The leader of the Rain shinobi squad that launched this surprise attack from the south was a man named Kajita. Having once received direct guidance from Hanzo, he was considered one of his personal students, a fact that granted him a very high position within the forces of Amegakure.
To successfully raid the rear logistics camp, the Rain shinobi had also launched a diversionary attack on the front lines during the night. This was a calculated move designed to pin down the primary combat units and prevent any chance of them providing support.
Furthermore, after reaching the logistics camp, Kajita split his forces to ensure a flawless operation. One contingent attacked from the west as a lure, while he personally led the other to strike from the south.
His original plan was to silently eliminate the patrolling guards in the south. Unfortunately, one of his subordinates hesitated at a critical moment, giving a Konoha shinobi the precious seconds needed to send up a signal flare.
Forced to adapt, he changed his strategy on the fly. An undetected assault on the camp was no longer possible. Instead, he ordered his entire squad to take up ambush positions within the dense forest.
If any shinobi came to investigate, they would almost certainly be the last of the camp's defenders. As long as Kajita's squad could eliminate this relief force, their path into the camp would be clear.
However, after a long wait, no one arrived. Just as he began to hesitate, wondering whether to advance directly, a kunai of unknown origin found its mark, striking one of his subordinates. The attached explosive tag detonated, obliterating the man instantly.
He assumed the Konoha shinobi were simply being cautious, probing the forest for traps. His subordinate was just unlucky to have been caught in the random blast. With that thought, he instructed everyone to find deeper cover, anticipating the enemy would soon enter the forest and walk right into their waiting hands.
What he didn't expect was the devastating volley that followed. Instead of shinobi, a dense barrage of kunai, each armed with an exploding tag, rained down upon them. Every single one landed with pinpoint accuracy in their hiding places.
At that moment, even a fool would have understood. Kajita knew his squad's positions had been completely exposed. The enemy had a sensor-type shinobi, one capable of locating them with terrifying precision.
Fortunately, some of the kunai were deflected by thick tree trunks, and some of his subordinates were quick enough to dodge, narrowly preventing their complete annihilation. Even so, after that single, premeditated assault, his squad had already lost nearly half of its combat strength.
Rage surged through him. He bellowed to the remaining Rain shinobi, and together they charged forward. Lingering in the dense forest any longer meant certain death at the hands of this unseen sensor and their allies.
After advancing about a hundred meters, he finally saw them. Kyuushin and the others were little more than a group of children, barely on the cusp of adulthood. Seeing this, his fury intensified, and he roared, "You little brats, I'll tear you apart!"
Kyuushin and his companions were more than prepared. Seeing the enemies finally emerge from the cover of the forest, they immediately launched their counterattack.
Uchiha Fugaku's eyes flared to life, his two-tomoe Sharingan spinning as he locked onto an enemy leaping through the air. His hands blurred through a series of seals, completing a jutsu in an instant.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive sphere of fire, three to four meters in diameter, shot toward the targeted Rain shinobi. With nothing to brace against in mid-air, the man could only take the full force of the fireball head-on. He was reduced to charcoal in a silent, fiery death.
With Fugaku taking the lead, the other young heirs of Konoha's clans refused to be outdone. A flurry of secret techniques and ninjutsu flew towards the charging Rain shinobi. However, the enemy was prepared, and they quickly used their own jutsu to block the assault, minimizing their losses.
The moment he entered his attack stance, Kyuushin activated his First Stage Gene Lock. He clapped his hands together, and the very water vapor in the air rapidly condensed, forming a giant water dragon that roared to life. It charged straight for Kajita, who was still bellowing in anger.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
The powerful torrent of water smashed through countless trees in its path. Yet, facing the ferocious dragon, Kajita showed no trace of panic. He flew through his own hand seals, and just before the dragon could strike, an enormous wall of water erupted from the ground to meet it.
"Water Release: Water Wall Technique!"
The water dragon collided with the water wall, creating an explosive splash that sent waves cascading in every direction. The sheer volume of water unleashed by their two ninjutsu instantly turned this section of the dense forest into a murky swamp.
