The secret tunnel exit of Uzushiogakure was at the base of a coastal cliff, blocked by huge rocks on the outside. Unless one got very close, it was absolutely impossible to discover.
Mukai led the group out and prepared to escape toward the Land of Fire using boats hidden nearby.
If this were an ordinary world, they might have escaped like this.
But this was the Shinobi World, where enemies existed who could detect traces of foes from thousands of miles away.
Although the secret tunnel was dug deep underground, and ordinary Sensor-type Shinobi wouldn't casually sense such distant locations, the Uzumaki Clan's members had abundant vitality.
With thirty gathered together, it was like a beacon. Even if Sensor-type Shinobi didn't intentionally sense them, they could still become aware, and upon closer inspection, they would immediately discover them.
Just as Mukai's group boarded the boat, five hundred elite Kirigakure's Shinobi led by Yagura, Suikazan Fuguki, and Munashi Jinpachi closed in on them.
"Konoha itself is struggling to survive, yet they still send teams to rescue others. Truly touching!"
Yagura held his coral staff upside down, smiling as he looked at Mukai and the others.
Yagura had green hair and purple eyes, a youthful face, and a short stature, looking like an underage boy. But in reality, his son was almost getting married; he just had a baby face that made him appear so young.
Following him, Fuguki had a mountainous physique.
About 2.5 meters tall, broad and obese, with long orange hair reaching his heels, he carried the massive weapon 'Samehada' on his back, wrapped in bandages.
The other member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Jinpachi, was a tall, slender man with long black hair, a vertical braid, long whiskers, thick lips, and sharp teeth. He had a black cloth over his left eye, and his head and neck were wrapped in bandages.
He carried the explosive blade composed of a huge scroll as the back and a blade as wide as a door panel on his shoulder, looking particularly fierce.
Seeing these people, Mukai's heart sank.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist… even though Kirigakure operated in the distant Land of Water, their fame was widespread in the Shinobi World.
Although he didn't recognize Yagura, being supported as a leader by two swordsmen spoke volumes about his status and strength.
Against any one of such experts, he couldn't claim certain victory, let alone three at once.
Moreover, the other side led five hundred experienced Kirigakure's elites, while he brought thirty ordinary Uzumaki Clan's members. There was simply no way to fight.
After brief contemplation, Mukai looked up at Yagura. "They are all ordinary people; they don't have what you want. Let them go."
"Ordinary people!?"
Jinpachi cracked a grin, excited. "Isn't that even better? One slash each; must feel great to chop them!"
"You!"
The Konoha's Shinobi led by Mukai were furious, their eyes blazing as they stared at him.
The Shinobi World also had its unwritten rules.
Unless necessary, Shinobi were not allowed to harm ordinary people.
Although the current situation had reached the necessary level, Jinpachi's tone wasn't about that at all. He took sheer pleasure in killing ordinary people, and the cruelty exposed in his words made the thirty ordinary Uzumaki Clan's members tremble with fear.
"Do you have some misunderstanding about the Bloody Mist?" Yagura gave a faint smile. "The Shinobi in our village all grow up killing each other. Once confirmed as enemies, even former comrades can be struck down without hesitation."
"You can even strike down comrades without hesitation!?"
Someone among the Konoha's Shinobi couldn't help but exclaim.
Not that he was overreacting; Konoha and Kirigakure were simply polar opposites.
Konoha highly valued teamwork among comrades, so they frequently emphasized the importance of teammates even at the Academy.
After graduation, team leaders focused on fostering mutual trust between teammates.
Kirigakure, however, believed Shinobi were tools requiring the coldness and obedience to strike down even family without hesitation. Hence, the graduation requirement was mutual slaughter among classmates who had spent days together; survivors graduated.
Completely different philosophies left Shinobi from the two villages with no common language.
"I'll fight a bloody path out! You take the people and escape by boat!"
Mukai's eyes narrowed, veins bulging near his left eye, his black pupils turning white.
"Byakugan!"
Yagura and the two swordsmen couldn't help but exclaim.
'Chance!'
Seizing the moment of their surprise, Mukai charged forward with a palm strike.
Yagura and the others were no ordinary individuals; naturally, they wouldn't be so easily ambushed.
The moment Mukai moved, they snapped back to attention, their bodies instinctively reacting by scattering and jumping away.
But as soon as they landed, an Eight Trigrams diagram appeared on the water surface beneath their feet.
Before they could figure out what it was, they heard Mukai's voice.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!"
Following the sound, they saw Mukai, positioned between the three of them, assuming a special Taijutsu stance, charging toward Yagura.
"Hmph!"
Yagura sneered, forming a water mirror in front of him.
With his right hand, he extended the coral staff, hooking the top of the mirror and pulling it back. Another Mukai, mirroring the same stance, charged out from the mirror.
"One palm!"
"Two palms!"
"Four palms!"
"Eight palms!"
"Sixteen palms!"
"Thirty-Two palms!"
"Sixty-Four palms!"
The two Mukais exchanged palm strikes at a dizzying speed, unleashing sixty-four blows in the blink of an eye, causing the surrounding air currents to swirl.
"He even copied the Gentle Fist!"
Mukai's final palm strike shattered his own copy, his heart filled with immense shock.
Jinpachi laughed maniacally, sneaking an attack from behind, swinging the door-panel-sized explosive blade from his shoulder, leveraging momentum!
Mukai, with his Byakugan active, naturally wouldn't be ambushed successfully. At the critical moment, he leaped to the side, dodging the slash.
But the explosive blade missed, striking the water surface and triggering an explosion.
Unparalleled shockwaves collided with Mukai, sending him flying, vomiting blood continuously along the way.
"Even the Hyuga Clan is helpless before the swords!"
Fuguki mercilessly mocked Mukai, but his hands gripped Samehada, charging in advance toward Mukai's landing point.
"Captain!"
The twenty-plus Konoha's Shinobi were shocked, about to rush forward to rescue.
Yagura, holding the coral staff upside down in his right hand, formed a hand seal with his left at his chest, smiling as he instantly blocked their path. "You should worry about yourselves first. Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
The calm sea instantly turned violent, surging toward the Konoha's Shinobi like a waterfall's impact.
Facing this natural disaster-like power, these Konoha's Shinobi of only Chunin-level were helplessly swallowed by the seawater.