Chapter 098 – Kid, Ever Heard of Smack Talk?

In the Land of Lightning, December had already brought several light snowfalls.

It wasn't like the Land of Iron, where winter completely blanketed everything in ice and snow,

but compared to the Land of Fire, the temperature here was significantly colder.

To ordinary people, unless absolutely necessary, no one would dare start a war during this season.

But ninja aren't ordinary people.

Thanks to chakra, even freshly graduated Genin from the Ninja Academy could easily withstand most extreme weather conditions.

Therefore, neither A, the Third Raikage, nor Kumogakure's leadership ever considered the weather as an issue.

Braving the chilly sea winds,

the four members of Toroi Squad, including Kei Yamanaka, traveled together with another standard squad led by a Jonin.

The eight of them set sail from the southeastern coast of the Land of Lightning,

methodically sweeping each island along the way toward the Land of Water.

It took them over ten days of relentless efforts to completely sweep through the waters surrounding the Land of Lightning,

before they entered Marine Country and prepared to land on Oshima Island—an island situated near the Land of Water.

Marine Country, located between two major nations—the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water—

once hostilities broke out between Cloud and Mist,

unless one side decisively invaded the other's homeland directly,

it was destined to become the battlefield, much like Rain Country during the Second Great Ninja War.

And Oshima Island, due to its crucial strategic location, would surely become a fiercely contested point between both sides!

As their ship approached the harbor port of Oshima Island,

when still about a nautical mile away, the Chunin on the watchtower spotted a Mist ninja warship hidden among the many regular boats docked at the harbor.

Ever hoping for enemies to appear, Kei Yamanaka relaxed slightly upon hearing the news.

Oshima Island was their final destination on this mission.

If enemies hadn't shown up even now, he'd have to fake an enemy attack just to wrap things up!

Looking over at the Kumo ninja aboard who had begun using Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves as sailors and fishermen,

Kei took advantage of the fact there were no Sensor-type ninja present within their group.

He made several hand seals, activating both Transformation Jutsu and, discreetly, a Sensor Ninjutsu simultaneously.

His sensing ability, covering a radius of ten kilometers and able to detect movement up to five kilometers away, quickly scanned across the harbor.

The detection of fifteen distinct chakra signatures was enough to raise his eyebrows in surprise.

Gazing distantly at the relatively bustling harbor entrance,

Kei leaned against the ship's railing, lips curling into an amused smirk.

Fourteen of those chakra signatures were completely unfamiliar.

But one left an unmistakable mark—

Oppressive, shadowy, drenched in blood!

There was no doubt—this was definitely that Blood Dragon Eye ninja who'd stabbed Yugito Nii from behind over half a month ago!

"Blood Dragon Eye, huh? Tch～"

Kei glanced at the spot on his chest where he kept sealed the scroll containing the three-comma Sharingan.

A familiar itch stirred inside him—the urge to use it!

This mission to Kumogakure hadn't brought much reward. Without taking something unique back, what was the point of coming all this way?

The ships slowly docked at the harbor, coming to a stop at an empty spot.

With the plan already agreed upon in advance, six people, including Kei Yamanaka, disembarked using [Transformation Technique], leaving only two Chunin behind to guard the ship.

Glancing sideways at the seemingly calm sea from the corner of his eye, Kei followed Troy as they walked toward the village behind the harbor.

At the small port, dozens of sailors and laborers were bustling about, unloading cargo with great enthusiasm.

Everything appeared normal on the surface.

Yet faintly enveloping them was the unique [Yin Release Aura] of the [Blood Dragon Eye].

When they noticed Kei's group passing by,

these individuals stiffened slightly, their eyes flashing a faint red glow. A few of them casually moved closer toward the group.

Among them, a burly man who had been carrying a wooden crate suddenly seemed to lose his balance.

Tumbling forward, he fell directly toward Troy, who was leading the way.

"This doesn't look right!"

Troy swept his alert gaze around the surroundings and urgently warned his squad members.

In a flash, he dodged away from the collapsing man, retreating more than ten meters back in an instant.

Seeing this, Kei and the others quickly followed suit, backing off as well.

The fallen man didn't explode. He repeatedly apologized while bending down to pick up the scattered cargo.

Clearly, the unseen puppeteer wasn't ready to expose his secret just yet.

However, it seemed someone's patience had run thin.

Boom!

A deafening explosion erupted from behind the group.

The ship that Kei and the others arrived on shattered into pieces under the massive shockwave of the blast.

A Mist shinobi wearing a head wrap and a white mask wielded his [Grotesque Great Blade], striking down the two startled Chunin guarding the ship who barely managed to leap away mid-explosion.

In the next instant, another explosion rang out.

The two Chunin, now defending themselves with kunai in hand, had both arms ripped apart into a shower of shredded flesh.

They tumbled through the air from the force of the blast, plummeting toward the sea.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A weapon resembling a giant spike shot out from the water, controlled by thin wire strings like a serpent slithering back and forth.

