Chapter 246: Chapter 246

Kitazawa and his squad moved swiftly toward the coastline.

Although Itachi and the Anbu unit were accompanying them, they remained unseen—moving like shadows through the trees. Torune’s insects scouted ahead, spreading out in every direction in search of Fuguki’s team.

After traveling some distance, Kitazawa vaulted up onto a tall tree branch.

Once he was far enough from Kurenai, his pupils shifted—the Byakugan activated. To conceal its chakra signature, he simultaneously simulated a regular sensory technique, masking the true source of his power.

After a quick scan of the surroundings, he deactivated his Byakugan and dropped back down to continue forward.

Soon, the scent of saltwater filled the air as the sea came into view.

The coast was a perilous place—most battles between Konoha and the Hidden Mist raged here. The Mist shinobi held the terrain advantage; they attacked relentlessly, retreating to the islands when things turned against them. Konoha forces rarely pursued across the water—Water Release users held overwhelming dominance there.

That advantage was what allowed the Hidden Mist to drag this conflict into a long, grueling war.

Even so, elite Konoha teams had been striking back—capturing islands to serve as forward outposts and staging grounds.

“Itachi,” Kitazawa called as the Uchiha appeared silently before them, “any news?”

“We just received intelligence,” Itachi replied. “Ten minutes ago, Fuguki’s squad attacked the northern outpost.”

“Then we move—now!” Kitazawa said, immediately accelerating toward the north.

Their speed was tremendous; within five minutes they reached the outpost.

But they were too late.

Every Konoha shinobi stationed there had been slain. Fuguki’s squad hadn’t even occupied the site—they struck fast, killed everyone, and vanished.

“No trace of them nearby,” Torune reported as his bugs returned.

“What a pity,” Itachi murmured, frowning. “They’re long gone.”

Kitazawa crossed his arms thoughtfully. “We’re reacting too slowly. Staying passive like this will get us nowhere.”

Kurenai tilted her head. “Then what’s your plan?”

“We fight fire with fire,” Kitazawa said calmly. “If they can harass us, we can do the same to them.”

Itachi nodded slightly. “With our combined strength, we can deal far heavier blows to the Mist.”

“Agreed,” Kurenai added. “If we disrupt them enough, Fuguki’s squad will eventually come to us.”

Kitazawa unfolded a map and pointed to the coastline. “We’ll split up. Itachi, your team takes the left sector; we’ll handle the right. Eliminate any Mist shinobi you encounter as quickly as possible.”

“These are Anbu signal flares,” Itachi said, handing over two canisters. “Fire them if you need support. We’ll come immediately.”

“Understood,” Kitazawa replied with a nod. “Everyone, stay sharp.”

With that, Itachi vanished in an instant.

“Torune,” Kitazawa ordered, “start a wide-area search.”

Torune raised his hands, releasing two thick plumes of smoke that quickly dispersed into a dark cloud—the manifestation of countless insects. The cloud split apart, spreading out across the horizon.

Kitazawa climbed another tree, scanning the sea through his sunglasses. The Byakugan flared again.

“Torune,” he called, pointing forward, “there’s an island in that direction.”

Torune’s insects swarmed toward it. Moments later, he reported, “Hidden Mist outpost detected—one Special Jōnin, three Chūnin.”

“Good. We’re going in,” Kitazawa said, stepping lightly onto the water’s surface. The others followed close behind.

“They’ve spotted us,” Torune warned.

Kitazawa looked up to see four Mist shinobi standing alert at the island’s edge. Estimating the range, he quickly formed a string of seals.

The ocean began to churn violently. Under the surge of his chakra, seawater rose high, coiling into a massive dragon of water—ten meters long and roaring like thunder.

“D-defense!” one Mist ninja shouted in panic.

They scrambled to counterattack—two water walls and an earth wall sprang up, followed by a desperate Fire Release.

But Kitazawa’s Water Dragon smashed through everything, tearing apart their defenses. The four were thrown off their feet.

“Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!”

“Wind Release: Great Vacuum Sphere!”

Izumi and Kabuto’s jutsu combined—wind feeding fire—turning the sky into a blazing inferno that consumed the fallen enemies.

“Next target,” Kitazawa said flatly. He didn’t even step onto the island before turning to leave.

“Kitazawa-sensei’s Water Release really is invincible on the sea,” Kabuto said in awe.

Izumi nodded. Their combined attacks had merely been finishing blows—Kitazawa’s Water Dragon had already ended the fight before it began.

“These four were strong,” Izumi remarked, “and he still handled them easily.”

Kitazawa smirked slightly. “Best not use words like ’invincible,’ Kabuto. The world has a way of correcting arrogance.”

Kabuto blinked, confused. “What kind of setting is that…?”

Before he could ask further, Torune’s voice came again. “Two o’clock direction—Konoha outpost under siege by Mist forces!”

“Move!” Kitazawa said sharply, and their team surged forward across the waves.

Moments later, the battlefield came into view—chaos swirling around a battered Konoha outpost.

