Chapter 53: A Perfect Retreat
"Use combined Water Release to create an environment advantageous to us!" Terumi Mei shouted the order, directing a group of Jonin into action. During the previous battle, she had also analyzed Uchiha Naoki's abilities and thus had some countermeasures prepared.
However!
"Everyone, it's time to retreat!"
Having received the chakra returned by his shadow clone, Uchiha Naoki naturally had no reason or intention to stay any longer. How could they truly fight the entire Kirigakure army head-on? Against such overwhelming numbers, even if they could handle the enemies, they would eventually be worn down to exhaustion. It was unnecessary!
He immediately blasted a scorching signal into the sky, notifying the air support, Deidara, to begin the retreat. Then, he unleashed his power, triggering several terrifying lava eruptions that forced the besieging Terumi Mei and the others to retreat hastily.
Upon hearing Uchiha Naoki's words, Uchiha Itachi, Juzo Biwa, and the Scarlet Sand Scorpion immediately began their withdrawal.
Uchiha Itachi directly activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, releasing a powerful genjutsu. "Illusion: Golden Bind!" A wave of crowd control instantly immobilized a group of elite ninja, including the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and Fuguki Suikazan.
"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Seeing this, the other two immediately formed hand seals, creating a dense fog to obscure vision.
"Virulent Poison Mist!" The Scarlet Sand Scorpion immediately released an emerald-green poisonous mist, mixing it into the continuously spreading fog.
Simultaneously, following Uchiha Naoki's prior arrangement, a chakra string shot from his hand, connecting to the four Uchiha Naokis.
And Deidara, naturally, upon seeing Uchiha Naoki's signal, immediately manipulated his clay bird into a steep dive.
SWOOSH!
The Scarlet Sand Scorpion shot out another chakra string, connecting to the diving giant bird, and pulled hard. The four Uchiha Naokis were immediately reeled upward at high speed.
"Quickly, dispel the fog—!" A sharp voice shouted within the mist, ordering someone with Wind Release to clear the fog quickly. But before the sentence was finished, the speaker's pupils suddenly contracted. He felt a sharp pain in his heart and a tingling all over his body before collapsing to the ground.
This triggered a domino effect instantly. Mist ninja began falling one after another like chopped wood. All of them had blackened lips and blue faces, suffocating or vomiting blood before dying suddenly.
"No! This mist is poisonous!" Immediately, many elite Mist ninja realized this and hurriedly shouted, "Get out of the fog-covered area!"
Some quick-reacting Jonin released signal flares while retreating, ordering the Mist ninja around the beach to attack, destroy the aerial support, and cut off Uchiha Naoki and the others' escape route.
But in this chaotic atmosphere, a sudden, violent scream erupted. It seemed a slightly reddish figure had flashed through the mist.
By the time the Mist ninja had just exited the poisonous fog, they saw Uchiha Naoki, already airborne, grinning down at them as he unleashed a dense barrage of scorching, fist-sized rocks. "Meteor Fire Shower!"
The scale was vast and spectacular, instantly dyeing the sky red and igniting the damp jungle below. Immediately, the poisonous mist's effects intensified. Thick smoke and fog—a double blow!
"Explosive Clay: C1!" While Uchiha Naoki attacked Terumi Mei and the other pursuers, Deidara also followed the pre-arranged plan, targeting the Mist ninja on the sea who were trying to shoot them down.
A shower of white explosive clay was thrown down by Deidara, raining upon the army. Amid the Mist ninja's bewildered expressions, Deidara smiled cruelly. "Now!"
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Suddenly, the entire sea trembled violently. The terrifying explosions were continuous, swift, and violent, instantly injuring a large number of Mist ninja. The remaining, unaffected Mist ninja quickly retreated from the blast radius, but their assault had been disrupted.
But the crisis wasn't over yet!
"C1: Clay Spiders!" Deidara threw out another dense 'snowfall' of clay spiders. They landed on the shoulders of many Mist ninja just as they were standing up. Then, as these ninja realized something was wrong and panicked, they detonated again!
"Now!"
"Now!"
Like an excited child, Deidara kept detonating his 'works,' showcasing his 'talent.'
Uchiha Naoki and the others had already climbed onto the clay bird's back with the Scarlet Sand Scorpion's help. The bird instantly ascended rapidly.
The next moment, a terrifying energy cannon, capable of piercing the sky, shot past them. It exploded mid-air, releasing a destructive gale that caused the flying bird to become unstable and nearly disintegrate.
A Tailed Beast Bomb from the Six-Tails Jinchuriki!
"Damn it!!!" Seeing even the Tailed Beast Bomb fail to stop Uchiha Naoki and the others, Terumi Mei stomped her foot angrily on the shore, grinding her teeth in frustration.
The casualties in this battle might not have been high, but the losses were truly significant! Losing the Fourth Mizukage was bad enough. Terumi Mei looked gloomily at the Suikazan Fuguki behind her; the fury in her heart was enough to burn mountains and boil seas.
Suikazan Fuguki was clutching his severed right arm in agony, his face pale and sweating. The wound was not clean; the technique used had been very crude. But comparisons were meaningless. With Suikazan Fuguki's right arm crippled, not only would his strength as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen be impaired, leading to a decline in Kirigakure's overall power, but more importantly, the Samehada had been taken. That was the real crux!
"Damn it, who was it?!" Rage burned in Terumi Mei's eyes, but there was nothing she could do. The first suspect that came to her mind was, of course, Uchiha Naoki. But she had no evidence to prove it. Everyone present today was under suspicion. After all, the immobilized Suikazan Fuguki had no ability to resist. Therefore, she could only attribute all this hatred to Uchiha Naoki's organization.
"Akatsuki! I will not let you get away with this!" Terumi Mei swore she would never let 'Akatsuki' feel at ease.
"Regroup!" Despite all her grievances, resentment, and fury, Terumi Mei could only focus on dealing with Kirigakure's internal affairs first. The turmoil and impact caused by the Fourth Mizukage's capture had to be properly managed and explained. Kirigakure also needed to promptly identify a new leader! Otherwise, complete chaos would ensue!
Far, far away from this place, 'Zetsu' emerged from the ground.
The white Zetsu praised, "Uchiha Naoki's abilities are truly terrifying. Not only did he infiltrate Kirigakure so smoothly, but he even commanded Sasori and the others to perfectly complete the mission of capturing the Three-Tails."
The black Zetsu agreed, "Yeah. After securing victory, he didn't get carried away with fighting. He knew exactly when to advance and retreat. The entire operation proceeded almost entirely according to his plan. How can that not be frightening?"
"However, we did learn a lot about him this time. I hope it helps Obito."
To this, the white Zetsu agreed.