A Bolt from the Blue

The battlefield was chaotic, filled with fighting, and ninjas would fall to the ground every now and then, never to rise again.

Blood splattered everywhere, limbs flew in all directions, and everyone stared intently at their opponent, their eyes bloodshot, fighting with abandon.

A Kunai flew in from who-knows-where—perhaps dropped by Konoha, perhaps thrown by Mist Village. Such stray arrows are common on the battlefield. In any case, this Kunai crossed mountains and rivers and pierced Mizuki's shoulder without missing a beat.

The intense pain completely jolted her awake from her daze. Looking at the brutal battle around her, her long-suppressed rationality finally collapsed.

"Ouch!"

A sharp scream escaped her lips. She cried out, clutching her head and crouching down, trembling as she cried, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I'm just a Medical Ninja! I surrender!"

Intense fear overwhelmed her, making it impossible for her to assess the situation around her.

She is currently positioned behind the Mist Ninja and has not made direct contact with the Konoha Ninja.

The Mist Ninja were also worried that these guys who had never been on the battlefield would cause problems, so they placed them in the rear to throw Kunai and draw fire.

Despite all the planning, no one expected that these people would ultimately run into trouble.

With Mizuki's surrender, it was like a domino effect, triggering a chain reaction. Many of the medical and logistical ninjas who were with her suffered the same mental breakdown and surrendered, dropping their weapons.

With such a role model in place, the morale of the ninjas in battle immediately plummeted, and even the force of their counterattacks diminished.

Fugaku was fighting on the front lines, immediately saw an opportunity. With several loud shouts, he commanded the Konoha Ninja to use this as a breakthrough point and quickly gain the upper hand.

With the victory secured at the lower level, the Konoha Chunin time to maneuver immediately launched a support operation for the Jonin battlefield.

Normally, Chunin Jonin, but at this time, it is a true life-or-death crisis.

When Mist Village's first Jonin perished under the combined attack of Konoha 'Chunin, the outcome of this battle was already sealed.

Mizunuki Asuka was not one to stick to her principles. After confirming that the battle was beyond saving, she immediately sounded the signal to retreat.

Ultimately, escaping offers a glimmer of hope, while staying means certain death.

The Mist Ninja tried to break free from Konoha's clutches, even if it meant taking a few hard blows.

Taiichi and Karatachi Yagura's battlefield was originally behind Mist Village, and now that Mist Village is retreating, Mist Ninjas are passing by them one by one.

This was intolerable for Taiichi. He was already exchanging Ninjutsu with Karatachi Yagura, and now he was going all out, unleashing his Ninjutsu indiscriminately in all directions, trying to kill as many Mist Ninja as possible.

Karatachi Yagura naturally saw through Taiichi's intentions. The battle had progressed to this point, and his guilt was undeniable. Now, he only wanted to preserve as much of Mist Village's remaining strength as possible.

Seizing an opportunity, when Taichi Matsushita opposite him released that Bright Gold flame again on time, he quickly formed hand seals.

Water Style: Water Mirror Technique.

Water formed out of thin air in front of him, flowing and swirling into a circle before quickly solidifying into a water mirror.

The water mirror was larger than him, and Yagura, who was standing behind it, had to use the Iron Staff in his hand to hook the top of the water mirror.

At this moment, Taiichi's figure was clearly reflected in the water mirror. As Yagura Iron Staff behind him shook, the reflected Taiichi seemed to come alive and began to move on his own.

As it ran outwards, it began to form hand seals, completing them the instant it stepped out of the water mirror.

Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation Arrow.

Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation Arrow.

The two Fire Style collided, the Bright Gold flames clashing against each other, unleashing a power greater than 1+1=2.

A violent shockwave, centered on the point where the Ninjutsu clashed, radiated outwards with immense force.

Taiichi and the mirror image were immediately blasted away by the shockwave. While in mid-air, Taiichi spread his wings and tumbled several times before regaining his balance.

The mirror image shattered completely, but since it was a disposable item, no one cared if it broke.

Those Mist Ninja were closer were not so lucky.

The scorching heatwave, mixed with numerous Bright Gold flames, swept across an area of hundreds of meters like a rain of fire.

Many of the Mist Ninja who couldn't dodge in time were turned into fire figures by this Ninjutsu's energy blast.

It's unclear who Yagura was actually helping by doing this.

However, the answer soon became clear: the ground, which had just been soaked by seawater, immediately began to boil with water vapor under such high temperatures, and a thick fog quickly spread around.

Moreover, through his Chakra Perception, Taiichi immediately detected four or five familiar Chakra fluctuations. Then, the surrounding Dense Mist thickened even more, reaching a point where one could not see their own hand in front of their face.

