Have I Let You Go?

Starting the next day, Konoha Ninjas began patrolling under Shuichi's arrangement. Since their numbers were pitifully small compared to Kirigakure, they had to resort to unconventional methods.

Shuichi was hopping and skipping on the sea. The sea breeze was gentle and the view was wide, so he didn't have to rely on Byakugan like he would on land.

That's right, he deployed many teams to patrol the sea, with three groups rotating in each direction.

This is taking advantage of the inertia of thought. Kirigakure has already sent multiple teams into the Land of Whirlpools, and since everything has been peaceful before, they will definitely try their best to use ships to travel, thereby conserving their chakra and ensuring that they can act immediately upon landing.

If Konoha had sufficient troops, they could choose to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out. However, with such a long coastline, it would be difficult to pinpoint the enemy's landing point. Therefore, Shuichi selected several of the enemy's most likely flight routes and made defensive arrangements accordingly.

For several days in a row, everything was peaceful, but the fact that many of the Kirigakure reconnaissance teams had lost contact made them more vigilant.

As he continued his patrol, the serpent bound to him by the Summoning Contract contacted him again.

Shuichi took out the intelligence sent by Orochimaru and read it. He found that the village's higher-ups had approved his defense plan and informed him that if Kirigakure launched a large-scale attack, the ninjas on the front lines could be withdrawn in time.

"Phew... that makes things a little easier." He breathed a sigh of relief, but then his expression turned serious again, because the news from the other fronts was all bad.

Although Iwagakure and Cloud have advanced with large armies, they seem somewhat wary of Konoha's strength and are not in a hurry to launch a full-scale invasion.

However, Sunagakure's comeback is unusually aggressive, mobilizing almost the entire village to attack the Land of Rivers. They are even approaching the Land of Fire Border, making the situation extremely tense.

"The Sunagakure is too reckless! Have they been eating dirt in the Land of Wind for too long?"

The steady advance of countries like the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning is what makes Konoha uncomfortable, because launching a major war at this distance is not advisable, and small-scale battles are also very costly. It is a disgusting tactic of continuous bleeding.

If they get too close to the border of the Land of Fire, Konoha will have the opportunity to concentrate their forces for a quick battle, which will give them the chance to defeat the enemy one by one.

"This isn't my concern for now; things are already difficult enough here..."

It was early morning again. Although the sea was calm, it was shrouded in fog, making visibility very poor, which was not good for Konoha.

In the silence, a medium-sized ship slowly sailed towards the Land of Whirlpools, carrying several ninjas of varying builds, some of whom were far larger than ordinary people.

"Hurry up, we can't wait any longer!" The speaker had two red dots between his eyebrows, and his eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty light through his dark circles. Beside him were two others dressed similarly, who also wore the same expression. Most people would probably be stunned by the murderous aura emanating from them.

The man rowing the boat began to tremble, but a brown-haired, blue-eyed man beside him remained fearless, coldly snorting, "Kurozuka, all of you better behave yourselves. I'm the captain this time, so shut up if you don't want to die."

A surge of anger welled up inside Kurozuka. He desperately wanted to stab Terumi Sora to death with a bone, but considering her overwhelming strength, he could only spit into the sea, thinking to himself, "I'll kill you one day!"

Terumi Sora, slightly annoyed after suppressing them, muttered, "These Kaguya Clan guys are real battle maniacs."

Seeing that the ships were approaching the Land of Whirlpools, he spoke again, "Hyōji, sense if there are any enemies."

Hyōji was a pretty middle-aged woman. She did not question the captain's decision and quickly formed hand seals to begin sensing.

"All the previous teams infiltrated safely; what Konoha Ninja would dare to come out to sea?" Kurozuka sneered. "What a pointless effort!"

"A chakra fluctuation is coming from the 2 o'clock direction." Hyōji remained expressionless, seemingly unaware that he was contradicting his teammates. "Judging from the direction they're moving, they're on patrol; they should be Konoha Ninja."

Kurozuka's expression instantly changed, his face growing increasingly red, his demeanor extremely grim. Seeing the strange looks coming from those around him, he could no longer control his killing intent. "Let's go! Since the Konoha Ninja dare to show up, let's kill them all!"

"Swish, swish..."

