Seeing a swirling sandstorm suddenly engulf a coastal port meant one of two things: either you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or someone was causing trouble!
Little Anko knew she was wide awake, leaving only one possible answer.
“It’s Sunagakure!” Explosive Tags paired with the sandstorm were currently running a highly efficient demolition business around the harbor.
Stunned by the sight, Anko paused slightly.
But Rinfu Gekko—a man of few words and ruthless actions—narrowed his eyes and unsheathed his blade without hesitation, charging straight forward.
“Hey, wait!” A string of unexpected turns had left little Anko somewhat bewildered.
She instinctively called out to Rinfu Gekko, wanting to discuss their next move.
But Rinfu Gekko’s judgment was decisive.
“We can’t let them kill the shipwrights!” Hesitation at a moment like this meant defeat!
They didn’t know Sunagakure’s goal, but from Rinfu Gekko’s perspective, there was no way Sunagakure knew Lord Orochimaru had bribed the harbor shipwrights.
The shipwrights were just ordinary civilians.
If Sunagakure was allowed to go wild and slaughter them, Konoha would never find the warehouse where Kirigakure stored its supplies.
They had to stop them!
And so he charged in with unhesitating lethality!
Yet misunderstandings were often born from such fragmented information exchange— Sunagakure likewise believed Konoha had no reason to know *they* had bribed the shipwrights.
Seeing a Konoha ninja charging toward them with a sword full of murderous intent, they assumed he was coming to kill the shipwrights too!
What’s more, having noticed Konoha’s ship-destroying spree, Sunagakure naturally assumed Konoha intended to wipe out the shipwrights as well.
Urgent whispers quickly echoed from within the sandstorm.
“Block them!
Don’t let them near the civilians!” “Understood!” The duo in the sandstorm reached a swift agreement.
The swirling yellow sand shifted direction and surged toward Rinfu Gekko, who was advancing with his drawn blade!
After a brief pause, little Anko summoned her snakes and joined the fray!
Another chaotic battle erupted!
Amidst the ruins, two separate groups of shipwrights—each hiding their own ulterior motives—looked at the chaotic battlefield and felt like weeping.
Why was it so hard just to meet up with their sugar daddy?
Are ninjas always this sloppy?!
But they were just ordinary people.
When gods fight, mortals suffer.
Deciding that keeping their lives was priority number one, the two groups conferred and promptly made a break for it!
Meanwhile, on the west side of town, the battle of wits raged on!
Shisui was tied down by the puppet master beside Pakura, unable to break through.
The veteran puppet master was highly experienced against the Sharingan, keeping himself hidden behind his puppets to deny Shisui any chance of eye contact.
Puppets were immune to Genjutsu, giving Shisui a massive headache.
Kou Uchiha, with his fiery temper, was already throwing hands with the Kirigakure ninja in a literal physical brawl.
That left Pakura—the most critical target—for Inaba Hyuga to deal with alone.
Cutting down two more Kirigakure ninja on the run, Inaba Hyuga rounded a corner just as a figure flew out from his front right.
It was a Kirigakure ninja, knocked off his feet and careening uncontrollably through the air.
Inaba Hyuga instinctively swung his sword to slit the man’s throat, but a glance through his Byakugan made him instantly abort.
Bending his knees to absorb his forward momentum, he brought himself to a dead stop, changed direction, and leaped back to evade.
A crimson fireball was trailing right behind the flying Kirigakure ninja, catching up to him in midair.
Then came a sharp *hiss*!
A dense cloud of scorching steam billowed from the midair ninja.
In a split second, he was thoroughly dehydrated and dried to a crisp, falling to the ground as a lifeless mummy.
That was Pakura’s Kekkei Genkai ability—Scorch Style!
That treacherous fireball had been hidden right behind the knocked-back ninja.
Under normal vision, the body would have blocked the sight of the fireball completely; from Inaba Hyuga’s angle, it would have been invisible!
Had Inaba Hyuga not dodged, the fireball would have slammed into him the exact moment he slashed the body.
Pakura had intended to flash-dry him right along with her enemy!
A mature, sultry female voice echoed from atop a low wall ahead, proving Inaba Hyuga’s suspicion right.
“Little brother of the Hyuga Clan, you move quite fast, don’t you?” The woman couldn’t even be bothered to pretend anymore!
Inaba Hyuga had to admit that this backless-outfit-wearing, fiery big-sister type was truly a handful.
Seeing more and more Kirigakure ninja alerted around them and the town’s danger level skyrocketing, he was forced to set aside past grievances and take the initiative to hoodwink…
er, seek cooperation.
“Pakura of the Scorch Style, we aren’t enemies right now—we’re grasshoppers on the same thread!
If this keeps up, neither of us is walking out of here alive tonight!” Pakura scoffed, her nasal grunt surprisingly pleasing to the ear.
“Can’t handle it already, little brother?” Seeking cooperation, Inaba Hyuga offered a stroke of flattery.
“I admit your Scorch Style Ninjutsu is unrivaled in the Ninja World.
But if Kirigakure keeps sending reinforcements, or even dispatches elite squads like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, how do you plan to handle them?” Pakura clicked her tongue.
She admitted Inaba Hyuga made a point—Kirigakure was their primary threat.
But she was still annoyed!
Because it was Inaba Hyuga who dragged them into the mud in the first place!
Otherwise, their initial situation was far better than Konoha’s.
Without Inaba Hyuga pulling them down, they might have already escaped.
But to rescue her comrades, she had no choice but to swallow her pride.
Her current standing in her village was precarious.
Ever since Rasa became Kazekage, he had targeted her at every turn.
If she failed to rescue her allies tonight, it was obvious Rasa wouldn’t lift a finger to exchange prisoners with Kirigakure for her sake later.
This might very well be her only chance in this lifetime.
“So what do you suggest we do, little Hyuga brother?” Inaba Hyuga let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Hearing those words meant there was a way forward!
“We can cooperate for now!
Next, we—” But just then, before Inaba Hyuga could finish his sentence, a large crowd of civilians came swarming in from the direction of the pier.
Most wore faded shorts and linen shirts, their skin sun-browned, many sporting straw sunhats.
At a glance, they were clearly hard-working shipwrights accustomed to laboring under the blazing sun of the docks.
Why would shipwrights run over here?
For a moment, both Inaba Hyuga and Pakura were stumped.
They had no idea that a fight had erupted over there as well—and an even livelier one at that.
The shipwrights were lamenting their luck: why was nowhere safe tonight?!
Ninjas are seriously so sloppy!!
Inaba Hyuga and Pakura moved at the exact same moment, then abruptly stopped at the exact same moment, turning to stare at the “ally” beside them whom they had just agreed to break out with.
*Why is he/she following me?
Why is he/she targeting those shipwrights too?
What is he/she up to?!* A stream of identical doubts flashed through both of their minds.
The fragile sliver of trust forged under Kirigakure’s pressure instantly shattered into pieces!
Their eyes locked for a fraction of a second before quickly darting away, neither wanting to give away their intentions.
Yet merely one second later, both vanished from their spots simultaneously with the Body Flicker Jutsu.
Immediately after, a flurry of sharp *clangs* erupted in the air ahead.
Short sword and kunai clashed violently in rapid succession!
Pakura curled her lips into a seductive, mocking smile as she looked at Inaba Hyuga.
“Little Hyuga brother, didn’t you just say we were going to cooperate?
How did you change your mind so fast?” Inaba Hyuga’s face was completely dark.
Because he was finally certain that Pakura’s objective was indeed those very shipwrights.
“You aren’t passing through!” His expression was grim and heavy, as though all the previous playfulness had been nothing but an illusion.