This was war, a damn war!
Peace and killing often happen in an instant, so fast that people's hearts have not yet recovered from the calmness.
The team of seven swept through the streets. The bustling streets in the morning were now deserted, and only scattered goods were left unattended. Everyone had fled back to their homes, peeking out at the battle between ninjas through the windows like frightened animals.
Shisui and the others gritted their teeth, their good mood completely ruined, and now only raging anger remained.
"Ahead, three enemies! Scatter!"
Hyuga Hinata's Byakugan had seen the enemy through the wall, and he suddenly accelerated his pace.
With an order, the six people behind him scattered like cosmos flowers. Otonashi jumped onto the roof, just in time to see three people in crimson ninja robes coming towards him. They also seemed to have not expected that there were Konoha ninjas in this village, and quickly used the wall to stop.
But it was too late!
Hyuga Hinata, who had a 'perspective cheat', rushed out from the corner, and before the other party could draw his kunai, his left hand had already slapped the enemy's chest.
Gentle Fist!
Chakra was injected, and the Iwa ninja flew out several meters and crashed into the wall, looking like he was not going to survive. Hinata drew an arc with his right foot on the ground, leaned forward as the second enemy leaned back and fell, and pressed his finger on his forehead.
There was no sound, only blood flowing from his seven orifices. His brain had been blasted into a pulp by the penetrating force.
Having killed two people in a row, the third one was a little further away. He retreated while taking out a bamboo tube and aiming it at the sky.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh--
Three shurikens almost simultaneously pierced his chest. But a burst of smoke erupted, and a red flare exploded in the air.
"As expected of Iwa's elite!" Hinata pounced like a tiger, and blasted his chest with a palm, cutting off all his breath.
"Instructor, what should we do now?" Otonashi landed. He didn't even have a chance to attack, and the kills were all taken.
The Jonin glanced at the three corpses lying on the ground beside him, and breathed a sigh of relief: "The enemy is already alert. Let's go to the bridge first."
"Yes."
No one talked nonsense. After nodding, they immediately ran towards the east.
The bridge was not far outside the village, separated by golden wheat fields. At this moment, the dust had not yet settled, but with the Byakugan, they were not afraid of being ambushed, so they simply rushed to the core area. Kakashi used a wind style to blow away the dust, and then his whole body froze.
"How tragic."
Dust was still lingering on the river. The bridge, which was dozens of meters long, was gone, leaving only a few crumbling piers. Not to mention the people who were working on it, even the clear river water was dyed black and red. Below the river bank were a large number of writhing wounded, who were letting out bursts of screams.
Cries for help, screams, and the sound of stones falling into the water. Everything was like hell.
"It is indeed tragic." Otonashi glanced at a pale thigh a few meters away at his feet, and stepped forward and said: "Instructor, it seems that the enemy has retreated."
"It's Iwa's demolition team. They won't go far." Hinata had already recognized the enemy's identity from the fight just now, and said, "It's not difficult to build a pontoon bridge, unless they hold Shirakawa Village for a while."
With ninjas around, it was impossible to construct the bridge. And it would take time to调兵 [deploy troops] from the front line or Konoha. If it weren't for the red flare indicating that there were enemy Jonin in the village, the demolition team would have occupied it long ago.
"So they want to lure us to pursue and annihilate the last Konoha force in this area."
Hyuga Hinata was indeed a veteran of many battles. He understood the enemy's intention in a moment, and immediately ordered: "We retreat back to the village to defend."
He turned his head, but saw that no one except Kakashi had left, and couldn't help frowning: "Don't be emotional at this time. Everything should be based on the overall situation."
How could Hinata not understand his students' anger, but life was composed of one helplessness after another.
Still no one left. Perhaps Obito and others were not only angry, but also afraid to face the desperate eyes of the boys. Otonashi looked around and couldn't help but step forward.
"Instructor, defense can't solve the fundamental problem."
"What do you mean?"
Facing the instructor's serious gaze, Otonashi calmly replied: "Even if the Iwa ninjas don't attack, we can't build a pontoon bridge with just a few of us. This requires a lot of manpower. And if we don't annihilate them, who would dare to come out to build the bridge?"
Hinata was stunned, and then fell into deep thought.
Ninjutsu was not omnipotent. Without manpower, they still had to wait for Konoha's support. And the people in the nearby villages were not fools. Seeing this tragic scene, it was estimated that even the Daimyo officials would be frightened and tremble. How dare they come out to build the bridge?
If they wanted to gather manpower to build a pontoon bridge, they had to either prove safety or use large-scale genjutsu to hypnotize them. However, with just a few people present, they could not do the latter at all.
"You mean use the invaders' heads to prove our strength?"
"Yes, the prestige of ninjas is not靠 [rely on] forehead protectors, but earned by killing." Otonashi pointed to his forehead and then pointed to the wounded with broken arms and legs, "With strength as backing, and then gathering people's hearts, we can solve the problem."
Iwa just wanted to delay time. Only a fool would take the initiative to attack. Even if the Konoha army arrived, they would only keep harassing to delay the progress.
Hinata looked to the west. There were dense forests and mountains surrounding them. Only elite squads could infiltrate.
"But this is very risky."
"Instructor Hinata, I am willing to go!" Shizune stepped forward, and then Rin, Obito, and Shisui also stood up.
For both public and private reasons, they were willing to take this risk.
Hyuga Hinata hesitated, but saw Otonashi looking at him calmly. He suddenly remembered the red flare just now.
Being forced back by a Jonin, the enemy would not be too strong!
"Shizune, Rin, you two rescue the wounded, and also appease the people of Shirakawa Village."
"Yes." Not being chosen to pursue, the two girls were slightly disappointed, but after thinking about it, they realized that saving people was their specialty, so they were relieved.
"Otonashi, Kakashi, Obito, Shisui, check your equipment, and come with me."
Hyuga Hinata was as decisive as ever. He gave his students one minute to prepare, and then rushed to the west without saying a word.
Stepping through the wheat fields and detouring around the side of the village, in front of them was a dense primeval forest, with several mountains in the distance. It looked like a very good place to hide people. Unfortunately, among the pursuers was the Byakugan, known as a strategic weapon. No trace could escape the human radar.
Running at full speed for nearly twenty minutes, he suddenly stopped, looking at the extremely slight traces on the ground. The demolition team was not Anbu, and their ability to hide traces was not too outrageous.
"The enemy has split up."
"They want to lure us to separate and avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop." Otonashi landed and saw through the other party's conspiracy at a glance.
"Five people on the left, about ten people on the right, let's split up too." Hinata stood up. After estimating that the fewer people should be masters, he immediately ordered:
"Shisui, you follow me to pursue the left side. Otonashi, you lead Kakashi and Obito to the right. Remember, if you encounter a Jonin, fight and retreat. If there is no chance, you are not allowed to attack."
"Yes." Otonashi was equivalent to taking on the responsibility of squad leader. He glanced at the indifferent Kakashi and the slightly panting Obito, and his knees were slightly bent.
"Scatter!"
With the battle imminent, there was no time for emotion. A few wisps of white smoke remained, and the five people disappeared without a trace.