Konoha Notes

Chapter 404 The Knife in the Mist
Forest Country

Han is working on armor in the maintenance room on the ground floor of the camp.

So when Jiraiya pushed the door open and came in, he was unusually not fully armed.

"There's something I'd like to hear your opinion on."

“The location here might be leaked,” Jiraiya said.

"Setting a trap?" Han asked.

"Hmm." Jiraiya walked into the room. "Some people in Kumogakure and Kirigakure are getting restless. They want to see if they can use this opportunity to lure out Akatsuki's main force."

"can."

Han did not question or express any dissatisfaction.

For him, fighting was never something that required extra preparation or mustering of courage.

Jiraiya said, "Konoha, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure are all ready to send reinforcements."

The Han general reassembled the breastplate onto his body, and the clips snapped shut.

He said, "I also want to see what those people who kidnapped Lao Zi look like."

The days of waiting for an attack are no different from the days of waiting for help.

Han continued his routine patrols, training, and intelligence processing.

Jiraiya would occasionally disappear for a day or two.

Until an urgent communication from the Hidden Mist appeared.
-
At the same time, on the coast of the Land of Water.

With his Executioner's Blade slung over his shoulder, Kirigakure and Hiruko walked toward the Hidden Mist Village together.

They had only walked a short distance.

The view in front of them changed as a milky white fog suddenly rose from the ground and the forest.

“They’ve only just appeared,” Hiruko stopped in her tracks. “The Hidden Mist Village’s reaction wasn’t much faster either.”

Juzo Biwa did not respond. He lowered the guillotine from his shoulder, the tip touching the ground, and gripped the middle of the hilt with his left hand. The blade was held horizontally in front of him, concealing most of his torso.

He lowered his center of gravity, subtly shifted his feet, adjusted his stance, and listened carefully to the sound.

The auricle trembled almost imperceptibly.

coming.

He suddenly turned to the side.

A clang.

Sparks from the metal clashing flashed briefly in the thick fog. A slender, needle-like blade touched the surface of the executioner's sword, and the wielder's figure appeared and disappeared in the fog for a fleeting moment.

Almost simultaneously, another, even heavier sound of wind breaking came from the right.

Beirukho raised his right hand.

"Steel Release".

clang--!
Samehada slashed at the steel-like arm.

"boring……"

Just as Hiruko was about to retaliate, he suddenly felt his chakra being drained. Barbs grew out of Samehada, which was originally wrapped in bandages, and the hardness of his arm was fading as energy was lost.

He immediately withdrew his strength, his figure turning into a blur as he slid to the side. At the same time, he raised his left hand and activated the Netherworld Escape technique, facing the thick fog in the air.

The air distorted instantly, and the mist rushed into his palm, clearing his vision.

Zabuza Momochi withdrew his sewing needles, while Kisame Hoshigaki stood on the right wing, his hand gripping the fully unleashed Samehada, the monstrous weapon writhing in his grasp.

Zabuza said, "You should return the things, Juzo Biwa."

Pipa Juzo sighed.

He lowered the decapitation sword from its blocking stance, the tip of the blade once again touching the ground.

“That’s why I don’t want to go back to a place like this.” He glanced at the two people opposite him, his gaze lingering for a moment on the sewing needle in Zabuza’s hand. “But… the sewing needle suits you quite well, Zabuza.”

Kisame chuckled, his sharp fangs gleaming: "Zabuza has a different opinion on this, Juzo Biwa."

Zabuza did not respond, nor did he look at Kisame.

Next, he charged forward, closing in on Pipa Shi. The needle pierced through the air; before the blade even reached him, the steel wire attached to the blade had already woven a net.

A decapitation sword slashes horizontally.

The clanging of metal against metal created a continuous explosion, sparks flying between the two men. Steel wire wrapped around the blade of the greatsword, and Zabuza twisted his wrist, trying to pull the sword away.

Kisame then spun around, using the hilt of his sword as a pivot, trying to pull Zabuza towards him. Seeing that the two were already locked in combat, Kisame formed hand seals.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Wave!"

He opened his mouth and spat out a huge stream of water, which turned into a high wave the moment it left his mouth.

Seeing the waves surging towards him, this time, Hiruko raised his hand.

Dark Release: Absorption Hole!
"Ninjutsu is useless against me."

The air in front of his palm twisted into a vortex. The moment the water touched the edge of the vortex, it was swallowed up by an invisible force and completely disappeared into his palm.

In a short while, the waves disappeared without a trace, leaving only the wet ground.

The next moment, he flipped his palm over.

Dark Escape: Evil Self-Destruction Battle!

The same giant wave swept back.

Kisame finally smiled.

This is exactly what he wanted.

Hiruko knew that his Dark Release could absorb ninjutsu. The purpose of the Exploding Water Wave was never to cause harm, but to create an environment.

Just as the water flow reversed, Kisame completed the final hand seal and his body sank into the damp mud.

"Earth Escape - Submerged Navigation in the Earth".

The water flow missed its target, and the giant wave, having lost its target, scattered and overflowed, instead surging towards the still-engaged Juzo Biwa and Zabuza Momochi.

The waves splashed up to my feet.

Zabuza retracted the steel wire, and the sewing needle blade vibrated slightly.

In sync, Pipa Juzo leaped up, using the weight of his Executioner's Blade to perform a backflip, landing on a horizontal branch of a cedar tree to the side.

Zabuza gave chase, and the steel wire shot out again.

Hiruko stood on the water's surface, but seeing no trace of Kisame Hoshigaki, he immediately clasped his hands together.

"Storm Release: Thundercloud Wave!"

Thick cumulonimbus clouds rapidly gathered around him, churning and flashing with blue-white lightning.

Just then, Kisame burst out of the water.

From beneath the water directly below Hiruko, Samehada was raised high above its head, its barbs fully extended, and it slashed down at him!
Lightning flashes within cumulonimbus clouds.

Several bolts of lightning shot out from the clouds, intertwining into a net, and aimed at the leaping Kisame.

The lightning struck Samehada and was completely absorbed. Blue and white arcs of electricity crackled through the gaps in its barbs, and Samehada visibly swelled in size.

Beiliuhu vanished as a blur.

His feet left long ripples on the water's surface. He stared at the monstrous weapon in Kisame's hand, which was constantly twisting: "Is this... Samehada?"

"Didn't Juzo Biwa tell you? Hiruko, the rogue ninja of Konoha," Kisame said.

"Relying solely on this weapon..." Hiruko's voice turned cold, "is useless against me."

Hiruko vanished in a blur, his pupils instantly transforming into three-tomoe Sharingan eyes.

Since Storm Release is useless, Illusion Technique will prevail.

Using the Sharingan's dynamic vision to lock onto Kisame's gaze, a mere instant of eye contact is enough to unleash genjutsu.
Kisame dived back into the water.

Hiruko immediately raised his hand and sucked away all the remaining water from the bursting water wave. The ground dried up, revealing wet, black soil and tangled tree roots.

However, Kisame was nowhere to be seen. Hiruko scanned the surroundings with his Sharingan and looked at the ground.

The Sharingan scanned the surroundings, its gaze finally settling on the ground.

Hiruko immediately changed direction and rushed towards the location where Zabuza and Juzo had disappeared.

At the very moment he disappeared, Kisame Hoshigaki emerged from the ground.

"This is really a headache. It's very fast and can absorb ninjutsu."

Having said that, he was about to chase after them into the woods.

In the distance, towards the direction of Hidden Mist Village, a second distress flare was launched.

Crimson light pierced through the thick fog, exploded in the night sky, and transformed into slowly falling specks of light.

A new enemy has arrived.

(End of this chapter)