"What!?!"
Kaito Moku narrowed his eyes, desperately trying to see through the dense trees to locate the enemies.
Yet, without the Byakugan, he was completely at a loss, having no idea where they might be.
"Where are the enemies?"
The Hyūga ninja's face turned pale, veins bulging around his eyes. "Above… they're all in the air! Their speed is too fast!"
Before his words could settle, countless kunai rained down from the sky like a torrential storm, each tied with an explosive tag that ignited in the wind. Kaito Moku hardly had time to react before he was engulfed in an explosion!
"Boom—Boom—Boom—"
In a matter of moments, two carts were reduced to ashes, their scrolls scattered, along with the ninja beside them being obliterated.
"Whoosh!"
Kaito Moku staggered out from the rolling smoke, his clothes tattered, yet fortunately he was not severely injured.
Upon landing, he wasted no time and formed a series of hand seals, ending with the "辰" sign before inhaling deeply and looking skyward to exhale: "Wind Release: Typhoon Pass!"
A howling wind surged, sweeping across the sky. The falling kunai were buffeted by the chaotic winds, eventually halting mid-air and triggering a series of explosions.
As the smoke cleared, Kaito Moku gasped for air, clearly exhausted from using that jutsu. He lifted his head, his pupils constricting suddenly.
He finally saw the true appearance of his assailants.
It was a group of figures soaring through the sky, circling like flocks of birds… people!
They wore matching tight uniforms, equipped with jetpacks and mechanical wings on their backs, resembling hawks poised to strike down on the transport team below.
"What the hell are these things!?"
This was beyond Kaito Moku's comprehension, and his pupils trembled with astonishment.
"Why didn't you give advance warning?" he instinctively shouted behind him, but all he saw were the bodies of the Hyūga ninja, blood-soaked and lifeless…
He had been right at the epicenter of the enemy's first bombardment.
"Damn it!" Kaito Moku fought to suppress his anger and organized the remaining fighting force to counterattack.
"Fire Release: Crimson Lotus Bite!"
"Wind Release: Air Slash!"
"Water Release: Heavenly Weep!"
"Lightning Release: Multi-Chain Lightning Balls!"
Colors of ninjutsu erupted, chakra surged, and the sky changed as they rushed towards the airborne enemies.
"Puff, puff, puff!"
With a sound akin to gas escaping under pressure, the attackers' jetpack mechanisms suddenly ignited!
As hundreds of white air waves shot out, they dashed upward like arrows released from bows, all the attacks missing, dissipating into nothingness.
"Damn it!" Kaito Moku's rage boiled over, but there was nothing he could do.
In his eyes, the enemies in the sky appeared as insignificant birds; yet in the attackers' perspective, he and his companions were merely inconsequential ants.
As the air currents swirled around, the enemy circled back, their mechanical wings folding in, transforming into precise, directed blades as they dove toward the ground. The second wave of bombings was about to hit!
Kaito Moku hastily set up defenses, and both sides plunged into a fierce battle…
However, the outcome of this skirmish had already been sealed.
One side fought from high ground, while the other was trapped on the ground—air superiority was not just a saying.
Before long, the Konoha transport team suffered exhaustion from their chakra, their supplies completely destroyed, leaving only a few survivors…
The Konoha forces led by White Fang had proactively retreated a few kilometers from the front lines due to logistical support concerns, marking the first significant backtrack of Konoha's camps.
…
The news reached Sunagakure, reviving the Sand Ninja from their somber mood, rekindling their long-dormant confidence. Every individual felt their spirits lift.
Now, no one dared to question the Third Kazekage's decisions.
Every Sand Ninja lauded the Kazekage's brilliance, marveling at how he reversed the situation at a critical moment, lifting Sunagakure from the depths, their cheers crashing like waves!
Those who had openly doubted the Third Kazekage earlier felt immense shame, wishing they could slap themselves for their earlier criticisms.
Standing at the top of the Kazekage's bunker, the Third Kazekage's black cloak billowed in the wind as he gazed out at the rolling sands.
He knew full well that collaborating with the Sky Ninja was a brilliant move. While their overall capabilities were nowhere near close to the average of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, they possessed cutting-edge technology. With mechanical flight, almost every Sky Ninja could assert air combat abilities.
As a wielder of Magnetic Release, no one understood the significance of air supremacy better than him.
Beyond mechanical wings, the Sky Ninja village's fortress also had flight capabilities; it was a colossal flying machine known as the "Angkor Fortress," able to hover in the air for extended periods, with enough capacity to hold an entire village inside.
Moreover, the Third Kazekage had learned that the Angkor Fortress housed a super chakra cannon, with power comparable to that of a tailed beast bomb!
It was perhaps this confidence that prompted them to ally with Sand Ninja and confront Konoha.
"Sky Ninja… Shinno… the organization." The Third Kazekage's gaze drifted, a hint of nostalgia flickering in his eyes.
Back when he sought cooperation with the Sky Ninja, he hadn't held out much hope.
In his preconceived notion, a small ninja village was just that—a small village, always the first to fall victim during the chaos of war.
However, after witnessing the dazzling flying machines and various technological weapons, his perspective shifted.
Of course, the most elusive aspect was the leader of the Sky Ninja village, a man named "Shinno."
As the strongest Kazekage in history, even among Kage-level shinobi, the Third Kazekage maintained a clear understanding of his own strength.
Ordinary ninjas seeing him were often awed by the pressure and aura projected by formidable figures, their eyes and tones inadvertently reflecting reverence. However, Shinno had shown no such reaction.
In the Kazekage's perception, Shinno's chakra fluctuations were no different from those of an average Jōnin.
'How did your Sky Ninja village, with its sparse population, attain such advanced technology?'
In response to the subtle pressure he exerted, the man simply shook his head, offering a mysterious smile, "Are you truly interested, Kazekage?"
Neither servile nor arrogant, he handled it with ease.
'I don't want to hear pointless chatter.' The Kazekage had frowned.
He was indeed interested.
Since the devastation he had faced on that fateful day, he had been deeply wary of a man named "Uchiha Kamihane."
A seemingly supernatural ability to control the skies…
Powerful physical skills…
Terrifying bodily strength…
Bizarre space-time eye techniques…
And a seemingly endless array of ninjutsu…
In the hands of this monster, the Third Kazekage had seen no possibility of survival.
What was most troubling was that during that battle, he had distinctly sensed that the opponent held no murderous intent, treating their encounter more like a game, toyed with him effortlessly.
That day onward, he began contemplating how to counter this man… No, how to delay this man in any future battles that might arise.
But every time he considered the opponent's troublesome abilities, he experienced a headache.
Until he witnessed the Sky Ninja's stunning advancements in high technology, an unprecedented idea struck him like lightning:
Perhaps... he could perfectly merge Sunagakure's unique puppet arts with the Sky Ninja's exquisite flying technologies, and then cleverly incorporate his own Magnetic Release with puppet techniques. This way, he could create an air combat-capable, fearless, unstoppable army of iron!
Even if Kamihane did learn to utilize Magnetic Release, he would never surpass the depth of experience that he himself had honed over the years; he had this confidence!
Should it come to that, if Kamihane could indeed control iron puppets, he could embed self-destruct mechanisms in the puppet's cores, triggering them at crucial moments to unleash devastating effects!
Even if he couldn't kill Kamihane, he would undoubtedly cause significant damage.
With this goal in mind, he had formulated the concept of collaboration.
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