Naruto's civilian cannon fodder starts with the three-body technique

Chapter 403 Underwater Wolf Pack
"I surrender! Lord Umino! I surrender! Please don't kill me!"

The instinct for survival overwhelmed all dignity. Almost without hesitation, Kisame Hozuki slammed his greatsword into the ground, raised his hands high, and shouted with all his might.

Just as Uchiha Shun was about to unleash his ultimate move to end the battle, he paused upon seeing this, pursed his lips in dissatisfaction, and dissipated the yellow flames that had gathered on his sword.

He complained, "Hey, Fathead Fish, you're already giving up? You're supposed to be one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, hang in there a little longer! Let me test the power of my new technique!"

When Suigetsu Hozuki heard Uchiha Shun's complaints, his face turned even paler. He was filled with lingering fear and was glad that he had surrendered quickly enough.

Who knows what terrifying trump card the Uchiha clan's geniuses might be hiding? That three-tomoe Sharingan aura that made his heart tremble just now was definitely extraordinary. If it were used, he would probably be in grave danger. Surrendering was undoubtedly the wisest choice at this moment.

He ignored Uchiha Shun and, like a ball, crawled quickly towards Umino Sasuke, collapsing to his knees with a "thud" a few meters away.

His face was plastered with an extremely obsequious smile as he kowtowed repeatedly: "Lord Umino! Spare my life! I am willing to surrender! I have confidential information, very important information to offer you, sir! I only beg you to spare my dog's life!"

Umino Sasuke looked down at the spineless Kirigakure master, his eyes calm and unwavering, as if he were looking at an ant. He gently raised his hand, gesturing for Suigetsu Hobuki to come closer to speak.

Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and hurriedly crawled forward on his knees, raising his fat face and eagerly beginning to reveal everything he knew.

"Your Excellency is wise! This attack on the Land of Waves was a joint decision made by the Third Mizukage and Elder Genji! The main fleet is under the command of the Third Mizukage himself, and the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, that brat named Yagura Karatachi, has also been brought aboard. Their plan is..."

Suigetsu Hozuki recounted everything he knew about the Kirigakure frontline fleet's troop deployment, battle plans, supply routes, and even the personalities and possible tactical preferences of several commanders, as if spilling beans, afraid of missing even the slightest detail and displeasing Umino Sasuke.

As Umino Sasuke listened quietly to Suigetsu Hozuki's confession, his eyes as deep as the sea, he quickly sketched out a map of the situation in the waters off the Land of Waves in his mind, and a clear and ruthless battle plan had already taken shape.

He waved his hand, signaling his men to take the limp and powerless Watermelon Pufferfish Demon away and keep him under strict guard.

"Shikaku, issue an order to the entire army to expedite the clearing of the battlefield in the Land of the Sea, seize all valuable supplies, and centralize and guard the prisoners. The fleet should prepare to depart immediately; target—Hazuki Bay!" Umino Sasuke's voice was calm and decisive.

"Yes!" Nara Shikaku accepted the order and left. He understood that the commander was going to the pre-arranged battlefield to deliver a fatal blow to Kirigakure.

Just as Sasuke Umino was strategizing the overall situation and the fleet was ready to set sail.

Kakuzu, far away on the front lines of the Land of Waves, has already received a top-secret order from Senju Nawaki.

A glint of light flashed in Kakuzu's eerie green eyes, and a ferocious grin spread across his lips: "Annihilate the entire Kirigakure fleet? Heh heh, I know what to do!"

He immediately issued the latest combat orders through the submarine force's internal communication network: "All underwater units, take note! Disengage stealth mode, wolf pack tactics, full-scale attack!"

"Target: the main fleet of the Hidden Mist Village. Engage them relentlessly, but maintain distance. Focus on harassment and delay, guiding them towards Waoyue Bay!"

With the order given, the Wave Country's submarine force, which had been lurking in the shadows of the deep sea like ghosts, finally revealed their ferocious fangs.

Dozens of submarines of varying sizes, from different depths and directions, like a swarm of sharks smelling blood, suddenly accelerated and attacked the massive Fog Shadow Fleet.

These submarines have a sleek design, are made entirely of special alloys, and are covered with a rubber coating that has insulating properties. They are made by the Earthen puppets and are absolutely reliable, providing a considerable defensive effect against lightning attacks.

Submarine offensive methods are mainly divided into two types: one is chakra-powered torpedoes launched from the bow tubes. These torpedoes are numerous, fast, and highly stealthy, and are filled with high-energy detonators. Once they hit the underwater part of the Hidden Mist Warship, they can often cause huge damage.

