Chapter 212: The Cloud Ninja's Tactics
After approaching to 500 meters, Ishiro activated a sensory ninjutsu. This distance was not suitable for the Mind's Eye; Ishiro's Mind's Eye currently had an effective perception range of only just over 200 meters.
However, after a while, both Ishiro and Koku frowned. It was too far. Whether it was sensory ninjutsu or the Byakugan, neither could accurately grasp the chakra flow of the distant Cloud ninjas.
Especially Ishiro's sensory ninjutsu; being able to track high-speed moving targets 500 meters away was already quite good. Wanting to secretly learn ninjutsu from that distance was a joke.
Koku's Byakugan also couldn't clearly see the Cloud ninjas' chakra flow paths at such a distance. It could be said that he could roughly see it, but couldn't distinguish the finer details.
Helplessly, Ishiro looked at Ikura and asked, "Can we get closer?"
After thinking for a moment, Ikura said, "We can."
It wasn't that Ikura and Ishiro were reckless, but that they were sufficiently confident in their own side's strength. Even if the Cloud and Sand ninjas in front of them teamed up, they wouldn't be a match for Ishiro's group.
So even if they accidentally revealed their position while secretly approaching the enemy, Ishiro and his team wouldn't suffer any losses.
At this moment, the Cloud ninjas' attention was entirely focused on the Sand ninjas, and they didn't notice the Stone ninjas approaching to about a hundred meters on the other side.
"Alright, this is it. We can't go any further," Ikura stopped Ishiro and Koku, who still wanted to advance.
Ishiro and Koku exchanged a glance, then focused their attention on the Cloud ninjas.
As usual, Ishiro used sensory ninjutsu plus his Mind's Eye to probe the Cloud ninjas' spiritual energy and physical reactions, while Koku used his Byakugan to observe their chakra flow paths.
"The second person from the left, this person is a Lightning Release user. It looks like he's preparing to cast a ninjutsu. Let's observe him first." Ishiro's sensory ninjutsu could determine an enemy's chakra attribute, so he immediately assessed the five Cloud ninjas.
Koku acknowledged and also focused his attention on that Lightning Release Cloud ninja.
After a while, that Cloud ninja cast the first ninjutsu while approaching the Sand ninjas.
"Lightning Release: Four-Pillar Jutsu!"
As this Cloud ninja cast the Lightning Release, four giant pillars immediately appeared around the Sand ninja contingent, with strong Lightning Release chakra fluctuations on them.
Ishiro naturally sensed this scene immediately. While shifting his attention to the four pillars imbued with violent Lightning Release, he was also shocked by the Cloud ninjas' grand gesture.
Were the Cloud ninjas trying to annihilate all the Sand ninjas?
It should be known that although the Sand side only had one Elite Jonin and the rest were Chunin and Genin, they had numbers on their side. There were 15 full squads in the Sand ninja team, meaning 60 people.
Although in a frontal clash, these sixty people might not be a match for the five Cloud Jonin, the possibility of leaving one or two Jonin behind was still very high.
Simply put, it would be easy for the Cloud ninjas to rout the Sand ninjas, but to annihilate them all? That was underestimating the Sand ninjas too much.
But the next scene made Ishiro marvel at the ingenuity of the Cloud ninjas' tactics.
Although the A-rank Lightning Release cast by the Cloud Jonin was powerful, when dispersed among more than 60 Sand ninjas, it wouldn't necessarily kill many. Even though they had the initiative, it wasn't enough to secure victory with one move.
However, the Sand ninjas' subsequent reaction made Ishiro understand the Cloud ninjas' intentions.
The Elite Jonin from the Sand, named Yuma, upon sensing the enemy rapidly approaching and launching a ninjutsu, didn't choose to counterattack immediately. Instead, he used an A-rank Wind Release to destroy two of the pillars.
Originally, the four pillars were like a lightning field, capable of covering the entire area where the Sand ninjas were located with Lightning Release. But with two pillars gone, all the Lightning Release gathered between the remaining two pillars.