The Hidden Mist squad clearly had the advantage. Their leader, a Jōnin, was overwhelming the defenders, whose strongest fighter was only a Special Jōnin. Even with the outpost’s fortifications, Konoha’s line was collapsing.

“Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!“

Kitazawa’s hands blurred through a rapid sequence of seals. A massive dragon of water erupted from the sea and roared toward the Mist Jōnin.

Both sides froze, startled by the sudden arrival of reinforcements.

“Kitazawa-sama!” the Konoha Special Jōnin exclaimed, eyes wide with relief. “We’re saved!”

“Kitazawa?” the Mist Jōnin spat, eyes narrowing. Then his voice sharpened. “Retreat!”

Even as he barked the order, he clapped his hands together, conjuring a thick Water Wall to cover their escape.

His three Chūnin subordinates didn’t hesitate—they broke away from the fight instantly and sprinted toward the forest.

By now, Kitazawa’s name carried weight across the entire front. Every Mist shinobi had heard of the man whose Water Release rivaled their own village’s specialists.

And for this Jōnin, retreat was the only sensible move.

Kitazawa’s lips curved into a faint smirk. “Running, huh? That makes things easier.”

He inhaled deeply. “Water Release: Water Formation Pillar!“

A dense sphere of water formed before his lips, and with a violent exhale, it shot forward like a cannonball. At the same moment, his water dragon shattered the Mist Jōnin’s wall, clearing the way.

The projectile struck the enemy’s counter-dragon head-on. The resulting explosion burst the water sphere apart, sending a torrential deluge crashing down on the Mist Jōnin.

“Water Formation Pillar…?” he muttered, startled. That was a Hidden Mist technique—how could a Leaf ninja know it?

Before he could react further, the flood engulfed him, washing him several meters away.

He recovered quickly—his mastery of Water Release prevented serious injury—but that brief delay cost him everything.

A scream tore through the battlefield.

He turned just in time to see his three subordinates lying motionless, struck down by Kurenai’s genjutsu and Kabuto’s precise follow-up strikes.

The Jōnin’s eyes widened—then darkness swallowed his vision completely.

“Wh—what is this?!” he shouted into the void, stumbling forward.

A whisper of movement brushed behind him—too fast.

“Water Release: Water Wall!“

He spun, raising another wall of churning water just as a kunai clanged against it and fell harmlessly away.

But then—

“Uchiha Style: Gale Sword!“

Kitazawa appeared behind him, blade wreathed in searing flame. His strike cleaved through the Jōnin’s defenses in a single blazing arc. The enemy didn’t even have time to scream before the fire consumed him.

The darkness lifted—Kurenai’s genjutsu faded from the field.

Kitazawa silently produced a sealing scroll and stored the Jōnin’s body.

“Kitazawa-sama! Thank you!” The Konoha Special Jōnin bowed deeply, relief washing over his soot-streaked face. “If not for you, we’d all be dead!”

Kitazawa waved it off. “Clean up the field. We’re moving on.”

He turned away, walking alongside Kurenai and Kabuto.

Hours slipped by.

With Torune’s insects and Kitazawa’s Byakugan, their pace was relentless.

By noon, they had already annihilated seven Mist squads. Between their efforts and Itachi’s Anbu team, Hidden Mist forces had suffered devastating losses in a single morning.

On a distant island, Fuguki’s team was taking a break, roasting fish over a small campfire.

The sudden sound of rushing wind made Fuguki’s brow crease in suspicion—until he saw the approaching figures in Mist Anbu gear.

“Lord Fuguki,” one of the masked shinobi said respectfully, holding out a scroll. “Message from Lord Ao.”

“Tch… what does that guy want now?” Fuguki muttered irritably as he tore the scroll open.

He had no love for Ao.

First, because Ao’s endless skirmishes with Konoha had dragged on far too long.

Second, because Ao had taken his position as frontline commander while Fuguki was away from the village.

Both held similar rank and reputation, but with Gensui and the elders backing Ao, the decision had been sealed.

“Tch… that brat.” Fuguki’s lips curled into a cold grin. “He dares to mock me?”

“Who?” asked the middle-aged Earth Release specialist at his side.

“Read it yourself,” Fuguki said, tossing the scroll.

“Kitazawa…?” the man’s face darkened. “So that’s his game. He’s openly provoking us!”

Indeed, Kitazawa’s strategy was working perfectly—his high-profile strikes were meant to draw Fuguki out, to force him into revealing his position.

Ao, aware of this, had simply redirected the trap—assigning Fuguki to eliminate Kitazawa’s team instead.

Fuguki rose to his feet, slinging the massive blade Samehada across his back.

“Since he’s come this far, it’d be rude not to entertain him,” he said coldly. “We’ll eat after we’ve crushed Kitazawa’s squad.”

“Yes, sir!” his team chorused.

Without another word, the four Mist Jōnin departed, racing northwest across the sea.

One of them—a young sensory-type ninja—formed seals mid-run.

After half an hour, his eyes snapped open. “Two thousand meters ahead!”

“Prepare for contact,” Fuguki ordered grimly. “There’s an Aburame among them—our approach won’t go unnoticed.”

