Konoha Notes

Chapter 316 Air and Sea
“Not now.” That was the Raikage’s reply. “Even if I agree to the plan you’ve proposed, the scope I can control is limited to Kumogakure and Konoha.”

“Other villages would not participate for this reason.”

“It’s enough that Lord Raikage is willing to take this into consideration,” Shuuji said. “There’s more to this visit than just this matter.”

"According to the intelligence provided by the joint team's first investigation, they encountered a powerful Storm Release attack, and at the time, a thin fog rose on the sea."

Ai knew exactly what was going on. After the investigation team from the Bureau of Affairs returned, someone told him what had happened.

The technique of concealing mist, combined with the technique of storm release.

This is extremely disadvantageous for ninjas who rely on ships as their vehicles and operate at sea.

So last month, instead of taking any other action, he strongly supported Xiu Si in expanding the powers of the secretariat and adopting blockade measures.

As long as the Land of Snow can't sit still and comes out to fight, the closer it is to the land, the more methods the Hidden Cloud Village will have, and the less damage it will suffer in battle.

As for a direct assault? If the Land of Lightning were to do this alone, the losses would likely be enormous, especially given the lack of intelligence. And the other ninja villages... the Land of Snow is located in the northeastern sea area of ​​the Land of Lightning, too far from the other four great nations.

The fact that such a stringent blockade strategy can be adopted now is already a testament to the great cooperation of the other four major ninja villages under a united front.

If this had happened two years ago, some villages might have been able to send supplies to the Land of Snow.

“You have a solution,” Ai said confidently, looking at Xiu Si.

Shuji said, "It's not exactly a solution, but before I came here, I contacted some people from Sunagakure."

"They are willing to send air troops to assist."

The Raikage's eyes widened.
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Hiruko once believed that after completing the Oni-Garaku Technique, he would have no rivals left, not even the three known as the Legendary Sannin.

Then let's go conquer the world.

Let everyone see what a weak person can achieve through their own efforts.

However, the power of the Rinnegan is overwhelming.

Even with the Demon Sprout Technique, he couldn't defeat the leader, Pain. Furthermore, although he was forcibly brought into the organization, at least the organization assisted in completing the forbidden technique and even somehow produced the Sharingan, rendering his previous plans useless.

So Hiruko was willing to stay in Akatsuki, even if it meant waiting on an airship.

The only regret is that I didn't get to beat Orochimaru up.

The organization now strictly limits internal strife; even Kakuzu hasn't used his own people to exchange for bounties in a long time.

At this moment, the airship began to move, and Hiruko walked out of the luxurious private room. After a month of silence, the Cloud Village was making moves again, and this time they were going to intercept them once more.

"I wonder if this is another so-called joint team." Pipa Juzo appeared beside him.

"The ninja world now is really incomprehensible. Back in my time, when ninjas from Kirigakure met with ninjas from other villages, all they did was fight each other."

Hiruko didn't reply. He walked to the airship's porthole and looked out at the sea.

A voice came from the control room: "An unusual unit is approaching from high altitude!"

Pipa Juzo immediately stepped out of the cabin. The sea breeze rushed towards him, and he looked up at the sky.

Dozens of dark figures were moving above the clouds.

"That is……"

“Sunagakure actually sent air force reinforcements.” Juzo Biwa clicked his tongue. “They really made a failed deal. They handed over the air ninja to Sunagakure, and now they’re being used against them.”

Their own air ninja unit, however, has not yet been deployed because it needs to conceal its identity and strength.

He formed a hand seal, and a thick fog rose from the sea, quickly spreading and enveloping the entire area. The airship stopped, its position completely obscured by the white fog.

Hiruko leaped out of the suspended cabin and instantly appeared on top of the airship.

He opened his Sharingan and observed the airflow through the thick fog—the Sand Village's air force was rapidly ascending, flying to a position far higher than the airships.

Then, dozens, even hundreds, of black dots fell from the sky. As they entered the dense fog, they exploded rapidly.

The flames tore through the fog, creating a gap in the white mist, which was quickly filled in again.

And even that brief moment was enough for the ninjas.

More debris rained down, aimed at the airship's location. Hiruko activated his Swift Escape technique, black cumulonimbus clouds appearing around him, crackling with lightning. He instantly intercepted the debris and detonated all the explosives.

To prevent them from landing on the airship.

However, the next moment, another batch of black dots fell. Just as Hiruko was about to intercept them, his Sharingan discovered something different mixed in with them.

The containers exploded in mid-air, splashing out large amounts of clear liquid.

The liquid fell onto the bladder, immediately emitting white smoke and a hissing corrosive sound.

As the outer layer corroded, the gas inside the airship's gasbags began to leak out, causing the hull to vibrate unsteadily.

Seeing this, Hiruko immediately abandoned protecting the airship, jumped off the ship, and landed on the sea.

At this moment, the airship lost control and began to tilt and fall. Dozens of black dots fell from the cabin and landed on the water.

At the edge of their line of sight, the outlines of a dozen or so large ships came into view.

“That’s the target we need to intercept this time.” Pipa Juzo walked over carrying the Executioner’s Blade. “It turns out that their target is us, the interception force.”

"We should retreat, Hiruko."

Beneath the bandages, Hiruko sneered: "Retreat? No need."

"Let them witness... the completed Oni-Garra Technique."

He approached the ships in an instant.

"Storm Release: Storm Demon Dragon!"

As Hiruko completed the hand seals, a huge thundercloud vortex formed in the sky.

At the same time, the sea beneath Beiliuhu's feet suddenly became restless.

Do not--

Not underfoot.

It was the seawater beneath those ships that began to rise.

One meter, five meters, ten meters—

Twenty meters, thirty meters—

The waves climbed higher and higher, forming a ring of water around the ships. The entire fleet was lifted into the air.

Bei Liu Hu's pupils contracted.

This is... Water Release?!

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique".

On the ship with the highest waves, Shuji stood at the bow, looking down at the people below.

Countless bolts of lightning surged from the swirling black cumulonimbus clouds in the sky. At the same time, all ships except the one beneath Shuuji's feet disintegrated, transforming into layers of wooden shields above his head.

Lightning bolts rained down.

The waves crashed down at the same time.

Lightning struck the wooden shield. One layer split open, and another grew out on top of the original wood, endlessly.

Beiluhu raised his hand, then lowered it again.

When Pipa Juzo saw the giant wave, he glanced at the Executioner's Blade in his hand, made no effort to form hand seals, and immediately turned and ran away.

However, after only a few dozen meters, he saw a white shadow flash past him.

"So...why didn't we just retreat?"

He sighed and quickened his pace.

(End of this chapter)