The turbid waves crashed against the barrier of Kirigakure, producing a muffled roar. Tian Yukihime wiped the blood from her face, watching as the gigantic maw filled with sharp teeth slowly sank into the water outside the barrier, her heart still pounding wildly.
"How many was that just now?" she asked the Jonin beside her in a hoarse voice. The other was using Kunai to pry open the scales stuck in his arm—marks left by the tail of a dragon-man.
"The seventh dragon-man leader," the Jonin grimaced as he plucked a scale, blood gushing out instantly, " Tian Yukihime- hime, the barrier's energy is only at 30%, and the southeast corner of the city wall has begun to leak."
Tian Yukihime looked towards the east side of the village, where the earthen walls and water barrier were indeed trembling slightly, and a few strands of murky seawater were seeping in along the cracks. Three days ago, when those pampered noble lords led the Onmyoji to unlock the deep-sea altar, none of them expected that they would release such a group of sea monsters.
"Send the Sealing Squad and Earth Release experts to reinforce the southeast corner," she gripped the long sword on her back, the runes on the scabbard already dull and lifeless. "Notify all combat-capable ninjas to assemble in the plaza in five minutes."
Before the words were even finished, a giant wave, several meters high, suddenly surged up on the sea. A giant claw covered in a gray-black carapace burst out of the wave and slammed into the barrier. Cracks instantly spread out, and with a piercing cracking sound, several fragments of the barrier, the size of ice bricks, fell into the sea, stirring up tiny ice crystals.
"It's the leader of the water monsters!" someone screamed.
The owner of the giant claw slowly surfaced. It was as tall as a three-story building. Two long, needle-like whiskers stood upright on its blue head, each whisker wrapped with several tattered strips of cloth—the style of which resembled the uniform of a noble guard. Its chest shell was covered with sharp spikes, and its ten pairs of long legs made a clicking sound as they trod on the water.
"Crack!" The giant monster suddenly snapped its pincers shut, and Spiderweb -like cracks immediately appeared on the surface of the barrier.
Tian Yukihime was about to rush forward, a pale blue figure suddenly darted out from the side, the short sword in her hand drawing a silver arc, accurately striking the giant's compound eye.
"Awooo--!" The giant shrimp let out a sharp hiss and retreated abruptly.
"Sister Tian Mai, what brings you here?" Tian Yukihime was both surprised and delighted.
Tian Mai glided across the water to her side, water still dripping from her hair. "If you hadn't come soon, you would have been eaten by these rotten fish and shrimp." She flicked the slime off her short sword. " Tian Yueqing and the others are too busy, so I brought twenty disciples from Mount Myōboku to help you."
As she spoke, twenty figures silently landed inside the barrier, each holding a weapon wrapped in runes.
Just as Tian Yukihime was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a deafening roar suddenly came from the west. A giant octopus monster was lashing at the barrier with its tentacles, each covered with suckers, which clung to the surface of the barrier and tore it apart. Even more terrifying were its eyes, as big as a round table, with an eerie red light flashing in their pupils.
"And there's a whale monster!" someone pointed further away.
A whale the size of a small mountain was spewing out jets of murky water, each jet hitting the barrier and causing the entire Kirigakure to shake. Behind it followed dozens of shark monsters, those creatures with human-like limbs but dragging shark bodies, wielding weapons made from fish bones.
Kirigakure continuously built high walls and applied seals, focusing on defense, and held out for several months.
"What's the situation with the nobles of the Land of Water?" asked Tian Yukihime Mizukage Building.
The Anbu Captain, Hozuki Seien expression, "After those Onmyoji broke the formation, they were devoured by the monsters. Just now, our Anbu reported that all the nobles and Onmyoji of the Land of Water died at the altar. I heard they were dragged into the sea by the Jiaoren and killed to feed the fish; not even their bones were left."
Just then, the southeast corner of the barrier suddenly shattered with a "crash." Muddy seawater rushed in instantly, and several shark monsters pounced into the village through the gap, opening their mouths full of sharp teeth to bite the nearby civilians.
"Protect the villagers!" Tian Yukihime drew her bone sword and charged forward, chakra gathering on the Chakra. " Bone Needle Piercing!"
Countless bone needles shot towards the shark monsters, only to be deflected by their rough skin. One of the shark monsters swung its blade back, and Tian Yukihime hurriedly jumped back, the blade grazing her cheek and sending up a string of water droplets.
"These monsters have skin as hard as iron! And they're incredibly fast in the water!" she exclaimed.
Tian Mai threw out several Explosive Tag, temporarily forcing the shark monster back. "Don't engage in close combat! Use Lightning Release!"
She swiftly flicked her hands, unleashing Lightning Release talismans. " Lightning Release: Break!"
A bolt of lightning struck the shark monster's tail, causing it to roar in pain as its tail scales instantly turned black. But more water monsters were pouring in through the gap: crab monsters wielding giant claws, shrimp monsters, and even a dragon-man covered in moss, spewing out dark green venom.
As Tian Yukihime watched the widening breach, her heart sank. More than three hundred Anbu ninjas had already fallen around her, and the civilians screamed as they ran towards the shelter behind them, only to be blocked by several squid monsters that suddenly emerged from the water—those creatures could spew out black ink, and anyone who got their hands on it would immediately suffer from skin ulceration.
"At this rate, these civilians won't last half an hour," Tian Mai wiped the water from her face. "We must fight back and kill all the sea monsters that caused the tsunami."
As soon as he finished speaking, a strange whirlpool suddenly appeared on the sea surface. The water monsters that were attacking the barrier seemed to be disturbed by something, and they all stopped what they were doing and looked warily at the center of the Uzumaki.
