"Ah..."
The ferocity and disbelief on the enemy captain's face completely froze into an extreme terror.
He wanted to scream, but his throat could only squeeze out a leaky, wheezing sound.
His face, distorted by intense pain, stared fixedly at the youth before him.
The youth finally raised his eyes.
Those pure white eyes held no emotion whatsoever.
He just looked at him, as if looking at a stone.
Those pure white eyes were like two cold moons.
A boom echoed in the enemy captain's mind as a word that made his whole body go cold surfaced.
"Byakugan!"
"It's the Hyuga Clan!"
He made an extremely decisive reaction, his Chakra blade instantly slicing toward his own gripped wrist.
Blood splattered.
Severing his wrist to survive.
He used that force to retreat frantically, roaring with all his strength.
"Pull back!"
"Focus fire with Ninjutsu!"
The remaining four Iwagakure Ninja woke as if from a dream, the contempt on their faces instantly replaced by terror.
They retreated rapidly, their hands quickly forming hand signs.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"
"Earth Release: Rock Gun Technique!"
In an instant, the ground surged, and countless sharp rock spears burst from the earth, mixed with stones enlarging in the air, raining down upon the forest clearing.
Asuma Sarutobi and the others turned pale.
With such a dense attack, there was simply nowhere to hide.
However, standing in the eye of the storm, Aokawa's expression didn't change in the slightest.
He released the severed wrist, letting it fall to the ground.
He just calmly raised his hands and gave a soft clap in front of him.
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
Whoosh!
A massive, completely illogical torrent of water appeared out of thin air.
Instantly, a thick curtain of water rose into the sky before him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
All the Earth Release Ninjutsu struck the massive water curtain, creating only ripples before sinking helplessly into it, unable to advance even an inch further.
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Asuma Sarutobi and Shiranui Genma, hiding in the rear, looked normal.
They had already seen things even more absurd.
Anko Mitarashi's mouth, however, formed an 'O' shape, and the toothpick she was biting fell to the ground.
What's the deal with this idiot senior?
How is it that after not seeing him for a while, he can even use Ninjutsu of this scale?
Besides, this is dry woodland; where did he conjure up so much water?
Under the equally shocked gazes of the Iwagakure Ninja, the massive water curtain crashed down, turning into a mist that filled the air.
"Retreat! Quick, retreat!"
The Iwagakure captain's spirit completely broke.
Ignoring his severed arm, he turned and fled into the forest.
The other four snapped out of it and bolted in four different directions.
"Want to leave?"
"Too late."
Before his voice faded, he had already vanished.
In the vision of Asuma and the others, they only saw a blurred shadow drawing eerie zig-zags across the muddy ground.
Puff!
On the left, a red line appeared out of nowhere on the neck of the fleeing Iwagakure Ninja, and then his head flew into the sky.
Almost simultaneously.
On the right, the Iwagakure Ninja leaping onto a treetop had his chest cave in as if hit by a battering ram; he flew backward, snapping three trees in a row before stopping, reduced to a pulp upon hitting the ground.
Puff! Crack!
Four flashes, four soft sounds.
The whole process took less than two seconds.
The last leaf drifted down.
The four Iwagakure were now four corpses.
Aokawa's figure solidified again, blocking the Iwagakure captain who had reached the edge of the forest.
The captain skidded to a halt, his legs trembling as he looked at the youth before him as if seeing the Shinigami.
Can't run.
Can't win.
Despair gripped his throat.
"Don't... don't kill me!"
The Iwagakure captain fell to his knees with a thud, frantically kowtowing with his remaining hand.
"I'll tell you intelligence! Iwagakure's plan is..."
"No need."
Aokawa stepped forward and pressed his right hand onto the crown of the man's head.
"It's faster if I look for myself."
Buzz!
Chakra poured in.
The enemy captain's eyes instantly became dull, and all his struggle and fear froze on his face.
A few seconds later.
Aokawa released his hand.
The Iwagakure captain collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud, drooling from the corner of his mouth, completely turned into an idiot.
Aokawa didn't even glance at him; a glow of Gentle Fist Chakra lit up his fingertip, and he gave the back of the man's head a light flick.
Puff.
A soft sound ended all his suffering.
Only after finishing all this did Aokawa turn around.
He walked over to the others, who were still in shock, and a soft green light emanated from his palms as he pressed them onto their injured areas one by one.
Warm Chakra flowed through them, and the pain from their wounds and the fatigue in their bodies rapidly faded.
"I just got some things from his brain."
Aokawa's voice broke the silence.
"They are Iwagakure Anbu."
"Iwagakure?" Asuma Sarutobi was startled.
"Yes, the Explosion Corps."
"Because the war between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire has been intense lately, while we and the Hidden Cloud Village have entered a ceasefire negotiation period."
"So, they disguised themselves as Konoha Ninja and learned some of our unique Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. Their goal was to sneak attack the Hidden Cloud's supply transit station in the Land of Frost, frame us, and make the Hidden Cloud restart the war against us."
"Frame Konoha? Provoke a war? Those bastards!" Asuma Sarutobi, Shiranui Genma, and Ebisu instantly became incredibly grim.
This was an extremely malicious scheme.
If it succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Anko Mitarashi stared blankly at the youth before her, who was delivering terrifying intelligence while simultaneously treating her.
She felt like her brain couldn't quite keep up.
Aokawa stood up, surveyed the messy Battlefield, and finally fixed his gaze in the direction of Kazegake Valley.
"The original mission is canceled."
His tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable decisiveness.
"From now on, I will take over command of the squad."
"We will beat them at their own game."
Asuma Sarutobi suddenly looked up: "You mean..."
"Exactly." The corner of Aokawa's mouth curled into a slight arc.
"We will disguise ourselves as them and blow up the Hidden Cloud's warehouse."
As soon as this idea came out, everyone gasped.
That's crazy!
"But... Aokawa-sama."
Ebisu adjusted his glasses and spoke somewhat hesitantly.
"We don't know Iwagakure's Ninjutsu or Taijutsu at all. Once we start, we'll be exposed immediately."
"Who said I wanted you to use them?"
Aokawa glanced back at him.
"You only need to use Konoha's Ninjutsu normally, pretending to be Iwagakure Ninja who are pretending to be Konoha Ninja."
"At the most critical, most dangerous, and most likely moment to be exposed..."
He reached out his hand, and his Chakra nature instantly changed. A thick layer of rock appeared out of thin air, covering his palm, identical to the Earth Release Armor of that Iwagakure captain just now.
"I will be the one using Iwagakure's Ninjutsu."
Looking at the layer of rock armor on his hand, Anko Mitarashi's eyes widened like copper bells.
She couldn't help but reach out and cautiously poke the layer of rock.
The texture was hard and cold.
It's real!
She looked up, curiously watching Aokawa.
"This kind of Ninjutsu... can you release it from any part of your body?"
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