`"What an impressive coastal fortress—truly a case of 'one man guards the pass, ten thousand ships cannot break through.'"
Standing on the observation deck inside the mountain, Umino Yoru gazed down at the river below, deeply impressed.
This coastal fortress was built directly into the mountain, its terrain incredibly treacherous, perfectly positioned to block the southern exit of the Land of Rivers.
Capturing this fortress meant controlling access—whether invading the Land of Rivers or engaging in maritime trade. It was a natural stronghold in every sense.
"Good thing we didn't launch a direct assault—the consequences would've been unthinkable."
Only after entering the fortress did Umino Yoru truly grasp just how terrifying its defenses were.
Against such a fortress, only a true powerhouse—someone capable of ignoring terrain advantages and overwhelming it with sheer force—could succeed. Any number of ordinary shinobi would be useless here.
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"Lord Hyakusen, Lord Hoshigaki has ordered us to load the spoils onto the ships and transport them back to our homeland as a precaution."
One of Kisame Hoshigaki's subordinates rushed over to deliver the message.
"Hm?" Umino Yoru frowned slightly, noticing that Kisame and his men had already retreated from the fortress to the large ships on the river. Even Ao, a skilled sensor-type shinobi, was among them.
"What a shame."
He shook his head in regret. He hadn't managed to eliminate Kisame and his group in one fell swoop. Dealing with them later would be far more difficult—elite jōnin were notoriously hard to kill.
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The Deception Unravels
His transformation jutsu was indeed masterful, but the Hidden Mist's sensor ninja weren't fools.
At first, the chaos of their defeat had allowed his shadow clones (disguised as Mist shinobi) to infiltrate the fortress. But once the Mist forces regained their composure, the anomalies became obvious.
Ao, with his keen sensory abilities, quickly identified many of the "Mist shinobi" as Konoha imposters. He immediately reported this to Kisame.
Kisame had initially planned to root out the infiltrators, but with pursuers closing in and so many Konoha ninja already inside, he realized the situation was dire.
"Such an advanced transformation jutsu… The Konoha shinobi who slipped in must be strong. And that spandex-wearing Kage-level fighter is definitely among them."
Realizing the fortress was compromised from within and without, Kisame knew it was only a matter of time before they were overrun. If they weren't careful, even escaping back to the Land of Water might become impossible.
So, he made his move—while the disguised Konoha operatives still believed they were undetected, fleeing was the only logical choice.
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Greed Before Retreat
Once aboard the ships, Kisame considered leaving immediately—but then he remembered the mountains of loot they had plundered.
Over the past weeks, they had raided countless noble estates and villages, amassing gold, jewels, and treasures worth billions of ryo, all stored in the fortress's vaults.
Even excluding those riches, the military supplies alone were worth tens of millions.
The Sand shinobi had stockpiled an enormous amount of resources here. If not for the sudden assault by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—and the lack of strong defenders—they would never have taken the fortress so easily or seized such a massive haul.
"Lord Hyakusen, Lord Hoshigaki is just being cautious. What should we—"
"Fine, load them up."
Umino Yoru waved his hand in agreement.
If Kisame wanted to pretend he hadn't noticed the deception and flee, Yoru was happy to play along.
Destroying all that wealth and supplies would be a waste.
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A Fleet Too Precious to Lose
As Yoru watched the dozens of ships on the river, his eyes burned with desire.
More than the gold or supplies, he coveted those vessels—massive, ocean-faring ships, each one a priceless asset.
The Land of Water's shipbuilding industry was unmatched. These were no ordinary boats; they were invaluable maritime assets.
The Mist had brought so many ships because they intended to strip the Land of Rivers bare—not just of wealth, but even its people.
Beautiful women were taken as "commodities," while strong civilians were destined for forced labor in mines.
To transport their spoils, the Mist had even commandeered civilian merchant ships, violating shinobi regulations to assemble this fleet.
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The Final Blow
"Lord Hoshigaki, the loading is complete. Shall we depart?"
Ao handed Kisame the inventory ledger.
"Good work."
Kisame barely glanced at it—he'd have someone else check the numbers later.
Ao, however, wasn't ready to leave.
"Lord Hoshigaki, the main force of Konoha's Hundred-Man Unit hasn't caught up yet. Shouldn't we eliminate the infiltrators before—"
Before he could finish, the world itself seemed to shatter.
A catastrophic explosion tore through the mountain, collapsing the fortress in an apocalyptic landslide.
The falling debris dammed the river upstream, sending massive waves crashing into the fleet. The last ship—loaded with supplies—was crushed under falling boulders.
"What kind of forbidden jutsu is this?!"
Even the hardened swordsmen were stunned.
"According to intel from Konoha… this must be the Dust Release: Multi-Layered Infinite Explosive Annihilation Arrow—Zero Type. We thought it was just exaggerated rumors about explosive tags, but… this is real."
Kisame, who oversaw Mist's intelligence network, had heard of this technique before. They'd assumed the Sand's puppet corps had been wiped out by explosive traps—but now, it was clear.
The White Demon of Konoha truly wielded a jutsu capable of annihilation.
"RETREAT!"
Kisame's courage shattered.
With a technique like this, they didn't even need to face the spandex-clad Kage-level fighter—the White Demon alone could wipe them out.
Even Ao had no objections now.
The order was unanimous: "Full speed ahead—GET US OUT OF HERE!"
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