vncnus Chapter 54 Cloud Ninja
Chapter 54 Cloud Ninja
Along the border between the states of Lei and Shuang, the Yunren (Cloud Ninja) have not deployed many patrol teams.
Using their white eyes as a cover, the four-person team easily sneaked in.
After passing the defense line, the group rushed forward at breakneck speed.
The Land of Lightning is predominantly mountainous.
After the team traveled at high speed for dozens of kilometers, a continuous range of mountains with undulating peaks came into view.
The landscape here is different from other places.
The rocks on the mountain are mostly grayish-brown, and the trees become increasingly sparse as you travel further.
As they ventured deeper into the Land of Lightning, the mountain peaks suddenly rose in altitude.
In more than one place, peaks could be seen piercing the clouds, making it seem as if the group had arrived at a place where the earth and the sky met.
The leaden clouds hung low, as if you could reach out and touch them.
"Boom!"
Lightning churned within the thick, dense clouds, arcs of light flashing within, like thunder dragons soaring and roaring.
Below, amidst the thousands of peaks resembling water and sparse, low vegetation, four figures flashed by rapidly.
In just a few breaths, it was already gone.
Qiu Dao took the lead in hoeing the field, followed closely by three other team members.
He would occasionally stop, take out a map from his pocket, and carefully compare it for a moment.
Once a location was chosen, the team disappeared into the mountains once again.
This run lasted for two days and two nights.
During that time, they only ate dry rations to fill their stomachs, and spent the rest of the time traveling.
Deep within the Land of Lightning, the group activated their senses to the maximum.
In the current ninja world, almost anyone who encounters a non-native ninja is an enemy.
Those barbarians from the Land of Lightning, in particular, won't listen to reason.
Everything needs to be dealt with first before discussing anything else.
Being behind enemy lines, the effect of the "white eye" (a term used to describe someone who glares at another person) is amplified to an extreme degree.
The other three had subtly shielded Ayako in the middle.
If attacked, her safety will be the first priority.
She was even more important than Captain Akimichi.
After checking the map twice more, the team finally arrived at an inconspicuous hill on the evening of the third day.
It is unremarkable because, compared to the surrounding mountains, it has no memorable features.
Without a map to guide you, you would easily overlook it even if you passed by.
But this is precisely the team's destination.
Judging by the distance, this place doesn't seem to be far from Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village), so it wouldn't be unreasonable to call it the outer perimeter of Kumogakure.
That's why they were even more cautious.
Outside the entrance to a hidden cave, Akimichi Hijita ordered a guard post to be set up before entering alone.
Mo Jingxian and the other two hid around the cave entrance, while Kakashi's hand was already on the hilt of his sword.
The cave is not deep, with only two turns.
Akimichi stopped hoeing the field just before the last bend.
He reached out and touched the cave wall in front of him, examining it carefully and not missing a single detail.
The walls were ordinary, made of the reddish-brown mineral rock unique to the Land of Lightning, with occasional patches of moss on them.
The air here has a metallic smell, and occasionally you can smell the faint burnt smell of lightning strikes.
Two feet off the ground, Qiu Dao's hoeing hand stopped when it reached this spot.
He then immediately checked everything and finally confirmed it.
Akimichi hoes the field, his hands quickly forming hand seals, the whole process taking less than a second.
When the last seal was completed, his palm was placed on the cave wall.
The walls seemed to melt away like mud, revealing the true form hidden beneath.
It's a very simple concealment seal, but its advantage lies in the scarcity of chakra residue, making it extremely well-hidden.
A small cubicle, about a foot square, contained a scroll lying quietly inside.
Akimichi took out the hoe and inspected it. The wax seal was intact, so he carefully put it into his pocket.
He restored it and got up to leave the cave.
Everything went smoothly, and the group walked much more briskly on the way back.
They traveled through the night, covering over a hundred kilometers in one go before dawn.
"Phew... I'll rest... for a while."
This mission was quite challenging for the team leader; with his weight of nearly 200 kilograms, it's a mystery how he managed to persevere.
The group hurried to recover their strength, while Mo Jingxian tried to find humor in their predicament, secretly complaining about their captain.
Kakashi, clutching his sword, hid behind a boulder, feigning sleep, while Ayako Hyuga habitually activated her Byakugan.
"not good!"
The sudden exclamation startled them awake, and Kakashi immediately drew his short sword.
"A group of ninjas is following us, something's not right..." Ayako immediately activated her X-ray vision:
"It's not one team, there are three teams totaling nine people, surrounding us from the east, west, and north."
How far is it?
"2000 meters."
Fortunately, Ayako discovered this in advance; if the enemy had surrounded them, there would have been no chance of survival.
It's pointless to investigate how we were exposed now; the best course of action is to devise a breakout plan immediately.
The intelligence gathering on Ayako is ongoing.
"Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki!" Her voice was calm.
"It's definitely her, less than 1500 meters to our west."
"Retreat eastward!"
At the critical moment, Captain Akimichi made a decisive decision and immediately issued a retreat order.
The group pushed their speed to the maximum, as if they were racing against death.
Qiu Dao, experienced in hoeing, did not choose to break through the path he had come from, but instead chose to break through from the east.
He dared not gamble on whether the enemy had set up an ambush on his way, so he chose the safest direction.
There was another three-man Cloud Ninja squad to the east, but at least they could see them.
"1000 meters"... "800 meters"...
As she ran, Ayako Hinata removed the longbow from her back.
"500 meters"... "400 meters"... "100 meters"...
"Whoosh!"
An arrow arrived on the battlefield first, only to become a black dot in the blink of an eye.
