Cloud Ninja Tactics

After approaching within 500 meters, Yichen used his Sensory Ninjutsu. This distance was not suitable for using Mind's Eye; Yichen's Mind's Eye's effective sensing range was currently only about 200 meters.

However, after a while, both Yichen and Hu frowned. It was too far away. Neither Sensory Ninjutsu nor Byakugan could accurately grasp the flow of Chakra among the Cloud ninja in the distance.

Especially Yichen's Sensory Ninjutsu, which allows him to monitor high-speed moving targets 500 meters away at any time, is already quite impressive. Trying to steal his Ninjutsu is a joke.

Even at this distance, Hu's Byakugan couldn't clearly see the flow of Chakra among the Cloud ninja. It was difficult to see the general outline, but the subtle details were indistinguishable.

Helpless, Yichen looked at Ikura and asked, "Can we continue to get closer?"

After thinking for a moment, Ikura said, "Okay."

It wasn't that Ikura and Yichen were reckless, but rather that they were confident enough in their own strength. Even if the Cloud ninja and Sunagakure joined forces, they wouldn't be a match for Yichen and his group.

Therefore, even if Yichen accidentally expose their whereabouts while secretly approaching the other party, they will not suffer any losses.

At this moment, the Cloud ninja's attention was focused on the Sunagakure, and they did not notice the Iwa ninja who had approached from the other side, about a hundred meters away.

"Alright, that's enough for now. We can't go any further." Ikura stopped Yichen and Hu, who still wanted to move forward.

Yichen and Hu exchanged a glance, then turned their attention to the Cloud ninja.

As usual, Yichen used Sensory Ninjutsu and his Mind's Eye to probe the spiritual power and physical reactions of the Cloud ninja, while Hu used his Byakugan to observe the flow of Chakra.

"The second one from the left, this person is of the Lightning Release. It looks like he's about to use Ninjutsu. Let's observe him first." Yichen's Sensory Ninjutsu can determine the enemy's Chakra attribute, so he immediately identified the five Cloud ninja.

Hu responded and also focused his attention on the Lightning Release Cloud ninja.

After a while, the Cloud ninja used his first Ninjutsu as he approached the Sunagakure.

"Lightning Release - Four Pillars Technique".

As the Cloud ninja unleashed Lightning Release, four massive pillars immediately appeared around the Sunagakure group, emanating intense fluctuations of Lightning Release Chakra.

Yichen naturally sensed this scene immediately. While shifting his attention to the four pillars imbued with violent Lightning Release, he was also shocked by the Cloud ninja's grand gesture.

Are the Cloud ninja planning to rape all the Sunagakure?

It's important to understand that while the Sunagakure only has one Elite Jonin and the rest are Genin and lower, they have a large number of members. The Sunagakure forces consist of 15 full-strength squads, totaling 60 people.

Although in a direct confrontation, these sixty people might not be a match for the five Jonin the Cloud ninja, there is still a high probability that one or two Jonin will survive.

Simply put, it would be easy for the Cloud ninja to defeat the Sunagakure, but to completely overthrow them would be to seriously underestimate the Sunagakure.

But what happened next surprised Yichen with the ingenuity of the Cloud ninja's tactics.

While the A-rank Lightning Release used by that Cloud ninja Jonin powerful, its effect, spread across more than 60 Sunagakure, might not be enough to kill many of them. Although they had the initial advantage, it wasn't enough to secure victory in a single move.

However, the Sunagakure's subsequent reaction made Yichen understand the Cloud ninja's intentions.

When the Yūma the Sunagakure named Elite Jonin sensed the enemy rapidly approaching and launching Ninjutsu, he did not immediately choose to retaliate. Instead, he used an A-rank Wind Release to destroy two pillars.

Originally, the four pillars were like a field of Lightning Release, capable of covering the entire area where the Sunagakure were located with Lightning Release. However, with two pillars missing, all the Lightning Release gathered between the remaining two pillars.

