I moved much more slowly as I approached the main office building, making sure to stay as far away from patrols as possible.
The main office wasn't completely walled off; it was only separated from the rest of the camp by a wire fence topped with barbed wire to deter potential rioters. The only entrance was a guarded gate, but people usually don't expect infiltrators who could simply walk through the air.
I quickly crossed the fence using Hirenkyaku and then sank into the ground using the Hiding in the Rock jutsu, planning to emerge in the basement of the main building.
I found an empty room in the basement, which happened to be a backup weapon storage area in case the larger one near the barracks was insufficient.
I sighed as I emerged; I wouldn't be able to rely on Dustless Bewildering Cover for much longer unless I found a ninja who wouldn't be missed for at least an hour. I couldn't just drain chakra from the first person I encountered; that would risk being found too soon.
I slowly made my way through the building, scanning rooms and avoiding the occasional guard on night patrol. The most frustrating aspect of fuinjutsu was that unless someone was actively channeling chakra through it, it couldn't be detected via sensing.
Therefore, I had to search through the large building to find the central seal that connected to the alarms inside the camp. More importantly, I needed to locate the seal that sent a signal for reinforcements.
I found the main office where the chief warden would be during the day, and located the triggers for both seals. I infused my chakra into them and felt the entire network, discovering that the main cluster was located in the barracks instead of here.
There were also additional points from which the alarm could be triggered. This was unfortunate but not entirely unexpected; that's why I had begun the operation in advance.
I disabled the trigger mechanism for the seals in the office, making sure to keep the appearance of the seals the same to avoid suspicion in case someone came to check. My paranoia may be excessive, but in a situation like this, it could save me a lot of trouble.
"Time to raid the barracks..." I murmured to myself as I started walking back out of the building, ensuring I wasn't seen. Unfortunately, I couldn't disable the main seal cluster from here, so I would need to proceed with more stealth.
"Yoru, start taking out all the sensors that are asleep or off duty. I'll handle the one still scanning the camp," I whispered, knowing Yoru would be up for more hunting.
The last sensor that was active and on duty wouldn't pose a threat if I remained hidden and didn't draw attention to myself. I had to pass by its station anyway, so I preferred not to take any risks. I doubted the sensors would find me as long as I didn't engage in a fight, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
I likely had about an hour to rouse the prisoners from their sleep and disable the alarm. Eliminating the awake guards now was safer than leaving them alive for another half hour, as they could spot the ships approaching and raise the alarm.
If Yoru and I took out everyone who was awake now, maybe we could make a clean and quiet getaway—although that was probably wishful thinking.
—
I quickly summoned Zangetsu, well aware that it was only a matter of time before I had to take down a patrol. I preferred having someone watch my back while Yoru dealt with the stragglers on watch at the sea.
"We stay silent. Kill only if someone notices us. Just watch my back for now," I whispered to the two-tailed cat who perched himself on my shoulder.
"Got it," Zangetsu replied, scanning the area with his glowing eyes.
The barracks were livelier than I would have liked. Some guards were awake, playing cards as if they had no worries at all. While most were asleep, around eighty out of five hundred guards were wide awake, with a good half of them in the barracks rather than patrolling the camp.
They clearly didn't expect any threats to emerge, but given that this place was deep within the territory controlled by Yagura, I couldn't blame them for feeling secure.
I sneaked into the main courtyard of the barracks, easily locating the central alarm seal cluster. Both seals were layered on top of each other and were far too large for an actual fuinjutsu master to have created.
I was pretty sure I could fit both of these on a single sheet of paper. Then again, fuinjutsu was exceedingly rare beyond standard storage scrolls.
Disabling the seals would take only a few minutes, but I had to ensure that nobody could see me. Waking up the guards would complicate the operation, especially since I was convinced they wouldn't hesitate to use a prisoner as a human shield.
Although most of the guards were Samurai, they were still soldiers who likely supported Yagura's actions. I had little hope that they would see their prisoners as human beings.
