The overall response speed of Furuta Village was incredibly fast!
As soon as the signal for war sounded, the entire village sprang into action. The village had deep underground fortifications, and though they were made of rock and soil, they were incredibly resilient. Surface-level battles would hardly affect their structure because they had been reinforced with sealing techniques!
Previously, before the mission at Chōshō Mountain, Haruto Saito had returned to Konoha and purchased a massive amount of materials specifically for making sealing explosive tags, spending billions of ryō. He even invited veteran Konoha ninjas to assist him in crafting them.
These old masters were experts in sealing techniques!
The reinforcement of Furuta Village's underground fortifications had been primarily completed by them. For skilled ninjas, expanding underground spaces and fortifying them was not a difficult task!
As dusk fell over Furuta Village, chaos erupted!
However, the initial panic quickly peaked and then subsided as the seemingly chaotic masses disappeared into the underground fortifications known as "bunkers." Presently, Furuta Village had a permanent population of over thirty thousand, with more than ten thousand visitors. Together, nearly fifty thousand people resided in the village.
To evacuate such a large population so quickly and efficiently was beyond Feiyu's expectations.
From his position by a high-rise window, Feiyu observed the scene below. His expression was complex—partly grim, partly twisted, and partly excited. As the Third Mizukage, he had taken a significant risk leaving the Hidden Mist Village, which he was meant to oversee, just to come here. His sole objective: to kill Haruto Saito and exact revenge!
And now, his desire to kill Haruto Saito was stronger than ever!
He wanted to personally destroy everything Haruto had built. Haruto was a menace, his achievements nothing short of legendary. Apart from the First Hokage, there was no one else in the ninja world as threatening as Haruto!
It wasn't that Haruto had already reached the First Hokage's level, but if he continued to grow, he had the potential to reach that height!
Haruto's menace was not just in his rapid growth in power but in his exceptional abilities as a leader and ruler.
He was an all-encompassing threat!
Tonight, he would perish!
This was why Feiyu was excited—because he would be the one to make it happen. At his level, it was rare to feel a sense of accomplishment. Unless one killed someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi or won an extended war, such emotions rarely surfaced.
But now, killing Haruto Saito and destroying his village would be an achievement in itself!
The streets soon became deserted. Even Furuta Village's ninjas had gone into hiding. The lower-ranking ninjas had been ordered not to participate in the battle—this was Haruto's directive. Their numbers were too few to make a difference, and if they joined the fight, they would only be throwing their lives away needlessly.
—BOOM—
A massive chakra fluctuation surged from the east. Though far away, the intensity of the chakra waves was unmistakable. The Hidden Mist's Anbu captain, Itsuka, standing beside Feiyu, failed to notice anything unusual. However, Feiyu sensed it immediately!
"It's begun?" Feiyu muttered, a grin creeping onto his face. "Then let's begin!"
With a whoosh, Feiyu stepped out of the window. Like a cannonball, he shot into the sky, leaping more than two hundred meters high. As the last rays of the setting sun bathed him in gold, he quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
—BOOM—
A massive torrent of water erupted from Feiyu's mouth like a descending heavenly river, instantly flooding an entire district below. The raging waves surged in all directions, submerging large sections of Furuta Village in an instant.
Countless buildings collapsed under the force of Feiyu's attack. Some underground fortifications failed to seal their gates in time, allowing torrents of water to flood inside, drowning some people. However, most survived… because Haruto knew who his enemies were and had designed the underground fortifications with drainage systems.
As long as the structures didn't completely collapse, turning the surface into an ocean wouldn't be a problem.
In a way, Feiyu had shown some restraint!
He didn't want to be labeled a mass murderer. He wasn't someone who killed indiscriminately. His fight with Haruto wasn't about good versus evil—it was simply a clash of opposing interests. Haruto himself wasn't the type to slaughter the innocent, and Feiyu wasn't either!
That's why he waited until the streets were empty before attacking.
Of course, many innocent people would still die because of him, but he didn't see that as his responsibility—it was Haruto's!
The water terrain was now set!
Feiyu landed gracefully, but the moment his feet touched the ground, a shadow flickered behind him—an enormous blade swung down in a furious arc! However, the attacker wasn't Haruto Saito—it was Ryuya Hattori!
Feiyu dodged with a flash step, flicking his wrists to unleash a barrage of kunai like a deadly rain!
—BOOM—
Above him, a burst of smoke erupted, revealing another figure—a warrior wielding a massive scythe, slashing down toward Feiyu!
Jūzō had joined the fray!
At the same time, all around them, over a hundred Furuta Village ninjas emerged from hiding, each one at least at the jonin level, with some boasting fame and bounties exceeding twenty thousand ryō! Strictly speaking, not all of them were Haruto's subordinates.
Some were from Konoha's Anbu and infiltration squads, while others were rogue ninjas and S-rank assassins Haruto had recruited from the black market over the past six months.
Leading them was none other than Kakuzu!
"Water Style: Frenzied Wolf!"
Surrounded, Feiyu unleashed a towering wave!
Kakuzu, sprinting at high speed, suddenly leapt into the air to avoid a deadly strike from below—his foot had nearly been pierced by an attack from underwater. A figure shot up from beneath the waves—it was Itsuka, the Hidden Mist Anbu captain! Almost simultaneously, over a dozen Furuta ninjas in the water were ambushed by Hidden Mist operatives who had been embedded in Furuta Village for a long time.
The battle erupted into chaos!
Truthfully, Feiyu's opponents were no match for him. Even with Ryuya Hattori and Jūzō teaming up, they could only stall him for a short while. They lacked the ability to kill him, and the other ninjas combined weren't strong enough to take him down either.
They wouldn't last long!
But this was Haruto's strategy—they just needed to hold on for a while!
***
Dozens of kilometers east of Furuta Village.
Haruto Saito suddenly appeared, launching a devastating assault on the elite Hidden Mist strike force consisting of three Kage-level ninjas and two hundred elite jonin!
This was part of Haruto's strategy. There were two reasons he initiated the attack. The first was that he needed to eliminate Kaguya Akira!
Among the three major Hidden Mist leaders—Kagura Rōchi, Kaguya Akira, and Kawasa—Kaguya Akira wasn't necessarily the strongest, but he was the most dangerous!
He possessed the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) ability!
His devastating bone techniques could severely damage underground structures. If he reached Furuta Village, everyone in the underground shelters would be doomed.
The second reason Haruto launched this attack was to lure Feiyu away!
He didn't want the battle to happen inside Furuta Village.
That village was his life's work!