Night fell, darkness quietly swallowing the land.
The Mist-nin, exhausted from the previous day's chaos, finally loosened their vigilance a little.
On a lookout tower nearly five meters tall, a guard yawned lazily into the night.
At that moment—
A head with spiky black hair surfaced from the shadowy sea.
Behind him, one after another, shinobi wearing Konoha's forehead protectors emerged.
Sixty-five ninja in total.
Not a single one below chūnin rank.
And at the front of the group—
"Sharingan."
As Uchiha Hayatsuki opened his red eyes, the sea surface ahead revealed a faint lattice of chakra—
A basic sensory barrier placed by the Mist-nin.
A thin, uneven blue glow rippled across the water.
Hayatsuki whispered:
"Those good at swimming, follow me.
Don't use chakra. No speeding up.
Just dive and swim normally."
"The rest of you, wait for our signal."
Everyone nodded.
Eighteen swimmers slipped forward behind Hayatsuki, spreading out as they approached the remains of Konoha's former Outpost No. 1.
On the outpost itself, a Mist chūnin leaned against the wall, dozing off—saving energy for tomorrow's attack on the Uzumaki.
Just before they entered visual range, Hayatsuki halted and whispered again:
"Hold your breath and push forward.
If anything feels wrong—burst your chakra or fire a signal flare.
Understood?"
Nods again.
No one made a sound.
They moved like a silent execution squad, prepared for a secret assassination mission.
But—
Inside the outpost, the Mist barrier-nin suddenly snapped his eyes open.
"ENEMY ATTACK!!!"
Woooooo—!!!
Sirens wailed through the night.
Sleeping Mist-nin shot up, rushing toward the barrier station.
The chūnin in charge closed his eyes again, focusing on the glowing blue sphere floating before him.
On its southwest edge— a ripple appeared.
"Intruders approaching from the Land of Whirlpools!
This chakra is powerful—
At least jōnin-level!"
Meanwhile
Now dressed as a field medic, Kaito had just stepped into the seawater—still several kilometers from the outpost—
When the sirens erupted.
"…"
So that's how it is.
Picking on me just because I can't use barrier techniques, huh?
"Great… No intel. I've turned into Jiraiya."
Pouting, Kaito continued forward.
They were already exposed—fine.
At the very least, he could keep the Mist awake all night so the 'Noah's Ark' operation would go more smoothly tomorrow.
Meanwhile—
Uchiha Hayatsuki's entire squad stared at him in disbelief.
Eighteen sets of eyes snapped toward their captain.
Hayatsuki felt their stares stabbing him in the back.
"Wait."
"Is the barrier really that high-grade? It triggered just because someone spoke underwater?!"
"Has Mist stolen Uzumaki sealing techniques or what?!"
Hayatsuki absolutely would not admit the truth—
He immediately blamed the Uzumaki clan.
Behind him, the Konoha shinobi all nodded vigorously.
After all, even Konoha's own village barrier wasn't this sensitive.
For a temporary outpost to detect intrusion so easily—
Completely absurd.
Just as Hayatsuki debated whether to advance—
A commotion erupted ahead.
He signaled with his hand—
Everyone dove, leaving only their eyes above the surface.
"Hurry! Hurry!"
"They've already broken in! And their speed is insane, they're about to—!"
Above the Sea
Kaito stepped once on the water, launching himself upward.
His hands blurred through seals—finishing in an instant.
Fire gathered at his lips, a burning glow growing brighter.
During the days observing his three students' training, he had copied not only Nonō's D-rank Earth technique, but also Mikoto's Great Fireball Technique.
And with Kaito's already exceptional development of Fire-nature chakra—
He had long advanced it beyond C-rank.
He'd recreated the B-rank technique Sasuke once used—
"Fire Release: Majestic Flame Dragon Jutsu!"
Behind Kaito, the forty-seven Konoha ninja—who had been stealthily chatting the moment their captain wasn't looking—froze mid-conversation.
They had even started pulling out cards to play before the mission.
But now—
A jutsu name echoed through the sky.
Dozens of heads snapped upward.
"…Wait—weren't we supposed to fire a signal flare FIRST?!"
"Why is someone ATTACKING already?!"
High above the dark sea, red fire scorched the horizon.
Four massive flame dragons spiraled through the sky.
An Uchiha chūnin reflexively activated his Sharingan to extend his sight.
"Incredible… He fused Fire-nature transformation into Great Fireball. Do we have someone like that in the Uchiha?!"
"No way!!! Let me see!"
"Me too!"
Four Sharingan ignited at once—
Even a Hyūga branch jōnin activated his Byakugan.
"That person… doesn't seem to have Sharingan chakra."
"What?!" ×8
Shock rippled through the group.
But there was no time to process it.
"He's already engaging the Mist-nin!"
"Regardless of who he is—he's on Konoha's side!"
"Notify Captain Hayatsuki immediately!"
"Right!"
The Battle at Outpost No. 1
Kaito's flame dragons didn't stop at one—
He fired four in succession.
Their combined radius covered the entire outpost.
Mist-nin looked up—
And saw four blazing suns descending upon them.
"The attack's huge—don't panic!
You four, Water Release!!!"
The chūnin in front opened their hands, forming seals at speed.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
The first flame dragon struck—
The water wall hissed and evaporated instantly into white-hot steam.
The second, third, and fourth followed.
Four chūnin staggered from chakra exhaustion.
Another squad of four stepped up immediately, unleashing water pillars to reinforce the defenses.
Within seconds—
All four flame dragons were smothered in boiling mist.
Hozuki Suikyo barked:
"Barrier unit! Sensor unit! Assassination unit—GO!"
"Yes sir!" ×12
"Hidden Mist Technique!" ×8
Four spewed fresh fog into the air, saturating the battlefield.
Another four—led by a Special Jōnin—slipped into the mist, their chakra signatures merging with the environment until they vanished.
The sensor squad formed a glowing blue orb.
"Mist-Eye Technique!" ×4
Now—
Anyone stepping into the Mist's territory would be sensed instantly.
Several minutes passed.
Then the barrier squad leader spoke:
"I see them."
"Intruder. Seven o'clock direction, out on the sea!"
"And—
Konoha forces detected to the east!"
"Headcount…"
"At least ten—no—fifteen!"
"No… over twenty in the eastern group!
And at least two jōnin-level chakra signatures among them!!!"
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