This was an assassination—an assassination aimed at the Fourth Mizukage.
Unfortunately, the people nearby also got caught in the crossfire.
Uchiha Akitaro, who was guarding beside Sougen, finally reacted in time before Sougen could take action. As Sougen swung his fan, Akitaro quickly formed hand seals, holding his jutsu until the second wave of attacks came. Then, he released **Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall**.
Though his proficiency in Earth Style wasn't as strong as his Fire Style, the wall he created was sturdy enough. Even a dozen explosive tags couldn't bring it down.
The other Uchiha who were standing farther away rushed over. Not just the Uchiha—Shikuro Aburame, Mokuren Yamanaka, and others quickly approached as well. The sudden assault put everyone on high alert, even though they could hear the Mist ninjas shouting accusations against the Fourth Mizukage.
But the underlying worry wasn't so easy to dispel—after all, they were still in the Land of Water.
If the Mist ninja were determined to take them down...
Frankly, no one felt they could withstand a major ninja village with just a few dozen people. No matter how powerful the Uchiha clan leader was, could he really stand against the thousands of Mist ninja?
Everyone looked toward Sougen.
"Don't let any of the Leaf ninjas escape either! Yagura has betrayed the village by conspiring with Konoha!" Before Sougen could say anything, the Mist ninja's shouts echoed all around. Sougen chuckled quietly as he surveyed the group. "Do I really need to tell you what to do now?"
If the attackers were only targeting the Fourth Mizukage, they could have stood aside for now. But that shout from the Mist ninja made it clear there was no room for retreat. The only option was to eliminate them by force.
The sound of movement filled the air.
Shikuro Aburame raised his hands, releasing a swarm of bugs from his sleeves, as dark as storm clouds. These weren't the typical **Parasitic Insects** of the Aburame clan, but highly deadly **Nano Venom Bugs**—an ability only he and his son, Torune, could wield.
The crowd backed away, even Sougen's expression tightened.
Poisonous insects were not something anyone, even he, wanted to deal with directly.
The Mist ninja, unfamiliar with the deadly power of the Aburame's insects, rushed recklessly toward the Konoha ninjas under the orders of their leader.
They collided head-on with the venomous swarm, like a cloud descending on them.
The Mist ninjas weren't fools, though. Instead of using kunai or swords, they threw explosive-tagged kunai into the air, causing fiery explosions. But none of them noticed the small number of insects flying low across the ground.
Only a select few knew: Shikuro Aburame's deadly bugs never relied on sheer numbers to win.
That's why Sougen held a deep respect for him—those nano-scale insects were nearly impossible to defend against. Without the Sharingan to detect their presence, Sougen would have avoided Shikuro altogether.
The first four Mist ninjas who rushed in silently dissolved into pools of water, their ninja tool pouches falling to the ground.
Water Clone Jutsu was one of the most troublesome clone techniques—no contest. Although it lacked the memory-sharing feedback of Shadow Clones, it only required a fraction of the chakra, making it much more efficient and just as physically tangible.
In theory, just three to five jonin using Water Clones could create an army of over a hundred.
Of course, no one typically went that far.
The downside was the water clones' relatively weak combat strength. They were good for distraction but not for fighting skilled opponents.
"Explosive tags paired with water clones, huh? Looks like the attackers aren't as numerous as we thought," Sougen mused as he noticed the ninja tool pouches remained intact while the clones vanished.
No wonder this operation looked so grand—it was all propped up by water clones.
This meant the number of actual attackers was likely low, though they were likely supported by someone influential. Otherwise, getting access to so many explosive tags wasn't something just any Mist ninja could manage.
**Ninja Art: Mind-Body Disturbance Technique!**
**Secret Technique: Poison Dust!**
Mokuren Yamanaka and Shikuro Aburame teamed up to strike at the Mist ninja. Mokuren's mind-based jutsu immobilized the targets, allowing Shikuro's poison bugs to finish them off.
