The Tide Turns

On the towering Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, only Tsunade, Taiichi, and a group of guarding ninjas remained.

Fugaku and Hiashi had already led their squad out to fight their way out, aiming to kill as many of the Mist Ninja as possible before the enemy's follow-up ninjas could attack.

"How are you feeling, Teacher Tsunade?" Taiichi looked at the scene below, with limbs flying and blood splattering everywhere, and asked Tsunade with concern.

Tsunade naturally knew what Taiichi was asking. After carefully sensing that there was nothing wrong, she smiled and gave Taiichi a thumbs up.

"Very good, your Genjutsu is very effective; there are no adverse reactions."

Hearing this, Taiichi breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the real-world testing had gone smoothly, and he was now completely at ease.

Looking down at the battlefield, Taiichi saw that the second wave of Mist Ninja had already attacked, and he no longer watched from the city wall.

"Teacher, then I'm going to fight!"

After saying that, he flicked his right hand and threw out a Flying Thunder God Kunai, which traveled more than twenty meters and struck the neck of a Mist Ninja who was about to launch a sneak attack.

Amidst the splatter of blood, Taiichi appeared, wielding his Short Sword to slash and kill a Kaguya ninja who lunged at him.

This is the rear of the First Battle Group, facing the attack of the second echelon of the Mist Ninja.

Taiichi's hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals, before he slapped the sea surface with his palm.

Water Style: Water Wave.

The seawater around him surged, and thin Water Column shot towards the Mist Ninja's group.

The speed was too fast, and the fastest rushing Mist Ninjas became the ideal targets. Unable to dodge in time, they were directly pierced by the Water Column.

Seeing this, the Mist Ninja reacted quickly, creating a surge in front of them to block Taiichi and the others.

The sharp Water Gun plunged into the surging waves, but before it could penetrate more than a few meters, it was swallowed up by the sea, leaving only a few splashes.

Taiichi, unconcerned about his failed Ninjutsu, casually killed a few Mist Ninjas who tried to launch a sneak attack, then turned and engaged in battle with the Mist Ninjas who had already charged forward.

As the chaotic battle begins, Lone Walk ninjas face the greatest danger, surrounded by enemies. Konoha Ninjas, blinded by rage, may even lose their senses and fail to distinguish friend from foe. Many Jonin have made mistakes and died in such circumstances.

However, Taiichi highly skilled and daring, possessing the Fire Transformation Technique, so he was not afraid of any attacks. He charged left and right among the Mist Ninja, killing everyone in his path.

Whenever a group of Mist Ninjas appeared, he would charge towards them. Ordinary ninjas could hardly withstand his slaughter. With the combination of Ninjutsu and swordsmanship, he could often scatter these ninjas in a short time.

Such rampant killing naturally attracted the attention of the skilled members of Mist Village, and Yagura and Asuka joined forces to attack Taiichi.

Despite his small stature, the baby-faced Yagura possesses exceptional Taijutsu, wielding his Iron Staff with remarkable agility.

Seeing that Taiichi was entangled, Mizunuki Asuka immediately used a secret technique.

Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals – Mirrors of ice crystals grew directly from the seawater, instantly surrounding Yagura and Taiichi in the center.

This ice mirror wasn't just one layer; Taiichi glanced at it and saw there were seven layers, one inside the other, rotating irregularly.

Sure enough, how could an orphan like Bai possibly possess the real Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals? His was just a simplified version.

"You dare to be distracted while fighting me!" Karatachi Yagura roared, and his Iron Staff slammed down towards Taiichi's forehead.

Disadvantageous in weaponry, Taiichi didn't want to fight the thick Iron Staff head-on with his short Short Sword. He took a step back, and the Iron Staff crashed down in front of him, splashing a handful of seawater.

At this moment, Mizunuki Asuka was also ready, and countless ice Senbon shot towards Taiichi from all directions.

Taiichi stomped his foot, and Water Formation Wall rose to protect his entire body. Then, he One-Handed Seal and Ice Release: Cold Domain Descent Ice Release: Frosty Domain.

Centered on Taiichi, the surrounding seawater rapidly froze into ice, and the Water Formation Walls around him immediately became Ice Formation Walls.

Just then, Yagura's iron pillar struck again, sealing the frozen ice wall firmly inside.

On the ice surface, ice spikes grew wildly, stabbing at the surrounding ice mirrors.

"Click, click"

The frenzied collision between the ice spikes and the ice mirrors caused thick ice pillars to either pierce between the ice mirrors or penetrate the entire surface of the ice mirrors, directly bringing the massive ice mirror formation to a standstill.

The dense array of ice spikes made the Asuka that used to fly back and forth in the ice mirror dare not move quickly anymore, for fear of accidentally bumping into these ice pillars and being strung up like candied hawthorns.

