Naruto: Hyuga Warlord

The odds are fifty to seventeen — and the advantage is ours!

The reason for launching an immediate all-out charge stemmed directly from the assessment made by the Suna commander.

After all, those more than seven hundred Suna ninja who had invaded the Land of Rivers were all elites handpicked from over three thousand ninja gathered at the border, and in terms of overall combat strength, they would not lose to any other Hidden Village's force of equal size.

Moreover, the decision to deploy only around seven hundred troops wasn't a matter of unwillingness from Suna to send more, but primarily because after Shirakawa Namiko's team successfully infiltrated and destroyed the logistical supply base, the painstakingly accumulated provisions could barely support continuous operations for only around seven hundred personnel.

However, even though the Sunagakure ninja army currently stationed at Wind Country's border faced extremely difficult circumstances, they still wouldn't lack supplies for the initial vanguard unit. Thus, these later-deployed Sunagakure shinobi were equally well-equipped. Before engaging the enemy, they had already consumed various secret medicinal potions, their blades shimmering ominously with deadly poison that caused instant death upon contact with blood. Under their commander's leadership, they let out terrifying war cries as they charged into the midst of Konoha ninja locked in chaotic battle.

For Hyuga Soushu, who was mowing down enemies left and right thanks to his overwhelming gear advantage, the more enemies came, the higher his reward would be!

Therefore, after feinting with his left palm to drive away a Sand jonin who had been engaged in close combat with him, Hyuga Soushu immediately leapt forward, swinging his Torch Pole straight into the rear ranks of Sunaga ninja forces!

[Counter Storm!]

Under the magic resistance boost from [Mercury's Treads], Hyuga Soushu completely ignored attacks from low-level Wind Release spells, swung his hammer, and instantly killed one Suna ninja.

Moreover, Tiamat passive effect [Cleave] spread the attack power outward, completely disrupting the Suna formation which had already fallen into chaos!

[Crescent!]

Immediately afterward, he activated another active skill from [Tiamat]. As a red ripple surged outward, he triggered [Power Strike].

[Jumping Slash!]

With combined skills and passive stacking effects from [Radiance Enchanted Blade], Hyuga Soushu delivered a single blow that sent flying an enemy Suna jonin who had just rushed toward him.

This particular Sand jonin possessed decent ability; though his right arm—still gripping the sword—shattered on impact while trying to parry, with the Torch Pole's tip striking his chest and breaking ribs, he still twisted midair, landing on his feet before clenching his teeth through the pain and retreating.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Seeing this, Hyuga Soushu's Byakugan flared with even more bloodshot rage. He gripped his Torch Pole and lunged forward, ready to break the bastard in half!

But as he stepped forward, three Suna jonin suddenly attacked him from above, head-on, and below!

From above came an invisible colorless Wind Blade slicing horizontally, from the middle slashed a long-bladed weapon strike, while from below surged an eerie Sunagakure ninja who slid along the ground like a rattlesnake, shooting forward with uncanny speed!

Three simultaneous attacks forced Hyuga Soushu to retreat repeatedly under intense pressure!

[Ignite!]

After retreating and stabilizing his stance, Hyuga Soushu immediately unleashed this summoner skill with guaranteed hit property upon the ground-sliding Sand jonin!

And this was precisely the secret technique he mastered during his previous competitive run — the skill that carried him from the Bronze tier packed with seasoned players straight up to Gold Tier I through nothing but pure Weapon Master proficiency!

Forget whether Fire Release can kill someone or not—wouldn't you panic if you suddenly caught fire?

A typical Silver-tier expert would either throw Fire Release right back or guzzle a healing potion and pull away fast. And exactly for that reason, doesn't that open up the perfect window for a counterattack?

Plus now skills have become tangible—who knows if they might actually burn someone to death?

"Ahh!"

The previously stealthy Sunagakure Jonin, slippery as a cobra, suddenly burst into flames. The sudden blaze made him arch his back like a startled mantis shrimp, leaping straight off the ground where he'd been clinging!

He was a real person! Nothing like those digital beings who can keep fighting even when near death!

And that's exactly why Fire Release is known as the most devastating of all Ninjutsu—being burned alive causes irreversible harm to both body and soul!

But this scene looked extremely bizarre to the other two Sunagakure Jonin who had been attacking Hyuga Soushu.

No sound, no chakra fluctuation beforehand! Their comrade was ablaze all over, rolling desperately on the ground yet unable to put out even a single spark!

What's worse, Sand Village ninja come from a desert background—good luck finding one skilled in Water Release. Even if they wanted to douse the flames using Water Release, they were powerless to do so!

Could that red-eyed little brat from the Hyuga clan actually be capable of casting instant Ninjutsu?!

