The dual-front offensive was almost perfectly synchronized.
At the exact moment Pakura led her team to breach the defenses from the land, Captain Tomoe led his squad to launch an assault from the sea!
“Water Style: Water Shockwave!” Standing at the bow of the ship, Tomoe unleashed a major technique right from the start!
A massive Water Dragon Vortex erupted from the sea, drawing water hundreds of meters into the air before crashing down like a torrential waterfall, instantly sweeping over the entire dock!
This was an S-rank Water Style Ninjutsu developed by Tobirama Senju!
As a descendant of the Senju Clan, although Tomoe had not inherited the Senju name, he had at least inherited most of Tobirama’s knowledge and Ninjutsu.
At this moment, the Kirigakure ninja were shocked to find that both the sea routes they had long monopolized and the Water Style they were so proud of seemed to have met a formidable challenger!
“Damn it, get over here!
Those Konoha bastards are attacking again!” “To dare fight on the sea is simply asking for death!” “Let’s go together and kill them!” The Kirigakure ninja defending the town were riled up, but embarrassingly, most of them could only talk big.
The support they could offer was limited to throwing a few measly ninja tools and cheering.
Because Kirigakure had no ships left…
This was a tragic tale.
Even though this was a dock they occupied, after last night’s rampage, the Kirigakure forces couldn’t find a single seaworthy vessel.
They could only watch helplessly as the Konoha ninja stood aboard their ships, ruthlessly raining down Ninjutsu upon them.
From this, it was clear that although last night’s operation had been chaotic and disjointed, it was not entirely useless.
Their previous efforts had bought them their current ease.
However, in such a large town, there were bound to be Jonin left behind to guard it.
Soon, several Kirigakure Jonin came dashing across the water, quickly leaping onto the ships.
At this, Rinfu Gekko, Anko, Shisui, and Kou Uchiha joined the battle one after another!
Though everyone was exhausted, heavily scarred, and drained of energy, not a single person backed down against the Kirigakure ninja boarding the ships!
Steering the rudder, Oki couldn’t help but ask several times, “Should we retreat further away from the shore?” If they steered the ships further from the coast, there would naturally be fewer Kirigakure ninja brave enough to cross the water and board them.
But in the next instant, everyone refused in unison.
“No, there’s no need!” Because they knew their duty very well!
In this battle, their mission was to draw as many Kirigakure ninja in the town as possible, creating favorable conditions for Pakura and Inaba Hyuga’s landward assault!
This time, every single one of them had steeled their resolve!
Meanwhile, Pakura, Inaba Hyuga, and their five-man team who had breached the town from the front finally encountered tough resistance.
The Kirigakure ninja were not made of clay.
Once they shook off their early morning grogginess and went on high alert, replicating the feat of wreaking havoc in the market during the night would not be so easy.
“We need to avoid pointless fights as much as possible!” When Pakura realized that none of the opponents she had encountered in the last minute could be instantly killed with a single blast of Scorch Style, she knew: the difficult moment had finally arrived!
The puppeteer quickly pointed out the direction.
“Our destination is in that direction, less than two kilometers in a straight line.” From the rear of the group, a Sunagakure ninja who was whipping up a sandstorm spoke up: “We can’t keep charging like this.
We need to take a detour and find a route with fewer enemies.” His gaze first fell upon Jiromaru.
Because the latter was the scout of their squad, and they still recognized the boy’s professional expertise in his field.
But because Jiromaru was still feeling a bit shut-in and depressed, he was slightly slow to respond this time, and Inaba Hyuga beat him to it.
“Then follow me!” Before anyone could react, Inaba activated his Body Flicker Jutsu.
Moving like a teleporter, he instantly crossed the distance to the roof of a nearby building, casually slashing down a Kirigakure ninja who had just climbed up and hadn’t even found his footing.
Jiromaru was a bit stunned.
*Damn it, it’s bad enough that you keep slapping my face, but now you’re stealing my job?!* Before he could speak, Pakura beat him to it and ordered, “Follow him!” Now Jiromaru was even more dumbfounded.
*Captain, I’m the scout of our team!
Look at me, Captain!* Caught in the midst of a chaotic battlefield, Jiromaru knew this was no time to throw a tantrum.
Though furious inside, he could only follow in silence.
But he still couldn’t help but compete in secret.
*I’d like to see what you’ve got, stealing the job of a sensory ninja!* *Once you mess up, I’ll definitely tell the Captain not to save you!* Jiromaru swore in his heart.
But as they followed Inaba Hyuga through a series of twists and turns, Jiromaru pushed his own sensory abilities to the absolute limit, only to discover to his shock that every single step Inaba took was flawless!
Facing the Kirigakure ninja closing in from all directions, Inaba always managed to pinpoint the weakest link in the enemy’s encirclement!
Over a hundred Kirigakure ninja pursued them closely, yet they couldn’t establish an effective blockade.
Instead, Pakura, the puppeteer, and Inaba joined forces to slay quite a few of them!
To Inaba Hyuga, the entire battlefield seemed completely transparent.
He was like a grandmaster overlooking a chessboard from above; every sudden change of direction, every decisive strike, was incredibly close to the optimal solution!
In just a dozen minutes, despite doing little more than running behind and barely fighting, Jiromaru was already sweating profusely, his mind utterly shaken!
*I…
I don’t think I can do any better than him…* *No, it’s not “I don’t think.” I…
simply can’t!* No matter how much he hated to admit it, this thought stubbornly took deep root in Jiromaru’s mind, filling him with a profound sense of defeat.
How could he be surpassed by this detestable Konoha brat even in scouting, the only area he excelled in?
He couldn’t accept it, yet he couldn’t deny it either!
What frustrated him even more was that from beginning to end, Inaba Hyuga had not spared him a single glance.
Inaba hadn’t even noticed his petty thoughts.
He was entirely focused on scanning the battlefield, constantly using the Byakugan’s X-ray vision and long-range sight to find the weak points in the enemy’s encirclement.
Without him realizing it, his Byakugan seemed to be undergoing a peculiar transformation!
The center of his pupils, which had originally been completely pure white and blended in with the sclera, began to gain a trace of color.
While the outer ring of the pupil remained a flawless white, the rest of the sclera occupying most of his eyes began to give off a faint, sky-blue glow!
Right now, Inaba had no time to stop and check his status panel.
Otherwise, he would have seen the Kekkei Genkai section on his attribute screen flashing rapidly!
[Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (Flawless): 3999/4000] His Byakugan’s experience points were once again maxed out, bringing him to the brink of evolution for the third time.
However, the changes in his Byakugan this time were far more violent than ever before.
Yet, for such a crucial transformation, he still seemed to lack a certain catalyst.