A thick fog, as if tangible, enveloped Kirigakure, reducing visibility to less than five meters.
The damp air was filled with the smell of the sea, and the outline of the village was faintly visible in the mist.
A ninja named Aoshi, on night watch, leaned against a wooden pillar of the watchtower, his eyelids constantly drooping. Consecutive alert duties had exhausted his energy.
"Hey, Aoshi, don't fall asleep." His companion whispered, his voice also weary.
Aoshi forced his eyes open and yawned, "In this weather, not even a bird can fly in, what could possibly..."
His voice trailed off as a blurry white shadow flashed through the dense fog.
"What's wrong?" His companion asked, straightening up vigilantly.
Aoshi rubbed his eyes. "Maybe I'm seeing things."
Before he finished speaking, his neck was suddenly struck by a precise hand chop. In the last moment before losing consciousness, he saw those Byakugan glowing with a faint blue light.
Hizashi retracted his hand and gestured to his companions behind him. Twelve elite members of the Hyuga clan moved like ghosts through the dense fog, silently eliminating one sentry after another. Their Byakugan could penetrate the thick fog, precisely locating every guard.
"Perimeter cleared." Hizashi reported in a low voice.
...
In the forest on the outskirts of Kirigakure, two thousand Konoha ninjas lay in wait.
Shun stood at the forefront, his black hair gently swaying in the night wind. He closed his eyes, seemingly sensing something.
"Advisor Shun, the Hyuga squad reports the perimeter guards have been dealt with." Shikaku walked up to him, his voice extremely low.
Shun opened his eyes. "Begin the operation."
The two thousand ninjas moved in unison, creating a gentle breeze. They surged towards Kirigakure like a tide, yet made no sound.
When the first Konoha ninja stepped into the village, a Kirigakure ninjas finally noticed something amiss.
"Enemy attack! It's Konoha ninja!" A Chunin's cry was cut short as a dark figure covered his mouth, and he collapsed to the ground.
But the alarm had been raised, and the piercing sound of warning bells echoed through Kirigakure.
Shun softly said, "It seems we need to speed things up."
Mangekyo Sharingan - Activate.
Complete Body Susanoo.
Using his own Chakra to drive the Complete Body Susanoo was still a bit strenuous. So, Shun borrowed a portion of Nine-Tails's Chakra from the black magatama beneath his neck to empower the Complete Body Susanoo.
Soon, orange Chakra soared into the sky, and to everyone's astonished gaze, the Chakra quickly condensed into form.
The over two-hundred-meter-tall Complete Body Susanoo appeared before everyone like a moving mountain.
"What kind of monster is this?"
A Kirigakure anbu looked up at the orange giant that blotted out the sky, his legs trembled uncontrollably, and the kunai in his hand clattered to the ground.
The Complete Body Susanoo was covered in heavy armor, its face a grotesque demon mask, revealing only a pair of glowing red eyes. It spread its giant wings and flapped them continuously. The blood mist of Kirigakure was blown away by a gust of wind.
Shun stood within the rhomboid crystal on Susanoo's forehead, his Mangekyo Sharingan rotating slightly.
Divine Eye: Activate!
Instantly, the entire defensive layout of Kirigakure was revealed to his eyes.
Thirty-seven explosive tag traps, thirty-two Water Release barrier nodes and even the poison gas devices hidden in the drainage system, all had nowhere to hide.
"Wait a moment, I'll clear the surrounding traps first." Shun's voice, amplified by Susanoo, echoed across the entire battlefield.
Then, the Susanoo raised the giant shield in its left hand. The shield was over 180 meters tall, like a moving city wall. With a deafening roar, the giant shield slammed heavily into the ground.
Boom... Rumble!
Three watchtowers, along with the explosive tag traps buried beneath them, were instantly annihilated.
Boom... Rumble... Boom...
Susanoo struck continuously, each blow causing an earthquake-like tremor.
All traps within a five-hundred-meter radius, as well as defensive fortifications, were razed to the ground.
Inside the Kirigakure command post, Genji, who was left to guard, saw this scene, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
"A Susanoo over two hundred meters tall? How could the Uchiha clan have such a monster? This is three times taller than Fugaku's Susanoo back then."
"Elder, what should we do?" An anxious Jonin asked, his voice full of despair.
Genji's hands trembled as he watched the Konoha ninjas begin their full-scale assault. Their proudest defense system was like paper in front of that orange giant.
"Surrender or die!"
"Surrender or die!"
"Surrender or die!"
The shouts of the Konoha ninjas came from all directions, like the declaration of the Shinigami.
The command center was in chaos.
"All traps disabled!"
"Barrier squad wiped out!"
"The south gate defenders have raised the white flag!"
Genji slumped into his chair like a deflated ball, his body limp. His face was ashen, and his once straight spine was now bent, making him appear even older.
The people in the room were silent, their faces filled with terror and despair, a confusion and fear of the future.
Genji's throat was dry, and he struggled to speak. "Give the order. Lay down your weapons, we surrender."
It was a difficult decision, but Genji knew that Kirigakure had no other choice.
During the Third Great Ninja War, Kirigakure had surrendered to Konoha. So this time, the surrender of the Kirigakure ninjas seemed even more natural.
White flags rose in every corner of the village, their pristine color glaring under the sun, as if mocking their defeat. The surviving Kirigakure ninjas put down their weapons one after another. They silently knelt in surrender, not daring to look at those around them, their hearts filled with humiliation and resentment.
The intelligence interrogation work also proceeded unusually smoothly. The Kirigakure ninjas seemed to have lost their will to resist.
Soon, the Konoha ninjas had a complete grasp of Kirigakure's military deployment.
It turned out that Kirigakure had divided their forces into three parts.
One part remained in Kirigakure, responsible for guarding the village's safety.
Another part consisted of young and strong ninjas sent to the borders, their mission to resist external invasions.
Finally, and the most elite part, followed Fourth Mizukage Yagura, stationed in the capital of the Land of Water, they were the core strength of Kirigakure.