After Fūmori Masaki left the front line, Tobirama adopted his suggestion and persuaded the Daimyo to issue a declaration denouncing the recent aggressive acts of the Land of Lightning, as well as Ginkaku's internal sabotage against the Land of Rice Fields. He stated that the Land of Fire would seek justice for the Land of Rice Fields. The Land of Earth subsequently seconded this, making the alliance between the two nations more stable.
Because of the incident involving Ginkaku, the Land of Rice Fields already held deep resentment toward the Land of Lightning. The Land of Fire's declaration left the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields both surprised and grateful; he had not expected the Land of Fire to seek justice for his country at such a time. Compared to the actions of the Land of Lightning, the difference was immediately apparent.
At this time, Tobirama sent a letter requesting an alliance, stating that the Land of Rice Fields did not need to do anything; they only needed to clear the way for Konohagakure. They would only deal with the Kumogakure Ninja Squad and would try their best to protect the citizens of the Land of Rice Fields during the battle to ensure their safety. The Land of Rice Fields only needed to maintain neutrality.
After discussing it with his ministers, the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields felt they could agree to Tobirama's request. The Land of Fire's performance this time was indeed better than that of the Land of Lightning. Moreover, Tobirama was the brother of Senju Hashirama, and out of respect for Senju Hashirama, they believed Tobirama's words were trustworthy.
Of course, the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields did not completely trust Konohagakure. He had not forgotten what the Land of Fire had done to the Land of Rice Fields years ago. While he agreed to the requests, the Land of Rice Fields would secretly remain on guard. If Konohagakure did not honor the agreement, they would immediately retaliate to defend their territory.
Tobirama naturally had no intention of violating the agreement. Regarding the Samurai Corps belonging to the Daimyo, Tobirama also persuaded them not to engage in looting, citing the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water as the current major enemies. Therefore, although the Land of Rice Fields was on guard, it was not needed because Konohagakure truly did not touch the Land of Rice Fields in the slightest. When facing civilians, they even let them run into the cities of the Land of Rice Fields so their own country could protect their safety.
Due to the war, the Land of Rice Fields could not fully take care of these civilians, so there were unfortunately some who suffered, but this had nothing to do with the Land of Fire; it was due to the Land of Rice Fields' own limitations.
If Fūmori Masaki knew about this, he would certainly have suggested that Konohagakure guarantee the food needs of these civilians. There was no better opportunity to win the favor of the civilians of the Land of Rice Fields, though whether others would agree was another matter.
Compared to the performance of the Land of Fire, the Land of Lightning on the other side was not doing as well. Because the Iwagakure Ninja mainly destroyed the roads from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Rice Fields, transporting food became very difficult. To maintain a large army there, the Land of Lightning had to resort to looting by troops. This naturally satisfied the food requirement, but it also thoroughly turned the Land of Lightning into an enemy of the Land of Rice Fields.
Tobirama didn't even need to take the initiative to persuade the Land of Rice Fields; the Land of Rice Fields had already begun to deal with the Land of Lightning. Although they did not have a Ninja squad capable of competing with the Kumogakure Ninja Squad, they had a sufficiently powerful Samurai Corps, which was enough to contain the military force of the Land of Lightning.
Under these circumstances, Konohagakure's campaign against the Land of Lightning had gradually gained the upper hand. Although the Land of Water landed from the sea, they were blocked by Iwagakure. The walls built with Earth Release completely countered the Water Release of Kirigakure, making it difficult for them to cross.
Therefore, although the battle on the front line became more intense, the pressure was not as great as before, so the Fourth Division did not need to send people to assist often.
The camp of the Fourth Division was located in the middle between Konohagakure and the front line. The troops were dispersed in a circle with the camp as the center, with the goal of expanding the surveillance range so they could pass information in time when encountering enemies and immediately send people to assist.
As the commander of the Fourth Division, Hyuga Masato had been able to sleep well these days. The news from the front line was very good, and basically, there was no need for the Fourth Division to go over. He could safely hand over some personnel to Uchiha Kagami and let Uchiha Kagami face the battlefield in the Land of Wind.
However, Hyuga Masato did not have it easy for long before he learned that a member of the Hyuga Clan had discovered that a Ninja squad was lurking nearby, and it was learned that the leader was from the Kaguya Clan.
Because of the customs within their clan, the Kaguya Clan had unique markings on their eyes and foreheads, making them very easy to identify. After receiving the information, Hyuga Masato calculated the current combat power of the Fourth Division and did not hesitate to have someone send information to Konohagakure to request support.
Hyuga Masato immediately issued an order to use the terrain to contain the enemy and not to engage in a head-on confrontation with them. Because the members of the Fourth Division had many means of reconnaissance, the infiltrating Kirigakure Ninja squad was immediately discovered and easily contained by the Fourth Division.
After a day of probing, the Kirigakure Ninja squad seemed to realize they could not break through the defense line, so they stopped hiding and came out onto the main path, preparing to launch a frontal attack.
Hyuga Masato used his Byakugan to see the figures of the Kirigakure Ninja squad and asked the Hyuga clansman beside him, "How much longer will the support from the Village take to arrive?"
"I don't know. We haven't received any information yet. Normally, it should take two or three days to get here." The Hyuga clansman shook his head.
