Konoha's lexicon of ninjas

"Beware of silent assassinations!"

Bai shouted, raising one hand and exhaling a chilling mist that merged into the rapidly thickening fog.

The cold mist surged, and two kinds of chakra intertwined.

This time, not only were Haku and the others unable to sense chakra, but Zabuza Momochi also lost his senses.

However, because of this, Haku was also unable to launch a fatal attack by having Zabuza inhale the air containing her Ice Release chakra.

His abilities were disrupted by Zabuza's Hidden Mist Technique.

"A quick reaction, but it doesn't affect me much."

Zabuza's voice was faintly heard in the mist, making it impossible to determine his location by sound.

The three Omoi were on high alert.

Suddenly, a figure flashed past them.

Omoi reacted the fastest, quickly swinging his knife.

With a clang, sparks flew, but Zabuza vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

"So fast!"

"What kind of weapon was that just now?"

Omoi and Nigami Ryo exclaimed in surprise.

"Good response, but I'll be even faster next time!"

Zabuza's voice rang out again.

Bai shouted, "Watch out for water escape!"

As he spoke, he had already formed hand seals with lightning speed.

On the lake, Zabuza was also forming hand seals.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

The two water dragons appeared almost simultaneously, then rose into the air and collided with a loud crash.

Rumble!

The water cascaded down, forming surging waves.

Marusugi crouched down, pressing his hands to the ground, and a wall immediately rose up, blocking the surging water.

Just then, a steel needle emerged from the ground and pierced through Ryo Nigami's body with a soft "poof".

"Be careful!"

Omoi swung his sword to cut the steel wire, but before he could, it appeared from the side and delivered a flying kick.

Bang!

Before Omoi could react, he was kicked away.

With a painful scream, as Marusugi turned around to help, Futami Ryo was already hanging from the tree.

"hateful!"

Marusugi hardened his skin and lunged at Zabuza.

Bang bang bang!

After a brief exchange of blows, Marusugi was kicked away, his body slamming against the water and bouncing repeatedly.

Just as Tazuna was about to be killed, Haku appeared and stopped Zabuza.

Meanwhile, Marusugi, who had just gotten up from the lake, suddenly changed his expression.

He was enveloped by the water.

Water Prison Technique!

The other Zabuza who clashed with Haku's ninjutsu earlier.

After a brief exchange, only two of the four remained.

"One of them must be a water-style clone."

Bai glanced at Zabuza on the lake surface and felt that this was most likely a water clone.

By this time, the fog had gradually dissipated.

Omoi, who had gotten up from the ground, assessed the situation and immediately shouted, "Leave the rescue to me!"

Bai nodded, "Thank you for your trouble!"

After saying that, Bai grabbed Tazuna with one hand and pulled him back, while his left hand formed a hand seal.

When he put Tazuna down, the ninjutsu was already complete.

Magic Mirror Ice Crystal!

The ice mirrors will surround Zabuza.

"Mr. Tazuna, please stay here and don't move."

After saying this, Bai disappeared from his original spot and reappeared inside the magic mirror ice crystal.

Zabuza remained calm: "Haku, I'm quite familiar with this move."

"He poses no threat to me."

Haku looked at Zabuza and said, "Uncle Zabuza, my current strength is thanks to my father's guidance."

When outsiders are present, he still addresses Hoshino Shuichi as "Lord Shuichi".

He only uses the term "father" in front of his own people.

"Oh?"

"With guidance from Master Xiuyi... I'll be watching with bated breath!"

As Zabuza spoke, he raised his hand and a shuriken flew out, piercing through the ice mirror where Haku was.

shhhhhh!

Ice needles attacked from behind.

Zabuza dodged.

Bai continued to change positions, constantly throwing ice needles at an increasingly faster speed.

Such a high-speed attack, with no predictable direction, was something even Zabuza couldn't completely avoid, and soon his body was covered in bloody welts.

"As expected, this is the real body."

After confirming his deduction, Haku, under the cover of numerous dense attacks, burst out of the ice mirror, a rapidly spinning Rasengan quickly forming in his hand, and launched a surprise attack from behind Zabuza.

Zabuza truly lived up to his reputation as a master of silent assassination. Even when distracted by a high-speed attack, his reaction was incredibly fast. He turned around abruptly before the attack arrived, thrusting out his kunai.

Click!

The kunai and the Rasengan collided, and the kunai broke. With a flick of his wrist, the Rasengan in his hand immediately expanded, accompanied by a terrifying chill.

Ice Release Rasengan!

Bang!

Zabuza's body suddenly exploded, turning into a pool of water that quickly froze.

Substitution Technique!

