Much Ado About Nothing

Land of Fire, Eastern Front Camp.

When Kai, who was crying, heard the guard's question, he was taken aback for a moment, but then quickly nodded.

"Yes, my father is Might Duy. Do you know anything about him? Is he already—"

Kai knew in his heart that even if his father possessed such a secret technique, using it would inevitably lead to his death. His current actions were merely a way to seek some psychological comfort.

The guard looked at Kai, whose face was covered in snot and tears, and felt both touched and amused. However, being a kind-hearted man, he didn't tease the child anymore when he saw him crying so sadly.

"Might Duy was rescued by Taiichi yesterday and is currently recuperating at the Medical Camp. I heard he's alright, so you don't need to cry so much."

"Uh--" Kai stopped crying and looked up blankly at the guarding ninja.

Ebisu and Genma were the same; their sorrowful expressions froze on their faces as they stared incredulously at the guards before them.

"What are you still standing here for? Hurry up and go to the Medical Camp. Your father must be very worried about you." The guard reminded him with a smile. Such a happy ending was rare on the front lines, and it brightened his mood considerably.

"Yes-yes, Guardian, I'm going right now." With that, Kai ignored his companions behind him and ran towards the Medical Camp with lightning speed. His father was safe and sound, which was the best news for him.

The ending here is happy, but it's not so good in Mist Village.

In a tree hollow in the forest, the remaining three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen also arrived one after another.

At this moment, they were completely different from their previous arrogant and domineering self, acting as if they were the only ones in the world.

When the last Suikazan Fuguki arrived, the two people in the cave only glanced up at it before lowering their heads again as if in deep thought.

After a long silence, Mangetsu Hozuki, the master of the Twin Blades Hiramekarei, spoke first, "What do we do next? Go back and rejoin the main force?"

Suikazan Fuguki and Raiga Kurosuki exchanged a glance, both seeing the hesitation in each other's eyes. Unlike Mangetsu Hozuki, they didn't have a large family supporting them.

This crushing defeat will undoubtedly result in severe punishment upon their return, but at this moment, none of them spoke first.

As if sensing their thoughts, Mangetsu Hozuki continued, "The main force is about to arrive, and the village is in dire need of manpower right now. We are all Jonin, and even if we charge into battle, we are more valuable than ordinary ninjas."

It wasn't that Mangetsu Hozuki was genuinely kind enough to persuade these two to return to Mist Village; it's just that there were two of them, while he was alone. What could he do if they were determined to become Rogue Ninja?

He, Mangetsu Hozuki, was a model ninja with living parents, a wife, and children; he had no desire to live the life of Rogue Ninja living in fear.

Suikazan Fuguki and Raiga Kurosuki agreed, but the key point was that Fuguki was a trusted confidant of the Third Mizukage, and he really didn't want to defect unless absolutely necessary.

Mist Village is not only ruthless internally, but its pursuit of Rogue Ninja is the worst among the Five Great Ninja Villages.

"We should reunite, of course, but we're all seriously injured right now. Let's wait until we've recovered before reuniting, so we don't run into Konoha ninjas on the way. Otherwise, we won't be able to escape even if we want to."

Suikazan Fuguki made his decision not because he was intentionally delaying, but because he was genuinely afraid. He clearly remembered that Taichi Matsushita had come specifically to hunt them down. If all seven of them were together, he might not be afraid, but now that there were only three of them, he was truly afraid of encountering that nemesis again.

Upon hearing this, Raiga Kurosuki nodded in agreement. Although he hadn't directly fought Taiichi, his thoughts were similar. He had clearly seen how Taiichi had defeated Jinin Akebino in just a few moves and how he had crippled Fuguki with a single blow.

Mangetsu Hozuki breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that everyone was willing to rejoin the main force, and he didn't care at all about the time being a little late.

East Coast.

A small team of ten people was walking along the beach, a very rare number in Konoha's organization. Unless it was a special mission, a team usually only had four people.

--

This small team was certainly not on any special mission; judging by their speed, they could easily be mistaken for tourists enjoying a leisurely trip.

"Elder Yuki, it's not good for us to stay here. The Camp is still short-handed."

It turns out that this group of people were all ninjas from the Hyuga Clan. Yuki Hyuga been following Tsunade's instructions and had been idling around in the rear after forming a Scout team.

He is a member of the Hyuga Main Family, and his presence at the front lines is more symbolic; Tsunade would not actually send him to the front lines.

However, he couldn't resist his own misbehavior, and he pulled along a group of Hyuga ninjas who were protecting him to take on the responsibility of patrolling.

