Chapter 288: 800!
"This..." Sasuke's words made Akimichi Ken and the others look at each other in dismay.
"If we were talking about directly cutting through the Cloud Village from within, this small number of people probably wouldn't be enough. However, if we go to destroy their village's fortifications and then retreat unscathed, that would be more than enough."
After staring at the simple map for a long time, Nara Masato actually nodded. "This plan is indeed feasible. However, it requires Lord Sasuke to hold back the Fourth Raikage and the high-end combat power of the Cloud Village who might currently be inside."
"That's exactly what I intend to do," Sasuke said with a light smile.
"In that case, wouldn't the pressure on you be too great? That's the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, powerful individuals who made their name in the last great ninja war," Akimichi Ken reminded him.
"They are nothing more than two stray dogs beaten and fleeing by the teacher. What the teacher can do, I may not be able to do," Sasuke said, pressing on the map, a certain desire etched in his genes stirring restlessly beneath his smiling face.
"Staff Officer Nara," Sasuke looked at Nara Masato, "draw up a feasible plan with the details of the attack."
"Understood," Nara Masato nodded. "Then, Lord Sasuke, when shall we make our move?"
"Let's wait two more days," Sasuke looked up at the sky and said with a light smile.
Relying on the cover of the farmers in the Land of Lightning who regarded Konoha's heavenly soldiers as saviors, the remnants led by Sasuke seemed to disappear directly within the Land of Lightning, secretly heading towards the Cloud Village.
Two days later, on a late night with torrential rain.
Raindrops lashed down like whips on the treacherous ridges west of the Cloud Village, washing the black giant rocks as if they were the spines of monsters. The wind howled through the crevices of the rocks, stirring up cold water mist. In the shadows of the ridges, there was a chilling deathly silence.
Sasuke stood at the top of a cliff, rainwater streaming down his jet-black short hair and dripping onto his dark combat uniform.
At this moment, he was like a black statue standing in the storm. Only his eternal Mangekyo Sharingan glowed faintly with a dark red light in the heavy darkness, piercing through the layers of rain, locking onto the huge village below whose lights stubbornly flickered in the downpour.
The Cloud Village, like a steel behemoth lurking in the embrace of the mountains, exuded a fierce and dangerous sense of oppression even in such severe weather.
Behind him were eight hundred Konoha elites tempered by several brutal battles. They were like part of the mountain rocks, clinging tightly to the cold, damp stones. Their breathing was suppressed to the lowest level, and even their heartbeats seemed to be swallowed by the raging sound of the rain. The rain soaked their dark combat uniforms, clinging to their skin and bringing a biting chill, yet no one moved a single inch. The oppressive atmosphere was colder than the rain, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.
The reconnaissance ninja in the team, Hyuga Kazuya, crouched a few steps to the left and behind Sasuke, his face filled with absolute concentration. He extended his index finger, and a small ball of faint chakra light gathered at his fingertip. He quickly sketched a simple map of the core area of the Cloud Village below on the wet rocky ground, as seen through his Byakugan. Several red lines representing patrol routes and sensor barrier nodes were particularly glaring on the map.
"The barrier tower west of the Raikage Building, the perception center with the widest coverage," his voice was very low, almost drowned out by the rain, but it clearly reached the ears of Sasuke and the few squad leaders beside him, "the highlands to the east, three watchtowers with excellent visibility covering the entrance. Underground, there are three points with strong chakra reactions, suspected to be large-scale armories or storage depots."
Then, his voice paused, his fingertip pointing to each spot on the map, finally stopping at the marker representing the Raikage Building, "The most crucial is this one. The surrounding defensive arrangements look airtight, like an iron barrel."
Akimichi Ken's massive body was pressed close to Masato like a small mountain. He was carefully unwrapping a specially made soldier pill wrapped in thick moisture-proof oil paper, stuffing the whole thing into his mouth and chewing vigorously, his cheeks bulging. Hearing Hyuga Kazuya's words, he responded vaguely with a muffled vibration, "Leave the defense of that armory to me. I can smash through their defenses within five minutes."
Saying that, he swallowed the soldier pill, his huge fist clenched tightly in the rain, his knuckles letting out a slight cracking sound, and an invisible sense of power spread out.
Sasuke's gaze lifted from the simple map drawn by Hyuga Kazuya and once again turned to the lights in the rain.
The dark red Mangekyo slowly rotated, his vision instantly piercing through the distance and the obstruction of the rain. He saw the chakra runes flickering at the top of the towering barrier tower, the Cloud sensory ninjas on the watchtowers wearing raincoats and scanning with eyes like hawks, and the orderly patrol squads quickly shuttling through the streets... The defenses were tight and well-deserved of their reputation.
