To wait for this opportunity, the Anbu had been lying in ambush within the barrier for over ten days.
They charged down at the moment when all forces inside Uzushiogakure were at their weakest, when they had mutually exhausted each other.
Behind his mask, Yōkō frowned.
That old scoundrel Danzo actually didn't lead the charge himself, staying safely at the very back.
No wonder the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, didn't let Danzo become Hokage. His Will of Fire was far too lacking; he showed no willingness to sacrifice for his comrades, only knowing how to send them forward to test the enemy and gather information, while he reaped the rewards last.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog was charging at the very front, which consequently placed Yōkō's position quite forward as well.
This night felt so long, but the Uzumaki ninja finally saw Konoha's men!
From their perspective, it looked as if the Konoha ninja had just crested the mountain and were charging down from its slopes.
Inside the ancestral shrine, the elderly, women, and children, their eyes red from crying, had finally waited for Konoha's reinforcements.
After watching for a while, they realized the Konoha ninja were only the small number they had initially seen.
Where are the others?
Why had so few come? Shouldn't it be thousands of Konoha ninja, engaging the combined forces of Kiri and Kumo in a massive battle?
Yōkō followed Battalion Commander Yellow Dog as they charged into Uzushiogakure. The ground was covered with dead bodies.
Some had died suffocated in Water Prisons, some by Kumo-nin swords, and others by Kiri-nin Water Release techniques.
Passing by a wall, Yōkō saw what looked like a flattened paper person.
It was a civilian crushed into a pulp by a powerful Water Release technique, compressed directly.
The head had become a flat oval, the chest pressed against the back, with broken shards of ribs protruding from the sides.
A very powerful Water Release ninjutsu, its form extremely condensed, similar to a Water Dragon technique.
Many of the surrounding houses had their roofs burned, yet the areas near the ground were exceptionally damp, with mud left behind by Water Release techniques.
Setting fires in some places, using Water Release in others – utter chaos.
While charging across the central great river, Yōkō glanced towards the location of the Third Mizukage.
The Mizukage was dead. Three Kiri-nin squads guarded his body.
As for the Uzumaki leader's body, it had been nailed to the ship's hull by Kiri-nin, a profound humiliation.
Lagging behind leaves one vulnerable to attack; weakness invites disgrace.
A Konoha squad charged towards the Mizukage's body, intending to eliminate the Kiri-nin squads and seize the Mizukage's corpse.
The Mizukage's body might hold secrets to that powerful secret technique.
The Uzumaki leader's body was also valuable, potentially containing clues to the Uzumaki sealing secrets.
Wherever his gaze passed, flesh and blood had turned to bloody water. It was terrifying.
Yōkō followed the Black Gorilla Squadron Leader, continuing the charge forward.
After reaching the north bank, the number of Uzumaki ninja corpses on the ground increased.
These Uzumaki ninja, like the Konoha ninja, had the Uzumaki crest on their backs.
So many redheads, all dead here. The Uzumaki clan was a major clan in the Land of Whirlpools, having grown to several thousand members.
The Konoha Anbu had already charged onto the north bank, yet the Kiri-nin showed no reaction, still madly pursuing and killing the remaining Uzumaki ninja.
Seeing this, the Kumo-nin quickly changed direction, guarding against the Konoha ninja and protecting their rear.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog immediately formed hand seals and unleashed a large-scale Fire Release technique.
A massive Blazing Shot engulfed over a dozen buildings.
Seeing this Fire Release, Yōkō suspected Battalion Commander Yellow Dog might be from the Sarutobi clan.
The Kumo-nin in the center leaped up, desperately avoiding the Fire Release.
The two Anbu battalions on the flanks emerged and engaged them, preventing the Kumo-nin from focusing on the Yellow Dog Battalion.
The Yellow Dog Battalion continued its charge, following the blazing fireball, and broke through the Kumo-nin lines.
Yōkō observed left and right. They were moving too fast, deep behind enemy lines.
Soon, the Yellow Dog Battalion reached the gap between the Kumo-nin and Kiri-nin.
The Kiri-nin still paid them no mind, solely focused on killing Uzumaki ninja, I just want to avenge the Mizukage.
