The next morning, Hōzuki Muragetsu, Kuriarare Kushimaru, and Hoshigaki Kisame appeared together on a certain beach.
There were two corpses on the beach.
Both corpses had a hole in their head, and judging by the size of the hole, it was precisely from being pierced by the Water Gun Technique.
Kuriarare Kushimaru, holding the Longsword Nuibari, inserted the needle into the small hole in the Kiri-nin corpse's head and pulled out brain matter.
"Hmm, correct. They are fresh corpses from this morning."
Hoshigaki Kisame considered himself a pure villain, but felt somewhat inferior in front of Kuriarare Kushimaru.
How could a person be so cruel and perverted.
When Kuriarare Kushimaru encountered enemies, he didn't kill them immediately. He used the Longsword Nuibari and wires to sew the corpses to trees or rocks, then patiently watched as the enemies slowly turned into corpses while convulsing.
In the Land of Water, Kuriarare Kushimaru's name could make any noble's knees tremble.
If Kuriarare Kushimaru appeared in a town, the Daimyō of the Land of Water had to send an inquiry to Kirigakure Village because of it.
Hoshigaki Kisame said: "Hōzuki Muragetsu, do you have anything else to say? If not, we go to the hillside mentioned in the intelligence tonight to set up our ambush in advance."
Hōzuki Muragetsu said again: "This is just one location. We need to find at least three to rule out all accidents."
By noon, Hōzuki Muragetsu had found four Kiri-nin corpses and said nothing more.
Hoshigaki Kisame said: "Leave two battalions to play along with Copper Fox, make him think we've taken the bait. The other battalions will move quickly to the Konoha ambush site and counter-ambush them."
Deep in the forest.
White Ram said, "Squad Leader, a large number of enemies have landed on the beach!"
Yōkō breathed a long sigh of relief inwardly; they were almost running out of Kiri-nin prisoners.
The Kiri-nin completely believed the scroll. They thought the five Konoha battalions would arrive at that hillside for the ambush tomorrow.
So they set out today, one day early, to set up a counter-ambush.
What they didn't know was that the intelligence in that scroll was all fake.
He had agreed with Battalion Commander Yellow Dog that Yellow Dog would change the operational plan at the last minute and set off early.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog would strictly monitor everyone participating in the battle to prevent anyone from sending advance warning.
Yōkō felt it was so difficult, having to fight the Kiri-nin to the death while also guarding against enemies within Konoha.
Midnight.
Five Kiri-nin battalions arrived at the foot of a certain hillside.
Hoshigaki Kisame took out the intelligence scroll and, looking at the simple map on it, said:
"The Konoha Anbu battalion is ambushing us on the back side of the hillside.
Kuriarare Kushimaru, take your battalion to the back of the hillside and set traps, make sure to eliminate the Konoha Anbu battalion's effective strength in one go.
Two Konoha battalions are ambushing us on the north side of the hillside. Send two Kiri-nin battalions to the mountainous area north of the hillside to plant Explosive Tags.
Two Uchiha battalions are ambushing us on the south side of the hillside. Hōzuki Muragetsu, your abilities are suited to dealing with the Uchiha clan. The two of us will lead teams to set traps."
Hoshigaki Kisame firmly held the intelligence scroll, not allowing others to see it, so when assigning tasks, he effectively became the commander for this sword retrieval mission.
No matter how resentful Hōzuki Muragetsu felt, he could only follow Hoshigaki Kisame's arrangements.
The Kiri-nin dispersed to their respective positions.
On the back side of the hillside, the hilltop blocked the line of sight.
The Hyūga ninja from the Hippo Squad suddenly raised his hand.
Shadowy figures appeared on the hilltop – the Kiri-nin had arrived!
Jōnin Copper Fox's mission to lure the enemy was extremely successful; the Kiri-nin had entered Konoha's kill zone!
Yellow Dog couldn't help but glance sideways at Copper Fox behind him.
Copper Fox had just returned and was still breathing heavily.
Copper Fox's performance was too outstanding; the enemy-luring mission was executed so perfectly.
Yellow Dog slowly raised his hand, ready with hand seals.
A moment later.
"Explode!"