Secondly, there are chakra turrets mounted on the back of the submarine. These turrets are not large in caliber, but the chakra beams they fire are concentrated and precise. Although a single shot is not powerful enough to sink an ironclad warship instantly, continuous firing is enough to tear apart wooden warships, ignite sails, and inflict effective damage on the Hidden Mist ninjas on the deck.

What made the Mist Ninja even more desperate was the defensive capabilities of these submarines. Each submarine was equipped with an energy shield engine. When subjected to a strong attack, a light blue, semi-transparent chakra shield would instantly rise on the surface of the submarine. This shield not only had a strong resistance to physical attacks, but also had excellent resistance to energy attacks.

"call out--"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The muffled thuds of torpedo explosions and the sounds of chakra beams striking the hulls echoed continuously from underwater. Several medium-sized warships on the outer perimeter of the Kirigakure fleet were the first to be hit, their hulls blasted open with huge holes, seawater rushing in and causing them to rapidly list and sink.

The Hidden Mist ninjas on the deck panicked and jumped into the sea to escape, only to face precise kills from the submarine's chakra cannons.

"Underwater! The attack is coming from underwater!"

"It's a submarine warship from the Land of Waves! Watch out for torpedoes!"

"Quickly! Use water manipulation to stir up the seawater and force them out!"

The Mist Shadow Fleet immediately descended into chaos.

The Third Mizukage stood on the bridge of his flagship, "Blood Mist II," his face ashen. His powerful senses had long since detected these uninvited guests underwater, but he hadn't expected their attacks to be so sharp and their defenses so difficult to deal with.

"Order the Lightning Release ninjas to concentrate their attack on the underwater target!" The Third Mizukage made a decisive decision.

A group of Hidden Mist Lightning Release ninjas quickly gathered at the ship's side, forming hand seals.

"Thunder Escape·Earth Walk!"

"Thunder Escape·Pseudo Darkness!"

"Lightning Release: Lightning Tiger - All-Out Attack!"

A series of violent lightning bolts were channeled into the seawater.

In an instant, a large area of ​​the sea was enveloped in blinding electric light, and crackling currents darted through the water like silver snakes, trying to penetrate the submarine's hull and shields.

However, the effect is not ideal.

Most of the lightning energy was effectively blocked by the light blue chakra shield. Even if some powerful combined lightning jutsu managed to penetrate the shield, it was greatly weakened by the special insulating rubber on the submarine's hull. In the end, the current transmitted to the hull was negligible, causing only a slight numbness and equipment interference, and could not cause any substantial damage.

Inside a submarine besieging the flank of Kirigakure, the Sound Ninja captain watched the shield energy reading on the sensor drop slightly, breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled into the communicator: "Reporting to Wolf's Den, Kirigakure's Lightning Release attack has been successfully defended. The shield energy has decreased by about five percent and is rapidly recovering. Repeat, the Lightning Release attack has limited effectiveness!" The Third Mizukage, through his senses, also noticed this, and his heart sank even further. The defenses of these underwater warships far exceeded his expectations.

"Water Release ninjas, advance!" The Third Mizukage changed tactics again. "Stir the seawater with all your might, create whirlpools and turbulence to disrupt their movement and attack accuracy! Lightning Release ninjas, do not scatter your attacks. On my command, concentrate your attacks on one point and launch a saturation attack!"

As a ninja village in the Land of Water, Kirigakure has no shortage of water-style ninjas. A large number of Kirigakure ninjas came to the ship's side and formed hand seals in unison.

"Water Release: Water Tornado!"

"Water Release: Big Explosive Water Wave!"

"Water Escape·Water Formation Pillar!"

In an instant, the sea surface surged with waves, huge whirlpools appeared out of nowhere, columns of water shot into the sky, and powerful currents surged wildly, trying to sweep away or capsize the submarines underwater, or at least make it difficult for them to aim steadily.

This move did have some effect. Although the submarine had outstanding offensive and defensive capabilities, its tonnage and size were not large compared to the power of nature and the combined water-style techniques of a large number of ninjas.

In the violently turbulent sea, the submarine's stability was affected, the trajectory of the launched torpedoes became unpredictable, and the accuracy of the chakra cannon was greatly reduced.

"Now! Lightning Release Squadron, target 36 degrees to port, 30 meters underwater, the largest black shadow, use Lightning Release!" The Third Mizukage seized the opportunity, personally waving a blue battle flag symbolizing the Lightning Release squadron, and shouted sternly.

A large squad of Hidden Mist Lightning Release ninja, who had been preparing for some time, unleashed their chakra simultaneously upon receiving the order.

"Lightning Release: Thunderous Dragon Fang!"

Dozens of thick lightning bolts converged into a ferocious, roaring thunder dragon, carrying an aura of annihilation, and slammed into the sea area designated by the Third Mizukage.

