Battle

Jiang Rui had not expected the giant waves to wipe out the entire force. As long as they eliminated most of the lower-ranking ninja, that would be enough.

With his back against the waterfall, Jiang Rui watched the ceaseless roaring waves crash toward the Cloud Ninja.

And the Kumogakure forces?

Aside from some who had rushed toward the source the instant they were alerted and witnessed part of the towering waves, most had been swept into the water before they could even react.

Submerged by the flood, they were utterly at a loss!

Not to mention the secret technique controlled by the Great Sage's multithreaded operations—countless Water Blades shredded everything within.

That said, ninja at the High Ninja level and above were clearly not so easy to kill.

For instance, a burst of crackling lightning flashed just then. The instant Jiang Rui rose and leaped away, his Water Throne was smashed apart by a single punch from a blond, burly man!

Water splashed across the sky, then gathered in an instant into swirling Water Blades that surrounded him.

Lightning flickered over the man's body, Lightning Armor wrapped around him. Jiang Rui landed atop the water and saw countless bolts race toward him along the surface, while several streaks of lightning struck down head-on.

Jiang Rui tilted his head. As Swift Feather activated, he turned into liquid and merged into the water.

The waterfall's greatest purpose was not to kill enemies. It was merely to clear out the weak and alter the terrain.

This basin had become a vast ocean!

Jiang Rui had come to deeply understand one truth: wherever there was water, as long as there was no one who countered him or absolutely suppressed him—

He was invincible!

He could not say the same for other worlds!

Abnormal powerhouses like Uchiha Madara and the Raikage were another matter!

But at the very least, most people in Naruto still had ordinary human bodies!

Behind the three High Ninja, three Jiang Ruis slowly condensed...

"Bastard!!" The blond brute, clearly a master of Nintaijutsu, endured the rain of Water Blades head-on. Furious beyond measure, he cursed inwardly.

Damn bug, all you can do is hide in the water and use ninjutsu?!

Recalling the Hozuki Clan's records, he erupted with Chakra as countless bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky! Overwhelming thunder!

He was clearly trying to use Lightning Style to counter him!

Lightning surged throughout the entire lake.

Well, water conducted electricity.

Jiang Rui clicked his tongue. Without him having to do anything, those Chunin and Genin probably would not be crawling out now...

Or were Kumogakure ninja simply more resistant to lightning?

Without thinking further, Jiang Rui's clones were killed by the three men the instant they reacted. At that moment, a shark made of water shot into the sky and swallowed all three in a single bite. The currents inside its body turned like a meat grinder, shredding them apart in an instant.

Blood dyed the water red. At the same time, black mist spread out, and the entire shark transformed into black fog before slowly becoming Jiang Rui again.

The bizarre sight appeared especially horrifying in the night.

The previously imposing brute even backed away two steps in fear, asking in terror, "Just what the hell are you?"

Even a fool would understand by now that the other party was not afraid of lightning. That black mist, those corpses vanishing in an instant... Maybe the other party was not even human!!

Not far away, raging waves roared ahead. Jiraiya silently reached out and touched the water.

Crackle!!

Jiraiya convulsed as lightning surged through him, hurriedly pulling back his hand. His face darkened as he turned and said,

"No one approach. Surround the entire battlefield..."

After saying that, he coated his feet in Chakra to block the damage from the lightning and stepped onto the lake.

At that moment!

"Ah!! I'm going to kill you!!"

A miserable scream echoed through the heavens from afar, making Jiraiya shudder. The female ninja beside him with short black hair tilted her head and said, "That should be Kumogakure's taijutsu High Ninja, Ideka..."

"Kawako, Uchiha Chi, Ino-Shika-Cho, and the other High Ninja, come with me! Everyone else, maintain the encirclement and advance carefully..."

At this point, Jiraiya fell silent for a moment. "If you find surviving Cloud Ninja, save them if you can..."

"Lord Jiraiya!"

A male ninja with a small upward-pointing ponytail at his side frowned and interrupted him.

He was a ninja of the Nara Clan. As a strategist, he also possessed some decision-making authority. Come to think of it, entrusting this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho to Jiraiya's unit might also mean the Third Hokage truly understood his own disciple's character.

