Chapter 170: The Minazuki's Interception
In the Land of Bears, a country closest to the Land of Whirlpools besides the Land of Fire, a team of about seventy people was speeding along the northern coastline.
On the way, a beautiful young girl who looked to be less than twenty years old looked at the leader in front of her, hesitating, and finally, with courage, she called out softly, "Clan Head."
"What is it, Sairan?" the woman, who was called the Clan Head, asked without turning her head.
"Our actions this time..." Sairan paused here, hesitating for a long time before carefully choosing her words and slowly saying, "Are they a bit rash?"
"How dare you!" Before the Clan Head could reply, a middle-aged man beside her shouted at the girl.
He turned and gave the Clan Head a fawning smile. Seeing that she had no intention of stopping him, the man, as if he had understood something, scolded her again, "Minazuki Sairan, don't think that just because you've awakened the 'Ice Release' you can criticize the Clan Head's decisions. You don't have the qualifications."
"No, I didn't. Don't talk nonsense," Sairan said, trying to explain in a panic. But when her gaze met her Clan Head's, her body trembled violently, and then she lowered her head deeply.
"Alright, let's continue on our way. The target unit should be in the northwest. Everyone, be on your guard," at this time, the Clan Head finally spoke, stopping the argument between the two. As she spoke, she also looked at the girl named Sairan with a deep gaze.
This woman was the current Clan Head of the Minazuki clan, Minazuki Saya.
She had successfully awakened the clan's unique Kekkei Genkai, "Ice Release," in her twenties. In less than five years, she had developed her ability to the "third stage," surpassing the previous Clan Head and successfully taking his place.
It had to be said that the Minazuki clan's Kekkei Genkai was different from other clans. Whether the next generation could awaken the ability was completely random. It wasn't just the direct relatives who could awaken it. Anyone with the clan's bloodline had a certain probability of inheriting it.
Even in the original story, an ordinary person like Haku's mother, Minazuki Murasaki, who had no "ability" at all, her offspring also had a chance of exhibiting atavism.
The awakening rate of this Kekkei Genkai was not high, and almost all of those who awakened the ability were male clansmen. From the clan's history, there were only a few female awakeners.
However, it was worth mentioning that although the Kekkei Genkai was rarely inherited by women, when it was, the strength of these women could often reach an extremely high level.
For example, the first Clan Head of the Minazuki clan, Minazuki Rinrei, the current Clan Head, Minazuki Saya, and... the silent Sairan on the side.
Originally, it should have been a good thing for two female clansmen to awaken the Kekkei Genkai at the same time. But the problem was that Minazuki Saya was not a broad-minded Clan Head. Her heart was almost always on guard against the girl, for fear that one day, she herself would become the "previous Clan Head."
So, just now, when a male clansman who was fawning on her had scolded Sairan, she had not stopped him, in order to dampen the girl's spirit in front of the many clansmen.
As for Sairan's worries, Minazuki Saya said that it was just a little girl's groundless fears.
What, at the age of less than ten, he could kill the Sand's Pakura and Bunjin? It was purely a rumor spread by Konoha for some ulterior motive. She would not believe it.
In Minazuki Saya's opinion, this Uchiha brat was at most a sidekick, and like that ninja named Minato Namikaze on the northern front, he was just a fake genius hyped up by Konoha.
After receiving the secret report that Konoha was transferring several teams from various battlefields to support the Land of Whirlpools battlefield, she had accepted the interception mission without a second thought, in order to personally bury this so-called boy genius.
She wanted the entire ninja world to know that only the Minazuki clan was the true strongest clan in the ninja world.
"Come on, Uchiha brat. I'll show you what a real powerhouse is."
"Commander Kyosuke, it's time," a Konoha ninja in charge of transmitting messages said softly, walking up to Kyosuke, who was resting with his eyes closed.
Hearing his words, Kyosuke slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the sky, which had completely brightened. Just as he was preparing to give the order to set off, a Hyuga clan ninja ran over from the sea with a panicked expression.
This person was the ninja he had sent out for reconnaissance in advance.
Seeing his strange expression, Kyosuke did not rush to give the order, but waited until he had run up before slowly asking, "What happened?"
"A group of people is rushing toward us from the south. From their attire, they should be Mist ninja," the Hyuga clan man said, quickly explaining his discovery.
"How many?" Kyosuke asked again.
"About seventy."
"It seems our actions have been exposed," Kyosuke said, silent for a moment. He then said decisively, "Send the order. The entire army will prepare to engage the enemy."
"Yes, sir," the ninja in charge of transmitting the order replied loudly, and then went to relay Kyosuke's order to the squad leaders of the various teams.
