Leaving aside the battle over at Uzushio Hidden Village, over at the former Kirigakure ninja camp, Kumogakure ninjas were swallowing Ration Pills to fully recover their stamina while also cleaning up the battlefield.
Tamura Hiroshi stayed together with Yozuki A and Fukai, studying that Samehada, as all three of them were very curious about this biological-type ninja sword.
Meanwhile, Samehada was constantly struggling and resisting, wanting to return to its original master's side.
It even chooses its master!
Yozuki A clicked his tongue in wonder. It was truly incredible that Kirigakure was actually able to forge such a peculiar ninja sword.
Fukai was also very astonished, seeing for the first time a living creature capable of swallowing chakra, and one that could even absorb chakra ninjutsu infused with nature transformation.
Tamura Hiroshi was watching as well, but his expression suddenly shifted. He raised a foot to kick Yozuki A and Fukai away, while simultaneously throwing out scrolls of explosive tags. Each scroll contained ten tags, and with a single toss he released ten scrolls, amounting to a full one hundred high-quality explosive tags.
Right at that same moment, a dense volley of water bullets shot toward the spot the three of them had previously occupied, concentrating primarily on Yozuki A's position. Clearly, the intent was to assassinate Yozuki A.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
The scrolls of explosive tags rapidly detonated, generating a massive expanse of fiery light.
Noticing the commotion over here, nearby Kumo ninjas immediately converged on the spot, realizing that enemies might have appeared.
When the fiery light dissipated, a battered figure was revealed—none other than Hozuki Jagetsu, the commander of the Kirigakure Ninja Army.
"Damn it!"
Watching Yozuki A get kicked away to dodge the lethal strike, Hozuki Jagetsu gritted his teeth as he glared at the masked little squirt, wishing he could tear him limb from limb.
Their losses this time were simply too heavy. He had originally planned to kill the son of the Third Raikage to exact revenge and wipe away his hatred, but who would have thought that he would fall short at the very last moment, and even get greeted by a wave of so many explosive tags that blasted him right out of the ground.
Glowering resentfully at the little squirt, Hozuki Jagetsu's body transformed into flowing water as he prepared to sink into the ground and escape. Unfortunately, the previous explosion had already caused him to miss the optimal window for flight.
A ninja sword wreathed in flickering electricity hurtled through the air, pinning him to the ground, and the Lightning Release Chakra completely disrupted the Hydrification Technique.
Immediately following that came another bombardment of ten scrolls of high-quality explosive tags, giving him no opportunity to react.
Just like that, Hozuki Jagetsu—who had already been heavily wounded in the earlier battle and whose chakra was nearly exhausted—perished. His state of death was quite miserable, leaving not even a complete corpse behind.
Ninjas were such fragile beings; once they lacked chakra, they became extraordinarily fragile, to the extent that even powerhouses like Madara Uchiha could be stabbed to death by a single ninja sword.
"It looks like the commander of the Kirigakure Ninja Army. He was actually still alive."
Picking up the ninja sword that had been blasted away, Fukai recognized the other man's identity.
When he had just been kicked away by his student, he understood that something was wrong and instantly flared his chakra. Once he clearly identified the enemy, he infused Lightning Release Chakra into his ninja sword and hurled it out.
Fortunately, the ninja sword had Chakra Conductive Metal fused into it, allowing it to sustain the Lightning Release Chakra even after leaving his hand and interfere with the enemy's Hydrification Technique. Otherwise, leaving him behind really would have been difficult.
"Brother, you saved my life!"
Recovering his wits, Yozuki A stepped forward, feeling both deeply grateful and thoroughly terrified.
The sneak attack just then had been far too abrupt. He simply hadn't been able to react in time; without the Lightning Release Armor to reinforce him, he wouldn't have been able to withstand those water bullets, and his body definitely would have been pierced through for a fatal end.
This was a life-saving grace!
Nodding toward Yozuki A and Fukai, Tamura Hiroshi walked over to the crater left by the bombardment and rummaged around for a moment, soon discovering a hole the thickness of a wrist.
"What in the world is this, a rat hole?!"
Looking at that tunnel leading deep into the earth, Tamura Hiroshi couldn't understand the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Technique at all.
