Naruto: Hyuga Warlord

Under the close surveillance of three trained vultures raised by Sunagakure, the Konoha Reinforcement Unit abandoned stealth and sped forward at full speed.

Meanwhile, the three severely injured ninja were immediately evacuated under the care of five lightly wounded comrades and a medical ninja. Facing such a strong enemy, it simply wasn't worth risking the injured in further combat.

As for evacuating the medical ninja along with the unit, the logic was the same. Even Yechame Hamako had to clench her jaw just to keep moving forward, unable to imagine what kind of battle awaited. In such lopsided battles, it was either total victory or complete annihilation — there was no room for medics to do their job, so it made sense to preserve these valuable specialists.

Yet aside from ideological conflicts regarding not abandoning comrades versus completing missions, the harsh reality remained that after the ambush reduced their number to seventeen, whether the Konoha unit could actually break through Sunagakure's blockade and encirclement became an unavoidable question.

However, Hyuga Soushu didn't dwell on these issues — with Mercury's Treads, he could outrun even average jonin while fleeing.

"Sand ninja spotted ahead!"

After traveling nearly five kilometers deeper into enemy territory with the sixteen other members of the reinforcement unit, Hyuga Soushu finally detected approaching Sunagakure forces: "About fifty of them!"

"Seventeen against fifty — three times their numbers," Yechame Hamako muttered.

She popped open a bottle of Military Rations Pills, not even looking as she poured one into her mouth and swallowed it whole, chewing briefly before gulping it down. "Found our advance team yet?"

The other ninja also pulled out pills like Military Rations and Antidote Tablets, replenishing themselves before the coming fight. In situations like this, survival came first — concerns about side effects could wait. Every time they took those pills, the side effects chipped away at their bodies, many frontline fighters ending up old before their time, riddled with chronic injuries.

But for shinobi, old age was a distant concern — if you couldn't survive today, there wouldn't *be* a tomorrow to worry about.

Hyuga Soushu didn't take any medication. He simply watched his comrades hype themselves up, quietly sighing to himself.

"No," he answered, snapping back to focus.

Activating his Byakugan to maximum zoom, he scanned the battlefield ahead but still found no sign of any engagement. Not even traces of recent fighting appeared anywhere nearby.

This showed just how vast Sunagakure's wide-flanking encirclement tactics really were.

From this, however, an important deduction emerged — the remaining advance force hadn't been completely surrounded. They must be maneuvering around Sunagakure's attackers, engaging in guerrilla warfare. Otherwise, there would be no need for such an enormous encirclement effort.

"What a pain," Yechame Hamako sighed deeply, expressing considerable helplessness.

No commander would welcome being in such a completely passive position.

Also, the three carrion vultures circling above screeched relentlessly, leading the advancing Sunagakure ninja straight to their position. Short of turning back the way they came or disbanding right here, the Konoha Reinforcement Unit had no way to lose those cursed creatures' tracking.

"Their movement's already slower than expected."

Yamanaka Jonin voiced his judgment. "This means there's no sign of additional Sunagakure forces beyond what Soushu Jonin already reported."

"What are you saying?"

Yechame Hamako's mind stirred and he fell into thought.

"Perhaps aside from the hidden Sunagakure ninja we've already eliminated, their remaining forces have fully committed to encircling and annihilating the Advancing Unit."

Hyuga Soushu added.

"That makes sense."

Yechame Hamako tightened his grip on the blade in his hand and slightly increased his speed once again.

In just those few moments of exchange, the distance between the Konoha and Sunagakure ninja had shrunk significantly. Even someone with average eyesight could now see the grimaces on their enemies' faces.

Without wasting time with more encouraging words, Yechame Hamako simply picked up his pace while accelerating his chakra extraction!

"Guerrilla tactics!"

"Watch out not to get surrounded!"

"No prolonged fighting—focus on quick, small-scale skirmishes!"

Commands burst one after another from Yechame Hamako's mouth, and the well-trained Konoha ninja adjusted their formation accordingly.

Now the distance between both sides was just under a mile!

With Hyuga Soushu's sharp eyes, he could already distinguish the strength levels among these Suna ninja and locked in on several Jonin within their ranks.

