Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"Kill Yagura! He's a disgrace to the village. The village doesn't need such a useless Mizukage!"

The ninja at the very front roared, and behind him—

Followers flocked to the scene.

The next moment, a barrage of shuriken, kunai, explosive tags, flashbangs, smoke bombs... in short, everything that could be thrown was thrown out, with the target being the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi. However, there were too many people attacking at once, with hundreds of Mist Ninja attacking together. Unfortunately, the dense attack also caught up with the people around Yagura Karatachi.

For example, Zongxian and others, as well as the Mist Ninja named Meguro and his subordinates, were all within the attack range.

[Chapter 125. Was I your target from the very beginning?]

This is an assassination.

The assassination attempt on the Fourth Mizukage.

Unfortunately, it also dragged the bystanders into it.

"Chieftain!"

This time, Uchiha Akitarou, who was guarding Sogen's side, finally didn't have to wait for Sogen to make a move before he reacted. Just as Sogen waved his fan, he completed the hand seals, holding back until the second wave of attacks, when he immediately released [Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall].

Although his earth-escape technique wasn't as good as his fire-escape technique, it was still a well-prepared and powerful technique. The earthen wall he created was strong enough that it didn't collapse even when a dozen or so explosive tags fell on it.

Then--

The other Uchiha who were standing further away also rushed over. Not only the Uchiha, but also Shiguro Aburame, Kokuren Yamanaka and others quickly approached. This sudden attack made everyone tense, even when they heard the Kirigakure ninjas denouncing the Fourth Mizukage.

But the worries in my heart are not so easily dispelled; after all, this is a land of water.

If the Mist Ninja are willing to pay any price to keep them here...

To be honest, they didn't think that a few dozen people could contend with a large ninja village. No matter how powerful the Uchiha clan leader was, he couldn't be a match for the tens of thousands of ninjas in the Mist Village, right?

"Chieftain!"

"Lord Zongxian."

Everyone turned their attention to Zongxian.

"And don't let the Konoha ninja escape either! That villain Yagura Karatachi colluded with Konoha to betray the village's interests!" Before Zongxian could say anything, the shouts of the Mist Ninja had already spread all around. Zongxian smiled silently and looked at the crowd around him: "Do I still need to tell you what to do now?"

Everyone fell silent.

If the attackers' target was only the Fourth Mizukage, then they could naturally step aside and observe for a while. However, the shout from the Mist Ninja just now showed that retreating was completely useless. At this point, there was no other choice but to use the strongest means to kill these Mist Ninja.

A rustling or buzzing sound arose.

Aburame Shiguro raised his hands, and a swarm of insects like a dark cloud flew out from his sleeves. These were not the most basic "Parasitic Insects" of the Aburame clan, but nano-sized poisonous insects called "Phosphorus Insects." Among the Aburame clan, only Aburame Shiguro and his son Aburame Torune could control these deadly poisonous insects.

Everyone retreated in unison, and even Zongxian couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye.

Poisonous insects,

Even so, he didn't want to personally test its power.

These Mist Ninja, who had never been on the battlefield or fought against Konoha, were unaware of how powerful the Aburame clan's poison insect users were. A group of seemingly young Mist Ninja charged towards the Konoha ninjas at their leader's command.

then,

They ran headlong into a swarm of poisonous insects that looked like a gathering of dark clouds.

These Mist Ninjas weren't really reckless; they weren't so impulsive as to use weapons like kunai or katana to deal with these disgusting insects. One by one, kunai with explosive tags attached were thrown into the air, and the blazing flames flashed in the sky, but no one noticed the few poisonous insects flying low along the ground.

Only a very few people know that Shiro Aburame's poisonous insect technique has never relied on sheer numbers to win.

This is also why Sogen is wary of this poison insect user from the Aburame clan. Those nano-sized poison insects are really hard to guard against. If it weren't for his Sharingan being able to detect the whereabouts of these nano-sized poison insects, he would have to go around Aburame Shiguro.

As expected.

The first four Mist Ninja who rushed over silently turned into a puddle of water and fell to the ground, along with their heavy ninja tool pouches.

"Water clone?"

Yu Nuzhi frowned.

The Water Clone Technique is probably the most disgusting clone technique, bar none.

Although it doesn't have the ability to relay memories and experiences like a shadow clone, the chakra required to perform the Water Clone Technique is only one-tenth that of a shadow clone. Moreover, it also has a physical form and cannot be easily detected. Theoretically speaking, just three or five Jonin could easily summon a large army of over a hundred people by using the Water Clone Technique at full power.

of course,

No one would normally do that.

The low chakra consumption isn't all advantages. The Water Clone's combat power is far weaker than the Shadow Clone, making it difficult to put it to any use. It's fine for bullying weak opponents, but in a real battle against a master, the Water Clone's greatest role is to confuse the enemy and hide the true body.

"A combination of explosive tags and water clones? It seems there aren't as many attackers as I thought!" Zongxian glanced at the ninja tool bag that hadn't disappeared along with the water clones, and after a moment's thought, he understood the attackers' strategy.

No wonder there was such a big fuss.

It turns out it was propped up by water vapor.

So, the number of attackers shouldn't be large, but... there must have been a high-ranking Mist Ninja cooperating or even instigating it, otherwise, so many explosive tags wouldn't be something a few Mist Ninjas who love the village could easily obtain.

[Ninja Art: Mind Disorders Body Technique]

[Secret Technique: Poison Dust Technique]

Yamanaka Koren and Aburame Shiguro joined forces to attack the Mist Ninja.