That would be seriously terrifying!

But despite being terrified, Soushu didn't ease up on them one bit.

Under the effect of the skill, Soushu appeared behind the flaming Jonin who was rolling around desperately trying to put himself out, and slammed right into him!

This particular Sunagakure ninja was truly extraordinary—he was already burning and rolling uncontrollably on the ground, yet still barely managed to raise his arm to block that skull-crushing blow!

But his arm shattered completely.

But that was enough. As soon as the other two Sunagakure Jonin reacted, they immediately charged toward Soushu.

[Power Strike!]

Utilizing the W skill's passive ability to reset basic attacks, Hyuga Soushu unleashed a heavily buffed heavy strike against the two Sunagakure Jonin rushing at him!

"Bang!"

One of the Jonin flew backward from the impact but twisted mid-air to dissipate force, landing safely without much harm; while the other charging Jonin slashed directly at Soushu's wide-open chest!

Physical attack blocked instantly by E skill—the sword-wielding Jonin attacked again only to miss completely.

[Counter Storm Second Activation!]

Hyuga Soushu eagerly activated the second phase stun effect of his E skill, freezing the sword-wielding Jonin in place, then swung his Torch Pole horizontally.

"Thud!"

The Jonin was severely wounded in an instant, the tremendous force sending him flying!

But the poor guy who just barely survived until the Fire Release wore off wasn't so lucky anymore.

The auto-activated active skill of [Tiamat] gave this Jonin—already half-dead from Fire Release burns and Torch Pole strikes—a little boost in "life quality."

The Torch Pole smashed into his head with a sharp crack!

"Head shot clean!"

"A good head makes the best pop when it blows!"

Hyuga Soushu became even more frenzied, charging like a laughing Uchiha toward the Sunagakure Jonin who had just turned around to attack again!

Even this fierce Sand Jonin hesitated slightly when faced with Hyuga Soushu and his mysterious techniques.

But in a life-or-death battle, even the slightest hesitation or fear meant certain death!

After executing a full QAWE (Quick Attack Wall Air End) combo, Hyuga Soushu literally caved in the head of this Sunagakure Jonin, leaving nothing but pulp. Under the relentless torrent of heavy blows, the enemy's body shattered into a spray of blood and chunks of flesh that rained through the air!

Then with a [Jumping Slash], Hyuga Soushu sent the severely wounded Jonin flying—before finishing him off mid-air for the kill!

"Huff..."

Having taken down three opponents alone, Hyuga Soushu could finally catch his breath.

Beside him, the sixteen Konoha reinforcement ninja were struggling slightly, but with Yechame Hamako constantly covering them with his blade, they managed to keep the pressure balanced.

Yet after Hyuga Soushu successively eliminated three Sunagakure Jonin, the Sand ninja inevitably showed signs of disruption. Especially those puppeteers at the rear line operating puppets for assistance displayed obvious disorder.

"It's you then!"

Hyuga Soushu saw the puppeteers' chaos clearly, immediately determining his next target.

As everyone knows, puppet masters' real power lies within the puppets they control. Those two red-haired Sunagakure puppeteers who were eliminated were top-tier prodigies from Sunagakure; otherwise their Ninjutsu and Taijutsu wouldn't have been so formidable. Compared to them, regular puppet masters lagged far behind in close combat capability.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

Evidently, the Sunagakure commander also noticed where Hyuga Soushu's gaze was fixed. Without concern for friendly fire, he quickly formed hand seals and shot countless Wind Blades toward Hyuga Soushu, attempting to halt his assault on the puppet squad.

[Counter Storm!]

Hyuga Soushu chose to withstand the attack head-on, using the skill's magic resistance enhancement to charge straight through the Wind Blade storm toward the Sunagakure commander.

"Is he even human?!"

Seeing Hyuga Soushu with his armor shredded yet still fighting fiercely charging toward him, the experienced Sand commander flinched for a moment before steadying himself. He infused his ninjato with rapidly spinning Wind Release chakra and slashed horizontally at Soushu's waist.

[Counter Storm Second Activation!]

[Crescent!]

[Power Strike!]

Hyuga Soushu's assault remained his classic combo of skills—even his most basic physical attacks carried the power of [Radiance Enchanted Blade]. It wasn't long before he forced the famed Sunagakure commander into pure defense, completely stripped of any chance to strike back.

Unfortunately, [Counter Storm]'s stun effect had its limits. Clearly, this Sunagakure commander had much higher resistance than ordinary Sunagakure Jonin, preventing Soushu from smoothly getting a head explosion as previously seen. Plus, the commander absorbed sustained, buff-enhanced strikes like they were nothing.

Thus, the battle between the two started to become a stalemate.

