c29: Singlehandedly Challenge Hundreds of People
Just after Naruto led the team to set up a wide array of traps tripwire kunai launchers, buried explosive tags, chakra-triggered snares similar to those used by the ANBU during the Third Great Ninja War everyone hid deep within the dense forest of the island and began their silent wait. After a long and uninterrupted rest, their chakra and stamina had returned to a stable condition, and what remained was simply to wait for the targets to arrive and step into the arrangement.
"Captain, look," Xuanguang whispered while activating the low-level sensory technique Yamato had taught him earlier. "That should be their ship approaching the coast, right?"
Liuying frowned and said in a slightly anxious voice, "If they don't disembark, then everything we set up every trap, every ambush will be wasted for nothing."
Naruto suppressed his chakra to a minimum, as he had learned to do during his infiltration missions with Jiraiya, and smiled. "Even if they choose not to land this time, they still have a long voyage ahead before reaching the Land of Water. We'll have many more opportunities. At worst, we'll recreate the entire setup somewhere else. But they won't pass this up… look carefully they're already preparing to head toward the island."
Indeed, as Naruto spoke, the group observed the ship slowing down near the shore, anchors dropping into the water. Naruto immediately turned to his team and spoke softly but firmly, "Xuanguang and Liuying will initiate the first strike with me. Remember use only taijutsu and kenjutsu. No ninjutsu that could expose our chakra signatures. Yamato, you'll lead them into our trap zone. Do not use Wood Release under any circumstances. If they press you, retreat straight into the woods. I'll handle the rear and buy time. Understood?"
"Understood, Captain," the three replied together, though Yamato's voice carried obvious concern.
Yamato leaned closer and whispered, "But Captain… isn't it too dangerous for you to hold the rear position alone? Let me handle it. Even without Wood Release, I have ANBU-level training."
Naruto shook his head. "No. You can't use Mokuton this time, and your combat efficiency drops too much without it. Don't worry I've fought worse than this. I know exactly what to do."
Soon afterward, several shinobi disembarked. The Moon Country ninjas behaved exactly as Naruto had predicted careless, relaxed, and unprepared. As soon as they stepped on land, they began rummaging through the bushes, picking fruits, hunting small animals, and quickly gathering wood to start a fire. Among them Naruto counted only four Kumogakure ninjas, and all four were acting cautiously, scanning their surroundings with experienced eyes. This behavior aligned perfectly with Naruto's earlier suspicion that something about this alliance was abnormal.
Without warning, Naruto let lightning-nature chakra surge across his body. The crackling light resembled the Lightning Release Armor technique used by the Raikage, though Naruto's version was weaker but still extremely fast. The Thunder God Sword he carried the blade he obtained during earlier chapters flared with blue-white chakra. In the next instant, Naruto dashed from cover, moving like a real bolt of lightning. Before the Moon Country ninja even realized what was happening, several heads fell to the ground, severed by a single swift strike.
Xuanguang and Liuying immediately leapt from the opposite side of the clearing, their movements synchronized from months of training with Yamato. Combined sword strikes, feints, and sweeping taijutsu kicks mirrored the coordinated maneuvers used by Team Kakashi. Another handful of Moon Country shinobi fell before they could even draw their weapons.
"Enemy attack!" the Moon Country leader finally shouted, and the entire group scrambled back toward the center, forming a crude defensive formation. Naruto used their confusion to kill several more with clean, decisive cuts.
"Taijutsu unit engage them!" the leader ordered. Several swordsmen charged forward, clearly trained in close-quarters combat, and more disciplined than the rest. Following the pre-arranged plan, Xuanguang and Liuying immediately retreated into the forest, their fake panic luring the swordsmen behind them. The pursuers plunged straight into the trap-laced woods. Within seconds, explosive tags detonated, kunai shot upward from camouflaged launchers, and chakra-string nets tightened around limbs. Screams echoed across the clearing.
Naruto, however, was now surrounded. The remaining Moon Country ninjas formed a tight ring, maintaining distance while the four Lightning Country shinobi remained behind them, observing everything with sharp, calculating eyes.
The Moon Country leader did not order an immediate attack. Instead, he smirked arrogantly and stepped forward. "Two of your subordinates escaped into the woods," he mocked, "but it doesn't matter. Judging by your skill, you must be their captain. Foolish reckless.to stand alone against us. You wear a mask, but once we kill you, identifying you will be easy."
As the Moon Country ninjas laughed confidently, the Lightning Country shinobi exchanged glances and continued scanning their surroundings because unlike their allies, they knew that a shinobi capable of such speed and precision was never alone without reason.
