303. Demonic Beasts

----

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Gai instinctively kick backwards, striking a dolphin squarely?

"Gai-sensei, why would you—" Tenten's words trailed off as she got a better look. The dolphin had tiger-like claws, and its teeth were grotesquely modified, making it anything but cute.

The mutated dolphin flailed in the water for a moment before lunging at Gai once more.

"It's still coming? In that case—Lee!" Gai called out.

"Oh!" Lee responded enthusiastically, rushing forward alongside his sensei.

"Leaf Double Hurricane!"

Two weighted legs struck the dolphin from both sides. The force was far beyond what a mere door-slamming accident could compare to.

As Gai and Lee retracted their legs, the dolphin monster wobbled unsteadily before sinking into the water.

"So this is what they call a monster?" Gai and his team leapt onto a nearby earthen wall for a better vantage point.

Naruto waved at Tenten. "Yo, Tenten! How's it going?"

"Awesome!" Tenten beamed. She declined the offer of a ride from Naruto's Shadow Clone and instead sent her kunai ahead with it before using the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport her teammates.

It might have seemed unnecessary, but to Tenten, it was a significant moment. Under normal circumstances, Gai would never allow her to use the Flying Thunder God Technique for travel. This was the first time she had ever transported her teammates over a long distance, and it felt incredible.

"That's right! Tenten's new jutsu is really convenient!" Lee gave her a thumbs-up.

"Right?" Though she once again received the usual 'convenient' remark, Tenten wasn't disheartened. This time, it was strategic convenience, not just the 'walking arsenal' label she had carried before.

For Naruto, the meaning was entirely different it gave his clones another amusing method to get stabbed by Tenten's kunai.

Meanwhile, Kakashi had just finished briefing Gai. He concluded, "…Naruto, your Water Release jutsu helped scatter the beast packs, but in this kind of terrain, it also increases the risk of ambush. Disperse the water."

"Oh." The water summoned by the Exploding Water Colliding Wave was controllable. Naruto could keep it pooled into a lake or let it drain away at will.

"Chidori Sharp Spear!"

A shriek filled the air as a lightning-coated spear extended from Sasuke's hand, piercing through a hawk-like monster and sending it plummeting to the ground.

Naruto watched enviously. That technique was so cool who wouldn't want a lightsaber?

"So there are flying ones too?" Kakashi didn't sound particularly surprised. Given that they had encountered beasts that ran on land and swam in water, airborne monsters seemed inevitable.

Even if burrowing ones showed up next, he wouldn't be shocked.

As the water receded, a drenched battlefield emerged, with beasts shaking off the excess moisture.

If they had been a little more aesthetically pleasing, Naruto might have been tempted to take one home as a pet.

"Should I just hit them all with a Tailed Beast Bomb?" he suggested.

Kakashi rejected the idea. "No. Too much collateral damage. For now, take them out as discreetly as possible. Given their speed, the Tailed Beast Bomb might not be the most effective option."

Naruto scratched his head. "Uh… my Water Release jutsu wasn't exactly quiet either."

"That was different." Kakashi asked, "Has Akatsuki's movement changed?"

"No, still about seven kilometres away, same steady pace. Neji, can you see them?"

Neji shook his head. "Too far. My Byakugan's range maxes out at about a kilometre."

The monsters quickly adapted to their surroundings, turning their unsettling gazes toward the only humans in sight.

Tenten shivered. "Ew, that's creepy."

"Agreed." Naruto lobbed a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken into the densest cluster of beasts.

Their danger instincts were sharp, most scattered, but two unlucky ones were caught in the swirling chakra storm and left on the verge of death.

At that moment, reinforcements arrived Asuma's squad, Kushina's squad, Team Gai, the reassembled Team Kurenai, plus Minato and Jiraiya.

Tsunade had remained in Konoha in case of emergency. If needed, she could be summoned at any moment. As for her supposed hangover from last night, she was the strongest medical-nin in the entire shinobi world. The only time she ever got drunk was when she wanted to.

Including those already present, there were 26 people plus one dog. Minato, after getting an update from Naruto's clone, estimated that the monster threat level required a moderate-sized force too few, and they'd be inefficient; too many, and it would just be chaos.

"Everyone, operate in squads, coordinate your attacks, and finish this quickly. Stay alert."

"Yes!"

The teams each selected their targets and charged in.

Team Gai's approach was straightforward Tenten flung a barrage of kunai and shuriken first, followed by the two powerhouses delivering devastating kicks to the face.

Neji's role was to protect their long-range specialist, deploying Rotation to defend and using Eight Trigrams: Air Palm for knockback when needed.

Asuma's team targeted a mammoth-like creature. Choji used Partial Expansion Jutsu to transform into a giant, grabbing its tusks and bracing against its charge, his feet carving deep trenches into the ground.

Shikamaru linked his shadow with the beast's, restricting its movements as much as possible, while Ino stood by, ready to disrupt its mind if Shikamaru faltered.

"Geez, we always get stuck with the biggest ones," Asuma muttered, drawing his chakra blades, infusing them with Wind Release, and swiftly carving into the creature's hide.

Behind Kushina, five Adamantine Sealing Chains extended, ensnaring five mid-sized monsters. Hinata, Shino, and Kiba immediately took advantage.

"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!"

"Fang Over Fang!"

"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"

To be fair, Hinata's glowing chakra beast fists, Kiba and Akamaru's two-headed wolf form, and Shino's mass of insects combined with Kushina's multi-tentacled attack made it genuinely difficult to tell which side was the real group of monsters.

Meanwhile, Kimimaro's squad, bathed in eerie green light, were passing something among themselves like a bizarre game of catch, only with the unfortunate beasts as the targets.

Not wanting to associate with their antics, Kimimaro instead created several massive bone spikes around them, using them as goalposts. The three continued punting the monsters directly onto the skewers, turning them into grotesque kebabs.

In contrast, the reassembled Kurenai Squad fought with more discipline. Karin drenched the enemies with Water Release, allowing Haku to freeze them solid.

If any broke free, Fū would dive in from above, a kunai spinning in her grasp as she plunged it into their skulls. Her raw strength was terrifying.

At the rear, Yakumo supported the group with genjutsu whenever her teammates found themselves overwhelmed.

----

Don't forget to drop some PowerStones!💎💎💎

For early access to advanced chapters on p@treon.

P@treon/iamxeno

Thank you so much for your support and for reading!