With such a large number of Hyuga ninja gathered together, the utilization rate of their personnel is predictable.

"Aren't we on a mission too? Do you think that only working at the Camp counts as contributing to the village?"

An elder is an elder; at least his verbal skills are top-notch. With a series of evasive and sophistry arguments, he Hyuga the Hyuga ninja who was speaking speechless.

What could he do? The other party was the Main Family, and he was from the Branch Family. He didn't have much say to begin with, and now he could only do his job and protect the safety of the main Main Family.

The group patrolled along the Coastline, though only the Branch Family ninjas were truly dedicated to their patrols.

Elder, look over there!

After a long while, a cry of surprise interrupted Yuki Hyuga's reverie. He opened his Byakugan and looked in the direction the guard was pointing.

In the distant sky, three large ships floated on the sea, and hundreds of ninjas were wading through the waves, rapidly approaching the shore.

Yuki Hyuga didn't even need to look closely to know that this must be a ninja from Mist Village.

"Great! I didn't expect that we would get the credit for discovering the Mist Village. It's worth all the hard work we put into this patrol."

Ryosuke, quick, send a signal to the rear: Mist Village will be landing here.

Yuki Hyuga waved his arms excitedly, while also giving instructions to the ninja beside him.

Immediately, a Signal Flare rose into the sky.

The red Signal Flare emitted a dazzling light, making it highly visible even during the day.

The patrolling ninjas reacted immediately, and the defensive ninjas silently adjusted their defensive positions.

The message was reported up the chain of command, and it wasn't long before Tsunade received news from the front lines.

The speed of the Mist Village far exceeded her expectations, but fortunately they were prepared. What remained was a real battle to see who would emerge victorious!

The front line.

As the Signal Flare rose, Taiichi, who was patrolling the sky, happened to see it as well; it was not far from him, only about 5 kilometers away.

A flight of minutes.

He silently adjusted his angle and accelerated towards that direction. After a short while, he saw a group of ten people below.

The commotion in the air naturally attracted the attention of the Hyuga ninja below.

Looking at Taiichi in the sky, Yuki Hyuga still politely waved.

Upon seeing this, Taiichi folded his wings, swooped down, and landed in front of them with a sudden stop.

"Hyuga Elder has truly deserves the credit this time. Out of so many patrolling ninjas, it was you who first discovered the enemy's tracks."

It's said that flattery will get you through anything, and that's certainly true. Hyuga Elder's smile widened upon hearing this.

"It was just luck that Mist Village came from here!" Hyuga Elder was still very polite, but his expression clearly said, "Come on, praise me!"

Having had this brief delay, Taiichi was now able to see the group of Kirigakure Mist Ninjas through his Chakra Perception. He decided to stop wasting time and spoke to Hyuga Elder beside him.

"The enemy is coming soon. Elder, you should lead the clansmen to retreat. I'll go and deal with this group of Mist Ninja."

Taiichi meant well. The Hyuga clan only had ten ninjas, while the Mist Ninja clan had an estimated two hundred. He could come and go freely on his own, but taking them with him would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths. Besides, Tsunade's orders to the patrolling ninjas were not to make contact, but only to monitor them.

However, there are always those in this world who don't appreciate kindness.

Yuki Hyuga was quite unhappy with Taiichi's orders, whether he felt Taiichi by him or for some other reason. In the end, he reluctantly left the Coastline only after being persuaded by his subordinates.

"Whoever he is, one day he'll understand the power of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist."

Yuki Hyuga was dragged away by his subordinates, grumbling, while Taiichi didn't care about the Hyuga ninja at that moment.

Facing the Shinobi Army alone wasn't the first time Taiichi had done this, and he was now quite adept at it.

And here is the ocean, what could be more suitable for the current scene than Water Style? Taiichi formed hand seals and used this Ninjutsu to greet the uninvited guests who had come from afar.

Water Style · Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Waves.

The seawater beneath their feet surged up, forming a Water Wall more than ten meters high that rushed towards the two hundred-plus Mist Ninja.

Even within the Mist Village, only a few could accomplish such a large-scale Water Style, and coincidentally, none of the two hundred-plus individuals possessed this ability.

They were merely the vanguard, scouting ahead for the main force's landing; the real main force was still on the large ships at the rear.

Faced with such towering waves, these Mist Ninja were helpless, but fortunately, as Mist Ninja, they were quite experienced in dealing with Water Style.

Some dove directly into the water to avoid the crashing waves, some used Water Style to elevate themselves to a height higher than the crest of the wave, and others relied on their speed to rush directly to the top of the wave.

