Secret Technique: Paper Release.
He had obtained it the last time he went to the Land of Rain, after completing Konan's special order.
Not bad...
It was quite useful.
Paper could be used to shape anything he wanted!
Watching countless Paper Swords stab toward the tightly encircled ninjas from every direction... Of course, while the move looked spectacular—after all, countless flying swords were darting everywhere—it was his first time using it, so controlling so many Paper Swords was still somewhat clumsy.
Thus, after their initial shock, the well-trained ninjas quickly reacted.
Realizing the enemy's powerhouse had arrived, they immediately had their subordinates abandon the Uzumaki Clan and form an encirclement.
More than a dozen jonin stood atop trees or branches, watching Kusana float in midair.
"Kusagakure?!"
One ninja who seemed to be the leader frowned and muttered to himself.
But...
He had no idea why these Kusagakure ninjas wanted to take away the Uzumaki Clan.
After all, the current Uzumaki Clan was nothing more than a group of rogue ninjas despised by the shinobi world.
No ninja village would accept so many members of the Uzumaki Clan!
Of course, as well-trained assassination ninjas, they would never ask. The more they said, the more they exposed.
Their only mission now was... to secretly take away the Uzumaki Clan!
After exchanging looks with his companions, he raised a hand and gave a subtle signal for the battle plan. "Move—"
However.
Before he could finish.
In the blink of an eye, Kusana had already made the first move. This was the Land of Fire, after all. Staying too long could draw the attention of Konoha's ninjas. It was better to quietly take the people away as soon as possible!
As for who exactly these people were?
Did that matter?
Even if they were Konoha ninjas, Konoha probably would not acknowledge them. So, he might as well treat them as insignificant assassins.
He immediately formed hand seals and said calmly, "Paper Release: Paper Dragon Technique!"
The moment his words fell.
"?!"
To everyone's shock, a massive dragon woven from paper suddenly appeared in the night sky, and then... "Roar!!!"
It let out a furious roar!
"This ninjutsu..." Elder Yang Ren clutched his chest and stared wide-eyed at the dragon.
Although the three boulders that had come from nowhere earlier had helped him, sparing him from having to sacrifice himself to buy time for his clansmen, his body was still severely injured from their long years of wandering without proper rest. Coupled with the fierce battle just now, he still felt somewhat unwell.
But.
Looking at the dragon before him...
His clouded eyes were filled with shock as he muttered, "It looks like Lord Hashirama's Wood Dragon Technique!"
At that moment.
The assassination ninjas were also staring at the dragon. They seemed to recall something, and the shock in their eyes turned to vigilance. Then, with solemn expressions, they nodded to one another and swiftly reacted. Facing the charging dragon, they directly unleashed their respective ninjutsu.
"Water Release..."
"Fire Release..."
"Earth Release..."
All kinds of ninjutsu slammed into the paper dragon.
However.
Against the dragon... those ninjutsu did little more than inflict superficial damage.
In that instant.
The dragon charged forward, sweeping its tail and knocking several jonin to the ground in one blow.
Seeing this.
The Kusagakure ninjas and the Uzumaki Clan both let out a breath of relief, then continued staring wide-eyed at the figure in the sky.
Uzumaki Jianghe clicked his tongue. "So this is Kusagakure's leader? No wonder he dared to take in the Uzumaki Clan."
Even Oyakamon, who had followed them here, felt much more at ease after seeing this.
Perhaps... going to the Land of Grass was not a bad choice.
"Be shocked! Standing before you now is the hero who ended the chaos of the Land of Grass, the leader of the Land of Grass who rebuilt the Land of Grass, the strongest leader in Kusagakure's history, the one who will lead the Land of Grass—"
Seeing his leader display such overwhelming might, the shameless Mujie immediately jumped out, raised both hands, and declared with a smug expression.
But before he could finish.
"Shut up!" Kusana looked at Mujie speechlessly.
This guy...
Why was he showing off at a time like this?!
Kusagakure's ninjas... What was the point of being the strongest leader in Kusagakure's history?!
"Take the people and retreat!"
As soon as he said that.
"Right, right, right!"
Mujie came to his senses again and hurriedly called out to the Uzumaki clansmen behind him, as well as the ninjas who had followed their leader here... They appeared to be members of the Chinoike Clan.
"Go, go, go! Let's get out of here!"
As soon as he said that.
