After staying in the supply depot for a while, Silver Horn found life there even more boring than he had imagined. Fortunately, he could freely enjoy the provisions there, at least not having to be as picky as he was in the city. Thus, he spent his days drinking and making merry in the depot, even neglecting his daily guard duties without caring about what others thought.
Sora could not stand it and said to Silver Horn, "Lord Silver Horn, you should take your troops to scout the surrounding area. Lord Raikage said that people from Konohagakure might sneak attack here soon."
"Hmph, if they want to come, let them. I'm bored here anyway. If they don't come, don't even think about going back," Silver Horn replied. He probably hoped deep down that Konohagakure would sneak attack them so he could have a good fight.
"As expected of Lord Silver Horn! In front of Lord Silver Horn, a descendant of the Six Paths Sage, no one from Konohagakure can possibly win!" Upon hearing Silver Horn's words, a Kumogakure Ninja who admired him immediately shouted loudly. Driven by him, the others also shouted, expressing their reverence for Silver Horn.
Seeing this, Sora knew she could not persuade Silver Horn, so she stopped wasting her breath and turned to leave the tent. Her subordinates following behind heard Sora mutter under her breath, "What the heck!"
Although Silver Horn was neglecting his duties, or rather, deliberately relaxing the vigilance to allow Konoha Ninja to sneak into the supply depot, Sora could not be like that. She led the troops under her command to persist in carrying out the surveillance mission, but with so few people, she could not cover everything.
Sora did not discover any trace of Konohagakure, but she suspected in her heart that Konoha Ninja might have already approached the supply depot, only that she hadn't noticed due to insufficient manpower. She had originally intended to try persuading Silver Horn again, but thinking of Silver Horn's demeanor, she felt there was no hope.
Sora stayed in her tent, lying on the bed to rest, but she could not fall asleep at all. The possibility of Konoha Ninja having infiltrated kept lingering in her mind, impossible to shake off.
"Six Paths Sage above, if you can see, please let your descendants suffer a bit." Sora couldn't help but pray in her heart. Every time she saw Silver Horn's arrogant appearance, she had the impulse to just give up everything and let the Konoha Ninja in, but due to her duty as a Kumogakure Ninja, she didn't do so. To avoid seeing, she stopped visiting Silver Horn.
It was unknown whether the Six Paths Sage had truly heard Sora's request, as Sora herself hadn't expected this matter to happen so soon.
It was a certain night. Sora was lightly dozing in her tent when she was suddenly startled awake. She didn't know why, but some unseen feeling stimulated the instincts honed on the battlefield. She quickly got off the bed and walked outside.
Sora went out to check. Everything in the supply depot was normal, just like any other day, but she didn't relax. Instead, she went to find a Sensing Ninja among her subordinates, preparing to go out with him to check the situation. However, just as they were about to leave the supply depot, the Sensing Ninja revealed a look of shock.
"Lady Sora, quickly, get out of the way!" he shouted, quickly dodging to the side. As soon as he began sensing, he felt a massive amount of Chakra rushing toward them.
Sora didn't have that kind of sensory ability, but she also realized something was wrong. She dodged at almost the same time as the Sensing Ninja. In the next moment, a white beam of light pierced the wall established outside the supply depot. The beam only extended a short distance before stopping; it didn't impact the inner side of the depot. However, the area covered by the beam seemed to evaporate and disappear. The wall, so sturdy that even Lightning Release techniques took time to destroy, was easily pierced, leaving a huge void.
"What Ninjutsu is this?" Sora had never seen a Ninjutsu with such powerful destructive capability. Before she could recover from her shock, the Sensing Ninja beside her immediately warned that more Ninjutsu were coming. Without him needing to say it, Sora saw with her own eyes a large number of rock projectiles enveloped in flames flying toward them.
— — What a familiar sight.
Sora would never forget what happened to her that day. Under the overwhelming fiery rock projectiles, she escaped the explosion only to be swiftly defeated in one move by the man named Fūmori Masaki.