In this way, the main force of the Sunagakure will not be attacked by this A-rank Ninjutsu.

However, this move came at a great cost; it could be said that Yūma traded his best chance for a counterattack, resulting in a blow from the bodyguard's entire force.

Yichen guessed that this was probably the Cloud ninja's objective. The counterattack of Elite Jonin was terrifying, but if they could make the enemy focus on protecting their own people immediately, the chances of their side suffering casualties would be much smaller.

Sure enough, most of the Cloud ninja's attacks were aimed at Yūma.

Only two Jonin were using Area of Effect Ninjutsu to distract the sixty Sunagakure Genin and lower.

Yūma, having chosen the wrong tactic at the beginning and lost the initiative, was targeted by two Elite Jonin, Tanimoto Naoto, and a strong Jonin. Before long, she was completely at a disadvantage and could not even find an opening to use her Ninjutsu.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Yūma shouted, "Everyone scatter and retreat!"

Seeing this, the Genin and lower knew they could no longer save their superior, so they retreated and quickly dispersed in small groups, heading towards the Land of Wind from more than ten directions.

Only Yūma and a few of his comrades' corpses, which had been affected by the Area of Effect Ninjutsu, remained.

The Cloud ninja did not pursue, but merely used a B-rank Lightning Release to formally drive away the fleeing Sunagakure.

Then the group began their attack on Yūma.

At this moment, five people surrounded one person. To prevent Cloud ninja from launching a counterattack Yūma his death, the Cloud Ninja had slowed down their pace and stopped using Ninjutsu.

With a moment to spare, Yichen nudged Ikura beside him with his elbow and said, "Ikura, should we save the Sunagakure?"

Ikura was taken aback, thinking, "Weren't we here to watch the show and maybe even learn a few Ninjutsu? Why have you changed your mind again?"

But on second thought, isn't this a perfect opportunity to befriend the Sunagakure? If they can expose the Cloud ninja's actions against the Sunagakure, then the Sunagakure, who now have an extra enemy, are more likely to choose to ally with the Iwa ninja.

Thinking of this, Ikura used a Body Flicker Technique to leave his original spot, and then launched a wide-range Water Release attack on the six people who were fighting.

Ikura acted swiftly. Although the Cloud ninja sensed the massive Chakra fluctuations beforehand, it was too late to intercept them with Ninjutsu. Moreover, although Ikura used B-rank Ninjutsu, its power was in no way weaker than an A-rank ninjutsu.

Even if the Cloud ninja wanted to stop them, it wouldn't be easy, as Cloud ninja Ninjutsu isn't known for its defensive capabilities.

Even so, it was only because Ikura considered that the Elite Jonin Sunagakure Jonin Yūma was also within the range of the Ninjutsu's coverage that he did not use A-rank Ninjutsu, fearing excessive collateral damage.

Faced with the surging Water Release, the Cloud ninja had no choice but to scatter and evade.

The Cloud ninja originally planned to split up and then kill the visitors together, but they quickly abandoned the idea because they all recognized Ikura's identity.

The moment Tanimoto Naoto saw Ikura, his heart sank to the bottom. Ikura had already proven his Quasi-Kage level strength in the Third Shinobi War. And more than half a year had passed since the Third Shinobi War ended, so Tanimoto Naoto would believe that Ikura had reached Kage Level.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tanimoto Naoto immediately gave the order, "Retreat."

But how could Ikura let him have his way? Reminded by Yichen, he knew he had to expose the Cloud ninja's identity today. And the best way to expose the Cloud ninja was to capture them all.

"Earth Release: Earth Overturning." Yichen, watching from afar, was startled. This was the only S-rank Ninjutsu that Ikura had mastered. Ikura probably hadn't fully learned her second S-rank Ninjutsu yet. And this should be the first time Ikura had used S-rank Ninjutsu in actual combat.

The execution of S-rank Ninjutsu is not fast. If Tanimoto Naoto had chosen to interfere, Ikura might not have been able to execute it. However, they chose to retreat directly, so Ikura successfully completed the execution.