"Boom——!!!"

A deafening thunderclap erupted, and the area was instantly engulfed by a blinding white light. The seawater churned and vaporized violently as if it were being boiled, revealing the dark silhouette of a large submarine lurking beneath it.

The submarine that Kakuzu was on was the one that was locked onto.

"Warning! Warning! Extremely powerful lightning energy has been detected gathering!"

"Shield engine is operating at overload, energy is being consumed rapidly!"

"Some external sensors are malfunctioning, and the torpedo tubes are vibrating..."

The alarm blared shrilly inside the submarine, and the red warning lights flashed incessantly. The Sound Ninja responsible for charging the chakra was pale-faced, his hands gripping the control panel tightly as he frantically channeled chakra into the submarine.

"Hold on! Turn the shield's power up to maximum!"

The submarine's light blue outer shield instantly solidified, almost transforming into a tangible blue crystal barrier.

The thunder dragon slammed into the blue barrier, unleashing a blinding light and a terrifying energy shockwave. The shield rippled and twisted violently, as if it would shatter at any moment, but in the end, it stubbornly withstood this terrifying concentrated attack.

A dozen seconds later, the lightning gradually dissipated.

The Sound Ninja inside the submarine was panting heavily, their bodies soaked in cold sweat.

"Captain, we have successfully withstood the combined torpedo attack. The shield engine has consumed 78% of its energy! The external armor has sustained minor damage, the No. 4 torpedo tube is jammed, and some of the detection rune electronics have overloaded and burned out! Requesting instructions!"

The submarine captain wiped the cold sweat from his brow and, without the slightest hesitation, immediately ordered: "Retreat immediately! Disengage from combat formation and return to Wolf's Den base for repairs and recharging! Restore combat capability as quickly as possible and await the next sortie order!"

"Yes!"

With its engines fully engaged, the damaged submarine quickly descended to a safer depth, then adjusted its course, like a wounded whale, and sped away from the dangerous waters.

On the sea, the Third Mizukage focused his senses and discovered that the largest submarine's energy response had weakened dramatically and it was rapidly moving away. Although he had failed to sink it, it had clearly lost its combat capability.

A forced smile finally appeared on his gloomy face: "Concentrated lightning attacks are still effective! Pass down the order, use this tactic: water-based attacks to harass the enemy, and lightning-based attacks to focus fire! Take down these underwater iron turtles one by one!"

Seeing that the battle tactics were effective, the morale of the Hidden Mist ninjas also improved, and they all obeyed orders.

The water-escape technique constantly stirs up the seawater, making it difficult for submarines to carry out their wolf pack tactics smoothly. Once a submarine is forced to expose a weakness by the water-escape technique or tries to get close to attack, it will be met with fierce concentrated fire from the Mist Netherworld Lightning Release unit.

Although the chakra shields of the Land of Waves submarines have amazing defensive capabilities, they consume energy very quickly when faced with such targeted saturation attacks. Once the shield energy drops below the safety threshold or key components are damaged, they will have to withdraw from the battle.

For a time, the underwater wolf pack's offensive was effectively contained, and the battle reached a stalemate.

After Kakuzu's main submarine was forced to withdraw, he quickly contacted the Land of Waves surface fleet through the backup communication channel. He then left the submarine and boarded the flagship of the three Land of Waves ironclad warships that came to pick him up.

These three ironclad warships can be considered the face of the Land of Waves navy. From the very beginning, the Land of Waves navy directly phased out sailing wooden ships and entered the era of ironclad warships. They are made entirely of steel, with rigid lines, and their tonnage is much larger than the "Blood Mist No. 2" of the Hidden Mist. The decks do not have traditional ballistae and catapults. Instead, they have menacing twin-mounted turrets, which are chakra cannons dismantled from the Angkor fortress.

Kakuzu boarded the flagship, his eerie green eyes sweeping across the battlefield. He immediately issued orders: "Ironclad fleet, join the battle! Coordinate with the underwater wolf pack to disrupt Kirigakure's formation! Chakra cannons, target the enemy flagship and large warships, fire salvo!"

As the order was given, the massive hulls of the three ironclad warships cleaved through the waves and plunged into the battlefield, their bows splitting through the white spray to reveal their menacing fangs.

The Third Mizukage stood atop "Blood Mist II," gazing at the three steel behemoths in the distance. A flicker of disbelief first crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by intense jealousy and resentment.

"Ironclad warships? Three of them?! What makes the Land of Waves so powerful... Even at its peak, Kirigakure only had two! How infuriating!"

Although the "Blood Mist II" beneath his feet was also an ironclad warship, it was clearly inferior to the three ships from the Land of Waves in terms of both tonnage and armor firepower.

(End of this chapter)