Zabuza emerged from the ground and grabbed Haku by the neck.

But Zabuza immediately sensed something was wrong. Before he could react, the white thing he had grabbed turned into a stream of water with a whoosh, quickly wrapping around Zabuza's hand and freezing him with a cracking sound.

Ice Release: Clone Technique!

Unable to move, Zabuza smiled and said, "Well done."

Haku's true form emerged from the ice mirror, raised his hand, and plunged an ice needle into Zabuza's neck, allowing him to pass away without pain.

On the other side, Omoi also single-handedly defeated Zabuza's water-style clone and rescued Marusugi.

Bai then rescued Nigami Ryo, who was hanging by her stitches.

He's not dead yet, but his injuries are quite severe.

So the group stopped to rest for a day before continuing their journey and arrived in the Land of Waves without incident.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side, Kurotsuchi, who had just won another battle, looked somewhat dejected.

Because only she and Deidara remained in the team that originally consisted of two squads.

A single Cloud Ninja Jonin inflicted heavy losses on them once again.

Looking at the black soil, Deidara said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, they're not really dead."

"Furthermore, as long as we get a top 100 ranking, they can reappear in the battle for the strongest Chunin."

Heitu nodded, perking up, and said, "So, we must change our strategy now."

Upon hearing this, Deidara immediately laughed and asked, "Are we going to split up?"

Kurotsuchi's face immediately darkened upon hearing this, and she angrily retorted, "Brother Deidara, we haven't finished our mission here yet!"

Deidara said, "Our points are already in first and second place, and it must be said that if we continue, in addition to the same Chunin squads, the chances of encountering real Cloud Ninjas are even greater, as they are more likely to be elite."

Who knows, next time we might encounter a team of all Jonin.

Of course, Heitu knew.

However, a ninja's strength cannot be judged by perception alone.

The strength of chakra does not absolutely represent the strength of one's overall power.

After choosing a faction, your clothing will also change.

Therefore, it is impossible to judge from their clothing.

Furthermore, the fact that Chunin teams consist of four people each is no longer a reliable indicator.

So, Kurotsuchi waved his fist and said, "I've decided to follow behind the other teams and provide support."

Deidara frowned upon hearing this: "Support?"

"I don't like providing support."

"A surprise attack is entirely possible."

Heitu shook his head: "In that case, we will be hated by all the other squads in our faction."

"We need to have a sufficient number of elite Cloud Ninja to face a much larger force."

"Therefore, uniting more ninja teams is a necessary option if we want to keep all these retreating Cloud Ninja here."

Deidara was intrigued: "Take care of everyone?"

"That's indeed a good idea."

"I've also come up with a really good idea."

Seeing Deidara's renewed energy, Kurotsuchi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and said, "Well then, once we've recovered our strength, let's begin our new plan!"

An hour later.

Having recovered their strength, Kurotsuchi and Deidara set out again.

The advantages of high-altitude reconnaissance are undoubtedly enormous, especially since most of this area is barren, even the mountains.

So even though neither of them are sensory ninjas, finding people isn't difficult for them.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the sharp-eyed Deidara spotted a fierce battle taking place on the ground.

Moreover, it was a chaotic battle involving more than ten people.

"Brother Deidara, you must follow my orders this time and absolutely cannot bomb recklessly."

Black Soil couldn't help but remind him.

Deidara scoffed, "That's not just random bombing, it's art, huh!"

Heitu laughed and said, "Then let these people witness your art of explosion later."

Deidara smiled, and the clay bird beneath him sped up.

This time, instead of launching a high-altitude attack, the two deliberately exposed themselves as a deterrent.

As expected, the Cloud Ninja below were thrown into disarray when they saw that the Iwa Ninja had reinforcements in the air.

However, the Iwa ninja were also drawn into the conflict.

Although many of the real Iwa ninja recognized Deidara, the explosive kid, they did not relax; instead, they became even more vigilant.

This guy wasn't well-liked in Iwagakure either, and he caused explosions everywhere, so he might not show them any mercy.

The battlefield became chaotic for a moment.

On the clay bird, Kurotsuchi was already mentally prepared for this.

And that was her goal.

She can only intervene when things get chaotic.

The seal was complete. Black Earth opened his mouth and spat out clumps of white lime that fell from the sky, heading straight for Cloud Ninja.

The Cloud Ninja, who were being targeted, immediately retreated, while the Rock Ninja were unsure whether Kurotsuchi would launch a full-scale attack and did not seize the opportunity to pursue and coordinate.

Black Soil didn't care. After making several clumps of lime, he formed a hand seal and opened his mouth, causing water to rush down from the sky.

