Escape from Konoha.

"Lord Hokage, someone has stolen the information here."

The Konoha ANBU member who had previously repelled the enemy answered.

"Have the enemy been captured?"

Hiruzen asked the key question.

"I cut the enemy's body in two, but the enemy seemed to be immortal. Even after his body was cut in two, he still had a strong vitality and disappeared into the ground and the wall respectively."

The Konoha Anbu immediately knelt on one knee, bowed to Hiruzen, and explained, "I'm very sorry, Hokage-sama. Although we tracked them down afterwards, they moved very quickly through the soil, and we lost them in no time."

"Get up. It seems the guy who infiltrated this place has special abilities."

With his immortality, ability to infiltrate walls and floors, and the ability to shake off the relentlessly pursuing ANBU ninjas, his stealth capabilities are indeed formidable, regardless of his combat abilities.

Hiruzen walked to the desk and looked at the various documents and files scattered on it. These documents covered a lot of things, and because of this, Hiruzen couldn't tell what the infiltrators were looking for.

Information on the composition of some Jonin squads, their assigned missions and recent reports from the squads, and various expired orders. Among these, Hiruzen also found a magazine with a cover featuring a sexy bikini-clad woman.

"..."

Hiruzen felt a little embarrassed and quietly stuffed the magazine into the drawer next to him.

There was no way around it; as the Hokage, he was under immense pressure most of the time.

Even the Hokage needs to read a variety of books to relieve physical stress.

"Lord Hokage, what should we do next?"

"There shouldn't be any problems. The documents here aren't the village's most important secrets..."

However, the fact that these documents can be freely leaked to people of unknown origin still poses a certain threat to the village.

The key issue is that we cannot determine the enemy's identity and purpose, nor can we track their movements. Even if we know that this infiltrator is more of a curse than a blessing for Konoha, there is really nothing we can do about it.

We have no choice but to let it be.

"Let's leave it at that for now. Be more careful in your work in the future."

Hiruzen did not blame the ANBU, because there was only one squad of four ANBU guarding the place.

The reason is that the documents and information here do not involve Konoha's true core secrets. Sending too many people would be a waste of resources, and the protection of other places would be weakened.

However, if no precautions are taken, the documents and information here are not entirely useless.

Hiruzen found this strange; if he was here for Konoha's secrets, the information he could obtain by infiltrating here would obviously be limited.

Important secrets such as data on members of the Anbu, various research materials, and forbidden techniques are Konoha's core secrets, and are kept in more hidden places.

The ANBU ninjas guarding that place are among the most outstanding members of the ANBU. Not only are they numerous, but most of their ninjutsu are also rare secret techniques. They are also equipped with special sensory ninjas to prevent enemies from infiltrating.

Not understanding why this infiltrator had come, Hiruzen refrained from making such pointless guesses.

◎

One day later.

A cruise ship that departed from the port of the Rainbow Country is heading towards the port of the Fire Country.

On the deck of this cruise ship, all sorts of people are playing or looking at the boundless blue sea.

"Lord Huozhen, it's too dangerous to show your face here. Let's go back to your room."

Two adult male ninjas with white pupils spoke to a white-eyed ninja who was admiring the azure sea view from the deck.

The ninja they called 'Fire Formation' was a handsome young man who wore a Konoha ninja headband on his forehead, proving that he was a Konoha ninja.

Moreover, their pure white eyes made it clear that they were from the wealthy Hinata family.

The Hyuga clan is not only a prestigious ninja clan, but also a top-tier clan with complex relationships with the outside world.

The three of them came out this time purely to establish connections in the Land of Rainbows and handle some business matters with the merchant guild that has business dealings with the Hyuga clan.

Because a person of sufficient status was required to be present in person, the Hyuga clan dispatched Hyuga Kajin, the head of the main family, while the escorts were two special Jonin from the branch family of the Hyuga clan.

Although they are not true Jonin, the two of them working together are more than capable of handling ordinary Jonin, and can even defeat them.

Hyuga Kajin, being a member of the main branch of the clan, is the strongest of the three.

Although he was only twenty years old, he was already a famous genius Jonin in the Hyuga main family.

With this setup, even if they encounter hundreds of Chunin-level enemies and are outmatched, they can easily escape.

"It's alright, I just came out for a casual stroll to clear my head. The family's business in the Rainbow Country is all settled, so you two don't need to be so nervous."

Huo Zhen laughed off the concerns of the two Hyuga branch family ninjas.

"Even so, as the sect leader..."

Upon hearing the hissing from the fire array, the branch family ninja realized he had almost let something slip. He looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, breathed a sigh of relief.

"You two, don't be too respectful to me, just be casual."

A gentle smile appeared on Huo Zhen's face.

"Yes."

Although the main family's ninja, Kojin, said this, the two branch family ninjas still dared not overstep their bounds.

