Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the two people in front of him. Gengetsu Hozuki carefully shielded the heavily injured Akira. Gengetsu, who looked inhuman, appeared to be in excellent condition, breathing calmly. The continuous use of powerful Water Release jutsu and the recovery from injuries showed no signs of affecting him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was unsure of Gengetsu Hozuki's current abilities, so he decided to primarily probe him. He transformed the Monkey King Enma back into the Adamantine Staff, pointing it at Gengetsu. Suddenly, the Adamantine Staff rapidly extended, shooting towards Gengetsu like an arrow, reaching his face in the blink of an eye.
Gengetsu Hozuki summoned his ninja sword from a scroll. This time, the summoned sword was the Hiramekarei. With a loud shout, the Hiramekarei glowed with powerful chakra as it collided with the Adamantine Staff.
Even among summoned beasts, Hiruzen Sarutobi's partner, the Monkey King Enma, was exceptionally powerful. Orochimaru even considered him the strongest summoned beast—though this likely didn't include those beyond typical classification. Then again, whether those "exceptions" could even be summoned was another question.
Even a normal impact was evenly matched, or even slightly superior, to the Hiramekarei infused with powerful chakra, which opened Gengetsu Hozuki's eyes. The next scene astonished him even more: the Monkey King Enma's face suddenly appeared on the Adamantine Staff, letting out a loud cry towards him.
The chakra-amplified sound could deafen ordinary people, and even ninjas would experience a momentary paralysis. At this moment, the Monkey King Enma spat a ball of fire from his mouth, striking Gengetsu Hozuki's face at point-blank range.
The Monkey King Enma already knew from Hiruzen Sarutobi that physical attacks were almost ineffective against this guy, unless they used Lightning Release chakra. However, the Monkey King Enma couldn't use Lightning Release chakra, so he could only choose to use Fire Release to give Gengetsu Hozuki a good "face wash."
However, Gengetsu Hozuki did not die from this. After merging with Samehada, his physical abilities were strengthened to a new level. Coupled with his inherent mastery of Water Release, he instinctively condensed water currents and lowered his body temperature. Despite this, his face was severely burned.
But for Samehada's vast chakra, these injuries were negligible. Gengetsu Hozuki directly raised his hand and grabbed the Monkey King Enma. The Monkey King Enma also grabbed Gengetsu Hozuki's arm, but the Monkey King Enma's expression suddenly changed. Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had a deep understanding with the Monkey King Enma, immediately sensed the abnormality.
Hiruzen Sarutobi forcefully shook the Adamantine Staff, shaking Gengetsu Hozuki's hand off. Gengetsu Hozuki didn't hesitate, raising the Hiramekarei to sweep at the Monkey King Enma's head. The Monkey King Enma, unable to re-merge with the Adamantine Staff in time, directly blocked the blow with his indestructible head, then retreated by shrinking into the Adamantine Staff.
"Sarutobi, you need to be careful. Physical contact with this guy will absorb your chakra." When the Adamantine Staff returned to its original size, the Monkey King Enma's eyes appeared on it, and his voice came out.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was surprised by this. The Gengetsu Hozuki of the past didn't have this ability, indicating that it was a power he gained after transforming into his current appearance. This meant that close-quarters combat with Gengetsu Hozuki was no longer an option; otherwise, having his chakra drained would be a significant loss.
Gengetsu Hozuki also seemed to understand this. He no longer advanced but formed hand seals, completing all the crucial ones. He then shouted, "Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
It was the same Great Waterfall Technique as before, but its scale now surpassed all previous instances, making it feel like a tsunami crashing down. Hiruzen Sarutobi had also never seen such a massive Great Waterfall Technique. Where did the opponent get such immense chakra? He knew that the water vapor here was almost gone, and to perform such a Water Release jutsu, it would basically rely entirely on one's own chakra.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi's teacher, Tobirama Senju, were here, performing a Water Release jutsu of this scale purely by himself wouldn't be surprising to him. However, based on past experience, Gengetsu Hozuki's chakra shouldn't be that abundant, nor was his mastery of Water Release as profound as Tobirama Senju's.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, of course, didn't know that Gengetsu Hozuki could use Water Release of this magnitude by relying on the chakra provided by Samehada, which allowed Gengetsu Hozuki to disregard his own abilities and unleash the Great Waterfall Technique to this extent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately gathered all his chakra, formed Earth Release hand seals, slammed his hands on the ground, and shouted, "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A rock wall, like a city wall, rose from the ground, bravely blocking the impact of the giant wave. Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly climbed to the top of the Earth-Style Wall, searching for Gengetsu Hozuki's figure. In front of him, it looked like a vast ocean, with the blocked giant waves flowing to both sides, crashing against the surface of the barrier.
