At the mountaintop.
The earthen fort, already battered by several waves of Lightning Release Techniques and Explosive Tags, was on the verge of collapse.
Although Mist Ninja excelled most at Water Release Techniques, few who reached Jonin rank clung to a single chakra nature and continued to develop it. Most mastered several chakra natures, broadening their combat options and greatly improving their ability to adapt to complex situations.
Among the Mist Ninja sent to attack the mountain were a Jonin and a Special Jonin who excelled at Lightning Release Techniques.
"The walls of the fort are nearly at their limit."
"We still have plenty of Explosive Tags, but we've completely run out of Barrier Talismans."
Inside the earthen fort,
the Konoha Ninja discussed the situation during a lull in the fighting.
They had held out for a long time, but the fort's defenses had been badly worn down. Collapse was only a step away, and they had used up a great deal of supplies. Of course, they had also inflicted plenty of casualties on the Mist Ninja: four had fallen on the mountain road, and three had withdrawn wounded.
Meanwhile, none of their own had been killed or injured.
But the Mist Ninja outnumbered them, and more than ten continued trying to attack. Most importantly, the two Mist Jonin leading the force were still in relatively good shape. They were clearly preparing to smash through the fort in one decisive push and break through the Shigushan Mountain defenses for good that very day.
"There's nothing more to say. Everyone, get ready to fight. When the time comes, follow me out there!"
The clumsy-tongued captain had given up on trying to say something inspiring. The moment the fort collapsed, he would be the first to charge out and engage the Mist Ninja at close quarters.
But just then,
the Special Jonin from the Yamanaka Clan, who had been practicing his clan's Sensing Technique with his eyes closed, suddenly lit up with delight. He opened his eyes and shouted, "Reinforcements are here! Reinforcements are here!"
"What?"
"They really made it?"
"I thought headquarters had fucking forgotten about us!"
Everyone instantly perked up as if they'd been given a shot of adrenaline. They clamored excitedly, releasing the pressure that had been building inside them for so long. Their words were a little unfiltered.
"How many?"
The captain asked anxiously.
"Two!"
"Huh?"
The captain was dumbfounded, and the cheering teammates fell silent.
Only the Special Jonin from the Yamanaka Clan grinned. "What are you afraid of? There may only be two reinforcements, but one of them is none other than Body Flicker Shisui!"
Body Flicker Shisui.
The name seemed to possess a strange magic.
In an instant, it dispelled everyone's unease. The difference in numbers became insignificant in the face of that name.
The Mist Ninja's assault abruptly slowed as well. One Mist Jonin had already formed seven or eight Hand Seals and looked ready to unleash a major attack, but he stopped and abandoned it. Their sensor ninja had evidently noticed Konoha's reinforcements, too.
But it was also clear that the Mist Ninja were divided among themselves. The two Jonin seemed to be arguing, and before they could reach an agreement, two figures—one white and one black, both as swift as lightning—burst out of the forest.
The Mist Ninja reacted quickly, sending a storm of Shuriken and Kunai their way.
But
the two figures didn't slow down or defend themselves.
To the Mist Ninja's astonishment, the two Konoha Ninja, one dressed in white and the other in black, twisted nimbly through the dense barrage of Shuriken and Kunai, as light as cranes and swift as leopards. Not one Shuriken or Kunai touched them.
"Damn Byakugan and Sharingan!"
One of the Mist Jonin cursed.
Although Mist Ninja were all skilled at Water Release Techniques, their Jonin were no pushovers. Powerful and well-informed, they knew that the Byakugan and Sharingan could easily see the trajectories of Shuriken and Kunai. Unless the barrage was so dense that there was nowhere to dodge, attacks like these were completely useless.
What's more,
since Konoha's reinforcements were from the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, their most familiar Hidden Mist Technique was completely useless, too. Thick fog couldn't hinder the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan or the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan.
"Chunin, form a defensive line! Send a request for reinforcements!"
He shouted the order.
Although they had the advantage in numbers and the Konoha reinforcements charging toward them numbered only two, one was a Hyuga and the other an Uchiha. And that Uchiha was none other than the infamous Body Flicker Shisui. The dozen of them might not even be able to defeat Shisui alone.
The other Jonin didn't object. He quickly formed Hand Seals and unleashed a Water Release Technique.
[Water Release: Water Clone]
The little water that remained in the potholes around their feet surged and instantly formed a number of solid clones. As soon as they took shape, the Water Clones picked up the scattered Kunai and sprinted toward the two charging Konoha Ninja.
"Trying to buy time?"
Hyuga Ritsu saw right through the enemy's blatant intention.
The Water Clone was the weakest of all solid clone techniques. Each one had only a tenth of its user's strength, though it also consumed less chakra than any other solid clone technique.
It was perfectly effective against weak opponents.
But when used against enemies of equal strength, Water Clones had only one purpose: to buy time. Even the weakest Water Clone could still kill, so it couldn't simply be ignored. It would take effort and time to deal with them.
And Water Clones consumed little chakra, too. Even an ordinary Jonin could easily create fifty or sixty of them.
"If this were before, dealing with these things really would've been a nuisance!"
Hyuga Ritsu pushed off the ground and sped up. "But now, they're meaningless to me!"
The instant the words left his mouth,
sharp, bone-white spikes suddenly burst from his palms, elbows, shoulders, knees, and other parts of his body. Each bone was sixty centimeters long, arranged like branches on a tree.
From a distance,
he looked just like a hedgehog!
[Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow]
Hyuga Ritsu charged straight into the Mist Ninja's Water Clones blocking his path without dodging or hesitating. His body swayed like willow branches in the wind, and his sharp white bones effortlessly pierced the bodies made of water. They shattered the fragile balance of chakra and reduced the clones to splashes of water, soaking Hyuga Ritsu's clothes.
"Shikotsumyaku?!"
The two Mist Jonin stared in disbelief.
—How could it be Shikotsumyaku?
Wasn't that the Kekkei Genkai possessed by the battle-crazed members of the Kaguya Clan, a people who loved fighting? Why did it belong to a Hyuga? Did this mean the man possessed two Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan and Shikotsumyaku?
Of course,
people who possessed two Kekkei Genkai were rare, but they did exist. The Mist Ninja had a young prodigy like that, but her parents came from the two great clans in their own village that had inherited Kekkei Genkai. It was understandable that their child would be born with two.
But what was the deal with this monster?
Had a member of their own Kaguya Clan fallen in love with a member of Konoha's Hyuga Clan and eloped?
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