Hundreds of Explosive Tags suddenly detonated!
These Explosive Tags were laid by Yellow Dog himself; this was the secret Explosive Tag trap technique that killed Senju Nawaki. These Kiri-nin had completely failed to detect it.
Yōkō was the first to charge forward.
After the explosion, dust and smoke enveloped the hilltop.
The Longsword Nuibari suddenly pierced through the smoke, heading straight for Yōkō, who was charging at the front.
Clang!
The Longsword Nuibari stabbed at Yōkō's chest but was deflected by the Copper Light.
Both Yōkō and Kuriarare Kushimaru were very surprised.
The thin Longsword Nuibari, hitting his Copper Light at such high speed, actually didn't break.
Kuriarare Kushimaru, on the other hand, was shocked by Copper Fox's absolute defense. He had used his full strength but failed to pierce Copper Fox.
The Longsword Nuibari, having failed its task, was pulled back by its wire.
He immediately adjusted his strategy, preparing to use the wires to tightly bind Copper Fox.
Yōkō tanked a few stray flying kunai and used Water Release: Water Cutting Wave.
Screams came from within the smoke of the Explosive Tags.
The smoke was severed, revealing the bisected Kiri-nin inside.
Then, Yellow Dog's Fire Release arrived.
An ellipsoidal fireball over fifty meters long and twenty meters wide instantly enveloped the entire hilltop.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's Fire Release was exceptionally large in scale.
The Kiri-nin didn't have time to prepare the Hiding in Mist Technique, nor did they combine their Water Releases, instantly falling into a huge disadvantage.
The Fire Release blasted away the thick smoke from the Explosive Tags, exposing the gruesome scene behind it.
At a rough glance, there were at least 40 corpses on the ground.
The triple combo of Explosive Tags, Water Cutting Wave, and Fire Release had already broken this Kiri-nin battalion.
The surviving Kiri-nin scrambled over the hilltop, running down the slope.
Yellow Dog and Yōkō stood on the hilltop, watching the Kiri-nin on the slope.
They all had injuries from the explosion or fire, large and small; they looked miserable, and indeed they were.
Yellow Dog said, "Don't pursue a broken enemy; secure the victory first. I'm going south to support the two Uchiha battalions. Fox, you go north to support Yamashiro-dera and Gekkō Sō."
Yōkō thought to himself, perfect. Yamashiro-dera and Gekkō Sō were supporters of Hatake Sakumo; they couldn't die here.
He led his squad and headed north.
In the distance, the two Kiri-nin battalions that had been tracking Yōkō arrived belatedly.
Yōkō said: "Before the Hiding in Mist Technique fully forms, quickly gain the upper hand!"
In the mountainous area on the north side, Hayama was commanding a squad, following Battalion Commander Gekkō Sō in a charge towards the Kiri-nin.
The Explosive Tag traps they had laid were discovered early by the Kiri-nin. The first wave of several dozen Explosive Tags only killed about ten Kiri-nin.
The Yamashiro-dera battalion nearby wasn't faring much better.
The advantage wasn't as great as imagined. Their two battalions were facing three Kiri-nin battalions.
Gekkō Sō shouted: "Kill those dozen or so ninja who are jointly using the Hiding in Mist Technique first!"
Once surrounded by the Hiding in Mist Technique, the Konoha side would be like blind men, with visibility less than 2 meters.
Just then, a unique sound of water line impact came from above.
A water beam swept horizontally.
Of the ten ninja jointly using the Hiding in Mist Technique, six were bisected by the water beam.
The remaining four Kiri-nin, being further away, barely dodged the Water Release.
Hayama looked up and saw the Anbu's Copper Fox leaping past.
After landing, Yōkō said to Gekkō Sō:
"Jōnin Gekkō Sō, leave this place to my squad. Please go support the Yamashiro-dera battalion next door."
Gekkō Sō nodded repeatedly. If the Anbu's Copper Fox was here, then there would be no pressure here.
On the south side of the hillside, Hoshigaki Kisame dodged a massive fireball in an embarrassed manner, shouting angrily:
"The Wandering Shrine Maiden! You wretched woman! How dare you deceive me!"
***
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(Chapter End)