At the same time, the water clone swiftly ended the female craftsman ninja's life.
Yagura crouched down and searched the bodies of the three fallen craftsmen ninjas, retrieving their shinobi identification tags.
The first one, the shield-wielding craftsman ninja, was undoubtedly a Jonin. He had managed to hold his ground against Yagura's Water Release for quite some time.
The two who had arrived later as reinforcements were a bit weaker, but they were still Jonin from the Artisans Village.
In terms of raw ability, Yagura assessed that the craftsman shinobi were inferior to the Jonin of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. It made sense—compared to the structured education, training, and decades of accumulated experience of the Great Villages, a small and isolated village like the Artisans Village simply couldn't measure up.
However, with their unique ninja tools, they did possess Jonin-level combat capabilities in certain aspects.
From start to finish, Yagura never saw any of them abandon their ninja tools to use other forms of ninjutsu.
The shield-wielding one had the guts to discard his weapon to save himself, but after that, he had no strength left to resist.
Yagura stashed his spoils into his ninja pouch.
He could trade these for a bounty later.
And of course, he also took their ninja tools with him. He could turn them in upon his return so they could be reassigned to suitable Kirigakure shinobi.
Sliding his mask slightly to the side, he exhaled a few deep breaths.
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion erupted at the entrance of the mine!
The massive steel shield blocking the entrance shattered into pieces!
Inside, the Chunin and Genin who had been protected by the steel barrier had detonated all their explosive tags at once, blasting the shield apart!
Turning around to see the craftsman shinobi swarming out of the mine, Yagura shook his head.
"Ah, well... that's convenient."
All that effort the big guy went through to block the entrance had been for nothing.
At least he wouldn't have to waste energy breaking open that turtle shell himself.
"Enemy spotted!"
"Over here, quickly!"
"Surround him! Don't let him escape!"
At the same time, from the other two sides of the mountain, the sounds of hurried footsteps and shouted commands echoed through the air.
Yagura estimated that the shinobi stationed in those areas were rushing over as reinforcements. The Jonin had simply arrived first due to their superior speed.
The Artisans shinobi who had emerged from the mine, along with those coming from the other sides of the mountain, quickly formed a tight encirclement around Yagura, their eyes filled with hostility.
A quick glance told him that there were at least a hundred of them.
At that moment, the Chunin and Genin from the Artisans Village spotted the three corpses at Yagura's feet!
Grief-stricken cries filled the air.
"Captain Tetsuya!"
"Captain Jinsei!"
"Miss Kuroori!"
Their dependable and warmhearted older brother, their easygoing and humorous captain, and the kindhearted woman they secretly admired...
Yagura had already pulled his mask back down. His voice, deep and calm, echoed from behind it.
"Truly a close-knit group. The way you're looking at me now... it's exactly the same as how those two looked at me when I killed that big guy."
"If they could see you all avenging them, they'd probably be pleased, wouldn't they?"
"Though, the dead don't reach the Pure Land immediately. Their souls linger for a while in this world."
"I wonder what they're saying right now..."
Yagura tapped his forehead lightly with two fingers, pretending to ponder before suddenly exclaiming,
"Ah, I know! They're shouting..."
He paused for a beat.
"Run!"
Silence engulfed the battlefield.
The craftsman shinobi were still caught in their grief, but now they were also shaken by the sheer arrogance and cruelty of the Mist shinobi standing before them.
"Everyone, attack together!"
A craftsman Jonin raised his weapon and roared, his voice filled with rage.
"We can't let him escape!"
"Escape?"
Yagura glanced at the craftsmen shinobi raising their weapons, the barrels aimed at him.
"You think sheer numbers give you an advantage? Well, that might be a little troublesome."
But he wasn't afraid of these small fry.
Killing them one by one and looting their corpses? Too much of a hassle.
Yagura made his decision. "Water Clone Jutsu!"
From the lingering floodwater at his feet, countless columns of water shot up, taking his form as they solidified into identical clones.
A single glance revealed—there were now a hundred of him!
Seeing their supposed numerical superiority instantly nullified, the hands of some of the Genin trembled as they clutched their weapons in fear.
They were furious, but most still retained enough rationality to think clearly.
The Mist shinobi before them had single-handedly taken on their Jonin captains and emerged victorious. He was stronger than the leaders they had followed and admired.
Fear took hold of their hearts.
Were they really supposed to fight this kind of opponent—even if it was just his clones?
The water clones scattered, each engaging the craftsman shinobi in one-on-one or two-on-one battles.
Yagura, however, remained in place, forming hand seals. "Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu."
Thick mist rapidly engulfed the battlefield at the base of the mountain.
Yagura leaped onto a bridge halfway up the mountainside, landing atop the large shield the fallen craftsman ninja had wielded.
Sitting down cross-legged, he overlooked the battlefield below, now lost in dense fog.
Flashes of lightning illuminated the mist, accompanied by the anguished screams and desperate cries of the craftsman shinobi.
Even though he couldn't see through the fog, the sounds alone painted a vivid picture of the massacre unfolding below.
His clones were rapidly consuming his chakra.
If not for Isobu inside him, he wouldn't have been able to sustain this level of chakra expenditure so recklessly.
Yagura sighed and leaned back, his expression blank as he gazed down at the true spectacle of the Blood Mist.
...
[Isobu: This isn't like you.]
[Yagura: Didn't the Sage of Six Paths teach you that if you don't know what to say, it's better to say less…? Dumb turtle.]
[Isobu: …Humans are such a hassle. (Dives underwater)]
...
Tsuchimikado Group, Executive Office.
The secretary listened as the warriors and ronin under their command reported back—the Mist shinobi had engaged the craftsmen shinobi.
"They couldn't determine the exact battle situation."
The scouts stationed in the city had only received brief messages from carrier pigeons.
"The entire battlefield is shrouded in dense mist. Our men didn't dare to get too close."
"But even from over two hundred meters away, they could still hear the screams and wails echoing from within the fog."
The secretary skimmed through the intelligence report.
From the sound of it, the kid had the upper hand.
The head of the Tsuchimikado Group listened as well. Overjoyed, he clasped his hands together and cursed the craftsmen shinobi viciously.
His string of expletives made the secretary's brow twitch slightly—but the man wasn't wrong.
Those damned craftsman shinobi had been nothing but trouble. His receding hairline was proof enough.
Ding—
The exclusive elevator to the executive floor arrived without anyone noticing.
The doors slid open.
The CEO assumed some reckless employee had dared to ride his private elevator without permission. He opened his mouth to curse—only to choke on his words when he saw the Mist shinobi's mask.
Yagura scanned the room. "Perfect. Everyone's here."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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