Strong Reinforcements Arrive

After dealing with Kaguya's trio, Shuichi prepared to continue his support mission when he suddenly sensed something passing beneath his feet. "Hmph, another one who likes to dive. Perfect, you can lead the way!"

The Mist Ninja fleeing underwater moved somewhat frantically. Even with his excellent training, he was still terrified by the strength of the Konoha ninja. His powerful Shikotsumyaku) defense was as fragile as tofu before him. "We need to hurry back and inform the captain."

In his haste, he didn't notice a dark shadow slowly but surely following him overhead...

As Shuichi arrived to provide support, the entire Sarutobi Keito squad was on high alert. The dense fog obscured their vision, and the uncertainty of where the attack might come from prevented them from letting their guard down.

The six people stood in a circle to ensure that no blind spots were exposed to the enemy.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from within the mist, "Watch out, the attack is coming from my side!"

Konoha Ninja wielding defensive tools stood in front of their teammates, while Sarutobi Keito himself, wielding Kunai, deflected numerous Hidden Weapons, constantly dodging with his agility. "Clang, clang, clang..."

"This is... Ice Release!"

A pile of crystal-clear ice blocks floated on the water. Looking at his Kunai, he noticed several chips had appeared on it. "Such hard ice, this is really troublesome."

However, as an experienced Jonin, he remained rational throughout the battle. "The fog hasn't been there long enough for the enemy to surround us. Since the attack is coming from this direction, let's move in the opposite direction."

The Konoha Ninja were also highly skilled; they quickly formed a circular formation and began moving towards the land.

But the Kirigakure Village seemed unwilling to let them retreat so easily. The Konoha Ninja running on the sea suddenly felt the sky darken, and saw a massive amount of pale yellow slime crashing down on them like waves. "Lava Release: Lava Monster Technique!"

"Water Release!"

The three Konoha Ninja immediately joined forces Hand Seals, unleashing "Water Release: Water Wall!"

"Bump..."

The clash of the two sides' Ninjutsu generated a tremendous force, causing the sea to churn and waves to surge. Everyone struggled to control and maintain their chakra to stabilize themselves.

At this moment, there were both the sounds of corrosive vaporization and the pitter-patter of raindrops falling from the sea, the sounds of countless bursting water droplets constantly falling onto the sea surface.

Two painful groans came from the mist. Sarutobi Keito looked at his teammates. One of them had a pale yellow liquid on his arm, and a large area of flesh had been corroded. The other's vest on his shoulder had been burned through. One could imagine how powerful it was.

"Lava Release? Two enemies with Kekkei Genkai have appeared. This is not good!"

Two members of the team are currently injured, but the opponent's offensive rhythm has not stopped at all. Another wide-range attack using Ice Release and ninja tools is coming, "Clang clang clang..."

While struggling to hold on, the Konoha Ninja, whose arm had been injured, was struggling to maintain his chakra and was accidentally pulled into the water by something. "Ugh..."

"Ishii! Damn it, watch out underwater!"

The Konoha forces were forced to halt their advance. The Seawater below appeared to be stained red, suggesting that Ishii had already been killed by the enemy...

"The Konoha Ninja are indeed tenacious and quite strong," Terumi Sora.

He couldn't understand why the enemy was fighting them on the water. "It seems Konoha's defensive forces are stretched thin, otherwise they wouldn't be using such an aggressive strategy."

"While the Hidden Mist Technique is still active, don't give them a chance to breathe..."

But before he could finish speaking, a gust of wind came rushing towards them. Although it was not lethal, the area it covered exceeded the expectations of all the Mist Ninja.

"How is this possible? This Wind Release... the mist was completely blown away!"

At the same time, Konoha also noticed the change. Sarutobi Keito's face lit up with joy, "Reinforcements have arrived! Locate the enemy's position!"

"Captain, over here."

After the thick fog dissipated, visibility suddenly increased significantly.

In the arena, all three sides instantly recognized each other.

"It's Shuichi-kun!"

"He is... Konoha's top genius of the new generation, Takeda Shuichi." Terumi Sora noticed that the newcomer was alone, but she dared not be careless. The Wind Release he had just used showed the opponent's strength.

"Captain Kong, how strong is he? I heard his name recently appeared in the Assassination Manual, causing a lot of discussion among the seniors," a young ninja beside me asked.

"I don't know, but a year ago, his bounty on the black market was 60 million taels. You can refer to that."

"What?! 60 million ryo!" The surrounding team members were shocked. Even a decent Jonin not have 20 million ryo, so how could this Konoha genius be so strong?

While there might be a reason why assassinating a genius would come at a higher price, the fact that the other party survived a year with a hefty bounty on their head suggests they couldn't have endured it without formidable strength.

"Not good! Quickly notify..." Terumi Sora's expression changed. The ninja who had submerged underwater was unaware of the changes above, and it would be disastrous if he rashly attacked Takeda Shuichi.

Before he could even utter his command, a hand reached out from underwater and grabbed at Shuichi's foot.

The moment he made his pinch, a flash of silver light appeared in the air, and before he even felt any pain, half of his arm had vanished.

In a moment of astonishment, a short sword plunged down with lightning speed, easily slicing through the thick current of water as if there were no resistance, instantly killing the Mist Ninja underwater.

When Shuichi looked again, his body had turned into a pool of clear water and merged into the sea.

This Water Clone completely fooled everyone. After it disappeared, a short boy emerged, carrying a person in his hand. It was the ninja that Terumi Sora had sent out earlier to contact Kaguya and the other two.

"That's Brother Yosuke!" a young man from the Kirigakure said through gritted teeth. "He's always been very cautious, how could he have been killed?"

"This guy's called Yosuke? He's certainly a fast swimmer. To thank him for leading the way, I'll give him a quick death." Shuichi smiled as he threw the man's body into the sea.

There are still about 10 enemies left, which shows that there are quite a few experts. It is actually Konoha to drag things out now, because reinforcements will arrive soon, and he also needs to recover as much chakra as possible.

"When did Hyōji and the Kurozuka disappear?" Terumi Sora frowned, unable to figure out what was going on with Yosuke.

"Just recently, they escaped my perception range."

Seeing the exchange between the Kirigakure members, Shuichi seemed to guess what they were thinking. He narrowed his eyes and spoke again to demoralize them, "Heh, you guys were waiting for those three Shikotsumyaku bastards? What a pity! I took care of them on the way here; they should be in the belly of a fish by now."

"No way?" Several Mist Ninja felt cold sweat break out. Even powerful Jonin would have a headache dealing with the Shikotsumyaku). How could they be dealt with like chickens? But the other party's tone didn't sound like he was lying.

"Captain, another group of Konoha Ninja is on their way." Hyōji, usually so composed, showed a slight change in expression. "Make a decision quickly!"

Terumi Sora gritted her teeth. Although the others were also capable, the main method of this team was to combine the three Kekkei Genkai with underwater operations.

Now that Kaguya's trio has ruined this tactic, it's impossible to wipe out the Konoha Ninja in a short time. "Retreat! Let's circle around and get back to the ship."

Seeing the Kirigakure ninja about to leave, Shuichi wasn't about to stand by and do it. "Dare to kill our Konoha Ninja? Then be prepared to pay a bloody price! Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"