Chapter 159: 158. Open Grounds

MrProper

"RAAAAHH!!!"

BUZZUZZUZ!

"..."

In the Land of Rivers, the Raikage combated the mysterious attacker known only by the symbol on her mask, "Blade". The Daimyō remained on the sidelines as an observer, guarded by the four ANBU who accompanied the two leaders on their journey to Kusagakure1Hidden Grass Village. A had ordered them to encircle the important man while he fought this abnormally troublesome foe

"SEI!!"

FWAP! BOOM!

"..."

"Tch! This little-!"

"..."

{How the hell is she doing that?!} The Raikage thought after attempting to finish Blade off with his fist, destroying the terrain in the process

The strange masked woman flawlessly dodged all of A's attacks. Which considering the latter's body was completely clad in lightning, made her even more strange

BUZZUZZ!

Utilizing his infamous "Raiton no Yoroi2Lighting Style Armour" technique, the powerful man failed to understand how a power that enhanced his speed and reaction time to such inhuman heights, couldn't enable him to strike her down

SLICE!

"Kuh!"

"..."

{Straight for the neck...this damn woman is...!}

Worse, Blade spared no effort at all. Always aiming for A's vital areas, with the clear intent of dealing a fatal blow. Fortunately, the sheer power of his lightning cloak protected him from most of her sword strikes

But with every swing, Blade's sword only increased in its intensity, edging ever closer to penetrating his defenses

"..."

{No one since "Konoha's Yellow Flash" has managed to give me this much trouble...but how is she moving so fast? Is it some kind of technique, or is her "Shunshin no Jutsu3Body Flicker Jutsu" really so great...?}

Her abnormal abilities, silence, strange chakra, and overall ravenous bloodlust...everything about this woman disturbed A, to the point it made his skin crawl

As if he wasn't fighting a person at all. He'd occasionally wonder if he was under someone's Genjutsu, but he checked again and again. Everything taking place was indeed real...

{How about this!} "Hah!"

FWAP!

"...!"

Attempting to catch her off guard, A temporarily increased the speed of his last attack, nearly landing a blow to her head. More significantly, he didn't miss the sudden change in her conduct

"Hmm..."

"..."

{She may hide it behind that mask, but that last attack definitely rattled her-Ah!}

"..."

{Now I understand what's going on...!}

He abruptly yelled at the masked attacker

"Wretch! You think I can't see what you're doing?! Trying to separate me from the Daimyō, leading me away from my comrades! No...no that's not it...!"

"..."

"You're buying time. Why? Is it that you don't want us to reach our destination-?!"

CLANK!

Blade took the initiative to strike for the first time since the start of the fight. From the beginning, she did nothing but dodge and counter

A swiftly blocked her sword with the large, golden vambraces on his wrists

{Struck a nerve did I?!} "Heh!"

"..."

He realized her true intent, Blade wasn't fighting to kill him. Rather to keep him here...and away from Kumogakure

{Some bastard is making a move on my home, which means this entire ordeal...} From the arranging of his thoughts, clarity was born. He quickly understood the situation with Kusagakure was nothing more than a hoax to get him out of the village

GRIT!

"You piece of..."

"!"

A clenched his teeth, not fearful for his village, but angry for it. The thought of someone being so bold to attack, and leave only one person to keep him at bay...to say it "offended" him would be a gross understatement

RIZZZZ!

"?!"

"You guys underestimate me that much eh? To think the day would come when one can believe a single opponent is enough to stop the Raikage. I don't think anyone has ever insulted not me to such a degree"

The combed back, white hair atop his head began to stand as A suddenly raised the potency of his lightning chakra. Veins were visible as his face resembled that of an angry "Oni4Demon from Japanese folklore", completely filled with wrath

"I know the rational choice is to take the Daimyō and flee, and I'm willing to bet you won't be able to catch me. However..."

"..."

"I'm not what some people would consider to be a...rational person"

RUMBLE!

The ground began to crack from the sheer force of his chakra, which many have claimed to be comparable to that of a Tailed Beast!

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to kill you quickly, head home...and kill every single fool stupid enough to believe it's okay to disrespect the very thing my predecessors and I have fought to protect"

"..."

KASHINK!

Blade readied her weapon, intent on taking everything A had offer

"You think that little knife can save you now?!"

"I-I-I...t..."

"!"

The masked woman spoke for the first time since the beginning of their confrontation. With a voice that smooth, subtle...and cold

"It is...sufficient"

"!"

"..."

"Hmph! Sufficient eh?"

CRACK!

The snapping sound from A's large, strong neck could be heard by everyone present as he casually moved his head around, cracking it

BOOM!

With a single gesture, the ground under his feet exploded after he charged directly at Blade!

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE RAIKAGE!!!"

♦♦♦

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The Company member "Blade" wasn't the only one demonstrating adept skill with a sword this evening

SHINK! STAB!

"Guh!"

"ARGH!"

At a watch post located downwards south outside Kumogakure, Ganjō Yotsuki wasted no time cutting down every marauder who dared to attack his clan's border security

"This area is almost cleared out..."

