Hell Hound

Outside Uzu Hidden Village, the mountain-sized Spirit Turtle was slowly crawling toward the village.

Its shell had two layers, and the plates on its underside could open into a ramp. The Uzu Hidden Village residents who crawled into the turtle shell climbed up the ramp and disappeared inside.

Uzu Hidden Village's Spirit Turtle was actually the village's mobile shelter.

The Spirit Turtle continuously spewed fierce winds from its mouth, blasting away the Cloud Ninja attacking its head.

As for its hard shell, the Cloud Ninja's methods were ineffective.

Yagami watched the Spirit Turtle thoughtfully. What if someone impersonated an Uzu Hidden Village resident and entered the shelter? If the defenses inside were insufficient, wouldn't that be disastrous?

The Spirit Turtle moved extremely slowly and could not tell whether the people beneath its belly were Cloud Ninja spies or villagers.

A few minutes later, large swaths of bloodstains trailed behind the Spirit Turtle.

The vibrations coming from within made the Spirit Turtle cry out in grief again and again.

It opened the plates on its underside, and heaps upon heaps of corpses tumbled out.

Cloud Ninja had infiltrated the shelter inside its double-layered shell and slaughtered people indiscriminately.

Layer upon layer of corpses lay behind the Spirit Turtle. Their throats had been slit, blood covering the areas around their necks.

When dealing with civilians, the Cloud Ninja favored the simple method of slitting throats. They were highly practiced at it.

In the sky, Yatagarasu flew overhead again and again, dropping Explosive Eggs into the densest concentrations of Mist Ninja.

The bird eggs glowed red as the Fire Style Chakra within them erupted violently. Each Explosive Egg was as powerful as two or three Exploding Tags.

The Four Violet Flames Formation's energy was being worn down by the Mist Ninja's Water Style, so Yatagarasu primarily attacked the Mist Ninja jointly casting Water Style.

After the first batch of Mist Ninja was blown to death, they found a way to deal with it.

Some Mist Ninja used Water Style, causing thick fountains to burst from the ground. The fountains knocked Yatagarasu's Explosive Eggs away, making them explode in midair.

There were simply too many Mist Ninja, so Yatagarasu's harassment had little effect.

Yagami secretly shook his head. The area beyond the Four Violet Flames Formation was too tragic.

The negotiations near the Four Violet Flames Formation made no progress at all.

The Uzumaki Clan could not concern itself with the villagers' survival, while the Mist Ninja and Cloud Ninja continued slaughtering them.

Over three hours, the Mist Ninja and Cloud Ninja worked with terrifying efficiency, killing nearly every villager.

The Great River carried away wave after wave of corpses. Something unknown had happened downstream, clogging the river surface with bodies piled up for hundreds of meters.

There were even more corpses around the Spirit Turtle, entangling its sluggish movements.

Its massive size gave it mountain-like weight. When its feet accidentally stepped on civilian corpses it could not avoid, it crushed them into pulp.

To destroy the Uzumaki Clan's will to resist, the Cloud Ninja exhausted the Spirit Turtle completely before using bundled steel wires to flip it onto its back.

Exploding Tags and ninja tools continuously attacked the Spirit Turtle.

The Spirit Turtle withdrew its head and four limbs into its shell. The shell's seams were not tightly sealed, and the Cloud Ninja still had ways to attack it. Blood from the Spirit Turtle seeped continuously through the gaps.

Combined with the shocks from Lightning Style, the Spirit Turtle was unable to move.

Its cries from within the shell sounded exceptionally muffled and miserable.

After holding out for a full five hours, the Four Violet Flames Formation exploded with a thunderous boom.

The barrier shattered, turning into a heat wave and shockwave that swept outward.

The surrounding houses collapsed, startling the Cloud Ninja and Mist Ninja. Quite a few died in the shockwave.

Even more Mist Ninja and Cloud Ninja charged in excitedly.

Yagami lowered his binoculars and could not help looking at Shimura Danzō again.

Shimura Danzō remained unmoved.

ANBU's will was as cold as frozen iron. The casualties among these allied outsiders meant nothing.

A second Four Violet Flames Formation appeared!

This Four Violet Flames Formation covered a smaller area, enclosing the Uzumaki Clan's Ancestral Hall.

Yagami looked through his binoculars and saw many women and children around the Uzumaki Clan's Ancestral Hall.