He had just discovered this person lurking closer through Good-Evil Perception; that intense malice was simply too conspicuous.
At that time, he had already known it was an enemy launching a sneak attack.
Therefore, he had instantly kicked Yozuki A and Fukai flying away, while simultaneously utilizing the recoil to launch himself backward, leaving the attacker's range of assault, and threw out explosive tags to bombard the area in case the enemy possessed further ninjutsu attacks.
"It really is Hozuki Jagetsu, the strongest member of the Hozuki Clan. It's said he's a match for the Mizukage."
Dodai pacified the gathering ninjas, then walked over to pick up the shattered head to confirm the identity.
Earlier, he had noticed the disappearance of the Kirigakure Ninja Army's commander. He had originally thought the man had used a secret technique to escape, but who would have thought he was actually lurking right here to launch a sneak attack.
How utterly insane!
Still, it certainly had been perilous. Judging from the situation just then, the enemy really might have succeeded. Once the Raikage's Son met his demise, the blow to their Kumogakure would have been catastrophic.
"By killing a powerhouse comparable to a Kage, you brat are going to become famous."
Dodai looked toward Tamura Hiroshi, feeling increasingly pleased with him.
This was not merely slaying a formidable enemy; he had also saved the Raikage's Son, especially the latter, averting a major disaster for their Kumogakure.
"I don't want to become famous for the time being."
Tamura Hiroshi muttered a complaint. What he needed most at this stage was to develop in a low-profile manner, and precisely because of that, he had worn a mask on this military campaign.
Even though the protective armor and Twin Blades on his person were still somewhat conspicuous, at least he could conceal his facial features and age, leading people to think he was just a short person rather than a child, which made him appear much more ordinary.
Once his strength improved in the future, it wouldn't be a problem anymore.
"How did you perceive him?"
Dodai chuckled, then inquired about the teenager's sensory methods.
So many of them hadn't noticed Hozuki Jagetsu's infiltration and sneak attack, yet this kid had spotted it. There definitely had to be some trick to it.
"It's an ability I acquired earlier while deeply refining and fusing the chakra of Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Within a ten-meter radius, I can perceive other people's intent, and my sensitivity to the good and evil cognitions directed at me is the strongest."
Tamura Hiroshi did not conceal it, seizing the opportunity to state this ability.
He still needed Kumogakure to help him procure more Nine-Tails Chakra to enhance this ability. Calculating the time, that First Hokage's wife shouldn't be able to hold on for many more years; when the Nine-Tails was transferred, chakra would definitely leak out, and that would be their opportunity.
If they could even pinpoint the time and place of the transfer, pulling off a Nine-Tails Incident and packing up the entire Nine-Tails might not even be out of the question.
He certainly couldn't accomplish this on his own; he had to leave it to Kumogakure.
Moreover, he had to figure out a way to elevate the Third Raikage's strength. The Third Raikage's combat power was roughly equivalent to the Eight-Tails; going up against the Nine-Tails, he would undoubtedly fall far short.
One had to know that during the Fourth Shinobi World War, half of the Nine-Tails could suppress all the other tailed beasts by itself. They were completely not on the same level.
"Their chakra has this ability?"
Yozuki A was amazed. He had read the intelligence files on Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and it seemed they didn't possess such an ability.
"It should be the Nine-Tails' ability. Kinkaku and Ginkaku once consumed the flesh and blood of the Nine-Tails to gain the Nine-Tails' power, so residues will certainly exist within their corpses.
However, that ability wasn't in their intelligence files. It should be something specially stimulated after Hiroshi fused with the Nine-Tails Chakra."
Fukai offered a conjecture. As one of the reserve Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, he was also very clear on these matters.
"The Nine-Tails' power, huh?"
Dodai's eyes flashed as an idea formed in his mind.
"Why do you have my grand-aunt's ability?"
Right at that moment, a red-haired girl poked her head out from behind a boulder, staring intently at the despicable scoundrel.
"Why haven't you tied her up?"
Looking at that red-haired girl, Tamura Hiroshi grew dissatisfied.
An important hostage like this should have been tied up like a rice dumpling, hung in the air, and kept under strict guard. Yet right now she was wandering about freely, and even hiding in the shadows to eavesdrop on confidential matters.
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