However, in the Mangekyo's all-seeing vision, even the most严密 (yánmì - tight/close) network must have gaps—tiny delays in chakra flow, unavoidable short blind spots when sentries exchanged gazes, and the natural cover provided by the heavy rain itself.
"It's time," Sasuke's voice was not loud, but it cut through the sound of wind and rain like a cold blade, clearly imprinted in the consciousness of the eight hundred ninjas behind him. "Some of us may die in this battle."
"However, victory will surely belong to us. Long live Konoha!"
"Loyalty!" 800 ninjas raised their hands in salute in unison, their determination seeming capable of tearing through the rain.
"Loyalty!" Sasuke raised his hand in return.
In the next moment, Sasuke slowly raised his right hand, rainwater flowing down his wrist guard. In the next instant, an enormous, suffocating chakra erupted!
Deep purple chakra, like boiling flames, instantly gushed out from his body, condensing into shape amidst the deafening rain—a huge body, a ferocious head, arms covered in ancient armor! The complete Susanoo, like a purple demon god from mythology, rose from the ground in the raging storm, exuding a world-destroying pressure! The huge longbow in its hand, made of pure chakra, was instantly drawn to a full moon, and a giant arrow pulsating with pitch-black lightning condensed out of thin air, its tip pointing directly at the tallest Raikage Building in the center of the Cloud Village!
"Indra's Arrow!"
"That... what is that?!" On a watchtower in the Cloud Village, a sentry's voice twisted and changed pitch with extreme horror, pointing at the suddenly appearing, towering purple giant on the ridge.
"Enemy attack——!! Highest alert!!" A shrill alarm tore through the rainy night, instantly spreading throughout the Cloud Village. Countless lights were lit, and figures ran frantically through the streets.
At the moment the alarm sounded, the giant bow in Susanoo's hand let out a earth-shattering hum! The giant arrow leaping with pitch-black lightning shot out! It tore through the air, emitting a sharp whistling sound. Wherever it passed, even the raging rain curtain was instantly evaporated into a vacuum tunnel, its target aimed straight at the Raikage Building!
"Presumptuous!" A roar containing violent lightning, like a thunderclap from the nine heavens, exploded, even drowning out the sound of Susanoo's arrow piercing through the air!
A figure wreathed in dazzling lightning, moving at a terrifying speed almost impossible for the naked eye to capture, rushed up from the direction of the Raikage Building! It collided head-on with that world-destroying giant arrow! There was no evasion, only the purest clash of power!
Boom——!!!
The sky seemed to have been blasted open a huge hole! A deafening explosion resounded through the clouds, and a violent shockwave spread out in a ring, instantly shattering all the raindrops within a radius of several hundred meters into even finer water mist! Dazzling blue electric currents and pitch-black lightning frantically intertwined, devoured, and annihilated each other! The entire Cloud Village trembled violently under this terrifying impact, and the glass windows of countless houses shattered in response!
The lightning dissipated, revealing the true appearance of that figure.
The Fourth Raikage Ay, his massive, mountain-like body steadily hovered in mid-air, his entire body wreathed in crackling blue Lightning Release Chakra Armor, blazing as bright as a human-shaped lightning bolt. The sleeve of his right arm was torn by the impact of the explosion, revealing not flesh and blood, but a mechanical prosthetic limb with a cold metallic luster and an incredibly precise structure, with pulses of faint blue chakra light flowing within! That was precisely the chakra metal prosthetic limb Amado had built for him. At this moment, his five fingers were spread open, and in front of his palm, a ripple of scorching air remained due to the intense energy friction—he had actually used this metal palm to forcibly crush Susanoo's full-power arrow!
"Damn Uchiha!" Raikage Ay's voice was as loud as a bell, filled with rage and killing intent. His eyes were locked onto Sasuke in the Susanoo on the ridge. "How dare you run wild in my Cloud Village! Tonight, I will tear you to pieces!"
Before his voice faded, the air beneath his feet exploded again with a circle of white sonic boom clouds! Raikage's figure completely disappeared, leaving only a distorted afterimage in place.
Almost at the same time, a huge fist made of chakra metal, wreathed in destructive lightning and carrying the terrifying power to tear space, slammed heavily into Susanoo's chest!
Crack!
A teeth-aching cracking sound rang out! The incomparably sturdy chakra armor on Susanoo's chest was actually struck with spiderweb-like cracks by this punch, which contained the extreme speed and power of the "Lightning Release Chakra Mode" and was amplified and strengthened by the chakra metal prosthetic limb! The massive purple giant staggered backward from this overwhelming force, and the mountain rocks it stepped on collapsed with a roar!
