To prevent the other side from suddenly doubling back, the Yugakure ninja and the Konoha ninja all returned to the daimyō's palace to protect the important targets.
The originally quiet eastern district had been jolted awake by the battle between the two sides. Soon after, large numbers of ordinary soldiers were dispatched and began scattering in all directions to search, throwing the surrounding residents into complete chaos.
But in truth, it was useless. If ninja could be easily found by ordinary soldiers, they would have stopped making a living in this line of work long ago.
The possibly present Red Eyes could confuse the vision of the Byakugan, but they could not evade Makoto's perception. He led his teammates, concealing their chakra fluctuations as they quietly followed this group.
No matter where this group's hideout was, they had to be wiped out in one sweep. He was particular about perfection when carrying out missions and had no habit of leaving loose ends behind.
North of the eastern district's aristocratic quarter, at the boundary with the northern district, there was a rather large garden estate.
At this moment, the estate was completely dark, as though no one lived there and it had long been left vacant.
The defeated rogue ninja arrived there at top speed, then slipped into the estate and vanished from sight. Some among them were extremely professional and erased all traces of their movements, preventing anyone from tracking them there.
The estate remained unlit, but underground a very spacious secret chamber had been built. Not only was it located quite deep, barriers had also been arranged along the surrounding walls.
So this group had never been outside the city. They had been hiding in the capital the entire time, even right in the eastern district.
A sensory ninja's ninjutsu could not penetrate such thick ground, and the barriers blocked the Byakugan's vision. That was why they had been able to stay hidden for so many days.
At this moment, after everyone had arrived, a richly dressed middle-aged man in the secret chamber said, "It seems you failed?"
A tall ninja at the head of the group said, "Yes, Lord Genshin. The palace's defensive strength was too strong, and there were also quite a few Konoha ninja there. We couldn't break in, but we did draw their attention."
"Is that so? Then now we can only hope the inside agent succeeds. There should be news very soon."
As he cleaned his wounds, the tall ninja replied, "Don't worry, Lord Genshin. It should succeed."
This ninja had not used the Transformation Technique. He was using ordinary disguise tools instead, but judging from the thickness of his lips, he was definitely a dark-skinned man from Kumogakure.
The Genshin he spoke of was the second son of the daimyō of the Land of Hot Water.
...
The group waited quietly in the secret chamber, but before news arrived that the inside agent had succeeded, the chamber they were in suddenly began to shake violently.
Genshin cried out in alarm, "What's going on?"
The tall ninja leading the group had a gloomy expression. "It seems we were actually followed. Hurry, get out of here at once."
The group ran frantically up the stairs, but it was too late.
Outside the estate, after tracking them there, Makoto thrust his fingers into the ground and focused his perception downward. It did not take long before he discovered that something was wrong beneath the earth.
"So these bastards were hiding here all along."
Although the four of them were not very old, they were experienced and not foolish enough to charge down through the entrance. That would have been far too dangerous.
Yamato, who could use Earth Release, said, "Captain, tell me the depth. I'll use ninjutsu to force them out."
Makoto glanced at his little junior. You're not your future adult self yet. Although your chakra reserves are huge even now, they are still limited. Given the depth of the secret chamber, even if he succeeded, he would end up completely drained.
"No need. I'll do it myself. Just keep one thing in mind: try not to use Wood Release in a moment."
"I understand, Captain."
Wood Release was one of Konoha's secrets, and it was best not to expose it if it could be avoided. It would trigger PTSD in the other four great ninja villages. They would not care that he was only a youthful simplified version.
Outside the estate, Higashino Makoto could not even be bothered to form hand seals. He directly slapped both hands onto the ground.
Senjutsu: Earth Release: Ultra Added-Weight Rock Technique!
The earth trembled and dust flew everywhere. The area at the border between the eastern district and the northern district shook as if an earthquake had struck. Many residents ran out of their homes in panic, only to see that someone's house had been sent soaring into the sky.
With a single use of Ultra Added-Weight Rock Technique, Higashino Makoto sent a perfectly square section of land shooting upward, lifting the entire mass of earth, along with the estate on top of it, straight into the air.
It was November, and the capital of the Land of Hot Water was located in the north, so the weather was rather cold.
When Genshin emerged onto the surface, his mouth hung open, and he was immediately filled with a mouthful of cold wind.
A moment ago he had still been underground, and suddenly he was in midair. In all his life, where had he ever seen a ninjutsu on this scale? Was this even something a human could do?
The Kumogakure ninja leading the group had no time to marvel at the scale of the ninjutsu. He only knew that things had become very troublesome. Anyone capable of using a ninjutsu like this was obviously an expert.
What was even more fatal was that among the other side's four people, there was definitely a special sensory ninja who could bypass the interference. They would not be able to escape even if they wanted to.
In other words, they had to kill the enemy now. Otherwise, the dozen or so people left on their side could forget about leaving this place alive.
Makoto and his three teammates had already rushed up, and the two sides quickly clashed in battle.
The tall Kumogakure ninja charged at the front. When he saw the masks on the faces of the four—Makoto and the others—he realized that the ones who had come were Konoha's ANBU.
People from Konoha—then they deserved to die even more.
The tall ninja swung his blade down fiercely, and Makoto raised his own blade to block.
