Chapter 106: 102: The Witch and the Black Beast
"Really, there are too few medical ninjas and medical supplies in the village. If this continues..."
Inside the hospital of Kusagakure, a medical ninja was treating a severely injured comrade from Kusa, but due to their limited medical skills and a severe shortage of medical supplies in the village, they could only shake their head in frustration.
The painful cries of Kusa nins echoed in their ears. The medical ninja, who served as the team leader here, pointed at one of the injured and said to a nurse nearby,
"That one's beyond saving, just discard them. There are many others waiting."
"Understood."
The nurse, accustomed to such orders, coldly walked over and pulled the heavily injured Kusa ninja struggling on the hospital bed, then, ignoring their agonized screams, dragged them towards the door for discreet disposal.
Everyone here had grown accustomed to this. If the injuries were too severe, they were simply discarded. Although saving them might allow them to survive, their combat abilities would be significantly reduced, and they might not be able to continue as ninjas, not to mention the waste of medical resources. Disposal was the most cost-effective solution.
In reality, this so-called Kusagakure hospital had nothing commendable about it.
A large number of patients crowded into one ward, with only a few medical ninjas, and the hygiene conditions were very poor. Many medical instruments were extremely outdated, and there was no funding for timely replacements.
Just then, a Kusa ninja walked in from outside, ignoring the painful cries of numerous injured patients in the ward. Behind him, there was a young man with red hair, who seemed to be floating and had a dazed expression.
The Kusa ninja was an elite in the village and said to the medical ninja team leader, "I've brought you a gift, feel free to use this guy as you please."
"Is that okay?"
The doctor asked.
"It's fine. There's another woman with similar abilities over there. This guy has reached his limit. For him, it's a kind of relief."
After hearing this, the doctor nodded.
Then, they had a nurse bring the young man behind the Kusa ninja to one of the injured patients. They rolled up his sleeve, revealing an arm covered in bite marks, and the injured patient began to bite it.
The Kusa patient seemed to understand what was happening and viciously bit the red-haired young man's arm. The wounds on his body started to visibly heal at a rapid pace.
Although he still appeared weak, all that was needed was some rest, and he would fully recover.
Back and forth, the red-haired young man didn't resist, or rather, resisting was meaningless. For the sake of the people still in his village, he had to endure until the very end and offer his body to these greedy vampires, letting them drain his life force.
After the twelfth patient finished biting, the red-haired young man emitted a suppressed, painful groan. He tried to take a step forward but suddenly went dark in the eyes and collapsed onto the cold floor.
His mouth dripped saliva as his body convulsed slightly on the ground. His hair began to turn white, and his vacant eyes stared blankly under the bed.
The nurse squatted down to check him and then said to the doctor, "He's already dead."
"Dispose of him if he's dead. He's no longer of any value."
The doctor was indifferent.
After all, these people from that clan could only provide Kusagakure with this much utility.
"Bring the woman who still has similar abilities here. If she doesn't cooperate, kill one of her clan members until she does."
The doctor said to the ninja.
"She can't be moved for now. We'll need her to contribute to the village for several more years. I brought this guy here because he had reached his limit."
The ninja rejected the proposal.
"Long-term development, huh? Alright, how about bringing her here once a month? With this convenient ability, the medical pressure on on the village can finally be relieved for a while. At least for the next few years, there would be no need to worry about training medical ninjas, and even the funds for purchasing medical supplies will be saved. After all, the corruption and incompetence of the Daimyo within the country make it hard to imagine that they would generously provide money."
The ninja nodded, thinking that bringing her here once a month should be sustainable for a few more years.
"You know, it would be great if every member of the Uzumaki clan awakened this ability. In that case, all our medical problems in the village could be solved, and we could focus on developing our military power and researching powerful jutsus."
The doctor sighed.
"Save your dreams for later. Pay attention recently; a few days ago, there was an attack on Hozuki Castle. The surveillance from various countries on our Village has become extremely strict."
For Kusagakure, which existed in the squeeze between major nations, the only thing that could make people take notice was the public ninja prison in Hozuki Castle, which was established by all countries. If there were problems there, the living conditions in Kusagakure would become even more unfavorable.
Without the courage to defy the strong and only daring to wield the sword against the weaker, this was the way Kusagakure survived in the ninja world—an utterly fearless and selfless village.
The Kusa ninja left, and the doctor sneered, thinking that the ninja was worrying too much.
