Below the waist, each creature possessed a thick, powerful serpent tail, covered in dull, dark scales that swayed slowly through the water.
What the shinobi found hardest to accept was this—
Those snake-headed, humanoid monsters were gripping the severed limbs of the ninja who had entered the sea earlier—now clearly dead—and chewing on them like snacks, stuffing them into mouths lined with vicious fangs.
Their cold, vertical pupils gleamed with undisguised greed and hunger, all ten sets of eyes locking onto the larger concentration of "prey" gathered on the shore!
"Damn you bastards!! Die!!"
A shinobi roared in grief and fury, his eyes bloodshot.
He had personally watched his own brother dive into the sea—and never return. The scene before him nearly shattered his sanity.
His hands flew through seals, his chest swelling as he spat out a roaring Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet, which surged violently toward the nearest serpent monster!
Yet faced with a ninjutsu powerful enough to shatter rock, the creature's icy snake eyes flashed with a disturbingly human hint of disdain.
It didn't dodge.
Its long neck shot forward, jaws snapping wide—
CHOMP!
The massive water dragon was bitten apart and swallowed whole, as if crushed and absorbed by an invisible force.
Not a single splash was left behind.
"What?!"
"How is that possible?!"
"Ninjutsu… ninjutsu doesn't work?!"
The shinobi on the shore instantly turned pale, cries of disbelief echoing one after another.
Ninjutsu was their greatest weapon.
If even ninjutsu was useless, then weren't they nothing more than lambs waiting for slaughter?
Kakashi's face darkened like a gathering storm. He stared fixedly at the monster that had swallowed the Water Dragon and even smacked its lips, his voice low and grave.
"This is bad… These monsters probably possess an ability similar to that so-called divine technique—complete immunity to chakra-based attacks."
His mind flashed back to the scene on the Heavenly Screen, where Sakura Haruno had casually dispersed ninjutsu with a single slap.
"Kakashi!" Might Guy's voice was heavier than ever as he assumed a textbook combat stance, his thick brows knitted tightly.
"I can feel extreme danger! But creatures that feed on humans like this—no matter what—they must be destroyed!"
Kakashi nodded grimly, agreeing.
Yet a far more chilling question surfaced in his mind, sending a shiver down his spine.
"But… why? Why have we never heard of these things before—not even a single record in the archives?"
"Where did they… come from?"
The answer to that question might be even more terrifying than the monsters themselves.
Just as alarm bells blared in Kakashi's mind—
The ten serpent monsters moved.
They emitted shrill, inhuman screeches as their massive tails slammed violently against the sea, using the recoil to launch themselves forward like ten black arrows released from a bow—charging toward the densely packed shoreline at terrifying speed!
"So fast!" Kakashi's pupils shrank. These creatures weren't just bizarre—they were incredibly quick.
He immediately barked at Guy beside him,
"Guy! Prioritize survival! If there's a chance, capture one alive and bring it back to the village!"
He understood keenly that uncovering their origins and nature was far more important than simply killing them.
Guy nodded heavily—but there was no time to respond.
One of the monsters had already broken through the scattered resistance of other shinobi, riding a wave of blood-tinged seawater straight at them!
A scaled claw slashed toward Guy's throat!
"HIYAAAH—!!"
Guy unleashed his signature battle cry, twisting his body like a coiled spring and delivering a brutal, high-speed spinning kick straight into the creature's chest!
BAM!
With a dull, thunderous impact, the monster was blasted backward, tumbling across the sea surface several times before barely managing to steady itself.
"Guy, nice one!" Kakashi felt a flicker of relief.
So physical attacks still work.
But Guy showed no sign of easing up—his expression instead grew darker.
He shook his numbing leg, his voice unusually heavy.
"Kakashi, something's wrong. That kick just now… it felt like I hit super-tough rubber coated in oil and wrapped in layers of thick cotton!"
"Most of the force was slid off or absorbed!"
"What?!" Kakashi froze for a split second. That bizarre description made his heart sink.
Before he could think further, another serpent monster smashed through an Iwagakure ninja, roaring as it lunged straight for Kakashi!
His hands blurred through seals.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A massive earthen barrier carved with a dog's head erupted from the ground.
But—
BOOM!
The monster didn't slow down at all.
Its scaled head slammed straight into the wall, shattering the structure—capable of blocking B-rank ninjutsu—like it was made of paper!
Debris flew everywhere as the monster continued forward unabated!
Kakashi's eyes sharpened. Retreating instantly, his hands lashed out again.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"
The blazing fireball and crackling lightning struck the monster in succession—
And the result was sheer despair.
The fireball vanished silently upon contact, as if doused by an unseen ocean.
The lightning that spread along the ground met what felt like a perfect insulator—disappearing without even a ripple.
"As expected… ninjutsu is completely ineffective," Kakashi muttered, his heart sinking to the bottom.
On the other side, Guy had already re-engaged the monster he'd kicked away earlier.
Leaf Whirlwind, Dynamic Entry, and relentless taijutsu assaults poured down like a storm, producing continuous dull impacts.
The monster staggered backward, appearing battered—
Yet Guy's expression only grew worse.
"Kakashi! My taijutsu is barely working!" Guy shouted as he darted around, narrowly avoiding retaliatory claws and snapping jaws.
"These monsters' body structure is completely abnormal!"
"They're insanely tough, yet ridiculously flexible at the same time! Almost all of my force gets neutralized by that strange slippery resistance!"
"I can't deal any meaningful penetrating damage!"
Ninjutsu—useless.
Taijutsu—severely weakened.
These suddenly appearing monsters possessed a level of defensive capability that inspired pure despair.
Cries of pain began to echo from the shoreline as the shinobi fell into a brutal struggle.
Rogue Island instantly transformed into a blood-soaked hunting ground.
"Guy—aim for the joints and the eyes!" Kakashi shouted, parrying a claw strike with his kunai while analyzing calmly.
"Those might be their weak points!"
"Understood! But they're extremely agile and protect those areas well!"
Guy replied, flipping backward to avoid a sweeping tail.
The two continued searching desperately for a breakthrough—still clinging to the plan of capturing one alive.
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