After that battle, the Konoha Ninja side seemed very satisfied with this combat style and frequently used this composite Ninjutsu on the battlefield, causing very heavy losses to the Land of Lightning's forces. Their relatively complex group of Ninjas could easily sustain this kind of combat, but Kumogakure Ninja could not, and even if they could, they couldn't use it on such a large scale.
This time, Sora saw this unforgettable composite Ninjutsu again. Logically, this didn't mean the opponent was Fūmori Masaki, but Sora had a premonition that she would run into that man. She immediately gripped the hilt of her sword and shouted, "Fire signal flares, notify everyone to be on alert!"
Although it might be too late, Sora had to try her best. She and the Sensing Ninja immediately fired signal flares. The loud noise immediately woke up the people in the supply depot—the light beam's destructive power was astonishing, but it made almost no sound. Before the fiery rock projectiles arrived, only the sound of the signal flares could alert everyone.
The Kumogakure Ninja in the supply depot rushed out of their tents in a hurry only to be met by the fiery rock projectiles descending from the sky. Fortunately, they had reacted, and most of them avoided the attack. When the fiery rock projectiles smashed onto the ground, they instantly set off an explosion. The shattered debris and flames contaminated the provisions, causing them to ignite.
"It's bad, the provisions are on fire!"
"Quick, put out the fire!"
"Calm down, send the samurai to put out the fire, and we'll go deal with the Konoha Ninja!"
The supply depot immediately fell into chaos. Some panicked, some rushed to extinguish the fire, and some issued orders to organize a counterattack. This sudden attack made them all spring into action.
At this moment, Sora, outside the supply depot, saw some people rushing toward them. She immediately gathered Chakra, preparing for battle. When she saw the young man charging at the very front, an inexplicable joy shot through her entire body like an electric current. While forming hand seals, she shouted, "Fūmori Masaki, we finally meet! You didn't expect to run into me here, did you? This time, we must decide the victor!"
"I didn't expect it at first, but I was mentally prepared," Fūmori Masaki didn't show surprise but said lightly, "I wonder if you've heard of 'no three times'?"
"What?" Sora was surprised by Fūmori Masaki's reaction, but her hand seal movements didn't slow down at all. When the last seal was formed, she shouted, "Lightning Release: Chaotic Lightning!"
In the use of Ninjutsu, sound acts as a self-suggestion, allowing Chakra flow to become smoother. Abundant Chakra, perfect seals, and suggestive sounds—these three elements combine to bring a Ninjutsu's power to its maximum. Generally, one doesn't need to do this because most Ninjas have fragile bodies, but facing Fūmori Masaki, Sora directly used the maximum power of her Lightning Release.
At that moment, the flames around, caused by the fiery rock projectiles, seemed to be drawn toward Fūmori Masaki, swirling around him. This strange situation startled Sora slightly. Her Ninjutsu had already been unleashed, and lightning struck toward Fūmori Masaki from all directions, colliding and impacting with the surrounding flames—
"Sage Art: Wind Reversal." At this moment, Fūmori Masaki spoke. He threw out the short blade in his hand, instantly releasing the Wind Release Chakra condensed on it. A torrent of fierce wind struck the flames around him, sweeping them toward Sora.
"What!" Sora cried out in alarm. The attack came too quickly; she could only raise her blade, condensing powerful Lightning Release Chakra within it, and forcefully blocked. In an instant, a massive impact struck her from the front. Sora held her ground tightly for a moment before being blown away, flying toward the inner side of the supply depot.
— — This, this level of firepower...
As Sora flew into mid-air, she saw Fūmori Masaki suddenly appear in front of her and slash down with his blade. Sora raised her sword to block, but her body inevitably plummeted downward, smashing heavily onto the ground.
