Opening the map, it showed the layout of Hozuki Castle.
"The prisoners' cells are located here, which is point A, with entrances at B and C. There are two attack routes. Do not get bogged down in battles along the way; try to create as much chaos as possible. Upon reaching point A, pretend to be searching for someone and carry out indiscriminate attacks. Then withdraw from point D, where there are people waiting to receive you at the shore."
"Understood."
"Once you've got everything, move immediately."
The leader took out a wooden box, inside which explosive tags were neatly stacked.
After distributing the explosive tags, the eight individuals automatically split into two groups, heading towards the previously designated points B and C.
The four-member team that arrived at point B had one person take out a pocket watch, which showed the time as nine thirty.
"It's time, attack."
Without speaking, everyone took out their prepared kunai, each tied with a string of explosive tags, as many as five, which they flung towards the high wall ahead.
The kunai pierced into the wall's stones, igniting the explosive tags, and at that moment, the wall erupted with a flash and a boom, exploding violently.
At the same time, an explosion was also heard at the location designated as point C.
The next moment, the alarm system inside Hozuki Castle was activated, and the guards quickly organized themselves and headed towards the site of the incident.
However, the attackers had already crossed the now fractured walls, hurling kunai in all directions.
Each kunai was tied with five explosive tags, and the resulting explosive power was terrifying; if they made contact with a human body, it would be blasted into pieces instantly.
Continuous explosions echoed everywhere, and all around, buildings collapsed due to the blasts, stirring up violent dust storms, further intensifying the chaos within Hozuki Castle.
"Emergency alert, level two!"
"Emergency alert, level two!"
"Emergency alert, level two!"
This announcement was repeated three times, the person shouting it looking anxious, glaring at the exploding buildings with a look of shock and anger.
At that moment, two kunai shot towards a massive, slender structure, exploding with a boom that caused it to collapse from the middle, hitting the ground and immediately causing the earth to shake. A few unfortunate guards were even trapped underneath.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
An attacker wearing a black coat formed hand seals, spewing out a giant fireball.
More than ten guards from Hozuki Castle rushed forward from the front. Seeing the fireball crashing towards them, they immediately scattered, simultaneously launching kunai at the attacker.
Amidst the dust kicked up by the explosions, the clashing of metal weapons, and the bombardments of ninja techniques against each other, the chaos persisted relentlessl.
"Stop them; these people's goal is the prisoners in the castle! Don't let them succeed!"
The guards who were blasted away by the explosive tags coughed up blood yet continued to shout loudly.
However, no matter how much they screamed, the attackers did not engage in prolonged combat with them. Just by causing constant chaos, they could hold off the already limited number of personnel here.
Moreover, this location was very close to where the prisoners were held.
They also had to split their focus to protect those defenseless prisoners, undeniably increasing the already significant difficulty of their task.
The flash of the explosive tags swept past, and buildings continued to let out mournful noises as they crumbled amid the thundering sounds, with some people's screams interspersed.
The attackers, eight of them in two groups, successfully reached the cell area.
Kunai connected to explosive tags were hurled towards the various cell buildings.
In an instant, the cells were utterly destroyed, and intense flames erupted everywhere.
The eight roamed around the cell area, pretending to look for a particular prisoner, allowing the guards to see them.
They made them mistakenly believe they were here to rescue a certain prisoner.
"Go!"
Seeing the timing was nearly right, it was meaningless to stay any longer. The eight continued to retreat while hurling kunai with explosive tags like scattered flowers, indiscriminately bombing the area to incite chaos.
Without hesitation or delay, the eight formed a battle line, using explosive tags to carve a path forward, preventing the guards, mere flesh and blood, from approaching.
They had to both extinguish fires and tend to injured prisoners, stretching the resources of Hozuki Castle thin.
By the time the fires were out and the prisoners were taken to the medical room for treatment, and they went to chase the attackers, the other side had already boarded a boat, far from the island where Hozuki Castle was located. They could only stand with glaring eyes at the shore, leaving behind a thoroughly devastated Hozuki Castle.
"Next, we just need to see the response from the Hidden Grass Village."
On the boat, moving away from the Hozuki Castle region, one of the attackers spoke.
This attack on Hozuki Castle lasted no more than ten minutes, yet the chaos it caused and the number of damaged buildings was undoubtedly substantial.
Therefore, the Hidden Grass Village would undoubtedly have a major response next.
◎
As Insect Man and the others expected, upon learning that Hozuki Castle had been attacked and many buildings had collapsed, the Hidden Grass Village immediately dispatched over a hundred ninjas towards Hozuki Castle, because based on predictions, those attackers likely hadn't found the particular prisoner they were after, and there was a high probability of a second attack.
These over a hundred ninjas were just the first wave; more Hidden Grass Ninjas were following, heading towards Hozuki Castle, surrounding it into a sealed-off fortress, leaving no room to maneuver.
"It seems the plan to raid Hozuki Castle last night succeeded; quite a few Hidden Grass Ninjas went to Hozuki Castle for support in the morning."