Pakura of Sunagakure

On a high cliff.

The four members of Anbu Team 11 stood or crouched along the edge of the cliff, gazing toward the towering palace in the distance.

The Miko's palace was currently protected by a thin barrier, as delicate as cicada wings. The Terracotta Puppets around it seemed unable to enter the barrier and could only surround the palace in layer upon layer.

Seeing this, Kakashi let out a long breath. "It looks like the Miko's palace hasn't fallen yet. We still have a chance!"

Guy said anxiously, "But there are so many Terracotta Puppets outside. How are we supposed to get in?"

Kakashi turned to Hyuga Kagami and asked, "Kagami, can you find a route into the palace?"

Hyuga Kagami shook his head. He had already surveyed the area. The Miko's palace was completely surrounded by Terracotta Puppets from every direction, with no gaps or blind spots left.

Shisui said solemnly, "It seems we can only force our way through!"

Forcing their way through was obviously no easy task.

Team 11 had dealt with these Terracotta Puppets quite a few times before. Though they were incredibly clumsy, each one possessed immense strength. Once they formed up, they would be extremely troublesome in a positional battle.

As Hyuga Kagami surveyed the surroundings, he suddenly pointed at a high cliff opposite them. "Look over there!"

Everyone looked over and saw several figures appear on the opposite cliff. Judging by their clothing, they seemed to be Sunagakure Ninja.

After pondering for a moment, Kakashi, as the captain, said, "They should be reinforcements sent by Sunagakure. We might be able to cooperate with them, break through the Terracotta Puppets' encirclement together, and enter the Miko's palace."

Their current enemy was an otherworldly demon, so under the circumstances, no one objected to working with Sunagakure. They all nodded in agreement with Kakashi's proposal.

Before long, the two sides met up.

Sunagakure had also sent a four-man squad to support the Miko. Their leader was named Pakura, a Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai user whose fame in Sunagakure was second only to the Fourth Kazekage's. She was exceptionally powerful.

Kakashi stepped forward, exchanged a few words with Pakura, and reached an agreement.

Kakashi and Pakura, the two captains, would lead the assault at the front. Three Sunagakure Ninja and Guy would take the middle, while Hyuga Kagami and Shisui would bring up the rear.

Once the arrangements were made, the breakthrough began immediately.

Screech...

Amid a piercing shriek that resembled birdsong!

Kakashi, whose frame was not especially large, took the lead like a spear flickering with lightning as he plunged into the Terracotta Puppets' formation.

Boom...

Boom...

Boom...

Amid a string of thunderous blasts, Terracotta Puppets fell one after another.

Kakashi displayed Chidori's penetration power to its fullest at that moment. In the blink of an eye, bathed in Lightning Flash, he had already torn through five or six layers of Terracotta Puppet ranks.

When Kakashi began to falter, Pakura, who was right behind him, immediately formed hand seals and shouted, "Scorch Release: Five Fireballs!"

Five fireballs circled Pakura as if alive, scorching the surrounding Terracotta Puppets until they shattered one after another and further ripping apart their formation.

The three Sunagakure Ninja in the middle of the team used ninjutsu in unison. "Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

In an instant, two earthen walls surged up from the ground, shielding the passage Kakashi and Pakura had forcibly opened and creating a temporary safe corridor within the Terracotta Puppets' ranks.

At the rear of the team, Hyuga Kagami said to Shisui, "Go to the middle. I can hold the rear by myself."

Knowing Hyuga Kagami's strength, Shisui did not waste words. He knew he was not suited for confronting these Terracotta Puppets head-on, so he quickened his pace and left the rear.

At the very back of the team, Hyuga Kagami was fully activating his Tenseigan. Every attack from the Terracotta Puppets became a series of dropped-frame film images in his eyes. Aside from occasionally using Kaiten when there was no way to evade, their attacks posed almost no threat to him.

Through their close-range exchanges, Hyuga Kagami keenly discovered that the chakra inside every Terracotta Puppet was exactly the same. It clearly came from a single source, and that source felt filled with evil and brutality.

If the source of this chakra is that otherworldly demon, Moryo, then...

At that thought, Hyuga Kagami quietly shook his head.

Chakra with such evil and brutal properties was clearly unsuitable as a chakra source for an artificial Tailed Beast, so he ruled out Moryo.

Though the two ninja teams had only eight people between them, nearly all were elites from their respective villages. Pakura in particular was already part of Sunagakure's decision-making echelon. Thus, without much effort, the combined squad completely broke through the Terracotta Puppets' encirclement and entered the barrier-protected palace unharmed.

The moment the combined squad entered, the palace guards burst into cheers.

With the demon's arrival, the Miko of the Land of Demons had borne the brunt of the danger. For days, the palace guards had not dared relax for even a moment. Now that powerful reinforcements had arrived, they naturally cheered with joy after being consumed by anxiety and fear.

Inside the shrine.

The Miko sat on a cushion with a worried expression. Beside her was a little girl just over a year old, who looked remarkably similar to the Miko on the cushion. She appeared to be the Miko's daughter.

Nearby stood a squad of Iwagakure Ninja.

Clearly, the Iwagakure Ninja had arrived before Team 11. Moreover, every one of them held their head high and looked arrogant and unruly.

The moment he saw those Iwagakure Ninja, Hyuga Kagami felt anger surge within him.

They were the same Iwagakure Ninja who had ambushed Hyuga Kagami while he was escorting wounded soldiers back to Konoha. That time had been the closest he had come to death during the entire war.

Had the Jonin reinforcements from the village arrived even a moment later, Hyuga Kagami would have died resentfully only a few miles from the village, just like the overwhelming majority of his team.

Afterward, Hyuga Kagami had specifically inquired about this exceptionally powerful and audacious Iwagakure squad. He learned that they were part of Iwagakure's renowned Decapitation Squad.

At the same time, the Iwagakure Ninja were also sizing up the newly arrived reinforcements.

There was no need to mention Pakura of Sunagakure. During the war, she was one of Sunagakure's representative figures, among the most famous ninja in the Ninja World. Thus, the captain of the Iwagakure Decapitation Unit ignored the Sunagakure group and said to the four members of Anbu Team 11 in a mocking tone, "Hmph, Konoha only sent a few brats here to die? Looks like Konoha really is finished."

The oldest members of Team 11 were only fourteen or fifteen, while the younger Shisui was merely eleven or twelve. In terms of height, they were indeed a head shorter than the Iwagakure and Sunagakure Ninja.

Hyuga Kagami coldly shot back, "You'd better watch yourself. Don't accidentally die at the hands of a brat."

If someone else had provoked him, Hyuga Kagami might have been too lazy to respond. But faced with the Iwagakure Decapitation Unit that had come so close to killing him, he could not contain his anger.

The Iwagakure captain, arms crossed over his chest, darkened. "Brat, are you looking to die?!"