Chapter 192
2-in-1-chapter
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It was just past noon. The miso soup was still too hot to drink, but the grilled rice balls were golden and fragrant. Together with canned meat, dried vegetables, and rations that even included cigarettes and tea leaves, it was a generous meal. For the female shinobi, the cigarettes were replaced with candy. By any standard, this was a feast.
As the saying went, one falling leaf foretells the coming of autumn. From the quality of the Cloud-nin's rations alone, one could see the might of the Land of Lightning—second only to the Land of Fire in power and prosperity. Neither the Sand, the Stone, nor the Mist had meals this good. Only Konoha could surpass them in such luxury.
Just as the Cloud-nin were about to enjoy their lunch, rising smoke signals forced them to set down their bowls and rice balls.
The direction of the smoke told them everything; even without thinking, they knew it meant the Konoha forces had launched a counterattack. Yet not a single Cloud-nin showed fear or panic. Their string of victories in recent weeks, driving Konoha's troops into disarray, had lifted morale to new heights. Now, facing a counteroffensive, their only reaction was irritation that their meal had been interrupted.
Before any superior officer even gave the order, the Cloud-nin had already assembled on their own, ready to strike. They only awaited the signal to advance, defeat the Konoha shinobi, and then return to finish eating.
"Move out!"
Darui issued the command, his brows furrowed.
Unlike the high spirits of his subordinates, Darui had not forgotten what had happened to Nii Yugito. Even now, she remained in that same state—disillusioned with war, trying to persuade others to seek peace with Konoha. The Raikage had finally been forced to place her under house arrest. Because of her, the Cloud forces southward advance had been delayed.
Yugito's transformation had been too disturbing. The longer one observed her, the more her change became evident. The most unsettling part was that Yugito herself seemed unaware that anything was wrong, sincerely regretting her own former violence.
Each time Darui recalled the pained expression she had worn, a chill rose unbidden in his chest.
"Uchiha Shisui," Darui murmured.
The Cloud forces had halted their assaults for some time, but that did not mean they had been idle. Under Dodai's command, their intelligence network had been fully mobilized, gathering as much information as possible on the Uchiha. At the very least, they had learned that the one who fought Yugito was the "Body Flicker" Uchiha Shisui, and they had even obtained a photograph.
"Darui, a large chakra presence is approaching ahead."
The voice belonged to C, his deputy, who along with Darui was responsible for constructing the Kusatsu Highlands defensive line.
"That fast already?"
Darui stopped in his tracks, standing on the grassy field as he stared at the dense forests in the distance. His expression grew grave. The speed of Konoha's advance was astonishing. He was certain that from the moment the signal smoke had risen, the Cloud patrols would have rushed forward to intercept them.
And yet, the Konoha forces had already reached this point in such a short time, as though they had been sprinting straight through without pause. The Cloud-nin who tried to block them had not even managed to delay their advance by a few minutes.
"Pass the order down—prepare to engage."
Forcing away the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Darui issued the command for his troops to form ranks and ready themselves for combat. At the same time, he began his own preparations, forming the hand sign for "Mizunoe" and casting the Shadow Clone Technique. Two clones appeared beside him.
"C, be careful. Don't get caught by that Uchiha Shisui."
Darui turned his head to warn his friend.
"I'll be careful."
C nodded, maintaining his hand seals as he used sensory ninjutsu to monitor the enemy's approach. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "They're here!" he shouted.
"Do it! Throw!"
Darui's arm swung up as he gave the order.
In the next instant, kunai fitted with explosive tags rained down like a storm into the forest before them. A chain of detonations echoed through the mountains, fiery blasts twisting into an orange-red serpent of flame that tore across the woodland, leveling a wide swath of trees.
But—
"Damn it!"
Darui's expression darkened. He did not need to ask C about the results. Standing on the ground with arms spread wide was the massive, green figure of a giant—its upper body alone towering above them. That sight told him everything. Their first wave of attacks had achieved next to nothing.
"Special Action Squad, move forward."
Darui could no longer spare time to speak with C. As the commanding officer, directing the battle before him was his foremost duty. Of course, a shadow clone was sufficient for command purposes. As the strongest among the thousand or so Kumogakure shinobi present, it was unthinkable for him to stand idly behind the lines giving orders.
Leading from the front was a long-standing tradition of the Cloud.
Leaving one shadow clone behind to coordinate the battlefield with C, Darui personally advanced alongside another clone and the Special Action Squad toward the towering, emerald giant known as Susanoo. This squad had been formed after Darui witnessed the battle between Uchiha Shisui and Nii Yugito. Careful reflection afterward had convinced him that such a unit was necessary.
This forward detachment stationed in the Kusatsu Highlands had no Jinchūriki.