Three figures leaped off the ship and rushed towards the 2 o'clock direction. Terumi Sora was stunned and didn't speak immediately, but quickly growled in a low voice, "Get back here!"

Unfortunately, the three people ahead completely ignored him and went deep into the thick fog without looking back.

"Damn it, these are a bunch of lunatics! You're all dead when we get back!" Terumi Sora suppressed her anger. "Keep up, maintain formation, and don't lose your senses."

Two Mist Ninjas jumped into the water, while the rest abandoned the ship and ran across the sea. Judging from their movements, they were all highly trained experts.

At sea, three Konoha Ninja had just been relieved were carefully patrolling the surroundings.

Nearby is a small, isolated island, covered entirely in Sha Tu and rocks, barren and desolate, with some aquatic plants growing along its edges. Coupled with the Kirigakure that permeates the air, it gives one a sense of unease.

Be careful, visibility is very poor today!

One of them spoke up to warn that the weather at sea was unpredictable, and the sun was currently being obscured by dark clouds, which would make the reconnaissance mission quite difficult.

"Tap tap tap..."

What was that sound?

The three men immediately became alert. The voice grew more urgent and closer, like the menacing footsteps of a killer in the rainy night, "Behind us, watch out!"

As soon as they turned around, they saw three strong men in gray-white robes rushing towards them. Each of them had a ferocious expression, like a demon, and their faces showed the joy of starting a battle.

"So fast! There's no time to form hand seals!" The Konoha Ninja in front decisively drew his long sword, aimed at the enemy's movement path, and slashed down with all his might, "Crack!"

His expression changed drastically as he struck his opponent's shoulder directly. This didn't feel like bone inside a human body. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the enemy's shoulder was covered with a white membrane, and the blade had only cut through a small part of it.

How is that possible?

"Hmph, with this little bit of force, are you just tickling me?" Kurozuka revealed a wild smile, a bone piercing through his skin in his palm. Upon closer inspection, however, there was no wound; instead, the sharp bone was unsettling.

Shocked, the Konoha Ninja tried to abandon his sword and retreat, but Kurozuka completely ignored the threat of the long sword and crashed into his body. The bone spikes, accompanied by a whooshing sound, pierced between his ribs from the side.

"Ugh..."

As the Konoha Ninja writhed in agony, the second thrust pierced his throat, turning the Seawater beneath his feet red before quickly washing it away.

"Send it out quickly..."

The remaining two were still fighting, but they were already covered in wounds and realized that they could no longer escape. They both reached into their ninja tool pouches and squeezed them.

"BOOM!" A muffled sound exploded in the arena, and they were immediately attacked and killed by two Kaguya Clan. They sank to the bottom of the sea and slowly floated up for quite some time.

Although the explosion was not loud, it was extremely penetrating and spread stubbornly in all directions.

"Hmm?" Sarutobi Keito's ears twitched, his expression changing. "It's Fūta and the others. Something might have happened over there. Be on guard!"

After waiting for a while and finding that none of his teammates had escaped, he immediately unrolled a Scroll, and after communicating with the spirits, a small snake jumped out and lingered at the bottom of the water.

The six Konoha Ninja noticed that the surrounding fog was getting thicker and thicker, so they could only stand back to back in twos, trusting that their teammates would be able to provide support in time.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique!"

Not far away, several Mist Ninjas were performing a joint technique. Terumi Sora frowned, "Where did those three guys go?"

Hyōji replied, "They're already off course at the 10 o'clock position; it seems we might be lost."

Terumi Sora's face darkened; she was almost speechless with anger. "How does the Mizukage tolerate these brainless idiots...?"

After thinking for a moment, he realized he couldn't completely ignore it, so he sent someone to search for them. "Then, let's deal with this group of Konoha Ninja as soon as possible; if we drag this out, things will inevitably change."

Along the coast of the Land of Whirlpools, the fog did not thicken, but a faint sense of impending doom permeated the air, making one feel uneasy.

Uchiha Fugaku was resting quietly when he suddenly saw an Ink Bird by. He immediately stood up and shouted, "Let's go! Quickly, go and provide support!" "Yes, sir!"

