The Land of Waterfall :

The Land of Waterfall was a country filled with mountains, rivers and waterfalls. Due to the same reason, it also had various valleys which added to the beautiful scenery of the country.

In one such unnamed valley was a secret base. 12 ninjas were busy staring at a map and making plans. All 12 ninjas had hidden their faces using demon-faced masks.

After some time, a ninja pointed at a spot on the map and said, "Captain, according to our information, Lord Ito Yuya and his entourage have already crossed the border. They will cross this bridge in around 2 hours."

The captain nodded. He didn't make any decision. A ninja standing next to him said in a soft voice, "Yes, but he is guarded by Hara Yuto. Even with us twelve acting together, defeating him will be difficult. He is an expert at Water Release. He could defend the Noble Yuya and counterattack at the same time."

The captain nodded grimly and said, "Yuto was away on a secret mission for a long time. I didn't expect him to return along with Yuya. It complicates our situation."

Suddenly, a snort was heard. The twelve ninjas looked towards the source of the sound. Two more masked ninjas were sitting in the cave as well. One was wearing an elephant mask while the other was wearing a red ape mask.

The ape-masked ninja scolded, "What are you afraid of with us here? Do your attack as planned. We will sneak attack Hara Yuto and kill him. Even if he is an expert in Water Release, it is weak against our Earth Release. The mission will go as planned."

The captain looked at him and nodded, "With your assurance, I can rest assured."

He looked at his subordinates and said with determination in his voice, "Our Kawaguchi family has been suppressed by the Ito family for far too long! Today, with the aid of our friend from Iwagakure, we will eliminate their successor and their strongest guardian! With this first step, our family will rise up steadily and take control of the northwestern area of our country!"

His words sent a wave of excitement through his subordinates. They all shouted in excitement, "Yes Captain!"

The Anbu from Iwa saw their excitement and sniggered secretly. They thought, 'What fools! Getting excited about ruling just one small part of this small rural country.'

However, they didn't say anything. Their orders were to slowly expand Iwagakure's influence in Takigakure. If they succeed, then in the next war, Iwagakure could attack the Land of Fire through 3 countries without having to face much resistance. It would force Konoha's forces to spread too thin. After all, Konoha's location meant that it would have to defend against all four major villages.

The captain began laying out the plans. He set a few pieces on the map and said, "We will set up our ambush just away from this bridge. This place doesn't have any water bodies close by, so Yuto's water manipulation will be restricted.

After we kill them, we will burn their bodies and dump them close to the Land of Fire. We will plant some pieces of evidence that they were attacked by Konoha who retreated after killing them. This way, no suspicion will be cast upon us and Lord Daimyo will restrict the country's dealings with the Land of Fire."

Everyone nodded. The Anbu ninjas from Iwagakure were also satisfied with the plan. The Captain looked at their satisfaction and sighed in relief. Though their family had ambitions, they definitely didn't have the power to Lord over one region. It was only due to the support from Iwagakure that they had the guts to make such a plan. So he had to ensure that the Iwa Anbu were satisfied.

With the preparations made, they set off immediately. They moved out of the valley and moved rapidly and stealthily on top of the trees. Within 5 minutes, they reached close to the spot where they were planning to set an ambush. Suddenly, one of the Iwagakure Anbu shouted, "Lookout!"

His shout alerted everyone. However, even before they could raise their guard, they saw air bullets ripping through the trees to their right and coming straight at them. Their eyes widened. The bullets were too close to move away.

One ninja was too close to the air bullets. Even before he could see them, an air bullet pierced through his head and he dropped dead!

The others watched the Air bullets and reacted however they could. Some bent forward for the bullets to pass from above while some gathered chakra in their feet and stamped their legs on the ground to stop themselves and saw the bullets pass in front of their eyes. However, some air bullets still pierced through the limbs of a couple of ninjas.

The Iwagakure ninjas frowned. Their plan was perfect. They didn't expect to be ambushed. Immediately, all the remaining 11 Takigakure ninjas and 2 Iwagakure Anbu looked angrily at the spot from where Air Bullets were fired at them. However, they couldn't sense anyone.

Suddenly, the Bear-masked Iwa Anbu slammed his hands on the ground.

'Earth Release: Earth Dome jutsu'

An Earth Dome appeared from the ground and began surrounding all of them. The Takigakure ninjas watched with eyes widened as they saw a strong windstorm coming at them from the opposite direction. Luckily, the Earth Dome was formed in time.