The difference in size between the two was enormous; they were not even in the same weight class. It made it seem as though the smaller figure would be sent flying by the strong man's strike at any moment.
But the situation was exactly the opposite.
Makoto coated the standard ANBU short blade with high-density Wind-attribute chakra, while simultaneously using the chakra burst technique he had learned from Tsunade. Not only did the strike cut through the opponent's weapon, the immense force even flipped the burly man backward, throwing him off balance.
"How is that possible?" The burly man wore an expression of utter disbelief—and then there was no then.
Makoto appeared behind him like a ghost and fired a Wind Finger Gun at the vertebrae in his neck, then ignored him afterward.
Yamato and the other two coordinated smoothly, forming a spearhead formation as they engaged the enemy. Their strength was far beyond what their age would suggest, and one enemy after another fell before them.
Makoto moved through the enemies like a gust of wind. No matter who the opponent was, their outcome was basically the same as that of the burly ninja just now. His efficiency in eliminating enemies was astonishing.
But in fact, only one person died. Makoto had a kind heart and did not wish to create too much killing. Instead, he allowed his opponents to enjoy a comfortable life for the rest of their days, with someone personally taking care of them.
Surely the wheelchair merchants of Kumogakure would be very happy. The goods in their homes would never again have trouble finding buyers.
As for the one person he did kill, the individual was not very old, with indistinguishable gender and a pair of bright red pupils. Makoto sensed that the chakra in those eyes was abnormally active; it should be the Red Eyes, a bloodline limit from the Land of Water. No one knew where those dark-skinned brutes had seized it from.
Konoha already had the Byakugan and had no need for Red Eyes. Bringing such a person back would only make the entire Hyūga clan uneasy and unable to sleep at night.
Since it was useless and could not be left to Kumogakure, the only option was to kill them. There was nothing more to say.
The battle ended quickly. These people had only recently fought a bloody battle in the daimyō's palace, and the dozen or so remaining ninja were all injured. They were swiftly cleared out by the four.
Those who encountered Hayate and the other two were all killed. Those who ran into Makoto were luckier—they were still alive, but had no sensation below the neck.
Now only Genshin remained, trembling in a corner of a room.
When Makoto stood before him, the second son of the daimyō of the Land of Hot Water immediately fell to his knees and begged for mercy.
"Don't kill me. I'll give you money—lots of money. I'm the daimyō's son. You ninja cannot kill me."
"And I'll soon become the new daimyō. You must be people from Konoha, right? I will form an alliance with the Land of Fire."
Makoto said, "Relax. I'm not planning to kill you."
"Thank you, thank you. I will keep my word!"
"You're thanking me too early."
After saying that, Makoto likewise fired a Wind Finger Gun at the vertebrae at the back of his neck. The sharp Wind-attribute chakra burst forth and severed his central nervous system.
Genshin collapsed to the ground. A piercing pain spread from his neck, and his body completely refused to obey him.
Despair drove him to let out a miserable scream. Together with the terrified cries outside, the sound drifted through the night sky like the wails of evil spirits, frightening the nearby residents who had come out to watch the spectacle and sending them hurriedly back into their homes.
Hayate and the other two did not pay attention to the fact that Makoto had left so many survivors. They knew their captain must have had his reasons.
After the four descended from the raised platform, Makoto lightly clapped both hands against the ground again and activated ninjutsu once more. Amid a rumbling sound, the lifted earth returned to its original state.
Raising the ground that high carried the risk of collapse at any moment. Soil was not rock, nor was there steel reinforcement inside it. If it collapsed, it could crush the surrounding houses or kill ordinary people.
Makoto had long been accustomed to killing as a ninja, but he would never allow the blood of innocents to stain his hands.
After finishing this, the four hid nearby and quietly watched the battlefield.
Very soon, two squads rushed into the estate.
One of them helped the paralyzed tall ninja to his feet and asked, "Bikai, what happened to you? Who did this?"
"It was Konoha ANBU. Don't worry about me—leave quickly. This is a trap."
"Damn it. We won't abandon our comrades. I'm definitely taking you back."
"I told you not to worry about me. We're already finished. Taking us with you will only slow you down."
The two squads had six people in total. They took away five paralyzed Kumogakure ninja. The rest were ignored; it seemed those were not their people but rogue ninja they had genuinely recruited.
Genshin was also left behind. No matter what benefits he promised, the Kumogakure ninja did not take him with them. Everyone understood that with the mission failed, he was no longer of any use.
It had to be said that Kumogakure's village ethos was much better than Konoha's. Their village rarely had missing-nin, and the ninja were very loyal to one another.
No one knew what exactly the Will of Lightning contained, but it seemed far more practical than Konoha's Will of Fire.
Only then did Hayate and the other two, hidden in the shadows, understand that the reason Makoto had left survivors was to use them as bait and, at the same time, slow the enemy's movement.
After those Kumogakure ninja left carrying their disabled comrades, the security soldiers of the Land of Hot Water soon arrived and took the remaining captives and Genshin together to the daimyō's palace.
Yūgao asked, "Captain, aren't we going to pursue them?"
"We were going to, but now it looks like this matter will have to wait."
"Huh? Why?"
She had just finished speaking when she immediately understood why. A dog's head suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Because I have business with you."
"Damn dog, why are you so close? Stay away from me!"
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---