Naruto did not speak. Instead, the intensity of his Lightning Release aura grew stronger and stronger, causing blue-white sparks to dance wildly across his cloak and arms like the Lightning Release Chakra Mode used by the Third and Fourth Raikage. In the eyes of the Kumogakure ninjas watching from the side, Naruto at this moment seemed like a younger, leaner Raikage the speed, the density of chakra, and the thunderous crackling all too familiar. The Thunder God's Sword in his hand shone with a concentrated white glow, and the three Moon Country ninjas surrounding him were eliminated in an instant, their bodies falling before they even registered Naruto's movement. Not a single blade among the attackers had managed to graze him.
Seeing that close-quarters attacks were useless, the leading ninja reacted quickly and shouted, "Pull back! Switch to long-range attacks!"
A Moon Country shinobi immediately formed hand seals and released Binding Grass Jutsu, a technique similar to the nature-based ninjutsu used by Kusagakure. Chakra-infused vines erupted from the ground and whipped toward Naruto, attempting to restrain his movements. Naruto's blade flashed once the vines were sliced apart cleanly but the brief entanglement still delayed him just enough for the next volley.
A dense wave of shuriken and kunai rained toward Naruto from multiple angles. With his speed restricted, he did not fully dodge. The projectiles struck him, but under the protective layer of Lightning Release coursing around his body, they bounced off harmlessly with metallic clangs. The Moon Country ninjas, who expected Naruto to fall under the barrage, froze in shock. Their disbelief only deepened when the leader ordered a coordinated ninjutsu volley multiple Fire Style, Wind Style, and Projectile Water bullets combined into a chaotic barrage. But their individual levels were low, and Naruto's Lightning Armor nullified the impact entirely.
The Kumogakure shinobi standing at the rear exchanged glances, and one muttered in his heart, This is just like the Raikage's armor… only the offensive output is different.
At that moment, the Binding Grass jutsu user attacked again, chakra vines erupting to entangle Naruto's legs and elbows. The technique lacked killing power, but its persistence slowed Naruto's movement, preventing him from instantly cutting down more opponents.
The Moon Country leader smirked confidently. "No wonder you dare fight alone. With a defense like that, you're certainly impressive. But we have over a hundred men here. Once your chakra is drained, even you will fall. A pity… a rare talent like you will die here."
Naruto replied calmly, "Indeed, you have numbers… but none of you possess true high-level offensive jutsu. And that means all of you will fall soon."
Naruto formed seals rapidly.
"Water Style: Surging Wave!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Two powerful Water Release techniques erupted one after another, flooding the area. Most of the enemy shinobi were instantly drenched, slipping, staggering, or being smashed backward by the pressure of the incoming water. Only a few managed to raise Earth Style walls to block the flow.
Naruto didn't pause. He formed more seals at high speed.
"Water Style: Torrential Rain Technique!"
A heavy downpour materialized overhead, drenching every shinobi on the battlefield. While weak offensively, the technique had exactly the effect Naruto wanted—soaked clothing, flooded terrain, and chakra water on every opponent's body.
Then Naruto slammed his palm into the wet ground.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Serpent Surge!"
A roaring current of Lightning Release raced outward like a living thunder dragon. With the battlefield soaked, the water conducted the lightning instantly, spreading it through the entire terrain. Shinobi with poor Lightning resistance collapsed at once, convulsing violently. Even those trained against Lightning attacks dropped to their knees, paralyzed or stunned.
Naruto moved in a blur, finishing off the half-paralyzed Moon Country ninjas one by one. Before the leader could even shout a command, there were only two Kumogakure survivors and himself remaining.
The Moon Country leader stared at Naruto in helpless disbelief. "You… who are you? You wield Lightning Release at Raikage speed and Water Release at such a level… we should have fled the moment we saw you."
Naruto replied, "From the moment you boarded that ship to the Land of Water, your ending was already decided."
He stepped forward and swung the Thunder God's Sword lightly, ending the leader's life in a single stroke.
Suddenly, one of the two seemingly paralyzed Kumogakure shinobi sprang up. Lightning chakra surged around his blade as he lunged at Naruto's vitals. "Run!" he shouted to his partner. Naruto blocked the strike instantly, but the other Cloud ninja rolled away, performed the Clone Technique, and scattered. More than a dozen clones sprinted in all directions. He was clearly a specialist in escape and misdirection much like a weaker version of the Cloud's famed Tracker Division shinobi.
Xuanguang and Liuying burst from the forest and dispelled multiple clones, but the original body dove into the sea and vanished from view.
The Kumogakure ninja who stabbed Naruto let out a relieved exhale, happy that at least one of his comrades had escaped annihilation. Naruto looked at him and smiled faintly. "Are you relieved? Don't be. I let him escape on purpose. Otherwise… how would the Raikage learn what really happened here?"
The Cloud ninja froze in shock, then turned to flee. Naruto's blade flashed once, ending him immediately. "We can't let you go. He alone is enough to deliver the message."
Naruto then called into the forest, "Yamato, come out. We'll rest here for the night and return to Konoha by water tomorrow. Our mission is complete."
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