The few ninjas accompanying the getaway ships would be more than enough to help me deal quietly with a few dozen guards, but if all the guards were roused and ready to burn the camp down just to kill as many prisoners as possible? That would complicate things dramatically.
"Lookout duty, Zangetsu," I whispered, and Zangetsu jumped from my shoulder, vanishing into the darkness of the stormy night.
The rain continued to fall, its sound almost deafening in the night's silence. The only other noise came from the occasional barking laughter emanating from inside the barracks.
I focused and quickly sabotaged the seal, ensuring it could no longer perform its function. The flares, enhanced via lightning jutsu, were an interesting way to signal for reinforcements, but they were now rendered useless.
I noticed the number of chakra signatures around the camp starting to drop. Yoru and Zangetsu were working fast, eliminating the stragglers and lone guards. The entire seaside of the camp, down to the small port, was cleared of guards by Yoru already.
After successfully preventing the alarm from being set off, I moved to the other side of the camp, intent on waking the first batch of prisoners.
I decided to start with those furthest from the port, tackling the most difficult people to get out first.
I extended my senses and detected the ships approaching, perhaps twenty minutes away. It was high time to begin exfiltrating the prisoners.
As I sneaked around the camp, I spotted a guard patrolling ahead of me, his head inclined toward an open door of a barn-like building—one of many places where the prisoners were kept.
I drew Senbonzakura and swiftly pierced through his back. His breath hitched and escaped his body; he couldn't even scream before he collapsed dead. I made sure to drain his chakra before he died, but being one of the Samurai, his reserves were only slightly above those of a typical Genin.
Still, any bit of chakra was useful at this point, especially since my reserves were running dangerously low after prolonged use of the Dustless Bewildering Cover and summoning Zangetsu.
I sensed three more guards in this area of the camp as I crept around, dispatching them easily and draining their chakra as well.
Even though I could have crystallized and shattered their bodies to eliminate evidence, it seemed unnecessary for now, mostly because actually crystallizing them would cost me about as much chakra as I could drain from them.
I started waking up the prisoners, entering the most risky phase of the night.
If the prisoners became too loud, I would have to fight and wouldn't be able to protect them, which could lead to chaos and rouse more enemy forces.
I stepped into the first building where the prisoners were confined. The air inside reeked of sweat and various bodily fluids; the guards clearly didn't bother installing sewage.
I shook the person with the strongest chakra awake first, planning to delegate the wake-up duty to him while I fetched another group.
"Wake up the others; I'm getting you out of here," I said quietly, dodging a reflexive punch as I shook the man awake. "Calm down," I commanded, locking my eyes on him from behind the Kiri Hunter mask.
The rebels had been using those in large numbers, so perhaps I'd be recognized as one of them.
"Stop staring and be quiet. Most of the guards are asleep, so move it!" I urged, watching him slowly realize he wasn't dreaming.
He nodded and began shaking the others awake. The two hundred or so people in the building were slowly roused from sleep as I prepared to move toward the next building.
To evacuate all five thousand prisoners, I would need to wake up over twenty such buildings. For now, though, I would stick to escorting two or three groups at a time.
Any more would likely draw attention, even from across the camp or, more worryingly, from the barracks.
I extended my senses again and realized that Yoru and Zangetsu had eliminated the remaining patrolling guards in the camp.
The only guards left awake were in the barracks, and I was uncertain how often the guards changed shifts, so we had to work quickly and eliminate anyone who might venture out to investigate the missing guards whose shifts might soon be over.
—
I led the prisoners to the docks, leaving Zangetsu to protect them from the darkness of the night while I went to get another group.
The hail of rain intensified by the minute, but I could sense the relief force nearby. By the time I started waking up the next group, those already at the docks were being ushered onto the ships. The timing was basically perfect.
However, not everything went according to plan.
I expected the guards inside the barracks to wake up and search for their comrades, but I had hoped for more time. It was a shame I couldn't just kill them all, but there simply wasn't an efficient way to do so without sending the prisoners into a panic.
