Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before Dodai's shout had even finished echoing, dozens more sharp whistling sounds tore through the air.
Inside the temporary camp, the Kumogakure shinobi had already raised their vigilance, yet more than a dozen were still blown apart by arrows. Others who tried to dodge were left with shattered arms or severed legs.
These arrows were not only incredibly fast and powerful, they were also astonishingly precise.
Combined with the pitch-black night and poor visibility, the Kumogakure shinobi had almost no way to evade them.
And the rain of arrows continued wave after wave.
Within moments, the temporary camp was filled with screams and casualties.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Dodai roared angrily as he issued orders.
"Everyone find cover nearby! sensory-type shinobi, locate the enemy! Samui, continue breaking Killer B's seal!"
As he spoke, his hands rapidly formed seals.
"Lava Release: Rubber Sphere!"
Dodai spat out a massive rubber-like sphere that expanded instantly, encasing Samui and the others along with the sealed barrel to protect them from the incoming arrows.
A Kumogakure sensory-type shinobi suddenly opened his eyes and shouted,
"Lord Dodai! We're surrounded! There are enemies both in front and behind us! C's unit has also been attacked!"
Dodai narrowly avoided an incoming arrow and demanded,
"How many enemies?! What are their movements?!"
The sensory-type shinobi replied quickly,
"There are around three hundred enemies! More than two hundred in front, arranged in a semicircle several hundred meters away. They haven't charged yet—these arrows are all coming from them!"
Dodai's heart sank instantly.
This was clearly just the advance force meant to pin them down.
Behind those two hundred enemies, there had to be an even larger force waiting.
Several hundred meters ahead of the Kumogakure camp, Uchiha Ren stood calmly on the branch of a large tree.
Beside him stood Hyūga Hizashi, head of the Hyūga branch family.
Around them were dozens of Hyūga clan members, each holding a bow with their Byakugan activated.
During the war against Kirigakure, the main combat forces on Konoha's side had been the Uchiha and Hyūga clans.
Under Ren 's command, the two clans had cooperated exceptionally well.
It was Ren 's idea to organize the Hyūga into a specialized archer unit.
In Ren 's eyes, the abilities of the Byakugan—telescopic vision, near-360° field of view, and the ability to see chakra through obstacles—were practically made for long-range combat.
Coupled with the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist, which required extremely precise chakra control, they could infuse chakra into arrows, greatly increasing their power while maintaining perfect accuracy.
In Ren 's opinion, they were essentially natural-born snipers.
Unfortunately, this world didn't have sniper rifles.
So Ren had settled for the next best thing—
Turning the Hyūga into archers.
The only downside was that fully unleashing the Hyūga archers' potential required high-quality bow and arrow materials, which were difficult to mass-produce.
But that problem might soon be solved.
After all, Orochimaru had a subordinate in the future who specialized in archery—Kidōmaru.
If necessary, Ren could likely get Orochimaru to help produce suitable equipment.
So far, however, Ren and Hizashi had only managed to train about one and a half squads of Hyūga archers.
Still, their battlefield performance had been astonishing.
At first, the Hyūga clan members struggled to adapt to this completely different fighting style.
But when Kirigakure ninja started dying without even understanding what had killed them, the Hyūga warriors quickly changed their opinions.
Now many of them slept with their bows in their arms.
This had also cemented Ren 's authority within the Hyūga clan.
Watching Kumogakure ninja collapse one after another during their charge, even Hizashi couldn't help sighing inwardly at Ren 's creativity.
Back in the Kumogakure camp, Dodai quickly analyzed the situation.
They could not remain here any longer.
The enemy archers were far too deadly.
If they stayed put, they would simply be picked off one by one.
They had to break through immediately.
Dodai looked toward Samui and shouted,
"How long until Killer B's seal is broken?!"
Samui's forehead was drenched in sweat as she struggled to maintain the sealing process.
"There are nine seals left…"
"At least five more minutes!"
Dodai's heart sank.
He then glanced toward Yugito.
Earlier he had already asked her about her control over the Two-Tails Matatabi.
While Yugito could use part of Matatabi's power, unleashing a Tailed Beast Bomb required handing control of her body over to the Tailed Beast.
And that was extremely dangerous.
Because although Yugito had managed to ease Matatabi's hostility toward her, she had not resolved Matatabi's hatred toward Kumogakure itself.
Many Tailed Beasts harbored deep resentment toward the villages that had imprisoned them.
From a certain perspective, jinchuriki were victims too.
That was why perfect jinchuriki were so rare.
Making peace between a Tailed Beast and its host was difficult enough.
Making peace between a Tailed Beast and the village that enslaved it was even harder.
If Yugito released control now, there was no guarantee that Matatabi's Tailed Beast Bomb wouldn't target the Kumogakure forces instead of the enemy.
So Dodai had already decided earlier—
The responsibility for breaking through would fall on Killer B, not Yugito.
Dodai took a deep breath and made his decision.
"No choice."
"Leave three squads behind to protect Samui and the sealing team!"
"The rest—follow me!"
If Killer B's seal could not be broken quickly, then their only option was to charge straight into the enemy formation.
Only by engaging the enemy at close range could they force the archers to hold back.
Otherwise they would be slaughtered before even getting close.
"Charge!!"
Dodai took the lead and rushed forward.
Behind him, the Kumogakure shinobi roared and followed.
"Kill them!"
From his vantage point in the trees, Hizashi suddenly spoke.
"Ren … they're charging."
Ren 's expression remained cold.
"That was expected."
"Don't stop firing."
He glanced toward the advancing Kumogakure forces.
"Tell everyone to prepare."
"I want half of them dead before they even reach us."
Hizashi didn't reply.
Instead, he simply gestured to the Hyūga archers.
The bowstrings began to vibrate faster.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Another deadly storm of arrows descended upon the charging Kumogakure shinobi.
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