"Lord Fugaku, they're using Water Release Ninjutsu!"
"Water Release? Quickly use Earth Release to block the water! Hurry!"
Fugaku immediately sensed the danger.
'Those bastards are trying to flood the camp!'
But before they could react, the situation suddenly shifted.
A black cat arrived, instantly transforming into a colossal size.
It rolled toward them like an iron ball from the distance, its momentum eerily reminiscent of the Akimichi Clan's Human Bullet Tank.
The difference was that while the Akimichi Clan's Human Bullet Tank crushed its targets, this cat's attack was far more terrifying.
Boom!
The moment it crashed to the ground, the impact cratered the earth.
Though Renji Asachi managed to dodge, one of his companions was crushed instantly.
The remaining two escaped, only to be swiftly ensnared by strands of the cat's fur.
Another slash flashed through the air.
'Hmm, only one left.'
Renji Asachi was completely bewildered.
The earth-shattering commotion wasn't his doing, but rather...
"What are you standing around for? Attack!" Fugaku snapped out of his shock and roared, jolting the surrounding spectators awake.
With a Body Flicker Technique, he vanished in a blur.
As he moved, his eyes had already transformed into the three-tomoe Sharingan.
'Illusion Technique!'
'That's right.'
Fugaku planned to use an Illusion Technique to control Renji Asachi, then finish him off with a deadly swordsmanship strike.
But...
In the next instant, Raj hurtled into his field of vision, then reappeared behind Renji Asachi - a movement slowed down by the Sharingan's enhanced perception.
Then...
Boom!
With a single claw strike, the earth trembled, and Renji Asachi collapsed.
"Meow~ Senior Fugaku, I'll leave him to you," the cat said.
'Violence is so satisfying - no wonder Tsunade loves using this move!'
Raj inwardly praised the tactic, but his feet didn't pause.
He sprinted along the riverbank toward the main camp.
The Hozuki Clan members must have already passed by.
If he didn't hurry, he'd miss out on the spoils.
The others lacked the authority to execute Raj, so capturing him personally was the only way to secure a reward from Tsunade.
'What are you doing here? What am I doing here?'
Fugaku was starting to question his entire existence.
'Wasn't that damn cat supposed to be at headquarters? Why did it suddenly show up here to steal my credit?'
'We had set up an airtight trap, but it saw through our encirclement and countered with Ninjutsu.'
'And then it just brute-forced its way through everything!'
There was no challenge, no satisfaction.
'This is infuriating!'
Everyone had plenty to say, but this was clearly not the time for jokes.
They suppressed their frustration and began tending to the wounded and collecting the dead.
Originally, they had expected Renji Asachi and his team to use Ninjutsu, requiring a drawn-out battle of wits and possibly some minor injuries before they could be subdued.
But Raj arrived, knocked everyone flat, and left them with nothing to do.
"Lord Fugaku, this..."
"Take him back and see if he can be healed. If not, send him to the intelligence division for interrogation," Fugaku sighed.
'Just like Tsunade.'
'Her punches are terrifying. One blow could flatten a person like a pancake.'
'I wonder if the Yamanaka Clan can still extract any information from him in this state.'
Well...
The Uchiha Clan Leader was getting quite humorous these days.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Yusuke Hozuki and his team were tracking Ao along the path indicated by the vanguard.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted behind them, causing the river to momentarily reverse its flow.
"What was that?"
Yusuke Hozuki turned back.
The violent surge of Chakra felt like Renji Asachi's Water Release techniques, but the scale of the disturbance... Something's off here.
"Sir," one of his subordinates and clan members warned.
"Keep moving," Yusuke Hozuki ordered.
"If we fail to kill Ao, Lord Kugutsuki will punish us all the same. There's no turning back now."
Yusuke Hozuki formed a bubble, then dissolved back into water and continued forward.
There's no choice.
The Second Hokage no longer ruled Kirigakure.
Though the Hozuki Clan remained the village's foremost family, they no longer enjoyed the absolute privileges they had during his era.
Their failure to eliminate the captured Ao yesterday was a grave mistake, and now they had to rectify it themselves.
As they pressed onward, suddenly...
"Someone's approaching!" his subordinate warned.
"No, it's that cat. Move faster! There's no point tangling with a muscle-bound beast like that. Let's pick up the pace."
Yusuke Hozuki remained calm.
In his eyes, Raj was no different from a wild beast.
No matter how destructive his power, he couldn't truly harm those who possessed the Water Transformation Technique.
In a sense, the Hozuki Clan was completely immune to brute force and point-based Taijutsu attacks, and even most Ninjutsu.
This was why they dared to infiltrate and assassinate without fear.
Otherwise, why would they risk infiltrating Konoha, knowing it was home to the Byakugan, the undisputed master of reconnaissance?
That would be foolish.
Yusuke Hozuki's objective was clear: even if everyone else died, they had to infiltrate Konoha's main camp and eliminate Ao and that Chunin - especially Ao.
The Chunin likely knew little beyond the location of their temporary base, which they could easily relocate.
But Ao's mind held countless secrets of Kirigakure.
Those were the true prize.
Ao had to die.
They swam upstream, infiltrating the river.
But just as they reached the other side, a series of earth walls suddenly rose from the riverbed behind them.
Another earth wall formed ahead, severing the river's flow completely.
The water's current abruptly stopped.
Moments later, a dozen Konoha Ninja leaped down nearby, rapidly forming hand seals in mid-air to unleash Ninjutsu.
The seals were for Lightning Release techniques.
"What?! Move, now!"
Yusuke Hozuki froze for a split second, then immediately reacted.
Too late.
As they prepared to infiltrate the earth vein, they suddenly heard an ominous sound nearby.
A bone-chilling cold permeated the entire river, causing the water to freeze rapidly from both sides toward the center.
'Ice Release?! Impossible!'
Yusuke Hozuki's heart pounded with dread.
His first thought was that the Snow Clan had betrayed Kirigakure, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
The Snow Clan was under strict surveillance in Kirigakure, with every member's birth meticulously recorded.
'They couldn't have betrayed us.'
'Then who is it?'
Yusuke Hozuki swiftly coalesced into human form and emerged from the river.
Turning his head, he saw Raj standing on the frozen, stagnant water, the bone-chilling cold emanating from beneath its paws.
"Meow!"
Raj waved its paw as the four of them leaped out.
"Is that Ice Release?"
The Konoha shinobi were equally astonished.