This way, the main body of the Sand ninjas would not be attacked by this A-rank ninjutsu.
But the price of this move was too high. It could be said that Yuma exchanged his best opportunity to counterattack for this one strike to protect all his subordinates.
Ishiro guessed that this was precisely the Cloud ninjas' objective. An Elite Jonin's counterattack was terrifying, but if the opponent was made to focus on protecting their own people from the start, the possibility of casualties on their own side would be much smaller.
Sure enough, more than half of the Cloud ninjas' subsequent attacks were directed at Yuma.
Only two Jonin were using large-area ninjutsu to interfere with the sixty Sand Chunin and Genin.
And Yuma, because he had chosen the wrong tactic at the beginning and lost the initiative, was targeted by Tanimoto Naoto and another Elite Jonin, along with a stronger Jonin. Soon, he fell completely into a disadvantage, unable to even find an opportunity to cast a ninjutsu.
Seeing the situation was not right, Yuma shouted, "Everyone, scatter and retreat!"
Seeing this, the Chunin and Genin knew they could no longer save their superior. They retreated one after another, then quickly dispersed in small teams, heading towards the Land of Wind from more than ten directions.
Only Yuma and the bodies of a few companions affected by the large-area ninjutsu were left behind.
The Cloud ninjas did not pursue them, merely casting a B-rank Lightning Release, a token gesture to drive away the fleeing Sand ninjas.
Then, the group began to besiege Yuma.
At this point, five were besieging one. To prevent Yuma from a dying counter-pounce, the Cloud ninjas had already slowed their rhythm somewhat and were no longer casting ninjutsu.
Ishiro, now idle, nudged Ikura beside him with his elbow and said, "Ikura, should we save the Sand ninja?"
Ikura was stunned, thinking, "Aren't we here to watch the show? And maybe secretly learn a few ninjutsu. Things were going fine, why did you change your mind again?"
But on second thought, wasn't this an opportunity to get on good terms with the Sand ninjas? If they could expose what the Cloud ninjas were doing to the Sand, then the Sand ninjas, having gained an enemy for no reason, would be even more likely to choose an alliance with Iwagakure.
Thinking this, Ikura used the Body Flicker Technique to leave his spot, and then a large-area Water Release jutsu attacked the six people engaged in battle.
Ikura acted quickly. Although the Cloud ninjas sensed the huge chakra fluctuation in advance, it was too late to cast a ninjutsu to intercept. Moreover, although Ikura cast a B-rank ninjutsu, its power was by no means weaker than an A-rank one.
Even if the Cloud ninjas wanted to block it, it wouldn't be easy; Cloud ninja jutsu were not known for defense.
Even so, Ikura had only refrained from using an A-rank ninjutsu because he considered that the Sand Elite Jonin Yuma was also within the ninjutsu's coverage area and feared excessive collateral damage.
Thus, facing the surging Water Release, the Cloud ninjas reluctantly chose to scatter and evade.
Originally, the Cloud ninjas had thought of regrouping after dispersing to kill the newcomer, but they quickly abandoned this idea because they all recognized Ikura's identity.
The moment Tanimoto Naoto saw Ikura, his heart sank to the bottom. Ikura had already proven his near-Kage level strength in the Third Great Ninja War. And more than half a year had passed since the end of the war; Tanimoto Naoto would believe it if someone said Ikura had reached Kage level.
Without any hesitation, Tanimoto Naoto immediately issued the order: "Retreat!"
But how could Ikura let him have his way? Reminded by Ishiro, he knew he had to expose the Cloud ninjas' identity today. And to expose the Cloud ninjas, the best way was to leave them all behind.
"Earth Release: Earth Overturn!" Ishiro, in the distance, was startled. This was the only S-rank ninjutsu Ikura had mastered; Ikura probably hadn't fully learned his second S-rank ninjutsu yet. And this should be the first time Ikura used an S-rank ninjutsu in actual combat.
The casting process for an S-rank ninjutsu wasn't fast. If Tanimoto Naoto and his group had chosen to interfere, Ikura might not have been able to cast it. But they chose to retreat directly, so Ikura successfully completed the casting.