I was fairly certain that blowing up the barracks would scare them far more than reassure them.
A few ninjas joined me in the effort to evacuate the people faster, allowing me to focus on eliminating any guard that was too close for comfort.
The camp was large; they couldn't just randomly find us, but they would discover an empty prisoner building pretty soon. I made sure not to let anyone reach the office building or get anywhere near it, stationing Yoru in that direction.
That's where the warden and a few relatively strong ninjas were sleeping, and the last thing we needed was a bunch of Jonin showing up.
We weren't even halfway through evacuating the prisoners when movement began in the guard barracks. The sleepy guards, expecting an easy assignment, were mobilizing to defend the rest of the camp.
But by then, it was too late.
The prisoners were almost all awake and not keen on staying. I decided to drain even more chakra from the regular guards; every drop counts, and it's not like I needed to use ninjutsu to easily defeat them.
Finally, I could unleash some of that pent-up anger I felt.
A flash of silver, a single touch, and no sound made—that was how I operated while trusting my allies with the escort duty.
I even let groups of prisoners run to the port by themselves; most of the guards were too busy containing the brewing riot.
However, holding back thousands was difficult for the barely Genin-level guards, and cracks started to form, especially once they saw the masked rebels entering the camp. There were maybe two dozen rebel ninjas, but even that was more than enough to overwhelm the guards if they were distracted.
By this time, it was clear that they had noticed the alarm system was not working, prompting a good portion of the guards to retreat and regroup. The bad news was that the ninjas had woken up too and sent out runners to flee to Kiri for reinforcements.
I could have caught one or two, but there were eight I sensed, so I decided to conserve my chakra.
The silver lining was that I had replenished a good portion of my chakra supply, sitting comfortably on mostly replenished reserves instead of running on fumes.
Meanwhile, the warden organized the guards, and they started attacking us while we tried to defend the massive group consisting of almost a third of the prisoners.
They were the last to be escorted, and their sleeping quarters were closest to the ships, but the sheer number of them meant we couldn't avoid casualties.
"This is just the Uchiha escort all over again…" I grumbled to myself as I disrupted the enemy formation with Byakurai. One of the Chunin fell dead immediately, prompting me to stay behind to fend off the ninjas and expedite the evacuation process.
I also didn't want to risk any of them getting anywhere near the ships. It would be easy for them to sink such vessels if they got close, especially since my allies were focused on protecting the prisoners.
"Three hundred and some change... That is not a fair fight for you," I said, keeping my voice cold and even.
"Bullshit. We can easily kill one rebel brat!" declared one of the ninjas.
"Prove it," I taunted, prompting a few of them to break formation and attack, while the rest charged to back them up.
"Looks like they want to dance, after all..." I mused to myself, earning a snort from Kurama through our link.
"Don't get too into it, kid. Those runners have most likely reached Kirigakure by now," he reminded me.
I was well aware, but the amount of trouble I was in would depend entirely on who would be sent to reinforce the garrison.
—
I charged at the advancing line, grinning ear to ear behind my mask as I punched the first enemy.
The chakra-infused punch sent him rocketing back, taking a few of his comrades down as he crashed into them.
I didn't stop moving, conserving my chakra and draining as much as I could from the enemies. My Observation Haki warned me whenever someone tried to attack, allowing me to weave through them with surprising ease.
One enemy attempted to stab me with a kunai, only to have his wrist broken as I redirected the kunai to stab his friend through the neck. I dodged a water jutsu that severed one of the samurai instead, causing more chaos in their attack.
The presumed leader, the Jonin warden, tried to engage me in a one-on-one fight, but he was one of the few I could fully crystallize while gaining a significant amount of chakra back.
The moment his fist made contact with my palm, his entire body flashed pink, crystallizing into a statue that refilled my chakra supply.
"Hmmm, I'm nearly full on chakra now," I remarked off-handedly, and my opponents stopped their attack, backing away. Clearly, they hadn't expected me to easily take out their strongest fighter.
