the Suikazan Fuguki gave a bloodthirsty smile, "The fish this time is extraordinary. Until we catch it, we won't know its size. It could be a man-eating shark."
The cold voice of the Suikazan Fuguki echoed in the forest. All the Mist Village ninjas hiding in the darkness remained indifferent until he slowly drew the shark muscle from his back. Only then did a ripple appear in their eyes.
"The position of the Leaf Village's commander has been exposed. Commence the decapitation operation!"
Whoosh, whoosh.
Eyes filled with killing intent suddenly opened throughout the forest, and a series of shadows rapidly sprinted in one direction, forming an arrowhead formation.
Leading the vanguard, Kisame solemnly said, "Sensory ninjas be on alert at all times, you three protect him well."
Sensory ninjas are rare, even in the five major ninja villages they are considered valuable. They are given priority protection in every battle.
Although it's a surprise attack, the ability of sensory ninjas is enormous. They can detect if there are ambushes ahead and even gauge the relative strength of the enemy's chakra.
A group of Mist ninjas swiftly dashed through the forest. Usually, they wouldn't be so reckless, but knowing that the enemy has many Hyuga ninjas, they proceed cautiously. Isn't this just giving the enemy time to prepare?
Therefore, when facing the Leaf Army, which has Hyuga ninjas, there's no need to worry about being discovered. Once within a kilometer, they will definitely be detected by the Byakugan.
"The Leaf ninjas in the forward watchtower have spotted us, there's no ambush!" A sensory ninja from the Mist opened his eyes and calmly announced the information he had sensed.
Sure enough, even from a kilometer away, a piercing sound echoed from the distant Leaf watchtower, followed by flares.
The Mist ninjas, realizing they weren't ambushed, revealed savage, bloodthirsty smiles.
"Attack! Everyone, do not linger, head straight to the Leaf base for a decapitation strike!"
"Yes!"
The Mist elite ignored the so-called watchtower and stormed towards the Leaf base. Along the way, multiple traps were triggered.
Meanwhile, the faces of the Leaf ninjas changed dramatically when they noticed the Mist ninjas' reckless actions.
"Lord Yoru, our main forces are dispersed, and the Mist has concentrated their power for an attack. This is what the Mist excels at: decapitation strikes."
Many Leaf ninjas exclaimed, not out of fear, but concern for their commander.
Standing atop the tall camp, Uchiha Yoru looked at the distant forest where explosions and flares were going off. Not only did he not retreat, but he also pointed at the approaching enemies and laughed.
"Haha, truly worthy of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the elite of the Mist. No matter how much you plan, they've seized the initiative with this decapitation strike."
The Mist's ruthless strategy is to be as fast as possible, disregarding whether the Leaf has traps. Unless the Leaf base has a large number of ninjas, they'll be overwhelmed by the charging Mist ninjas.
How do traps matter? By the time you encircle us, we will have completed the decapitation strike, throwing the Leaf into chaos while the Mist escapes.
After all, from the start of the Mist operation, even the high-ranking officers had not decided from where to attack. Everything is spontaneous.
Even if a spy is discovered, as soon as they realize something's off, they can immediately retreat.
This clean and ruthless strategy is very much in line with the Mist's brutal philosophy. They don't care about casualties; the mission is all that matters.
"Lord Yoru!"
Some people were worried, but Uchiha Yoru calmly shouted: "The Mist Ninja are targeting me. Everyone, prepare for battle and take out all the explosive tags stored in the camp. Since the Mist Ninja dare to come, we Leaf Ninja are not afraid. This place will be their graveyard."
Choosing to confront them head-on? That would be foolish, unless he had the strength to sweep everything aside.
With a wave of his hand, the Leaf Ninja instantly retreated towards the rear, calmly setting up traps along the way.
Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave
When the Mist Ninja burst out of the forest and saw the Leaf Ninja base, a dozen elite Mist Ninja charged to the front. After forming hand seals and shouting, they suddenly unleashed a wave of water powerful enough to create a lake.
Although the Mist Ninja are ruthless, they are not stupid. They knew the Leaf camp would be full of traps, so they used this wide-range technique both to create advantageous terrain for themselves and to destroy all the traps with the flood.
Rumble~
Under the night sky, a huge wave swept in. Despite the camp being on high ground, the chakra-controlled water had a huge impact.
Since the area was near the ocean and rich in water resources, using this technique here significantly reduced their chakra consumption.
"It's Water Release!"
The Leaf Ninja on the ramparts were astonished by the approaching waves, but a calm Leaf Jonin shouted: "Use Earth Release to reinforce the camp walls."
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall
Following the shout of the Earth Release users among the Leaf Ninja, they slapped the ground, and thick walls of earth rose up, directly blocking the tall wooden walls of the camp.
Rumble~
The wave hit, and the walls shook momentarily. Clearly, they had prepared for the strong impact, but just as they let out a sigh of relief, water dragons suddenly surged out.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique
The Mist Ninja, standing on the surging water, shouted in unison. Taking advantage of the terrain, menacing water dragons emerged from the sea that had just been blocked by the walls.
Each water dragon that came out was more than ten meters high. They clearly intended to use the terrain to break the Leaf's traps.
"Retreat!"
Leaf Ninja shouted and began to retreat, but the Mist Ninja showed grim smiles.
Dozens of water dragons rolled in, directly blasting a huge gap in the camp's defenses. As the gap appeared, a huge flood poured in.
The power of two collective B-rank Water Release techniques was immense, like a natural disaster, directly breaking through the Leaf's defenses and also creating advantageous terrain for them.
However, at this moment, a dense whistling sound came from the night sky. When Kisame, acting as the vanguard, looked up and saw this, his pupils shrank and he shouted: "Watch out!"
~~~
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