Chapter 190: Close Combat Engagement
Fine drizzle fell on smooth raincoats. Water droplets gathered along the raincoat folds into tiny streams, falling under gravity's pull into puddles along the way.
This extremely humid environment made not only the three Sand ninja uncomfortable—even the Konoha ninja felt unaccustomed.
However—
None of the six were the chattering type. Each remained silent, enduring this unpleasant sensation.
"Eleven kilometers from the target location."
Hyuga Ritsu spoke aloud, informing everyone of the distance change.
His Byakugan's current visual range limit was twenty kilometers. So when approximately nineteen kilometers from that mountain peak covered by a barrier, after activating his Byakugan, he'd seen the barrier preventing his gaze from penetrating deeper.
Then—
He'd replaced Yashamaru among the three Sand ninja, beginning to lead everyone forward, finding the fastest route through these undulating mountains—not tall but rendered sufficiently treacherous by rain erosion.
"Ritsu-senpai, has the target position remained unchanged?"
Hatake Kakashi asked aloud.
"No change."
"Should we—"
"No need to rush contacting the Hokage yet. The barrier is blocking my vision. We still can't confirm the situation inside. If we call the Hokage over now, I'm concerned the target will directly abandon resistance and choose to flee."
"Understood."
Kakashi fell silent.
As squad leader, Hyuga Ritsu held command authority. Kakashi could offer opinions but must obey orders.
Since departing Konoha, their group had traveled day and night. Except for eating, drinking, and relieving themselves, they hadn't wasted a single minute stopping, rushing here at maximum speed to this land where rain fell endlessly year-round.
When Hyuga Ritsu had spotted the barrier-shrouded mountain—approximately nineteen kilometers from the mountain—they'd stopped to rest for roughly one hour before continuing.
Just one short hour naturally wasn't sufficient to adjust their condition to optimal state.
However—
Time was pressing. Moreover, nineteen kilometers honestly wasn't far. Dragging things out risked the target detecting their whereabouts. So one hour's rest was sufficient. Though unable to reach optimal condition, it qualified as good.
Furthermore, for ninja, opportunities to face various emergencies in optimal condition were rare.
The distance continuously shortened as they ran. Ten kilometers, nine kilometers, eight kilometers, seven kilometers...
Suddenly, Hyuga Ritsu's eye twitched.
"Kakashi, contact the Hokage."
Hyuga Ritsu immediately issued the command.
Kakashi raised no questions, cleanly executing Summoning Technique to summon the ninja dog Pakkun stored with Minato. This was the signal.
Approximately one minute later—
Minato's figure appeared in this drizzling rain. He'd brought two people: Hiruko and Uchiha Fugaku. Uzumaki Kushina was pregnant—definitely inconvenient for battle. And Jiraiya remained persistently tracking Orochimaru's whereabouts.
So this was the limit of personnel Minato could mobilize. The top-tier ninja remaining to guard the village besides pregnant Uzumaki Kushina consisted only of Sarutobi Hiruzen recovering at Konoha Hospital. The village was exceptionally vulnerable.
This was only possible because Minato possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique and could return at any time. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare deploy so many top-tier ninja on external missions.
Led by Minato, all three were fully armed, ninja tools gripped in hand, appearing ready to fight at any moment.
However, no enemies were visible in the surroundings. Hyuga Ritsu and the other six continued advancing through the rain.
Minato stepped forward to match the running pace, quickly turning his gaze toward Hyuga Ritsu. "Hyuga Clan Head, what's the current situation?"
Hyuga Ritsu answered gravely, "We've been discovered. The target is hiding within a mountain six kilometers away. A barrier blocks my vision—I can't see the interior situation. However, the opponent apparently doesn't plan to flee immediately, or perhaps can't flee conveniently. They've dispatched personnel charging straight toward us."
"The opponent's lineup is quite luxurious. Fourth Kazekage Rasa, Sunagakure's genius Magnetic Release user Troy, over twenty Cloud ninja and Sand ninja, that old bastard Shimura Danzo, plus one suspected to be Sunagakure's strongest puppet master Chiyo—like Shimura Danzo, appearing quite young."
