"Retreat!"
The chūnin from Kumogakure, noticing that only five enemies were actively fighting while a short blonde woman observed from the side, realized that continuing would be disastrous.
"Lightning Release: Spider Web!"
In the brief moment granted by his two genin who were desperately buying him time, he quickly formed hand seals, then crouched down and slammed both palms against the smooth stone surface of the bridge.
In the next instant—
A surge of blue electricity shot out from under his hands, and in the blink of an eye, a massive glowing spider web of lightning spread across a 50-meter radius.
Two genin from Umigakure accidentally brushed against one of the 'threads.'
[ZAP!!]
Their entire bodies were instantly wrapped in crackling electricity. They collapsed, twitching violently from the shock. The remaining three narrowly escaped by leaping into the air.
[BOOM! BOOM!]
Just then, the two remaining Kumogakure genin slammed smoke bombs to the ground.
[Fwoosh!]
Thick purple smoke erupted and filled the area. They planned to use it as cover—to cast Invisibility Jutsu and Body Flicker away from the city.
But then—
[Whoosh, whoosh!]
Several sharp whistling sounds cut through the smoke. At the same time, an overwhelming sense of danger exploded in their minds.
Shuriken!
They were only genin, but experienced ones. They immediately realized what was coming.
What shocked them was how the enemy had managed to lock onto their movements so accurately in such dense smoke.
Still, no time to think. Just dodge!
But—
"Aaaahhh!!"
Three anguished screams rang out one after another.
The three Kumogakure genin were struck all over—their backs, legs, arms—each pierced by dark, gleaming shuriken. The pain knocked them off balance, and they crashed hard to the ground.
"What?!" the chūnin's face twisted in shock.
Their shuriken technique was absurdly precise—as if they had predicted every dodge in advance… even within the smoke!
That could only mean one thing: the enemy was likely a sensory-type ninja as well.
It was vital to relay that intel to allies outside the city.
But the high-pitched whistling of more projectiles growing louder behind him told him one thing—
He might not live long enough to send any message.
Still—he was a chūnin of Kumogakure.
With impressive aerial agility, he twisted his body midair, performing a backflip to break his original trajectory—just in time to dodge a projectile slicing through the air beneath him.
"Rope?!"
"Ah~ You actually dodged it. Impressive, mister lightning man~~"
But the next second, a girlish, childish voice rang out right behind him, filled with obvious mockery.
The Kumogakure chūnin instantly panicked. The opponent's speed was clearly beyond chūnin level.
But as a ninja, how could he just sit there and await death?
He immediately gathered all his strength, spun around, and slashed with his kunai—there was no time left to form hand seals.
[Clang—!]
The sharp kunai sliced through the air—only to be blocked by a single, slender finger. The upper half of the finger was pitch black, the lower half pale. And yet, the sound it made was unmistakably metallic—sparks flying from the impact.
The chūnin's pupils contracted sharply. A crazed gleam flickered in his eyes.
He poured chakra into the kunai, changing its nature into deadly lightning.
Blue bolts of electricity burst forth in an instant.
"Die!"
The electric serpent surged forward, snapping and snarling at Chome. Some of the lightning even tried crawling along her fingertip to reach her body.
[Bang!]
A heavy thud echoed.
A solid kick slammed into the Kumogakure chūnin's abdomen. He coughed up blood on the spot, his body launched like a cannonball, flying backward.
He couldn't understand.
How could someone so small—someone who looked like a child—have such monstrous strength?
Even with chakra softening the blow, he could still feel the searing pain deep in his organs. He knew he'd lost all ability to fight.
But even so, he refused to look away from Chome.
He wanted to see—had his final attack at least left a mark?
"Impossible..."
Her entire body, from skin to clothing, was now faintly tinged in black—but she remained completely unaffected. The lightning danced briefly across her surface, then vanished without a trace.
It was obvious—she hadn't been harmed in the slightest!
Why?!
He didn't understand—what kind of jutsu was that?
And then—
Chome flicked her wrist, sending another thick rope flying. It wrapped around the bloodied chūnin and bound him tightly.