However, Taiichi's Ninjutsu was not so simple. He changed his hand seals and pressed down into the water.

Water Style: Thousand Water Dragon Dance.

This is Ninjutsu developed by Taiichi by combining the effects of Water Dragon Bullet and Water Style: Thousand Feeding Sharks, designed to deal with scenarios where there are a large number of enemies in an aquatic environment.

Amidst the surging waves, countless menacing Water Dragons materialized, targeting all enemies, whether they were underwater or on the surface.

Of course, Ninjutsu is powerful, but when used to attack so many enemies at once, the individual power is inevitably somewhat insufficient. As long as one's strength reaches the level of Chunin, or if one has a way to counter it, one can escape safely.

However, among these two hundred-plus people, only a minority of ninjas possessed such skills; one by one, the Mist Ninjas were bitten by the Water Dragon.

Entangled, then dragged into the sea.

In just one exchange, at least forty Mist Village ninjas who were unable to react in time were killed by Taiichi.

"Retreat! Retreat immediately! We've been ambushed! We must retreat and regroup!"

This Commander was quite a talent; when faced with a situation where he couldn't defeat Taiichi, he simply claimed that they had been ambushed, leaving Taiichi completely stunned.

Seeing the Hidden Mist Ninjas scattering and fleeing, Taiichi didn't even bother to pursue them. He hadn't expected the vanguard of the Mist Village to be so weak. However, the real battle was yet to come, and Taiichi was also looking forward to sparring with the Mist Village's experts.

Once no more Mist Ninjas were detected in his Chakra Perception, Taiichi's figure abruptly vanished from the spot.

Konoha Camp.

Taiichi reappeared at the Camp, and amidst the awe-inspiring light of the ninjas, Taiichi arrived at the Central Army Tent.

The place was still bustling with activity, with people constantly coming and going, and orders being issued continuously from the tents. Anyone who didn't know the situation would surely think that Tsunade was incredibly busy.

But only those who got close enough to know that Commander Tsunade was bored and wondering where to find some amusement.

When Taiichi entered, this was the scene he saw: the staff officers were all extremely busy, analyzing the course of the battle, coordinating logistical supplies, and assigning combat missions.

Only occasionally would one or two documents be delivered to Tsunade, and even then, Tsunade would only glance at them briefly before signing her name with a flourish.

Even so, not a single staff officer complained. They called it "Lady Tsunade's trust in them."

Seeing Taiichi approach, Tsunade immediately became interested.

"Taiichi, how's it going? Did you take care of those Mist Ninja?"

"Does the teacher know that the Mist Ninja aren't strong?" Taiichi asked curiously. Logically, the front lines had only reported the discovery of Mist Ninja, so how could Tsunade be so certain that she could handle Mist Ninja?

To his surprise, Taiichi's question only earned him a Byakugan from Tsunade.

"Aren't you underestimating your teacher? I'm a veteran of World War Second Shinobi World War, after all. Do you think I can't guess whether Mist Village will send out scouts?"

Well, it's Taiichi himself is too inexperienced and made some assumptions.

He composed himself and recounted his encounter with the Mist Village Vanguard.

Tsunade listened in silence. Her disciple had made tremendous progress, and she really had nothing more to teach him now. Even on the battlefield, she could only impart some experience.

"After your outburst, the Mist Village will definitely be more vigilant in their subsequent attacks. During this time, you should also conduct more scouting in the outer seas. If you can find their hideout, that would be best. Otherwise, we can only wait for them to come to us, which is too passive."

"No problem. I'll increase the patrol area and try to find their hideout within the next couple of days."

Taiichi was full of confidence. It might be really hard to find on land, but at sea, the difficulty was several orders of magnitude lower. There were only a few islands in the near sea. He could just search every single one of them. He didn't believe he couldn't find the location of the Mist Village's base.

Just as Taiichi was reporting what he had seen and heard, the vanguard of the Mist Village that he had driven back returned to the Mist Village's warship.

The Captain of the vanguard, the Mist Village Vanguard Captain, honestly reported their ordeal to the Commander above him.

"You mean, you were ambushed by Konoha's experts, and he alone routed over two hundred of you, forcing you to retreat in panic? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

The one who spoke was Mizunuki Asuka, the Commander of the Mist Village unit. His handsome face was now covered in frost, and even the surrounding temperature seemed to drop a few degrees under his influence.

"Commander, everything I've said is true. All the returning ninjas can testify to this. If I've uttered even one lie, you may take my head."