"There! Our people are under attack!"
"The emblem on their masks! These are Kiri's ANBU!"
"Be careful! Surround the entire block first!"
"More than ten of our men have been taken down! Stay on guard, these aren't ordinary opponents!"
The sharp sound of something cutting through the air echoed rapidly, accompanied by muffled shouts from behind gas masks.
The current base of Akatsuki, though located in a remote area near the outskirts of Ame, was still within the village's territory. The moment the distress signal flare was launched, Ame's defensive ninjas sounded the alarm.
In just a few moments, ninjas from the surrounding blocks had arrived in force!
"Hold yourself together! Don't go all soft on me, or I'll make you regret it!"
Kei shook Samehada in his hand. But after a moment of vigorous shaking, Samehada, as if intoxicated, only slumped further instead of standing firm. It looked even weaker than those green tongue candies from his previous life.
As the surrounding ninjas continued to gather, their numbers increasing by the second, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He slung the uncooperative Samehada onto his back and picked up a ninja sword that had been used by one of the fallen Akatsuki members.
Thanks to [Invisible Execution Slash], which enhanced his mastery over swords, his swordsmanship was no longer limited by the weapon he wielded. He weighed the one-meter-long ninja sword in his hand. Instantly, countless techniques and combat styles related to this type of blade flashed through his mind.
Compared to the somewhat cumbersome and forceful style of Samehada, this lighter and more agile ninja sword allowed for faster and more frequent strikes—making it easier to trigger the conceptual attack of [Invisible Execution Slash].
"Secret Technique: Mist Rain!"
A wicked smile appeared on Kei's lips.
With a single hand sign from his left hand, his chakra surged violently within his body. He poured in enough chakra to unleash two S-rank jutsu—all of it devoted to this one Water Release technique.
The Mist Rain—a secret technique that weakened all jutsu except for Water Release techniques, suppressing both ninjutsu and chakra-based abilities! In the original timeline, Kiri's Hunter-nin had used this very technique to nullify Naruto's Rasengan and suppress Sai's Super Beast Imitating Drawing.
In an environment , Water Release users would see a massive boost in power.
Meanwhile, those who weren't proficient in Water Release would find their jutsu severely weakened. Some might even be forced to rely entirely on taijutsu.
As the technique spread outward from Kei as the epicenter, the drizzle in a one-kilometer radius of Ame intensified.
Some Ame ninjas who had been standing on walls using chakra to cling to the surface suddenly lost their grip and plummeted to the ground. More experienced ninjas quickly increased their chakra output to compensate.
"Summoning Jutsu: Conch King!"
At the street corner, a massive summoning beast appeared—a grotesque fusion of a sea snail and a giant clam. Standing atop this creature, arms crossed, was a ninja wearing a gas mask.
Noticing Kei's gaze, along with the attention of those around him, Kandachi spoke coldly, "A Mist Rain of this scale? This isn't something mere genin can handle! All genin, withdraw! Chunin, seal off the surrounding blocks! The rest, use Water Release and prepare to attack with me!"
"Yes!" The Ame ninjas responded in unison.
The genin quickly attempted to retreat from the battlefield, while the jonin began forming hand seals.
"Not bad… your summon is pretty interesting." A voice, deliberately altered, sounded from behind Kandachi.
Kandachi's pupils shrank. Without hesitation, he swung a kunai backward in an attempt to stab his attacker!
The sound of water breaking apart rang through the air. A water clone had been destroyed.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, four more water clones materialized, surrounding him from all sides with their swords aimed at his vital points. Ordinary water clones typically only had a fraction of the original's combat power. But that was under normal conditions!
With the Mist Rain in effect, these clones attacked with lethal precision. The blades were so sharp that their mere presence made Kandachi's skin tingle.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of intense clashes echoed as the Conch King, extended several thick tentacles from within its shell to block the oncoming attacks.
The unmistakable sound of a blade slicing through flesh.
Kei delivered a powerful palm strike to the back of Kandachi's head, knocking him unconscious.
Without hesitation, he tossed the limp body toward one of his clones. The clone hoisted the unconscious jonin onto its shoulder, flickered its feet, and swiftly disappeared into a nearby building.
Hmm, that summoning beast isn't bad. So, it's mine now!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Tentacles packed with immense strength lashed out toward him.
"Water Release: Great Water Leg Technique!"
Kei stomped forcefully on the ground.
With a thunderous impact, the Conch King was driven a full foot into the ground. The sheer power left it dazed and disoriented.
A barrage of Water Release techniques surged in from all directions.
He had just used Wave Riding Jutsu, merging into the surrounding water through Hydrification Technique, and appeared above the Conch King's head in an instant.
He curiously glanced at a certain "genius" ninja who had just activated Hiding in Mist Technique.
Using the Hiding in Mist Technique against a Kiri ANBU? …Seriously?
The ninja standing beside the "genius" smacked the younger one hard across the face, immediately interrupting his jutsu.
Kei grinned, his body dissolving entirely into water.
With Wave Riding Jutsu, he moved swiftly through the water, seamlessly blending into the overwhelming flood of Water Release jutsu.
"Ahhh!" A bloodcurdling scream came from a jonin standing on a protruding steel structure.
A bloodied ninja blade had pierced straight through his left chest!
As the sword was pulled free, Kei's form was revealed—one hand forming a seal.
A dense fog billowed and rose, rapidly obscuring the entire battlefield in just a few breaths. Within the mist, an eerie, lighthearted singing voice echoed from all directions.
The lyrics, however, were strange? But it sent chills down the spines of the Ame ninjas.
♪Raindrops are falling on my head.
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling♪
♪So I just did me some talking to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling♪
"No! No more raindrops—!"
"Go out of my head—ugh!"
Short, agonized screams mixed with the chilling sounds of blades tearing through flesh and bodies collapsing onto the ground.
Yet, the song never once paused.
"What kind of freaks does Kiri even have?! Killing people while singing?!"
"Somebody use a wind jutsu to blow this damned mist away!"
"The Mist Rain is still active! Nobody can use Fire Release!"
"Damn it! Fall back! Expand the perimeter! Do NOT stand in the mist!"
"Hanzō-sama will be here any moment! Hold the line! Don't let the enemy escape!"
Frantic shouts and orders rang across the battlefield.
[Minor side character killed.]
[Slight interference with the timeline detected.]
- 1 trait extraction]
Hidden within the thick mist, Kei retrieved the summoning contract scroll handed to him by a clone. After glancing at the system reward, he felt the near-absence of any significant fate energy disturbance and clicked his tongue in disappointment.
Good thing he at least managed to loot a summoning beast. Otherwise, would this tiny reward really have been worth the trip?
His gaze shifted toward the center of Ame.
Kei's eyes narrowed slightly.
With his fully unleashed sensory abilities, he could detect a powerful presence approaching at high speed.
Hanzō of the Salamander, huh? A salamander… That actually doesn't sound too bad.