The two teams are like Mars colliding with Earth; they are about to meet at any moment.
The battlefield was a hilly area.
The Cloud Ninja squad that participated in the interception had just emerged from behind the hillside when the enemy attacked them.
One of the Chunin climbed over the hilltop, and in the instant his line of sight shifted, the cold glint of the arrow was already upon him.
Her blood surged, and a switch in her brain immediately flipped.
Hormone levels spiked to ten times their normal level instantly, the heart pounded powerfully, and with each beat, a large amount of blood was rapidly pumped throughout the body, all the way to the capillaries at the fingertips.
His pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints as he stared intently at the arrow.
As your field of vision narrows, time seems to slow down as well.
The sound of the wind gently wafting past my ears, and strands of hair flying freely across my forehead.
As the arrow drew near, she controlled her body to dodge, just as she had practiced countless times.
Although it was sudden, she was confident that she could dodge the attack before the arrows arrived.
"It's so cold!"
An unexpected event occurred.
"Cold!" became her last physical sensation.
At some point, a layer of white frost covered my body.
The ice layer is very thin; normally, it would be easy to break free with just a little effort.
However, the timing of the Ice Release was fatal; it slowed her body's rotation for a split second at the crucial moment when she was dodging.
"Snapped!"
His head exploded like a watermelon.
Red, white, and blue sprayed all over the hillside.
"Multiply Technique!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Tiger Thrust!"
With a roar, the two men, as large as mountains, collided.
The Cloud Ninja's Jonin leader and Akimichi Hijikata clashed head-on, their explosive clash suddenly echoing through the mountains.
Arcs of electricity crackled across the Cloud Ninja's arms, and a lightning tiger head materialized on his fist, seemingly ready to devour its prey.
Akimichi Hijita's fists abandon all fancy moves, pursuing only ultimate power—big and hard.
"Bang!"
The shockwaves generated by the explosions pushed and blasted outwards from the two of them.
Gravel flew everywhere, and a layer of grass was torn away by the strong wind.
The Cloud Ninja's figure flew backward, and Captain Akimichi's feet were embedded more than a foot into the earthen mound.
He himself was frozen in place because of the exchange of punches.
Only those who prioritize strength can forge ahead without hesitation.
A short figure emerged from the shadow cast by his massive body.
Lightning Release arcs danced on Kakashi's short sword; Konoha's White Fang technique was revived.
He was extremely fast, and his timing was perfect.
Just as the two Jonin were about to determine a winner, he flashed out and slashed at the enemy's neck with his lightning blade.
The Cloud Ninja revered strength, so most of them practiced Lightning Release ninjutsu.
Kakashi is fast, but he can't instantly kill the Chunin in front of him.
In fact, Kakashi knew that he only needed to hold off the Cloud Ninja for a short while before Captain Akimichi Hida would arrive to help.
Everything was as he had anticipated. The Cloud Ninja, holding a kunai, blocked the path that the short sword was bound to take.
Meanwhile, chakra was gathering in the enemy's other hand.
Of course, Kakashi was also prepared; ninja battles are all about speed and sharp eyesight.
He believed that this response was sufficient to withstand any further attacks from the other side.
suddenly!
An ice dragon leaped out from under the enemy's feet and swallowed him whole.
The timing was perfect, just as the enemy's attention was completely focused on Kakashi.
The short knife penetrated the neck.
A frozen head flew up, and the enemy's astonished expression was frozen in that moment.
Not only the enemies, but even Kakashi was taken aback.
"What are you daydreaming about?" Two figures swept past. "Run!"
"Oh." Kakashi unconsciously squeezed out a sound from his throat and quickly caught up with the two people in front of him.
The battles came quickly and ended even faster.
In the blink of an eye, the hoeing team achieved two kills in less than five seconds.
Akimichi pulled out his feet, shook his dizzy head, and left at a speed disproportionate to his weight.
The first arrow flew, the bowstring was still vibrating, and Hyuga Ayako leaped onto the battlefield.
Yun Ren was knocked away by Captain Qiu Dao, and she followed Mo Jingxian as they quickly rushed up the hillside.
The second arrow was nocked, and as the arrow flew, the bow was fully drawn.
"Chirp!"
The arrow parted the air, and the shockwave rolled along its tail.
Accompanied by a whistle that sounded like an eagle's cry, it shot once again at the only surviving Cloud Ninja.
Having suffered a setback, the Cloud Ninja had barely gotten up when another attack came.
He instantly unleashed the energy within his body.
Lightning-attribute chakra erupts in an extremely short time.
His body was covered with explosive lightning, as if he were wearing a lightning cloak.
It is the strongest ninjutsu of the Cloud Ninja – Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
As the arrow entered the spell's range, the metal arrowhead was destroyed at the molecular level, breaking down bit by bit.
"Snap." A hand crackling with electricity gripped the bare arrow shaft.
The Cloud Ninja looked in the direction from which the arrows came, and saw that the four Konoha ninjas had already run dozens of meters away.
One of the boys turned around, and his eyes, gleaming with silver crosses, met his gaze.
Even though he was unwilling, he was powerless at this moment, as his right arm was already broken.
He had just used the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, which he had not yet fully mastered, in a critical moment, which injured his internal organs.
It seems we will no longer be able to fight.
As the lightning retreated, it felt as if he were walking on cotton.
He staggered forward two steps, but eventually knelt on one knee and used his left hand to support his weight.
“Cough… cough…”
My lungs are burning with pain; every breath feels like a knife scraping across my lungs.
The humiliation in his heart continued to gnaw at his self-esteem.
Yu Guangzhong.
A blurry figure was rushing towards them from west to east...