"So, he wants to run away." Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately understood Gengetsu Hozuki's objective. He had no intention of blaming him; rather, he praised the opponent's wisdom. After all, fighting a well-conditioned Hiruzen Sarutobi while carrying a severely injured person was not a good choice. Timely retreat and preserving combat strength were the proper conduct for a ninja.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't plan to use Lightning Release. To harm Gengetsu Hozuki and Akira, who were lurking in the water, would require a considerable amount of chakra. Moreover, there was no guarantee they were even in this wave of water. Hiruzen Sarutobi would not engage in such a chakra-wasting action.
—It's time to retreat. Staying any longer wouldn't yield good results.
Hiruzen Sarutobi briefly assessed the situation and nodded slightly. Seeing that the giant wave was already starting to break through the barrier, he pulled a signal flare from his ninja tool pouch and threw it upwards. With a bang, a conspicuous flare burst in the sky, visible to everyone in the forest.
Receiving the order, the Konoha and Uzumaki ninjas stopped engaging the enemy and sought opportunities to withdraw. Although the Kirigakure ninjas wanted to pursue, the head start provided by the Uzumaki ninjas' barriers and their sensory abilities allowed the Kirigakure ninjas to lose track of them. To avoid being wiped out, they had no choice but to regroup.
At this moment, Gengetsu Hozuki used the water current to shatter the surrounding barrier, carrying the unconscious Akira inside. Without time to catch his breath, he ran at full speed. Although there were also barriers blocking the way ahead, for an expert like Gengetsu Hozuki, these were merely temporary obstacles meant to confuse others and posed no real trouble.
Gengetsu Hozuki only stopped after running over a thousand meters. He felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't pursued him, and he had left many warning traps along the way, ensuring that Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't approach stealthily. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. Looking at the unconscious Akira, he sighed helplessly, gently placing her on the ground. He applied the medicine he carried and bandaged her tightly. It was a pity he couldn't use medical ninjutsu and couldn't provide further treatment. Wushen E-book
Gengetsu Hozuki rested for a while in place. Suddenly, he felt someone approaching, and his trap was almost triggered. The other party seemed to notice this and immediately shouted, "Lord Gengetsu, it's me, not an enemy!"
"Proof," Gengetsu Hozuki said.
The other party immediately gave the secret signal proving he was a Kirigakure ninja. Only then did Gengetsu Hozuki allow him to enter. Upon seeing him, he asked, "What's the situation with the Konoha and Uzumaki ninjas?" Gengetsu Hozuki first wanted to know the situation of the others before deciding on his next move.
That Kirigakure ninja glanced at the heavily injured Akira, feeling a shock. Even a jōnin of the Yuki clan was in such a state, and Gengetsu Hozuki didn't seem to have the feeling of victory. In other words, these two Kirigakure jōnin had suffered a crushing defeat, which made him even more pessimistic about the upcoming war.
For a moment, he seemed dazed. Gengetsu Hozuki saw his expression and said displeased, "What are you doing? Are you dazed? Speak quickly!"
"Yes!" The other party snapped out of it and immediately reported the current losses to Gengetsu Hozuki. Since the enemy didn't intend to wipe them out, Kirigakure's losses weren't very heavy. Compared to the enemy's losses, theirs were naturally a bit higher, but the greatest impact was still on their mental and physical exhaustion.
Upon hearing this, Gengetsu Hozuki knew that pursuing them further was no longer a good option. The Kirigakure ninjas were now physically and mentally exhausted by the enemy's diversionary tactics. And from the Kirigakure ninja's previous reaction, it was clear that his and Akira's defeat had further affected their morale.
If they pursued under these circumstances and the enemy repeated the same tactics, they might truly suffer heavy losses at a small cost to the enemy. Although, once the enemy found a new base, they would have to commit more troops to forcefully attack it.
Gengetsu Hozuki was not a pessimistic person, but he had to admit a reality: the plan to quickly occupy the Land of Whirlpools had completely failed. It wasn't that there were no results, but it failed to achieve the original strategic objective. If they continued to pour troops into this island with the mindset of occupying the Land of Whirlpools, it might affect other battlefields.