Tian Yukihime and Tian Mai exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.
The vortex grew larger and larger, and a huge warship gradually emerged at its center. The warship was embroidered with the vortex pattern of Konoha, and several beautiful women stood at the bow. The one in the lead wore a white dress and held a silver talisman pen in her hand.
"Those are Sister Yueqing and the others..." Tian Yukihime's eyes suddenly widened.
"Everyone except Tian Flying Swallow is here?" Tian Mai was also stunned.
The warship cut through the waves and arrived outside the Kirigakure in the blink of an eye. Tian Yueqing gently waved his rune pen, and golden rune ribbons suddenly rose from all sides, blocking the gap in the Kirigakure like a wall, and then sealing away all the water monsters that had rushed into the village.
Immediately afterwards, Tian Muyan fired countless ice arrows, accurately piercing the eyes of those shark monsters.
"Sister Yukihime!" Tian Yueqing's voice came clearly, "We're late!"
Tian Yukihime was somewhat moved. When she was in trouble, all her sisters came to her aid, including Tian Yueqing, who controlled the sealing power. Standing beside her were Tian Muyan, Hyuga Bloodline Uchiha; Tian Uguisu, who had the Uchiha bloodline; Tian Zhiyun, a Taijutsu expert.
" Fujin Domain!" Wind God Saku raised his hand and a powerful whirlwind suddenly swept across the village. The water monsters that were being blown into the air by the wind were caught in the whirlwind and instantly torn to pieces.
" Suijin Barrier!" Water God Zhang waved his hand, and a barrier made of pure water suddenly rose up in the entire Kirigakure. Any water monster that touched the barrier would be trapped.
Tian Zhiyun jumped off the ship and punched away the largest giant octopus's tentacle. "These filthy monsters, how dare they touch our Ten Family?"
Tian Uguisu opened her Sharingan and Hand Seals. The roaring water monsters suddenly stopped, their eyes becoming vacant—clearly, they had fallen under her Genjutsu.
Standing at the bow of the ship, Tian Yueqing sensed the situation across the Land of Water, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. "The situation is worse than we imagined. Apart from Kirigakure, all the other towns have been taken over by water monsters. In the northwest, three dragon-shaped water monsters are destroying towns, in the southern sea, a giant whale monster is devouring ships, and countless dragon-men and water monsters are hunting down civilians in higher places."
Tian Mai took out several sealing talismans. "The entrance to the abyss should be near the altar. Those noble fools completely destroyed the seal. It must be resealed, otherwise the water monsters will keep pouring out."
Tian Yueqing looked at Tian Yukihime: "Sister Yukihime, you take us to the altar. You can leave this to the Fujin and Sister Shiun."
Tian Yukihime nodded and was about to lead the way when she suddenly felt a violent tremor beneath her feet. A giant wave, hundreds of meters high, surged up on the sea surface, and an octopus monster ten times larger than the one from before emerged from the seabed. Its tentacles were covered with human corpses, and it was eating several civilian corpses as snacks.
"That's... the Abyss Octopus King!" Tian Yukihime's expression turned serious. "How could it have come out? Monsters of this level usually only roam the lowest levels of the abyss."
The whirlwind from the Fujin struck the Octopus King, only managing to make it sway slightly. Tian Zhiyun's fist struck one of the tentacles, leaving only a faint white mark.
The Octopus King let out a deafening roar, and more than a dozen tentacles slammed towards the warship at the same time. Tian Yueqing hurriedly threw out a sealing talisman, but it was easily torn to shreds by the tentacles.
"Watch out! Super repulsive force!" Tian Muyan aimed her hands at the sea surface, and the powerful thrust temporarily forced the Octopus King back.
Just then, an Chunin flew over and shouted, " Mizukage, something terrible has happened! There's something strange happening at the altar; it looks like something enormous is about to emerge!"
Tian Yukihime's heart skipped a beat. She remembered that ancient texts left by nobles recorded that the ancestral dragon of the Water Clan was sealed in the deepest part of the ocean abyss. Could it be...?
The Octopus King's roar suddenly became even more ferocious, a hint of fear flashing in its eyes, as if it sensed something. All the sea monsters on the surface stopped what they were doing and knelt down in worship towards the altar.
Tian Yueqing gripped the talisman pen tightly, her expression more serious than ever before. "It seems the real trouble is about to begin."
Wind God Saku and the others also gathered on the warship, watching the direction of the altar warily. The seawater there was boiling, and a black fissure could be vaguely seen slowly opening. What flowed out of the fissure was not seawater, but a black liquid with a sulfurous smell.
The Hozuki Clan suddenly remembered his father's dying words. "Never try to open the gates of the abyss; what is sealed there is not power, but destruction."
He stared at the ever-widening crack and suddenly felt a chill run through him. Even with the help of the women Ten Family the Konoha, could they really stop what was about to appear?
A deep heartbeat echoed from the fissure, as if some enormous creature was awakening. Black liquid began to spread along the fissure, turning the seawater black wherever it passed.
Tian Yueqing took a deep breath and said to everyone, "Prepare for battle. This opponent may be far more terrifying than we imagine."
Wind God Saku clenched his fist, Tian Uguisu closed her Sharingan and began to accumulate Chakra, while Tian Mai focused intently on sensing the movements within the rift.
Tian Yukihime gripped her long sword tightly, standing shoulder to shoulder with Tian Mai. She knew that this battle had only just begun, and what they faced might be the end of the entire Land of Water.