Naruto: Menma Exiting Infinite Tsukuyomi

Chapter 193: Let's Say Hello to Lord Kazekage

The sky gradually darkened, and the dim moonlight was obscured by dark clouds overhead.

The river valley at the border of the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers was shrouded in darkness, and the piercingly cold wind seemed to foreshadow the coming of a thunderstorm.

Marching for a long time in this environment, the wind and sand would make it impossible for ordinary people to open their eyes.

But for the Suna ninja who lived in the desert, this harsh climate would only make them stronger.

"Hurry up! We must reach that canyon before dawn!"

"Yes, Captain Maki!"

Over a dozen figures, including Maki, were rushing forward, their foreheads bearing the scratched forehead protectors symbolizing missing-nin. Each carried a giant sealing scroll on their back.

This was the Suna squad responsible for the mining mission, most of them Jōnin and Special Jōnin skilled in Earth Release.

Among Sunagakure's Jōnin, they could be called an elite team.

They set out from the village gate at noon, arriving at the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind, having traveled for over ten hours.

The northern part of the Land of Rivers bordered the Land of Rain and was a small country existing between the two great nations of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.

Although the country had a certain amount of ninja power, its true military strength was too weak, and it was unknown in the ninja world.

In this struggle for the mineral vein resources, the threat of the Land of Rivers was almost negligible.

However, for now, they still had to maintain peace and balance in the ninja world on the surface.

Therefore, Rasa, as the Kazekage, and the second mining team remained at the stationed camp on the border of the Land of Wind.

They would only come to support if the first mining team ran into trouble or sent a signal.

Maki could feel Lord Kazekage's high regard for him.

He had long since secretly resolved that this major S-rank mission must be completed perfectly.

Just then,

a Suna-nin following beside Maki suddenly approached.

"Jōnin Maki, dozens of chakra reactions have been detected five hundred meters directly ahead," the Suna-nin whispered into Maki's ear, his face showing a strange expression.

Maki frowned upon hearing this, silently giving a hand signal.

The Suna team behind him, seeing this, unhesitatingly dispersed to the surroundings.

Before long, dozens of figures vaguely appeared in the vast wind and sand.

The opposing side had clearly also discovered the group of Suna ninja at the first moment.

Without any hesitation, they raised the strange weapons in their hands and aimed at the opposing Suna team.

The next moment,

Bang bang bang!!

In the gray darkness, several flashes of fire exploded.

One after another, projectiles cut through the air, emitting a terrifying whistle as they assailed the Suna ninja like an inescapable net.

The dense barrage of projectiles was very fast, making it difficult for ordinary people to track their trajectory.

But for ninja with dynamic vision, the speed of these projectiles was like a turtle's crawl.

What's more, the distance between the two sides was at least two to three hundred meters.

"Don't panic! Maintain formation!"

Maki reminded them with a serious face, then unhesitatingly raised his right hand.

Wind Release chakra emerged from his fingertips, like a sharp blade, it slashed fiercely at what was in front.

"Wind Style: Blade of Wind!"

Crack crack crack!!

Following the crisp sound of breaking, countless projectiles were directly shattered.

However, a sharp pain suddenly came from his palm.

Glancing at the gushing blood out of the corner of his eye, Maki's pupils couldn't help but contract slightly.

These projectiles...

"Watch out! Wind Release chakra!!" he roared with a terrified tone.

But, it was already too late.

"Ah!!"

The reaction and eyesight of most of the Suna ninja were clearly inferior to Maki's.

Under the cover of this dense barrage of bullets, the bodies of several Suna-nin were pierced, letting out wretched screams one after another.

Bullets flew one after another.

Maki dodged and retreated while slicing the bullets with his wind blades.

Although his reaction was very fast, because he was not accustomed to it, it was very strenuous for him to deal with it for the first time, and several wounds soon appeared on his body.

"Damn it! Damn it!!"

Maki swung out a hand-sword, cursing inwardly through gritted teeth: "What the hell is this ninja tool? Who the hell are these guys?!"

Although he was very angry in his heart, he quickly recovered.

"Calm down! Earth Release ninja, defend! Wind and Fire Release ninja, advance!"

With that, Maki stomped his feet and retreated backwards, seizing the right moment to form hand seals.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

The Suna-nin in the back row also maintained their formation and simultaneously began to form hand seals.

