This massive wave completely engulfed the Sunagakure in front of Kōki. This level of Water Release was beyond the capabilities of even Genin- ranking) Sunagakure, especially in the presence of water, where its power was amplified by Kōki's immense Chakra reserves.
After the giant wave subsided, there were no longer any standing Sunagakure in front of Kōki; instead, there were countless soaking wet Sunagakure corpses. All the Sunagakure in this camp had been successfully dealt with by his Water Release.
Kōki looked at the power of his Water Release with satisfaction, then headed in the direction where the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had gone.
On the other hand, unlike Kōki, who swiftly and decisively eliminated the Sunagakure Villagers, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, although they cornered two Sunagakure Villagers, were ultimately unable to defeat them due to the Sunagakure ' tenacious resistance.
"Tsukasa, we're a bit too slow. The tree area might already be finished," Nara Yūsuke said to Yamanaka Kenji, who was looking for an opportunity to use his Shadow Secret Techniques.
He had already sensed the commotion caused by Kōki's use of Water Release, realizing that the Sunagakure over there had probably already been dealt with by Kōki.
"Yes, I feel that too. We need to speed things up. We can't keep the trees waiting."
Yamanaka Kenji also heard the commotion from Kōki's side, and turned to shout at Akimichi Tsuyoshi, "Takeshi, we need to speed things up!"
Upon hearing Yamanaka Kenji's shout, Akimichi Tsuyoshi nodded in agreement, "Understood."
The three attacked more frequently, and the Sunagakure on the other side found it increasingly difficult to withstand the fierce onslaught.
Just as the two Sunagakure were about to be defeated, one of them spoke up, " Sunagakure 'Konoha Anbu, we'll be waiting for you in the Pure Land."
Although his wounds were bleeding profusely and he looked utterly disheveled, Sunagakure's tone remained firm.
At first, Nara Yūsuke thought these were the dying curses of the Sunagakure, but he sensed something else in Sunagakure meaningful expressions and inexplicable tone. Startled, he asked seriously, "What do you mean by what you said?"
Faced with Nara Yūsuke's question, Sunagakure did not answer, but instead revealed a sinister sneer. However, Nara Yūsuke was also a person with exceptional intelligence, and he immediately realized from Nara's sinister expression that Sunagakure seemed to have set up some kind of conspiracy against their team.
With this in mind, Nara Yūsuke's movements became even more aggressive; he was eager to know what kind of conspiracy Sunagakure had in store for them.
His partners Yamanaka Kenji and Akimichi Tsuyoshi, also sensed something was wrong from Nara Yūsuke's tense expression, and intensified their attacks.
Soon, under the powerful attack of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the two Sand Ninja were severely injured and on the verge of death.
The two Sunagakure ninja, already incapacitated, slumped to the ground in a sorry state. Then, the Sunagakure who had been silent moments before, coughing up blood, spoke up, " Konoha's Anbu, you absolutely cannot escape. Our comrades will avenge us. We'll be waiting for you in the Pure Land."
Unfortunately, Nara Yūsuke didn't take the threat from Sunagakure seriously; the people of Sunagakure wouldn't have let them go anyway.
He was now more interested in knowing what traps Sunagakure had in store for them. He turned to Yamanaka Kenji beside him and said, "Kenji, use your clan's secret technique to examine their brains. I suspect Sunagakure has some kind of conspiracy in store for us."
"Understood," Yamanaka Kenji nodded, then placed a hand on the forehead of the Sunagakure, about to begin his clan's secret technique, when he heard a voice say, "Watch out!"
Before he could even react to what was happening, he was thrown away by a tremendous force, and before he could even regain his footing...
The two Sunagakure in front of him exploded with tremendous force, and the powerful shockwave caused Yamanaka Kenji, who had not yet regained his footing, to stumble and fall to the ground.
"What happened?" Yamanaka Kenji asked in alarm, having almost perished along with the two Sunagakure.
He truly hadn't expected that the Sunagakure, whose limbs had already been crippled, would still possess such methods. The thought of being so close to death filled him with lingering fear.
He quickly remembered Nara Yūsuke and Akimichi Tsuyoshi who had been beside him, and hurriedly looked around.
In his sight, Nara Yūsuke and Akimichi Tsuyoshi stood perfectly unharmed beside him, and to his surprise, Kōki, who had been on another battlefield, also appeared behind him.
Only when he saw Kōki's hand gripping the back of his clothes did he belatedly realize that Kōki had saved him once again.
"The situation is simple: these two Sunagakure must have set up a means of mutual destruction within their own bodies."
Do you remember what happened when our squad teamed up with Kōki for our first mission to hunt down the Sunagakure forces? I suspect we used the same tactic both times, but it's funny how we almost fell for the same move twice.
Towards the end, Nara Yūsuke's tone became self-deprecating; he hadn't expected the three of them to fall for the same trick twice. This feeling filled him with shame and anger.
It's understandable that he didn't know the first time, but it shouldn't have happened a second time. As Anbu Ninja, he knew what such a huge mistake meant.
This indicates that they are losing their vigilance regarding the mission, which means that such mistakes could potentially happen again in the future.
This also means that with each mistake they make, they will eventually lose their lives.
Just because Kōki can save them once or twice doesn't mean he can save them forever. Kōki gets entangled with them, and when that time comes, they can only die in endless regret.
Nara Yūsuke's words made Yamanaka Kenji and Akimichi Tsuyoshi lower their heads in shame. As elite members of the Anbu, their failure to withstand the same method twice was truly pathetic. If it weren't for Kōki's intervention, they would have been dead for sure.
"It's alright, senpai. I've said it before, we're all comrades. Don't worry about it," Kōki comforted Nara Yūsuke after rescuing the three. He didn't feel anything special about saving the Ino-Shika-Cho trio; he just thought it was what he should do.
"I just think the three of us have been too lax. Ever since you joined our team, you've been helping us most of the time, not the other way around. Maybe we're not..." Nara Yūsuke seemed to want to say something more, but after a few seconds of contemplation, he didn't continue and changed the subject, "Alright, let's not talk about that. The two Sand Ninja who just died indicate that there seems to be some kind of trap waiting for us in Sunagakure. For safety's sake, let's leave here now."
"Good"
It seemed that Nara Yūsuke's words had affected Yamanaka Kenji and Akimichi Tsuyoshi's mood, as their responses were weak and listless.
Seeing the two figures leave, Kōki and Nara Yūsuke followed in their footsteps after a few quick flashes.