The night was dark, and the wind howled bleakly through the mountains and forests.
Several shadows used the cover of night to silently approach the fortress's outer perimeter.
"Begin."
Tsunade gave the order, and the Hyuga assassination unit immediately sprang into action.
The veins around several Hyuga ninjas' eyes bulged as they pushed their Byakugan to the limit, peering through the thick rock walls and grass ahead to expose every trap, barrier node, and hidden sentry inside and outside the fortress.
With such precise positioning, the Hyuga ninjas took the lead and advanced swiftly.
From time to time, they used Gentle Fist chakra to accurately eliminate the detection traps and Explosive Tag arrays buried underground.
The entire squad moved without a sound. The Hyuga ninjas cleared the outer traps, while the sensory ninjas shielded them from Kumogakure's detection.
Their advance went exceptionally smoothly. Not the slightest disturbance arose along the way, perfectly avoiding the first layer of warnings around the Kumogakure fortress.
As they neared the fortress, the leading Hyuga ninja stopped.
He pointed at a smooth rock wall ahead and whispered, "One hundred and fifty meters to the front right. A Kumogakure squad is lying in wait there. The squad leader has the chakra reserves of a Jonin."
That meant it was a Jonin squad.
Ordinary assassination methods would obviously have little effect against Jonin holed up in special terrain.
Tsunade looked toward Kazuhiko beside her and slightly raised her chin at the rock wall. Her meaning was obvious.
Kazuhiko nodded, used Phantom Body Flicker, and vanished from where he stood.
Several afterimages flashed past, and he had already silently slipped close to the rock wall.
Above the rock wall was the target fortress.
At this distance, given the elite caliber of the Konoha forces, launching a surprise attack