Chapter 62: The Advancing Fuguki Suikazan
When Uchiha Itachi returned, he saw the crow glaring at Kisame Hoshigaki. The shark-faced young man's head was bowed, covered in sweat... His state wasn't quite right.
Kisame Hoshigaki gritted his teeth, "Four Limbs Heavy Seal…"
The chakra in his body had entered a state of stagnant circulation. He couldn't cast any powerful ninjutsu that consumed too much chakra; basically, besides taijutsu, he had no other abilities.
Kitahara nodded. To even know such an unorthodox sealing jutsu... Back when the Land of Whirlpools was besieged and destroyed, the Hidden Mist Village was the vanguard. Their gains seemed to be quite substantial!
The two little guys didn't know much about the Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsus. This dirty work had to be done by the great Crow Sage itself... The Four Limbs Heavy Seal could seal the circulation of most of the chakra in a ninja's body, and it was quite effective for auxiliary training in chakra control.
The first lesson Jiraiya had wanted to teach Uchiha Itachi was to use the Four Limbs Heavy Seal to help the little boy strengthen his chakra control, but he ended up getting slapped in the face.
"The Four Limbs Heavy Seal is easy to break through, isn't it?" Uchiha Itachi had experienced it firsthand. He believed Kisame Hoshigaki also possessed the chakra strength to break the seal.
"Caw…"
Who knows!
Kitahara flew onto Itachi's shoulder and looked down at Kisame, "Caw!"
"...Hmph, you really do dote on this little brat! But... absolutely impossible!"
Kisame Hoshigaki looked coldly at the pair. He had already tried four or five times; the Four Limbs Heavy Seal cast by the crow was like several thick walls added inside his body. No matter what technique he used to circulate his chakra, he couldn't break through.
"He... can actually understand Kitahara's words?" Uchiha Itachi's gaze flickered back and forth between the shark-faced man and the crow, asking doubtfully, "What were you two just talking about?"
Kisame Hoshigaki closed his eyes indifferently and didn't answer.
Kitahara just wanted to cast the Four Limbs Heavy Seal to prevent Kisame from escaping, but it never thought Kisame Hoshigaki could actually understand its caws... The shark-faced man's value immediately changed from a provider of renewable shark fins to someone who could communicate.
Kitahara simply made a suggestion: let him and the female ninja who saved him leave, on the condition that Kisame Hoshigaki assist Uchiha Itachi with taijutsu training... He flatly refused!
So unappreciative... destined to be single for life!
If the crow hadn't shown such strength, Kisame Hoshigaki might have feigned compliance for a while... His goal was to find an opportunity to complete his mission.
The members of the Mist Cipher Division all possessed intelligence; they absolutely could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. This was the mission Kisame's superior, Fuguki Suikazan, had given him... Even if captured by two Konoha brats, Kisame Hoshigaki would not easily give up hope!
Absolutely not!
However, Kisame Hoshigaki didn't know that the Mist ninjas had already chosen to abandon their infiltration plan in the Land of Fire and had begun to gather their squads for a full retreat…
On the coastline of the Land of Fire.
A squad that had been running wildly quickly boarded a sea vessel docked by the shore. The leader of the support troops, Ao, ordered his men to quickly transmit a report to the village about the failed infiltration and the full retreat of all personnel.
The tall Fuguki Suikazan stepped into his cabin, "Ao, I've already ordered the ANBU squads to assemble and board. When are we leaving?"
He and Ao had witnessed that dark sky full of flying feathers from afar... That giant crow was simply too dangerous. Judging from the result, it was even more dangerous than the time the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist encountered the middle-aged man in the green jumpsuit.
Within the range of the Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon cast by the crow, whether Jonin or Genin, regardless of their chakra levels, all Mist ninjas were equal…
"How many more squads have received the message and are on their way?"
Ao ignored him and continued to relay his orders. After escaping, he had commanded his remaining ninjas to radiate outwards, contact the squads still active in the Land of Fire, and order them to retreat quickly.
"Forget about those wastes!" Fuguki Suikazan was displeased. In the entire Hidden Mist Village, apart from the Fourth Mizukage and Mei Terumi and the other higher-ups, there were no ninjas he looked up to.
"The village entrusted us with hundreds of ANBU, intelligence units, support troops, and medical units. In the end, only a dozen of us are going back. It won't be easy to explain!"
"Isn't that better than being completely wiped out? ANBU only lost five squads, which is still within an acceptable range for the village... Wait..."
Fuguki Suikazan calculated. Three of the ANBU squads he dispatched had died in that encirclement battle, and another two were tied up by Konoha ANBU. He might as well count them as sacrificed.
The Hidden Mist Village had only dispatched that many ANBU in total for this large-scale reconnaissance mission. Apart from his direct squad, no other members survived... And there was also Kisame Hoshigaki, who was responsible for protecting the Cipher Division.
Fuguki Suikazan finally remembered their objective for surrounding Uchiha Shisui, "Ao, were there any survivors among the enemy and the captured Cipher Division personnel?"
"Cannot confirm…"
Ao shook his head. He knew the importance of the Cipher Division being captured by Konoha; otherwise, he wouldn't have dispatched all support troops to search for them overnight.
Because they hadn't received news of the Cipher Division being in position, and the ANBU's Kisame Hoshigaki hadn't returned to report, he and Fuguki Suikazan had joined forces to cast a wide net to search. As a result, they found traces of their battle and confirmed the capture of the Cipher Division.
It was just that under the siege of over a hundred people, the result was their own side being wiped out. That guy Uchiha Shisui's summoned crow flock wasn't a secret, but he hid his trump card so well…
"Can you confirm the enemy's identity?" Fuguki Suikazan stood up, organized the blades on his body, and the Samehada on his back gradually became active.
"Judging by the figure, it should be Uchiha Shisui, who thwarted a mission last year..." Seeing Fuguki Suikazan's actions, Ao said in disbelief, "You're not thinking of going back, are you!"
"I must go back!" Fuguki Suikazan stepped out of the cabin and looked back, "They haven't fallen into the hands of Konoha ANBU yet, so there shouldn't have been a chance to leak intelligence. I'm going to confirm if they have any survivors and find a chance to eliminate them all!"
"It's too dangerous! I'll go with you!" Ao secretly regretted it. He shouldn't have been afraid of the enemy's pursuit just now; instead, he himself should have stayed behind to confirm the news.
"No! Your Byakugan's significance to the village cannot be compared to one Cipher Division!" Fuguki Suikazan stopped him and said coldly, "If I don't come back, the ANBU in the village will be left to that guy Yagura!"
This trip was too dangerous; Fuguki Suikazan couldn't guarantee he would come back alive. His words held no reverence for the Fourth Mizukage.
"You and Samehada are also very important! Lord Mizukage is planning to change the Bloody Mist. If something happens to you at this time..."
"One ninja sword isn't that important!" Fuguki Suikazan's words already showed a disregard for his own life as he leaped off the sea vessel.
If any other ANBU personnel were to carry out this mission, Fuguki Suikazan really wouldn't be at ease... With Samehada by his side, he had a high chance of killing that group of captives under Uchiha Shisui's Body Flicker Technique!
Of course, if that crow was still there, he would probably have to confirm the intelligence and then flee for his life... Speaking of which, Samehada is a ninja sword; it shouldn't die, right?
(End of this chapter)