Water clones exploded all over, and several unlucky attackers who had their true forms paralyzed were swiftly killed by the venomous swarm, along with their clones.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Shisui pierced into the enemy ranks like a blade.
The **Body Flicker Technique** didn't allow long-range movement like space-time ninjutsu, but in close combat, it could be honed to a level of speed rivaling the finest space-time techniques. The legendary White Fang had once mastered it to such a degree, and now Shisui was achieving the same level. Wherever his sword flashed, blood and water sprayed wildly.
And let's not forget the "Blue Beast of Konoha."
The **Konoha Strong Fist** style was in full display on the battlefield, as Guy charged through like a beast unleashed. He looked nothing like the man who had been seasick just moments before. His seemingly simple punches and kicks were imbued with devastating power, shattering water clones on contact, even creating shockwaves like the Gentle Fist's **Air Palm**.
Others like Uchiha Chisato, Choza Akimichi, and Tsume Inuzuka weren't just standing by either—the Konoha ninjas were fully engaged.
Only Kakashi and a few others stayed back to guard Naruto and the younger shinobi.
Sougen stood with his fan in hand, watching the battlefield. His gaze locked onto Yagura.
As the attackers' primary target, Yagura had wisely begun moving away as soon as the ambush began. Let the Mist ninja deal with the rest. Plus, it was a good chance to see if Meikuro, who was in charge of receiving the delegation, was one of the attackers. If the ambush involved someone from the welcoming party, Meikuro would be at fault.
Yagura realized the attackers were a bit more troublesome than expected.
He wasn't fighting mere water clones. Three elite Mist jonin had cornered him, and they seemed to know his techniques well, dodging his most lethal moves repeatedly.
This only deepened Yagura's realization that his strength was waning.
Before, even without the Three-Tails, he could have easily handled these three nimble opponents in no time.
"Do I have much time left?"
Feeling the persistent ache in his mind, Yagura began to gather chakra, preparing to end this battle at all costs. He couldn't afford to waste time or energy here. Just then, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Meikuro was being pushed back by two attackers.
Coincidentally or not, Meikuro wasn't retreating toward Yagura but toward Uchiha Sougen, bringing the two attackers dangerously close to him.
Yagura's heart skipped a beat, suddenly realizing Meikuro was indeed compromised.
"You fool! Don't throw your life away!"
But the attackers pushed him back, preventing him from stopping the fool from heading straight toward Uchiha Sougen's deathtrap.
Electricity sparked around Meikuro.
He was using Lightning Style.
Though the Mist Village was renowned for its Water Style users, it wasn't without skilled practitioners of other elements. Just like Ringo Ameyuri, the Lightning Blade genius, Meikuro was proficient in Lightning Style. His attacks were exceptionally powerful, but against two former comrades, it seemed like he was holding back, which led to his current disadvantage.
As Meikuro retreated, he glanced at Sougen, realizing he could go no further. He steeled himself and swiftly formed hand seals, preparing a powerful Lightning Style jutsu.
**Lightning Style: Angry Thunder Tiger!**
Electricity surged around Meikuro, forming a massive tiger made of lightning, which roared forward at incredible speed, hurtling toward Sougen.
"No originality at all! Such an outdated trick—don't show that to me. But that killing intent... So, I was your target all along? Well, it doesn't matter. Whatever scheme you're plotting, you're wasting your time."
Sougen raised his fan.
The raging electric tiger crashed into the fan like a missile, only for the **Flame Fan** to absorb all the chakra effortlessly, rendering the powerful attack completely ineffective.
"How... how is that possible? My Angry Thunder Tiger... just vanished?"
Meikuro stared at Sougen in disbelief.
Even if it didn't kill him, it should've caused at least some damage.
"This next part is simple," Sougen thought.
All that remained was for him to unleash **Uchiha Reflection** with his fan and return the attack tenfold to show Meikuro and the other attackers the true meaning of retaliation. Latest content published on novelꜰire.net
That's exactly what Sougen did.
Injecting an equal amount of chakra into his fan, he swung it, unleashing a violent windstorm.