"I remember the person left in the Village is Fūmori Masaki, right?" Hyuga Masato thought for a moment. "I heard that his combat style is mainly fast and fierce; he should be here soon."
As a newly promoted Jonin among the younger generation, Fūmori Masaki's reputation was already the highest among all the younger generation, especially his record of severely injuring Ginkaku, which made people have to admire him. Hyuga Masato had also voted in favor of him for this reason.
Hyuga Masato turned his gaze to the Kirigakure Ninja squad and said, "Before Fūmori Masaki brings people here, we will go first. I hope there won't be that troublesome Bloodline Limit."
"Are you talking about Shikotsumyaku?"
"Yes." Hyuga Masato nodded slightly. "The Shikotsumyaku Bloodline Limit is known as the natural enemy of Taijutsu. As long as they are Taijutsu Ninjas, it is impossible to defeat Shikotsumyaku, even for our Hyuga Clan."
"Is Shikotsumyaku truly that powerful?" The Hyuga clansman was not very convinced.
"You haven't seen Shikotsumyaku, but I have. My father once fought a Kaguya clansman who had awakened Shikotsumyaku. You should know what kind of person my father was, right?" Hyuga Masato glanced at him.
"Yes, your father was the most outstanding genius of the Hyuga Clan at that time. His Gentle Fist had reached the pinnacle, reaching the realm of Gentle Fist that was only in the classics, and the power of his Byakugan was the same."
"But even such a father could not get any advantage when facing Shikotsumyaku. Although the Kaguya clansman died in the end, it was not my father who killed him, but because he overused the power of Shikotsumyaku, causing his body to fail and die." Hyuga Masato said, "Shikotsumyaku is very powerful, but perhaps for this reason, it will significantly shorten the user's life. The more powerful the Bloodline Limit, the more this is the case, just like the Mangekyo Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan."
Back then, there were rumors that Uchiha Madara suffered from blindness. However, when Madara appeared later, not only were his eyes perfectly fine, but he also possessed power that surpassed the past. Hyuga Masato felt that it was not that the rumors were wrong, but that Uchiha Madara had used some method to regain his lost sight.
The Hyuga clansman wanted to say something else, but Hyuga Masato raised his hand to interrupt him. Staring into the distance, he said, "Alright, let's go. Opportunities in war cannot be lost."
Just as the Kirigakure Ninja squad finished assembling, the Fourth Division, which had already grasped their movement direction and set up an ambush, immediately took action. The first move was a large number of Kunai and exploding tags, followed immediately by Compound Ninjutsu, which directly stunned the Kirigakure Ninja squad.
Kumogakure had suffered a lot from Compound Ninjutsu, and the newly joined Kirigakure Ninja had not encountered this tactic before and were somewhat caught off guard. At this time, the Inuzuka Clan and the Aburame Clan moved out, further dispersing the Kirigakure Ninja squad, and then the Hyuga Clan stepped onto the battlefield.
Hyuga Masato's figure was like a swimming dragon, shuttling through the battlefield. As long as he was hit by his Gentle Fist, they would immediately fall and stop breathing. This was the power of Gentle Fist. Among Taijutsu Ninjas, the Hyuga Clan was at the top.
Hyuga Masato killed enemies while using his Byakugan to scan the battlefield. Most of the Kirigakure Ninja were stunned by the Compound Ninjutsu and lost the initiative, retreating step by step. Only the people of the Kaguya Clan were fearless and warlike; this was the nature of their clan.
Although the Hyuga Clan was a Ninja clan, they followed ancient customs, and there was no problem even if they were called nobles. They hated the barbaric style of the Kaguya Clan and liked to interact with the Taketori Clan. After the Taketori Clan abandoned their family traditions, their family style became elegant, which the Hyuga Clan appreciated very much. Although they came from the same clan origin, they were like two extremes.
At this moment, Hyuga Masato's gaze focused. On one Kaguya clansman, he saw a strange concentration of Chakra. This Chakra was something he had seen before, right when his father fought that Kaguya clansman.
Hyuga Masato's toes tapped hard, and his figure flew out, catching up to the Hyuga clansman who was fighting that Kaguya clansman, and with one blow of Gentle Fist, he knocked the Kaguya clansman back.
"S-Soke..." The Hyuga clansman saw Hyuga Masato and hadn't finished speaking before he was interrupted by Hyuga Masato.
"Go find someone else. I will deal with this person." Hyuga Masato stared at that Kaguya clansman and said in a deep voice.
Hearing Hyuga Masato's heavy tone, the Hyuga clansman left immediately. Hyuga Masato watched the Kaguya clansman walk over and set up his Gentle Fist stance, being very careful. His Gentle Fist had completely hit him, yet he acted like nothing happened.
"A tough guy came this time, huh? That guy called you Soke, which means you are the clan leader of the Hyuga Clan?" The other party looked at Hyuga Masato and grinned, a smile of excitement. "That move just now was not bad. Perhaps you can let me experience a feeling of pleasure."
He saw something pale slowly protruding from his shoulder. It was a bone, shaped like a blade. Surprisingly, no blood flowed from the skin where the bone protruded. He pulled out this bone, and the skin healed immediately, looking like nothing happened.
"My name is Kaguya Nobunaga. And you?"
"There is no need to tell my name to someone like you." Hyuga Masato said coldly.