Chapter 49 – The Cloud's Surprise Assault
At the northeastern border of the Land of Fire, inside a border outpost, a sixteen-man ninja force was stationed.
The sixteen shinobi were divided into four squads. Each squad was led by one jōnin and three chūnin. The jōnin Nakagawa served as the overall commander, responsible for guarding a stretch of border nearly fifty li in length.
To the northeast of the Land of Fire, directly beyond the border, lay three small nations: the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Rice Fields, and the Land of the Moon.
Facing the might of Konoha, the combined strength of these three countries posed no real threat.
Konoha had not established this border outpost to guard against them—but rather to watch the far more dangerous Land of Lightning to the east.
At present, Kumogakure was one of the most powerful forces in the shinobi world.
The Fourth Raikage, A, possessed both overwhelming offense and defense and was known as the fastest shinobi alive.
The Eight-Tails' jinchūriki Killer B and the Two-Tails' jinchūriki Yugito Nii were both fully matured hosts, each possessing terrifying combat power and standing among the absolute top tiers of the shinobi world.
Among the Five Great Hidden Villages, Kumogakure's momentum was already beginning to rival that of Konoha—the former king.
As the front line between Konoha and Kumogakure, even though the Third Great Ninja War had already ended, Nakagawa and the others dared not lower their guard. Patrol squads were dispatched daily to carefully survey the border under their watch.
Several li away from the outpost, within a dense forest, Chūnin Aoki was leading three genin on a routine patrol.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Suddenly, several sharp sounds cut through the air as multiple kunai, carrying fierce momentum, shot straight toward Aoki's four-man squad.
Clang! Clang!
"Enemy attack!"
Aoki drew the short blade at his waist, deflecting the incoming kunai as he flashed behind a large tree, shouting a warning to his teammates.
But the warning came too late.
Two of his comrades, unable to evade in time, were struck in vital spots and fell to the ground instantly.
"Damn it!"
Seeing his fallen teammates, Aoki's face twisted with fury.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Amid the tearing wind, four figures rapidly closed in through the forest.
"It's Kumogakure! Get back and inform Captain Nakagawa—now!"
Taking a quick glance at the attackers, Aoki's expression changed drastically. He barked the order to the last remaining genin.
With that single look, Aoki immediately recognized all four attackers as ninja from Kumogakure.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
Aoki dashed forward, hurling two kunai wrapped with explosive tags while rapidly forming hand seals. A powerful Wind Release technique burst forth at once.
Boosted by the gale expelled from Aoki's mouth, the explosive-tagged kunai accelerated even further, streaking straight toward the Kumogakure ninja.
Boom! Boom!
Dust and debris surged into the air as two explosions echoed through the forest.
Whoosh—
But before the smoke had even cleared, a figure had already appeared in front of Aoki. Before he could react, his vital points were seized, and his body was lifted off the ground.
Staring at the cold, aloof woman before him—her long, straight hair the color of pale tea—Aoki's face turned ashen.
Yugito Nii.
The Two-Tails' jinchūriki of Kumogakure.
The fact that Kumogakure had dispatched a jinchūriki to ambush them meant one thing—this incident would not end peacefully.
"Hmph."
A cold glint flashed through Yugito's eyes. With a squeeze of her hand, Aoki was killed instantly.
"Aah—!"
A scream rang out from ahead as the last genin was also executed.
After wiping out Aoki's squad, Yugito led the Kumogakure ninja onward without pause, charging straight toward the outpost.
At the same time, along the border of the Land of Fire behind Yugito's group, a massive force of Kumogakure shinobi surged across the boundary and poured into Fire Country.
Their numbers exceeded a thousand.
Leading them was none other than the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki—Killer B.
"Captain! Explosions were detected several li west of here—it's the area where Aoki's team was patrolling!"
Inside the outpost, Nakagawa's door was knocked on urgently as the squad's sensory ninja reported in a tense voice.
"First Squad, with me—move out immediately!"
Nakagawa's expression changed drastically. He issued the order at once.
Soon, Nakagawa led the four members of the First Squad rushing westward.
"Captain! Someone's approaching ahead—the chakra of one individual is extremely massive!"
They hadn't gone far when the sensory ninja suddenly called out.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
The moment the warning was spoken, Yugito's squad landed directly in front of Nakagawa's team.
"It's the Two-Tails' jinchūriki from Kumogakure…"
Seeing Yugito's cold expression, Nakagawa's face turned grim.
Nekomata Ball Barrage!
Without a word of hesitation, Yugito clapped her hands together. Pale blue chakra instantly enveloped her body as nearly ten light-blue chakra orbs shot outward, surrounding her. Under the control of her ten fingers, they rushed toward Nakagawa's squad from all directions.
Nakagawa had no time to warn the others. He could only dodge on his own.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Behind him, the remaining three squad members were swallowed by a chain of explosions and flames.
The moment Nakagawa regained his footing, violent pressure surged in front of him. Wrapped in Two-Tails chakra and moving at extreme speed, Yugito had already closed the distance again.
She slashed out with both hands, the long, razor-sharp cat claws on her fingers striking straight for Nakagawa's vitals.
Against such speed, there was no time to dodge or form seals. Nakagawa could only perform a desperate roll, barely escaping in a humiliating scramble.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Even as he rolled across the ground, Nakagawa rapidly formed hand seals. As he rose, a fireball nearly two meters in diameter burst from his mouth, roaring toward Yugito.
"Hmph!"
Yugito snorted coldly and immediately entered a partial tailed-beast transformation. A massive red feline claw extended outward.
Pop!
The imposing Great Fireball was torn apart like a balloon with a single swipe, sparks scattering across the ground.
After shredding the fireball, the red claw didn't slow down. Twisting midair, it lunged toward Nakagawa at even greater speed.
Not good!
Nakagawa's expression changed dramatically.
Bang!
But his body could no longer keep up. He was struck head-on by the crimson claw in its tailed-beast chakra state and sent flying.
Fireball!
While Nakagawa was still airborne, a far larger fireball erupted from Yugito's mouth, completely engulfing him.
More than ten seconds later, the flames dissipated.
Nakagawa's body fell lifelessly to the ground.
Facing Yugito Nii, the squad led by Nakagawa was completely annihilated in less than five minutes.
After eliminating Nakagawa's team, Yugito didn't pause for even a moment and continued charging toward the outpost.
That very day, under the leadership of Killer B and Yugito Nii, more than a thousand Kumogakure ninja launched a sudden assault on the Land of Fire.
The Konoha outpost on the northeastern border was completely wiped out in the Cloud Village's surprise attack—
not a single message was sent back.