Southbound, Northbound: Facing the Mizukage

Konoha Camp, Central Command Tent.

At this moment, it was as if a pause button had been pressed; everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Taiichi, who was speaking.

Tsunade was the same; her hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air, her eyes blankly looking at Taiichi.

"What did you say? Say it again!"

"The entire Mist Village Camp is empty. Preliminary assessment suggests they Camp shortly after I left yesterday, and their whereabouts are currently unknown."

Taiichi more detailed report of the situation, and the tent immediately became lively, as if the pause button had been removed.

This time, however, people stopped discussing the battle and started complaining.

"Damn it, the battle plan I just drew is now ruined!"

"Damn Mist Village! Why aren't you following the script?!"

"Our plans are completely ruined, and to make matters worse, we don't even know where Mist Village has gone!"

The buzzing complaints were like annoying flies, and Tsunade found them utterly irritating.

"Quiet! What kind of behavior is this?!" Tsunade roared, and the tent fell silent instantly.

She immediately gave Taiichi an order, "Go find the Hyuga and Jonin Inuzuka right away, use the Flying Thunder God to take them to the scene, and see if there are any more clues."

After instructing Taiichi, she gave the order to her advisor, "Notify the reconnaissance ninjas to expand the search area, not just to the sea, but also to search the land. Also, notify Orochimaru and Jiraiya to keep an eye on the Coastline of the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Rivers, to prevent the Mist Village from bypassing these two countries."

With a series of orders issued, everyone immediately found their leader and began to act according to Tsunade's commands.

Without hesitation, Taiichi turned into white smoke with a "bang" and disappeared on the spot.

This scene stunned everyone in the tent, but they quickly resumed their work as if nothing had happened. The reason was simple: they had seen it so many times that they had become accustomed to it.

Only the word "brat" lingered in the air, and it was unclear who it was meant for.

At this moment, Taiichi's main body, having gained the memories of the Shadow Clone, immediately rushed back from the Training Ground.

On the way, he found Hizashi Hyuga and Tsume Inuzuka, two people he knew. After explaining the situation, he immediately created a Shadow Clone, one on each side, and the four of them disappeared silently.

When they reappeared, they were already back in the Camp where they had previously Mist Village.

"This... this is the feeling of Flying Thunder God... it doesn't feel quite right!" As Jonin the Inuzuka Clan, Tsume Inuzuka's five senses are several times more acute than those of ordinary people.

This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. For example, with the physique of Jonin, the teleportation pressure of the Flying Thunder God should be no problem for them, but Inuzuka Clan Tsurugi clearly feels uncomfortable.

Taiichi looked at the pale-faced claw, and green Chakra light shone from his hand as he pressed it against the claw's back to help relieve the claw's discomfort.

This is a critical moment in the mission, and we can't afford to waste time.

The effect was obvious; the Inuzuka Clan's face immediately regained its color.

He nodded gratefully to Taiichi, muttering to himself, "This Flying Thunder God Technique isn't something just anyone can use."

Taiichi smiled but remained silent, and the three of them immediately began to use their respective methods to Scout traces on the island.

Hizashi activated his Byakugan and scanned his surroundings, especially at sea, to see if Mist Village had left any ninjas to monitor him.

Inuzuka Clan Tsurugi summoned a large, pure white dog through a spiritual channel. The two carefully examined the remaining scents on the island, hoping to glean some clues from them.

Half an hour later, the three regrouped. Taiichi looked at Hizashi first, only to see Hizashi shake his head helplessly, indicating that he had not found anything.

Then he looked at the Inuzuka Clan, only to see the guy smugly stroking his big dog's head.

Looking at Taiichi, both the man and the dog wore simple, honest smiles.

Taiichi, upon seeing this, immediately realized that something had been discovered.

"Good news?"

Tsume Inuzuka nodded. "Dabai discovered that Mist Village boarded the ship on the north side of the island, but instead of heading north, they circled around and headed straight south."

Taiichi was amazed by the Inuzuka Clan Tsurugi's words. Were Ninja Dog's noses really that good? They could still smell the scent even after the ship had set sail.

However, Taiichi was already a seasoned ninja and wouldn't pry into other people's Ninjutsu secrets.

According to the Inuzuka Clan Tsurugi, if you go south, that's the direction of the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools, or even further south.

After racking his brains for a long time without coming up with a solution, Taiichi simply gave up and called the other two. The three of them instantly returned to the Camp and reported their discovery to Tsunade.

For the next two days, the Mist Village seemed to have vanished without a trace, and even the various reconnaissance teams found no evidence of an attack by the Mist Village.

But the more unsettling it is, the more terrifying it becomes. A clenched fist is always more frightening than a thrown one, because no one knows its true power.