The fleeing Mist Ninja plunged headlong into the thick Dense Mist, while the Konoha Ninjas pursuing them hesitated to advance.

This is clearly a distorted and enhanced version of the Hidden Mist Technique. Fighting in a place like this is obviously not something the Konoha Ninjas want to do.

Taiichi landed, and Fugaku and Hiashi caught up, but they both looked rather disheveled. Hiashi had many wounds on his body, indicating that the battle they had just fought was not easy.

"How is it? Can we get around it?" Fugaku asked Hyuga Hiashi.

Hiashi activated his Byakugan fully, scanning his surroundings. However, due to the dense Chakra interference within the Hidden Mist Technique, his Byakugan couldn't see clearly.

However, judging from the width of these two sides alone, they cover an area of at least two kilometers, not to mention how vast they are.

Hiashi shook his head helplessly and said with regret, "By the time we went around them, they had all disappeared."

As he spoke, Hiashi couldn't help but look at Taiichi with resentment. He could see clearly that it was the clash of Taiichi's Ninjutsu that caused such a large fog.

The Mist Village was only possible because of the combined Hidden Mist Technique fog; it was a matter of perfect timing, location, and support. Otherwise, they could have worked themselves to death and never achieved such a feat.

Taiichi felt his scalp tingle under Hiashi's gaze. He hadn't expected Karatachi Yagura to have this move. The power of the Ninjutsu clash left him somewhat shaken.

This was a complete replica of his Fire Style from back then, without the slightest deviation; it was truly an amazing Ninjutsu.

Judging from his hand seals, it must have been a Water Style. I never imagined that Water Style could have such power. It seems that my understanding of Ninjutsu is still too shallow, and I haven't grasped the true essence of Ninjutsu.

While Taiichi was reflecting on this, Fugaku still felt resentful, quite frustrated that he hadn't achieved complete success in the First Shinobi World War.

"We'll pursue them even if it means taking a detour. There are still quite a few Mist Village Genin from Kirigakure who are trying to escape. While the Jonin can walk on water for a long time to escape, the Genin can't. They'll be caught up with sooner or later."

He spoke through gritted teeth, Taiichi turned around to look, his keen senses immediately detecting the abnormality.

Perhaps because he frequently treated Yohei, in the Ninja World today, apart from Madara Uchiha, no one understands the Mangekyo better than him.

The fluctuation in Fugaku's eyes at this moment resembled a sign of the awakening of Mangekyo.

Unfortunately, it was still a little short!

However, Taiichi guessed it: one of Fugaku's friends or relatives must have died in front of him during the battle just now, and he was now being provoked.

War is always brutal; having the upper hand does not guarantee your safety.

Unexpected stray arrows and flying Ninjutsu — Jonin could die at the Genin with the slightest carelessness.

So even though Konoha was overwhelming Mist Village just now, Konoha itself suffered many casualties. Fortunately, Konoha had fewer deaths than injuries.

As the victors, they also have medical geniuses like Taiichi and Tsunade, so those injuries will recover completely in the later stages.

This is the reason why Konoha has the best endurance in the Ninja World: its logistics and medical support are sufficient, and 1,000 Shinobi Army can be used as if they were 1,500.

Just as Fugaku was about to unleash his fury, Hiashi suddenly let out a surprised cry.

This immediately caught Taiichi's attention. He saw Hiashi his brows furrowed and his Byakugan staring into the distance, as if trying to make out something.

After a long silence, he finally spoke with relief, "We don't need to think about chasing anymore; now it's our turn to escape."

95

Taiichi immediately realized, "Have the Mist Village reinforcements arrived?"

Hiashi nodded helplessly.

"They came really fast! Luckily we got there early, otherwise we would have been in danger."

Taiichi patted his chest, looking exaggeratedly shaken.

Fate was on their side. If Yagura and his Karatachi Yagura had held out a little longer, or if the Mist Village reinforcements had arrived a little earlier, the outcome would have been completely different.

"Let's get out of here quickly, or they'll catch us."

Hiashi urged, his Byakugan still fixed on the Mist Village reinforcements.

Fugaku was now completely disheartened. He ordered the Konoha Ninja around him to quickly clean up the battlefield, with the most important task being to bring back the bodies of his fallen comrades and prevent them from falling into the hands of Mist Village.

Taiichi was also walking back when he saw more than ten Mist Ninjas being held captive on the side.

Calling these guys ninjas would be an understatement; they were all trembling with fear, showing no signs of being Mist Ninjas.

Taiichi stepped forward and grabbed one of the Chunin responsible for guarding the area.

"What's going on? Are you mistreating prisoners?" Taiichi joked.