Those attackers had targeted Hozuki Castle, simply trying to rescue someone. They hadn't attacked Kusagakure. There was no need to be concerned about what the village should focus on.
...
At this time, it was midnight, and the night was quiet. Many people were sleeping sweetly in their dreams.
The moon hung high in the sky, casting a gentle and bright white light. A gentle breeze rustled through the forest, causing the leaves to sway softly, creating a rustling sound.
The sound of figures darting swiftly could be heard, and shadows emerged in a clearing in the woods.
Leading the way was the team of five led by Bug Man. Behind them were about a dozen others. Since this mission wasn't a direct declaration of war on Kusagakure, the participants in this rescue operation wore various clothing with no identifying marks.
Bug Man stood still in the clearing and looked up at the sky, and the others followed suit.
A figure slowly descended from the sky.
It was a young girl dressed in a white and red miko outfit. Her lifeless eyes gave her an almost corpse-like appearance rather than that of a living person. On her white-clad shoulder sat a small but aggressively looking quadruped creature, its small body pitch black with deep blue eyes that occasionally sparkled with electricity, elegantly and alluringly crouched there.
The duo was none other than the clones of Shiraishi, Ameyu, and Raimei Maru. The witch who controlled wind and the black beast who commanded lightning.
Ameyu floated and hovered about a meter above the ground, raised her pale hand, and a scroll flew out from her wide sleeve.
Bug Man caught the scroll and carefully examined it.
Raimei Maru, perched on Ameyu's shoulder, suddenly spoke, "Leave the exploration and rescue work to you all. We'll draw the enemy's firepower, me and Lady Ameyu."
It was a mature and deep male voice.
After saying this, he turned his head and looked in the direction of Kusagakure. Lightning flashed in his azure eyes.
With the roles assigned on the scroll confirmed, Bug Man nodded in agreement, indicating no objections.
The plan was similar to the original one, with no need for alterations.
"Let's go, sister."
Raimei Maru turned and said to Ameyu's ear.
Ameyu's expression and movements remained unchanged. Her body flew upwards into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, she became a small dot in the high-altitude, far above the sight of Bug Man and the others.
"Starting the infiltration from the sky? What a convenient ability."
This method allowed them to freely advance or retreat, even if most of the enemy's forces were directed elsewhere. To them, Kusagakure, which had very limited aerial capabilities, was just a living target.
"We can't fall behind either. When the two masters create chaos, it's our job."
"Understood."
Everyone responded and took out a mask from their pockets, putting it on their faces.
With these tasks completed, led by Bug Man, the group silently and stealthily began to approach Kusagakure.
In Kusagakure gatehouse, several Kusa ninja were enjoying themselves with grilled meat and clinking glasses, their faces already slightly flushed.
After a while, the leader, a jonin, said, "Alright, we've drunk enough. Don't get drunk."
"It's alright, Captain. It's almost time for the shift change... I'll go take care of something first. You guys keep eating and drinking."
One chunin chuckled at how vigilant their captain was. It wasn't that they looked down on their village, but there was really nothing worth cherishing here.
The ninjutsu were all copied from other villages, and there had never been enough funding. The medical technology was extremely poor, and even the living standards of the villagers in the village weren't necessarily good. Many of the buildings were very old.
The only skill they could boast about was their adaptability to the situation. Kusagakure dared to call itself the best, and no one dared to claim to be second.
Of course, this wasn't something to be proud of.
The words of the chunin resonated with the others, and they weren't getting too drunk either, keeping their wits about them to deal with any unexpected situations.
The chunin left the seat and went to the nearby public restroom.
Just as he walked out of the gate, he suddenly froze, and a beautiful but icy-faced girl appeared in front of him.
"Ah!"
Before the chunin could react, a gust of wind swept past him, and numerous wounds appeared on his body as if countless blades had slashed him. He fell into a pool of blood, letting out a painful scream.
The agonized cries caught the attention of the remaining Kusa ninjas. Plates of grilled meat and bottles of alcohol were knocked over. Under the leadership of the Kusa jonin, they launched an attack towards Ameyu.
Kunai and shuriken came from all directions.
A fierce wind rose, and within this storm, sharp, gleaming blades, invisible to the naked eye, were hidden. Fear filled the eyes of the ninjas.
All the shuriken and kunai were deflected, and the Kusa ninja all fell to the ground, their bodies torn apart by countless blades, drenched in blood.