By the time Kyosuke's army had finished their battle preparations, the attacking Mist ninja had finally slowly appeared on the horizon.
"Are they here?" With the excellent vision of his Sharingan, he could clearly see the forehead protectors of the newcomers and the special pattern on their clothes.
"It really is a Mist ninja unit. That mark... it seems to be the Minazuki clan," Kyosuke muttered with a calm expression.
Faced with the impending fierce battle, not only was Kyosuke not in the slightest bit panicked, but even the many ninja behind him were quietly watching the enemy approach, their expressions very calm, and even their breathing was not at all disordered.
It was clear that these ninja who had survived the southwestern front had all developed a strong heart. A battle of more than a hundred ninja was nothing to be nervous about in their eyes.
In fact, many people were thinking of finishing the battle quickly so that they could go to the station in the Land of Whirlpools to rest and relieve the fatigue of the journey.
Sensing the eager expressions of the crowd behind him, Kyosuke smiled to himself and calmly waited for the enemy's approach.
According to his idea, he was preparing to have this battle on land. After all, the Mist ninja were usually skilled in using Water Release, so fighting on the sea was really a bit unfavorable for his own side.
What Kyosuke was worried about now was whether the enemy would choose not to land and just surround them on the coastline. In that case, even if he was unwilling, he could only lead his men to the sea to fight the enemy.
But then he himself rejected this idea, because once the station army of the Land of Whirlpools reacted, what awaited the enemy would be the danger of being caught in a pincer attack. Time was equally important to the enemy.
Just as Kyosuke had thought, the Mist ninja, seeing that they had no intention of fighting at sea, did not even stop their team and went straight for the coastline.
It was clear that they had made up their minds to fight a quick battle.
In just a few short minutes, the distance between the two sides' teams had rapidly closed to a range of about 200 meters. At the same time, with a wave of Kyosuke's hand, he directly took the lead and charged at the enemy.
"Ninjutsu, prepare," Kyosuke shouted.
Instantly, a neat and uniform sound of hand seals entered everyone's ears.
"Release!"
The moment his words fell, a hundred Fire Release ninjutsu, as if blotting out the sun, thus swept toward the Mist ninja unit.
"Child's play," Minazuki Saya said with a cold laugh. At the same time, the dozens of Mist ninja behind her had also completed their army ninjutsu.
On the way of the raging sea of fire, a huge wave of the sea rose out of nowhere and directly blocked its path. The two thus collided.
Although the number of Kyosuke's army was greater than the enemy's, with the elemental disadvantage, in the end, they could only barely fight to a draw.
With a hiss, a huge amount of steam directly enveloped the two sides' teams of more than a hundred people.
"The Mist ninja, who are skilled in assassination, are very good at silent combat. We can't let this steam block our vision," thinking of this, Kyosuke's hands suddenly clasped together, and with a puff of his cheeks, a gust of wind blew from his mouth.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
This powerful Wind Release not only blew away the steam in front of him, but also directly affected the advancing formation of the Mist ninja unit.
Just as the enemy was still unsteady, the ninja of Kyosuke's army, like a sharp knife, inserted themselves into the enemy's team.
In an instant, more than twenty ninja died tragically, and the vast majority of them were Mist ninja.
Minazuki Saya, seeing that the enemy army was more troublesome than she had imagined, was directly preparing to use her own ability to launch a large-scale ninjutsu strike.
However, Kyosuke's timely arrival successfully thwarted her intention.
Looking at the face that had gradually shed its childishness, Minazuki Saya sneered in her heart. Then, an ice sword made of water-natured chakra appeared in her hand. With a burst of chakra from her feet, she directly used the Body Flicker Technique to get in front of Kyosuke and slashed down.
In her opinion, regardless of whether the young man's strength was as strong as the intelligence said, at least with his age and physical limitations, he was definitely no match for her in taijutsu.
As long as she could force the other to engage in a taijutsu battle, she was confident that she could take down the enemy in a short period of time.
In fact, what she thought was correct. If it were the previous Kyosuke, without starting Sage Mode, he really wouldn't have been able to fight her. But now, with his swordsmanship raised to Level 10, it was enough to suppress her in close combat.
Clang!
A crisp sound of collision came. Although Kyosuke was suppressed in terms of strength, he successfully blocked her slash. Then, without waiting for the enemy to continue the attack, he flicked his sword and, with a deft movement, deflected the enemy's ice sword, and directly thrust at the opening in her chest.
"How is that possible?!" Minazuki Saya looked at the sharp sword that was about to pierce her chest, her eyes wide with shock.
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