The moment they heard those words, everyone's faces turned grim.
They were outnumbered. Worse, they were burdened with supplies—
A situation that practically guaranteed they'd be at a disadvantage in this fight.
Hoshiyomi's expression wasn't great either, but he didn't panic.
He spoke in a calm, low voice:
"Don't panic.
Our sensory abilities are stronger than theirs.
There's a chance they haven't discovered us yet.
It's too late to set traps, but everyone—get into combat formation."
He issued the orders swiftly:
"Do as I said before.
Chūnin—prepare for hand seals.
Half of you focus on defensive jutsu, the other half on offensive.
Lobo, stay with them and help guard the supplies.
I'll cloak myself and look for an opening to assassinate their strongest member.
Don't worry—I'm here."
Hearing Hoshiyomi's steady command, the team's tension eased a little.
One by one, they drew their weapons, bracing for the imminent clash.
Meanwhile, Hoshiyomi silently activated Transparent Escape Technique,
climbing into the trees, preparing for a stealth kill.
At the same time, Hyūga Seishō's temple veins bulged as his Byakugan focused sharply.
He whispered the report, calculating the enemy's distance:
"Twenty enemies.
Judging by their chakra signatures—six Jōnin, eleven Chūnin,
and three with very weak chakra… either wounded or low-ranking Genin."
His tone tightened as he continued:
"A thousand meters… five hundred… two hundred.
Chunin team, get ready to weave seals—
Hold on. Slow down.
Looks like they've noticed us.
They're charging in, probably thinking they have the numbers advantage.
Prepare… release!"
The moment Hyūga Seishō's voice fell, two distinct sounds rang out at once.
From the jungle came the rustling of enemy shinobi closing in at high speed, while the Konoha chunin unleashed a barrage of ninjutsu.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
"Water Style: Water Gun Technique!"
A variety of elemental attacks roared toward the incoming shadows in the forest.
Unfortunately, the enemy had experts of their own:
"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
Although just a standard defensive jutsu, the thickness of the wall was absurd—a massive half-meter-wide earthen barrier rose from the ground, blocking nearly eighty percent of the incoming jutsu. Watching this, Hyūga Seishō unconsciously bit his lip.
Only a few stray attacks managed to slip past the wall, but they didn't do much damage. One enemy ninja had his shoulder grazed by a Flame Bullet, but in the heavy rains of the Land of Rain, it amounted to little more than a mild burn.
As the opposing shinobi revealed themselves, their crimson flak jackets and forehead protectors gave away their identity—they were Iwagakure ninja.
The Iwa jonin who had just blocked most of the attacks with Earth-Style Wall glanced at Hyūga Seishō and spoke with a knowing smile:
"No wonder you timed our approach so precisely. So it's the Byakugan—what an incredible kekkei genkai."
"Too bad… those eyes won't be much use anymore."
Hyūga Seishō was about to snap back when his expression changed suddenly.
Wait… no…
He hurriedly looked down—and sure enough, a shadow was erupting from the ground beneath him.
Damn it!
There'd been someone hiding underground the whole time.
The Byakugan could see through the ground, but only if Seishō focused his vision downward. He'd been paying attention to the surroundings and the sky, neglecting the underground completely.
Startled, he tried to evade, but it was too late.
"Die!"
A raspy voice came from below. An Iwa shinobi emerged with a cruel grin, thrusting a kunai straight toward Seishō's throat.
He was a Special Jonin of Iwagakure, a specialist in advanced subterranean jutsu. With this signature technique, he had assassinated many targets during missions.
Seishō's pupils contracted as the kunai rapidly filled his vision. He tried to use Gentle Fist to seal the enemy's chakra points, but the distance was too close, and the attacker's movements too fast. There was no way he could react in time.
Just when he thought everything was over, a sudden clash of metal rang out in his ear.
Seishō looked down—someone's hand had appeared right beside him, blocking the enemy kunai perfectly with another kunai.
Turning his head instinctively, he saw a pair of crimson Sharingan, each bearing three tomoe—it was Uchiha Hokushin.
Hokushin didn't waste time checking on Seishō's condition. He raised his foot and kicked at the Iwa ninja, who was already preparing to retreat after his failed strike.
But Hokushin's Sharingan had read his every move.
His kick landed squarely in the enemy's chest,
so cleanly it looked like the man had run into Hokushin's leg by himself.
The Special Jonin was sent flying, pain radiating from his ribs—several of them had likely snapped.
But he wasn't panicking.
He'd already prepped his Earth Release escape technique.
As soon as I hit the ground, I'll dive back into the earth.
There's no way I'm dying here.
But before he even landed, a wind blade sliced through the air from the distance.
Nani?! How is this possible?!
He tried to twist his body mid-air to evade.
But it was useless.
The wind blade came too fast—
and sliced him cleanly in half while he was still airborne.
The entire battlefield went dead silent.
Not just the Iwagakure ninja—even Hoshiyomi's own transport team was stunned.
Such a precise and lethal wind blade—
This wasn't something an ordinary Chūnin could pull off.
Who the hell had just taken out a Special Jōnin in one strike?
The transport team turned their heads—
They saw Lobo, lazily licking his paw on top of the supply cart.
"That move was pretty cool, right?"
The giant ninja hound spoke, tail wagging.
…He can talk?
And he can unleash wind blades like that?
So this was Hoshiyomi-sama's contract beast? So strong!
Just Lobo alone probably had the combat capability of a jonin.
On the enemy side, the Iwagakure Jōnin who had taunted Hyūga Seishō earlier froze for a moment.
But the death of a single Special Jōnin wasn't enough to shake him.
In fact, it made him even more excited.
After all, they still had six Jōnin left.
And the enemy?
Only three Jōnin, plus that big ninja dog—call it four at best.
No matter how you looked at it, they still held the advantage.
With that in mind, the Iwa jonin sneered:
"Looks like we hit the jackpot today. We were just planning to raid a small Konoha outpost, but I never imagined we'd catch such a big fish.
Not only do you have a massive stockpile of supplies, you've also got a Byakugan, a Sharingan, and that oversized ninja dog—
You must be from the Inuzuka Clan, right? A jonin beast tamer?"
His eyes gleamed as he licked his lips.
"This is perfect. Three jonin heads, a pile of supplies…
If I finish you off, maybe the Tsuchikage will reward me with a forbidden technique."
Just as he was fantasizing, a calm voice sounded behind him—unhurried and cold:
"I don't think Ōnoki is going to reward you with anything."