The strong wind currents hit the dome and caused tremors to pass through the dome. Dust began falling inside the dome due to those tremors. However, the dome didn't collapse.

Sweat formed behind the masks of Takigakure ninjas. The captain gulped and said, "Luckily you noticed the attack."

However, the Iwagakure Anbu ninjas were still frowning. The Ape-masked Anbu said, "Be careful. I can't sense the attacker. He could be very stro…"

Suddenly, his body moved out of the way instinctively. A hole appeared in the dome and a very strong bullet made of wind pierced into the dome. The bullet hit the side of his jacket and left a cut along the sides of his abdomen. At the same time, 9 more Vacuum Bullets pierced into the Earth Dome.

Unlike the war-hardened Iwagakure Anbu, the ninjas from Takigakure didn't have the same survival instincts. Five Vaccum Bullets pierced through the vital organs of the Takigakure ninjas. The remaining bullets could only leave some cuts on the bodies of the remaining ninjas.

The Takigakure ninjas were horrified and left tongue-tied! The Captain's heart ached as he saw the dead ninjas and thought, 'We worked so hard to raise them to chunin level. The family spent countless resources on them. But in less than a minute, more than half of them are dead?'

Fear could be seen on his face. The Iwagakure Anbu noticed their emotions and frowned. At the same time, they were on guard due to how brutal and efficient their opponent was. The elephant-masked Iwa Anbu once again slammed his hands on the ground while thinking, 'We can't stay hidden here if the Dome can't protect us. We will just be sitting ducks.'

Small spikes began appearing on the surface of the Earth Dome. The spikes were launched in all directions as the Earth Dome collapsed. The spikes buried themselves in the trees but didn't hit their attacker. They watched with frowns on their face as they still couldn't find who attacked them.

The ape-masked Anbu instructed, "Keep an eye in all directions. I will find that bastard."

He weaved hand signs and slammed his hands on the ground.

'Earth Release: Earth Sensing jutsu'

A vibration was sent through the ground. Every animal who was in a 1.5-kilometer radius felt the Vibration passing under their feet. They quickly began running away from the point of impact.

Despite the large scale of vibration, the Anbu still didn't sense anyone. A frown formed on his face. He snorted and put more chakra into the ground. The vibrations intensified. The Takigakure ninjas could feel the ground shaking under their feet.

The vibrations were so strong that they even travelled up the tree trunks! On one such tree, the vibrations were felt under the feet of a masked ninja hiding there. A smile formed behind the mask of the ape-masked Anbu as he muttered, "Got him!"

At the next moment, giant spears formed under the tree and launched at the ninja hiding on it. However, the ninja immediately flickered away. But since the Iwa ninjas had already sensed him, they didn't allow him to disappear from their sight once again.

They, along with the Takigakure ninjas, gave chase. The attacker noticed it and sighed, 'Looks like I can't sneak attack anymore.'

He looked towards the ninjas chasing him and launched a couple of dozen air bullets. The Iwa and Taki ninjas saw the attack and dodged it with ease. Due to the distance between them and since they knew the attack was coming, it was much easier to dodge.

However, using that short moment of distraction, the ninja disappeared once again. The Ape-Masked ninja frowned and quickly began feeling the vibrations under his feet. Suddenly, he turned around and shouted, "Behind us!"

All the ninjas quickly turned around. To their surprise, the attacker was very close. The Taki ninja who was the farthest in the back watched the attacker swing his sword at him. The scenes of his comrades falling dead ran through his brain. In a rage, he grabbed his kunai and swing it at the attacker's sword and yelled, "DIE".

At the same time, the others grabbed their kunai to attack him. They planned to kill him when he was blocked. However, they watched with widened eyes as the sword cut through the kunai as if it was air. The sword beheaded the 7th Taki ninja!

The eyes of the remaining 5 Taki ninjas went red in rage. They tried to attack, but the attacker flickered on a branch behind him.

The Iwa Anbu finally got a good look at the ninja. The attacker was a well-built young ninja who was wearing a Hawk mask. In addition, he had two swords hanging on the right side of his waist. And the sword sheaths on both those swords were very exquisite! Swirling designs were etched into its glossy black lacquer. They immediately recognized him and their expressions became grim behind their masks.

The Taki ninjas were enraged. They were about to attack when the Elephant-masked Anbu said in a grim voice, "It is the Spectral Swordsman!"

The Taki ninjas suddenly stopped. Their expressions became grim. Horror could be seen in their eyes! They watched their attacker as if he was the Grimreaper himself!

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