At the same time, the Hidden Mist Technique enveloping the No. 1 outpost lost the continuous chakra output from Kirigakure's Water Release unit. The fog was already beginning to dissipate.
The last image sensed by the Barrier Team was the final coordinated move of two Kirigakure chūnin, seemingly about to kill that unexpectedly appearing jōnin-level ninja.
"It's over."
The four chūnin of the Sensory Team, together with the remaining Kirigakure forces—once over fifty strong, now reduced to eleven including themselves—began a series of withdrawal operations. Certain critical intelligence could not be burned; they needed to carry it away safely.
Splash—
The female chūnin's body was cleaved apart by an invisible blade, yet her eyes could still see what lay ahead.
Boom!
The Water Prison shattered in an instant, exploding together with the Kirigakure chūnin inside it into a massive cloud of blood mist that sprayed across the air.
Baixing stepped on the water's surface and casually picked up the ninja blade from the Kirigakure chūnin who had been the loudest earlier, murmuring to himself:
"Increasing the unit speed of strikes and force, reducing air resistance… it doesn't feel inferior to the Sixth or Seventh Gate when Guy uses them."
In the female chūnin's numb gaze, there was only Baixing walking toward her—his footsteps splashing through blood foam mixed with piranhas and Matsuru's remains—stepping past what was left of Matsuru's body and stopping in front of her.
"Don't… don't… don't kill—"
When death arrives, all hot-blooded ideals and bonds are cast aside. What remains is nothing but the instinctive desire to live.
Pshhk!!
The blade fell without mercy.
Baixing silently watched the light fade from the female chūnin's eyes.
"A ninja's end…"
"Perhaps it is simply death."
"Before death…"
"We are all equal."
After destroying the brains of the four bodies, Baixing noticed the mist dispersing. He immediately understood that the Kirigakure force had either retreated or been defeated.
"A ninja war…"
"It ends rather quickly."
His departure caused no waves at all. Even when Uchiha Hazuki and the others arrived later, they failed to identify any trace of Baixing's identity.
On the sea, the operation against Kirigakure had been completed.
The overall commander of this battle, Uchiha Hazuki, had earned great merit—eliminating one Kirigakure jōnin, several special jōnin, and dozens of elite chūnin.
Konoha's side, however, also suffered losses: eight dead, eleven seriously wounded, and the rest bearing injuries of varying severity.
After confirming that there was no useful intelligence left inside the No. 1 outpost, Hazuki recalled another ninja who had infiltrated from the Land of Whirlpools' direction.
Thus, Uchiha Hazuki, Hyūga Chiya, and two others—three jōnin and one special jōnin—went together to inspect that battlefield.
After observing the corpses that had not yet fully sunk, Hazuki was the first to make an assessment:
"This was an experienced fighter, a jōnin skilled in taijutsu. That Kirigakure assassination squad had no room to resist at all—even inside their own barrier."
Hyūga Chiya activated his Byakugan. Under his penetrating vision, he saw that the interior of the half-body of a chūnin corpse had been reduced almost entirely to blood pulp. His eyes widened in shock.
"What terrifying power!"
"All of this chūnin's meridians and bones were shattered. Even the internal organs were completely liquefied!"
"What?!" The other two ninjas were stunned. Such combat experience, and such destructive force…
"Kage-level?" Uchiha Hazuki took a deep breath. "Who would've thought the Land of Whirlpools hid someone this deep?"
"In that case, tomorrow's coordinated operation should be able to proceed smoothly."
Meanwhile, after returning to the residence, Baixing unfolded a small ROOM space and seamlessly passed through the Uzumaki clan's layered barriers.
Those barriers could detect anyone passing through—but the ROOM created absolute interference, mimicking something as insignificant as a mosquito.
Inside a building deep within the Land of Whirlpools, a sensory ninja frowned slightly.
"It feels like something mosquito-sized slipped in."
Nearby, several Uzumaki ninjas on rotation were playing cards. One short-haired Uzumaki ninja slapped down a card and spoke up:
"Jack."
"Probably just a mosquito from somewhere, Shinichi."
