Moku silently stared at the approaching storm.
His heart was filled with helplessness.
The counterattack came too fast!
The storm's range exceeded the limit of his movement in such a short time, meaning he couldn't avoid the massive force of the storm. So, just before the storm hit, he crouched down, raised his arms to shield his chest, and tried to minimize his exposed area.
The next moment—
The storm crashed into him.
"Weird?"
Moku was lifted into the air like a kite, tossed far away by the storm. However, to his surprise, he realized that he hadn't suffered much damage. He had expected to be torn to shreds! As a master of Lightning Style jutsu, he knew the cutting power of Wind Style all too well.
With a storm of this magnitude, he had honestly thought he was a goner.
Being sliced into pieces would have been a good outcome.
There was even a chance he'd be turned into minced meat by the wind blades.
But when the storm actually hit him, he noticed that while the storm was indeed powerful enough to blow him and his two subordinates away, Uchiha Sougen hadn't fully utilized the Wind Style's cutting power.
"Shisui!!"
Sougen, who had missed his mark with the first attack, didn't rush to follow up.
Instead, he loudly called out to Uchiha Shisui.
On the battlefield, Shisui sheathed his sword, swiftly slashing the throat of an attacker charging from the side. Blood spurted from the wound like a broken pipe, but none of it stained Shisui's sleeve. Shisui had already used his Body Flicker Technique to move quickly and appeared in front of Sougen in no time.
"What do you want me to do?"
Shisui asked.
"Go capture that guy named Moku," Sougen said, raising the fan in his hand and pointing towards the retreating storm and Moku. "Don't let him escape. He dared to strike at me, so he needs to be punished. Alive or dead, bring him or his corpse to me."
As he spoke, Sougen shot Shisui a meaningful glance.
"Leave it to me!"
Realizing the implications, Shisui took a deep breath and chased after the storm. Meanwhile, Sougen surveyed the battlefield. All around him, there were sounds of battle, with Mist ninja fighting Mist ninja, and Mist ninja fighting Leaf ninja. Yes, the Mist ninja were fighting each other as well.
Once Moku, who was supposed to be in charge of welcoming them, had turned into one of the attackers, anyone with a bit of awareness could realize that the Mist ninja under his command were likely in the same situation as their boss. In fact, this was true. As soon as Moku attacked Uchiha Sougen, the intensity of the battle skyrocketed.
Originally, the Mist ninja had been pretending to fight each other, but now they joined forces to attack the Mist army that had returned with Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage. They likely didn't intend to destroy the army but seemed to be stalling for time to kill the Fourth Mizukage and the Leaf ninja.
Sougen narrowed his eyes, his mind racing with thoughts.
"Damn it! A bunch of scum!"
Terumi Mei cursed in frustration.
The water whip in her hand was as agile as a living snake, tightly coiling around her target. She swiftly moved in to break the bones of the Mist ninja attacker. At that moment, she understood why the Fourth Mizukage had been so harsh on their own people before.
Indeed—
Compared to death, just breaking a few bones and spending a few months in bed didn't seem like such a big deal.
With one foot on the Mist ninja who had passed out from pain, Terumi Mei quickly assessed the battlefield. She saw that the Mist attackers were converging toward the Fourth Mizukage and the Leaf ninja. They were throwing explosive tags like they were free, and despite the Leaf ninja's battle-hardened experience, they had no choice but to fall back under the relentless barrage.
It really was a waste of money.
Explosive tags weren't cheap, especially in the Land of Water. There weren't many who specialized in Fire Style, and even fewer who were skilled in making explosive tags. Mist Village couldn't produce enough of them, so they had to rely on the black market.
And the prices on the black market? Ouch! It was like cutting off a piece of their own flesh!
"Moku, that bastard."
Terumi Mei gritted her teeth.
There was no way Moku had paid for all these explosive tags himself. The most likely scenario was that Moku had taken supplies that were meant for the front lines without permission. This port was the largest on the western side of the island and served as a crucial hub for supplies heading to the front. Naturally, they had stockpiled plenty of military goods here, especially explosive tags.