I shattered the statue right after draining all its chakra, standing still and daring them to attack and meet the same fate.
"That's what I thought..." I muttered, slowly backing off as I sensed the prisoners and the ships already leaving.
Two black cats rushed past me, eager to escape the torrential rain.
I used Hirenkyaku to vanish from the sight of my enemies, slowing down only once I reached the sea and scooped up my two little helpers.
"You did really well... I couldn't have asked for better partners." I grinned at them as they nestled inside the inner pockets of my poncho.
It didn't help much, as the poncho was completely soaked, but they looked more comfortable there than being directly pelted by the rain.
"Good hunt. But the last one was more fun. These were pretty weak," Yoru yawned, making me snicker.
"I'll make sure to summon you for more worthy prey next time," I reassured her as I landed on the deck of one of the ships.
I extended my senses, almost tripping over my feet as I sensed the rapidly approaching chakra from Kirigakure.
"Full speed. Now!" I yelled to the captain of the ship. "Yagura's coming our way. ETA five minutes!" I called out louder, unsure how good a sensor Yagura was and how fast he would find us.
The camp still stood, illuminated by a few lamps pointing at the sea and the occasional flash of lightning.
I breathed out.
As much as I didn't want to fight Yagura now, there was an opportunity in this.
I raised my hand to the stormy heavens, a flash of bluish-white lightning rising to the clouds, allowing me to collect it all into one massive attack.
"Get us out of here... I will make sure to send Yagura our best regards." I sighed, closing my eyes to help me focus on the jutsu.
I had never used its full power, and this storm was filled with energy... This one would be massive.
The low rumble turned into loud thunder as I collected every ounce of potential lightning from the storm, forming it into the shape I desired.
It almost felt natural—disturbingly so.
"Oi, Kurama..." I communicated through our link. "How many corpses are worth leaving behind for a better world?" I asked, unsure if I even wanted to hear the answer.
"As many as it takes... winners determine the worthiness of your actions anyway," he replied calmly, voicing what I already knew was the case.
It still didn't make me feel any better about killing so many, though.
"I don't feel bad for killing those who participate in genocide... I just wish there were a better way," I clarified to the fox, my hand hovering above my head, outstretched to the sky.
"Then do what you must." The low growl of the fox reached my mind, shaking my entire psyche. He was clearly displeased with the events unfolding here, too.
"I wonder how this compares in destruction to a Biju bomb..." I murmured, sensing Kurama's presence in my mind intensifying as he watched through my eyes.
The rumbling thunder disappeared for a moment, and then a massive eastern dragon made of lightning emerged from the clouds, its body coiling through them like a living snake.
"Yagura should have no trouble seeing this. Seeing how his prison camp will be... Thunderstruck," I sighed, bringing my hand down.
"Strike true, Kirin..."
The massive lightning dragon followed my command, a brilliant flash of white completely filling my vision as the jutsu descended in an instant.
A roar-like thunder shattered cabin windows on the boats, and many people instinctively ducked to the deck, but my eyes were fixed on the spot where I had targeted Kirin.
"Now that is a jutsu I like, kid!" Kurama howled, laughing and reveling in the devastation my jutsu had caused.
The peninsula that once housed the prison camp was completely vaporized, erased from existence.
The cliffs and part of the surrounding forest to the north were gone as well. The ground smoked as the rain cooled the newly created cliffs.
"I can't use it again until another storm forms, though," I said to the fox, unsure whether to feel happy about my success or scared of what Yagura might do next.
Yagura stopped, and I could sense him staring at the destruction for a few moments—most likely dazed, or perhaps angry.
Then, he began rushing toward our position again, and I realized that the fight was truly unavoidable.
"Wish me luck, Kurama..." I jumped from the deck onto the water, as the storm clouds began to clear, revealing a starry sky above us.
I would wait for Yagura and hold him off. With him here, Mei's attack against Kiri's southern outpost should be a resounding success.