"Earth Style: Earth Formation Wall!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!!"

A howling sound suddenly erupted. Maki's Fire Release ninjutsu turned into a raging sea of fire.

The scorching firelight consumed its surroundings, raging towards the bullets and figures in front.

The temperature of the air began to rise, the ground beneath their feet completely exploded, and countless bits of dust were swept up.

The densely flying bullets were all blown back and melted in the wind and fire.

Maki held a kunai in front of him, staring deadly intently at the several figures before him.

When the dust and smoke dissipated,

he saw figures in strange armor appear before him.

They held firearms with a technological and metallic feel.

However, compared to ordinary flintlock rifles, the caliber of these firearms was much larger, and the overall firearm was slightly more cumbersome and exquisite, giving off a cold, dangerous feeling.

Seeing these people's attire, Maki was first slightly stunned.

But after a moment, a mocking smile appeared.

"...I see."

Maki said coldly: "You must be the remnants of the Land of the Sky. Truly a bunch of fellows who never learn their lesson!"

Although the workmanship of those firearms looked more refined, he still recognized the style and methods of these fellows.

Every time a Shinobi World War broke out, these small countries that didn't even appear on the map of the ninja world were most prone to the crisis of national destruction.

For example, during the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of the Sky declared war on the Five Great Nations.

A country that popped out of some obscure corner, wanting to challenge the status of the Five Great Nations out of ambition.

The ninja of the Land of the Sky were skilled in manipulating chakra, using a type of firearm that could shoot kunai for long-range attacks, and also using a type of flying ninja tool to fly in the air.

Although they caused some minor trouble for the Five Great Nations at the time,

but...

"I remember the Land of the Sky was already wiped out by Konoha. But now it seems there are still remnants alive."

Even the Konoha ninja who destroyed the Land of the Sky had never used any firearm ninja tools on the subsequent ninja world battlefields.

One can imagine, the ninja tools of the Land of the Sky had long been lost to time.

So did these guys develop this ninja tool on their own, or did they obtain the legacy of the Land of the Sky?

Staring at the fully equipped "Sky Ninja," Maki's tone was mocking: "To dare to proactively attack us of Sunagakure... are you really that bold, or are you saying..."

As he spoke, his tone suddenly shifted.

His voice was very cold: "You think Sunagakure is easier to bully than Konoha?!"

The "Sky Ninja" and the Suna-nin faced each other from afar, the atmosphere between the two sides very grave and cold.

The scene fell into a bizarre silence, with only the sound of burning flames and the blowing wind and sand.

The next second,

"Retreat!"

All the "Sky Ninja" put away their firearms and, without prior agreement, dispersed and retreated backwards.

The firearms they held were combined with the technology of the Land of the Sky and the Land of Snow, and the firing speed and power of the bullets they shot were already terrifying.

Coupled with the Wind Release chakra core installed in the firearms...

the power of the bullets could easily penetrate a steel plate!

But they didn't think they could deal with Sunagakure's elite ninja with just these firearms.

They had already collected intelligence on Sunagakure's Elite Jōnin, Maki, before they came.

-- Clear-headed, steady in character, outstanding leadership ability.

If they waited for him to react, things would become a bit tricky.

"Trying to escape now? It's too late!"

Seeing this group of guys intending to retreat, Maki ordered coldly: "Pursue! Annihilate them all!"

With that, he gathered Wind Release chakra at his feet.

However, just as he was about to give chase,

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!

Only a sound of tearing wind was heard.

Maki couldn't help but be stunned, subconsciously looking up.

He saw several black shadows like birds of prey flash across the sky at extreme speed.

Maki narrowed his eyes slightly.

After these black shadows flew past, something fell from the sky.

As those falling things got closer, they also became clearer in his field of vision.

That was...

one after another, spherical objects emitting unstable chakra fluctuations.

Maki's face changed instantly upon seeing this.

"Retreat!"

He only had time to yell.

Then, he used the fastest hand seal speed of his life.

But the aerial attack came too suddenly.

Maki's words had just been shouted when he already saw the sphere in front of him.

At this moment, he felt time slow down, and the fear of death also welled up in his heart.

He could only watch with his own eyes as the spherical object before him gradually exploded.

The next second, the flash and the boom erupted at the same time.

"Earth Style: Multiple Earth Flow Walls!!"

BOOM!!!