Hearing Hyuga Ritsu recite names like reading a menu, Minato's brow furrowed slightly. Intelligence provided by Sand ninja had recorded Missing-nin Anonymous's ability to control these powerful individuals' replicas. Moreover, he'd personally witnessed and eliminated that Cloud ninja nicknamed "Lightning Beast" that Missing-nin Anonymous controlled.
But honestly, if this was the only lineup, there was no reason he needed to arrive so early.
He held extremely strong confidence in Hyuga Ritsu's abilities.
During Hyuga Ritsu's pause to catch his breath, Minato simply asked directly, "Who else? The enemies shouldn't be limited to these, right?"
Hearing Minato's inquiry—
The Sand ninja's eyes widened.
What did this mean?
Why did it sound like this lineup still wasn't formidable enough?
Hyuga Ritsu smiled and spoke directly, "Five more enemies. They appear to be nobodies, but I suspect they possess the Rinnegan."
"What?"
Yura cried out in shock.
He couldn't maintain composure.
However, one couldn't say he lacked depth. Rather, this statement sounded far too absurd. The Rinnegan was an ocular technique possessed by the Sage of Six Paths in legendary stories. Throughout the shinobi world's thousand-year history, it had never truly appeared. Almost everyone considered the Rinnegan fictional story material.
Though others didn't cry out like Yura, they all showed surprised expressions. Their gazes toward Hyuga Ritsu turned somewhat strange. Only because the Byakugan possessed near-immunity resistance to genjutsu—otherwise they'd suspect the Hyuga Clan Head had been controlled by enemy genjutsu.
But even so, they couldn't help mentally speculating whether Hyuga Ritsu's head had developed problems. How else could he speak such crazy words?
Facing these doubting gazes, Hyuga Ritsu calmly stated, "Though you all may consider the Rinnegan something existing only in legends, our Hyuga clan's family documents clearly record that both the Sage of Six Paths and Rinnegan truly existed—not fictional story creations."
"Moreover, we'll encounter the enemies soon. Then you can judge for yourselves whether it's real or fake."
Hearing this—
The doubt in everyone's eyes faded considerably, replaced by worry and unease. Hyuga Ritsu's confident manner made them involuntarily begin considering what if it truly was the Rinnegan?
They truly didn't understand this Rinnegan, foremost of the legendary three great ocular techniques!
But since it could surpass the Sharingan and Byakugan to occupy first place, this demonstrated the Rinnegan's power was definitely extremely strong and dangerous.
Minato's mood at this moment also became exceptionally heavy. He still harbored doubts but couldn't help contemplating—what if it truly was the Rinnegan?
He felt deeply troubled.
Naturally, he'd anticipated this operation wouldn't proceed smoothly. But he hadn't expected that before even engaging, they'd first encounter such a troublesome situation.
The Rinnegan's most troublesome aspect wasn't strength, but unknown strength.
Ninja battles were intelligence battles.
Because of this unknown—
They would very likely pay painfully tragic costs during combat.
Minato asked gravely, "Hyuga Clan Head, how confident are you?"
"Eighty to ninety percent certain."
"That high?"
"Such special and powerful ocular power—I can't think of any answer besides Rinnegan that would match. Once you see it, Hokage-sama, you'll naturally understand."
Minato's heart sank.
He inhaled the damp, cold air. "Hyuga Clan Head, you just said all five opponents have Rinnegan?"
"Though I said five people, they should all be avatars. The source should be only one, but unfortunately I can't locate where the source is."
Hyuga Ritsu spoke honestly.
Everything he'd stated came from results observed with his Byakugan.
"This has become rather difficult!"
Minato showed a deeply troubled expression.
Weighing both sides' strength, without the Rinnegan's appearance, they held absolute advantage. But now with the Rinnegan as an unknown-weight counterbalance, combat power balance couldn't be measured.
He couldn't help considering whether to abort this operation immediately.
Just then—
Hyuga Ritsu volunteered, "Hokage-sama, leave the Rinnegan to me!"
"Eh?"
