Chapter 192: Chaotic Battle
"What a stubborn bunch. Mr. Itachi, it seems the people of your village really dislike you." Facing Chōza, a veteran Jōnin, Kisame didn't dare to slack off. He immediately released the bindings of Samehada, revealing the blade covered in barbs, and charged forward with a face full of battle intent.
The Ino-Shika-Chō have their own time-tested coordination system. Even with Ino replacing someone, it wouldn't affect it too much.
Chōza relied on Ino's sensory transmission ability to pinpoint Kisame's location. The big guy let out a low growl, holding his long staff, his arms bulging with muscle, and met him with equal force.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged over a dozen blows.
Their strength and taijutsu were similar, and for a moment, it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand.
Kisame held his blade with one hand, from top to bottom, the ninja sword drawing an arc as he brought it down with force. Chōza raised his staff to meet it. The collision of the blade and the staff produced a strange thud. Then, relying on his years of hard-earned martial arts skills, Chōza, with his eyes closed, flicked his wrist, and the long staff slammed onto Samehada's spine.
On the way, Shikaku had already analyzed the intelligence on the two rogue ninja. He knew about Samehada, such a famous ninja sword.
Chōza exerted force with both arms, trying to use the end of his staff to suppress Samehada. Under the heavy pressure, the barbs covering Samehada's blade undulated like living things. Chōza's attack didn't quite land solidly and felt a bit slippery. He quickly changed from pressing down to lifting up. Kisame gripped Samehada tightly, using Chōza's force to jump several meters into the air. He spun mid-air, his body like a top, rotating halfway before launching a flying kick at Hiashi Hyūga's face.
He never intended to fight one-on-one.
The head of the Hyūga clan had already seen through his intentions with his Byakugan. Left foot forward, right foot back, in a bow stance, he raised his palm and let out a low shout, aiming to strike Kisame's ankle from the side. If this palm strike landed, a broken tendon or bone was inevitable.
Itachi Uchiha immediately provided support from the side.
Four kunai were held between the fingers of each of his hands. The kunai in his left hand were shot to the right, and those in his right hand to the left. In an instant, he threw eight kunai at Hiashi Hyūga. As Hiashi retracted his attack and retreated, the kunai collided with each other in mid-air, completely disrupting their original trajectories. The eight kunai drew dazzling arcs as they flew towards Shikaku and Ino from multiple directions.
Ino's sensory ability detected Itachi Uchiha making a throwing motion. Hearing the sound, it seemed like something was flying towards them, but she couldn't determine exactly what it was. "Leave it to me!" She formed two hand seals, raised her left hand, and the water bubbles she had used against Gaara quickly appeared. With a flick of her wrist, she released over a dozen water bubbles, which collided with the kunai in mid-air. Only after the impact did she realize they were kunai.
Kisame, while simultaneously fighting Chōza and Hiashi, still had time to observe the battlefield. Seeing the water bubble technique, he was initially surprised, then he laughed and cursed, "That technique looks like a ninjutsu from our Hidden Mist Village. You little girl, did you steal our Hidden Mist Village's ninjutsu?"
"Steal? The Second Mizukage taught it to me! I remember you're a rogue ninja. That's not your village anymore," Ino retorted without holding back.
Kisame was completely bewildered. This touched upon a blind spot in his knowledge. "The Second Mizukage? Who's that?"
He knew the title of the Second Mizukage, but he didn't know the person's specific name or abilities, nor had he inquired about it. Itachi Uchiha, while fighting Shikaku and Tsume Inuzuka with taijutsu, still had the composure to educate his comrade. "The Second Mizukage's name is Gengetsu Hōzuki. He specializes in genjutsu and Water Release ninjutsu. He's an ancestor of your village's Hōzuki clan. I recall that he was the one who established the Seven Ninja Swordsmen system."
Kisame shook his head, clearly uninterested in such old, irrelevant matters. He listened and then dismissed it.
He quickly engaged Shikaku again, while Hiashi faced off against Itachi Uchiha. Tsume Inuzuka used his clan's secret technique, Fang Passing Fang, to assist Hiashi. Chōza's long staff constantly clashed with Samehada, creating opportunities for Ino and Shikaku to deal with Kisame.
Then the situation shifted again, with Kisame facing Hiashi and Tsume Inuzuka, and the Ino-Shika-Chō trio facing Itachi Uchiha.
This wasn't a one-on-one fight; it was a five-on-two melee.
Shikaku tried several times to steer the rhythm of the battle in a direction favorable to the Ino-Shika-Chō formation. Itachi Uchiha saw through his intentions, and with his own high level of taijutsu, he repeatedly interjected, disrupting their formation.
Ino, who had been wanting to act as a turret for ranged attacks, couldn't find an opportunity to use ninjutsu. She had to resort to fighting him with kunai for a couple of moves. This guy was incredibly fast, and his taijutsu was no less impressive than Kakashi's or Asuma's. If Ino hadn't improved her own taijutsu previously, she wouldn't have been able to last more than a few exchanges.
Even without his Sharingan, Itachi Uchiha's speed, taijutsu, and ninjutsu were enough to easily defeat the current Ino.
The two sides were locked in a chaotic brawl.
As they fought, Kisame suddenly planted Samehada upright in the ground, looked at the others with a provocative gaze, and quickly formed hand seals. "Water Release: Great Exploding Water Collision Wave!"
Ino didn't understand his intention in using this ninjutsu at this moment. Among everyone present, she was the only one who could stop such a large-scale Water Release technique. She had to respond. "Water Release: Great Exploding Water Collision Wave!"
Their hand seal proficiency was similar. Kisame's understanding of ninjutsu was somewhat lacking, and Ino had less chakra than him. Both of their Great Exploding Water Collision Waves appeared out of nowhere and were released simultaneously, colliding in mid-air! Even though it was water, under the impetus of chakra, the collision produced a huge, explosion-like roar.
The water from the collision shot up into the sky and then rained down on the battlefield like a torrential downpour.
Ino manipulated the water flow twice, but it didn't work as she intended. She immediately changed tactics. She took a deep breath and expelled Water Release chakra like fine needles. This was currently her only ninjutsu that didn't require hand seals, a technique the Second Hokage had taught her previously. Ino was slowly transitioning from the era of hand seals to the era of no hand seals. The process was a bit slow, but she was starting to get the hang of it. "Water Release: Heavenly Weeping!"
Dozens of fine needles, like raindrops, attacked Kisame, who was still diligently forming hand seals, seemingly preparing to use Water Dragon Bullet. Here's an honest guy, everyone come bully him!
Kisame was quite annoyed. He had to stop his hand seals halfway through, swung his ninja sword Samehada, and blocked all the chakra needles she had expelled.
Taking the initiative, Ino immediately used this powerful Water Release ninjutsu. "Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
The water flow, propelled by pressure, shot out like a silver thread, quickly slicing through the air. Recognizing the power of this attack, even Kisame didn't dare to take it head-on. He cunningly jumped to the side, using Chōza's body as a shield against the Water Severing Wave.
Ino was helpless. Her current blindness was a real hindrance. She couldn't even unleash half of her full power and had to cancel the technique.
All the ninja possessed the ability to walk on water. Even Tsume Inuzuka's dog could walk on water.
The water flow didn't have much of an effect on them, and the group continued their chaotic battle.
Kisame had his eyes on Ino, the one using Water Release techniques.
Swinging Samehada to parry two of Chōza's attacks, he found an opening and began forming hand seals again.
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