A barren ground, filled with naught but blades, bodies, and blood...this was all that remained of the invading Fūma once he sheathed the two swords on his hip

Leading his clan, the group surveyed the location to ensure it had indeed been properly secured. After several minutes of inspection, one of his subordinates issued a report

"Ganjō-sama, the area has been cleared. A few of the surviving stragglers were hunted down before they could escape to the sea. Shall we return to the front?"

"Hmm..."

"Ganjō-sama?"

"...No"

"Eh?"

"We're not doing that"

"S-Sir? The first phase, New Moon was already destroyed. Shouldn't we-?"

"This layer we're currently defending is the most stretched out of the four. If they got past the last one, they'll inevitably breach this one"

"Then why are we here? If they're going to breach it, shouldn't we head back to the final layer?"

The moment Ganjō learned of the first layer, of "New Moon's" destruction, he immediately ordered the third layer, "Third Quarter", to retreat back and reinforce the fourth and final one closest to the village, "Full Moon"

Both he and his wife would remain to defend the second layer, "First Quarter"

"You don't get it, I told them to retreat back to give us a clear battleground"

"H-Huh?"

"By having Third Quarter retreat, the Fūma will no longer be able to perform these clandestine-like surprise attacks. Largely in part to the wide, open ground between the second and last layers"

"So...that's when we make our counter attack? Then us being here is to..."

"Defend the coastline. My wife has already deployed to the northern end, while we remain at the southern one. Mainly to prevent any from slipping past our defenses via the sea"

"And with the treacherous terrain at the back of the village, none will be able to get the drop on us...!"

"Unraikyō5Valley of Clouds and Lightningalready has Killer B-dono over there, this strategy ensures Kumogakure has no blind spots. As long as we continue to do our jobs"

"Yes sir!"

As his men resumed their duties, Ganjō turned towards the sea and pondered worriedly

"B-dono's absence is expected, getting from Unraikyō to the village will take some time, but Yugito Nii should've been here by now...what the hell is going on?"

♦♦♦

"Amazing, it's going just as he predicted. Ganjō moved the third line back faster than we anticipated"

"Told you. Nobuyuki Fūma is many things if not meticulous when it comes to plans. With this, the incursion will take place on open grounds, you'll be able to observe all you want"

"Very impressive. I'll be able to acquire valuable data once the real fighting begins"

"A scientist's work is never done I see"

The Company members under the aliases "Balance" and "Red" remained in the same position they were at the moment the fighting started. Observing the spectacle without a care in the world

"However, the Fūma have yet to penetrate the area he's defending. The attacks at sea failed"

"Of course they did, we planned it that way. I may not be as war savvy as Nobuyuki, but even I know Kumogakure wouldn't be stupid enough to leave such an open door past their defenses unguarded. The purpose of the attacks is to keep the Yotsuki clan preoccupied. Our main fighting force that punches through the middle will be..."

"My-ahem! Our test subjects"

"Ganjō already realized this, and sought to give the other Kumo-nin a chance to launch a proper counter attack"

"But the Chinoike inside the village..."

"That clan split tasks, sending most of its members to the island with the cat. The ones that snuck inside the village are merely running interference to provide us enough time to prep our main force, they won't be able to maintain it for long. Especially once the evacuation of the people is completed"

"So everything from this point has been nothing but a delay tactic?"

Balance nodded his head in affirmation as he wore a sinister smile. Clearly pleased that everything was proceeding as planned, if not even better

Keeping both Ganjō and Tomoe Yotsuki off the board was nothing short of a bonus. The hard work and investments he's put in over the years have payed off

"I've performed my duty to perfection. If there was anyone who should questioned, it'd be you. We've yet to determine whether or not your precious Lift project was worth all this effort"

"Hmph"

"..."

Yes. The only area of concern was Red. Balance was merely the opening move, but it was Red's work that served as the linchpin to this operation known only as Kumogakure's "Renovation"

"My research has never failed us before, and this was made with Orochimaru's assistance"

"Red. Even for plotting scum like us...Orochimaru is never a good reference to use"

"It will work"

"I certainly hope so, because I'm gonna be pretty pissed if all my time at Hōzuki-jō6Demon Lantern Castlewas for nothing"

"..."

Balance's eyes slowly turned towards Red, filled with obvious killing intent. The man was clearly threatening her, yet she remained stoic while issuing a calm response 

"As soon as they break the second line, you will see Balance"

"...Well, that's gonna happen any second now"

"How do you know?"

"There's a reason I favor the Oni Garrison more than the others"

"Those losers who were bested by a bunch of kids five years ago? Flow told me you might need that group when he transferred them to prison, but I fail to see what's so special about them"

"They failed because the job we gave them didn't suit their...special skills"

"By all means, elaborate"

"Well, they-!"

RING!

Before he could continue, an alarm clock he previously set began ringing next to him

"What's that for?"

"Hehe, just watch the spectacle"

"Huh?"

"Sister Time likes to think she's the most punctual but..."

"?"

BOOOOOM!

With no warning at all, a massive explosion could be seen miles away! The shockwaves from the blast were felt even from their current position. The following turbulent winds nearly blew the pair backwards

Seconds afterwards, the army of inmates Balance had brought from the Blood Prison stormed through land. And just like with "New Moon", the second layer of Yotsuki defense, "First Quarter"...

"?!"

"She's got nothing on me...HAHAHA!!"

Was breached

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