Hatake Sakumo's preemptive strike had clearly stunned the enemy. The man he had beheaded with a single slash was the captain of this Sunagakure ninja squad, and his skills were naturally exceptional. Yet he had been killed instantly, without lasting even one exchange. The shock this dealt the others was easy to imagine.
Hatake Sakumo swept past the headless corpse without so much as a glance and fixed his gaze on his next target. He raised the short blade in his hand slightly, leaving a glint as sharp as a Fang in the eyes of those watching. When he crossed paths with another Sunagakure ninja, that ninja's head left his neck. Before it could hit the ground, Sakumo was already lunging at someone else.
That was what swordsmanship looked like in a true fight to the death. There were no dazzling duels; victory and defeat were decided in moments. Faced with Hatake Sakumo's speed, the Sunagakure ninja had no time to react. Before they could unleash even a single ninjutsu, two of them were dead, and the number was still rising.
Hatake Sakumo cut a path straight through the enemy squad, like a sharp knife slicing through flatbread and leaving a gash behind. Their ranks inevitably fell into confusion, and just then, the people coming up behind him arrived and tore that opening wider.
Yamanaka Risa followed closely behind Hatake Sakumo. Asuna and Mizuki, guarding her flanks, now made their moves. Mizuki flung out a mass of shuriken, which collided with one another and curved along intricate trajectories, striking at the Sunagakure ninja from impossible angles. Caught off guard, quite a few were hit, while even those who escaped injury were forced aside.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
On the other side, Asuna had begun forming hand seals the instant Hatake