Wave Country Skirmish (Part 2)

After Yamanaka Inoichi and Nara Shikaku exchanged a glance and nodded, Shikaku sat down on the ground. Yamanaka Inoichi placed his hand on Shikaku's forehead and called out, "Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

In an instant, Shikaku's voice appeared in the minds of all the Konoha Ninja.

With a loud boom, Torifu Akimichi was knocked back by a deranged-looking man wielding a bone sword. The man licked the blood off the bone blade and laughed maniacally as he continued attacking Torifu Akimichi.

Torifu Akimichi slapped the ground and sprang to his feet, his body rapidly growing larger. He was nearly four meters tall. He swung his fist at the deranged man.

The man dodged to the side. With a boom, the fist smashed into the ground, shaking the earth and kicking up a cloud of dust more than a meter high.

The deranged man swung at Torifu Akimichi's shoulder. Torifu Akimichi nimbly turned and kicked at him. With a boom, the two clashed head-on.

After trading another blow, they separated. Torifu Akimichi shook out his hand.

The man opposite him actually shoved his bloodied bone blade into his thigh, then pulled another chained blade out from his neck.

That thing's got to be a spine, right? No wonder they all have some kind of blood disease. You just shove it back in without disinfecting it—how could you not get sick? Where's the justice? Where's the law? (Bah, wrong channel.)

"Ahahaha! This is the feeling! Come on, kill me—or let me cut you down! Ahahaha!"

The deranged-looking man charged at Torifu Akimichi again. Torifu Akimichi didn't back down. He brought his hands together and shouted, "Ninja Art: Human Bullet Tank!"

He turned into a ball of flesh and rolled toward the deranged man, who laughed and yelled, "Ahahaha! Ninja Art: Dance of the Larch!"

Then the two balls collided. A constant grinding, creaking sound rang out. Who knew how the man could make a sound like that with flesh and bone?

Dirt and rocks flew everywhere, leaving the area in shambles. The two of them ground a crater more than ten meters across into the earth.

A Mist Ninja failed to dodge in time. A rock hurled out of the crater pierced his chest, and he fell dead on the spot.

The Ninja nearby turned and ran. Damn it, these two didn't care who they hit. Get caught in their way and you were dead!

With a boom, a Water Release technique drew Hyouri's attention.

Kurama Aokumo calmly talked to Shark Mouth, who darted this way and that, occasionally using one or two baffling Water Release techniques.

They kept hitting people nearby, but never attacked Kurama Aokumo. The Konoha Ninja and Mist Ninja around them stayed well clear. Those strange Water Release techniques could suddenly pop up at any moment.

Shark Mouth's Water Release was fast and fierce. Aside from its small range, it was powerful in every other way.

Shark Mouth narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and quickly formed Hand Seals where he stood, planning to blast his opponent with a large-scale technique.

Shark Mouth shouted, "Water Release: Water Shark Bullet!" He thrust his hand forward, sending a massive shark head toward Kurama Aokumo. Kurama Aokumo neither dodged nor moved, just watched.

The shark head passed straight through him, nearly hitting the four Uchiha nearby.

The four Uchiha glared over with bloodshot eyes. When they saw Kurama Aokumo and Shark Mouth, they grimaced and moved elsewhere.

It turned out Kurama Aokumo was only an illusion.

Hozuki Mangetsu lightly tapped the puddle at his feet with his toe, then reached back and grabbed a transparent figure. A drop of blood fell from Hozuki Mangetsu's palm.

Hozuki Mangetsu panted as he said, "That was devious. If not for my clan's Water Transformation Technique, I might've been done for today."

The Kurama Clan's Genjutsu blended reality with illusion, leaving opponents stuck in an unbearable limbo. They'd get so frustrated that they'd lose control and start spraying water everywhere.

Bing San narrowed his eyes and saw groups of Mist Ninja attacking one another around Kurenai Yuhi.

They were supposed to be teammates, but they showed no mercy once they started fighting. In the blink of an eye, one Mist Ninja with a hook had already killed three of his own teammates.

Shikaku spoke up. "Jonin Kurenai Yuhi specializes in large-scale illusion techniques."

"No wonder she's called Crimson Sunset. What a spectacular sight."

Bing San clenched his fists, deeply moved as he watched one life after another disappear before his eyes.

He just wanted to live. Anyone who threatened his life could die.

And on top of that, he wanted to live a little more spectacularly!

At the mention of Genjutsu, Bing San couldn't help looking toward the Uchiha squad.

One Uchiha threw a shuriken at a Mist Ninja. The Mist Ninja smirked disdainfully, drew a Kunai, and batted the shuriken away with a series of clinks. He stepped forward, ready to press the attack.

But with a soft thud, a shuriken looped around from behind and pierced his back. As he died, the Mist Ninja's lips moved as he managed to utter, "Impossible..."

The Uchiha didn't even bother to look at him. He turned, quickly formed Hand Seals, and shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Another Mist Ninja leaped back to dodge. Before he could sneer, the incoming fireball suddenly transformed into another Uchiha wielding a Ninja Blade. With a soft thud, the blade slit his throat and took his life.

A Mist Ninja tried to launch a surprise attack from underground as the Uchiha performed his technique. But the instant he burst from the ground, the two locked eyes. The Uchiha shook his head, drew a Kunai, and gently drove it into the Mist Ninja's chest.

The Uchiha murmured, "Too weak!"

Bing San narrowed his eyes, gaining a new understanding of the Uchiha, the clan Danzo had driven to rebellion and extermination.

With Shikaku's help, Shisui led the Uchiha squad in cornering the enemy commander.

On the Mist Ninja side, a short man, barely over 1.6 meters tall, with a headscarf wrapped around his head, quickly formed Hand Seals and shouted, "Water Release: Water Wall!"

Several people formed Hand Seals behind him. Suddenly, another Ninja called out, "Ao, watch your back!"

An illusion appeared in a flash and cut down a Ninja who rushed over to protect Ao. Another tried to attack, but one glare sent him reeling. He fell to the ground, twitching.

"Body Flicker Shisui—you live up to your reputation. I lost this time, but don't celebrate too soon."

Then he sent a signal announcing their retreat. Under the protection of a large group of guards, Ao retreated in formation.

Shisui only watched coldly. There was no good opportunity to attack.

When the deranged man saw the retreat signal, he looked terribly unhappy.

He shouted at Ao, "Why are you retreating already? I haven't had enough fun yet!

"Hey, hey! Can't we fight a little longer?"

Who knew what benefits the Third Mizukage had promised him to make him obey? He was a maniacal killer, and when he went berserk, he'd cut down whoever he could get his hands on.

Hozuki Mangetsu appeared beside Ao using a Water Clone and asked, "Why?"

Ao replied, "No particular reason. It's best to preserve our strength."

Hozuki Mangetsu shrugged. "Fine. I only came to help because of my uncle, anyway." He was the nephew of the Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu.

Over the next three minutes, both sides gradually began to distance themselves.

Konoha had the advantage in numbers, but its forces had rushed all the way there and were at a disadvantage physically.

If they really fought to the death, the odds would probably be even. Both sides held back and slowly parted ways.

As he left, Ao took a long look at the Konoha group and muttered, "Those are some useful eyes." It wasn't clear who he was talking about.

As for the Mizunashi fellow frozen in the ice, no one cared whether he lived or died.

That was how the Mist Ninja operated. Aside from carrying out orders, they cared nothing for comrades or camaraderie.