Surprise Attack, Great Success! (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Five days later.

Iwagakure, late at night.

"Am I the first among the successive Hokage to visit this village?" Uchiha Xiu stood upon a cliff, looking down from a commanding height.

The village before him was surrounded by boundless rock and towering mountains; they had crossed too many natural barriers during their rapid march.

"Coupled with the various levels of garrison troops hidden throughout the Land of Earth, that old thing Ōnoki isn't afraid of ground invasions from other nations at all."

Of course, the price for being difficult to infiltrate was that this barren country found it equally difficult to communicate with the outside world, making trade costs exorbitant.

"That is why poor nations carry the genes of aggression from the day of their birth, favoring militarism."

Compared to reading intelligence reports, witnessing Iwagakure mobilize its massive army into temporary encampments with his own eyes made Uchiha Xiu's intent to kill even sharper.

At least three thousand ninja!

There were almost no greenhorn academy graduates among them.

And the old man Ōnoki was still churning out troops...

"Activate!"

Standing right next to Jiraiya, a young man with the Byakugan had veins bulging around his eye sockets.

Although the lighting was poor and they were separated by the village's defensive barrier, within the field of vision of Hyuga Tokuma, the chakra reactions inside the enemy soldiers were as conspicuous as bonfires.

--An eighteen-year-old main branch Jonin, formerly belonging to the Konoha reconnaissance squad, possessing a pair of Byakugan with extremely high purity. That Hiashi was willing to let such a little genius out clearly showed he was willing to invest heavily.

He was sharp and did not disgrace this high-stakes operation!

"The main gate is guarded by two squads... to the northeast, a ten-man patrol team... Lord Hokage, the intelligence provided by our personnel is correct; Iwagakure's original rotation strategy has not changed."

"I've discovered the Tailed Beast!"

"On that plateau, there is a massive, scorching, terrifying mass of chakra, like molten lava."

Hearing this, Shisui spread out the detailed map provided by the Konoha spies.

"Kofuku-ji."

Before long, the location was pinpointed.

"How did the hot-tempered Jinchuriki of the Four-Tails Son Goku suddenly start eating vegetarian and chanting Buddha?" Jiraiya, who had clashed with the Lava Release ninja Roshi on the battlefield before, whispered while applying oil paint to his face.

Sage Mode, preparing to initiate!

"Lord Hokage, I have found the Steam Ninja Han."

If the Uchiha were the kings of combat, then the Hyuga were the radar.

Hyuga Tokuma quickly clarified the positions of the two primary targets, then picked up the tactical board in his hand to mark the enemy's patrol routes.

"I leave it to you, Sage Fukasaku, Sage Shima."

Jiraiya's voice became solemn.

Quietly, on his left and right shoulders, two old toads appeared, one male and one female.

The purple-headed female toad looked at Uchiha Xiu: "Is this the Fifth?"

"Oh ho ho, he's so young; he looks even younger than the Fourth," the white-bearded Sage Fukasaku chimed in.

"I will have to trouble you both to assist with this Iwagakure collapse plan," Uchiha Xiu responded indifferently.

"It is our duty."

"Rest assured, Fifth."

Then, let us depart--

Shisui and Tokuma formed one group, using the barrier-breaking scroll meticulously prepared by the Konoha Barrier Team to infiltrate silently and strike directly at the Steam Ninja Han.

Jiraiya would assist Uchiha Xiu, using the toad to infiltrate covertly and take down Roshi.

This was the strategy agreed upon in advance.

"Summoning: Toad Concealment."

Shisui, at the peak of his power with dual Mangekyo, led Hyuga Tokuma away in a flash, while a small toad, its skin matching the color of the surrounding rocks, appeared before Uchiha Xiu at Jiraiya's summons.

"Mount Myoboku, one of the three great sage lands of the Ninja World, home to indigenous creatures that appeared on this planet even earlier than Kaguya."

"It is indeed not simple; the waters there run deep. I can use Tsunade's connections later to visit Shikkotsu Forest."

At this moment, the stealth-adept Rock-Skin Toad croaked and voluntarily opened its mouth.

Uchiha Xiu did not hesitate; he suppressed his thoughts and crawled into the palm-sized toad's mouth!

Because the mouth, esophagus, and abdominal cavity of this creature formed a barrier space capable of shielding chakra perception; Jiraiya had relied on it for all his past infiltrations.