At that exact moment, Torune’s insects stirred. His head shot up. “Four Mist Jōnin are moving straight toward us!”

Kitazawa’s expression hardened. “So they took the bait.”

He raised a signal flare and fired it into the sky—the crimson light blooming overhead.

“I’ll take on Fuguki,” Kitazawa said calmly. “The rest of you focus on defense and hold out until Itachi arrives.”

Kurenai and Kabuto nodded silently.

They knew full well that against four Mist Jōnin, survival—not victory—was the goal.

The battle was coming.

“They’re here!”

The moment Kabuto spotted Suikazan Fuguki and his squad, his hands flashed through a string of seals. A translucent sphere of compressed wind shot forward like a cannonball.

Fuguki’s eyes narrowed. His grip tightened around Samehada as the bandages wrapping the greatsword disintegrated into the air, revealing its grotesque, living form—a dark-blue blade covered in jagged barbs, pulsing faintly as if alive.

He swung it down. Samehada’s maw split open, devouring the wind sphere in an instant.

“So that’s Samehada… the blade that can absorb ninjutsu,” Kabuto muttered, his expression tightening.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—and their legendary weapons—were infamous throughout the ninja world. Konoha had detailed intel on each one. Among them, Samehada was the most terrifying—a sentient sword that feasted on chakra itself.

“Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!”

The middle-aged Mist Jonin slammed his palms to the ground. In the next instant, jagged stone spears erupted beneath Kitazawa’s team, lunging upward like fangs from the earth.

“Heavenly Foot of Pain!”

Kitazawa didn’t move. He simply stomped down, and the impact shattered the entire field. Cracks webbed through the ground as the stone spears splintered into rubble.

“Tsunade’s monstrous strength?” Fuguki’s brow furrowed before he blurred forward like lightning, closing the gap in a heartbeat.

He soared into the air, gripping Samehada in both hands. “Die!”

He brought it down like a mountain falling from the sky, the sheer force tearing the air apart with a shriek.

“Uchiha Style: Sword Leap Flame!”

Kitazawa drew Zangetsu, intercepting the strike. The clash sent shockwaves through the ground—earth crumbling, wind howling. Kitazawa’s stance held firm.

“Impressive,” Fuguki admitted, surprise flashing across his eyes. Most shinobi would have been crushed by that blow. But this one… Tsunade’s pupil… was built differently.

“Samehada!” he barked.

The sword twisted, its mouth snapping forward to bite into Zangetsu. The flames coating Kitazawa’s blade dimmed instantly, their chakra devoured.

“Lightning Release: Lightning Blade!”

Without a change in expression, Kitazawa flooded Zangetsu with crackling lightning. The sword hummed violently.

Samehada’s mouth snapped shut, trembling—the electric chakra was too much. If it held on, its teeth would splinter.

It released the blade with a hiss.

“What?” Fuguki’s pupils contracted. He had never seen Samehada recoil like that.

Kitazawa’s left fist shot forward, wreathed in raw power. Fuguki barely managed to block with Samehada, the impact numbing his arms.

“Uchiha Style: Gale Sword!”

In a flash, Kitazawa vanished and reappeared behind him, his blade sweeping out. A blazing arc of fire surged forward.

Fuguki spun midair, and Samehada’s jaws opened wide.

“Wind Release: Shuriken!”

Kitazawa flicked a shuriken with pinpoint precision—straight into Samehada’s open mouth.

Samehada snapped it shut immediately. No living thing wanted its insides damaged. Even a sentient sword.

Fuguki’s expression darkened. The invincible Samehada—outplayed twice in mere moments.

“Water Release: Water Wall!”

He reacted instantly, raising a wall of water. The roaring flames and wind shuriken collided with it, exploding in steam and spray. Using the cover, Fuguki leaped back to regain distance.

Kitazawa’s eyes flicked to Kabuto and Kurenai. They were struggling against the three Mist Jonin—barely holding their ground.

Fortunately, the enemy was cautious of Torune’s insects, keeping their distance. But that caution wouldn’t last long.

As Kitazawa’s squad rose in fame, the Mist had gathered intel on all five members—including Torune’s deadly insects. Now that the secret was out, few would fall for the same trick again.

Still, even knowledge couldn’t eliminate the threat.

Kitazawa exhaled softly. They could hold out for a minute or two—just long enough. The ANBU reinforcements might not make it in time, but Itachi would.

“Worry about yourself first, brat!” Fuguki roared. Samehada swept sideways, cutting through the air with a shrill whistle.

“Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!”

A wall of packed soil rose before Kitazawa—only to be shattered instantly by Samehada’s sheer force.

Then, thunder boomed overhead. A bolt of lightning crashed down between them.

Fuguki leapt back, eyes narrowing as he spotted the second blade in Kitazawa’s hand—Raiden—gleaming with electricity. It radiated the same chakra as the twin Lightning Blades of Kiba.

So… he reforged them, did he?

Fuguki gritted his teeth, his mind racing. He twisted Samehada’s hilt, and a chain uncoiled from its base.

“Samehada: Flying Chain Slash!”

The massive blade shot toward Kitazawa, whirling with terrifying speed.

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