Chương 141

The cool metal cylinder had barely cleared the earth when a faint pulse spread beneath Rei's feet.

"... A detection seal." The intricate formula hidden beneath the cache flashed for the briefest instant before fading back into the ground. It hadn't been designed to harm an intruder. Its sole purpose had been to announce one thing, and one thing alone, and that was to announce someone that something has touched this. Sigh! So much for being a ninja! Rei let out a quiet sigh as he brushed the remaining dirt from the waterproof container before sealing it inside one of his storage scrolls.

"So they were using the reports as bait. Or were they?" Almost immediately, his sensory ability picked up the first reaction. One... Five... Twelve... The chakra signatures scattered throughout the surrounding mountains began moving simultaneously. Patrol squads abandoned their previous positions, sensor ninja relayed the warning to nearby units, and several stronger presences accelerated directly toward the valley. Within seconds, nearly every route leading away from the cache was being sealed.

Rei remained perfectly calm while observing the tightening encirclement. Escaping immediately would be simple enough. With his Hiraishin, he could break through the incomplete cordon without even trying. Unfortunately, that would only create a larger problem. If the Kumogakure forces lost him now, every available squad would spread across the surrounding mountains in pursuit. Dajimu would lose his only safe hiding place, and any chance of quietly extracting the Root operative afterward would disappear.

He considered another option. Using the contract would absolve him, but he wanted to play the long game and not expose his actual trump cards. So the only way to keep these shinobis silent was fighting them, which was fine by him. Rei slowly reached into the pouch fastened around his waist and retrieved a plain black mask, fastening it securely over the lower half of his face.

He had no intention of allowing Kumogakure to identify him, especially not when the mission had already shifted from covert extraction to open confrontation. Once the mask was in place, his right hand calmly settled upon the hilt of his sword as he faced the direction from which the first chakra signatures were rapidly approaching. Branches exploded apart almost simultaneously as the first wave descended upon the valley.

Nearly twenty Kumogakure shinobi landed in a loose semicircle around him while another dozen remained upon the surrounding cliffs, immediately forming hand seals to deny every obvious escape route. More chakra signatures continued converging from every direction, each one moving with disciplined precision instead of reckless haste. The valley that had been silent moments earlier transformed into a perfectly organized battlefield.

"Unknown shinobi!" one of the jonin shouted, his voice echoing through the valley.

"Drop your weapon, surrender immediately, and return the stolen property of Kumogakure! Any resistance will be met with lethal force!" Rei answered only by drawing his sword. The polished blade reflected what little twilight remained before settling into a steady guard stance. His silence itself served as his answer.

The Kumogakure commander lowered his raised hand without another word, and dozens of kunai immediately screamed through the air from every direction, accompanied by explosive tags meant to eliminate any avenue of escape before the masked intruder could react. Fūton: Daitoppa [Wind Release: Great Breakthrough] {A technique that creates a gust of wind, whose scale and usage varies depending on the user.} Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

He unleashed a violent gale that disrupted the trajectories of the incoming weapons just enough for them to whistle harmlessly past him. Before the redirected barrage had even struck the surrounding trees, he vanished with a burst of speed, appearing beside the nearest chunin. The flat of his blade slammed into the man's wrist, sending his weapon spinning into the darkness before a crushing elbow struck his chest, knocking him unconscious and hurling him several meters across the valley floor.

Three more shinobi immediately closed the distance from different directions. Rei rotated smoothly between them, his sword moving with precision. The first exchange deflected an incoming blade before twisting it completely from its owner's grip. The returning motion struck another shinobi across the temple with the blunt spine of the sword, while his left fist, strengthened by senjutsu, crashed into the abdomen of the third attacker.

The impact folded the man's body before launching him backward into two companions who had just arrived to reinforce the assault.