It pierced through both falling Chunin, stitching them together.

The [Steel Spike] plunged into the ocean.

The thin wire tightened instantly, ripping their bodies apart and staining the seawater red!

The Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist—Unari Shimagami, user of [Exploding Blade Spray], and Kushimaru Kuriarare, wielder of the [Long Sword Needle]?

Kei Yamanaka sneered in disdain, his eyes filled with contempt.

To him, among the Seven Ninja Swords of Kirigakure, the only truly valuable one was undoubtedly Samehada.

Following that, [Raikōgan], [Hiramekarei], and the [Cleaver Sword] were at least somewhat useful.

As for the remaining ones—the [Kabutowari], the [Kushimaru], and [Unari]—

What utter garbage!

One was just an axe fused to a hammer, daring to claim it could pierce any defense.

Another was simply a sharpened steel spike with a wire attached to its end, claiming it could pierce every enemy and stitch them together.

[Exploding Blade Spray] could summon explosive tags through a summoning technique and detonate them either by swinging the blade or scattering them. Its ultimate move was to self-destruct along with the weapon itself, rumored to be powerful enough to kill even someone with an Immortal Body.

Give me a break! That's total BS!

Breaking defenses and piercing through everything?

What about going up against Susanoo?

And actually blowing up an immortal?!

Even Konan's 60 billion explosive tags couldn't take that guy down!

You really think one sword can take over the world?

"Heheheh～ Toroi, the Magnet Release ninja, I've heard you're the nemesis of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist?"

Kushimaru Kuriarare, with his punk hairstyle and Anbu mask, shouldering the Long Sword Needle, emitted a chilling laugh as he rose slowly from beneath the crimson sea.

On the surrounding waters, twelve shinobi wearing Kirigakure forehead protectors simultaneously revealed themselves.

Two members from the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist,

plus three standard Jonin squads, and hidden in darkness—a Blood Dragon Eye ninja.

With such a composition, their visible combat strength already vastly outweighed Toroi's group.

Dozens of villagers under the influence of the Blood Dragon Eye's genjutsu, their eyes flickering red, blocked all passage toward Oshima Island.

Meanwhile, the Hidden Mist shinobi sealed off all escape routes across the sea.

A brutal fight loomed ahead.

"Tch… So the Hidden Mist Village is also trying to deflect its internal conflicts outward, like Sunagakure did?"

Kei Yamanaka immediately realized upon seeing the lineup that since losing Madara Uchiha's remote control, Kiri hadn't seen much internal turmoil.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to allocate such forces

to respond to Cloud's war threats while dealing with internal chaos.

It made sense.

Just like how Suna still functioned normally thanks to two key pillars—Chiyo and Ebizō—even after the death of The Third Kazekage.

Kirigakure also had Elder Mei, a highly respected figure.

When faced with similar crises, both villages responded in nearly the same way!

"I wouldn't go that far as to call myself your nemesis, but as a user of the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, defeating someone who relies entirely on tools shouldn't take me much effort."

Toroi took a storage seal scroll from his waist and held it between his teeth.

As chakra mist swirled upward, he grasped several magnetic square shuriken in each hand.

"Look for an opening and get ready to break through. Niqai, don't be reckless."

As Kei slightly crouched and gripped a kunai backward, he whispered lowly to the young Jonin next to him who looked eager to charge.

Privately, he was already considering how best to fall once things went south.

Niqai, the young Cloud ninja, blinked at those words, instinctively glanced at Toroi.

Seeing him give the slightest nod, he gulped audibly.

Bro!

Didn't you literally just claim you wouldn't take much effort to finish these guys off?

I was already ready to charge headfirst!

If it weren't for Big Bro Saiei's words...

Is this the time I'll be the first to die?!

A look of barely hidden disdain flickered across Toroi's dead-fish eyes.

Kid, don't you know what trash-talking strategy is?!

Opposing them were two members of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist—each a well-known figure in the ninja world!

Even in the best-case scenario, he could only barely hold them off by using Magnet Release to counter their ninja tools!

As for the remaining forces—a standard squad of three upper-level jonin, three jonin, and nine chunin and genin.

You're just a newly promoted jonin, and you—a tokubetsu jonin promoted purely on merit—brought along only three chunin.

Don't you have any sense of whether you can handle this?

Worse still, behind them stood a group of dazed-looking civilians blocking the dock. Something felt off—they could be hiding even more enemies among them!

If you don't run now, are you just waiting for someone to come pick up your body?

Niqai's only two surviving subordinates exchanged silent glances as they watched their team leader, the jonin, struggle to even understand the concept of opposing forces.

Silently resolved, they vowed that if they survived this mess, they'd give their leader a complete mental tune-up!

<><><><><><><><>

Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!

~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!

<><><><><><><><>

~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!

patreon.com/Tansnovel

<><><><><><><><>