Yamanaka Kokuren, who is skilled in mental techniques, doesn't need to worry about being accidentally injured by poisonous insects. His mental techniques also won't hinder the attacks of the poisonous insects. He is one of the few among the people present who can cooperate with Aburame Shiguro in battle. One of them can freeze the movements of the Mist Ninjas, while the other can attack freely.

One by one, the water clones of the Mist Ninja were blown apart. Some unlucky attackers were immobilized in their true forms and killed by poisonous insects, which then wiped out more than a dozen water clones.

On the other side, Uchiha Shisui plunged into the enemy's position like a sharp knife.

While the Instantaneous Movement Technique lacks the wide-range, long-distance movement capabilities of space-time techniques, it can achieve speed comparable to top-tier space-time techniques within a small area when honed to perfection. White Fang once reached this level, and Shisui is now at the same level! Wherever the blade flashed, water and blood blossomed in a frenzy.

correct,

There are also blue beasts from Konoha.

Konoha-style Taijutsu shone brightly on the land of the Land of Water. Guy, who was riding like a beast, showed no trace of his previous miserable state from seasickness. His seemingly simple punches and kicks actually contained terrifying power. His water clones were shattered as soon as they were grazed by the wind of his punches, and he managed to deliver the feeling of Gentle Fist and Empty Palm.

The others, such as Uchiha Chihaya, Akimichi Tou, and Inuzuka Hachi, were also watching the spectacle.

Almost all of the Konoha ninjas came out.

Only Kakashi and a few others did not intervene, instead staying to protect Naruto and the other kids.

Zongxian held the Flame Fan in his hand, standing still without making a move, his wandering gaze falling on Yagura.

As the attackers' primary target

Yagura, being quite astute, immediately began to shift the battlefield upon being attacked. As for Meguro and the others, since they were both Kirigakure ninja, they should naturally share the burden. Moreover, this was a good opportunity to see if Meguro was one of the attackers. To be honest, if the attacked party had infiltrated the welcoming party, Meguro, the Jonin in charge of the welcoming party, would be largely to blame.

but,

Yagura found the attackers to be rather troublesome.

The opponent he was fighting was not some water clone, but three elite Kirigakure Jonin who were attacking Karatachi Yagura in unison. For some reason, these three seemed to know Karatachi Yagura's methods very well and repeatedly dodged Karatachi Yagura's carefully prepared killing moves.

This made him acutely aware of his own weakness once again.

If it were before,

Even without the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, he wouldn't have needed this long to deal with these few jumping grasshoppers in his prime.

"Is there not much time left?"

Feeling the faint stinging in his mind, Yagura gathered chakra in his palm. He was prepared to end this farce at all costs. Circumstances did not allow him to waste time and energy here. Just then, he caught a glimpse of Meguro being forced to retreat in a sorry state by two attackers.

Whether by coincidence or not, the direction of their retreat was not towards his water shadow.

Instead, they headed towards Uchiha Sōgen.

The two attackers also approached Uchiha Munen's location.

His heart skipped a beat, and Yagura suddenly realized that Meguro really did have a problem.

"Idiot! Don't you dare try to get yourself killed!!!"

Yagura roared.

However, the attackers who were harassing him moved closer, preventing him from freeing his hands to stop that idiot Meguro from courting his own death.

"Zizi-"

Lightning crackled around its black body.

He used Lightning Release.

Kirigakure is one of the five great villages of the ninja world. Even though their geographical environment, historical heritage, cultural customs and other factors have made them the most skilled in water-style ninjutsu, it does not mean that no one knows any other type of ninjutsu besides water-style ninjutsu.

Just like Ringo Ameyuri, the lightning release prodigy who wields the [Lightning Blade Kiba] among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Meguro is also skilled in lightning release techniques and has outstanding attack power. However, when facing his two former colleagues who are skilled in water release techniques, he seems to be unable to bring himself to use his full strength and is instead being beaten into a disadvantageous position.

Meguro, having retreated further and further, glanced back at Uchiha Sogen, seemingly realizing he couldn't retreat any longer. He made up his mind, his hands rapidly forming hand seals, and finally unleashed a Lightning Release ninjutsu possessing extremely powerful offensive capabilities—

[Lightning Release: Raging Thunder Tiger]

Meguro's body was surrounded by dazzling lightning. A large amount of lightning chakra gathered in one place and, under Meguro's control, formed a huge tiger with lightning wrapped around its body. It rushed out at an astonishing speed and rushed to Sogen's front like lightning.

"How unoriginal! Don't try to show off such outdated tricks in front of me. But this murderous intent... I was your target from the beginning? Fine! No need to say anything more. I don't care what your tricks are. I can only say that you're wasting your time."

Zongxian held the flame fan horizontally in front of him. When the lightning, shaped like a fierce tiger, rushed towards him like a cannonball, it struck Zongxian and then slammed into the flame fan. Instantly, it swallowed up a considerable amount of lightning chakra, just like a whale sucking up a hundred rivers or a cow drinking from a pool. Despite being an extremely powerful offensive lightning ninjutsu, it had no effect whatsoever.

"How is this possible? My Thunder Tiger Technique... how could this happen?"

Meguro stared at Sogen, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Even if he couldn't kill Uchiha Mugen in one hit,

But it shouldn't have ended so abruptly without even a ripple.

"What needs to be done next is quite simple."

Zongxian thought to himself,

Simply waving the flame fan in his hand and using the [Uchiha Reflection] technique would be enough to let Meguro and the other two attackers know what it means to pay double.

That's what he thought.

That's what we did.

Zongxian poured no less chakra into the Flame Fan than he had into the Thunder Tiger Technique, and simultaneously waved the Flame Fan.

then,