This was the situation facing the entire Eastern Front Camp. No one knew where to direct their efforts, and lacking intelligence, they could only send more people to scout out the movements of the Mist Village.

As for the main camp, based on the intelligence brought by the Inuzuka Clan's Tsurugi, Tsunade ordered the Camp to be moved 100 kilometers south, which was considered to strengthen control over the southern territory.

As for splitting up the troops, that's impossible. If the Mist Village takes the opportunity to encircle and kill one of them, the entire Eastern Front will collapse.

This is also a major inconvenience in fighting Mist Village. The other four great nations are all land-based countries, and even if they are not adjacent to each other, it's just a matter of traveling an extra day.

The only one is the Land of Water, an island nation. The other four nations have to form fleets to launch long-distance expeditions across the sea to fight against it.

Not only would the process be time-consuming Resupply difficult, but at sea, it was also uncertain who would actually attack whom.

If this were Sunagakure, and their main force had completely disappeared, Tsunade would have already led a large force to attack Sunagakure's stronghold.

Just as the entire Camp was filled with anxiety, on the fourth day, the long-awaited news finally came from the southernmost point.

The Mist Village landed in the southern part of the Land of Fire. They circled around the Coastline, avoiding the main battlefield with Konoha, and went to a place 1,000 kilometers away from the original battlefield to open up a new battlefield.

Tsunade held the intelligence report in silence for a long time, unable to understand what Mist Village was up to. If they couldn't defeat them here, did they think they could defeat them by running south?

Not only did Tsunade not understand, but nobody in the entire Camp did either.

Whether they understand or not is not important; what is important is that they have discovered the trail of Mist Village. Now they must rush to the new battlefield as soon as possible to prevent Mist Ninja from causing damage to the area.

At Tsunade's command, the entire Camp sprang into action. Within an hour, the entire force had broken camp and was rapidly advancing towards the new battlefield.

Taiichi, having already received the news, used the Flying Thunder God to reach the nearest coordinates to the Mist Village Camp, and then flew directly towards the Mist Village Camp to conduct reconnaissance.

Taiichi's arrival was quickly detected by the Mist Village Ninja's Sensor Ninja, and the Third Mizukage, along with a group of Jonin, immediately left the Camp to confront him.

This time, Taiichi didn't fly in the sky, which is why the Third Mizukage appeared.

"Isn't this the Third Mizukage? He came all the way from the Land of Water to our Land of Fire just to clean up after these rotten fish?"

Taiichi wasn't a good person either; not a single nice word came out of his mouth. He pointed at the Jonin he had previously fought, such as Karatachi Yagura, Mizunuki Asuka, and Suikazan Fuguki were standing next to the Mizukage, and mocked them without any restraint.

Few of the Mist Ninja were good-tempered. Although the few who were pointed at by Taiichi knew they couldn't beat Taiichi, they were at the gates of their own Camp, and they couldn't lose face, so they didn't hesitate to curse back.

The shouting and cursing only stopped when the Third Mizukage raised his right hand.

"Taichi Matsushita, you are a renowned ninja in the Ninja World, why bother with this verbal sparring?"

"The Mizukage is indeed the Mizukage." This statement, seemingly praising Taiichi, is actually a way of elevating his own status.

Seeing the Third Mizukage's calm and composed demeanor, Taiichi knew that his petty tricks would not provoke him, so he stopped his pointless shouting.

"The Mist Village is still one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, yet it has stooped to the point of massacring Civilian. It truly opens my eyes. I wonder what will happen when the Mist Village's reputation spreads throughout the entire Ninja World."

The Third Mizukage's expression changed slightly. Although he was prepared, some things are easier said than done. If Konoha were to spread this around, Mist Village's already limited reputation would be further damaged.

"Stop talking nonsense! How could Mist Village do such a thing? You Konoha can't even deal with the bandits and thugs within your own borders, and now you're slandering us? Do you really think the Ninja World is Konoha's private domain?!"

The Third Mizukage spoke sternly and harshly, and to an uninformed person, it would truly seem as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Even the Jonin standing next to him Jonin at his Mizukage with eyes full of admiration.

The Mizukage's ability to blatantly Mizukage is truly impressive; otherwise, how come you're the Mizukage while we're Jonin?

Taiichi was also impressed by the Mizukage's ability to distort the truth, and he gave the Mizukage a thumbs up, praising him with admiration.

"As expected of the Mizukage, I would call your skin the thickest in the Ninja World!"

The Third Mizukage's face darkened instantly. Was this brat's mouth loaded with knives? Every word he uttered was like a knife stabbing into one's heart.

