Chapter 61: The Crow That Only Used One Move
Uchiha Shisui's nervousness really wasn't contagious. The little ninja he wanted to entrust the future to blankly raised his head, watching the crow fly higher and higher from the branches.
It wasn't flying fast, but with every bit of altitude it gained, its body became larger and larger... This stemmed from an overabundance of sage art chakra, causing an increase in the beast's body size.
Kitahara wasn't quite used to this size. Its wings vibrated slightly, fanning up a small hurricane... The surrounding Mist ninjas watched in astonishment as the crow's body blotted out the sun and sky...
"Kitahara can actually grow this big!" Uchiha Shisui's expression gradually improved, "We don't have to get entangled with this group of Mist ninjas; we can ride Kitahara and leave this place!"
"..."
Uchiha Itachi gave Shisui a strange look, wanting to say something but holding back.
How could Shisui think of that? Even Teacher Jiraiya wouldn't dare suggest such a thing!
A black feather shot down from the sky at high speed! It was so fast that people could even hear the sound of the air being split...
Shisui quickly activated his Sharingan and swung his short sword to block!
Clang!
The hard short sword was severed the moment it made contact. Shisui stared blankly at the black feather embedded in the ground.
Uchiha Itachi, seeing this scene, was surprisingly reminded of Teacher Jiraiya during the battle with Orochimaru. However, with the Mist ninjas already rushing to surround them, it was better to stop the crow from throwing a tantrum...
"Kitahara! Don't accidentally hurt Shisui! He just said it unintentionally, he didn't really mean to do it!"
Uchiha Itachi stood in front of his dear friend, shouting at the giant crow in the sky, drawing the attention of the crowd.
"Caw..."
The crow's deep caw entered people's ears, causing many to feel uncomfortable... What an unpleasant sound!
Kisame Hoshigaki didn't dare to act rashly, only asking Itachi in a low voice, "Hey, what is it trying to do?"
"Maybe, it wants to use Teacher Jiraiya's technique!" Uchiha Itachi thought for a moment, the old man's greasy words still ringing in his ears.
"Itachi, I see your hair is very smooth. I can't help but want to teach you the Needle Jizo technique; it would definitely suit your temperament!"
"There's also another Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon, but your hair feels too good. It's too much of a waste to use it to perform Hair Needle Senbon!"
Uchiha Itachi had never used that Needle Jizo technique because Kitahara called that ninjutsu the "hair growth technique."
As for the other Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon, perhaps it required the Mount Myoboku method of releasing sage art chakra, so Teacher Jiraiya couldn't teach it... Besides, Itachi wasn't interested in learning it.
But Kitahara had actually developed that ninjutsu on its own. As for its power, they should be seeing it very soon, right?
"Caw!"
The crow's call echoed between heaven and earth... This cry was like a signal. Countless black feathers suddenly shot down from the sky!
That was the true Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon!
The feather hidden weapons were as dense as a rainstorm! The entire ground was covered within their range!
The Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon released by Kitahara far surpassed Jiraiya's in both power and coverage.
After all, Jiraiya only had one head of white hair, while the crow was covered in feathers...
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
This group of Mist ninjas each used ninjutsu to block the rainstorm of feather-like hidden weapons. Some ninjas were even assisting the medical ninjas, looking quite organized. They should be the elite of the Hidden Mist Village.
Painful cries rose one after another. The protective ninjutsu of ninjas were constantly pierced, their bodies densely riddled with the crow's feathers, and blood stained the ground red...
In the center of this falling rainstorm of hidden weapons, it was as calm as a pavilion on a rainy day, without a single feather landing.
"This is too cruel..."
"How could... This is a massacre!"
The captives from the Cipher Division whispered among themselves, the fear on their faces unable to be wiped away... They had opinions, but they didn't dare to voice them.
They could only watch helplessly as the ninjas sent from their village to rescue them died in front of their eyes. This feeling was very hard to bear.
And if they weren't captives or had just escaped, the miserable, dead Mist ninjas outside would have been their fate.
After Kitahara finished releasing the Hair Needle Senbon technique, not a single one of the hundred-plus Mist ninjas survived. Some Mist ninjas' bodies were curled up, riddled with hard feathers, looking like giant hedgehogs.
How can such a monster exist?
Kisame Hoshigaki's expression grew increasingly stiff, the侥幸 (jiǎoxìng - lucky chance/fluke) in his heart gradually sinking. What could he do now?
Even if he risked his life to complete the mission, he might not have time to finish off all the Cipher Division members before being shot into a sieve...
He could only obediently continue to be a captive...
"No wonder those two Konoha brats so diligently took care of a crow..." Kisame lamented. If it were him, he would definitely be more diligent than those two brats!
No matter who it was, they couldn't possibly have imagined it, right?
The crow that lived more like a pet than a summoned beast was this Konoha squad's hidden killing move.
If the ninjutsu that crow just released appeared on a battlefield, it could be called a catastrophic disaster for its enemies.
The Hidden Mist Village's infiltration into the Land of Fire this time could already be declared a failure after this support force was wiped out.
As for their commander, Ao, that guy definitely saw this power from afar and fled!
The Byakugan in his eye socket, obtained from the Shinobi World War, was more important than this hundred-strong ninja force. That was the only Byakugan in the entire ninja world that had fallen into outside hands.
Seeing that there were no more enemies around, Uchiha Itachi reached out and shook the dazed Shisui awake, his small face tight, "Shisui, the things you just said, can you tell me everything after we get back to the village?"
"...Oh oh, I can."
After Shisui came to his senses, he jumped down from the large tree and checked the Mist ninjas one by one for survivors... This was just a habitual routine check; Shisui himself didn't think anyone could have survived.
Uchiha Itachi opened his arms and hugged the crow, which had shrunk back to its smaller size, "Kitahara, well done!"
The captives looked around... Killing so many ninjas with one move only earned a "well done"?
"It's so good that Shisui is safe. I thought you would accidentally hurt him!"
Uchiha Itachi affectionately nuzzled the crow's feathers. After all, Teacher Jiraiya's injuries last time were really not light.
The crow glared at its own cub, "Caw?"
"Alright, alright, you're not that petty!" Uchiha Itachi quickly soothed its minor emotions.
In his view, Kitahara's temper was actually very good. Not to mention the children in the village who had once thrown stones at it, just think of the foolish younger brother at home who often argued with Kitahara...
...He was still alive and well to this day.
Occasionally, the crow also liked to play pranks on others, like Teacher Jiraiya... It was just that its pranks were something people couldn't bear!
"Are you hungry? I'll go discuss changing camp with Shisui first, then help you make breakfast, okay?" Uchiha Itachi put down the crow and leaped towards Shisui in the distance.
Kitahara lightly flew up, landed on the ground, its crimson eyes lit up, sizing up Kisame Hoshigaki with great interest.
The shark-faced youth felt a bit of pressure, "..."
(End of this chapter)