He had never failed!

Before long, the Rock-Skin Toad closed its mouth, pressed its limbs against the ground, and utilized its skin's protective coloration and mimicry to leap toward a drainage tunnel where the Iwagakure barrier was relatively weak.

In the dim and damp drainage tunnel, the small toad moved against the flow of water.

The passage was narrow—let alone a human, even a small dog couldn't crawl inside—but for it, the size was just right.

The Iwagakure ninja responsible for the sensory barrier didn't give a toad a second thought; it was nearly summer, and it was common for them to wander into the village to snack on mosquitoes and pests.

"Interesting, no stench or fishy odor."

Uchiha Xiu examined the pink, fleshy walls surrounding him; at this moment, the thing was undulating.

"Visual sharing." Jiraiya, when serious, actually looked the part. He performed a secret technique, allowing Xiu to see the real-time situation through the eyes of the Rock-Skin Toad.

Along the way, the small toad crawling out of the drainage tunnel encountered a patrol. The Iwagakure ninja chatted and laughed as they walked past, completely indifferent to the common toad.

This Toad Stealth Technique is truly useful. It was only because of the Pain Six Paths from the future timeline that Jiraiya suffered a loss against the Rain Tiger at Will Technique and failed to fully conceal his tracks.

Uchiha Xiu, playing at infiltration for the first time, was exceptionally excited.

He couldn't wait to dance!

After passing through the drainage system, free from the restrictions of the sensory barrier, the Rock-Skin Toad picked up speed. Within two minutes, it crawled into an unguarded temple.

After observing and sensing the surroundings to confirm it was safe, it opened its mouth—

Uchiha Xiu was the first to leap out from the toad's mouth, landing without a sound.

Jiraiya the Sage, bringing up the rear, followed closely and simultaneously dispelled the Summoning Technique.

"Successfully infiltrated, heh." Jiraiya, rarely this excited, revealed a smirk.

When the Third Hokage was in charge, how could he ever get away with something like this?

At most, only Minato, who had mastered the Flying Thunder God to a divine level, maintained maximum freedom!

Three kilometers away in a straight line.

Uchiha Shisui used a more sophisticated Konoha seal-breaking scroll to suppress the series of Iwagakure barriers, arriving inside a grey-earthen building.

Tokuma, who had kept his Byakugan active the entire time, nodded silently, confirming everything was correct.

Then, this Hyuga Clan main branch jonin watched as Body Flicker Shisui appeared like a phantom at the bedside of the steam ninja, Han.

There was no wasted breath.

Genjutsu: Sharingan!

In the bedroom, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, still wearing his mask while sleeping, was snoring:

"Ha... hmph... ha..."

The next moment, the rhythm of the snoring was disrupted.

The nightmare erupted.

"In ten days, I will lead three thousand elites with Roshi to invade the Land of Fire. Heh, I must get some good rest, keep my spirits up, and slaughter those pampered Konoha ninja... Wait! Why am I numb!"

Han snapped his eyes open, only to find that instead of the familiar, simple ceiling, a pair of massive shuriken-shaped pupils were slowly rotating in the sky.

Everything was erased by black and white; the entire space, save for the scarlet glow of those evil eyes, had turned into an endless void of monochrome!

"Come out, Five-Tails."

"Destroy everything you see."

Shisui, having temporarily reclaimed one eye, did not hold back his ocular power, dedicating himself heart and soul to Uchiha Xiu and Konoha.

Two streaks of blood tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

He had firmly controlled the Five-Tails Kokuō, along with Han, who possessed Kage-level strength.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you round-faced, bearded fellow. To have a dignified Hokage and the Sage Mode Jiraiya both serving you—your fortune is not small at all."

At this moment, Roshi, with his purple beard, heard the croaking of frogs in his dream and saw the scythe-shaped Mangekyo rotating.

Compared to the blood-teared Shisui, Uchiha Xiu's side required almost no effort at all.

Once he awakened his native Mangekyo, his combat power would skyrocket even further!

"Go berserk, Four-Tails Son Goku~"

Five burning fingers struck Roshi's abdomen. The Five Elements Seal instantly shattered the original sealing formula, and lava-like chakra surged out like a tidal wave.

The night was torn asunder as a giant magma ape ripped off the roof, looked up at the sky, and roared:

"Blood for the Blood God, skulls for the Skull Throne!"