After Ikura finished Hand Seals, he slapped the ground with both hands. Then, in the area where the Cloud ninja were located, about 700 to 800 meters away from Ikura, the land of the circle with a diameter of about one kilometer suddenly sank and churned, burying all five Cloud ninja Jonin in the process.

Although the Cloud ninja took advantage of Ikura's Hand Seals to retreat some distance, the range of the S-rank Ninjutsu Earth Overturning was simply too large, and the distance they retreated was far from enough to reach a safe position.

In Yichen's perception, the original location of the Cloud ninja group was completely covered by a massive amount of Chakra, and he could no longer sense any other Chakra source.

Once everything calmed down and Ikura's Chakra dissipated, only Tanimoto Naoto, whose fluctuations had weakened considerably, remained within the area covered by the Ninjutsu.

"Hiss~~" Yichen swallowed hard, impressed by the power.

The Cloud ninja weren't completely gathered together; they were relatively scattered, with the furthest distance between them being about 500 meters. The furthest one of them was nearly 1 kilometer away from Ikura.

However, they were all ultimately buried by Ikura's single move. Only Tanimoto Naoto managed to break through Ikura's Chakra seal from underground using his Storm Release bloodline limit.

Tanimoto Naoto rushed out, was surrounded by Storm Release Chakra, but his Chakra was almost depleted, and his body was covered with wounds of varying sizes. For Elite Jonin, he could be considered incapacitated.

Yūma Ikura not far away, was even more surprised when she saw Storm Release's Tanimoto Naoto. She blurted out, "Storm Release? You're Cloud ninja Naoto from the Tanimoto Naoto?"

Tanimoto Naoto smiled bitterly, knowing he was doomed today. Not only had he failed to receive Byakugan, but he had also exposed his identity, needlessly incurring the enmity of the Sunagakure Cloud ninja. Although the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning were not adjacent, the Cloud ninja had gained an enemy from a Great Ninja Village for no reason, and they couldn't handle it.

So Tanimoto Naoto made a final effort, saying, "So the Iwa ninja also covet the Byakugan in the Sunagakure's hands?"

He intends to sow discord at the last minute. Once the Iwa ninja and Sunagakure also clash, the Cloud ninja will be safe. With Konoha as a formidable enemy, other nations, though occasionally at war, will never escalate into a full-blown war.

In Tanimoto Naoto's mind, no matter what reason Ikura was here, as long as he heard about the Byakugan, he would definitely take action against Yūma.

If Yūma dies, then there will be no witnesses to his ambush of the Sunagakure ninja.

But something unexpected happened to Tanimoto Naoto. Upon hearing his words, Ikura, who should have been surprised, showed no change in expression, but Yūma was taken aback. "Byakugan? What Byakugan?"

Ikura smiled and said, "The Byakugan is already in our hands. Those wandering ninjas did want to trade with the Sunagakure, but we intercepted them."

Ikura said this after listening to Tanimoto Naoto's words, and took this opportunity to legalize the process by which Iwa ninja obtained the Byakugan.

From now on, the entire Ninja World will know that the Iwa ninja obtained the Byakugan from wandering ninjas. As for how those wandering ninjas obtained the Byakugan, or whether they killed the Hyuga Clan leader, that is none of the Iwa ninja's business.

After hearing Tanimoto Naoto 'Ikura words, Storm Release could no longer maintain his Storm Release and coughed up blood, furious. So, all the benefits of his risking offending the Sunagakure in this life-or-death struggle had already been reap by the Iwa ninja?

Ikura Tanimoto Naoto, and unleashed Earth Release: Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear.

Spikes of Root Earth sprouted from beneath Tanimoto Naoto's feet. The badly injured Tanimoto Naoto quickly dodged, but only managed to avoid three before the fourth Root Earth pierced his thigh.

Then, Ikura used Body Flicker Technique to get close to Tanimoto Naoto and knock him unconscious as a prisoner.