Ambush

The skirmish in the rainforest ended swiftly—so fast that the smell of blood hadn't even dissipated before the battle was already concluded.

"Stop gawking."

Uchiha Fugaku's cold voice cut through Chunin Kaito's shock; his own emotions no longer stirred by such trivial matters. He flicked the blood off his short blade, showing no sign of relaxation after a minor victory. "Clean up the traces. Sink the bodies in the swamp. We only have ten minutes to relocate. The enemy's main force could detect the advance team's loss of contact at any moment."

"Yes, sir! Yes, sir!"

Kaito and the other Chunin snapped out of their daze and hurriedly set to work. But this time, as they glanced at Nishikawa Tetsu, who was off to the side recovering metal decoy rods, their eyes no longer held the earlier disdain. Instead, they were filled with a wary fear of the unknown. A single Genin, using a few bottles of medicine and a few sticks, had talked his way into slaughtering four elite Earth Release ninja. That kind of method was more unsettling than outright killing.

"Nishikawa Tetsu."

Uchiha Fugaku walked over to Tetsu and asked in a low voice, "How much of that toxin is left?"

"Not much. I used a third of it just now," Nishikawa Tetsu answered honestly. "But for the upcoming canyon battle, I've got a more interesting trick up my sleeve."

The team set out again.

To avoid Sunagakure's follow-up reconnaissance, they abandoned their original marching route and chose a more rugged ridgeline covered in slippery moss. Hyuga Hiroshi kept his Byakugan active at the front, the veins on his forehead bulging slightly from prolonged use of the dojutsu, his face pale. Though the Byakugan was excellent for reconnaissance, it consumed a massive amount of chakra and mental energy.

"Senior Hyuga."

During the march, Nishikawa Tetsu suddenly quickened his pace to catch up with Hyuga Hiroshi and handed him a small glass bottle.

"What's this?" Hyuga Hiroshi remained cautious, not reaching out to take it. His pure white eyes scanned the bottle's surface.

"High-concentration Blueberry Extract, mixed with a small amount of Chakra Activator," Nishikawa Tetsu explained. "Drop it in your eyes. It relieves optic nerve spasms and supplements oxygen supply to the eye's microvessels. The Byakugan's field of vision is 360 degrees, but maintaining long-distance perspective for extended periods raises intraocular pressure, causing blurring at the edges of your vision, right?"

Hyuga Hiroshi was taken aback.

This was indeed a hidden ailment of the Hyuga Clan, and a pain for branch family ninja. Because of the Caged Bird curse mark, their Byakugan had a fixed blind spot. To compensate for it, they often had to overexert their optic nerves. But this was usually a clan secret—how did this outsider Genin know it so clearly?

"I'm in Scientific Research. I have a bit of knowledge about human anatomy," Nishikawa Tetsu said, as if reading his thoughts, with a smile. "Don't worry, Captain Fugaku has used my medicine too."

Hearing this from behind, Uchiha Fugaku's mouth twitched, but he didn't refute it, only letting out a cold "Hmph."

Hyuga Hiroshi hesitated for a moment, then took the bottle, tilted his head back, and put in two drops. A cool sensation instantly penetrated his eyeballs. The original sore, stabbing pain miraculously eased by more than half, and his vision became clearer and sharper.

"Thanks," Hyuga Hiroshi said, his voice no longer so stiff, his gaze toward Nishikawa Tetsu softening a little.

"Mutual benefit," Nishikawa Tetsu replied, retreating back into the team. "We'll still need your eyes for the road ahead."

Namikaze Minato sidled up and whispered, "Your social skills are incredible. You can even soothe both the Hyuga and the Uchiha."

Hearing this, Nishikawa Tetsu's expression turned strange. You're the one everyone loves, future Fourth Generation.

"In this team, the longer we keep the eyes working, the higher our chances of survival."

Half an hour later.

The group finally reached their destination—Howling Valley. The terrain here was extremely treacherous. On both sides were steep rock faces hundreds of meters high, and in the middle roared a muddy, turbulent river. Because the valley was narrow, the wind passing through made a sound like wailing ghosts and howling wolves, hence the name.

"This terrain..."

Uchiha Fugaku stood on a high rock, looking down at the river channel below, his brows deeply furrowed. "It's suitable for an ambush, but they're on boats and we're on the shore. If we attack, they can use Water Release to defend or speed through. The range of our jutsu is limited; it's hard to completely cut off the entire fleet."

"What if we collapse the canyon?" Kaito suggested. "Use Explosive Tags to blow up the rock walls on both sides and block the river."

"That's difficult."

Nishikawa Tetsu shook his head, pointing at the rock faces. "The rock here is basalt—extremely hard. And look at the structure of the cliffs; they're very solid. To blow them up and block a river this wide, we'd need at least several thousand Explosive Tags for fixed-point demolition. We don't have nearly enough stock."

"Then what do we do?" Kaito grew anxious. "Are we just going to watch them pass?"

"Blasting it head-on won't work, but we can borrow some force."

Nishikawa Tetsu crouched down, took out paper and pen, and quickly sketched an Acoustic Vibration Model.

"Hyuga-senpai, please use your dojutsu to observe whether there are several nodes with dense cracks in the middle section of that cliff opposite."

Hyuga Hiroshi immediately activated his Byakugan, his gaze crossing hundreds of meters: "There are. At about eighty meters above the water, there are several deep fissures inside the rock body, and it seems groundwater is seeping out."

"Exactly."

A sharp glint flashed in Nishikawa Tetsu's eyes: "Those are the Stress Concentration Points of the Rock Layer."

"We don't need to blow up the entire mountain. We just need to detonate these support points at a specific frequency, and gravity will do the rest for us."

Nishikawa Tetsu stood up, pulling over a dozen special Explosive Tag kunai with strange metal plates attached from his backpack.

"This is the Resonance Blast."

He looked at Namikaze Minato: "Minato, only you can complete this mission. You need to use the Body Flicker Technique to precisely insert these kunai into the rock nodes Senpai mentioned within five seconds."

Namikaze Minato looked at the nearly vertical, moss-covered slippery rock wall, then at the raging torrent below. There was no fear on his face; instead, a confident smile appeared.

"Five seconds? Three is enough."

"Good."

Uchiha Fugaku took over command, staring down at the dark river channel—the direction from which the enemy would come.

"Hyuga Hiroshi, report enemy position."

"Three kilometers away, high speed. Leading is a heavy transport ship, with a large number of... what is that?"

Hyuga Hiroshi's voice suddenly grew tense: "Puppets! Dense rows of puppets! And the person standing at the bow has an astonishing amount of Chakra—it's Sunagakure's Chiyo's disciple, Jonin Kazama Sousuke!"

"Elite forces, huh..."

Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath, his Chakra beginning to surge, the Three Tomoe slowly rotating in the darkness.

"Everyone, lie in ambush! Without my order, no one moves a muscle."

"Nishikawa Tetsu, prepare the detonation device."

"Namikaze Minato, stand by for action."

"Yes!"

The rain grew heavier, masking all the killing intent in the canyon.

Nishikawa Tetsu lay prone in the wet, cold grass, his fingers hooked around an extremely thin Chakra trigger wire. His gaze was fixed on the bend in the river, his heartbeat quickening with the faint sound of an engine in the distance.

This battle was not just about cutting off supplies.

It was to prove to this shinobi world that sometimes, knowledge was deadlier than jutsu.

"They're here."

Hyuga Hiroshi muttered lowly.

A massive searchlight beam pierced the curtain of rain. A transport ship, like a steel beast, laden with weapons of slaughter, slowly sailed into this natural coffin.