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For some personal reason, and to prevent missing the Kirigakure ninjas who would be coming to greet him, Haori chose to walk to the Land of Water by sea.
Perhaps because he had made such thorough preparations beforehand, Haori now had an aura of "Don't mess with me."
Yeah, if anyone messed with him, he would blow them up. No discussion.
Of course, his current movement speed couldn't compare to when he was flying. This wasn't because he didn't know this basic thing about the importance of getting there quickly. It was just that the mission required him to arrive at the designated location at a certain time, neither too early nor too late. That way, he would meet the real Kirigakure ninjas who would be there to hand over the information.
If he arrived too early, he might have a conflict with a passing Kirigakure ninja who didn't know the truth. If he arrived later than the designated time, the people who were supposed to meet him might already be gone, and the mission would probably fail.
So, Haori needed to get the timing right.
He seemed to be walking very relaxedly on the sea, but in reality, he was extremely vigilant. Considering the danger of the mission, not only would he be surrounded by enemies when he arrived at Kirigakure, but the road to the Land of Water was also not safe.
Although in the Shinobi World War, every village seemed to be a united front, maintaining consistency towards the outside world, in reality, just like how Konoha had Shimura Danzō as a separate faction and the Uchiha as a separate group, the other villages also had internal factions and power struggles.
For Kirigakure, there were naturally those who supported peace talks with Konoha, the peace faction. There were also those who advocated for a hardline stance, the war faction. And there was the Hyūga clan, who were always a little restless.
For the faction that wanted to pull the village out of the quagmire of war as soon as possible, they would naturally be happy to see the arrival of the Konoha envoy. But the war faction was the opposite. They would undoubtedly be unwilling…
So, Haori could encounter an ambush at any time.
Some of this information came from Konoha's intelligence, and some came from Haori's own considerations, guesses, and analysis. In fact, these thoughts were very insightful.
With a recent event as a catalyst, the irreconcilable conflict between the two factions in Kirigakure had been completely ignited. The current confrontation between the two sides was quite obvious. Haori choosing to go to Kirigakure at this time could be considered the best time, but it could also be considered the worst time.
And the expected ambush soon arrived.
"I didn't expect to run into an acquaintance here. But this isn't the place where Konoha and Kirigakure agreed to meet. So, that means you're not here to welcome me in a friendly way, are you?" Haori said to the four-man squad in front of him. He wasn't surprised to encounter an ambush by Kirigakure enemies, but he hadn't expected to see an acquaintance again.
"Konoha ninja, White Fang, no… I should say, Shiraishi Haori."
The enemy facing Haori was a Kirigakure four-man squad led by Yagura, an old acquaintance he had met once before.
The two of them had a brief but dangerous encounter. And after such a long interval, Yagura had enough time to understand what was going on with the Konoha ninja he had fought against last time. He naturally knew some basic information about Haori.
"Be careful. I fought this ninja once. Stay vigilant. He wields an extremely powerful Lightning Release jutsu. And he's also the rumored… Konoha ninja who assassinated the Third Raikage."
As one of the few enemies who had survived seeing Haori's Railgun, and considering the timing of the Third Raikage's death, even without concrete evidence to confirm that Haori was the so-called "Konoha Jōnin, Kushina's disciple," Yagura was 80% sure that the Raikage incident was the work of the ninja in front of him, who looked so young.
Although Yagura's teammates were nameless extras, as ninjas who could carry out this crucial ambush mission, they were naturally extraordinary in strength. And their mentality and thoughts would definitely not be careless. Yagura's words would undoubtedly make them take the enemy more seriously.
The purpose of their ambush here was obvious. So, Haori didn't need to confirm it with words. He asked a different question:
"Why do you know it's me who's coming to carry out this mission?"
This question could be big or small. If they really knew beforehand that Haori was coming to carry out this mission, then it meant that Konoha had a serious security problem. After all, there were only a handful of people who knew the details of this mission, and they were all in very important positions. If the information was leaked, it could mean that there were Kirigakure people among those Konoha ninjas in key positions.
But Yagura's words dispelled this concern. "For us, it doesn't matter who from Konoha comes. Our mission is the same. We don't need to distinguish based on the person who arrives."
This squad's mission was simply to ambush the Konoha envoy. As for the envoy's specific identity, it didn't matter.
Sometimes, a squad's self-assessment of its combined combat power is accurate, and sometimes it's biased. But relying on this squad to ambush Haori?
If it had been before, facing a four-man squad that seemed to be all Jōnin, including a ninja like Yagura, Haori's first priority would have been to get out of the fight as quickly as possible… But now, it was slightly different.
"Although I can't say for sure that we have any personal grudge against you, this is a mission after all. And having a ninja like you around is too dangerous for Kirigakure…"
"So, I'm sorry, you're going to die here."
