At this moment, Tomoe had completely come to view Inaba Hyuga as the spiritual successor to Tobirama Senju!
In reality, however, Inaba Hyuga was nowhere near as noble as Tomoe imagined…
Laden with multiple buffs, Inaba Hyuga was standing at the edge of an abyss.
He could only press forward; there was no room for retreat.
He wasn’t fighting for the village; he was fighting solely for himself!
Of course, another reason was his absolute confidence that he would not die.
The previous behavior of the Sunagakure squad had fully exposed how much they cared for and worried about their companion, Oki.
He was certain Pakura would make the rational choice.
In the next instant, reality met his expectations.
Pakura pondered for a moment and, as expected, agreed.
“Fine.
But our cooperation only lasts until your mission is complete.” Inaba Hyuga nodded in understanding.
“Then let’s discuss our battle plan.
Time is of the essence.
We must complete our objective before the main force on the Kirigakure front line returns.
We don’t have much time left!” Captain Tomoe suggested, “First, we need to find a way to slip back into the harbor town and locate those shipwrights.” At this point, Pakura interrupted him with a confident smile.
“No need.
You don’t have to look for them.
We’ve already been to the supply warehouse you’re looking for, and furthermore—” She turned to look at the puppet master behind her.
The puppet master picked up the thread.
“I placed some little toys in a few of the crates.
Even if Kirigakure relocates those supplies, I can track my mini-puppets to locate them.” This news undoubtedly boosted everyone’s spirits.
It was a truly pleasant surprise.
Perhaps the Sand ninja had felt that since they had already made the trip, leaving without doing anything would be a waste.
It was the exact same motivation that had led Inaba Hyuga and his team to rescue Oki.
With this piece of information, planning their tactics became much easier.
Before long, they highly efficiently finalized their battle plan!
Time waited for no one; every move they made now was a race against the clock!
The main Kirigakure forces on the front lines were expected to return in just over an hour!
The two sides split into two teams.
One group consisted of Captain Tomoe, Rinfu Gekko, Anko, the two Uchihas, and the Sunagakure kunoichi Oki, who had already received basic treatment.
The other group was composed of the four-man Sunagakure squad and Inaba Hyuga.
To support this operation, the Sand ninja also generously provided their boat.
That’s right—Pakura and her team had arrived by boat.
Unlike Konoha, which had been forced to retreat entirely inland after losing its ally, the Land of Whirlpools, Sunagakure, despite its poverty, still maintained a small maritime presence.
This was also why they had always been at odds with Kirigakure.
Kirigakure didn’t want any other shinobi village to get a slice of the ocean’s bounty, but the dirt-poor Sunagakure refused to yield even a single shrimp or fish!
With a boat, their tactical initiative during the attack increased significantly.
While shinobi could move freely across the water by channeling chakra to their soles, doing so consumed far too much chakra.
If they ran out of chakra during an intense battle, they would still end up drowning.
Having a boat provided them with a stable platform to stand on.
To show goodwill, Captain Tomoe actively proposed that Oki of Sunagakure handle the boat while they focused entirely on fighting.
This was to put Pakura and her team’s minds at ease.
This gesture undoubtedly won the goodwill of the Sunagakure squad.
After splitting into two paths, they launched their assault from the land simultaneously.
“Keep close, little Hyuga brother!
I won’t wait for you if you fall behind.” Buoyed by this goodwill, Pakura kindly warned Inaba Hyuga before they set out.
Even though Inaba Hyuga didn’t particularly care for her choice of address.
“I already introduced myself.
My name is Inaba Hyuga!” “Alright, little brother.” “…” *This woman is definitely doing it on purpose!* Shinobi were always highly efficient.
The next instant, before Inaba Hyuga could even grumble, they made contact with the enemy!
“Enemy attack!” Once the perimeter sentry sounded the alarm, a burly Kirigakure man immediately leapt out aggressively, actively challenging the group!
“You Sand trash, you actually dare to return?!
Your grandpa was still asleep at dawn, which is the only reason you managed to escape.
This time, I’ll make sure none of you leave alive!” This Kirigakure brute, who was so massive he hardly looked like a shinobi, boomed with a voice like a brass bell, brimming with confidence.
Yet, the approaching Pakura didn’t even spare him a glance.
She merely drifted past him.
With a light, almost imperceptible brush of her hand against his waist, the brute instantly shriveled, losing hundreds of pounds of water in a sharp hiss.
He turned into a skeletal corpse and slumped to his knees.
A one-hit kill!
Against unprepared enemies, Scorch Style was incredibly efficient at harvesting the lives of ordinary shinobi!
Watching from behind, Inaba Hyuga could not help but marvel in amazement.
It had to be said that while Pakura was a terrifying witch as an enemy, once she became an ally, the heat of her Scorch Style felt exceptionally reassuring.
Running right behind Inaba Hyuga was Jiromaru, the youngest member of the Sunagakure squad, who specialized in sensory reconnaissance.
He proudly puffed out his chest as they ran, not forgetting to show off to Inaba.
“See that?
That’s the power of our Sunagakure hero!
You’re still way out of her league!” Inaba Hyuga glanced back at him.
*What is with this kid constantly trying to pick a fight with me?* Inaba Hyuga ignored him, quietly locking onto the next Kirigakure shinobi who leaped out to intercept them.
His Byakugan had long since pinpointed the man’s location.
The moment he emerged, Inaba instantly flung a shuriken!
The emerging Kirigakure ninja was caught off guard, but facing a single shuriken, he didn’t take it seriously, casually swiping his long sword to deflect it.
Unbeknownst to him, the shuriken Inaba threw was attached to a thin wire.
The enemy failed to notice, and as he deflected the shuriken, the wire instantly wrapped around his blade.
Holding the wire with one hand and forming hand signs with the other, Inaba once again demonstrated his highly proficient one-handed weaving technique.
“Lightning Style: Lightning Draw!” A thin bolt of lightning descended from the sky, funneled into Inaba’s control, and then surged along the wire to strike the Kirigakure ninja’s weapon on the other end.
“Aah!” The intercepting ninja shrieked, instantly dropping his long sword as his palm scorched to a blackened crisp.
By then, Inaba Hyuga had already let go of the wire, closing the distance like a ghost!
With a light, effortless slash of his blade, he cleanly decapitated the disarmed Kirigakure ninja.
Though his method took a few more steps, his execution speed was barely any slower than Pakura’s, and both of them had dealt their blows with the same ease and effortless grace.
He didn’t even have to look back after the kill.
Noticing Inaba’s movement, Pakura took a brief moment to praise him.
“Not bad, little brother.
You’ve got some skills.” At this, Jiromaru, who had just been bragging, instantly froze up in dejection.
He had wanted to use his idol Pakura to humble the cocky Inaba Hyuga, only for his idol to immediately praise him in person…
*What is this?
Waking up on my deathbed, only to realize the joke is on me?* Jiromaru felt completely numb…