Hard Vortex Water Blade

"Hmph!" Sarutobi Kagejiro let out a cold snort from his nasal cavity.

He clearly misunderstood Gekko Yoru's good intentions, believing that Yoru and the wicked Uchiha were both here to snatch Mission Merit Points.

Sarutobi Kagejiro grumbled inwardly but showed no trace of it, putting on a righteous air as he said, "Do I look like someone who would abandon his comrades and flee alone? In my view, we should annihilate the remaining enemies together. They're heavily poisoned and won't last much longer."

Hyuga Asuka heard Sarutobi Kagejiro's proposal and nearly choked on his anger, even feeling that this brute was subtly targeting him.

Speaking of poisoning, it seemed the accumulated toxins in his own body had already spread to his heart meridian. His Byakugan's vision flickered on and off, on the verge of collapse, barely holding on to his limit, while the Sand Hidden group could still mobilize chakra to suppress the poison.

Sarutobi Kagejiro, you brute. Earlier, you kept shouting about mission first, leaving the captain alone to hold off the enemy, and now you're suddenly eyeing these petty gains, disregarding the safety of the intelligence. You're a far cry from your earlier solemn vows.

Kagejiro, it seems you really are as unreliable as ever.

The Sand Hidden ninjas heard the Konoha ninjas planning to transfer the intelligence and burned with anxiety, but for the moment, they had no time to spare. Their top priority was to fend off the lethal assault before them.

"Stop his hand seals! Don't let him release the S-Rank Water Release: Hard Vortex Water Blade!"

The spiky-haired Sand Hidden Jonin's eyes were wide with fury, pointing at Umino Sasuke, who was frantically forming hand seals. In his view, such a long sequence of seals meant a massive accumulation of chakra, brewing a world-shattering Water Release Secret Technique.

Moreover, that Monkey Face Mask Konoha ninja hailed from the Sarutobi Clan and was surely well-versed in Konoha's ninjutsu. Given his dull, overconfident look, the intelligence leaked in their conversation couldn't have been intentional—it had to be the S-Rank Water Release: Hard Vortex Water Blade.

The Bald Chunin and the two Puppet Masters received the intel from their Jonin captain and immediately stopped hiding and defending, climbing atop the Earth Flow Wall without pause.

They each unleashed their techniques without a moment's delay, striving to interrupt the [Uchiha Jonin]'s casting process.

"Wind Release: Grinding Gale!"

The Special Jonin Puppet Master reacted fastest, his ten fingers flying as he formed four seals per second, leaving afterimages in his wake. He instantly unleashed a B-Rank Wind Release, aiming to disrupt the Water Release Secret Technique Umino Sasuke was about to release.

A compressed storm vortex abruptly took shape, condensing into a high-pressure wind sphere with a swirling pattern.

The surface of the high-pressure wind sphere was densely covered with whirlwind lines. The moment it detached, it triggered a pressure explosion, and the surrounding air was sucked away, forming a brief vacuum zone.

Clearly, among the many powerful B-Rank Wind Releases, this technique was at least one of the best.

The remaining Sand Ninjas continuously hurled kunai and shuriken with both hands, their bluish-white gleam hiding lethal intent, likely coated with a fair amount of Wind-Style Chakra.

The spiky-haired Jonin stabbed his longsword into the ground and flung out a large number of kunai and shuriken with his right hand. Hidden among them, two kunai had Explosive Tags tied to them.

As expected of a Sand Hidden Jonin—unlike those impoverished low-level Sand Ninjas, he was equipped with strategic supplies like Explosive Tags. Though there were only two tags, given Sunagakure's barrenness and material scarcity, this was already a Jonin-exclusive privilege.

Compared to the two Explosive Tags, the B-Rank Wind Release: Grinding Gale was clearly more powerful. If not for his left hand's broken fingers preventing him from forming seals, he would have gone all out and unleashed an A-Rank Wind Release to tear that detestable [Uchiha Jonin] to shreds.

"Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"

Facing such a dire situation, the Bald Chunin squeezed out the last bit of chakra in his body, finally completing a highly potent attack—Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling.

With a thunderous crash, the ground within a ten-meter radius collapsed. Amid the roar of shattering earth and stone, a giant rock sphere the size of a house was forcibly gouged out.

Soil cascaded down, and dark yellow light patterns flowed across the surface of the giant rock sphere—a tangible manifestation of both the form and nature changes of Earth Release chakra.

Sweat beaded on the Bald Chunin's forehead, his face growing more ferocious: "Taste the feeling of being crushed!"

The giant rock sphere, carrying a gale-like howl, hurtled toward Umino Sasuke, who was still rapidly forming seals.

Midair.

A series of whistling sounds rang out.

A torrent of kunai, shuriken, Explosive Tags, and the B-Rank Wind Release's high-pressure wind sphere blotted out the sky, bearing down on Umino Sasuke.

The giant rock sphere in midair, carrying the momentum of a collapsing mountain, smashed straight toward him.

"Kagejiro, is this really the S-Rank Water Release: Hard Vortex Water Blade?"

Gekko Yoru's eyes held a trace of confusion, his heart full of questions. Wasn't the seal count for this Water Release Secret Technique a bit too long? He'd already formed over a hundred seals, hadn't he?

"This—"

Sarutobi Kagejiro was momentarily at a loss for words, his throat bobbing as he struggled to answer.

Just as Sarutobi Kagejiro was about to explain or make excuses, Gekko Yoru stopped focusing on the issue and issued a tactical reminder to the distant [Uchiha Jonin]: "Watch out for the attack!"

Gekko Yoru's face showed concern. Though he trusted this [Uchiha Jonin]'s strength, he was still a bit worried. After all, the Uchiha Jonin was still forming seals, his technique not yet complete, and the power of this group attack was already no less than an A-Rank Ninjutsu.

In comparison, how could Gekko Yoru not be worried?

"It's over!"

Hyuga Asuka saw this scene and had already envisioned a gruesome end with no remains left. This fake [Uchiha]'s chakra reserves were even inferior to his own—how could he withstand a group attack on par with an A-Rank Ninjutsu?

Even in his prime, using the absolute defense of Rotation, he wouldn't have much confidence, let alone this fake [Uchiha].

As for the little fat guy beside him, he was clearly a Genin cannon fodder, with combat power negligible.

The presence of such a Genin cannon fodder was nothing but a burden, increasing the fake [Uchiha]'s difficulty in dodging the attack.

Facing an attack comparable to an A-Rank Ninjutsu, if this fake [Uchiha] wanted to avoid being shattered, his only option was to stop forming seals and swiftly evade—and he couldn't even think about taking that little fat Genin with him.

"Hmph! Wicked Uchiha!"

Sarutobi Kagejiro let out a cold snort, his heart full of schadenfreude, devoid of any concern. Instead, he hoped these Sand Ninjas would intensify their attack, consuming more chakra and weapon supplies.

Clearly, in his mind, this wicked Uchiha was not a comrade fighting alongside him, but a political enemy of his Sarutobi Faction, a competitor here to steal his Mission Merit Points.

This wicked Uchiha should be nothing but a pawn, a tool to wear down these Sand Ninja forces.

Once these Sand Ninjas were sufficiently exhausted and died from the poison, wouldn't all those Mission Merit Points be his?

"Tejudo, I'm counting on you!"

Faced with such a dire situation, Umino Sasuke remained expressionless, as always, continuing to form hand seals.

"No problem, Captain!"

Tejudo's face was solemn as he unsealed the last sealing scroll at his waist, then grabbed its opening and hurled it forward into the air.

"Double Iron Prison Gate!"

With a thunderous crash!

From the smoke of the exploding sealing scroll, two iron gates carved with the Rashomon Demon rose up with a roar.

The smaller iron gate standing in front measured ten meters high, five meters wide, and its thickness reached a full meter—it was less a gate and more a wall of bronze and iron.

And the iron gate behind it was even larger by a considerable margin.