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

Chapter 412 Is this a Tailed Beast?

Faced with this attack, which was comparable to a natural disaster, the various water-style defenses hastily deployed by the Hidden Mist ninjas seemed rather pale and powerless.

As the giant wave crashed down, a large number of Mist Ninja were instantly swallowed up, screaming as they were swept into the seabed, or were directly slammed by the terrifying power of the seawater, suffering severe injuries with broken bones and tendons.

Before Umibozu's attack was over, something even more despairing happened to the Kirigakure.

"Ah—! There's a monster underwater!"

"My chakra! It's draining my chakra!"

"Help--!"

Underwater, a black shadow, like a giant shark, darted swiftly through the water. Wherever it passed, the Mist Ninja screamed in agony as their chakra was forcibly drained like a flood, leaving them instantly weak and some even unconscious and sinking to the bottom of the sea.

Even elite Jonin often find it difficult to defend against this elusive sneak attack in the water.

Suppressing his horror, Qing pushed his senses to the limit and finally locked onto the underwater assassin. His voice trembled as he exclaimed, "It's...it's Samehada! It's transformed into a summoning beast! Beware of its chakra-devouring ability!"

Upon hearing this, Elder Yuan was struck dumb, his face turning deathly pale: "The Samehada Greatsword? How can it be so powerful?!"

At this point, Master Yuan understood perfectly well that the simultaneous appearance of Umibozu and Samehada, two summoning beasts with strength comparable to tailed beasts, along with the well-prepared Land of Waves fleet, was nothing short of a carefully prepared death trap for them!
"Retreat! Retreat now! Back to shore! This is a trap!" Master Yuan roared hoarsely, his voice filled with regret and despair.

Unfortunately, it's too late to retreat now.

In an effort to seize control of the shipping lanes, the Kirigakure Legion mobilized almost all of its forces into the waters of Whale Harbor, placing them within the optimal attack range of Umibozu and Samehada.

Under the overwhelming power of Umibozu's water control, comparable to a natural disaster, and the crushing force of his massive body, many ordinary mid-to-low-level Kirigakure ninjas couldn't even stand firm, let alone launch an effective counterattack or retreat.

Every time Umibozu steps on the waves, he can cause dozens or even hundreds of casualties among the Hidden Mist Village, making him incredibly efficient.

Samehada, on the other hand, is like a ghostly grim reaper in the water, specifically targeting Jonin who have abundant chakra and are trying to organize resistance or use powerful ninjutsu. It frantically devours their chakra, disrupting the Hidden Mist Village's command and resistance rhythm.

"Sealing Team! Where is the Sealing Team?! Quickly go and seal that Umibozu!" Master Yuan tried to make a last-ditch effort.

However, on the turbulent sea, the sealing team couldn't even get close to Umibozu. Even if they managed to get close, in the waters dominated by Umibozu, it was simply a pipe dream to seal such a huge monster that could turn into water and regenerate at any time!

Kakuzu and Hiruko stood at the bow of the ironclad warship, coldly overlooking the one-sided massacre.

"We can wrap this up now," Kakuzu said calmly, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Hiruko pushed up his glasses, an unnatural blush rising on his pale face, his eyes gleaming with the excitement of a researcher seeing precious experimental materials: "So many materials with bloodline limits are enough for my experimental project to make a breakthrough."

Before they finished speaking, the two of them jumped off the high bridge at the same time.

Kakuzu was in mid-air when four black shadows suddenly shot out from behind him—the enhanced Earth Grudge Mask monsters.

"Fire Escape·Tou Ke Ku!"

"Wind Escape·Press!"

The wind fanned the flames, instantly transforming them into a raging storm that covered a large area of ​​the sea, engulfing dozens of Hidden Mist ninjas who were trying to form hand seals to resist. They were burned to a crisp amidst their shrill screams!

"Thunder Escape·Pseudo Darkness!"

A thick lightning spear shot out, instantly piercing through a Kirigakure Jonin who was using a Water Wall formation, along with his defenses.

Hiruko was even more bizarre. His arms instantly mutated, turning pitch black and ferocious, and his speed increased dramatically as he charged into the Mist Shadows like a ghost.

"Netherworld Escape - Absorption Hole!"

The strange holes on his arm generated a powerful suction force, directly absorbing the Water Gun Technique used by a Jonin of the Hozuki clan, which in turn strengthened his own power. Then, with a single swipe of his claw, he easily tore apart the opponent's throat.

"Swift escape!"

His figure was as fast as lightning, weaving through the crowd. Wherever he passed, the Hidden Mist ninjas fell like wheat cut down by a scythe.