If they encountered Susanoo, what then?
It was in consideration of that question that Darui had assembled this squad, selecting from the thousand Cloud shinobi those proficient in Earth Style or Water Style, as well as those skilled in powerful offensive ninjutsu. The result was a team with a plain but functional name: the Special Action Squad.
It was not a new idea. In the past, Kumogakure had already formed special sealing squads dedicated to subduing tailed beasts. However, it was obvious that Susanoo was not a tailed beast. After consulting with the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer B, Darui abandoned the idea of summoning sealing specialists and instead gathered elite shinobi proficient in destructive offensive jutsu.
Based on intelligence relayed by the Eight-Tails through Killer B, Darui had learned that the Uchiha's Susanoo was not a sentient chakra entity like a tailed beast that could be sealed. Its essence was still that of a human being—flesh and blood. Sealing techniques meant for tailed beasts had no effect on humans.
As for curse mark techniques that could target humans, even fewer possessed such skill. Among Darui's thousand subordinates, not a single shinobi was versed in them.
At the same time, he understood that Susanoo possessed overwhelming defensive power. Ordinary attacks could not pierce it, and that was why he had gathered Cloud shinobi specialized in offensive techniques.
"First wave, Earth Style. Second wave, Water Style. Attack in sequence."
Darui's command rang out.
Earth Style: Earth and Stone Flow.
The shinobi proficient in Earth Style unleashed the technique they had drilled tirelessly in recent days. More than ten completed their hand seals and struck the ground in unison. The earth trembled violently as the solid terrain crumbled to fine dust-like particles.
Then it was the turn of the Water Style users.
They joined forces to perform Water Style: Wild Water Wave. The surging water mingled with the pulverized earth, forming a vast expanse of quicksand-like mire with tremendous suction. It was clear that the Cloud shinobi intended to use this bog to restrict Susanoo's movements.
This approach existed only because Kumogakure lacked true masters of Earth Style. Otherwise, they could have simply unleashed Earth Style: Yellow Springs Swamp for the same effect. But Cloud shinobi were generally attuned to Lightning Style. Owing to their village's culture of valuing kenjutsu and taijutsu, even most Jōnin rarely practiced other chakra natures, focusing instead on perfecting lightning-based body and sword techniques.
It had taken considerable effort for Darui to find so many with skill in Earth and Water Style.
"Now! Attack together with me."
Seeing Susanoo sink into the mire, Darui's hands flashed through seals. In an instant, he released one of his most powerful techniques:
Storm Style: Laser Circus.
Mist rose around his clasped hands as beams of brilliant light erupted outward, crossing the distance in a heartbeat to strike Susanoo's abdomen—the source of its chakra, according to earlier observation.
Lightning Style: False Darkness.
Lightning Style: Furious Thunder Tiger.
Lightning Style: Giant Serpent Star.
The elite shinobi Darui had assembled followed his lead, launching their own strongest offensive ninjutsu. Following their prearranged strategy of concentrated attack, every strike targeted the same spot Darui had just hit—Susanoo's abdomen.
"It's cracking!"
A sharp-eyed shinobi shouted as fractures spread rapidly across Susanoo's abdomen. Under the collective gaze of the Cloud forces, the enormous construct began to collapse, its cracks spreading outward like a chain reaction until the giant shattered completely.
"Hah! So it's all for show after all."
"Looks impressive, but it couldn't take a hit."
Laughter erupted among the Cloud shinobi.
In less than half a minute, they had brought down the enormous Susanoo. Emboldened by their recent string of victories, they could not help growing overconfident. It was an understandable reaction—even Darui himself was momentarily stunned. He had not expected success to come so easily.
But as the foremost talent of Kumogakure's younger generation, Darui quickly collected himself.
"Stay alert! The battle isn't over yet! You—watch out!"
His warning trailed off as a flash of white steel cut through the formation.
But it was too late.
Blood sprayed in crimson arcs.
Before the headless bodies of the Cloud shinobi even fell, blood fountained from their severed necks like streams from a broken dam. Shisui, his Body Flicker Technique pushed to its utmost, reaped their lives without pause. The Blade of the Sky in his hands seemed to have become the scythe of the Reaper itself. Each swing claimed another life.
Then his advance was halted. A Jōnin adept in swordsmanship and lightning-infused taijutsu barely managed to block one strike.
"Sleep."
Shisui's Sharingan blazed crimson.
The Cloud shinobi, caught off guard, met his gaze for an instant and forgot every warning about never looking an Uchiha in the eye. His consciousness was pulled into an illusion, his body and limbs frozen. Shisui's blade moved once more, and that Jōnin drifted into death's darkness without ever regaining awareness.