Overdrafting the Future, Starting in Naruto

Chapter 24: Fierce Battle!

After the mission was arranged, the four of them took turns on watch duty.

The night passed peacefully. The next morning, after replenishing their stamina and water supplies and burying their forehead protectors, the four-person squad set out. They crossed the border into the Land of Rivers and reached the daimyō's capital at top speed.

However, they did not act immediately. Instead, they used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves as ordinary people and checked into an inn.

They rested at the inn for a day. After nightfall, Hatake Sakumo and Yamanaka En left the inn to gather intelligence.

At 10 PM, the two returned to the inn, bringing back some bad news. The daimyō's security forces had been increased, and they were suspected to be Sand ninja. Moreover, they couldn't rule out the possibility of more Sand ninja that hadn't been discovered.

But even so, Sakumo did not give the order to abandon the mission.

At 12 AM.

After donning their masks, Sakumo gave the order to begin the operation.

The team split in two. En went to prepare their escape route and provide backup, while Genichi and Uchiha Namiichi followed Sakumo as they infiltrated the daimyō's palace under the cover of darkness.

Then, the three of them split again. Genichi and Namiichi would act on their own, while Sakumo headed straight for the daimyō's bedchambers. They had been on a mission here before, so they were perfectly clear on the layout of the palace.

Thus, Genichi quickly arrived at the side of a lake.

Forming a hand seal, he created a water clone. Genichi's real body then hid within a rock garden by the lakeside and ate a soldier pill to recover his stamina. As for the water clone, it leaped directly onto the surface of the lake without a sound.

The night was silent.

Genichi waited for less than two minutes before a loud roar echoed in his ears. Looking up, he saw a flash of fire light up the night sky, shattering the silence. Instantly, shouts and cries rose up one after another.

On the lake's surface, the water clone took a deep breath, then formed the "Zai" seal, immediately followed by bringing its hands together in front of its chest. Beneath its feet, the once calm lake began to ripple, and its entire body began to sink into the lake, leaving only the top half of its head exposed.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of clashing metal rang out, along with the whistling of objects cutting through the air. Under the moonlight, Genichi could see several figures moving towards him.

It was Uchiha Namiichi, currently under siege by two enemies, fighting a tactical retreat. And behind him, more people were in pursuit, throwing shuriken from time to time.

Genichi thought to himself, if it were him, he probably couldn't have withstood such a siege. But Namiichi had the Sharingan, which was a huge advantage in the dark. Moreover, the Sharingan's powers of perception were astonishing, and Namiichi was proficient in taijutsu and kenjutsu. So, even while under siege and being pursued, Namiichi safely led the enemy to the lakeside.

Leaping into the air, the airborne Namiichi sheathed his sword, formed a hand seal, and spat a giant fireball towards the enemy. But this move failed to cause any damage; it was directly blown away by a gust of wind.

However, this move was actually a cover for Genichi.

As the fireball swept out, Genichi's clone had already risen from the lake, accompanied by a massive surge of lake water.

Water Release: Water Shockwave!

The fireball had just been blown away when the rolling torrent of water crashed onto the shore with a thunderous roar.

"It's an ambush!"

The two who had been besieging Namiichi were startled and both used the Body Flicker Technique to leap into the air. The rolling water swept past beneath them. But the three pursuers who had been rushing over and throwing shuriken at Namiichi were not so lucky. They cried out in agony as they were swept away by the current.

On the lake's surface, the clone formed seals again.

Zen -> Snake!

A torrent of water surged upwards, rotating at high speed around its body. A shuriken with an explosive tag attached, thrown by one of Namiichi's pursuers, was directly blocked by the Water Formation Wall.

"This guy, he's so fast!"

The ninja, Jiekong, was shocked. He had thrown the shuriken to interrupt Genichi's seals, but he hadn't expected him to be so fast. He immediately charged into the lake, heading for the clone. He had to stop him from casting more water jutsu; the geographical advantage here was too great.

Just then, a scream was heard.

On the other side, the real Genichi, hidden, had also formed a seal: Demonic Illusion: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!

His target was the other ninja who had been attacking Namiichi. His vision was completely sealed, plunging him into absolute darkness. This person was then easily finished off by Namiichi with a single sword stroke.

Jiekong turned his head and saw his fallen comrade. His forward-charging body immediately leaped backward. But by this time, the water clone's hand seals were complete.

Zai -> Snake -> Tiger!

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

The water dragon roared. Jiekong leaped to dodge, but he was met by the charging Namiichi.

Clang!

The two blades clashed. Then, with a thud, Namiichi kicked Jiekong, sending him flying. The water dragon, which had been sweeping across the ground, shot up into the sky, caught Jiekong in its jaws, and then plunged back down.

Boom!

The water dragon exploded, and Jiekong fell from the sky.

Genichi's eyelid twitched. He then saw two figures clashing in mid-air, sparks flying from their weapons. The next moment, Namiichi let out a grunt and was sent flying backward, landing on the surface of the lake.

"Cough, cough... be careful! It's a Jonin!"

Genichi nodded. He then saw that two more people had appeared on his left and right. The odds were now six against two, with one of them being a Jonin.

This was indeed an extremely dangerous mission!

"There are only two of them here. They must be decoys. Captain, leave this to us!" one of the Sand ninja on the left shouted.

The Jonin, Siren, stared at the two on the lake. "Finish them first," he said.

"Don't worry too much about the daimyō."

As his voice fell, Siren charged towards the lake.

Genichi rapidly formed hand seals.

Zai -> Clasp hands!

This time, he pushed his chakra to the absolute limit. The water of the entire lake surged upwards and began to spin.

"What?!"

Siren was shocked and quickly retreated. "Watch out for this guy!"

Behind him, Jiekong, who had caught his breath, quickly warned, "This guy's Water Release is incredible! His hand seals are very short and fast!"

His words had barely left his mouth when a deafening roar sounded. The surging lake water rushed out to the left, right, and front, attacking all six enemies simultaneously.

"Scatter!" Siren yelled.

One by one, the figures leaped backward.

The real Genichi, hidden in the rock garden, completed his hand seals. Instantly, two Sand ninja who had leaped up to land on the rockery had their vision completely stolen.

Drawing Cut!

Genichi leaped into the air. The two ninja, deprived of their sight, were finished off, one by one, with a single stroke of his blade. The sound of this was completely masked by the roar of the surging water.

The turbulent water reached its peak, then began to recede back into the lake.

The two Sand ninja on the right immediately charged toward the Genichi on the lake's surface, and two puppets had already lunged forward to kill him. These were two puppet masters.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

A dense barrage of hidden weapons whistled out. Namiichi charged forward, ignoring the Genichi behind him.

The real Genichi, from behind the rock garden, had already landed on the water's surface, his hands forming seals.

Zai -> Snake -> Tiger!

Siren saw this and instantly understood. "Watch out!" he yelled. "That one is a clone!"

Poof!

The water clone was hit by the hidden weapons and dissolved into a stream of water.

And the next moment, the real Genichi's jutsu was complete. A torrent of water surged upwards and coalesced into a water dragon, which then plunged down. The two lunging puppets were instantly torn to pieces. The water dragon continued its charge, slamming into one of the Sand ninja and sending him flying. The other Sand ninja leaped to dodge, but as he landed, a sword pierced through his chest.

It was Uchiha Namiichi!

On the other side, the Namiichi who had been kicked away by Siren exploded into a puff of smoke with a poof.

It was a shadow clone!

(End of Chapter)