And now—
Moku had taken full advantage of them.
"Mangetsu, Kisame, Zabuza, come with me to support the Leaf ninja. Let's not let too many of those idiots die," Terumi Mei ordered. By "idiots," she didn't mean the Leaf ninja, but rather the Mist ninja who had launched the attack. After all, having spent days together at sea, she knew how deadly the small group of Leaf ninja really were.
Moku's young Mist ninja were skilled,
But compared to the Leaf ninja, they were no match. Even the defeated Mist veterans behind Terumi Mei could easily take them down. And let's not forget, talented individuals like Hozuki Mangetsu, Hoshigaki Kisame, Momochi Zabuza, and Ringo Ameyuri were all on her side.
"What a hassle,"
Hozuki Mangetsu grumbled, smashing yet another water clone. His Water Gun Jutsu even pierced through the explosive tags, rendering them useless. "These idiots are just asking to die, so why bother saving them? Even if we do, they won't be grateful, and once we get back to the village, it'll be nothing but trouble."
"Don't be ridiculous. Moku might be a lost cause, but the ones following orders don't necessarily know what's really going on. And besides, we're all Mist ninja. They're our comrades."
As Terumi Mei spoke, she had already dashed off.
Mangetsu scratched his head in frustration, letting out a tired sigh. He hated this kind of troublesome task. Capturing people alive was such a pain! Back in the village, it would mean trials, imprisonments, and executions, with more problems piling up like waves.
"This is such a hassle."
Mangetsu muttered under his breath.
Despite his reluctance, he still stepped into action, using more restraint-based Water Style techniques like the Water Whip instead of the destructive Water Gun Jutsu.
Hoshigaki Kisame followed suit. As a model ninja, Kisame didn't let personal feelings interfere with his mission. Terumi Mei was the deputy commander, and her orders were to be followed without question.
Of course, not everyone was as diligent as Kisame—Momochi Zabuza, for one, just watched from the sidelines.
Regardless of what Yagura had been through, Zabuza was convinced that he was an unfit and incompetent Mizukage. During their time on the ship, Zabuza had been thinking about gathering like-minded individuals to overthrow Yagura once he recovered. But now, someone had beaten him to it.
Zabuza didn't plan on saving Yagura, but he also didn't want to side with the attackers. Assassinating the Fourth Mizukage was something he wanted to do with his own hands, not as someone else's lackey. So he simply ignored Terumi Mei's orders, joining a group of other Mist jōnin who preferred to sit this one out, watching their comrades fight amongst themselves.
But even though Zabuza and his group chose not to act,
The attackers were no match for the Mist army returning from the front lines, especially with the Leaf ninja helping out. The attackers were starting to falter, and their commander, Moku, had been blown away by Sougen's fan, making their situation even worse.
Yet as they were pushed into a corner, these young attackers became even more ruthless and bloodthirsty.
Realizing the difference in power,
They didn't retreat to regroup. Instead, they launched a desperate, suicidal attack, relying on Water Clones carrying explosive tags to charge at their enemies.
"Boom!!"
"Boom!!"
Deafening explosions echoed one after another, evaporating the Water Clones and filling the air with thick, white mist. The already low visibility dropped further, and without strong sensory skills, it was nearly impossible to see anything.
"Damn it! Do these Mist ninja want to bankrupt the village by using so many explosive tags?"
Inuzuka Jaw muttered angrily, retreating to his comrades to escape the relentless waves of explosions with his ninja dog.
"They're heading toward the Mizukage and Sougen-sama,"
Yamanaka Mokuren informed her companions through her Mind Body Jutsu, keeping track of the Mist ninja's movements.
"Going after Sougen-sama?" Kurama Yunhai remarked with a strange expression. If they were just targeting the Mizukage, who knew what would happen, but since they were also going for Sougen-sama, "Looks like we won't need to lift a finger." He said, and everyone around him nodded in agreement.