And as always, each Jonin was worth a hefty 300 coins!

More importantly, he hadn't even used his ultimate skill [Weapon Master] yet!

"Charge!"

More than twenty Sunagakure ninja broke off from the main force and charged ahead at full speed. The rest deployed puppets, began preparing ninjutsu techniques, and launched several signal flares high into the sky!

"This is it—success or failure decided here!"

Yechame Hamako shouted loudly, stomped hard, then swung his blade.

Hyuga Soushu led the charge, rushing straight into the ranks of the Suna ninja!

"Wind Release: Great Sand Cloud Breakthrough!"

At the rear, the Sunagakure ninja shouted in unison. Some blew gusts of wind while others hurled sand, creating a storm powerful enough to rival natural sandstorms, rushing straight toward Hyuga Soushu and the Konoha Ninja Forces!

Meanwhile, the charging Suna ninja hurled shuriken wrapped in explosive tags and other weapons, launching their assault in sync with the sandstorm!

[Flash!]

Hyuga Soushu no longer hesitated to use his summoner skill. With a Flash, he closed the gap directly onto the enemy's right flank!

He had already identified the weakness—the left flank was stronger, where most of the Jonin were concentrated. Though the right side had more numbers, they were mostly Chunin-level ninja. To Hyuga Soushu, they were nothing more than moving coin targets!

[Counter Storm!]

[Power Strike!]

First, he blocked the barrage of ninja tools with the Wind Barrier from *Counter Storm*. Then, under the enhanced effects of *Power Strike*, he swung his hammer in a wide arc, sending three Sunagakure ninja flying. One died instantly while two others were wounded. At the same time, he slid forward, killing his way straight into the center of the right-wing formation within a second!

[*Counter Storm Second Activation!*]

At the very second of using his E ability, Soushu Hyuga, who had rushed into the crowd, activated the second stage effect. Right at the center of the right wing, he stunned five enemy shinobi from Suna.

"Bam bam bam bam bam!"

With the Radiance-enchanted blade's blessing, Soushu smashed through the skulls of three Sunagakure Chunin in a row. Thanks to the stacked passive bonus from *Merciless Combo*, he struck back an elite Jonin who had just rushed him and took down another Suna Chunin for good measure.

Just as Soushu was causing havoc, Yechame Hamako swooped into the Suna formation, jumping into the chaotic melee with the Sand ninja!

[*Crescent!*]

A red ripple spread outward. In one go, Soushu eliminated two more Sunagakure Chunin before finally being engaged by two Jonin and three puppets rushing in from Suna's rear ranks.

Originally, according to the Suna commander's plan, the Sunagakure forces had been divided into front and rear lines. The frontline fighters and ranged ninjutsu support teams were meant to attack from a safe distance, aiming to contain and completely annihilate this Konoha force that had advanced deep into the Land of Rivers.

This tactic was also a standard shinobi warfare strategy. Whether on the Rain Country battlefield or during the First Great Ninja War, it had been widely adopted by the Five Great Villages and never failed.

However, Soushu Hyuga was completely outside their expectations.

His efficiency at eliminating Chunin-level enemies was just too fast!

And once boosted by both *Radiance Enchanted Blade* and the passive *Merciless Combo*, he became unstoppable — each strike silenced his enemies before they even knew what hit them.

Wherever he went, it was like a lion among lambs — unbeatable and overwhelming.

Once Soushu charged into the enemy formation, the seventeen Konoha ninja immediately veered left, bypassing Suna's frontal ninjutsu assault and diving into melee with the right flank of the enemy front line. The Jonin originally stationed on the left wing had no choice but to abandon their positions. They Body Flickered forward to engage the Konoha ninja, desperate to stop their subordinates from being wiped out.

Thus, the entire "hammer and anvil" tactic designed for the heavier left and lighter right wings collapsed!

In desperation, the Suna commander—who had originally stayed safely behind the lines—immediately abandoned the original front-and-back array tactic. He threw every available ninja (except puppeteers) directly into the fray, ready for all-out hand-to-hand combat with the Konoha shinobi!

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