"Byakugan!" Hyuga Akiha took the lead and was the strongest. While the Ink Bird could give a general idea of the location, her Byakugan could quickly find her teammates in the patrol area and completely overcome the interference of the dense fog.

While the two elites began racing against time, Kaguya's trio ran around aimlessly at sea like headless flies.

"Big brother, where are we going to kill someone next?"

Kurozuka was completely lost. In fact, they were just wasting chakra running around at sea, but he couldn't tell the truth since his underling had asked him, so he forced a smile and said without changing his expression, "Follow me, I know the way, we're almost there."

Just as the three were about to continue on their way, a cold snort came from behind them, "You're not allowed to go anywhere!"

Who is it?

Turning around quickly, they saw a short, handsome, purple-haired boy who looked at them with a deathly gaze.

"So he's just a brat from Konoha. Perfect, I'll kill him then."

"Leave it to me!" Kurozuka revealed a maniacal smile. Although he fought purely on instinct and didn't use his brain, he sensed that the newcomer was far stronger than the Konoha Ninjas he had encountered before, so he subconsciously launched an attack with all his might.

A large amount of white bone emerged from his upper body, and his vital organs were covered with thick periosteum. Sharp and slender bone spurs grew from his arms like flowers. He rushed to Shuichi's side and hugged him.

"Brush!"

Just as he was about to successfully strangle him, Shuichi vanished from his sight in a flash. Kurozuka felt a gust of wind blow over his head, followed by a sharp slap on his back, and a sharp pain shot through his internal organs.

"Snap... Crash..."

His chakra spiraled out of control, and he fell forward, half his body plunging into the water and splashing, but he quickly regained his footing and didn't fall in. "What happened? What did you do?"

Shuichi was quite surprised. His Explosion Release had become increasingly sophisticated over time, yet he still hadn't managed to kill his opponent.

It could be sensed that the opponent's meridians and muscles were abnormal, and there was a layer of periosteum on their skin that weakened the invasion of their chakra. Moreover, their self-healing ability was nothing short of abnormal.

"As expected of a Kekkei Genkai whose close- Taijutsu is worthy of being ranked number one, a clan that could stand alongside the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga Warring States Period."

Shuichi felt that this Shikotsumyaku something special. For example, when the bones were pulled out, there were no wounds at all, and the exposed skin of these people had no scars at all, which was not like the body of an ordinary battle maniac.

"This kid's suspicious, let's all attack!"

Undeterred, Kurozuka and the other two ripped open their shirts, revealing numerous bones beneath their bodies, and charged at Shuichi again in a triangular attack, unleashing "Dance of the Larch!"

Shuichi remained calm, and with a slight movement of her feet, she submerged into the water. The opponent's spinning attack missed its target, and as she stopped, a blinding white light flashed from her side.

"Lightning Cutter!"

Spotting the gap between his opponent's bones, Shuichi moved with lightning speed, closing in and stabbing his white blade into Kurozuka's body with lightning speed.

"Crack, crack..." The sound of the periosteum shattering kept coming from the fingertips, and then it easily broke through several layers of defense before piercing the heart.

Instead of attacking through the opponent's entire body, Shuichi immediately retreated when his face was about to touch the bone, dispelling the Lightning Cutter and continuing to form hand seals.

Kurozuka's eyes widened in disbelief that his rock-solid defense had been breached at close range by an enemy. The other two Kaguya ninjas, seeing the situation was dire, rushed to his side. "Big brother, are you alright?"

"Careful..."

Before anyone could even see the gaping hole in Kurozuka's chest, a terrifying jet of water pierced through Kaguya's chest once more, instantly sweeping across the three people huddled together. "Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"

"Ugh..."

On the sea, severed limbs and broken bones floated on the water, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

Even after his body was cut in half, one of them still managed to scream before he died, but such injuries cannot be reversed by courage alone.

"These guys are a bit dim-witted, but they're unlucky to run into me so soon after leaving the village," Shuichi thought to himself.

The stronger the Shikotsumyaku, the harder the bones. These individuals are probably much weaker than Kimimaro, and their hardness is likely similar to that of ordinary swords.

Furthermore, this fighting style lacked vigilance, giving Shuichi ample time to form hand seals and allowing him to easily position himself at a suitable distance to end the battle with a single Water Severing Wave.