After a few moments, the Shimada clan leader canceled the Water Formation Wall Ninjutsu, turning the giant wall of water into a puddle.
Over twenty samurai and nearly seventy Shimada clan ninjas were standing behind him. They had already drawn their weapons, waiting for the clan leader's orders.
The Kirigakure ninjas were nowhere to be seen. But the Konoha ninjas knew they were hiding somewhere, ready to strike the moment they found an opportunity.
Seimei knew that one of the Kiri ninja possessed a chakra signature and quality rivaling an S-rank ninja.
Every S-rank ninja was a key powerhouse of any ninja village, whose destructive capabilities and importance were only shadowed by the Kage-level Shinobi.
They were a force of nature and a key human resource of a hidden Shinobi village in all major elemental countries.
Sending such a powerhouse to a foreign nation with a hostile force in an undercover mission didn't make any sense to Seimei.
Kirigakure leadership is no fool.
If they had sent an S-rank ninja here, his mission would have been a very important one.
One that will empower Kirigakure greatly while either weakening Konoha or preventing it from being more powerful.
But what the heck could it be?
And why is the Shimada clan helping them?
Plus, who would have thought that the other S-rank Shinobi would be the clan leader of the Shimada clan?
Seimei watched his enemies while staying alert as his mind worked in an overclocked state.
There was a brief standoff between the forces of the Shimada clan and Konoha ninjas.
After a brief moment of silence, the Shimada clan leader asked, "Ninjas of Konoha, may I ask why you are being so aggressive? You killed five innocent samurai, who were working with us for no reason."
"And you did something here just now, didn't you? We can't use most Earth Release Jutsu here all of a sudden. Coupled with the fact that I noticed a momentary spike of chakra surrounding our clan grounds, you have probably cast a Fuinjutsu Battle Formation here."
"You have launched indiscriminate Ninjutsu attacks, leading to severe property loss, destruction, and a lot of casualties and injuries among our people, including innocent civilians."
"Why are you doing this? Do you want to breach the pact made between the independent ninja clans and Konoha, notarized by the Daimyo himself?"
The Shimada clan leader's voice was filled with suppressed anger, as if he had been wronged and his clan members were implicated unjustly.
Hearing this, Senju Tatsuya sneered.
"Shimada Ryunosuke, do you think you can cover your treachery and traitorous intent by playing dumb in front of us?"
Shimada Ryunosuke, the clan leader, paused at those words before protesting, "You can't just accuse me of things we didn't do. Go back, now. We will take this matter to the Daimyo's court in a week."
"I will make sure you guys pay for causing such destruction."
This time, Uchiha Hiroshi stepped forward. "Wait to settle the matter at Daimyo's court next week? And allow you to slip away?"
"Heh, Shimada Ryunosuke, do you take us for a fool?"
"Do you think we don't know what's going on inside that little head of yours?"
"You are a traitor who colluded with the foreign Shinobi. The Uchiha clan should have wiped you out from the face of the earth long ago."
Hearing this, Shimada Ryunosuke's blood almost boiled in anger. He and his clan already had grievances with the Uchiha clan.
That was the key reason why they refused Senju Hashirama's offer to join Konoha in the past and chose to stay independent, like many other independent ninja clans.
The cycle of hatred was not easy to end. The Shimada clan couldn't bear to be part of a system where their mortal enemy, the Uchiha clan, was one of the founders and a main pillar.
Shimada Ryunosuke suppressed his anger and asked in a low voice, "Is there no way to compromise?"
"Compromise?" asked Uchiha Hiroshi with an amused expression.
And he continued.
"Never mind. Why am I even talking?"
"Traitors don't deserve compromise. They only deserve death. And that will be your fate."
"Now, cut your bullshit. My eyes have already seen through your nonsense."
Shimada Ryunosuke clenched his fists. "Very well. Very well. You want a fight? You will get one."
"You think you can deal with us with your measly number of 28 ninjas?"
"You think two S-rank Shinobi can wipe us out? Is that your confidence?"
"I see. Get ready to die then."
With that, Shimada Ryunosuke bit his thumb to draw blood and pressed his hand on the ground.
Summoning Technique: Feral Hound
Puff!
As soon as he slammed his hand on the ground, a deep black summoning seal was formed on the ground. The seal glowed in a faint blue light for a moment before the summoning beast materialized with a puff of smoke.
"Grrrrrrrrr…."
A loud guttural roar echoed in the air. A few moments later, the smoke was cleared.
And what greeted the Seimei and other Konoha ninjas was a large, five-meter-tall hound-like creature with pitch black fur, fiery red stripes that seemed to radiate heat, and a pair of glowing crimson eyes that sent a chill down the spines of many Konoha ninjas.
The oversized hound opened its mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth. Heat seemed to be coming from its open mouth.
It was a Feral Hound—one of the rare summoning beasts known for its incredible strength, speed, ferocity, and fire-based innate skills.
"What the fuck?" Seimei couldn't help but mutter. But no one would blame him. That was because the Feral Hound's chakra quality and quantity seemed to have reached the peak of AA-rank.
According to the protocols, they would need one S-rank ninja to eliminate the Feral Hound safely.
But if the hound and Shimada Ryunosuke joined forces, things could escalate real quick. After all, there was still an S-rank ninja from Kirigakure lurking in the dark.
Unfortunately for the Konoha ninjas, the surprises were not over yet.
Puff!
The sound of something else popping up could be heard. If they squinted their eyes, they could see a puff of smoke suddenly appearing inside the Shimada clan grounds.
Other Konoha ninjas didn't understand what the heck just happened.
But Seimei could perfectly see everything. And that's why he cursed in his mind once again.
Oh, come on!
The other S-rank ninja from Kirigakure summoned his own contracted beast. And the bad news?
It was a beast with peak AA-rank danger rating, too—almost reaching the S-rank danger rating, deadly even for the S-rank ninjas.
Step! Step! Step! Step!
Footsteps hitting the solid ground echoed all around them as the summoned beast came into the light while walking on its two feet.
It was a two-meter-tall bipedal summoning beast. Its body was ash-grey, which was covered in an armor-like structure made of pale white bones.
Nearly half a meter long, solid, and sharp bone protrusions were extended from its knee caps and elbows. Its hands were adorned with menacing claws as long as thirty centimeters, glinting with sharpness.
Its face was like a wendigo with deer-like horns that were made of grey-white bones.
However, its most striking feature was its eyes. The pair of eyes seemed hollow, but grey flames with a hint of green burned within them.
It looked less like a summoning beast and more like a necromantic horror from some unknown, corrupted dimension.
Seeing the creature, Seimei almost had an urge to smack his forehead.
Things just escalated from 'this situation is a little complicated' to a 'full-blown deadly threat.'
Meanwhile, Uchiha Hiroshi and Senju Tatsuya took a deep breath after seeing the horrifying creature.
They clenched their fists as they uttered the name of the summoning beast.
"A Boneclaw!!!"
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