Uzumaki Jianghe hesitated. "The leader..."
He had directly addressed him as leader as well.
But.
Before he could finish.
Mujie cut him off. "If I tell you to run, then run! Get moving! What can you do here right now? Trust the leader! Look, I'm running too!"
Kusagakure was still as smooth and natural as ever when it came to selling out teammates.
It left Kusana speechless. He had nearly left this guy behind to fight alongside him.
But now.
The assassination ninjas before him were more important!
"Use Water Release!" Having seemingly discovered something, the assassination ninja leader said solemnly, "This technique fears water!"
As a ninja, analyzing intelligence was essential. Just now, he had noticed that this man's secret technique seemed to stall under Water Release. Moreover, the parts soaked by water appeared unusable, turning into ordinary wet paper.
Sure enough.
The moment he spoke.
He vaguely saw the Kusagakure ninja's expression change. It vanished quickly, but as a professional ninja, that instant was enough for him to catch it.
That made sense.
There was only one God of Shinobi: Konoha's First Hokage. This man was merely a powerful ninja whose technique somewhat resembled the First Hokage's.
Without any hesitation.
This was a secret operation. The longer they delayed, the more likely complications would arise.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Having obtained vital intelligence, the others likewise did not hesitate. They swiftly retreated and spread out, surrounding the dragon as they frantically formed hand seals and unleashed their Water Release techniques.
They believed that after this round, the huge paper dragon before them would be defeated. After that... now that they knew the weakness of his technique, defeating him would not take much time.
However.
In the blink of an eye.
Just as the leading ninja thought they had won, he noticed... the previously tense Kusagakure ninja had revealed a cold sneer. His expression immediately changed. "Retreat!"
But.
It was already too late!
"Paper Release: Infinite Paper Swords!"
Part of the paper they had scattered with Water Release instantly transformed into countless swords again, stabbing directly into them from close range.
Ordinary Shikigami Paper Technique did indeed fear water, but Konan had later modified the paper into waterproof paper.
Of course, Konan was still just a little girl who had only recently started school.
But.
He could modify it himself as well. After all, the secret technique scroll he had obtained was quite comprehensive.
However, this waterproof paper still had a weakness: it feared oil...
It could be said that it had both advantages and disadvantages!
In order to deal with these jonin quickly, he had deliberately exposed the weakness of fearing water. After all, there were so many jonin... and elite jonin skilled in assassination at that. Dealing with them would not be easy.
And what if they saw they could not win and simply fled?
Therefore, Kusana had intended to leave these people here from the very beginning.
Seeing the ninjas restrained by Paper Swords because they could not react in time, he glanced at Mujie and the others, who had already run far away, then swiftly sent out Explosive Tags and stuck them directly onto the ninjas.
"Explosive Tags?!"
The assassination ninjas noticed them as well, and their expressions changed once again.
However.
"Explode!"
At Kusana's command, the Explosive Tags detonated all at once.
The battle was over!
Everyone stared at the blinding light in the distance and listened to the explosions ringing in their ears, immediately understanding something.
Explosive Tags!
They recalled the battle from just now.
This battle... had been calculated by Kusagakure's leader from the very beginning!
Then Mujie's earlier words resurfaced in their minds...
The strongest leader in Kusagakure's history!
No wonder he had the courage to take in rogue ninjas and abduct the Chinoike Clan exiled by the Land of Lightning!
At this moment.
They felt far more confident as well. At the very least... the strength of their new leader put them at ease!
Perhaps what the leader had said... was all true!
The Land of Grass would truly accept them!
Elder Yang Ren stepped forward again. "Lord Mujie, the leader..."
Before he could finish.
Mujie knew what he wanted to say. He waved a hand and said with a confident smile, "Trust the leader! The leader is an outstanding Kusagakure ninja. If he encounters danger, he runs faster than we do—"
Before he could finish either.
"Bang!"
He was kicked straight to the ground.
A pile of paper gathered behind him into a figure... Kusana looked at him with a dark expression, then looked at the Chinoike Clan and Uzumaki Clan before him, who were watching him with both anticipation and concern.
He immediately understood what they were waiting for.
He smiled and spread his arms. "Welcome to the Land of Grass! Now... let's go home!"
As soon as he said that.
Smiles appeared on the faces of the Uzumaki Clan and the Chinoike Clan. Looking at the leader before them, they shouted together, "Yes! Leader!"
Before you continue