Kakuzu and Hiruko are both true Kage-level powerhouses. Kakuzu is experienced and shrewd, and his five elemental ninjutsu combined with Earth Grudge Fear make him a formidable force on the battlefield, capable of both offense and defense. Although Hiruko is a relatively new Kage, he possesses two stolen bloodline limits, making his methods unpredictable and equally deadly.

With the Third Mizukage dead and the Jinchuriki Yagura captured, a huge vacuum has emerged in the Hidden Mist Army's top-tier combat power. Among the remaining ninjas, the strongest, the head of the Terumi clan, has only barely reached the threshold of Kage level thanks to his bloodline limit, while Elder Genji is old and frail and no longer as powerful as he once was, at most possessing the strength of an elite Jonin.

Although the Hidden Mist Army had a numerical advantage of three thousand men, their numerical advantage was utterly powerless in the face of the two "quasi-tailed beast" level summoning beasts, Umibozu and Samehada, in the water. Furthermore, the personal attacks of the two Kage-level powerhouses, Kakuzu and Hiruko, as well as the firepower coverage of the Land of Waves' fleet and air force, made their numerical advantage seem so pale and powerless in the face of the absolute qualitative difference.

The battle turned into a one-sided massacre!

Umibozu is like a moving natural disaster, bringing widespread death with every attack.

Samehada, like a poisonous stinger underwater, relentlessly harvests the lives and chakra of Kirigakure's elite.

Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Mask monsters were like five mobile cannons, unleashing a torrent of ninjutsu.

Hiruko transforms into a ghost, specifically hunting down Hidden Mist ninjas with special bloodlines to collect "materials" for his experiments.

Meanwhile, the warships and air force of the Land of Waves calmly cleared out the perimeter and any remaining survivors attempting to escape.

Whale Harbor has now become a meat grinder. The azure seawater has been completely dyed dark red, and a strong smell of blood rises into the sky. Desperate screams and the roar of ninjutsu are intertwined.

However, although the Mist Ninja were almost powerless in the waters of Whale Hunting Bay, they were numerous and individually quite strong, especially driven by their survival instincts, making them incredibly fast. In the end, a considerable number of Mist Ninja, through luck or the sacrifice of their comrades, managed to escape back to shore in a sorry state.

However, in just a few minutes of fighting, the Hidden Mist Legion suffered over a thousand casualties. The Hidden Mist Ninja who fled back to shore were almost all wounded, their chakra depleted, and their faces were filled with shock and deep-seated fear.

Kakuzu stood at the bow of a transport ship, looking at the remnants of Kirigakure fleeing like stray dogs on the shore. There was no pity in his eyes, only a calm calculation to expand the spoils of war.

Without hesitation, he issued the order to pursue: "Land! Press the attack! Don't give them a chance to breathe!"

Although the total number of Sound Ninja troops in the Land of Waves is still inferior, their morale is soaring. More importantly, they have four "Kage-level" combatants: Kakuzu, Hiruko, Umibozu, and Samehada!
Despite the fact that the Mist Shadow soldiers had completely lost their fighting spirit and their organization had been broken up, they still held the absolute initiative.

Under the protection of several loyal subordinates, Elder Yuan escaped the port area and, despite his grief and weakness, tried to gather the remaining troops and organize an effective resistance.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Don't panic! Everyone, don't panic! The strength of the Land of Waves ninja lies in their navy and air force! Once we're out of the water, we still have a fighting chance! Hold your ground! Regroup!"

To be fair, Master Yuan's analysis was not without merit. The Kirigakure who managed to escape from the flesh-grinding Whale Harbor were mostly elites, with a total number of over a thousand. In contrast, the Sound Ninja ground forces of the Land of Waves, even including the air force personnel who landed later, numbered less than five hundred.

If we can truly stabilize our position and organize an effective defense and counterattack, even if we cannot turn the tide, we will certainly not be in such a sorry state as we are now. At the very least, we can fight and retreat while preserving more of our strength.

Unfortunately, Master Genji is not like Onoki, who can dictate everything. His own strength is only at the level of elite Jonin, making it difficult to pose an absolute deterrent. Kirigakure is not like Iwagakure; they implement a blood mist elite policy and are more selfish and focused on individual survival.

Faced with such an unprecedented defeat, coupled with the immense psychological pressure from the four Kage-level warriors of the Land of Waves, even Elder Yuan Shi found it difficult to organize a decent resistance force.

Often, he would barely manage to gather a few dozen Mist Ninjas through his personal prestige and the efforts of a few Jonin, only to be met with a devastating attack before he could even establish a defensive line.

"Fire Escape·Tou Ke Ku!"

"Wind Escape·Press!"

Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Masked Monster unleashed a combination ninjutsu from afar, a fiery storm sweeping across the area, instantly causing heavy casualties to the small group of Mist Ninja that had just gathered, and they scattered once again.

The clan leader of the Terumi clan also wanted to resist by virtue of his prestige and powerful bloodline limit organization, but he had already been targeted by Hiruko.

