Just a few minutes after Hanzo left his training ground, a large group of ninjas, all wearing uniform dark red armor, appeared.
The ninja in brown plate armor at the head of the group was precisely the adult who had just given the orders.
With a raise of his hand, the ninjas immediately stopped.
"Aoki, Ki, Koushou."
"Lord Ganri, what are your orders?"
Three ninjas, who appeared to be squad leaders, stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and asked.
"The Shimada clan's stronghold is less than two kilometers ahead. Everyone, be sure to be careful of patrolling ninjas. If you are discovered..." Ganri's gaze turned cold. "I shouldn't need to teach you what to do."
"Understood, sir," the three replied, cupping their fists.
What to do... of course, it was to kill the patrolling ninjas before they could raise an alarm.
Ganri nodded and said, "Continue."
...Meanwhile, Hanzo, who had a premonition of trouble, had already rushed back home.
"Mom."
Hitomi, who was playing with Genji, looked at the flustered Hanzo with some surprise.
"Mom, a large group of ninjas, at least several hundred, are heading towards the clan's stronghold!" Hanzo said, getting straight to the point without time for explanations.
"What?" Hitomi was greatly alarmed. "How do you know?"
"Mom!" Hanzo said anxiously. "Time is short. I'll explain later. Please quickly gather the clan members to evacuate."
As a major ninja clan, they were prepared for such situations, and the evacuation of ordinary clan members was naturally a top priority.
Hitomi gazed at Hanzo for two seconds and said, "Alright! I trust my son wouldn't make such a claim without reason."
With that, Hitomi took out a scroll, quickly walked outside the door, and turned to Hanzo, saying, "Take your brother to the shelter, quickly."
Then, she unsealed the scroll.
A piercing shriek immediately echoed through the sky.
Hanzo knew that he couldn't be of much help here at the moment, and besides, Genji needed his care.
Hugging Genji, Hanzo said to Hitomi, "Mom, please be careful."
Hitomi smiled and said, "Your mother has lived for so many years; what kind of situation haven't I seen? Don't worry."
...From a distance, Ganri and his group, who were rapidly approaching the stronghold, naturally noticed the sound.
"No good!"
Ganri's heart sank, and he said gloomily, "Everyone, accelerate!"
"Yes." The speed of the ninjas increased again... On the other side, upon hearing the shriek, the faces of the Shimada clan members changed, and they quickly put down everything they were doing and rushed towards the northern part of the stronghold, where the Shimada clan's temporary shelter was located.
The ninjas on guard, meanwhile, quickly headed to the center of the stronghold.
In just a few tens of seconds, the six elders and over two hundred ninjas guarding the clan had all assembled.
By this point, no one asked Hitomi why she suddenly used the 'Shriek Order,' which only the clan head and grand elder possessed.
Because Ganri and his group, realizing something was amiss, were no longer concealing their movements.
"Madam."
The six elders standing at the forefront were all in battle attire, and they bowed slightly to Hitomi, who was also in battle attire.
Hitomi didn't mince words and said directly, "Everyone, you've all seen the situation. Unknown ninjas are attacking our stronghold. Our clan members are already heading to the shelter. What we need to do is hold these people off. Once all our clan members are safe, we will let these arrogant fools know the consequences of provoking our Shimada clan."
Hitomi waved her hand, speaking with great authority, a stark contrast to her usual gentle and motherly demeanor.
However, the six elders were not surprised. Before marrying Shimada Jūnen, Hitomi was also a fierce warrior of the Shimada clan, with strength reaching the level of an elite Jonin, no less than any of the elders.
It was only after Hanzo was born that Hitomi gradually became less active in combat.
This was also why the six elders were willing to follow her lead; after all, the grand elder was older and his combat ability had declined.
Hitomi, in her prime and representing the clan head, was undoubtedly the best temporary leader.
In just this short moment, Ganri, leading his ninjas, had also arrived.
He looked grim and said, "Tch, were we discovered?"
Hitomi narrowed her eyes and sneered, "It's you, Ganri. These people... are General Yoshinobu's ninja army, aren't they? What brings you to our Shimada clan's stronghold? If there's nothing, I advise you to leave quickly. Otherwise, I don't mind keeping you all here."
"Silence!"
"Arrogant woman!"
Before Ganri could speak, the three ninja army leaders behind him couldn't help but shout curses.
In their view, the number of ninjas they led was almost three times that of the Shimada clan, and Hitomi's current arrogance naturally provoked their anger.
However, Hitomi merely glanced at them and then ignored the three.
"Well, Ganri?"
Ganri, standing at the very front, was somewhat hesitant. He knew that Hitomi's composure was due to her genuine confidence.
The Shimada clan's ninjas were different from those of ordinary families; each of them possessed the Kekkei Genkai "Dragon Tattoo." Using the Dragon Tattoo to enhance ninjutsu was a basic technique of the Dragon Tattoo, easily mastered even by Shimada clan members with the White Dragon Tattoo.
Therefore, in large-scale battles with hundreds of people, the Shimada clan, uniformly using ninjutsu, could completely fight against ninjas several times their number.
Thus, there was a consensus in the ninja world: when fighting the Shimada clan, it was crucial to force them into close-quarters combat; otherwise, the chances of victory were slim.
Originally, Ganri had planned to launch a surprise attack on the Shimada clan and slaughter ordinary clan members to throw the Shimada clan into disarray.
Then, he and the three, Aoki, would hold off the guarding elders, preventing them from organizing the ninjas.
However, it was clear that the ordinary clan members of the Shimada clan had already fully retreated, so his objective this time could be considered a failure.
If he could defeat these two hundred-plus ninjas, he could then slowly search for those 'rats,' but precisely because he faced the already assembled Shimada clan members, he had no guaranteed victory.
Ganri's gaze turned dark: "In that case..."
Whoosh!
Body Flicker Technique!
In the blink of an eye, Ganri had already appeared in front of Hitomi, holding a chakra-infused kunai, ready to stab her in the throat.
"Capture the leader first to capture the followers; this is the only chance..." Ganri thought silently.
He was confident in his own strength. If Hitomi was unprepared, he was sure he could kill her with one blow.
"How dare you!"
"Bastard!"
The elders who reacted were instantly enraged and moved to attack Ganri.
"Hahaha, you guys should behave yourselves."
Aoki and the other two also attacked instantly.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Aoki quickly formed hand signs, and several fire dragons spewed from his mouth, attacking the three elders, led by the grand elder.
Facing this powerful B-rank ninjutsu, even the so-called gentlest Fire Style, the three elders had to treat it with caution. They exchanged glances and simultaneously formed hand signs.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
The moment the three elders finished their hand signs, faint red light flickered on two of them, while the grand elder's body glowed with a blue aura, accompanied by faint dragon roars.
Dozens of vacuum orbs, covering the sky, enveloped Aoki and his two companions.
The Vacuum Serial Waves, enhanced by the Dragon Tattoo, easily dispersed the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet and surged towards Aoki and his two companions.
"Ki! Koushou!"
Seeing the overwhelming Vacuum Serial Waves, the three were greatly alarmed and quickly formed hand signs simultaneously, saying, "Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
"Bang! Bang..."
A series of impacts, and thick smoke obscured Aoki and his two companions.
However, this also momentarily stalled the grand elder and two other elders, leaving only three elders to rescue Hitomi...