Attack

Uchiha Gen quickly packed up, crawled out of the tent, and smiled. "Hello, everyone."

Hyuga Tokuma wore a ninja cap and a Konoha Ninja forehead protector, a white form-fitting combat suit beneath a green Chunin flak jacket. Without his Byakugan activated, he was actually rather handsome.

Hayama Shirakumo wore his hair in a ponytail and a Konoha Ninja forehead protector. There was not yet a scar by his lips. He wore a black form-fitting combat suit beneath a green Chunin flak jacket, with a ninja sword on his back. His face was full of heroic spirit.

"Hello, Captain," Hyuga Tokuma and Hayama Shirakumo said in unison.

"H-Hello, Captain."

Kurenai Yuhi had been distracted and reacted a beat too slowly. When she came back to herself, she became even more embarrassed, and her fair cheeks flushed slightly.

Uchiha Gen nodded slightly, then looked at Kurenai Yuhi with a smile. "Kurenai, long time no see. You've gotten prettier and prettier."

Hearing the compliment, Kurenai Yuhi was quite happy, but she said, "What good is being pretty?"

"It can't put food on the table."

"You're the truly impressive one. You've already become a Jonin, just like Kakashi."

What a woman who said one thing and meant another.

"A Jonin isn't anything special. You still have to work to earn your meals."

What a man who said one thing and meant another. If you wiped that smug look off your face, I might actually believe you.

"Haha... enough. Let's get down to business."

"Introduce yourselves so everyone can get to know one another. Kurenai, you go first."

This was a necessary part of forming a team. He could not let the team members know nothing about one another.

Kurenai Yuhi nodded slightly and said openly, "My name is Kurenai Yuhi. I specialize in genjutsu. Please take care of me."

Hyuga Tokuma, standing in the middle, followed up. "My name is Hyuga Tokuma. I specialize in taijutsu and reconnaissance. Please take care of me."

Hayama Shirakumo, standing on the left, added, "My name is Hayama Shirakumo. I specialize in Wind Release Ninjutsu and swordsmanship. Please take care of me."

None of the three were rookie ninjas fresh out of the Ninja Academy. They were all Chunin capable of independently leading teams to complete missions. Since this team-up was only temporary, they had tacitly chosen the simplest introductions.

"Good. Since we still have time, let's find a place to talk things over, practice coordinating, and improve our teamwork."

"Yes, Captain!" Hyuga Tokuma and Hayama Shirakumo replied in unison.

"No, Captain, you should introduce yourself too."

"My impression of you is still mostly stuck in the past, let alone the two of them."

Kurenai Yuhi said with some irritation, her cheeks puffing out slightly.

"Ah, sorry. I forgot without realizing it."

"My name is Uchiha Gen. I specialize in genjutsu and Fire Release. I also know a little Wind Release and Earth Release. My swordsmanship and throwing techniques are decent too."

He specializes in genjutsu. A Jonin's genjutsu should be better than mine, but I wonder how it compares to Father's...

I'll have to ask him for guidance later.

Kurenai Yuhi thought to herself.

"Alright, let's go."

The four of them then left the camp and found a place to train together for two hours. Their individual combat strength did not change much, but their team's combat strength improved noticeably.

In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived. Since Konoha's reconnaissance unit had progressed quite smoothly, Konoha officially launched its attack.

Their first task was to destroy the many traps Mist had set up near its camp.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Minato personally led Konoha's reconnaissance unit, using Kunai tied with Exploding Tags to precisely blow up the traps along the route of attack.

Konoha's main force followed behind the reconnaissance unit under Tsunade's command.

Mist naturally could not sit idly by as its carefully arranged traps were dismantled, and sent ninjas to stop them.

However, those ninjas could not make any waves before the three Kage-level Experts. In a flash, they were swiftly wiped out.

To stop Konoha's reconnaissance unit, Mist either needed to deploy its main force or have Yagura lead Mist's high-level combatants.

But Mist's main force could not spread out across a defensive line filled with traps, because only the higher-ups possessed detailed and comprehensive maps of the defenses.

The other ninjas only knew a small portion. If they rushed in recklessly, the traps could easily injure their own allies, and they would suffer the consequences themselves.