Only the Kusa jonin barely managed to stand, his body covered in blood, but he gritted his teeth and kept going.
Seeing Ameyu standing there unaffected, the Kusa jonin's mouth twitched, and he turned and fled in a frenzy.
Facing a fight against the unidentified woman in front of him, his intuition told him that he would be crushed and killed.
"Foolish."
A mature and deep male voice sounded in his ear. The jonin turned to look and saw a streak of pitch-black lightning chasing after him from behind, the speed of which sent chills down his spine.
The dark figure accelerated again, landing above the Kusa jonin's head, emitting lightning all over its body.
The jonin trembled violently in place, his body covered in a dense layer of lightning, and his eyes rolled upwards with all his might.
A few seconds later, the jonin exuded a smell of being roasted, falling down like soft mud.
Raimei Maru returned to Ameyu's shoulder, his deep blue eyes seemingly indifferent to everything in front of him.
Having dealt with the enemies here, Ameyu floated in the air and flew out of the already open window. She stopped in mid-air several hundred meters above the ground to observe the entire village.
Ameyu surveyed the village from the air, looking for potential points that could be triggered using ninjutsu.
With a broad aerial view, she quickly found a target that could attract attention.
It was Kusagakure's power supply base.
Without much thought, Ameyu flew towards it, and Raimei Maru's mouth moved slightly, as if brewing something inside his body.
By the time they were over the power supply base, something inside Raimei Maru was ready. His mouth opened, and a huge blue ball of lightning fell towards the power supply base, enveloped in lightning.
In that instant, lightning sparks scattered in all directions, and a massive fireworks display erupted on the ground.
The shockwave from the explosion shook the earth, and flames shot up into the sky. Several tall buildings in the vicinity collapsed immediately, engulfed in flames, with waves of heat rolling.
"What's going on? How could there be an explosion at the power supply base—"
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"Level one alert! Level one alert!"
The commotion caused by the explosion drew all the Kusa nins who were either sleeping or on duty.
Numerous ninja leaped through the streets and rooftops, converging towards the explosion site.
Against the backdrop of a sky filled with flames and billowing black smoke, Ameyu and Raimei Maru faced hundreds of surrounding ninja from above, looking down without a trace of fear on their faces.
"Damn it! The enemy is up there; quickly bring them down, don't let them escape!"
Appearing in such strange attire in the power supply base explosion site in the middle of the night was suspicious no matter how one looked at it.
However, after shouting, the result was that they could only throw kunai and shuriken into the sky. Before reaching Ameyu's side, the weapons fell back to the ground on their own.
Seeing this scene, some of the ninjas spat fireballs into the sky, trying to hit Ameyu, but the result was the same. They couldn't reach her.
The fireball fell to the ground and destroyed a building on the street.
After a brief pause, the ninjas began to shout and curse, trying to bring down Ameyu, who was flying in the air, but they were helpless.
Soon, ballistae with extremely long-range capabilities were pushed out, and highly penetrating arrows were aimed at Ameyu in the sky, continuously fired.
The whooshing sound of projectiles piercing the air continued, and Ameyu floated there as if she hadn't anticipated these attacks.
"We did it!"
The Kusa ninja showed joy on their faces, as if they could already foresee the scene of the detestable enemy falling from the sky to their deaths.
However... a massive wind barrier appeared around Ameyu, causing the arrows to deviate from their trajectory, passing by her without harming her in the slightest.
As more and more Kusa ninja gathered, they realized that, apart from using ballistae, they had no other means to attack in the air.
For Ameyu, the ninjas gathering densely below were undoubtedly the best targets for attack.
Ameyu folded her hands together, and chakra and natural energy within her began to flow.
"Sage Art: Dust Release!"
"What is that?"
Not only the cursing ninjas but even the ninjas preparing to attack with the ballistae stopped their actions, looking up at Ameyu in the sky, now shrouded in a strange white light, not knowing what was happening.
What was the enemy planning to do?
Although they didn't know the specific situation, within that vast white light, they could feel an extremely dangerous aura, as if something enormous and terrifying was brewing.
The air stood still.
Sound disappeared.
The field of vision turned blank.
When the vision returned to normal and the sound came back, there was no sound of an explosion. However, the fragments of houses and pieces of the earth were wildly flying in front of their eyes.
The sight of ninjas dieing in the white light was even more gruesome They were ravaged by countless wind blades, leaving behind a terrifying and gruesome scene, with dense claw marks.