No matter what Yagura's personal thoughts were, from his current position, he had to demand that Konoha continue the war, even if it lasted for two or three years.
Yagura said this, then put his weapon on display, assuming an offensive stance. His teammates did the same.
After Haori had thrown Yagura's hooked staff into the water last time, he had clearly had a new one made. And after seeing Haori's fighting style before, Yagura had already made up his mind. He felt that, with their superior combat power, killing Haori wouldn't be difficult.
"Just you four?"
Haori's tone was very confused. It was as if he was saying, "What can you rotten potatoes and stinky eggs do?"
"The me of today is a little different from the me of a few months ago. Although I don't want to say it, it's the truth: You have no idea how terrifying I am…"
Haori's words had the potential to scare people, but Yagura still raised his guard. He couldn't expect a ninja like Haori to stand still. It wouldn't be surprising if he had developed some new jutsu in those few months.
At this moment, the distance between Haori and the enemy was 20 meters. After saying those words, he began to form hand seals.
Ninjutsu: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Four clones that looked exactly like Haori appeared on both sides of him.
"Using clones to eliminate the numerical disadvantage?" Yagura guessed in his mind. But this wasn't a good idea. When fighting enemies of his level, clones wouldn't be of any use. They would only needlessly disperse and waste chakra.
But Haori's actions were completely different from Yagura's guesses.
Was he using clones to make a death charge with the Four Symbols Seal while ensuring his own safety?
That was a good idea. However, Haori didn't choose to do that. The Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu was a wide-area offensive sealing jutsu. The more enemies there were around, the better it would work. It was the same whether it sealed one person or 100 people. So, rather than using it here, it was better to save it for later, just in case.
If he was in Kirigakure and had a conflict with enemies, and they were packed in like C90, that would be the best time to unleash the power and destructive force of the Four Symbols Seal.
After using the Shadow Clone Technique, Haori's four clones rushed towards four different directions. It seemed like they were trying to escape, but it was actually the opposite. He was doing this to prevent his enemies from escaping.
The clones moved quickly in four directions, throwing scroll after scroll into the water as they moved. At the same time, each of them was quickly forming hand seals with both hands.
Then, the four clones stood at the four corners of a square, surrounding the real Haori and the four enemies.
Yagura and the others were a little confused about Haori's intentions, so they didn't make a move. For them, keeping an eye on Haori's real body was the most important thing.
Once the clones were in position, they began to form the final hand seals at the same time.
In an instant, a transparent cubic sealing space, with sides less than 100 meters long, surrounded everyone.
"A barrier?" Yagura didn't expect Haori to use a barrier jutsu. This was incredibly chakra-consuming. And the most important thing was… didn't this mean cutting off his own escape route?
"I told you, my thoughts are a little different compared to the last time we met. Today, I just want to kill you all for real." Haori said. Yagura and the others' actions were not only interfering with his mission, but also obstructing his will.
So, this was a matter of life or death.
As for the sealing jutsu Haori was using now, it was called Breaking the Void.
Ninjutsu: Barrier Seal: Binding Jutsu 81, Breaking the Void.
This was one of the powerful spatial sealing barriers. Although it wasn't unbreakable, Haori was inside the barrier, so he wouldn't allow the other side to attack the barrier at their leisure.
At the same time, the Kirigakure ninjas didn't have any reason to break the barrier.
"So, the barrier will only open when one of us is completely dead? That's exactly what we want." Yagura said. Because Kirigakure had the advantage in terms of numbers. They were four against one.
Haori shook his head. "You really don't know anything about me…"
Then, he began to make a self-introduction.
"I've thrown eggs on Sunagakure's head,"
"I've caused trouble in the Sunflower Field,"
"I've drifted on the road in front of Mount Akina,"
"I've smoked on Planet Namek,"
"I've caught someone cheating in School Days,"
"I've fought in Academy City…"
These words… were all nonsense. They could only expose Haori's own dark history. Even if the other side listened carefully, their brains wouldn't be able to handle the information overload to understand what he was talking about.
Besides, except for the fact that he had indeed thrown bombs at Sunagakure's head, the other feats, although heroic, were not done by him.
Haori said this, while doing a chest stretch. Then, he extended his arms straight forward, with his left and right wrists crossed over each other, forming an "X."
His four fingers were curled, with his thumbs pressing down on his index fingers, and his fingertips pointed towards Yagura and the others.
"Yagura, if we were to classify you, you could probably be categorized as an S-class ninja. When dealing with a ninja of your level, there's no need to say much. Naturally, S-class jutsu is the most effective."
"But my friends from Kirigakure, have you ever heard of or seen a super S-class jutsu that can fire continuously?"
As Haori's nonsense ended, lightning began to flash all over his body.
There was thunderous lightning flashing.
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CURRENT PATREON CHAPTER : Chapter 251
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