The lime on the ground immediately turned into a mud flow that surged toward Yunren.

The Iwa ninja, who had stopped attacking, immediately gritted their teeth and burrowed into the ground. As the Cloud ninja landed, avoiding the lime mud, the Cloud ninja suddenly reached out and pulled him into the ground.

The soil turned into sand, and blood seeped out as it surged, then the rock ninja emerged.

Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi and Deidara, working together, have begun targeting other Cloud Ninja.

The appearance of the two brought about a huge change in what was originally a somewhat tense battle.

Although Explosion Release is countered by Lightning Release, with the cooperation of Kurotsuchi and Deidara's assistance in the surprise attack, it had a surprising effect.

The two attackers, especially, were incredibly imposing from the air.

When the two stopped fighting for kills and focused on cooperating to create opportunities for the Iwa ninja on the ground, the Kumo ninja were forced into retreat, leaving behind a trail of corpses.

The battle lasted for half an hour and ended with the complete annihilation of the Cloud Ninja.

Although the Cloud Ninja tried to escape, they were unable to shake off Deidara and Kurotsuchi's pursuit and were eventually caught up by a large number of Iwa Ninja and died in the encirclement.

However, three people from the Iwa ninja side also died, and almost everyone except Kurotsuchi and Deidara was injured.

However, nine people from the Yunren side died.

When the battle ended, Kurotsuchi and Deidara finally landed from the sky.

"Thanks to your help!"

A large number of Iwa ninja stepped forward, led by a Konoha ninja, Ebisu, who was wearing sunglasses.

Heitu responded with a smile, "We're on the same side now, so this is only natural."

Another ninja from Iwagakure gave a thumbs-up and laughed, "No wonder she's the granddaughter and disciple of the Third Tsuchikage!"

"Why don't you join us!"

Ebisu nodded and smiled, "With you all here, we will have a huge advantage. We will be more confident in dealing with those Cloud Ninja Jonin and will be able to reduce casualties."

With both parties in love, Heitu readily agreed.

And so the team expanded.

Kurotsuchi and Deidara were responsible for aerial reconnaissance, raids, and support, while Ebisu and others were responsible for the ground offensive.

The two sides are working together more and more seamlessly.

Furthermore, with Kurotsuchi's intentions, she continuously absorbed ninjas from the Iwa ninja camp, increasing the number of people in her team.

……

In the hall of the illusion mission, another futuristic room, light screens surround and display the situations of various Chunin squads.

Meanwhile, high-ranking members of the alliance, including Shuichi Hoshino, Mei Terumi, and Minato Namikaze, were all here, conducting drills to record the mission completion status of all the teams.

Of course, Hoshino Shuichi didn't need these things, and he was already familiar with the situation of each Chunin squad.

The purpose of creating this room was to allow Minato Namikaze and his team to better understand the situation.

At this moment, as Onoki watched his granddaughter and disciple gradually integrate into the Iwa ninja camp and play an increasingly important role, his previously tense face relaxed.

He was becoming more and more satisfied.

The Fourth Raikage, however, was keeping an eye on Omoi and the others.

However, compared to the dazzling performances of Kurotsuchi and Deidara, Omoi and the others, while good, were not particularly outstanding.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was also keeping an eye on the many ninjas of Konoha.

Ebisu, Iruka, and others were all ninjas from roughly the same generation as Hoshino Shuichi.

But it can only be said that they are far inferior to Kakashi and his group.

However, they had already made preparations.

Those ninjas from the same era as Hoshino Shuichi, if they are talented enough, would have long since become Special Jonin.

For example, the younger Hayate Gekko.

However, to Hiruzen Sarutobi's surprise, Anko Mitarashi's performance was unexpectedly amazing.

That fire jutsu technique was practically... a carbon copy of Hoshino Shuichi.

……

Although Minato Namikaze was the Fourth Hokage, his concern extended beyond just the ninjas of Konoha.

All the major ninja villages, as well as ninjas like Haku, Kimimaro, and Suigetsu, were under his attention.

After witnessing Kimimaro's impressive physical combat skills, he couldn't help but ask, "Shuichi, is there a way to cure Kimimaro's bloodline disease?"

Hoshino Hideichi shook his head: "There's nothing we can do for now, we can only delay the onset of his illness."

"Unless... he himself can take the Corpse Bone Pulse bloodline limit a step further and cultivate it into a Bloodline Net to make up for the deficiency."

"Even for me, there's not much I can do about genetic defects."

"Of course, this does not include certain forbidden techniques."

Minato Namikaze immediately understood that Shuichi Hoshita was referring to Orochimaru, or the Otsutsuki clan's method of possession. (End of Chapter)