It was as if a fierce beast had trampled and destroyed its prey that appeared in its field of vision.
The faces of the ninjas were stunned, and they retreated in fear upon seeing this scene.
Even well-trained ninja struggled to suppress their fear of this unknown power.
Moreover, the willpower of the ninjas were particularly weak, a fact recognized by all nations in the ninja world.
If it were ninjas from Amegakure, they were determined to resist even when facing the oppression of the great nations.
Therefore, panic spread among the Kusa ninjas. Those who could endure such a terrifying disaster were truly rare, and most of them were also upper-ranked ninja.
Ameyu let out a soft sigh, and her breath weakened. Raimei Maru signaled his understanding.
Using this jutsu had a significant drain on Ameyu, consuming almost half of her Senjutsu Chakra. If she were to use it again, it was very likely that she wouldn't be able to maintain flight, and she would have to fall into the enemy's encirclement. That would shift the situation in a disadvantageous direction.
Maintaining the advantage of the sky was the key to this operation and their qualification to contend with a large number of Kusa ninja. Losing the advantage of the sky would undoubtedly complicate things.
Using this Senjutsu was just to plant the seeds of fear in the hearts of the Kusa ninjas. For Kusagakure, whose ninja were of extremely poor quality, how many of them would still be fearless after witnessing such terror?
Raimei Maru opened his mouth and circulated his chakra, releasing only Lightning Release ninjutsu. For most of the Kusa ninja who had lost their will to fight, activating his Senjutsu would be a waste.
Moreover, his Senjutsu was not suitable for use in the sky. The reason why Ameyu's Senjutsu was suitable for release in the sky was because she could fly herself, allowing for perfect coordination. This ensured her safety while enabling effective attacks on the enemy.
Sharp lightning blades were expelled from Raimei Maru's mouth, forming a rain of blades that strafed the Kusa ninja on the ground.
Since the blades were dropped from a very high position in the sky, there was some time before they reached the ground, making them easy to dodge for anyone not particularly unlucky.
However, this was just a feint from Raimei Maru. With their combined strength, they were not enough to take on the entire Kusagakure. Their actions were mainly aimed at distracting the large Kusagakure's forces, buying time for the reconnaissance team to rescue the remaining Uzumaki clan survivors.
Facing Ameyu and Raimei Maru's shameless style of combat, the Kusa ninjas cursed in anger but also feared whether the enemy would launch another attack like the previous one, allowing them to once again witness the horrifying scene of their comrades' bodies being torn apart.
"Don't be afraid; there are only two enemies!"
They didn't know why the enemy was attacking their village, but among the Kusa ninja coming to support, there were strong ninja who loved and cherished their village, ready to boost morale.
They placed explosive tags on crossbow bolts and then fired them into the air, bombing the sky.
Ameyu's wind barrier was not sufficient to withstand so many explosive tags. She maneuvered through the bombing's flames and smoke in the sky, suffering no harm except for a few specks of dust on her clothes.
Raimei Maru continued to expel physical lightning blades from his mouth, continuously attacking the Kusa ninja on the ground.
During this time, many Kusa ninja were injured, and several ballistae were destroyed, causing chaos among the Kusa ninja below.
At this moment, beautiful fireworks bloomed in the distant sky.
Ameyu and Raimei Maru looked in that direction, clearly indicating that the reconnaissance team had succeeded, and the Uzumaki clan survivors had been successfully rescued. It was time to retreat.
Raimei Maru's deep blue eyes glanced at another undamaged power supply base in Kusagakure. Ameyu then flew towards it, and the Kusa ninja seemed to anticipate her target, changing direction and running towards the other power supply base.
They ran halfway there, and Raimei Maru, perched on Ameyu's shoulder, did not hesitate to spit out another huge lightning ball, detonating the remaining power supply base.
Another intense explosion occurred, wiping out the surrounding streets and buildings, creating a massive mushroom cloud.
A hot blast of air rushed towards them. Ameyu ascended higher into the sky to avoid any further interference from the Kusa ninja below. Finally, she flew in the direction they had come from, leaving Kusagakure in ruins.
Both of the most important power supply facilities had been detonated, and so many buildings and streets were destroyed. How would the village continue its way of life?
So, the Kusa ninjas stared blankly at the vast cloud of smoke and flames billowing up ahead, and now they had lost even the thoughts of cursing and anger.
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