"He isn't trying to kill us!" one of the Kumogakure shinobi shouted from the cliffs after noticing the nature of the injuries. The realization came only moments before another squad abandoned close combat altogether. Flames, compressed blades of wind, and earth projectiles surged toward Rei simultaneously, attempting to overwhelm him through sheer volume rather than individual skill. Rei calmly pressed one palm against the ground. Ice Release: Frozen Rampart.

Towering walls of crystal-clear ice erupted violently from the earth, intercepting the combined barrage in a deafening chorus of explosions. Fire evaporated against the frozen surface, producing dense clouds of steam that instantly engulfed the battlefield. Visibility collapsed to only a few meters as the valley disappeared beneath layers of drifting white mist. Over the past years.

after he had received Ice release, he had always tried to understand and self learn new techniques and not just releasing wild chakra using ice release. Now he had self learnt some moves and this was one of them. The concealment benefited Rei far more than it did his opponents. He could always sense them anyways. He emerged silently from the fog like a phantom. His sword struck first, the flat of the blade crashing against a jonin's shoulder with enough force to dislocate the joint without cutting flesh.

Continuing the same motion, Rei swept his leg beneath another shinobi before delivering a palm strike that sent the man skidding across the damp ground. Without breaking rhythm, he pivoted and drove the pommel of his sword into the ribs of a third attacker, forcing the air from the man's lungs before sending him sprawling unconscious beside a shattered boulder. The Kumogakure commander narrowed his eyes as another group prepared to engage.

"Maintain formation!" he barked.

"Sensor teams, keep tracking his movements! Lightning squads, pressure him from range! Do not pursue individually!" The Cloud shinobi responded instantly. Earth Release users reshaped the terrain to restrict movement while Lightning Release specialists positioned themselves behind the frontline. Fresh squads rotated forward as medics efficiently evacuated the wounded without disrupting the formation. Despite the growing number of incapacitated comrades, there was no panic or disorder.

Every movement reflected years of military discipline drilled into Kumogakure's forces. Behind the black mask, a faint smile tugged at Rei's lips.

"So this is the military might Kumogakure prides itself on..." The Kumogakure commander watched another squad fall before narrowing his eyes beneath his forehead protector.

"Keep him occupied!" he ordered.

"Do not give him time to weave hand seals! Close the distance together!" This time nearly thirty shinobi surged forward simultaneously, abandoning individual attacks in favor of overwhelming him through sheer numbers. Blades flashed from every direction while chakra-enhanced fists and sweeping kicks sought to pin the masked intruder in place. The coordinated assault would have buried almost any elite jonin beneath an unrelenting tide of attacks. Rei calmly slid his sword back into its sheath.

"... That should be enough." Natural energy flowed through every fiber of his body as his muscles tightened beneath his clothes. Rei stepped half a pace to the side, avoiding the descending blade by mere centimeters before driving his shoulder into the attacker's chest. A sickening impact echoed across the valley as the Kumogakure chunin was launched backward like a stone from a catapult, crashing into two companions before all three disappeared through the surrounding trees. Another four attacked together.

One fist met Rei's open palm and stopped as though striking solid steel. With a sharp twist of his waist, Rei redirected the punch, using the attacker's own momentum to hurl him over his shoulder. Before the body even struck the ground, his knee buried itself into another shinobi's abdomen while his elbow snapped backward into the jaw of a third.

The last attacker attempted a sweeping kick, only for Rei to stamp down upon the leg before delivering a palm strike that folded the man's body and sent him tumbling across the rocky terrain. Each strike disabled exactly one opponent before seamlessly flowing into the next. Shoulders, elbows, knees, palms, and kicks became weapons more terrifying than any forged blade.

Bones cracked, weapons scattered across the valley, and unconscious bodies accumulated around him with startling speed, yet not a single fatal wound appeared among the fallen. The Kumogakure shinobi gradually realized the terrifying truth.

"He isn't using ninjutsu anymore..."

"No... he's beating us with raw strength alone!" Rei used both his inherent body strength and little bit of Senjutsu. He couldn't allow others to see his full transformation because that was very exclusive. But that didn't mean he couldn't have fun with his body.