"Yo! Stupid big brother! Bastard Uchiha! Killer Bee is here! Eight-Tails is here! Gonna blow you all away! Yeah!" A rhythmic voice with a rap-like tone suddenly cut into this tense battlefield.
Giant octopus tentacles tore through the rain curtain, and the massive, mountain-like figure of the Eight-Tails Gyūki landed with a heavy pressure, splashing mud and water high into the sky. The Jinchuriki Killer Bee stood on Gyūki's head, his sunglasses flashing under the lightning, his hands forming seals rapidly, and massive chakra gathered frantically.
"Lariat!" Raikage Ay's roar and Killer Bee's actions were perfectly synchronized! Raikage's figure once again transformed into a lightning bolt tearing through space, rushing towards Susanoo's side ribs from another tricky angle at an even faster speed than before! His chakra metal prosthetic limb flashing with destructive lightning was the most deadly battering ram!
At the same time, the Eight-Tails Gyūki opened its huge mouth, and a black sphere radiating a destructive aura, compressed from high-density Yin-Yang chakra, rapidly spun and formed in its mouth—the Tailed Beast Ball!
Attacked from both front and back! Deadly killing intent descended in an instant!
Sasuke in the Susanoo, his face as cold as ice, faced with the combined attack of the two powerful figures, the tomoe in his eternal Mangekyo spun frantically, and his dōjutsu power poured out without reservation!
"Take Mikazuchi no Mikoto!"
Sasuke's gaze focused on Raikage Ay's lightning-fast figure. Poof! Silent and without sound, pitch-black lightning capable of annihilating everything violently erupted in the path of Raikage Ay's charge, on his deadly chakra metal prosthetic limb! The pitch-black lightning greedily licked the cold metal, emitting a crackling sound.
"Ugh ah!" Raikage Ay let out a short, pained groan, and his charging momentum faltered. The black lightning was like a malignant tumor attached to his bones, ignoring physical defense, and the pain that went straight to his soul surged up his metal prosthetic limb and directly into his brain! What was even more terrifying was that chakra metal had excellent conductivity for chakra, and the pitch-black lightning was crazily spreading along the intricate energy circuits inside the prosthetic limb towards his torso!
At the instant Raikage was entangled by Take Mikazuchi no Mikoto, the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball had been compressed to its limit, carrying a terrifying pressure capable of destroying everything, and shot out with a roar! Its target was Susanoo!
However, Sasuke merely turned his head to glance at Gyūki. The giant Susanoo turned and drew its sword, its massive body erupting with unbelievable speed. The Iai strike, seemingly capable of cutting through anything, sliced open this massive Tailed Beast Ball with just one slash.
The smoke and dust of the explosion were quickly washed away by the rain curtain. After Gyūki saw the red Mangekyo Sharingan in the eyes of the figure in the crystal above Susanoo's head, it immediately exclaimed, "Not good! Killer Bee! He's not Uchiha Douhuan! Don't look at his eyes!"
However, it was already too late. The exact same Sharingan markings appeared in Gyūki's eyes almost instantly.
The genjutsu specifically used by their clan to deal with tailed beasts, learned from Shisui, the clan member with the strongest mastery of genjutsu, controlled Gyūki in an instant.
"Hmph!" Ay endured the searing pain of the black lightning burning his arm, a fierce light bursting from his eyes. "Don't get too cocky, Uchiha brat!"
He roared, forcibly urging his violent Lightning Release chakra. Blue electricity suddenly erupted, and his metal prosthetic limb forcibly disassembled and reassembled. Although large patches of scorch marks remained on his arm, his mobility had already recovered. He once again transformed into lightning, lunging towards Susanoo with even more intense killing intent!
The giant Susanoo drew its sword to meet him. Killer Bee also relied on the opportunity Ay had created to help Gyūki disrupt the flow of chakra and break free from the genjutsu. Gyūki roared and joined the battle.
The battle instantly entered an even more tragic, white-hot stage. The purple giant dodged and weaved in the siege of lightning and the giant beast. Every collision erupted with earth-shattering roars, and violent energy shockwaves constantly exploded, clearing the surrounding rain curtain again and again, revealing the Cloud Village below trembling violently.
Just as Sasuke's Susanoo was engaged in a heaven-shattering battle with the Raikage and the Eight-Tails in the sky above the village, firmly attracting everyone's attention and senses, like ghosts merging into the night, countless black shadows, under the cover of the heavy rain and the great chaos and noise created by the energy explosions, quietly infiltrated from the relatively weakly defended flanks, sewer exits, and even the crevices of steep mountain walls of the Cloud Village.
(End of chapter)
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you