At this moment, all the ninjas around the three, whether from Konoha or Mist Village, had retreated far away. Their battle had such a wide reach that they could easily be caught in the crossfire if they weren't careful.

Looking at the entire battlefield, Konoha had already gained the upper hand, with Uchiha's Fire Style, Akimichi's Multi-Size Technique, and Nara's Shadow Ninjutsu all shining brightly in the battle.

Tsunade, standing at the rear, saw all of this. In her view, the battlefield was just waiting for the final straw to break the camel's back.

She was about to leap forward as if it were a straw; in mid-air, she bit her finger, formed hand seals, and Summoning Jutsu.

A huge plume of white smoke rose, Katsuyu over thirty meters tall appeared on the battlefield.

"Lady Tsunade, it's been so long since you've summoned me like this. Are you going to fight?"

The voice sounded gentle, but coming from the mouth of a beast of such size, its volume was considerable.

Katsuyu are not actually suited for combat, but the ordinary Mist Ninjas have no idea about that. Their size of over thirty meters almost instantly shattered the Mist Ninjas ' confidence.

"Katsuyu, target the Mist Ninja, use Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid!" Tsunade shouted from atop the Katsuyu's head.

A large amount of acid sprayed from the Katsuyu's mouth and was spat at the Mist Ninja.

This move is powerful, but it doesn't hit many targets. Only two or three unlucky people couldn't dodge in time and were tainted by the Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid.

These two or three ninjas, however, had a significant deterrent effect. The areas touched by the acid were immediately corroded, revealing pale white bones in the blink of an eye.

The piercing screams could be heard even by Taiichi on the other side of the battlefield.

Already at a disadvantage, the Mist Village was further overwhelmed by this situation and immediately began to collapse, with Mist Ninja retreating from time to time on the battlefield.

This retreat spread like wildfire, from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, and the battle line could not be maintained immediately.

With the Mist Ninja retreating, Konoha's morale immediately soared; who wouldn't want to beat a drowning dog?

The Konoha Ninjas, as if injected with stimulants, roared and chased after the Mist Ninjas.

"You two, Mist Village has already been defeated. Why aren't you running away? Are you waiting to be besieged by Konoha?" Taiichi teased the two of them casually, slashing with his Short Sword in his right hand and unleashing Ninjutsu with his left, holding them off single-handedly.

You asked why Yagura and Asuka didn't run away. It's not that they didn't want to run, but that they were afraid to. The two of them were only able to hold Taiichi back by working together. If they escaped, their combined attack would immediately be lost. If Taiichi caught them, they couldn't guarantee they would survive if they faced Taiichi alone.

As the situation grew increasingly critical, cold sweat broke out on Mizunuki Asuka's forehead, while Mizunuki Asuka Karatachi Yagura trying to get closer to her, attempting to escape together.

At this moment, the three combat positions shifted laterally, suddenly approaching a retreating Mist Village Jonin.

This person was none other than Raiga Kurosuki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist who had a brief encounter with Taiichi.

Mizunuki Asuka also saw him and was overjoyed. While blocking Taiichi's attack, she shouted, "Raiga, come and help! Let's kill Taichi Matsushita together!"

Seeing the situation of the three Raiga Kurosuki hesitated, but after Asuka and Yagura asked for help, he finally gritted his teeth and went to help.

He clashed his two swords, and a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, its target being Taiichi, who was being attacked from both sides.

Taiichi cursed his bad luck upon seeing this. He wouldn't care much about others, but Raiga Kurosuki's Lightning Style was particularly annoying.

Not only is it incredibly powerful, but it's also remarkably easy to unleash. The moment the two swords clash, it's launched instantly, comparable to Hashirama's ability to summon whatever he commands with a simple gesture.

Taiichi had to divert some of his attention, and before the lightning struck, he reached out and drew a curtain of water from the sea, shielding Taiichi from above.

Lightning struck, shattering the curtain of water, but the thunder was also guided in all directions by the seawater.

He didn't get close, but just wandered around Raiga Kurosuki. After testing the waters several times and seeing that it was effective, he didn't think much and directly charged up his power to deliver a big blow.

Taiichi also sensed the unusual nature of this attack and immediately relaxed his suppression of Karatachi Yagura and Mizunuki Asuka. As the lightning struck, he forced the two back and clasped his hands together. Two Water Formation Wall rose up on either side and converged above Taiichi's head to block the attack.

Just as Raiga Kurosuki was excitedly about to launch another attack, Yagura and Asuka, who had been forced back, not only did not rush forward to attack Taiichi again, but instead turned around and ran away in a very tacit manner.

This left Raiga Kurosuki completely dumbfounded. He had come to help out of kindness, but they were just trying to use him as a scapegoat.

An anger, born of being played, welled up within him, but before he could act, it was overshadowed by fear.

The reason is simple: having lost two targets, Taiichi has turned his attention to him, his gaze filled with regret and mockery.

