Nara Shikaku waved his hand.
The first thousand-man unit immediately charged forward.
At the same time, in the rear, Akimichi Chōza led twenty Akimichi chūnin capable of using the Super Expansion Technique.
"Super Expansion Technique!"
Twenty gigantic Akimichi warriors rose from the ground like towering giants.
Massive boulders were lifted and hurled toward the Cloud ninja formation.
"Hmph, a trivial trick."
Still young but already heavily muscled, the future Fourth Raikage, A, stepped forward.
Electric currents wrapped around his body, crackling loudly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At incredible speed, he shattered the incoming boulders one after another.
The Cloud ninja behind him began teasing.
"As expected of our future little Fourth. Your skills are impressive."
"Yoru-san, what are you talking about? My old man is still alive."
The Cloud Village jōnin called Yoru-san saw A looking slightly embarrassed and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Look at our little Fourth getting shy!"
The other ninja joined in the teasing.
"Hahaha! Understandable. Our little Fourth is only eleven years old. When I was eleven, I was still just a genin. Meanwhile, the little Fourth is already on the battlefield."
"The Third-sama truly has a worthy successor."
"Little Fourth, got a girlfriend yet? My daughter's about your age. Want to consider it?"
Even A's dark face showed a hint of embarrassment.
These old hooligans… always picking on me, a kid who isn't even allowed to drink yet.
"Alright, that's enough. Be careful—what if the little Fourth makes life difficult for us later?"
"I wouldn't!"
"Oh? So you admit you're the little Fourth?"
"I—hmph."
Bunch of old hooligans.
Yoru-san laughed freely.
What could be more entertaining than teasing the future hero of your own village?
The Third Raikage truly was a fierce man with no weak cub.
Exactly because of that…
You must not die.
Yoru-san's gaze gradually grew serious as he looked at the Konoha ninja charging closer.
He tightened his grip on his kunai and suddenly hurled it forward. Attached to it was an Explosive Tag.
"Brats, give these Konoha punks a nice welcome."
"Roar!"
In an instant, a thousand kunai with Explosive Tags were thrown out.
"Super Expansion Technique: Super Thrust Palm!"
Twenty Akimichi giants rose up again, their enormous hands sweeping forward.
With twenty massive palms, they cleared every incoming kunai from the air.
At the front stood the Akimichi clan head.
He thought to himself: So timed detonation techniques really aren't that simple. I wonder how Shikaku and those kids managed it. Too bad time isn't on Konoha's side… otherwise we'd show you what tactics a hundred years ahead of the ninja world look like.
"Super Human Bullet Tank!"
The Akimichi clan head was leading elite jōnin.
They had more than enough chakra to unleash this technique.
Twenty gigantic Human Bullet Tanks rolled forward like unstoppable siege engines, plowing straight into the Cloud ninja formation.
Yoru-san calmly directed the defense.
"Stay calm. The Akimichi clan are just oversized targets. With bodies that big, there's no way you brats can miss."
"Haha, who are you looking down on?"
"Lightning Release: Thunder Laser!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Net!"
"Ninja Art: Beast-Binding Chains!"
Streams of lightning shot toward the Akimichi giants.
At the same time, ropes were thrown toward their bodies.
"Super Expansion Technique: Release!"
The twenty giants instantly shrank back to normal size, dodging the lightning attacks and causing the ropes to miss completely.
"Super Expansion Technique!"
Once again, twenty giants rose from the ground.
"Do you think the Akimichi Secret Technique is so clumsy?"
"Super Thrust Palm!"
Gigantic hands began sweeping across the area where the Cloud ninja stood.
Yoru-san's eyes narrowed.
As expected of Konoha's ninja clans. They're difficult to deal with.
Luckily, the Ino–Shika–Chō trio hadn't charged in together. Otherwise, the difficulty would rise to an entirely different level.
"Hmph. Don't get too arrogant—Lariat!"
Beside Yoru-san, A couldn't stand the arrogant display of the Akimichi clan.
Wrapped in lightning, he burst forward at extreme speed.
He was about to reach one of the Akimichi jōnin.
"Monstrous Strength: Release!"
A figure radiating terrifying chakra suddenly appeared.
With a single punch, A was blasted backward.
It was Senju Hideki.
Yoru-san stared at the Senju crest on the armor.
"Senju… there are still ninja from that clan?"
Back when he followed the Third Raikage to suppress the rebellion of the Gold and Silver Brothers' unit, he had personally witnessed how those Senju lunatics fought the elite force to mutual destruction.
The Senju of Konoha never feared death.
A climbed back up from the ground.
"Kid A, how is it? Nothing serious?" Yoru-san asked.
"Just a broken rib. Nothing major."
Just one move and A had already suffered a broken rib.
Looks like this Senju ninja isn't ordinary.
And he's over two meters tall… do people like that really exist?
"Uncle from the Akimichi clan, don't worry. Leave this sneaky clown who only knows how to ambush to us."
The Akimichi jōnin looked at the familiar Senju crest.
For a moment, it felt like he had returned to those days when he followed the Senju warriors charging into battle.
"Alright. I believe you."
Senju Hideki dashed straight toward the two Cloud ninja in front of him.
Judging from their appearance, their status wasn't low.
Capture the leader first. Take them down.
Yoru-san and A watched the Senju ninja charging toward them.
"Kid A, coordinate with me. You haven't learned that technique of your clan yet, have you?" Yoru-san said.
A instantly knew which technique he meant.
"Hmph. I learned that when I was three."
"Hahaha, don't brag too much."
Yoru-san quickly formed hand seals.
"Storm Release: Black Lightning."
Streams of black lightning shot from his hands toward Senju Hideki.
"Black lightning… Storm Release, huh?"
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
A massive earthen wall rose instantly, blocking the incoming black lightning.
After the wall was shattered—
Yoru-san, his body wrapped in Lightning Release chakra, charged forward at extreme speed.
"This is… Stone Armor?"
Dense earth chakra gathered over Senju Hideki's body.
At the same time, A appeared behind him.
"Lariat!"
Boom!
A massive cloud of dust erupted.
"What?!"
"How is that possible?!"
Yoru-san and A widened their eyes in shock.
Senju Hideki now wore an extremely heavy stone armor.
His hands were wrapped in immense chakra, and with one hand each, he blocked the combined attack of Yoru-san and A.
"So this move is called Lariat, huh? A combination technique."
"Looks like I've hooked a big fish."
Yoru-san and A immediately retreated from around Senju Hideki.
"Who exactly are you? How do you know so much about Cloud Village's intelligence?"
Yoru-san's face turned cold.
There might be a traitor within the village.
"Your enemy should not be the one telling you everything you want to know," Senju Hideki said with a teasing tone.
"Shinku, Shishō! There's a big catch here—get over here!"
"Genjutsu!"
The opponent facing Yūhi Shinku suddenly showed a trace of fatigue. In the next instant, Shinku slit his throat.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Instead of scattering, the fireballs struck a Cloud ninja one after another in precise order, burning him completely into charred black remains.
Mitarashi Shishō also quickly finished off his opponent.
Both of them immediately used Body Flicker to arrive beside Senju Hideki, staring intently at the two Cloud ninja before them.