Minato froze. He'd been preparing to shoulder this dangerous mission himself. "Hyuga Clan Head, are you certain? I think perhaps I'd be more suitable to handle this mission. My Flying Thunder God Technique allows me to evade danger at maximum speed."
The silent Hiruko couldn't help speaking up, "Ritsu, don't be stubborn!"
Hyuga Ritsu's lips curved. "Sensei, don't worry. Though I truly lack the Hokage's extreme speed, these eyes of mine can help me identify danger. Leave these troublesome fellows to me!"
The Rinnegan's danger level remained quite high.
Though Deva Path Pain hadn't appeared, the remaining five Paths' abilities likewise couldn't be underestimated. Especially the Human Path's ability could absolutely deliver a first-strike kill to opponents who didn't understand the situation.
As Hyuga clan head, he didn't wish to see the village's strength weakened. Each person here represented a massive loss to the village if sacrificed.
And Hyuga Ritsu was too lazy to explain why he understood the Rinnegan's abilities so well.
So—
The best method for handling this situation was for him to personally deal with Nagato's five Rinnegan avatars.
Minato sighed lightly and spoke seriously, "Then, Hyuga Clan Head, exercise great caution. If any situation arises, don't take risks. Preserving your own safety is most important."
Hyuga Ritsu nodded, then his expression became stern. He spoke in a low voice, "Everyone prepare. They're coming!"
The next moment—
They ascended a high ridge. Through the hazy rain curtain before them, they immediately saw dense human figures appearing on the other side of this rather level plateau.
Everyone's nerves tensed.
Including the three Sand ninja.
Though this operation hunting Missing-nin Anonymous mainly relied on Konoha ninja, accompanying them meant they absolutely couldn't stand idle—they still needed to participate in combat.
The distance between both sides continuously shortened during their advance.
Because ninjutsu and genjutsu attack ranges were limited. Taijutsu even more so. Only by closing distance to a certain degree, when enemies entered one's "range," could attacks prove effective.
However—
This applied to most situations.
In reality, various exceptions always existed.
For instance, replica Rasa acted when still over thirty meters distant. His hands completed seals. Chakra released like a bursting dam. The nearly solid rock plateau beneath their feet was forcibly shattered, transforming into vast flowing sand.
Magnetic Release: Flowing Sand Waterfall.
This place couldn't extract gold dust, but that didn't mean replica Rasa's Sand technique wasuseless. His gold dust technique was a specially evolved version of Sand technique, built upon Sand technique's foundation.
Because gold dust's weight exceeded sand, Rasa had utilized this characteristic to repeatedly suppress the rampaging One-Tail Shukaku.
At this moment, this replica Rasa completely and thoroughly inherited all Rasa's abilities. Though incapable of thought, battle instincts forged through countless trials still enabled him to deploy this power to maximum potential.
Right now—
This imposing flowing sand tsunami like waterfall torrents surged toward the Konoha and Sand ninja coalition forces. Because of being soaked and wetted by rain, it became even heavier and more sluggish. But this momentum remained astonishing.
Uchiha Shisui had already prepared to use Body Flicker Technique to evade.
He wasn't skilled at this type of head-on combat. Even though he possessed the ability for head-on clashes, that power carried intensely self-destructive qualities. He didn't hope to become blind at such a young age.
However—
Hiruko roared loudly, "No need to dodge! Leave this to me!"
Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees.
He clapped his hands together. Chakra surged forth. On this solid mountain rock, thick trees broke through stone, rapidly growing after absorbing abundant moisture. In the blink of an eye, he'd created a sea of trees, completely blocking the approaching flowing sand.
This was a lower-tier version of Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees. The forest's range was limited, but using it to block replica Rasa's flowing sand—affected by both geography and weather—presented no problems.
This probing exchange fought to a draw.
It also fired the first shot of this great battle. True fierce combat would erupt immediately.
The next instant—
Hyuga Ritsu clapped his hands together.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern.
The saying went: courtesy demands reciprocity. He simply used the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai's only large-scale destructive ninjutsu. Though it might not achieve significant results, it sufficed to divide and scatter the opponents.
Creating opportunities for his side to defeat them individually!
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