Sora grunted, and before she could get up, Fūmori Masaki landed and simultaneously punched her abdomen. This time, Sora finally couldn't bear it. The force penetrated her stomach and intestines, causing spasms, and she could only clutch her abdomen, unable to move.
Fūmori Masaki took out a Kunai and slashed Sora's arm. It was coated with poison specialized for Ninjas, which made people unable to exert strength and difficult to even condense Chakra. Knowing Sora was in this supply depot, Fūmori Masaki had the idea of capturing her; the disciple of the Second Raikage would be a very good bargaining chip in the future.
While Fūmori Masaki was fighting Sora, Senju Touka, Sarutobi Kōnosuke, and Inuzuka Shigeru had already begun their attack. With the assistance of Senju Touka's Genjutsu, Sarutobi Kōnosuke and Inuzuka Shigeru advanced like a hot knife through butter; no one could stop them. All the provisions along their path were destroyed—
Seeing Fūmori Masaki ahead, Inuzuka Shigeru said in surprise, "You guys actually fought all the way here?"
"Don't worry about that. Destroy the place and let's leave quickly," Fūmori Masaki said. He hadn't expected his attack to send Sora flying so far, forcing him to use considerable strength to catch up.
"That's right," Senju Touka chimed in, telling Inuzuka Shigeru and Sarutobi Kōnosuke to go destroy the provisions on both sides.
Just then, Fūmori Masaki sensed someone with immense Chakra emerging and couldn't help but be slightly surprised—Hyūga Kei was only operating on the periphery to avoid exposing his tracks, so the Byakugan's observation range was limited, making it impossible to observe the internal situation of the supply depot. Sora often operated outside, which is why she was observed. Yet, there was another powerful person inside the depot. Why hadn't such a powerful person gone out?
Fūmori Masaki turned his head to look. The other person was heading toward them. When he saw the person's appearance, his heart suddenly jolted; he hadn't expected it to be this person.
"Heh, I thought you were something special, collapsing so quickly. The Kumogakure Ninja nowadays are getting more and more useless," Silver Horn said with cold sarcasm.
Sora hadn't lost consciousness yet. She lay on the ground, breathing painfully, her strength gradually draining away. Hearing Silver Horn's words, she desperately wanted to retort but couldn't speak. On one hand, she lacked the strength to talk; on the other, the fact was that she had indeed been defeated by Fūmori Masaki, a fact that left her unable to argue.
"Never mind, let me, an elder of Kumogakure, teach you what a real Ninja is." Silver Horn laughed heartily.
"That's Silver Horn. Why is he here?" Senju Touka noticed the emerging Silver Horn and was greatly surprised.
Fūmori Masaki silently gripped his blade hilt, staring at Silver Horn, and said, "Lady Momoka, please go help the others first. I will handle this person."
Senju Touka knew Fūmori Masaki wasn't someone who acted without reason. As a Wind Release Ninja, he was a sharp sword against the Kumogakure Ninja, a point proven on the battlefield. Their ultimate goal was just to destroy the provisions, not to defeat a specific person. If they could win, great; if not, they would retreat directly—that was the policy of the surprise attack squad. With Fūmori Masaki's ability, even if he couldn't defeat Silver Horn, he could at least maintain a stalemate.
"Alright, once the mission is complete, we will come to help you and retreat together," Senju Touka said hastily before leaving to help the others. There were quite a few Ninja and samurai in the supply depot, and her Genjutsu was the guarantee for containment.
"Brat, none of you will leave this place, I guarantee it." Silver Horn looked at Fūmori Masaki, a cruel curve curling at the corner of his lips.
"I want to say the same thing to you," Fūmori Masaki understood Silver Horn's danger, so he would use his full strength to quickly take this person down.
The best chance was one move, one move to eliminate this person. Fūmori Masaki thought, pulling out a soldier pill and putting it into his mouth. Feeling the Chakra filling his body, the Sage Art patterns continued to spread from his torso, crossing his neck to half his face.