After all, the ideology they have been taught since childhood is to prioritize the main family.

Even if it costs us our lives, we must ensure the safety of the main clan's ninjas.

This will is deeply ingrained in their genes, and they often subconsciously take actions to protect the main family.

Huo Zhen sighed at their restraint, realizing it only aroused more suspicion.

Even if something unexpected happens, with the strength of the three of them...

boom!

A sudden explosion of sound caused the cruise ship's massive hull to tremble violently, rocking wildly on the boundless sea.

Huozhen and the two branch family ninjas quickly gathered their chakra in the soles of their feet, then grabbed the railing to stabilize themselves on the deck.

The tremor caused the tourists on deck to scream in panic, and an atmosphere of fear and chaos spread throughout the cruise ship.

On the azure sea, huge waves surged and crashed against the cruise ship.

The cruise ship rocked and swayed on the sea, nearly capsizing its massive hull several times.

"W-What's going on!?"

"It seems the road back to Konoha won't be smooth sailing."

Huo Zhen stood calmly on the deck, activated his White Eye, and his gaze pierced through the surging waves, seeing a dozen or so enemies rapidly approaching the cruise ship.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

A loud shout rang out in the air, and after the waves, a massive water jet, formed by the convergence of water, surged toward the cruise ship with even greater visual impact.

Huo Zhen glanced at the terrified tourists on the deck, frowned, and leaped into the air with all his might. Chakra was expelled from his body's acupoints, and his body spun rapidly like a top.

"Return to Heaven!"

boom!

The water dragon collided with the giant chakra sphere that spun out from the fire array.

The water cannon broke apart into a large stream of water, washing over the deck of the cruise ship. Several tourists were accidentally swept into the sea and cried for help.

The fire array retreated from mid-air. Although it successfully used the Reverse Heaven technique to block the water dragon from crashing into the cruise ship and prevent it from being sunk by the water dragon, the surging force hit his body. Even though the Reverse Heaven technique blocked most of the force, it still made his face pale.

"Come with me, don't fight here!"

Huo Zhen knew that these enemies didn't care about the hundreds of lives on the cruise ship, and fighting here would only put him in a precarious situation.

He jumped off the deck and immediately started running on the sea.

"Yes!"

The two branch family ninjas immediately ran after the fire formation, seeing that they were getting further and further away from the cruise ship, and that even if there was a battle, it should not affect them there.

"Lord Huozhen, what exactly are these...?"

"The water-style technique is very powerful, but their attire doesn't resemble that of a Kirigakure ninja."

These people were dressed no differently from ordinary civilians, wearing rough linen clothes, not the proper attire of ninjas.

"Crossdressing?"

"We cannot rule out this possibility."

After Huo Zhen finished speaking, a thick white fog suddenly and without warning rose up on the sea.

The sea area within a one-kilometer radius was shrouded in this sudden white fog.

The white mist contained immense chakra, and the Byakugan's perception remained intact. However, because it was necessary to see through the white mist, it actually consumed more chakra than usual. But for the three Hyuga ninjas, this amount of chakra was nothing.

"The Hidden Mist Technique, especially one of this strength, can basically seal off the Sharingan. But our Hyuga's Byakugan is unmatched in terms of perception."

The Fire Formation showed no fear of this powerful Mist Concealment Technique. Within the area observed by the Byakugan, it could basically predict in advance how many enemies there were, from which direction they would attack, and what type of escaping technique they would release when their chakra flowed.

In the ninja world, senseless killings are commonplace, but when a dozen or so unidentified ninjas rushed in carrying terrifying killing intent, they attacked the three of them, clearly indicating that they were their targets.

Or rather, it's the Hyuga main family's bloodline limit—a pure Byakugan unrestricted by the Caged Bird Seal.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

It's the same ninjutsu technique, but this time there are a total of six people using it.

The force of the six water dragons charging head-on, along with the water surge powerful enough to crush a person, caused the three Hyuga ninjas to suddenly display extremely solemn expressions.

With an impact of this intensity, one person alone would be utterly ineffective in turning the tide.

If only those two who split up could also return to heaven. Huo Zhen sighed inwardly.

If all three of them could use the Resurrection skill, although they wouldn't be completely unharmed from such an attack, they would certainly be able to defend themselves, at most suffering some injuries.

Unfortunately, this top-secret technique, the Rotation Form, which is an absolute defensive form, is only learned by members of the main family and a few branch family ninjas.

Many Jonin from branch families are not qualified to learn this skill, including his two special Jonin bodyguards.

Being hit head-on by a wave of water from six water dragons would result in serious injury at the very least.

Therefore, the three of them kept running backwards to create distance and weaken the impact of the water dragon before dealing with it.

However, the other party was well aware of the Hyuga clan's methods, and that this was a boundless ocean, an amplification zone dominated by water-style ninjas.