The sea of fire from the explosion consumed everyone.

The wretched screams of the Suna-nin were drowned out by the terrifying roar.

After a moment,

The smoke and dust gradually dispersed. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the ground was covered in blood.

Dozens of Suna-nin, either dead or injured, were all lying on the ground.

Only a single, dilapidated stone wall remained, protecting Maki, who was curled up behind it.

If he hadn't successfully used the ninjutsu a second before the explosion, he would probably be as lifeless as the others.

"Damn it! Damn it! I forgot about these guys' flying ninja tools!"

These "Sky Ninja" before him were completely different from the group they had encountered years ago!

The opponent had been keeping their distance from them, being very clear about their respective advantages and disadvantages. They were definitely ninja with rich combat experience.

Blood flowed down, sliding into Maki's eyes.

He felt a wave of dizziness, his entire body's bones felt as if they were shattered.

But despite this, he still propped himself up with a twisted face.

"Must... must notify Lord Kazekage..."

Without time to wipe the blood from his face, Maki took out a signal flare from his pocket.

But just as he was about to launch it,

his wrist was suddenly grabbed by a hand, directly stopping the launch of the signal flare.

"...Who's there?!"

Maki's body instantly stiffened.

He hadn't noticed at all that someone had approached him silently.

He endured the sharp pain and took out a kunai, frantically slashing backwards.

Slap!

The person directly blocked the kunai, his tone low: "It's me. Don't be nervous, Jōnin Maki."

The newcomer was the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.

Seeing the familiar face, Maki was first stunned.

Immediately, his face filled with shame: "Lord Kazekage, I..."

Maki felt like he wanted to die.

He had completely lost all face for Sunagakure.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

Rasa waved his arm lightly. A large amount of gold dust, like a shield, blocked the explosions from above.

"Let's not talk about this first."

He looked at Maki with a serious expression, his tone grave: "What happened? How did you end up in such a wretched state?"

"Lord Kazekage, that group of fellows has flying ninja tools. They launched an aerial sneak attack on us from above, which is why we were caught off guard by them."

Maki was full of indignation, his tone annoyed: "Besides that kind of flying ninja tool, they also hold a strange type of firearm in their hands, which can continuously fire projectiles imbued with Wind Release chakra. Chūnin and Jōnin can also be shot and killed if they are not careful."

After all, the human body is made of flesh and blood. Jōnin and Chūnin just have stronger overall mobility than Genin and can use Body Flicker, making it not easy to be shot and killed by that kind of firearm.

"Meaning, they relied on those ninja tools to catch you off guard?"

Rasa became thoughtful.

He had never heard of any force possessing such strange ninja tools.

But when it came to flying ninja tools...

During the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of the Sky, which was once eliminated by Konoha, did have some research in this area.

"I understand."

Rasa patted Maki's shoulder: "You hide here for now. Wait until I deal with them."

Looking at the incredibly reliable Rasa, Maki nodded heavily.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage."

As long as Lord Kazekage makes a move personally, any enemy can be easily dealt with!

However, just as the two of them were about to make a move,

A chakra fluctuation that made their hearts feel oppressed suddenly appeared.

Meanwhile,

A figure exuding a terrifying aura had, at some unknown time, appeared among the "Sky Ninja."

Wearing a red, three-eyed cat-face mask and a black cloak.

"This distance... seems just right."

Looking at the thick gold dust, Uchiha Izumi nodded with great interest.

"Then, let's say hello to Lord Kazekage!"

With that, her hands began to form seals, a large amount of chakra gathering in her mouth.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

A raging, swirling sea of fire spewed from her mouth, released all at once towards Rasa and his companion.

The crimson firelight emerged on the desert, directly illuminating the darkness of the entire world.

Rasa's pupils contracted upon seeing this, his hands suddenly slamming into the ground, the chakra in his body surging madly.

"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Wave!"

A large amount of gold dust, emitting a golden light, gathered, building a solid, thick wall ten meters high in the air.

BOOM!!

The sudden, terrifying sea of fire rushed towards the gold dust, which was no less impressive than the flames.

The wave of fire and the sea of sand attacked each other, launching an evenly matched contest.

Looking at this highly impactful scene, Rasa's calm and confident expression instantly vanished, his face also becoming more grim.

"A Fire Release comparable to my Gold Dust... who on earth is this fellow..."

(End of Chapter)

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