At the same time—
The dense mist surrounding Outpost No. 1 began to thin.
Without the Water Release squad continuously feeding chakra into the Hidden Mist, the fog rapidly dissipated.
In the barrier squad's final reading, they saw the last coordinated strike of two Mist chūnin—
about to finish off that unexpected jōnin-level intruder.
"It's over…"
The four sensory-nin exchanged a heavy glance.
Of the original fifty-plus Mist-nin, only eleven remained.
They quickly began their retreat protocol, securing any critical documents that could not be burned—they had to carry them out manually.
Plop—
The female Mist-nin's body split apart under an unseen slash.
Yet even as she fell, she could still see the scene before her.
BOOM!
The Water Prison exploded outward, shredding the suicidal chūnin along with it.
A spray of blood mist splattered across the air.
Kaito stepped lightly onto the water's surface.
He picked up the sword dropped earlier by the most arrogant of the Mist-nin.
He murmured:
"Increasing striking speed and force, reducing air resistance…
Feels almost on par with Guy's Sixth and Seventh Gate attacks."
In the woman's numb gaze, she saw only Kaito's approaching footsteps—
footsteps walking over the floating debris of flesh, piranhas, and what remained of Fuyu's body.
"D-Don't… don't kill—"
At death's edge, all hot-blooded speeches, all ideals, all bonds evaporate.
Only raw survival instinct remains.
Shink!!
The blade fell mercilessly.
Kaito watched the life fade from her eyes.
"A ninja's end…"
"…is probably death."
"In the face of death—
everyone is equal."
After destroying the brain stems of all four Mist-nin, he finally noticed the mist had fully dispersed.
Mist forces had withdrawn—
or been annihilated.
"The war ended a bit faster than expected."
Kaito's departure caused no ripples.
Even when Uchiha Hayatsuki's squad later arrived, not a single clue about Kaito's identity was left behind.
Aftermath at Sea
The battle against the Mist forces was complete.
As the commander of this operation, Uchiha Hayatsuki had earned enormous merit:
He had taken down one Mist jōnin, several special jōnin, and dozens of elite chūnin.
But Konoha suffered losses—
Eight dead.
Eleven seriously injured.
Everyone else bore wounds of varying severity.
After confirming Outpost No. 1 contained no further usable intel, Hayatsuki remembered the mysterious shinobi who infiltrated from the direction of Uzushio.
So, Hayatsuki, Hyūga Chiya, and two other elite shinobi—a total of three jōnin and one special jōnin—went to inspect that battlefield.
From the floating corpses not yet fully submerged, Hayatsuki concluded:
"A veteran jōnin specializing in taijutsu…
This Mist assassination squad couldn't even resist inside their own barrier."
Hyūga Chiya activated his Byakugan.
Through the semi-dissolved corpse, he saw crushed bones—organs reduced to liquid.
He trembled.
"What terrifying power…!"
"This chūnin's meridians and skeleton are pulverized—his internal organs are nothing but blood slurry!!"
"What?!"
The others were stunned.
Experienced in battle—
Possessing such destructive strength—
"Could it be… Kage-level?" Hayatsuki inhaled slowly.
"So the shinobi of the Land of Whirlpools were hiding their strength all this time."
"Then tomorrow's coordinated mission should succeed."
Meanwhile: Kaito's Return
Returning to his room, Kaito opened a small ROOM radius, slipping cleanly through the Uzumaki barrier.
The Uzumaki sensing wards could detect anyone crossing them, but ROOM interfered just enough to mimic something the size of an insect.
Deep inside an Uzumaki building—
A sensor-nin frowned.
"Something tiny… like a mosquito… just entered."
The other Uzumaki on rotation were playing cards.
One of them slapped a card down.
"Jack."
"It's probably just a mosquito, Shinichi."
"Yeah. It's that season. K!"
"Pass."
"Haha! Joker! I'm down to two cards!"
Shinichi kept his eyes closed, still uneasy.
"But… didn't we spread insect-repelling seals all around the barrier for Mist-nin?"
"Maybe it's a tough bug. Not the first time."
"Five of Diamonds. I win, pay up."
"Damn, lost again."
"Wakō, your luck's insane today."
They tossed money over.
Wakō leaned back on his cushion, glancing at Shinichi.
"Besides—our Uzumaki barrier analyzes chakra signatures."
"If it were a Mist-nin, even using Transformation Jutsu—
We'd know instantly."
"And you sensed something weaker than a mosquito."
"…True," Shinichi admitted.
Meanwhile—
Kaito slipped through the final layer of barriers, went into a bathroom stall, switched places with his shadow clone, and quietly returned to bed.
He wiped cold sweat from his brow.
Uzumaki barriers are insane. Way stricter than Konoha's!
If they weren't leaving tomorrow, he would never risk sneaking out at night.
The Next Morning — Operation Noah's Ark Begins
At dawn, over a dozen Uzumaki shinobi performed a mass summoning.
A massive plume of smoke erupted—
and then—
A colossal warship materialized on the sea.
The Noah's Ark — Uzumaki Vessel.
A national-level secret project created with the full power of the Land of Whirlpools.
470 meters long.
120 meters wide.
Eight full interior decks—each able to hold over three thousand people.
Furniture or heavy belongings were forbidden.
Only valuables were allowed.
Over a hundred thousand civilians wished to flee, but the ship could only transport up to thirty thousand at maximum overload.
Thud thud thud—!
"Please board in order! No cutting in line!"
An Uzumaki shinobi shouted through a horn.
When a middle-aged man tried to slip ahead—
"You! Move to the end of the line!!"
The man shrank back immediately, clutching his bag.
Once each deck was filled, four Uzumaki chūnin in the corner formed seals:
"Secret Technique: Weight-Reduction Barrier!"
This technique adjusted the spatial weight of objects inside the barrier—
allowing the ship to exceed normal load limits.
No wonder the ship only took two days to finish.
"Commander Kazushi, Commander Makoto!"
"All first-wave passengers in position! We're ready to depart!"
On the upper deck, no civilians were present.
Instead, stationed shinobi watched every direction:
A Mizuhara lookout, two Tsuchiya clan guards, Yamanaka Kazushi, Uzumaki Makoto, plus the helmsman and navigator.
Makoto lifted his arm.
"Then—"
"Set sail!"
"At full speed—toward the far shore of the Fire Country border!"
"YES!!"
Shinobi rushed to work—adjusting the rudder, raising the massive white sails—
Finally—
Behind the ship, Konoha ninja who had arrived at dawn stepped forward.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!!"
"Water Release: Surging Flow!!"
"Combination Technique: Hurricane Surge!!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
The colossal ship began to glide forward.
Shinobi on all sides erected barriers to shield against wind pressure,
while Konoha continued providing thrust from behind—
Launching the greatest evacuation in the history of the Land of Whirlpools.
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