This allowed the Yellow Dog Battalion to rapidly approach the Four Violet Flames Formation.
"Fox! Rearguard!"
Hearing Black Gorilla's order, Yōkō had no choice but to slow his pace, dropping to the rear of the squadron.
The pursuing Kumo-nin closed in swiftly.
Relying on his decent swordsmanship, Yōkō could always discern the Kumo-nin's movements as they attacked and react accordingly.
After cutting down two Kumo-nin in succession, Yōkō's performance attracted the attention of a Kumo-nin squad leader.
To think Konoha also had a ninja with such solid basic sword skills.
The Kumo-nin squad leader charged forward abruptly, bringing his sword down in an overhead slash.
Seeing this, Yōkō hurriedly raised his own sword to block.
However, the expected clang of metal didn't come.
The Kumo-nin's shoulder, elbow, and wrist twisted with extreme speed, forcibly changing the downward slash into a horizontal sweep!
Yōkō sucked in his abdomen.
His iron flak jacket was sliced open, the skin and flesh on his stomach cut!
Blood flowed from his lower abdomen; the abdominal muscles were severed.
What terrifying sword technique.
This Kumo-nin squad leader's swordplay was extremely deceptive.
This was no beginner-level technique; he had mastered a powerful skill.
The Kumo-nin squad leader followed with another horizontal sweep.
Yōkō quickly raised his ninja sword to block.
Once again, the Kumo-nin's joints and muscles forcibly altered the sword's trajectory, changing the sweep into a downward thrust.
Yōkō's thigh was pierced, blood spurting out over a meter.
After three consecutive exchanges, Yōkō made the miserable realization that he couldn't even make contact with the Kumo-nin's sword.
Finally, on the last exchange, his throat was pierced. Yōkō died on the rooftop.
Lying on his back, his waist propped against the roof ridge, Yōkō saw an inverted world.
The shattered Uzushiogakure, the precarious Four Violet Flames Formation, and the corpses in the streets, regardless of age...
He was also a corpse now...
Danzo walked unhurriedly along the street, completely unaware that a subordinate Anbu wearing a fox mask had just died nearby.
--
Everything went black. His vision shifted. The full moon shone into Yōkō's eyes. His expression changed, from confusion to clarity.
Consciousness returned. Yōkō was back inside the Camouflage Barrier on the mountain not far from Uzushiogakure.
In his previous life, after lying in ambush for nearly ten days, he had been cut down by a Kumo-nin squad leader in mere seconds during the final charge.
[Mochizuki's Arc activated!
The host has one resurrection opportunity per month. Upon death, they will resurrect on the previous full moon night.
Reward: One draw opportunity:
1- Lightning Attribute Chakra;
2- Chūnin-level Chakra Reserve (stackable);
3- Cloud-Style Sword Technique (Beginner).]
He immediately dismissed the Lightning Attribute Chakra. The remaining two options were both tempting.
The Chūnin-level Chakra Reserve was something Yōkō urgently needed right now.
If he could obtain it, battles would go much more smoothly.
Cloud-Style Sword Technique... Yōkō remembered it being mentioned in the original story, a sword technique used by Omoi, primarily based on deception.
When the Kumo-nin killed him in his previous life, Yōkō couldn't even touch the Kumo-nin's sword, taking every hit squarely with his flesh and blood.
After weighing the options left and right, Yōkō still chose the Cloud-Style Sword Technique.
In an instant, Yōkō mastered this sword technique.
He was currently lying on the ground observing Uzushiogakure through his telescope. His muscles and joints underwent subtle changes.
The Cloud-Style Sword Technique, as Yōkō had guessed, was a set of special blade maneuvering skills.
During the process of swinging the sword, the waist, shoulders, elbows, and wrists twist, altering the sword's trajectory to deceive the opponent, evade their blocks, and strike the enemy's weak points.
When mastered to the highest level, the arms would flow and extend like clouds, hence the name Cloud-Style Sword Technique given by the Kumo-nin.
With this sword technique, he at least wouldn't die so quickly on the battlefield.
After learning this technique, Yōkō's joints felt much more flexible.
...
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(Chapter End)