Chapter 61: The Breakout
Chapter 61: The Breakout
"Understood!"
Genichi also dispelled his Transformation Jutsu (Henge no Jutsu), then vanished from the spot with the Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu).
On the mountain, Yamanaka En awoke from his Mind Body Switch Technique (Shintenshin no Jutsu). "Namiichi, we're breaking out in the nine o'clock direction. Genichi will rendezvous with us at the base of the mountain."
Swish! Swish!
The two of them moved with the agility of rabbits and falcons, rushing down the mountain. As expected, at the foot of the mountain, the three of them regrouped and then continued to break out towards the nine o'clock direction.
"En, how many enemies?" Genichi asked.
"A lot!" En's expression was grave. "Two squads in the twelve o'clock direction, two squads in the seven o'clock direction, and an unknown number inside the town."
"The enemy definitely has sensory ninja. We have to break through before the encirclement is complete."
Genichi's brow furrowed. "After we break through, En, you find a way to scout and see if the enemy has a second encirclement."
"This is a trap."
En nodded. "Understood."
"But, if that's the case, could the intelligence be fake?"
Genichi said, "The intelligence should be fine."
"If there was a problem with it, the trap would have been set inside the town."
"The enemy probably only knew that something was up in a certain area of the town, but couldn't confirm the exact location."
"There must have been a problem with someone in the previous step of the intelligence chain."
The three of them crossed a river, quickly sped across a wasteland, and then plunged into a forest.
Meanwhile, outside the town, after Genichi had left, Hatake Sakumo had instead charged into the town.
His figure leaped and flickered, and one by one, corpses fell from high places. The people of the town scattered in terror.
"Watch out, it's Konoha's White Fang!" a Cloud ninja shouted to his comrades, clutching his abdomen. "Don't fight him alone!"
Sakumo fought his way back to the general store, just in time to see the shopkeeper being taken away by two Cloud ninja.
Crackle!
Lightning flickered on his body, and the White Fang tantō in his hand also emerged with a brilliant white glow. His speed surged.
One of the two Cloud ninja immediately turned back, trying to intercept Sakumo. However, their figures crossed paths, and Sakumo continued his pursuit without stopping for a moment, while that Cloud ninja fell to the ground with a thud.
From behind, seven or eight Cloud ninja gave chase at top speed. Konoha's White Fang was too fierce. He had brutally torn through their defensive line, and then they had to watch as he rescued his target, only for him to turn back and counter-attack.
"Surround him!" one of the Cloud Jonin roared.
Rumble~
A massive amount of lightning descended from the sky, crashing down on the ground and the houses, enveloping Sakumo. Then came a dense barrage of shuriken, and a considerable number of explosive tags.
After another round of explosions, four Cloud ninja charged into the rolling smoke and dust. The sound of intense clashes rang out, occasionally accompanied by muffled grunts and screams.
A moment later, as the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, the four Cloud ninja on the perimeter saw a figure charging out, with two more Cloud ninja following in pursuit.
The four of them immediately used the Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu) to intercept.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The clash was over in an instant. Blood splattered, and two corpses fell from the air.
Sakumo broke through the encirclement and sped out of town. But at this moment, there was a wound on his left arm and another on his right side, and blood quickly stained his clothes red.
"After him! He's injured!" The remaining four Cloud ninja immediately leaped up to give chase.
...
In the forest, Uchiha Namiichi suddenly shouted in a low voice, "They're here!"
Yamanaka En's expression changed. "So fast!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The faint sound of something cutting through the air came from behind. Genichi turned his head and saw figures pursuing them from both the left and right.
"En, Namiichi, you go first!" Genichi handed the intelligence scroll to En, then his figure came to a stop, standing on a tree branch.
Of the pursuing Cloud ninja, three immediately broke off and charged towards Genichi, while the others did not change direction.
Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique (Genjutsu: Kokuangyō no Jutsu)!
Genichi formed the seal with both hands, directly shrouding the entire group's vision, rather than targeting just one or two people. However, doing this not only consumed a massive amount of chakra, but the precision of the genjutsu was also not high, meaning the difficulty of breaking it would drop precipitously.
But all Genichi needed was to stall these Cloud ninja for some time. As for his chakra, after casting the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, he immediately released his Yin Seal (In'fūin).
"Watch out, it's a genjutsu!"
"A vision-stealing genjutsu! This guy might be proficient in Water Release!"
"He could be the disciple of Konoha's White Fang, the genius Kinoshita Genichi."
One by one, these voices rang out in the forest. Suddenly deprived of their vision, some of the Cloud ninja missed their footing, some immediately stopped in their tracks, and some, relying on their last visual memory before their sight was taken, flashed behind trees to take cover. Their reactions were all different, but without exception, all the Cloud ninja stopped and quickly tried to break the genjutsu.
"It seems the Cloud ninja have already gathered a lot of intel on me..." Genichi formed hand seals at high speed, not at all surprised. After the battle on the sea last year, it was impossible for the Cloud Village not to investigate him. So, it was not at all strange that they knew his name. And the vision-stealing Bringer-of-Darkness Technique was indeed quite distinctive. Even among the ninja of Konoha, those who specialized in it were certainly not many. In fact, they were few and far between.
After all, the number of ninja who walked the path of genjutsu was already extremely small. As for ninja who were not proficient in genjutsu, they would simply not spend so much time training an A-rank jutsu like the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique. And without the talent for it, they wouldn't be able to learn it at all.
One by one, the Cloud ninja broke the genjutsu and regained their sight.
And Genichi, standing on the tree branch, had also quickly completed his hand seals.
First was the Art of Pyo, then the Art of Kai, followed by the Art of Zai, and finally, he clapped his hands together.
Water Release: Water Shockwave (Suiton: Suishōha)!
Genichi opened his mouth and spat out a stream of water that fell, rapidly expanded, and rose up layer by layer, quickly surpassing his own figure as the water swirled and climbed around him. Then, Genichi spread his clasped hands forward, and the massive, surging column of water immediately fanned out, pouring forth with a deafening roar. Wherever it passed, tall trees were knocked down by the impact.
A Cloud Jonin watched the seemingly heaven-and-earth-covering torrent of water, and his expression couldn't help but change. "To be able to use such a Water Release jutsu in this kind of terrain... this guy is even more formidable than the intel suggested!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
One by one, the figures leaped into the air, all of them landing on the treetops. Some Cloud ninja also used Earth Release for defense.
This wave from Genichi had a huge range and had once again stalled all the Cloud ninja, although this wave also did not cause any of them to be killed or injured. But for Genichi, this ninjutsu was not just for stalling the enemy. It was also for creating a favorable battle environment for himself.
So, as the last wave of water rushed out, Genichi also shot out with it, heading straight for the three Cloud ninja closest to him. He mentally labeled them from left to right as Cloud Ninja A, Cloud Ninja B, and Cloud Ninja C.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
His hands flew, and he threw out a volley of shuriken, but they were all blocked by the Cloud ninja. At the same time, shuriken also came whistling from the sides, but they were also dodged or parried by the extremely fast Genichi.
Boom!
The wave in front collided with a fireball, and steam billowed out. It was a fire jutsu cast by Cloud Ninja B. Immediately after, two figures charged at Genichi from the left and right. It was Cloud Ninja A and Cloud Ninja C, each wielding a ninja blade.
(End of Chapter)
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