Compared to Tsunade, who had inherited the Senju Clan's legacy, and the cold, clever Orochimaru, Jiraiya truly did not have much talent for commanding troops.

Jiraiya was silent for a while before finally sighing and issuing a new order. "If you encounter living Cloud Ninja, kill them!"

"Yes!"

The formation spread out!

Elsewhere, the brute was drenched in blood. Amid the waterstorm and his miserable howls, Jiang Rui appeared from time to time, his short sword slicing open the man's skin before Jiang Rui was smashed apart by a punch and turned into water. Yet another Jiang Rui would soon emerge, his short sword flashing coldly!

One slash...

Then another...

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!" The brute was nearly insane. Every punch he threw felt as though it struck water! Soft and yielding! All his strength had nowhere to go!

What could he do? He was desperate too!

He knew the Hozuki Clan, and he knew the Water Transformation Technique!! But could someone please tell him how to deal with a Water Transformation Technique that was not afraid of lightning?!

In truth, Jiang Rui was helpless too!

He had already killed seven or eight High Ninja, but this brute alone remained. Beneath that Lightning Armor, none of his current abilities could break through it except for this short sword!

Unless he poured a huge amount of mana into the Water Blades. But his mana... He had already used up plenty controlling the water, and now it was nearly depleted!

If not for his talent's immunity to physical lightning attacks, along with liquefaction!

He would have happily typed GG long ago.

Torturing him bit by bit or whatever! It's not like I want to!

Moreover, he had sensed more and more Konoha ninja approaching. With that in mind, he stopped fighting, transformed into a streak of lightning, and turned to flee. He needed to find some corpses in the Kumogakure camp.

As for the brute, he was still furiously using Lightning Style to attack the water tornado formed by the currents.

Because of the terrain, although massive torrents crashed everywhere, the flood came fiercely and receded quickly. Aside from the basin, which Jiang Rui had directly turned into a lake, the Kumogakure camp on higher ground had clearly only been half submerged. A small section had merely been struck by the giant waves before the water receded.

With the Great Sage, Jiang Rui quickly found more than a dozen Mist corpses. Aside from the middle-aged ninja—Tengcheng Tiancao—he fed all the others to the black mist.

Hmm, he had not found anyone from the Yuki Clan?!

Jiang Rui searched for a while before finally finding an injured squad nearby.

They were drenched from head to toe, twelve people in total. There were also four ninja wearing Mist forehead protectors.

The instant they saw Jiang Rui, they dragged the four Mist ninja in front of them and held Kunai to their throats...

"Don't come any closer!"

Deserters? No, they were better described as heroes who had fought desperately to escape Konoha's encirclement and brought back captives from the Yuki Clan.

Jiang Rui would bet that this was exactly what they would say after returning to Kumogakure!!

After all, when an army was defeated, it collapsed like a mountain!

Jiang Rui glanced at them and, without a second thought, waved his hand. Twelve streams of water condensed into sharp swords and pierced through all sixteen people.

Including the four Mist ninja!

The leading Cloud Ninja stared at Jiang Rui in disbelief. The four members of the Yuki Clan wore the exact same expression.

Jiang Rui curled his lip. The four ninja did not even have any injuries. One look told him they had confessed everything without undergoing interrogation.

Pretty clever. They knew they were from a great clan, so their captors would surely keep them alive to trade for benefits. They had not even been willing to suffer a little.

But Jiang Rui did not care. He only needed corpses.

Clearly, Jiang Rui was becoming increasingly ruthless and cold toward people who had nothing to do with him.

Tsk, tsk. If you hadn't brought these four hostages, I really couldn't be bothered to chase you...

Black mist spread out. Jiang Rui transformed into lightning again, carrying Tiancao's corpse. He was going to wear that brute down until he died!

Those muscles!

Those lines!

One look and it was obvious he was the strength type!

And I just happened to lack strength!

Then, when he returned, he saw Jiraiya and a group of Konoha ninja beside the brute's corpse, all staring at him with hostility as they slowly surrounded him...

Uh!!

My mana's almost gone...