After Ikura finished the hand seals, he slammed his hands on the ground. Then, in the area where the Cloud ninjas were, about seven or eight hundred meters away from Ikura, all the land within a diameter of about one kilometer suddenly sank and churned, directly burying all five Cloud Jonin.
Although the Cloud ninjas had retreated some distance while Ikura was forming hand seals, the range of the S-rank ninjutsu Earth Overturn was too vast; the distance they retreated was far from enough to reach a safe position.
And in Ishiro's perception, the original location of the Cloud ninja group was directly covered by a massive amount of chakra, and no other chakra sources could be sensed anymore.
When everything calmed down and Ikura's chakra dispersed, only Tanimoto Naoto, with greatly weakened chakra fluctuations, remained within the area covered by the ninjutsu.
"Hiss~~" Ishiro swallowed. Such power.
Just now, the Cloud ninjas had not been completely gathered together but were relatively dispersed, the furthest distance between them being about 500 meters. And the one furthest from Ikura was nearly a kilometer away.
But in the end, all of them were buried by Ikura's single move. Only Tanimoto Naoto, relying on his Storm Release Kekkei Genkai, broke through Ikura's chakra seal from underground and rushed out.
Although the Tanimoto Naoto who rushed out was surrounded by Storm Release chakra, his chakra reserves were already bottoming out, and his body was covered in wounds of various sizes. For an Elite Jonin, he could already be said to have lost his combat ability.
Not far away, Yuma, equally shocked by Ikura, was even more astonished after seeing Tanimoto Naoto's Storm Release. He blurted out, "Storm Release! You are Tanimoto Naoto of the Cloud Village?"
Tanimoto Naoto smiled bitterly, knowing he was finished today. Not only had he failed to obtain the Byakugan, but he had also exposed his identity, needlessly making the Sand ninjas a major enemy for the Cloud Village. Although the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning were not adjacent, gaining a major hidden village as an enemy for no reason was something the Cloud Village couldn't afford.
So Tanimoto Naoto made a final effort, saying, "Has Iwagakure also taken a fancy to the Byakugan in the Sand ninjas' hands?"
He wanted to sow discord at the last moment. As long as Iwagakure and Sunagakure also became confrontational, the Cloud Village wouldn't have to worry. With Konoha as a major enemy, even if other countries had occasional disputes, they would never escalate to full-scale war.
And in Tanimoto Naoto's mind, no matter why Ikura appeared here, as soon as he heard about the Byakugan, he would definitely attack Yuma.
As long as Yuma died, there would be no witness to his ambush on the Sand ninjas.
But a scene that surprised Tanimoto Naoto occurred. After hearing his words, Ikura, who should have been surprised, showed no change in expression, but Yuma was greatly astonished: "Byakugan? Where did a Byakugan come from?"
Ikura smiled and said, "The Byakugan is already in our hands. Those rogue ninjas originally did want to trade with the Sand ninjas, but we intercepted it."
Ikura had suddenly thought of this after hearing Tanimoto Naoto's words, taking the opportunity to legitimize Iwagakure's acquisition of the Byakugan.
In the future, the entire ninja world would know that Iwagakure obtained the Byakugan from rogue ninjas. As for how those rogue ninjas obtained the Byakugan, or whether they killed the Hyuga Clan Head, that had nothing to do with Iwagakure.
After Tanimoto Naoto heard Ikura's words, he could no longer maintain his Storm Release and directly spat out a mouthful of blood. He was angered to this extent. So, he had risked offending the Sand ninjas and fought tooth and nail, only for Iwagakure to have already reaped the benefits?
Of course, Ikura wouldn't let such a big opening from Tanimoto Naoto go. "Earth Release: Rising Earth Spears!"
One after another, earth spikes emerged from under Tanimoto Naoto's feet. The badly injured Tanimoto Naoto hurriedly dodged, but only avoided three before his thigh was pierced by the fourth earth spear.
Then Ikura used the Body Flicker Technique to approach Tanimoto Naoto, knock him out, and capture him.
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