"Enough, Taichi Matsushita. What's the point of all your nonsense? Do you think you can rely on just your mouth from Konoha without any evidence?"

Ultimately, ninjas are all about skill; if you've got guts, come and fight me. Whoever runs away is a coward.

The Mizukage was also burning with rage, disregarding his status as the village's kage, and began to taunt and provoke Taiichi.

Behind him, however, his left hand was making hand gestures, issuing commands to the Mist Ninja around him.

Taiichi this, was both skilled and daring. He had originally come to monitor the situation, but now that the Mist Village had been trapped in their Camp, what could be more convenient for surveillance?

"That's exactly what I was thinking too, but you Mist Ninja often run away halfway through a fight. I wonder what you, the Mizukage, are like?"

It's said that you shouldn't expose someone's weaknesses when you're insulting them, but Taiichi is deliberately hitting their sore spots.

The Third Mizukage stopped talking and Shuriken. As he charged forward, he began Hand Seals, completing the Ninjutsu in just five.

Water Style: Water Dragon Bite Explosion.

A gigantic Water Dragon rose from beneath his feet, charging toward Taiichi even faster than the Mizukage. It roared, baring its fangs and claws, and lunged at Taiichi.

Taiichi raised an eyebrow. The Mizukage is indeed the Mizukage. He simplified the 56-seal Water Dragon Bite Explosion to only 5 seals, making it comparable to the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's simplified Water Dragon Bullet.

However, Taiichi was no less impressive, and even more so. He dodged the incoming Shuriken with a few quick steps, and then clasped his hands together, forming two seals.

Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet.

A Water Dragon, even thicker than the one released by the Mizukage, shot into the sky and swooped down on the Mizukage's Water Dragon.

A ferocious dragon's mouth repeatedly charged and bit at the Taiichi Water Dragon.

A massive creature, entangled in the Mizukage, fiercely strangled the Water Dragon.

The two Water Dragons, one inside the other, collided and tore at each other several times in the air, before bursting apart and turning into a gentle drizzle that fell from the sky.

Despite all the talk, this first exchange only lasted a second or two.

Seeing the Mizukage rushing towards him, Taiichi changed his hand seals, and the raindrops transformed into Ice Crystal Senbon that shot towards the Third Mizukage.

However, this did not stump the Mizukage. Without any change in his hand seals, a high-speed rotating stream of water suddenly rose from his feet and then spread outwards, like Water Dragon, blocking all attacks.

This was not only a defense, but also an alternative offense. In the blink of an eye, the Water Dragon had already reached him. Taiichi lightly stepped back and took a small step, completing the Hand Seals in mid-air.

Ice Release: Ice Crystal Earth.

All the nearby water instantly froze into ice, breaking free from the control of the Mizukage.

With a sharp "splash," the Mizukage shattered the ice curtain, and the fist, carrying immense force, swung towards Taiichi's hammer.

He blocked with his left arm and swung a punch at the face with his right hand; this was the first time the two had engaged in close combat.

As they exchanged blows, at least on the surface, the two appeared to be evenly matched.

However, only those involved truly know the extent of their suffering.

The Third Mizukage felt as if his hands and feet no longer belonged to him. After exchanging more than a dozen blows, Taichi Matsushita grew heavier and his kicks more ferocious with each strike, making it impossible to believe that his opponent was a mere child.

He was now in a dilemma. He thought that even if he wasn't good at Taijutsu, he could still hold off Tai for Taiichi while in close combat, but who knew that the guy opposite him was so monstrous.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced around and noticed that several Jonin from Kirigakure were already standing Jonin Mist Village corners. The Third Mizukage's lips twitched involuntarily, whether from pain or some other reason, it was unclear.

Almost there, almost there, just hang in there a little longer.

The Third Mizukage kept reassuring himself, and the pain in his hands and feet seemed to lessen considerably.

After another seven or eight moves, a sharp whistle rang out from the direction of the Camp. Upon hearing the sound, the Third Mizukage immediately perked up and retreated while taking a kick to the chest from Taiichi.

The instant the two separated, several bolts of lightning struck down from the sky, illuminating the dim forest.

The continuous Wind Blade, mixed with several water cannonballs, formed a dense attack network all around, blocking all possible escape routes.

Beneath their feet, the earth churned, and the once solid ground turned into a swamp, restricting their movement in every way.

At this moment, a deadly trap had been set in motion beneath the inescapable net.

Taiichi was at the center of the attack, looked at the Mizukage he had kicked away with disdain. He didn't even glance at the barrage of attacks. His mouth opened and closed, and his voice clearly reached the ears of everyone present amidst the sound waves of the attack.

Why did the Mizukage also flee?!

The voice was full of sarcasm, and the next moment, a barrage of attacks rained down.

1>