Just as Aomura and the two others were clashing with the Great Elder and his group, Tsunayori and Hitomi also engaged in battle.
Hitomi let out a loud shout, and blue light flickered around her, accompanied by a faint dragon's roar. With a clang of metal, Tsunayori and Hitomi simultaneously retreated backward.
Although Tsunayori possessed strength beyond a Jonin, significantly stronger than Hitomi, the surprise attack was hasty. Coupled with Hitomi's Blue Dragon Tattoo, they were evenly matched in taijutsu for a short period.
However, after stabilizing her footing slightly, Hitomi charged forward again. Tsunayori, on the other hand, wasn't so comfortable. The three elders who came to reinforce Hitomi had already arrived, and they simultaneously launched ninjutsu while Tsunayori was still unsteady.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
The three elders also simultaneously activated their "Dragon Tattoo" enhanced ninjutsu. In an instant, a violent hurricane, like a tornado, swept towards Tsunayori.
Facing the powerful Wind Release ninjutsu, Tsunayori didn't have many good options. Although he was skilled in Body Flicker Technique, it wasn't a space-time ninjutsu; fundamentally, it was just a special movement technique.
He was currently unsteady and unable to use it.
Since there was no way to dodge, he had no choice but to take it head-on. Tsunayori quickly bit his finger and formed hand signs.
"Summoning Jutsu: Double Rashomon!"
"Boom!"
The raging tornado paused slightly before breaking through the first Rashomon, but it was considerably weakened and ultimately failed to break through the second Rashomon.
However, Hitomi and the three elders hadn't expected a regular C-rank ninjutsu, even with Dragon Tattoo enhancement, to defeat Tsunayori, who surpassed an elite Jonin. It was impossible.
Taking advantage of the brief moment Tsunayori was summoning, the four began to Siege Tsunayori.
On the other side, as the leaders began to fight, the ninja army also moved.
The more numerous ninja forces were divided into three groups, while the Shimada clan's ninjas formed a single square formation.
Facing the rapidly approaching ninja army, the Shimada clan's commander immediately ordered, "Everyone, 12 o'clock direction, Wind Release Number One!"
The next second, over two hundred Shimada clan ninjas quickly and uniformly formed hand signs.
At the same time, the ninjas in the front row began to crouch, while the ninjas in the back row jumped slightly. In an instant, the side of the entire formation formed a trapezoid.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A faint dragon's roar seemed to come from a very distant place. The next moment, a violent hurricane swept towards the ninja army.
If the combined Wind Release of the elders before was merely surprising...
Then the combined Wind Release performed by the Shimada clan's ninja army shocked Tsunayori.
Although he had heard of the terrifying group combat of the Shimada clan, he had never truly fought them in earnest.
Now, seeing it with his own eyes, he realized that he had underestimated the Shimada clan.
"Everyone, attention! Earth-Style Wall!"
Tsunayori was, after all, an existence beyond a Jonin. He deliberately exposed a weakness, suffered some minor injuries, and broke free from the encirclement of Hitomi and the four others, quickly giving the order.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"..."
Without specialized training, the ninja army could only haphazardly create uneven earth walls and were unable to perform concentrated techniques like the Shimada clan.
Moreover, not all ninjas could use Earth Release.
Tsunayori also joined Aomura and the other two in performing the Earth-Style Wall, but looking at their crude defense, Tsunayori painfully closed his eyes.
"Everyone, retreat!"
Tsunayori said through gritted teeth.
"My lord!"
Although Aomura also knew that the tide had turned, he was still somewhat unwilling.
"Retreat!"
Tsunayori's face was grim at this moment, and he said with a sullen expression.
After speaking, he turned and rushed to the very front of the team.
As an existence surpassing an elite Jonin, he had sufficient confidence to escape and was therefore the most suitable person to cover the retreat.
Tsunayori alone held off Hitomi and the three elders, even doing so with ease.
Aomura and Ki also followed, jointly holding back two elders, while Mitsunao quickly organized the ninja army to retreat.
The remaining two Shimada elders, though slaughtering like tigers among sheep, couldn't kill too many people when facing a ninja army determined to retreat.
However, at this point, under the powerful ninjutsu of the Shimada clan, many of the ninjas at the very front had already died, and many more who were severely wounded and unable to move would be forced to be abandoned.
At a glance, Tsunayori estimated at least a hundred casualties.
Such losses pained Tsunayori deeply. The Shogun's residence, unlike ninja clans, could only select ninjas from commoners.
The Daimyo, who had always had animosity with the Shogun's residence, naturally restricted and obstructed them both openly and secretly. Although they wouldn't excessively suppress the Shogun's residence, it made their speed in training ninjas extremely slow.
These losses were a complete blow to their core strength.
Tsunayori also understood that if he recklessly ordered the ninja army to charge, the likely outcome would be a mutual destruction.
While he himself wouldn't fare well, few of the Shimada clan's remaining ninjas would survive either.
But... "It's not worth it."
Tsunayori shook his head.
As a high-ranking official of the Shogun's residence, he had to view problems from a higher perspective.
While he grieved over the losses and detested the Shimada clan, the complete annihilation of the Shogun's ninja army would be the true disaster.
Now, there was still a chance.
Seeing that Mitsunao had almost finished organizing the ninja army's retreat, Tsunayori, Aomura, and Ki jointly broke free from the entanglement of Hitomi and the others and quickly withdrew.
Several elders still wanted to pursue, but Hitomi stopped them.
"Let it be. Don't pursue a cornered foe. This can be considered a lesson for them," Hitomi said, shaking her head.
"Madam is right. They still have nearly five hundred ninjas. If we pursue and fall into an ambush, it would be terrible," the Great Elder also said.
The elders then gave up.
Seeing that the elders had reached an agreement, Hitomi continued, "Elders, I'll leave the subsequent matters to you. I'll go pick up the evacuated clan members first."
The elders also knew that Hitomi was worried about her two children, and clan members with the Black Dragon Tattoo were indeed of utmost importance. Therefore, the elders all agreed.
After a hurried few instructions, Hitomi headed to the temporary shelter.
The elders, meanwhile, began to comfort the injured and deceased, while also encouraging and commending the clan members.
The Shimada clan's casualties in this battle were negligible, making it a great victory.
Therefore, compared to sadness, the clan members, who were already accustomed to battle, were more excited... On the other side, in the shelter, Hanzo was simultaneously coaxing his crying younger brother and worrying about the situation outside.
Those who came to the shelter were all ordinary clan members, but in these times of war, everyone was accustomed to it, so there was no panic.
It was just that an infant from an unknown family suddenly started crying, and in an instant, as if contagious, all the infants in the entire shelter began to cry.
For a while, there were sounds of people coaxing children everywhere, which seemed quite comical.
Hanzo absentmindedly coaxed Genji, his eyes fixed on the shelter's main door.
Suddenly, the shelter's main door was pushed open.
The shelter instantly fell silent.
Except for the young children who were still crying innocently, everyone's eyes turned towards the door.
The door opened, and it was Hitomi.
The gloom in Hanzo's heart immediately dissipated.
"That's great," he let out a long sigh of relief.