Hiruko appeared like a ghost, using the extreme speed of Swift Release and the chakra absorption ability of Dark Release to focus on him, forcing him to defend himself in a sorry state, with no time to care about anything else.

In addition, although the Sound Ninja Air Force had little ammunition left, it continued to circle in the air, occasionally swooping down to straf the enemy with chakra rapid-fire cannons or dropping a few explosive tag kunai, further exacerbating the chaos and defeat of Kirigakure.

Under attacks from multiple sides, the little resistance that the remnants of the Hidden Mist forces had just mustered quickly crumbled, turning into a complete rout that swept across the mountains and fields.

Kakuzu and Hiruko, leading the Sound Ninja ground forces, pursued and reaped the lone or slow-moving Kirigakure ninjas like sheep.

This chase covered nearly a hundred miles.

In the end, Kakuzu ordered the pursuit to cease.

It wasn't that he didn't want to expand his gains, but rather that the realities of the situation didn't allow it.

The Sound Ninja air force had completely exhausted its ammunition and chakra reserves and had to return to resupply. The Sound Ninja ground forces were too few in number, and once they were scattered in the dense forest and complex terrain, even Kakuzu and Hiruko could not take care of them all.

Those defeated Mist Ninja were, after all, elite troops, and in dire straits, they could easily use the terrain to launch counterattacks and ambushes.

For the Sound Village, where the number of ninjas is already extremely limited, every ninja in the ranks is a precious asset, and they cannot afford to be injured or killed.

In the main battlefield of Whale Harbor, the Sound Ninja annihilated nearly two thousand enemies with perfect traps, while suffering only a handful of casualties themselves. In the subsequent land pursuit battle, although they also killed many enemies, the Sound Ninja's own casualties began to inevitably appear and gradually increase.

This kind of exchange ratio is unacceptable to Kakuzu. In his eyes, the Sound Ninja are extremely valuable, and each of them can be a tool to create a lot of wealth for the Land of Waves. How can they be sacrificed in the jungle chase?

"Don't pursue a cornered enemy. Clean up the battlefield and tally the results and losses!" Kakuzu calmly issued the order.

Yuan Shi, along with the remnants of the Hidden Mist Village, fled for over a hundred miles until they had completely shaken off the Sound Ninja Air Force and confirmed that there were no pursuers behind them. Only then did they dare to stop and rest for a while.

The headcount revealed a suffocating and desperate situation for all the survivors.

Of the thousands who escaped from Whale Harbor, after being chased and scattered along the way, less than four hundred people are now gathered around Master Yuan. Moreover, they are all wounded, their chakra is almost exhausted, and their morale is on the verge of collapse. Even if some ninjas who have fallen behind or become separated manage to rejoin the group, the total number will definitely not exceed five hundred.

This means that nearly 80% of the 3,000 elite ninja that Kirigakure had finally assembled were lost in this battle, and Kirigakure was facing another defeat!
Looking at the disheveled, vacant-eyed remnants of his army, Yuan Shi felt an indescribable sense of sorrow and despair well up inside him. He slumped to the ground, tears streaming down his face.

He muttered to himself, "How could this happen... how could this happen? Is the heavens going to destroy Kirigakure?"

He dedicated his life to the development and growth of Kirigakure, experiencing countless storms, but he had never felt so powerless and gloomy as he did at this moment.

Ao, standing to the side, also had bloodshot eyes and gritted his teeth, saying resentfully, "It's all because of the White Blood Demon! It's all because of him! If it weren't for his summoning beast Umibozu and that traitorous Samehada, even if we were to lose, we would never have suffered such heavy casualties!"

Upon Qing's reminder, Yuan Shi abruptly raised his head, his eyes blazing with deep-seated hatred. He carefully recalled the series of devastating blows Kirigakure had suffered since the outbreak of the Ninja War:

In the southern campaign of the Land of Rivers, the White Blood Demon made his first appearance, destroying the coastal fortress with a single Dust Release attack, causing casualties among hundreds of ninjas, and leaving four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen dead and three crippled.

He then went even further, using the multiplicative explosive tags on his explosive blade to destroy half of Kirigakure, causing countless civilian and ninja casualties, and nearly wiping out the entire Hozuki clan.

In the ensuing battle of the Land of Whirlpools, the Umino clan and the Land of Waves almost completely annihilated the two thousand Kirigakure ninja fleet!

A few days ago, in the Battle of Waigetsu Bay, he personally killed the Third Mizukage, captured the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, and completely destroyed Kirigakure's last naval force.

Although he did not personally attend, he supported the Land of Waves with two tailed beast-level combatants, delivering another fatal blow to the Hidden Mist Village and breaking their last backbone!

(End of this chapter)