"What goes around comes around, Raiga Kurosuki. You abandoned Munashi Jinpachi back then, and now you're being abandoned by others in the same way. Don't you think this is what they call karma?"

Taiichi by step toward Raiga Kurosuki, his tone full of teasing, but his eyes were fixed on him.

Faced with his ever-growing, overwhelming pressure, Raiga Kurosuki let out a bitter laugh. "Yes, this is retribution."

The bitter laugh fueled his madness. He wielded both Thunder Blades Kiba and charged straight at Taiichi. The two blades clashed, and a bolt of lightning shot out from the Thunder Blades, forming a pillar of lightning that shot towards Taiichi.

Taiichi shifted his feet slightly to dodge the lightning pillar, and at the same time exerted force with his feet, stomping a deep pit in the sea. His figure shot out like an arrow.

The moment the two clashed, blinding arcs of lightning flashed across the Thunder Blade, and a triumphant smile appeared on Raiga Kurosuki's face.

This is his signature move; anyone who wields a metal weapon and clashes with his Thunder Blade will inevitably be paralyzed by it. Taichi Matsushita is no exception.

As the twin swords clashed, Raiga Kurosuki's smile froze on his face. The shattered ice flying everywhere clearly told him that he was not fighting with pure metal weapons.

He hurriedly turned around as he passed by and saw that Taiichi's Short Sword was covered with a thick layer of solid ice. The ice even extended beyond the blade, turning the Short Sword into a long sword, and the blade was even covered with a layer of wind-attribute Chakra.

A deep sense of despair enveloped him. Raiga Kurosuki wanted to run, but before the thought could even form, Taichi Matsushita had already arrived.

Having lost his courage, he was no match for Taiichi. In just a few moves, the lightning blade in his hand was knocked away, followed by a simple thrust, and another of the remaining three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen died.

With a tremor, the ice encasing the Short Sword loosened, and Taiichi easily pulled the Short Sword out of its solid ice. As for Raiga Kurosuki, it only twitched twice in reluctance before falling silent again.

Taiichi out and summoned the lightning blade that he had just knocked away. The water flow carried it into Taiichi's hand, and together with the one in Raiga Kurosuki's hand, the Thunder Blades Kiba were now complete.

By this time, the battles of the others were also nearing their end, and the Mist Ninja could run had already gone far enough.

The ocean is unpredictable, and no one knows whether there are any Mist Village ambush troops lying in wait there, so Tsunade did not order a pursuit.

Everyone focused on killing the Hidden Mist Ninjas who were being held back, until all the abandoned Mist Ninjas surrendered or died.

By this time, Tsunade had already dispelled the summoning and returned to the towering Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall to overlook the entire battlefield.

In reality, the slug didn't exist for very long, and the people it killed were just a few unlucky individuals who were initially hit by the Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid.

However, her true role was to destroy the resistance of the Mist Village. This is the strength of an excellent Commander: he can accurately grasp the timing and deploy the most suitable force at the most correct and appropriate time.

Taiichi leaped onto the Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall in a few steps, arrived in front of Tsunade, and immediately began to flatter her.

"The teacher's Summoning Technique was perfectly timed, shattering the last vestiges of Mist Village's resistance and minimizing our losses."

It's said that flattery is an art, and Taiichi's flattery was spot on, Tsunade feel extremely comfortable.

She glanced at Taiichi sideways, unable to hide the smugness on her face. This was far more fulfilling than sitting in the Camp and personally participating in the battle.

"You did well, kid. You held off two top fighters from Mist Village and even killed Raiga Kurosuki in the end. If those two had gotten involved in the battle, things would have been much more difficult to manage."

Taiichi chuckled to himself. While the two were praising each other, Fugaku and Hiashi also completed their missions and returned together to Tsunade to ask for instructions on the next steps.

This time, however, the two were noticeably more respectful to Tsunade. As people on the battlefield, they were well aware of the effects of Tsunade's previous actions, and therefore held her in high esteem.

"Lady Tsunade, what should we do next?"

This is what makes dealing with Mist Village so troublesome; even ninjas cannot sustain a long-distance raid on the open sea.

One reason they were able to defeat the Mist Ninja so easily was that they had used up half of their Chakra while running from their Camp to the coast, which naturally made them more restricted in their fighting.

Their attack on Mist Village was for the same reason. They had just gone through a major battle, and many of their ninjas didn't have much Chakra left. If they were to rush to Mist Village Camp and the Kirigakure Mist Ninjas who stayed Camp were to wait for them and launch a counterattack, they might be killed.

"Clean up the battlefield; building Camp is the key now. We can discuss the next attack plan after the Camp is built."

Tsunade suppressed her own and her subordinates' desire to attack. She gazed at the horizon of the sea, considering how long it would take to end this battle with Mist Village.