However, for Hyuga Soushu, he had never feared seemingly evenly matched battles like this.

It wasn't merely because of the passive skill [Merciless Combo] enhancing basic attacks, nor simply due to the continuous boost from [Radiance Enchanted Blade]. More importantly, he still had one trump card he'd never yet used.

[Weapon Master!]

The reason he's called Weapon Master is precisely because his ultimate skill bears the same name—[Weapon Master]!

Activating his ultimate ability, Hyuga Soushu first landed a heavy strike infused with chakra damage. The blow sent the Sunagakure Commander staggering backward unsteadily, dispelling all the chakra swirling on the enemy's ninja blade like a whirlpool. Immediately afterward, he protected himself with the E-skill [Counter Storm] and relentlessly charged forward!

"Wind Demon Slash!"

Slightly disheveled, the Sunagakure Commander quickly took stance, unleashing countless chakra blades in an attempt to halt Hyuga Soushu's assault.

After an intense close-quarters skirmish, his arms were already numb and sore from resisting those powerful strikes. At this point, he could no longer block effectively—only using chakra-infused blades to desperately buy some recovery time!

But it was ultimately all in vain.

Hyuga Soushu was nearly immune to low-level ninjutsu, let alone these mere chakra-laden blade auras.

"Clang!"

The violent collision between their weapons even sparked showers of golden metal shavings flying into the sky!

[Jumping Slash!]

Yet before Hyuga Soushu could continue pressing his attack, other Sunagakure shinobi noticed their commander's plight and swiftly rushed over from the battlefield against Konoha ninja to provide backup.

Like this ill-advised Sunagakure Chunin who got instantly smashed by a casual hammer strike from Hyuga Soushu.

But even this short delay was enough for the Sunagakure Commander to catch his breath and regain his fighting posture.

Still, Hyuga Soushu had no intention of stopping either.

Especially since right now, he also had one particularly sharp and effective summoner skill ready at hand.

[Flash!]

Suddenly appearing behind the Sunagakure Commander like a ghost, Hyuga Soushu mercilessly swung his torch pole toward the enemy's head for a fatal strike!

Unfortunately though, while the Q-skill [Jumping Slash] should theoretically be an unmissable move, the experienced Sunagakure Commander realized an attack was coming from directly above his head as the Konoha ninja suddenly vanished—and instinctively twisted his body sharply to the right just in time.

"Thud!"

His left shoulder and arm were crushed by Hyuga Soushu's mighty blow!

Even the ninja blade tightly gripped in his right hand nearly dropped from the excruciating pain!

But at least he didn't die right there!

"Lord Shimaru!"

The Sand ninja currently engaged in battle with Konoha shinobi immediately fell into chaos. Seeing the opening, Yechame Hamako seized the chance and started taking enemies down one by one!

And right after seizing this counterattack opportunity, despite being heavily outnumbered, the Konoha ninja seized the initiative and launched coordinated counterattacks, escalating their suppression pressure!

"Retreat!"

Though wounded and bleeding, the indomitable Sunagakure Commander only managed to shout that single word before everything went black—and then he knew nothing more.

After a grueling exchange, it was ultimately Hyuga Soushu who proved superior—his mastery of diverse techniques and fearless combat allowing him to land yet another decisive killing blow.

Seeing this, the Sunagakure puppeteer who had been nervously manipulating puppets from the rear immediately turned tail and fled without hesitation!

This was actually standard protocol for Sunagakure—an understandable choice given how resource-intensive puppeteer training was, and how ill-suited most were for close-quarters combat.

But human resolve, courage, and even the workings of the mind were strange and unpredictable mysteries—even ninja couldn't escape their whims.

With their commander dead and the puppeteers in retreat, some Sunagakure ninja who'd once matched Konoha shinobi evenly now attempted desperate last-stand attacks—but the majority simply turned and ran.

"Chase them down!"

Blood-smeared Yechame Hamako raised her blade forward and shouted the order after finishing off a stubbornly resisting Sunagakure ninja—with Hyuga Soushu landing the final blow.

At this point, only nine Konoha shinobi remained; eight had already fallen in battle. In such an overwhelmingly outnumbered situation, anyone injured—especially critically—had no hope of survival whatsoever.

Confirmed fatalities among the Sunagakure ninja totaled twenty-seven!

Though suffering heavy losses himself, Yechame Hamako, now completely consumed by bloodlust, could no longer afford to care.

The sunk cost of his direct subordinate unit was too great—if he couldn't even bring back the Advancing Unit intact, then he would've utterly failed!

"Roar!"

Equally consumed by bloodlust, Hyuga Soushu let out a roar and lunged forward first, chasing after the retreating Sunagakure ninja!

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