After experiencing a dizzying sensation akin to the world spinning around her, Ayane found herself suddenly in a completely unfamiliar place.
A searing pain erupted from within her body, as if countless blades were attacking her from the inside out, an unbearable agony for most people.
The sea breeze blew through her hair; it was still a coastal area near the sea.
"I didn't expect there to be a ninja in the Hidden Cloud who could perform such space-time ninjutsu. As expected of one of the Five Great Nations, I can't afford to be careless at all."
Ayane lightly wiped the corner of her mouth, from where blood continued to flow, making her look very disheveled.
Just now, to defend against the forced space-time transfer and prevent her body from being torn apart, she dispersed a large amount of Sage Art Chakra throughout her limbs and body, strengthening herself to be harder than steel, barely withstanding the technique.
In terms of chakra control, even Ruri and Hakushi couldn't compare to her.
She could release chakra from every pore in her body, whether it was to attack directly with chakra or to strengthen her body, it could be done smoothly and freely.
Even so, she couldn't ignore the attack caused by the space-time ninjutsu, and for that, Ayane expended a quarter of her Sage Art Chakra.
If the Sage Art Chakra used was less than this total amount, her body would surely be torn apart due to the excessive transfer speed.
A very domineering space-time jutsu.
However, the flaw was also obvious; when capturing highly mobile ninjas, advance preparation of space-time incantations was required to increase the binding force on the ninja, and against stronger ninjas, even more preparation was necessary. Otherwise, the enemy could use the Instantaneous Body Jutsu to avoid the jutsu's range, causing the space-time ninjutsu to fail.
The dizziness faded from her mind, Ayane took a breath, gradually regaining her focus, and began utilizing her Byakugan to survey the surroundings.
In an instant, Ayane's body froze.
This should be an expansive strait, but that wasn't the main point. What appeared in the Byakugan's vision was a dense multitude of Hidden Cloud Village Ninja.
Due to their overwhelming numbers, even Ayane with her Byakugan couldn't immediately and accurately count the number of Hidden Cloud ninjas here.
But judging by the numbers, it should not be less than two thousand, perhaps even more.
"Are they joking with me? This is such a huge loss. That Tsuchikage is really too careless; this is obviously a trap the Hidden Cloud set long ago."
If not for knowing that Hidden Rock and Hidden Cloud wouldn't collude due to the Third Raikage, seeing this would certainly make Ayane suspect that the Hidden Rock intentionally let her fall into a Hidden Cloud trap, to be besieged by so many Hidden Cloud ninjas.
Surrounding her were also burning supplies that were transported along with her.
The mission could be said to be a success, but also a failure.
The Hidden Cloud had clearly intended to abandon these supplies as bait, so it could be counted as a successful operation.
And the reason for failure was simple; facing such a large number of Hidden Cloud ninjas, especially after expending chakra and with her body severely damaged by the space-time jutsu, it undoubtedly seemed like a sentence of death.
Even someone as strong as the Third Raikage was toyed with and killed under the assault of a large number of ninjas.
Though there were many incidental and unforeseen factors involved, it indirectly proved that confronting a massive ninja squad, even a 'Five Kage' level ninja, couldn't possibly survive unscathed.
Even confident in her own abilities, Ayane couldn't ensure she was stronger than the Third Raikage.
Numbers create a qualitative change; the power of ten people using ninja techniques versus a hundred people is a completely different dimension of force.
To use a more straightforward analogy, it's the difference between a Giant Fireball and a Great Fire Extinguishing.
On the flat terrain of the strait, with the sea breeze blowing through, countless Hidden Cloud ninjas looked at Ayane with mocking and assured grins, with eyes like predators.
Without any verbal exchange, a command to 'attack' was followed by a massive, courageous charge of Hidden Cloud ninjas.
The roar of a thousand galloping horses shook the earth.
The fierce wind began to howl, stirred by the momentum of countless Hidden Cloud ninjas charging forward.
Ayane suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie with the Third Raikage.
The despair, isolation, and seeing nothing but enemies on all sides must have been the same hopeless feeling he faced.
Confronting so many enemies, Ayane wasn't daunted; tricky as it was, her excellent psychological resilience wouldn't be shaken into immobility by the sheer number of foes.
Dodging a Hidden Cloud ninja's swift thrust of a ninja blade, Ayane sidestepped without turning to unleash Gentle Fist upon this enemy, continuing to evade backward as a bolt of lightning streaked across her sight.
As close-range attacks pressed in, other ninjas executed cover fire.
The coordination among these Hidden Cloud ninjas was undeniably impressive.
"What a bother."
Finding opportunities to counterattack the Hidden Cloud ninjas was scarce.
Her defensive capability relied on consuming a large amount of Sage Art Chakra to ignore ultra-high-level physical ninja techniques. Essentially, it was different from the Lightning Armor of the Third and Fourth Raikage, which could continuously withstand physical attacks.
Although her defense could surpass the Lightning Armor, the excessive consumption of Sage Art Chakra made it impossible to maintain indefinitely, usable only at crucial moments.
Therefore, under normal conditions, her body could still be wounded by sharp enough ninja tools.