However, even though Gengetsu Hozuki knew this, he was still very unwilling. This emotion interfered with his judgment, giving him the idea that no matter the cost, he had to destroy the entire Land of Whirlpools. His expression was very gloomy; anyone could see that he was in a bad mood. The Kirigakure ninja who came to report didn't even dare to speak, just lowered his head, waiting for Gengetsu Hozuki's next instruction.
"Gather the troops and continue the pursuit. This time, don't let the enemy lead us astray again," Gengetsu Hozuki said after a long silence.
"Are we still pursuing?" In this Kirigakure ninja's mind, he felt they really shouldn't pursue any further. Although the enemy might truly have given up and left, no one could be sure if the Konoha side would return again.
For the ninja as a military branch, there were many more things to consider than for samurai armies in direct combat: how to set traps, how to deceive enemies, how to perfect one's acting skills, how to ensure a temperament that could withstand any setbacks, and so on. All these were extremely important, second only to the importance of ninjutsu.
Without these, no matter how powerful one's strength, they couldn't be called an excellent ninja. Of course, this was according to the traditional definition. If those who didn't meet these conditions could also be called excellent ninjas, then it could only be assumed that the definition standard of a ninja had changed.
And ninjas like Gengetsu Hozuki, who were not far removed from the Warring States period, adhered to such standards. He had to consider Hiruzen Sarutobi's true intentions—was the opponent bluffing? Had they truly retreated? Would they retreat while setting traps to hinder their advance? If he guessed wrong, it could bring incalculable losses to their side.
"Go, why not go!" Gengetsu Hozuki took a deep breath, glaring at the Kirigakure ninja in front of him, and said, "Are you willing to accept such a defeat? To put it bluntly, with the current outcome, everyone, including me, will face punishment when we return to the village, unless we can achieve the original strategic objective, in which case the punishment might be lightened. Which do you want to choose?"
The Kirigakure ninja was speechless. He clearly understood what kind of punishment they would face if a mission failed in Kirigakure Village. Although it couldn't be said that it was due to their incompetence, Kirigakure Village wouldn't care about such things. The higher-ups would only care about the outcome. For Kirigakure Village, which adopted strict policies, human empathy was not that important.
"So, you understand, right? Hurry up and notify them, what are you standing around for!" Gengetsu Hozuki saw the other party standing still and immediately said angrily.
"Yes." The other party was startled and quickly turned to leave. Before taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped, standing still, staring ahead, and said, "Lord Hozuki."
"What is it now?" Gengetsu Hozuki impatiently looked up. Then, he saw the scene the Kirigakure ninja was seeing—a faint flicker of firelight vaguely appeared in the dim sky. It didn't seem like much, but Gengetsu Hozuki felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, because that was only from their distant perspective. Once they got closer, they would discover that a raging inferno had already ignited there.
This was originally a forest, and igniting it was not difficult. The large-scale Water Release jutsu Gengetsu Hozuki used also failed to prevent the trees from catching fire, because water release jutsu purely condensed from chakra only resembled water on the surface and had water-like properties, but it was not real water. Once the chakra was lost, it would quickly disappear, not even bringing with it the ability to create dampness.
The elemental ninjutsu used by ninjas, if entirely formed from chakra, would not be real. Only naturally existing substances could be preserved. Most people, due to imprecise chakra control, would be unable to maintain the stable form of their jutsu once the chakra dissipated. Experts, however, could use Earth Release to directly build houses and the like.
And unfortunately, the Water Release jutsu Gengetsu Hozuki used was entirely condensed from chakra—there was no other way. After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi's compound ninjutsu had reduced the moisture in the air to a negligible amount, and the temperature was very high. At that time, Gengetsu Hozuki could feel his throat burning with every breath. To use Water Release of that scale, he basically had to rely on chakra.
"It seems fate has decreed that we lose here." At this moment, a voice sounded beside Gengetsu Hozuki. He looked back and saw Akira had woken up, propping herself up with one hand, looking at Gengetsu Hozuki helplessly.
"Indeed." Gengetsu Hozuki was stunned for a moment, then let out a long sigh. Now, they would be held back here for some time. Pursuing was impossible, and even if it were, the Kirigakure troops would likely be startled and suspicious.