Yagura and the other high-level combatants might have been able to stop them, but they also had to worry about Konoha's main force behind the reconnaissance unit.

If Tsunade led Konoha's Jonin and Special Jonin in a charge, together with the reconnaissance unit's three Kage-level Experts, they would be in serious danger.

Yagura would not have feared it if he had become a perfect Jinchuriki, but he was not even a Jinchuriki yet. With plans of his own, he did not dare take that risk.

After making a few probing attempts to stop them, Mist gave up and instead used the time Konoha spent dismantling the traps to create a battle environment favorable to itself.

Not everyone was Tobirama Senju, capable of using advanced Water Release Ninjutsu in a place completely devoid of water.

Mist's main camp was located beside a flowing lake in the forest, covering tens of thousands of square meters.

Mist's Chunin and higher-ranked ninjas all used Water Release Ninjutsu to direct the lake water outward, turning the area around the camp into a wet, muddy marsh. At the very least, they could increase the moisture content in the air.

By the time Konoha Ninja had completely destroyed Mist's traps, a combat environment favorable to Mist's ninjas had already taken shape.

But Konoha Ninja were not afraid at all. First, they had four world-renowned Kage-level Experts leading the charge. Second, compared to the environment in the Land of Whirlpools, this amount of water was about the same.

The Land of Whirlpools was surrounded by the sea on three sides. Its air held the second-highest moisture content in the world after the Land of Water year-round, making it an extremely suitable environment for Water Release ninjas.

Naturally, ninja warfare was not like ordinary armies charging in formation. The Konoha Ninja collectively hurled Kunai and Shuriken, then assembled into small squads.

Exploding Tags were not cheap. Ordinary Genin could not bear to use them in the first wave of attack. Only relatively well-off Chunin and Jonin tied Exploding Tags to their weapons for the opening assault.

Boom, boom, boom...

Balls of fire exploded within the mist-shrouded area, while dense volleys of Shuriken and Kunai pierced into the fog.

Other than a few overly aggressive unlucky fools positioned too far forward, who screamed as they fell, Mist suffered negligible casualties.

Without needing anyone's command, the ninjas skilled in Wind Release used their techniques in unison. Orochimaru, Minato, and Jiraiya all happened to know Wind Release Ninjutsu as well.

Empowered by the Wind Release Ninjutsu of three Kage-level Experts, along with the efforts of every Wind Release ninja in Konoha, a man-made gale swept forth and blew away the dense fog covering Mist.

Once the fog dispersed, the Konoha Ninja discovered that most of Mist's ninjas had already circled around from both flanks. Had the fog not been completely cleared, they would very likely have suffered a surprise attack.

With their schemes exposed, both sides could only clash head-on.

Unless Mist was willing to abandon the territory it had worked so hard to seize, the two sides would have to fight eventually no matter how defensive Mist remained.

The difference was that if their defensive measures were used well, Konoha Ninja would suffer losses before the true slaughter began. If they were used poorly or cracked, the result would be the current situation.

The ninja way of war embodied the saying, "The best defense is a good offense."

At the boundary between the lake and the forest, within the forest or along the relatively open lakeshore, several thousand ninjas officially began a slaughter where right and wrong did not matter, only allegiances, and only death awaited one side...

In one corner of the battlefield, Gen Squad was fighting a four-man Mist squad, one opponent per person.

Clang, clang, clang...

Uchiha Gen swung the Kusanagi Blade, knocking away every incoming Shuriken, then slashed diagonally.

Before the horrified eyes of the Mist ninja, the blade rapidly extended. Suspended in midair, the Mist ninja had no choice but to raise his sword to block.

Clang! Unable to borrow any force in midair, the Mist ninja rapidly fell toward the ground. Uchiha Gen moved in a blur, gripping the Kusanagi Blade, now more than ten meters long, and drove it downward.

The Mist ninja hurriedly raised his sword with both hands to block, straining to lift his head.

Any Mist ninja who had survived until now had some skill, but unfortunately, this was still a futile struggle before death.

Bang! The Mist ninja's back slammed into the ground, violently shaking his internal organs. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his arms faltered, and the sword tip slid along the blade before piercing into his chest...

I'm not very good at writing war scenes, so don't nitpick too much. Just make do with it, hehe.