Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
The Hyuga clansman's body stiffened, and sweat instantly soaked his back.
He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
The Konoha shinobi holding him was one of the Third Hokage's former personal guards, an Anbu he knew but wasn't familiar with.
"Don't close it," the Anbu said again, his voice extremely low.
"What?" the Hyuga clansman asked back without thinking.
"Byakugan, don't close it," the Anbu's command was clear and cold. "Have your clansmen do the same. Watch every prisoner. Don't miss any unusual chakra changes."
As these words entered his ears, the Hyuga clansman's previously vague suspicions instantly became clear.
So all of this was planned.
From the shame of being paraded through the streets, to the Konoha shinobi's "mistake" just now, and then to this command.
This was a trap.
A death trap prepared for the three thousand Kumogakure prisoners.
His lips began to turn white, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
He had seen things he shouldn't have seen, heard things he shouldn't have heard.
He had already fallen into the trap.
Hiruzen still stood at the very back of the group, seemingly unaware of the undercurrents surging before him.
His mask hid all his emotions.
Without meaning to, his hand made a few extremely subtle gestures.
Those were Anbu command hand seals.
As his gestures fell, nearly one hundred Konoha shinobi in the escort team subtly changed their positions.
These people were all the Third Hokage's confidants.
Under the command hand seals, they quietly surrounded the Kumogakure prisoners whose seals had been tampered with.
The other four hundred unsuspecting Konoha shinobi were on purpose or by accident separated by them, continuing to guard the prisoners whose seals were intact.
The entire formation adjustment was completed in the middle of the chaotic curses and prisoner noise, flowing smoothly without making anyone suspicious.
Only those ten Hyuga clansmen, under the Byakugan's vision, saw all of this clearly.
Night slowly fell.
Campfires were lit at the campsite.
But that warmth couldn't drive away the chill in the air.
The shame was still getting worse.
The prisoners' dinner was deliberately made mushy and mixed with dirt.
The Konoha shinobi responsible for giving out food slammed a wooden bucket onto the ground.
"Want to eat?"
He stepped on the edge of a wooden bucket with his foot, his dirt-covered boot very close to the food inside the bucket.
Looking at the hungry prisoners, he beckoned with a finger, his face showing clear mockery. "Crawl over, and I'll give you a bite."
Challenge.
Challenge to the extreme.
A prisoner surrounded in the inner circle was trembling all over.
Rage burned in his chest, constantly scorching his nerves.
He gritted his teeth tightly, his gums bleeding, and the smell of blood filled his mouth.
His lips trembled, wanting to curse the other party with the most vicious language and then smash that disgusting face with his fist.
But he didn't dare.
Reason told him that any resistance would be useless, only inviting more brutal holding down and shame.
He could only lower his head, covering his eyes that were so red they almost seemed to be bleeding.
The extreme held back anger had nowhere to vent, turning into wild chakra that surged violently within his body.
Finally, uncontrollably, it slammed fiercely against the solid seal on his lower back!
This was just his subconscious act of venting. He never expected to break through the seal.
But in the next second...
"Crack!"
An extremely faint cracking sound came from the core of the seal.
The prisoner's expression suddenly stiffened.
The seal, which he had attacked countless times, had actually developed a crack!
He was stunned.
His mind went blank.
Right after, a surge of joy filled his heart.
It turned out that the seal was not unbreakable!
Hope began to grow!
Then, without hesitation, he gathered the remaining chakra in his body into a single surge and, once again, slammed into it fiercely!
Boom!
This time, the seal completely shattered!
A long-lost, surging power once again filled his entire body!
The long-standing shame and anger made him unable to think too much.
Clang!
With a fierce struggle, the shackles that bound his strength and dignity snapped, and iron pieces scattered!
"What?" The Konoha shinobi responsible for the challenge showed an exaggerated expression of surprise.
He seemed completely unprepared for such an event, even stepping back without thinking, his movements appearing somewhat exaggerated.
"He, he broke free!"
But the prisoner wouldn't give him time to react. His pent-up anger and shame burst out completely at this moment.
Then, like a mad beast, he roared and lunged forward!
Bang!
A powerful straight punch was "hastily" blocked by the Konoha shinobi's raised arm.
Fist and arm met, producing a dull thud.
He felt a surge of violent power. His entire arm instantly went numb, and his body repeatedly staggered backward.
Damn it, he's really strong.
The Konoha shinobi thought to himself.
This Kumogakure prisoner didn't care about that. He immediately closed in, delivering a fierce elbow strike directly at the opponent's face!
The Konoha shinobi arched his back, dodging at the last moment, but his cheek still stung from the strong wind, and a few strands of hair were cut off.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!" The Kumogakure prisoner grinned, quickly forming hand seals.
A dazzling flash of lightning gathered in his hands, transforming into a lightning spear, which he thrust forward fiercely!
The Konoha shinobi's face showed a timely expression of great shock, his heart on high alert. "Body Replacement Jutsu!"
Boom!
The moment the lightning spear reached him, his body transformed into a log, narrowly dodging the attack, his face already covered in "horror."
This scene completely lit fire to all the Kumogakure prisoners!
"He succeeded!"
"Oh my god! He can use ninjutsu! The seal can be broken!"
"Brothers, charge! For the glory of Kumogakure!"
After a brief silence, there was a roar like a mountain wave.
"Crack!"
"Crack! Crack!"
The sound of seals shattering rose and fell!
Another one!
And another!
Under the "horrified" gaze of the Konoha shinobi, one Kumogakure shinobi after another broke free from their seals.
Ten, thirty, fifty. In the blink of an eye, over one hundred Kumogakure regained their freedom!
And the moment they broke free from their seals, they pounced like escaped beasts on the nearest Konoha guards.
"Quick! Stop them!"
"Requesting backup! Large-scale prisoner riot!"
The Konoha shinobi who were acting shouted loudly, fighting and retreating, perfectly showing being caught off guard and overwhelmed.
And the unsuspecting Konoha shinobi were truly panicked.
They had never expected these prisoners to collectively break through their seals!
Panic and anger intertwined in their hearts.
"Damn it! They were all faking it!"
"Engage the enemy! Protect the camp!"
But it was too late!
"Lightning Release: Spider Web!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
The freed Kumogakure shinobi immediately launched their attacks. Electric light, wind blades, and water currents surged from all directions toward the Konoha front line!
Over one hundred Kumogakure prisoners who had recovered their strength faced nearly one hundred "retreating" Konoha shinobi, and the entire camp fell into complete chaos.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
Several Konoha shinobi reacted extremely quickly.
With their hands pressed to the ground, thick earthen walls rose from the earth, temporarily blocking the first wave of ninjutsu attacks.
However, Kumogakure's attacks were far from over!
"Hmph!"
A muscular Kumogakure prisoner roared, and his fist, covered in lightning release chakra, slammed fiercely into the earthen wall!
Rumble!
The earthen wall shattered with a crash, sending debris flying!
The immense impact force caused the Konoha shinobi who cast the jutsu to spit blood and fly backward.
He crashed into a burning tent and was instantly dragged away by his comrades for treatment.
The scale of the battle instantly expanded!
Fists and ninjutsu intertwined, blood and flames flew everywhere!