Chapter 52

At the same time, above the Lake of Mist, the barrier originally used to divide the battlefield and trap the Mizukage collapsed with a roar.

On the lakeshore, the sounds of explosions caused by the fighting were incessant.

Clearly, the situation on the shore was not optimistic; otherwise, the barrier would not have been unable to be maintained.

This also signaled one thing: it was almost impossible for Yagura Karatachi to wait for support from the Kaguya clan on the shore.

Yagura Karatachi's expression went from surprise to gloom, and from gloom to calm.

Since things had come to this, what was the use of panicking? It would only make people laugh.

"Do you really think you've got me cornered like this?"

Yagura Karatachi said coldly, a sinister smile appearing on his lips once again.

"Hmm?"

Hozuki Mangetsu tilted his head, puzzled, looking at Yagura Karatachi, not understanding where the other party's confidence came from.

"Listen to me, all of you: everything is just a means for the other side to strike at our morale."

"Rock ninja, Mist ninja, it's all complete bullshit."

"The winner is the king, the loser is the bandit."

"Do you think you can escape the Mizukage's reckoning after defecting now?"

"Attack!!"

Yagura Karatachi just gave Hozuki Mangetsu a cold look, his expression indifferent, with no intention of explaining.

Instead, he turned around and shouted at the group of Mist Anbu ninjas behind him.

Although Yagura Karatachi's method was crude, it played a significant role, effectively halting the morale that had been continuously declining.

The Mist Anbu also understood that once Yagura Karatachi fell, they would certainly not have a good end.

So now they could only go all the way to the dark with Yagura Karatachi.

Seeing Yagura Karatachi prepared to put up a desperate fight, Hozuki Mangetsu no longer harbored any illusions.

"Kill!"

With the order given, the armies of thousands of ninjas from both sides clashed together.

Soldier against soldier, general against general, king against king.

Mizukage forces versus Mist Anbu.

Hozuki clan ninjas versus Mist Anbu elites.

Among the Seven Swordsmen.

The Great Sword Samehada, the short sword Kubikiribocho, and the long sword Nuibari fought against the Twin Swords Hiramekarei, the blunt sword Kabutowari, and the blast sword Shibuki.

And the highest level of combat was between Hozuki Mangetsu and Yagura Karatachi.

One was the unfathomable Mist Anbu Commander who had long controlled the Mist Anbu, and the other was the peerless genius now hailed as the "Number One Genius of the Mist," possessing the Second's Hydrification bloodline.

The battle between the two would also influence the trend of the entire war.

On the shore, a fierce battle no less intense than the one in the middle of the lake was also erupting.

On the shore of the Lake of Mist, the phrase "enemies meeting are especially jealous" was extremely appropriate here.

The moment the two sides met, there was no wasted breath; the hot-tempered Kaguya clansmen had already charged forward.

For no other reason than that the opposite side was their sworn enemy—the Yuki!

The grievances between the two clans could even be traced back to before the Hidden Mist Village was established, to the era when the ninja world was still divided by ninja clans.

On the land of the Land of Water, the Yuki and the Kaguya were like the Senju and Uchiha of the Land of Fire.

The two clans fought each other incessantly, even reaching the point of "you die or I die."

Fortunately, later, through the mediation of the First Mizukage, Byakuren, both sides temporarily extinguished their drums and joined the Hidden Mist Village led by Byakuren.

In fact, this was also because the leaders of both sides at the time saw the situation clearly, knowing that "one village, one country" would inevitably become the trend.

If they were a step slow in joining the ninja village, they might be suppressed by their opponents in future struggles within the village.

It was also because of the grievances between the two sides that the position of "Kage" was given to the most suitable neutral person at the time, the First Mizukage, Byakuren.

And facts proved that in terms of scheming and means, the Yuki clan might not be the strongest, but they were indeed three streets ahead of the Kaguya.

Under the efforts of the Yuki, Mizunuki Ryosuke first became the First's guard to accumulate prestige, and then sat in the position of Mist Anbu Commander on the condition of fully supporting the Second's reforms.

Finally, Mizunuki Ryosuke even stepped into the sky and became the Third Mizukage.

Although the process seemed bumpy, by comparison, the Yuki's advantage had completely overwhelmed the Kaguya.

It seemed that apart from being stubborn, the Kaguya clan had no other advantages.

To this day, the hatred between the two sides had not vanished because they were in the same village and both shouldered the name "Mist Ninja."

Instead, it had reached a critical point where the conflict would completely erupt.

Even without Yagura Karatachi's defection, I am afraid that before long, under Mizunuki Ryosuke's targeting, the Kaguya would have to forcibly raise the flag of rebellion.

Back to the present, in terms of basic combat power, the Yuki side had the support of the Jonin squad leader Tian Tian Yuanshi, and a large number of ninjas who originally belonged to the neutral faction were now standing on the Yuki side.

As for the Kaguya side, they were using the Mist Anbu ninjas who had previously maintained the barrier to confront Tian Tian Yuanshi's forces.

Everyone knew that the most critical point was still the confrontation between the sworn enemies, the Yuki and the Kaguya.

Because both sides understood that this battle would be a battle for the fate of their clans, so neither side held anything back.

The Yuki side, under the Mizukage's order, mobilized all the combat-capable members within the clan.

At present, facing the fierce Kaguya clan, especially Kaguya Ichiro who had "Kage"-level strength, in the absence of their clan leader, the Yuki seemed to have fallen into a disadvantage.

But the Yuki were not panicked at all; even without their clan leader, the Yuki clan still had another "pillar of the sea."

—The Great Elder!

The Yuki Great Elder looked like an old man of sixty with white hair and beard, but no one would underestimate him because of his advanced age.

In his youth, the Great Elder was definitely a powerhouse with "Kage"-level combat strength, but due to his increasing age, his combat strength had weakened.

But if it came to a battle with the Kaguya, the Great Elder would definitely risk his old life!

And beside the Great Elder was a young man of about twenty, whose appearance was somewhat similar to the Great Elder's.

Yuki Eiro, the Great Elder's eldest son, and also the older brother of Yuki Mitsuhiko.

He was also a young powerhouse with the title of "Number One Genius of the Yuki."

Within the Yuki clan, there were already voices designating Yuki Eiro as the next clan leader.

"Eiro, let us father and son join forces to meet this Clan Leader Ichiro!"