"Yeah, having some bugs this season is normal. King."
"Nope."
"Haha! Joker! I've got two cards left!"
Hearing this, Uzumaki Shinichi closed his eyes and said:
"But didn't the village spread insect-repellent agents around the barriers to deal with Kirigakure?"
"Maybe the bugs built resistance. It's not the first time something like that's happened."
"Pair of fives—I win. Pay up, pay up."
"Damn it, lost again."
"Kazutaka, you're on a roll today."
As they handed over the money, Uzumaki Kazutaka propped himself up on his cushion and continued speaking to Shinichi, who was still sensing:
"Besides…"
"Our Uzumaki barriers can analyze the chakra level of intruders."
"If it were a Kirigakure ninja—even using a Transformation Jutsu—we'd be able to judge their chakra rank instantly."
"Not to mention, what you sensed is just a mosquito-sized creature with extremely weak strength."
"True." Uzumaki Shinichi nodded and stopped worrying.
Meanwhile, Baixing—who had successfully slipped past layer after layer of barriers and returned to the estate, swapping places with a shadow clone in the bathroom before crawling back into bed—wiped cold sweat from his brow.
The Uzumaki barriers were terrifying. Even stricter than Konoha's!
If they weren't leaving tomorrow, he definitely wouldn't have gone out in the middle of the night just to check the departure conditions for the voyage.
Early the next morning, with the combined summoning efforts of more than a dozen Uzumaki ninjas, the massive ship capable of carrying tens of thousands of people was slammed onto the sea's surface.
When the white smoke dissipated, what came into view was the super-massive sailing ship forged with the full strength of the Land of Whirlpools—
Noah's Ark: Uzumaki-class.
The hull was 470 meters long and 120 meters wide. The deck was far from just one or two layers—there were eight internal decks capable of holding people.
Only valuables were allowed as luggage. Furniture and the like were strictly forbidden.
The number of citizens willing to leave the Land of Whirlpools far exceeded a hundred thousand. However, boarding was limited by capacity; once full, only replacements could be made.
—Step step step!
"Please board in an orderly fashion! No pushing!" Uzumaki ninjas shouted through megaphones. Seeing someone trying to cut in line, one immediately pointed and yelled, "You there! Cut in line again and you go to the very back!"
The middle-aged man instantly slung his pack over his shoulder and obediently retreated to his original position.
Once the decks were filled with people sitting and standing, four Uzushiogakure chūnin stationed at a corner formed hand seals.
"Secret Technique: Light-Weight Barrier!"
This barrier altered the weight of objects and living beings within its range, allowing the decks to support extreme loads—one of the reasons the ship could be completed in just two days.
Each deck could hold roughly three thousand people. In reality, even the so-called "Noah's Ark Uzumaki-class," advertised to carry tens of thousands, capped out at around thirty thousand—already an overload.
Even in the modern world, ships capable of carrying over ten thousand people were exceedingly rare.
"Jōnin Washi! Commander Makoto!"
"The first batch is fully aboard! Ready to depart at any time!"
On the first deck, there were no fleeing civilians. At the lookout tower stood a black-haired chūnin of the Mizuhara clan. On the second deck's upper steps were two chūnin from the Tsuchiya clan. In the central deck stood Yamanaka Washi and Uzumaki Makoto, alongside an Uzumaki chūnin navigator reporting on the ship's status.
"Then…"
"Let's depart!"
"At full speed—head for the shores of the Land of Fire!" Uzumaki Makoto waved his hand.
"Roger!" the Uzumaki chūnin shouted, beginning a series of launch procedures.
The rudder was adjusted. The white main sails were hoisted—
Finally, the Konoha ninjas who had arrived early that morning to support the Land of Whirlpools took their positions behind the ship.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Water Release: Rushing Torrent!"
"Combination Jutsu: Hurricane Waterflow Technique!"
Rumble—roar—!
The super-massive sailing ship finally began to move.
Ninjas stationed around the hull once again activated barriers to resist the pressure of the air ahead—while leaving space behind for the Konoha ninjas to continue accelerating the ship.
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