Trump Card

"Watch out!" Shisui immediately stepped in front of Anko and Kagetsu, staring tensely at the valiant-looking woman who had appeared before them.

From her, Shisui felt a terrifying pressure.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several figures swiftly landed beside the female ninja. The killing intent and presence emanating from two of them were so intense that the hairs on their bodies stood on end.

"Yugito, you were too hasty!" Kaisan I, a brown-skinned Kumogakure Jonin wearing black sunglasses, said to the female ninja with some dissatisfaction.

"Relax, relax!" Yugito waved a hand, her gaze falling on Kagetsu and the other two, who stood on guard not far away. "So the culprits wreaking havoc in the rear and wiping out multiple squads were three brats? Pretty impressive! I thought it was the Yellow Flash."

"If it were the Yellow Flash, your first move would have been to run for your life." Kaisan I's expression stiffened. Even the next generation's A and B had to join forces just to barely hold back the Yellow Flash. He did not think that adding Yugito to the mix would let them escape alive from that man.

"Once I deal with you, I still need to head to another battlefield!" Yugito was clearly rather self-centered. She looked at Kagetsu and the other two as though they were her prey.

"This is bad, three Jonin!" Shisui's heart sank slightly. The female ninja protected at the center looked young, yet she gave him the feeling of facing a monster.

Despair also appeared on Anko's face. The earlier battle had already taught her the true weight of a Jonin's strength. A team led by one Jonin required them to treat it with utmost caution, yet now they faced three Cloud Shinobi Jonin!

Shisui was the first to attack Yugito, whom he found the most dangerous.

Clang!

The sound of a blade colliding with a kunai rang out across the field. In an instant, a pair of blood-red eyes was reflected in Yugito's pupils.

Yet Yugito only suffered a slight mental lapse before the Genjutsu Shisui had cast on her was instantly broken.

A flash of shock crossed Shisui's face, but he had no time to think. The moment his Genjutsu failed, he retreated, narrowly dodging a kunai slashing for his neck.

"A Jinchuriki!" Shisui stared at Yugito in surprise. The Chakra that had surged out from within her and dispelled the Genjutsu reminded him of a Tailed Beast.

"An Uchiha? Lord Raikage should like this Kekkei Genkai very much!" Kaisan I's eyes immediately lit up.

Though it was not the Byakugan that Kumogakure had long coveted most, the Sharingan was also a powerful Kekkei Genkai.

"Kid, surrender. You're a valuable captive." Kaisan I held his kunai in his palm and spoke as he formed hand seals.

The response came in the form of a Giant Snake summoned by Anko. The Giant Snake was over forty meters long, and the mere movement of its massive body could cause destruction comparable to Ninjutsu.

"Orochimaru!"

The moment they saw the snake, the Cloud Shinobi present thought of that pale-faced man known as the Cold Lord.

"Looks like we caught more than just one valuable prize." Seeing the enormous Giant Snake, Kaisan I unleashed his Ninjutsu.

Lightning Release: Spider Web!

Kaisan I crouched and slammed both hands heavily onto the ground. Centered on his palms, a web formed from lightning rapidly spread forward, wrapping around the Giant Snake like a sack.

The net woven from crackling lightning carried powerful paralysis and restraining properties. The Giant Snake's huge body stiffened for a moment before it rolled and struggled, its enormous tail sweeping toward Kaisan I and the others.

Six agile figures swiftly dodged, avoiding the massive tail sweeping their way.

At Anko's command, the Giant Snake launched a fierce attack on the Cloud Ninja. Its enormous body was like a moving disaster, reducing the surrounding environment to ruin.

"Just a Summoning Beast!" Large swathes of blue, scale-like flames suddenly erupted from Yugito's body, and the surrounding temperature rapidly began to rise.

Yugito charged straight at the Giant Snake without dodging, her fingers quickly forming hand seals in midair as she spat out a massive fireball roughly three meters in diameter at it.

The fireball struck the Giant Snake's body and clung to it like gangrene, continuously burning its flesh and body. The scorching smell of roasted meat spread through the air.

The Giant Snake writhed painfully across the ground, trying to rub out the flames on its body, but they continued to burn fiercely.

Very quickly, the heat far surpassing that of other Fire Release Ninjutsu scorched the Giant Snake until it was barely alive and on the verge of death.

While Shisui and Anko were fighting, Kagetsu had not been idle. After unsealing a scroll, he spread it open on the ground.

He pressed his five fingers onto the seal character at the center of the scroll and released the seal.

A human body emerged from the scroll.

"What is this?" Anko instinctively glanced at the face of the person released from the scroll, momentarily stunned.

"The First Hokage?" Shisui had sent out clones fused with Genjutsu to confuse and attack the enemy, buying Kagetsu time. When he saw that face, it seemed incredibly familiar. Recalling the face carved into Hokage Rock, his heart began pounding.

"Protect my body and retreat first!" Kagetsu said to Shisui and Anko as he formed hand seals.

The next moment, his mind, along with his shadow, poured into the First Hokage's shell before him. As Kagetsu's will entered, black patterns swiftly covered the First Hokage's entire body. When two black lines like tear tracks connected to the eyes, the First Hokage's tightly shut eyes abruptly flew open.

The First Hokage's previously lifeless shell climbed up from the scroll. Its movements were somewhat stiff at first, but by the time it stood firmly, they had become much smoother.

Kagetsu's original body lost consciousness as though he had fainted, and Shisui and Anko caught him from either side the instant he began to fall.

"Kagetsu?"

Looking at the First Hokage standing before them, Anko and Shisui asked in disbelief, as though seeking confirmation of something.

"Get out of here! I'll buy you time!" Having entered the First Hokage's shell and taken control of it with the Shadow Puppet Technique, Kagetsu experienced the enhancement this body gave him while calculating his current combat power and how long he could sustain it.

Shisui and Anko immediately hoisted Kagetsu's body and rapidly retreated to the rear.

"Don't think you can run!"

Noticing Shisui and the others retreating, Yugito decisively pursued them. She ignored the illusory clones Shisui sent to stop her. The blue flames around her body blazed violently, cloaking her in a layer of high-temperature armor.

Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!

With a low shout, swathes of trees burst from the ground beneath the First Hokage's feet, forming a barrier that blocked Yugito and the others' pursuit.