"Retreat!"
After just a few exchanges, Tutai shouted loudly.
There was no helping it; he estimated that he would have no trouble protecting himself under Uchiha Gen, and could even find plenty of opportunities to counterattack.
But it was just like how Orochimaru could stall the Third Raikage, yet could not stop him.
Uchiha Gen's powerful rushing ability and his unpredictable displacement made him nearly impossible to stop, unless one was a speed-type Ninja like the Fourth Raikage A, or had a significant lead in strength and could achieve absolute domination in combat power.
"This is a bit troublesome."
Tutai felt that Uchiha Gen was thorny, and the latter felt exactly the same about Tutai.
According to Konoha Intelligence Division records, Tutai was an excellent Elite Jonin, and after fusing his Earth Release and Fire Release Chakra to master the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai, his strength had improved even further.
Although he had only just learned Lava Release, with the various experiences passed down by his teacher Karai, he could quickly master the Lava Release Ninjutsu. At most, there was a certain gap in proficiency, but after all, he was in his prime, with his energy and spirit nearing their peak—much better than Karai's old bones—so there wasn't a huge difference in their combat power.
This guy's overall strength was actually in the same tier as his own. It was just because he had only recently cultivated Lava Release that his attainment in it was slightly lacking, but at most, he was only a point or two weaker than himself.
He might be able to suppress him, but it was basically impossible to take him down. If he stubbornly kept fighting, his teammates might suffer losses instead.
Rather than that, it would be better to leverage his advantages in mobility and deception to find opportunities to kill others!
Tutai had also thought of this, which is why he shouted loudly.
"Chidori!"
Dazzling lightning surged forth, heading straight for Tutai behind the rubber wall, forcing the latter to increase his Chakra output to reinforce the thickness of the rubber wall.
However, the very next instant, a scream rang out elsewhere.
Another Cloud Village Ninja lost his life under a Rasengan.
Watching his teammate fall at the hands of Uchiha Gen, Tutai couldn't help but glare in fury.
However, the next second, two more Phantom Clones of Uchiha Gen attacked.
One lunged with a sword to slash, while the other held lightning in its palm, circling from the side.
"Uchiha Gen!"
At this moment, Tutai felt that Uchiha Gen was more annoying than a fly, yet he could do nothing about it.
With Lightning Release, sword skills, and the disgusting Sharingan genjutsu and Body Flicker Technique, there was almost nowhere he could target.
Facing this situation, he had no choice but to go all out, hoping for a miracle to buy time for himself and his subordinates to retreat.
"Lava Release: Rubber Mud Flow!"
A large amount of rubber mucus gushed out like a volcanic eruption, instantly covering a large part of the battlefield and washing away several Phantom Clones closest to Tutai.
Uchiha Gen dodged the range of the rubber mucus from afar, looking slightly disheveled. Together with a Shadow Clone that had been mixed in with the Phantom Clones, each of them carried a teammate in their hands.
They had almost been trapped by the rubber just now; if the rescue hadn't been timely, they would likely have died here.
Uchiha Gen could target others, and Tutai could do the same, but due to the nature of his abilities, he was destined to be unable to unleash such attacks for long.
Unless he also had a physique similar to a Sage Body, possessing an extremely vast amount of Chakra.
Therefore, this outburst of his was intended to cover his and his teammates' retreat.
When they met in a narrow path back then, Karai had done the same thing.
It was just that the Konoha army had been nearby that time, and he had retreated too hastily, allowing Uchiha Gen to find an opportunity to injure him. This time, Tutai had clearly learned from his teacher's lesson, going all out from the very beginning and not giving Uchiha Gen any chances.
However—
"You're not the only one who came prepared—"
Uchiha Gen looked at a teammate he had specifically brought along on this trip.
This teammate was named Kazematsuri Yehuang, in his thirties, and was proficient in Water Release and Earth Release.
The surname Kazematsuri was perceived by many as a commoner name, but in reality, it was a branch that had split off from the Senju Clan after they retired from public view, and Kazematsuri Yehuang was one of them.
Uchiha Gen chose him because his proficient Water Release could complement his own Lightning Release.
Actually, he had originally wanted Maruboshi Kosuke, but unfortunately, Maruboshi Kosuke hadn't come to the Cloud Village battlefield this time. Moreover, combat power at the level of an Elite Jonin wasn't something he could just request whenever he wanted.
But fortunately, Kazematsuri Yehuang's Water Release was top-tier among Konoha Jonin, and it was sufficient for this occasion.
"Water Release: Breaking Torrent!"
Surging water gushed from his mouth, rushing forward rapidly.
And Uchiha Gen's Shadow Clone also raised its hand at this moment to condense lightning, channeling the current into the water.
"Lightning Release: Roaring Thunder!"
Over the course of a few months, combined with his past accumulation, Uchiha Gen had mastered Young Kakashi's Lightning Release Nature Transformation.
Having mastered the Lightning Release Nature Transformation, coupled with the Sharingan's ability to copy Ninjutsu, most conventional Lightning Release techniques could achieve good results in his hands.
Lightning overcomes Earth, Water overcomes Fire; the combination of the two perfectly countered the Lava Release, which was synthesized from Fire and Earth attributes, instantly disintegrating a large amount of rubber.
Uchiha Gen's main body seized this opportunity, burst forth with the Body Flicker Technique, and charged up, catching up to several Cloud Village Ninjas in an instant.
With a slash of his sword, several more Cloud Village Ninjas were beheaded in the blink of an eye.
The other members of the squad also followed Uchiha Gen's footsteps in tacit understanding at this moment, charging forward together.
"Tutai, I will take my squad to stay behind and cover the retreat. You guys retreat. Otherwise, I'm afraid not many of us will make it out of this squad. If you stay, in case you get surrounded by Uchiha Gen and several others, I'm afraid you'll lose your life here too."
A Cloud Village Ninja took the initiative to break open the rubber ball protecting himself, and said to Tutai in a deep voice.
Uchiha Gen's squad was the elite of the elite; the ten people were at least Special Jonin, and in addition to himself, there were four Jonin—they could almost directly win a small-scale battle.
As long as they were willing to pay a certain price, they might not be unable to surround and kill a top-tier expert close to the Kage level.
"Sorry, Moloi, I wish you good fortune in battle!"
Tutai sighed and had no choice but to agree.
However, just a few minutes later.
The shouting and killing on the battlefield gradually subsided, leaving behind the ground covered in tattered rubber scorched by lightning and fire, as well as corpses.
"Mission accomplished. The most important nail Cloud Village had in this region has been pulled out, and we have reclaimed nearly half of our lost territory in the Land of Hot Springs. It's time to go back and report."
Uchiha Gen found a cloth, wiped the blood off his Sengoku Ninja Sword, and after sheathing it, he said.
According to Orochimaru's strategic deployment, after taking this place, the next step was to retake the military fortress that Danzo and the Third had once guarded, and restore the previous war landscape.