The young shinobi from the various clans couldn't help but pause their attacks for a split second, their gazes drawn to the awe-inspiring display of power.
They quickly snapped out of it, a renewed determination on their faces. Their own attacks immediately became more aggressive.
The water wall receded, revealing Kajita completely unharmed within. He opened his mouth to taunt them, but Kyuushin gave him no such opportunity. While they had temporarily suppressed the enemy with their initial volley, he knew the truth.
The clan heirs were still young, lacking the stamina for a prolonged battle. If the fight devolved into close-quarters combat, their underdeveloped bodies would put them at a severe disadvantage.
Seeing his first attack fail, Kyuushin had no intention of giving the enemy leader a single moment to breathe.
He closed his eyes and took a steadying breath as his Gene Lock rapidly escalated from the First Stage to the Second. It was clear that the control offered by the First Stage was insufficient for the ninjutsu he was about to unleash.
Kyuushin clapped his hands together again, and a vast amount of Water Release chakra condensed within his body. Then, without a hint of hesitation, he slammed his right palm heavily onto the watery ground.
Hyuga Hizashi, who had been observing the enemy's movements from the rear with his Byakugan active, happened to glance at Kyuushin at that exact moment.
From his perspective, the chakra surging inside Kyuushin's body was immense, far greater than that of many adult shinobi he had witnessed in his own clan. As Kyuushin slammed his hand down, this incredible chakra poured out through his palm, merging rapidly into the swampy water.
Around Kajita, the massive pool of water created by the two previous jutsu began to spin violently. Startled, Kajita instinctively leaped high into the air, trying to escape the churning surface.
However, the spinning water suddenly erupted upwards in a powerful, straight column. Kajita twisted his body to dodge, but suspended in mid-air, he had no leverage and could only let the watery pillar strike him.
After the impact, he realized the column itself had little offensive power. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he watched in alarm as more columns shot out from the swirling water below. They battered his body, tossing him about in the air and making it impossible for him to land.
A deep sense of dread settled in Kajita's heart, but he was helpless. He failed to notice that the continuously rising water columns never fell back down. Instead, they were gradually gathering high above him, forming the shape of a giant water dragon.
The assault continued for several seconds. A few Rain shinobi rushed forward, attempting to rescue their leader, but the dense, surging columns of water blocked their path. In the end, not only did they fail to reach Kajita, but the would-be rescuers were swept into the vortex as well.
Finally, the water on the ground receded, and the columns grew sparse. Kajita was about to sigh in relief, but an inadvertent glance upward made his blood run cold.
The giant water dragon in the sky had now formally taken shape, its menacing eyes fixed on him. As the last water column merged into its form, the colossal creature began to move.
Its massive dragon head descended, charging directly at Kajita. The distance was too close. Trapped in mid-air, he had no way to react before the giant maw swallowed him whole.
"Rumble—"
The water dragon, several times larger than the first, crashed into the ground. The force of the impact caused the entire earth to tremble violently. At the center of the collision, a crater more than ten meters wide and three to four meters deep had been carved out.
The surrounding trees were uprooted, their trunks shattered into pieces by the raw force. Under the immense surge of water, the ground was swept clean. Shikaku, standing over fifty meters away, was still knocked several meters backward by the resulting wave.
Under such a devastating impact, Kajita, the captain of the Rain Ninja squad, was utterly gone; it was unlikely that even a recognizable piece of his corpse remained.
Not only that, but several Rain shinobi who had been relatively close were caught in the aftermath of the ninjutsu's descent, immediately losing their ability to fight.
Both sides were stunned into silence by the sheer, overwhelming power of the technique. Although they were in the middle of a battle, for more than ten seconds after the jutsu landed, neither friend nor foe made a single move.
It wasn't until Kyuushin raised his right hand and slowly stood up that everyone finally heard the name of this terrifying ninjutsu from his lips:
"Water Release: Water Dragon Crushing Bite!"
***
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