After the ships pulled into port, the dockhands spent about two hours moving the goods into the nearest dockside warehouse, stacking them neatly before heading off to rest one after another.
The remaining work could wait until daytime tomorrow.
The Kirigakure ninjas did not press them, either.
They felt no urge to rush things either.
Currently, Kirigakure held the upper hand in this war zone, with their front lines pushed deep into the heart of the Land of Fire.
Nobody expected them to suffer a night raid so far behind the front lines.
Thus, Kirigakure merely posted routine patrols on the outer perimeter of the harbor town; most of the others were still sound asleep.
Yet on what seemed like just another ordinary night, lethal intent was quietly creeping in!
First, a Kirigakure ninja standing guard on an outer watchtower suddenly noticed the night mist thickening.
“What’s going on?
Why did fog suddenly roll in?” Yet his first instinct wasn’t suspicion.
Mist was a common cover used by their own forces, which usually didn’t arouse alarm among Kirigakure ninjas.
Just as a Sunagakure ninja seeing an unfamiliar puppet on the battlefield wouldn’t immediately assume it belonged to an enemy.
However, habit proved fatal this time.
This was the Hidden Mist Jutsu cast by Konoha’s Captain Tomoe!
Under cover of the thin mist and darkness, Shisui Uchiha swiftly scaled the tower.
Before the sentry could call for help, Shisui’s Sharingan dragged him into a Genjutsu!
Immediately after, Inaba Hyuga used Body Flicker to arrive and plunged a short sword through the Kirigakure ninja’s heart from behind.
Shisui was slightly baffled—the extra strike wasn’t strictly necessary, as his Three-Tomoe Sharingan was potent enough to kill the man within the Genjutsu.
Still, he politely nodded toward Inaba Hyuga and whispered, “Thank you.” *What a nice guy—I stole his kill, and he’s thanking me~* Having snatched both the EXP and the thanks, Inaba felt slightly embarrassed for a second, so he maintained a straight face and gave a nod in response.
The six-man squad’s infiltration went smoothly, quickly breaching Kirigakure’s outer defense line.
Once inside the harbor town, however, the six had to split up and hide in the shadows of the buildings.
By now, a small snake rested on each of their shoulders.
These were summoned beasts called forth by Anko, used for silent communication in the dark.
Inaba Hyuga didn’t rely on them much; his Byakugan could detect Chakra flow like thermal imaging, allowing him to pinpoint targets in the dark with precision.
Yet not everyone in the team possessed visual Kekkei Genkai, so communication support remained essential.
“Hiss, hiss, hiss!” Before long, the small snake on Inaba’s shoulder let out rhythmic hisses.
This set of signals meant: Rinfu Gekko indicates to follow.
Inaba peeked out and saw Rinfu Gekko moving nimbly through the alleyways at high speed.
Even without visual Kekkei Genkai to aid him in the dark, Rinfu Gekko naturally took on the duty of point man—because before Inaba joined, that had always been his role.
Though this teammate was usually quiet, reticent, and liked to blabber about “mission comes first,” appearing cold, on the battlefield, the silent, deadly swordsman provided an absolute sense of security.
*This guy is reliable—when push comes to shove, he steps up!* With Rinfu Gekko clearing the path ahead, Inaba Hyuga trailing behind on lookout, and Anko along with the two Uchiha staying on the flanks ready to support, the squad pressed forward.
The group made it through the town without further incident, drawing near the dockside pier.
They were currently hiding on the second-floor balcony of a tiled building near the docks.
The room seemed to be a storage chamber; they had checked the second floor and found no one, just a thick layer of dust, indicating it had been abandoned for a long while.
From here, they were very close to the pier moorings, and by moonlight, they could easily spot several sea vessels berthed at the pier.
By this time, Captain Tomoe had already detached to set an ambush, while the taciturn Rinfu Gekko voluntarily leaped onto the roof to keep watch from the eaves.
Thus, temporary command fell to young Anko.
Anko didn’t show any stage fright.
She turned to the two Uchiha and asked, “How’s your Fire Style?” Kou Uchiha answered proudly, “There isn’t an Uchiha in the Ninja World who isn’t a master of Fire Style!” *Nice.
Full of spirit!* Little Anko nodded.
“Good.
In that case, you two go west and set fires to cause as much chaos as possible.
Once the captain sees you move, he’ll act, using Explosive Tags at the dock to blow up the ships at the pier.
Meanwhile, Rinfu Gekko and I will contact the dockhands and destroy the newly delivered supplies.
Inaba Hyuga, find a high vantage point to oversee the area and cover us.
Once the mission is accomplished, I’ll signal, and everyone will retreat to the south together!” This was the core plan decided earlier; Anko was merely filling in the details.
The plan was meticulously thought out: use the Uchiha’s diversion on land to create chaos, covering the captain as he sank the ships in the water, then use the dockside turmoil to mask Anko and Rinfu Gekko as they met the dockhands, located the temporary supply warehouse, and destroyed the provisions to sever Kirigakure’s war capacity!
Every phase interlocked smoothly; even the most critical Kou Uchiha had no objections.
Before moving, they bumped fists one last time and gave each other solemn nods.
“For the village, for Konoha!” Shisui Uchiha initiated the vow, and the others joined in, declaring, “For the village, for Konoha!” This time it wasn’t just talk—it came straight from the heart!
Then Inaba Hyuga flipped onto the roof, taking over Rinfu Gekko’s watch position to oversee the entire battlefield.
Shisui Uchiha and Kou Uchiha set off first, creeping toward the dense residential sector in the west!
Anko and Rinfu Gekko stayed hidden, waiting for the opportune moment.
The plan progressed steadily, everything seemingly unfolding right on track.
Yet no one anticipated the sudden turn of events that occurred next!
Before the two Uchiha could strike, Inaba Hyuga—having just reached his high vantage point and activated his Byakugan to glance toward the western residential area—suddenly sent out an urgently panicked warning.
He frantically tapped the small snake on his shoulder!
At the same time, the snakes on Shisui Uchiha and Kou Uchiha’s shoulders began hissing rapidly in synchronization.
“What’s happening?
Why are we being told to fall back right when the operation just started?” Kou Uchiha was utterly bewildered.
By then, an anxious Inaba Hyuga threw caution to the wind regarding exposure.
He used Body Flicker at top speed, charging over to tackle the dazed Shisui Uchiha to the ground while hurling his sheathed short sword at the back of Kou Uchiha’s knees.
The blow knocked Kou’s legs out from under him, sending him tumbling onto the floor.
“You Hyuga kid, have you lost your mind?!” Kou Uchiha turned around and hissed through gritted teeth, suppressing his fury.
With movements this loud, are you afraid the nearby Kirigakure ninjas won’t spot us?
The next instant, however, he shut his mouth.
Because there was no longer any need to worry about whether Kirigakure would discover them or not…
*BOOM!!* Violent explosions thundered continuously from ahead!
The blasts blew off rooftops and shattered walls, sending a barrage of Senbon, Kunai, and needle projectiles flying through the air alongside flying shrapnel!
Terrified, Kou Uchiha slammed his head down just as a Kunai zipped past, grazing his scalp.
Now he finally understood why Inaba Hyuga had rushed over frantically to tackle them down.
Yet a new question immediately arose— “Damn it!!
Who laid this trap?!”