Chunin seeing that it was Taiichi who was speaking to him, the Chunin immediately bowed respectfully.

"Lord Taiichi, that's not the case. These people are all Medical Ninjas from Mist Village, and they were deployed to the front lines in the previous battles."

However, these guys had terrible mental fortitude; they collapsed during the battle. It was precisely because they surrendered that Mist Village was defeated by us so quickly.

"Oh!" Taiichi exclaimed, intrigued. "So they're the heroes after all!"

Taiichi took two steps forward, stood in front of these people, and began to carefully examine them with his Chakra Perception.

There was only one Chunin, and the rest were Genin. How could such a purely Medical Ninja be assigned to the front lines? Were Mizunuki Asuka and Karatachi Yagura out of their minds?

Actually, Taiichi had misunderstood the two of them.

The situation was urgent, and neither of them had considered this detail. The ninjas following them were even less likely to pay attention to such details and only knew how to carry out orders.

This led to pure Medical Ninjas, who shouldn't have been on the battlefield, being sent to the front lines, thus sowing the seeds for the war's defeat.

At this moment, Fugaku, having also arranged the retreat, came over. Upon seeing the captured Mist Ninja, his aura immediately became unstable, indicating that he had not yet recovered from the shock.

"What's the point of keeping these people around? It's easier to kill them."

Despite his menacing appearance, his words resonated with many ninjas, given that they had just been mortal enemies.

Those ninja who had just calmed down were already on edge Mist Ninja they heard Fugaku's murderous words, and now several of the girls burst into tears on the spot.

This left Fugaku speechless. Was this really a ninja? What kind of ninja looked like this?

Seeing Fugaku's expression, Taiichi chuckled and tried to smooth things over.

"These are just Medical Ninjas who have never participated in war. Why bother with them? Besides, Konoha doesn't have the habit of killing prisoners of war. If word gets out, who will dare to surrender on the battlefield in the future?"

Taiichi stepped forward, grabbed Fugaku's arm, and, smiling, persuaded him to Hiashi. With his other hand, he subtly waved to the guarding ninja, signaling him to quickly lead the prisoners away.

After learning that these were just Medical Ninjas, Fugaku gave up the idea of killing them. With Taiichi pulling him along, he reluctantly followed them away.

Konoha is different from Mist Village; they have a well-established medical system. These Medical Ninjas, who are considered a burden in Mist Village, are treasures in Konoha.

Moreover, these Medical Ninjas who grew up under the conditions of Mist Village must have extraordinary talents. Returning to Kirigakure and imprinting them with Curse Mark to make them our own is better than killing them.

Everyone worked quickly to clear the battlefield; in the time it took Taiichi and the others to say a few words, the battlefield was already cleaned up.

Seeing the team ready to set off again, Fugaku and Hiashi said no more. With a wave of their hands, the entire team immediately sailed away on the waves, leaving behind a pitted and isolated island to await the return of Mist Village.

On a distant, Mist Village warship, the Third Mizukage stood alone at the bow. The sea breeze made his Mizukage Haori flutter, but he remained unmoved, gazing into the distance.

That was the Camp Mizunuki Asuka and his men were temporarily stationed, according to intelligence reports.

Thinking about personally leading the team to fight against Konoha, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. The two defeats on the front lines were nothing to him.

Konoha now surrounded by enemies and cannot afford the slightest defeat, but Mist Village is different. They have abundant resources, and even if they lose twice, they will still have a third chance.

Sure enough, he led 1,000 Shinobi Army to the front line, and together with the remaining troops, they formed an army of more than 2,000 men.

At that time, we must take a big bite out of Konoha to secure sufficient resources for Mist Village's development in the coming years.

As he was lost in thought, a thick fog in the distance caught his attention.

Looking up at Taiichi high in the sky, there shouldn't be such fog at the Root tree in this kind of weather.

Something unusual must be going on.

He immediately waved his hand behind him, and a member of the Mist Village Anbu forward, bowing to listen to the Mizukage's instructions.

"Go, send someone to check ahead. Why is there such thick fog here? Shouldn't the island where the Camp is located be ahead?"

"Yes, Lord Mizukage." The Anbu responded immediately, and a few seconds later, a squad of Anbu jumped off the warship and headed towards the fog.

However, before they could even get close, figures began to emerge from the thick fog in a disheveled state.

The Anbu Ninjas who went to Scout immediately stopped and became alert for the ninjas who had suddenly appeared.

But as these ninjas approached, the leader of the Anbu Captain was taken aback. These disheveled-looking ninjas were actually from Mist Village, and the one running in the lead was someone he knew.

"Yagura Jonin, what's going on here? How's the Camp now?"