Uzumaki Kushina was surely among them.

Apart from the women and children, everyone else, including the Clan Head, remained outside the Four Violet Flames Formation.

The Clan Head stood at the front, formed Hand Seals with both hands, then slammed them fiercely onto the ground.

Four enormous clouds of white smoke appeared around him.

The Mist Ninja and Cloud Ninja all stopped and watched cautiously, uncertain what other trump cards the Uzumaki Clan possessed.

Four large Summoned Beasts suddenly charged out from the white smoke.

Hell Hound, Charging Rhino, Giant Centipede, Fighting Bull.

Yagami was somewhat surprised. Weren't these giant Summoned Beasts all the Summoned Beasts of Nagato's Animal Path in the future?

No wonder Nagato had so many powerful Summoned Beasts. They were all accumulated by the Uzumaki Clan.

But why had these accumulated resources not been left to Uzumaki Kushina, instead ending up in the hands of an Uzumaki orphan from the Land of Rain?

Ordinary ninja could not stand against giant Summoned Beasts.

The Splitting Dogs easily bit ninja to death one after another. Suikazan Fuguki personally stepped in and drove back a Splitting Dog, but it did not linger in battle. After splitting into two, it charged toward the other Mist Ninja.

Any attack a Splitting Dog could not withstand only caused it to multiply further.

The smaller Splitting Dogs were even more agile. Mist Ninja were bitten around the waist one after another, and the dogs' heads whipped wildly, flinging them into two pieces.

Entrails hung from the gaps between the Splitting Dogs' teeth, making for an exceptionally bloody sight.

The Charging Rhino had a thick hide, rendering kunai and ninja tools utterly useless.

With its head lowered, it charged wildly in every direction, killing and sending Cloud Ninja flying.

The Mist Ninja's Water Wall Jutsu was like a tiny waterfall before such a Summoned Beast, breaking apart with a single charge.

The Giant Centipede used its enormous body to divide the battlefield, surrounding a small group of Mist Ninja behind it and allowing the Uzumaki Ninja to outnumber them in localized engagements.

Adamantine Sealing Chains flashed, and many Mist Ninja died beneath the sealing secret technique.

With the help of the giant Summoned Beasts, the Uzumaki Ninja launched a splendid counterattack.

The casualties among the Mist Ninja and Cloud Ninja continued to grow.

Yagami pondered it. The Uzumaki Clan was about to turn the tide.

Given Danzo's temperament, wouldn't Konoha have to step in and help the Mist Ninja and Cloud Ninja next?

A consultant opened a Sealing Scroll filled with Cloud Ninja vests and forehead protectors.

Just as Yagami had guessed, the ANBU began making preparations to enter the fray.

Disguising themselves as ninja from other villages was an ANBU trick they used regularly.

Once suspicion had been cast off, they could act without restraint.

However, the Yellow Dog Squad Leader noticed a new development and called off the consultant's actions.

A ship appeared upstream on the Great River.

The ship moved quickly, speeding into Uzu Hidden Village.

A person stood at its bow, with long hair and closed eyes.

More importantly, he wore a Mizukage Ceremonial Robe!

The Third Mizukage!

No one had expected even the Mizukage to come for the battle at Uzu Hidden Village.

Whenever a Kage left their village, it signified an extraordinarily important matter.

Danzo shifted and took two steps forward.

It was clear that even Danzo had become somewhat serious at this point.

The Uzumaki Clan had tried to seal the Wild Three-Tails. They had truly stirred up a hornet's nest, and Kirigakure had come to take revenge on Uzu Hidden Village at any cost.

They had promised the Cloud Ninja an enormous reward, showing their determination to wipe out the village as they fought a major battle against Uzu Hidden Village.

Not only that, this had also angered Konoha's upper echelon. When negotiations failed, they decided to use force, and Danzo had brought people to seize Uzumaki Kushina.

Yagami wondered whether the Uzumaki Clan would resent the First Hokage for giving the tailed beasts to the great ninja villages while not leaving even one for the Uzumaki Clan.

Yagami could not help tugging at his collar. As an ANBU member, now that he had guessed the truth, would Danzo silence him?

The danger came not only from the Mist Ninja and Cloud Ninja, but also from within the ANBU.

Yagami carefully observed through his binoculars, wondering what abilities the Third Mizukage possessed.