Holding position

"You're saying the enemy killed four or five hundred men and then got away unscathed?"

Half a day later, the Kirigakure jonin reached a chilling conclusion.

In the waters of the Land of Waves.

On an unnamed island.

Kakashi lay on a reef, while Douyang sat cross-legged on the ground. Guy and Shisui sat around a fire, grilling fish.

After adding a handful of firewood, Guy smiled. "Douyang, they're almost done."

Douyang licked his lips and nodded emphatically.

He was truly starving.

He still had plenty of Military Rations Pills on him, but those were for emergencies. Neither their taste nor their nutrition could compare to real food.

Before long, Shisui lifted a grilled fish and handed it to Douyang.

Douyang took it and tore into it with huge bites.

Beside him, Guy was as pale as paper, sipping fish soup in small mouthfuls.

While escaping with Kakashi, he had opened the sixth gate of the Eight Gates Armor Escape to face a hundred Mist Ninja who were pursuing and blocking them.

The Eight Gates Armor Escape broke the body's limits, unleashing dozens of times its normal fighting power.

Strictly speaking, it was an ability that inflicted eight times as much harm on the user as on the enemy.

Although Guy had killed over a hundred Mist Ninja, he was utterly exhausted. Even walking across the sea would be a problem for him for the time being.

Kakashi, meanwhile, had fallen unconscious from severe injuries and excessive blood loss.

All told, the four of them had killed four or five hundred Mist Ninja on this mission and successfully blown up the supply depot.

Achieving such a feat without losing a single member was nothing short of a miracle.

With a slight shift of thought, Douyang examined the panel in his mind.

[Host: Uchiha Douyang]

[Template: Ōtsutsuki Isshiki (12%)]

[Chakra attributes: Yang, fire, earth]

[Bloodline: Kokugan (Sukunahikona, Daikokuten)]

[Abilities: Black Chakra Rods, Shinra Tensei]

Using Shinra Tensei to flatten the island had directly increased his unlock progress by 2%.

Douyang closed the panel and focused on eating his grilled fish, mentally reviewing the gains and losses of this battle.

He had used Sukunahikona, Daikokuten, Black Chakra Rods, and Shinra Tensei in succession, ultimately exhausting his chakra and falling unconscious.

It was not that Douyang had too little chakra.

On the contrary, his chakra reserves were more than twice those of an elite jonin, or even the Kage-level expert Shisui.

The problem was that both Kokugan and Shinra Tensei consumed tremendous amounts of chakra.

As a result, Douyang's chakra was stretched thin in combat and clearly insufficient.

"Looks like I need to get my hands on the Ryūmyaku as soon as possible."

At the border of the Land of Hot Water.

Looking at the intelligence in his hand, the Fourth Raikage murmured, "Torifu Akimichi noticed our movements and led an army north?"

Beside him, Dodai said, "Yes. In past conflicts between Konoha and the neighboring shinobi villages, the Hokage usually remained in Konoha. This Torifu Akimichi is rather different from the other Hokage."

"Unfortunately, he's only the Acting Hokage, and that's all he can ever be."

The Fourth Raikage chuckled, then asked, "Dodai, have you found out who killed Toroi?"

Toroi had been a veteran elite jonin of Kumogakure and a close personal friend of the Third Raikage. His death had deeply pained the Fourth Raikage.

"Yes. Our spies in the Land of Demons reported that Konoha's Team Kakashi is suspected of killing Toroi."

The Fourth Raikage's brows knitted tightly. "Kakashi? The White Fang's son?"

"Besides him, the team also includes two Uchiha who have earned names for themselves: Body Flicker Shisui and Douyang, the Uncanny Physician. The remaining member is Might Guy, a shinobi of common birth. He's already a jonin at such a young age, and is outstanding as well."

"Did Team Kakashi also head north with Torifu Akimichi?"

Dodai considered briefly, then said, "No. Kumogakure's spies in Konoha haven't spotted them on the eastern battlefield either. They may be on a secret mission."

Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Kumogakure and Konoha had the worst relationship.

Thus, Kumogakure paid very close attention to the fighting between Konoha and Kirigakure.

They had long since dispatched elite shinobi to infiltrate the Land of Fire and gather intelligence.

The scouts reported that Konoha had suffered heavy losses this time. If Uchiha Fugaku had not been struggling to hold the eastern battlefield, their defensive line would likely have collapsed already.

Even the Land of Fire's daimyo had flown into a thunderous rage upon hearing the news.

"Hahaha!"

The thought of Konoha's precarious situation made the Fourth Raikage burst into hearty laughter.

Konoha was no longer the Konoha that had swept through the other four great shinobi villages.

After pondering for a moment, the Fourth Raikage said slowly, "Dodai, keep a close eye on intelligence from the front. Once Kirigakure breaks through the eastern defensive line, we'll march south, attack from two sides, and crush Konoha in one stroke."

"Understood."

Meanwhile, at the Kirigakure army's camp on the eastern border.

After receiving intelligence from the Fourth Mizukage, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki Utakata, Suikazan Fuguki, and Hozuki Mangetsu were somewhat at a loss.

The message was brief, containing only a single order.

"Hold position!"

Utakata addressed the men behind him. "Why do you think the Fourth Mizukage issued an order like this at such a critical moment?"

Suikazan Fuguki shook his head. "No idea. Uchiha Fugaku is the only one capable of holding the eastern defensive line on his own. We'll soon be able to crush Konoha's defending forces. Wouldn't holding position now mean letting a golden opportunity slip away?"

Hozuki Mangetsu said, "Could something have gone wrong in the rear?"

Utakata and Suikazan Fuguki exchanged a glance and nodded slightly, agreeing with Hozuki Mangetsu's assessment.

Only something like that could stop the Fourth Mizukage, who had always acted without restraint and was impossible to read.

At the same time, in Konoha's camp facing the Mist Ninja along the coast.

Shikaku Nara strode into the command post. Looking at Fugaku seated in the main seat, he said excitedly, "Good news! The Kirigakure army has set up camp and stopped attacking."

Beside him, Hyuga Hiashi asked in confusion, "Strange. The Mist Ninja army came at us in force and clearly holds the advantage. Why would they set up camp and hold position now?"

Uchiha Fugaku, who knew some of the inside story, smiled. "Excellent. There must be a problem with Kirigakure's supplies."

He then briefly explained how Torifu Akimichi had arranged for Team Kakashi to strike a thousand miles away and blow up their supplies.

Hearing this, Shikaku Nara and Hyuga Hiashi let out long sighs of relief.

As the saying went, provisions had to move before the troops.

The importance of logistical supplies went without saying.

With Kirigakure's army fighting across the sea, any problems with its supplies would inevitably mean it could not hold out for long.

Team Kakashi deserved the greatest credit for this battle.

Yet Fugaku could not quite bring himself to feel happy.

A raid a thousand miles away was no easy task, let alone for four children.

Even for a veteran shinobi like him, whether he could complete the mission was uncertain, and getting away unscathed afterward would be extremely difficult.

He knew that Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and might be on par with him in strength.

Even so, he remained deeply worried.