At the same time—
The other Kumogakure genin, previously struck down by thrown shuriken, were already being subdued by her three underlings.
"Who the hell are you people? Which village are you from?!"
"Ara~ Are they dead already?"
Chome paid no attention to the chūnin's question. She skipped merrily over to one of her subordinates who had collapsed from the lightning strike.
She let out a light breath, then turned to the chūnin with a teasing smile.
"Still breathing, huh? Looks like your jutsu isn't that powerful after all—couldn't even fry a person~"
"No way..."
The chūnin was stunned.
His Lightning Release might not have been the strongest in his village, but it definitely wasn't weak enough to leave even genin alive.
Then again...
Fainting on the battlefield wasn't that different from being dead.
"Alright then, time to come with us," Chome said sweetly. "You're a ninja—you should know how this goes. So be a good boy and cooperate, okay~?"
"Hmph!"
The chūnin's face darkened as he turned his head away, refusing to respond. But deep down, he was already mourning.
He couldn't stop the images of his wife and daughter flashing through his mind.
This time… he really wasn't going home.
...
Two hundred meters beneath the surface of the Kingdom of Rōran, the once-vast, empty palace had undergone a remarkable transformation.
First, the previously pitch-dark space was now brilliantly illuminated by a vast number of Light Shells, bright enough to be described as blazing with lights.
The round altar, which had once stood isolated in midair and cut off from the rest of the hall, had also been reconnected to the distant gates thanks to the efforts of a group of alchemists, who reconstructed a stone bridge linking the two.
Even the massive, tightly sealed stone gates had been thrown wide open.
And while they were at it, they even built a spiral staircase hugging the wall, connecting the underground palace directly to the surface.
For alchemists, this kind of task was far too simple.
In less than twenty minutes, everything had been completed. After finishing the job, they dusted off their hands and returned to the Canberra Continent of the Titan World on the other side of the Dimensional Gate.
Nowadays, aside from those alchemists who were particularly fond of combat or obsessed with exploring other worlds...
Most alchemists had already determined they wouldn't engage in battle lightly. Their roles were focused on education, construction, logistics, and scientific research.
At the same time—
All two hundred shinobi from Umigakure had finally passed through the Dimensional Gate and arrived in the Shinobi World.
Led by Uzui Tengen, Kazekage, Bishamon, and Yazaemon, they divided into four squads.
Moving swiftly, they surged upward through the spiral staircase along the wall and outward through the stone corridor behind the gate, heading toward the upper levels of Rōran.
Soon—
A crowd began to emerge from the two exits like a black tide, accompanied by flocks of crows that fluttered around them.
[Swish, swish, swish, swish...]
The moment they set foot on the streets of Rōran, they were briefly stunned by the cityscape—its densely packed spires and crisscrossing aerial bridges.
At the same time, they felt the oppressive heat of the region and the omnipresent wind and sand.
"Disperse!"
"Disperse!"
Regaining their focus almost instantly, they broke off into numerous four-man cells under the command of various chūnin, spreading rapidly throughout the city.
Their mission was simple: follow the original plan—seize full control of Rōran and eliminate any possible presence of Kumogakure shinobi hiding within.
To be honest, the odds weren't in their favor.
Two hundred against three to four thousand?
No matter how you sliced it, it sounded like an impossible feat.
Yet not a single Umigakure ninja showed fear. On the contrary, they brimmed with confidence—because they knew they had the World Government at their back!
And besides, if they really couldn't hold out...
Even if the main force couldn't arrive in time, it wouldn't stop the Government from sending in a few high-level fighters ahead of schedule.
Before long, the Umigakure shinobi had secured key areas throughout Rōran. Along the way, they did run into scouting teams from Kumogakure.
But none of those squads had any jōnin-level fighters among them—so they posed no real threat.
Kumogakure's chūnin were indeed powerful, far stronger than those from minor villages across the Shinobi World—strong enough that they could serve as jōnin in some places.
But up against Umigakure's elite—like Kazekage, Bishamon, and Yazaemon, all seasoned jōnin proficient in both types of Haki—they were simply outmatched.
So after a brief commotion, peace returned to the city.
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