Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 155 Encirclement and Suppression

As time passed, ninjas emerged from all around in an endless stream, their numbers exceeding 1000.

Almost every ninja village dispatched personnel, sending their own ninjas to this location; even small island nations mobilized some ninjas to bolster their ranks. The main force undoubtedly consisted of the ninjas from the four major ninja villages—not only were they numerous, but the powerful aura emanating from them clearly indicated they were the elite of their respective villages. The most impressive of all was undoubtedly the Cloud Village: they not only gathered a large number of elite ninjas, but their numbers reached nearly five hundred! Thus, the Cloud Village naturally became the most formidable force among all the ninjas present.

At this moment, ninjas from all the major factions are maintaining high vigilance against other villages, especially those targeting the Cloud Village. Tensions are high and undercurrents are running high. The Cloud Village's forces are formidable; if they don't unite against the enemy, a slight misstep could allow the Cloud Village to seize the opportunity and annihilate them. After all, the Cloud Village has always been known for its strength throughout the ninja world.

A strange silence suddenly fell over the scene, as if time itself had frozen. The ninjas from the various villages each harbored their own secrets, wanting to take advantage of the chaos, but dared not act rashly. They could only quietly observe the surrounding movements, waiting for the other ninja villages to make the first move.

However, most of the ninjas present shared the same thought. After all, no one wanted to be the first to confront a powerful and unfathomable enemy like Hyuga Kanan. Not only that, they also had to be constantly wary of ambushes and sneak attacks from other ninja villages; a single misstep could lead to utter destruction.

The notoriously hot-tempered and fiercely independent Cloud Village could no longer tolerate the suffocating atmosphere. Relying on their overwhelming advantage, they were unwilling to share the spoils of victory with the other ninja villages. However, at this moment, all the ninja present were clearly unwilling to easily relinquish this rare opportunity. Therefore, they spontaneously united, forming a powerful force that subtly threatened to rival the Cloud Village, preventing the Cloud Village from rashly attacking the smaller village's ninjas for fear of provoking widespread anger.

From the Cloud Ninja ranks, a burly man with dark skin stepped forward and walked straight to the group of ninjas. After stopping, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Listen up, everyone! This is the guy who attacked our Cloud Ninja Village before. He's been on the run until now, and we've finally caught up with him. If you know what's good for you, get out of the way and don't get in our way of capturing this enemy prisoner!"

"Hehehe!" The tall young ninja from Iwagakure sneered a few times, his face full of disdain. "We're just here to watch the show, how could we interfere with your village's capture operation? You can go ahead and do it with peace of mind!" After saying that, he didn't forget to cast a few mocking glances at the Cloud Ninja.

"Yes, yes! We promise we won't interfere. Please start the operation immediately!" The other ninjas chimed in. They secretly hoped that the Cloud Ninja would quickly launch a pursuit so they could take advantage of the chaos and make some money.

Seeing the ninjas from other villages mocking them, the burly man's face instantly darkened, as oppressive as the calm before a storm. He clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with chilling killing intent. Under normal circumstances, faced with such provocation, he probably would have already been unable to suppress his anger and rushed forward to engage in a life-or-death battle with them.

However, at this moment, he knew he bore a crucial mission—to capture Hyuga Kanan, who stood in the center. Moreover, the ninjas from other villages, eyeing them covetously, clearly wouldn't let the Cloud Ninja succeed easily, and might launch a surprise attack at any time. Under these circumstances, any rash action could bring annihilation to the entire team.

Trapped within the encirclement, Hyuga Kanan stood up, head held high, and surveyed his surroundings. His sharp gaze seemed to pierce through the crowd, discerning the movements of every enemy. Then, he used his powerful spiritual sense to probe into the distance, and after a moment confirmed that all ninjas within a fifty-kilometer radius had arrived.

Having assessed the situation, Hyuga Kanan no longer hesitated and decided to strike decisively, wiping out these troublesome fellows in one fell swoop. He took a deep breath, and his aura suddenly exploded, an invisible pressure spreading outwards like a tidal wave. The previously noisy scene instantly fell silent, everyone feeling the power contained within this terrifying aura.

The numerous ninjas, who had been wary and eyeing each other covetously, suddenly realized as if waking from a dream—the enemy they were facing was not just these "minor characters"! This mysterious and powerful figure who had suddenly appeared was the truly terrifying existence!

If they continue to fight each other, distrust each other, and even hinder and scheme against each other as before, then there will probably only be one outcome... that is, they will all become lambs to the slaughter in the hands of this mysterious and powerful enemy, at his mercy, without any power to fight back!

Even the battle-hardened, burly, and incredibly powerful Cloud Ninja, who was as strong and imposing as a bear, couldn't help but feel an unprecedented pressure and fear at this moment, causing him to tremble all over and feel secretly relieved and apprehensive...

Only now did this burly Cloud Ninja understand why the Raikage, despite personally leading the attack, had failed to capture the man and allowed him to escape. Furthermore, the Raikage had specifically instructed him to lead all available support teams in a full-scale, all-out effort to have any chance of completing the mission…

So that's how it is... The person before us is clearly no ordinary person. With their current manpower and troops, they have absolutely no chance of winning. Only by concentrating all their strength, working together with one heart and one mind, can they hope to defeat this person and capture him in one fell swoop!

Upon realizing this, the Cloud Ninja leader knew that the most urgent task was to find a way to get every ninja present to temporarily put aside their prejudices and suspicions, abandon all distractions, and wholeheartedly devote themselves to the battle. Only in this way could they have a chance of survival; otherwise, they would all die without a burial place!

Then the burly Yunren suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Now you've all felt how powerful the enemy is. We should take them down together first, and then discuss the spoils. Do you agree?"

After careful consideration, the ninja leaders present expressed their strong agreement with this viewpoint. The current situation forced them to set aside their animosity; if there was still a glimmer of hope of defeating the enemy, it was only possible to temporarily set aside their differences and work together. Other matters could be dealt with after successfully defeating their opponents.

After carefully surveying his surroundings with his divine sense, Hyuga Kanan noticed that White Zetsu were quietly lying in ambush on the outer perimeter. Clearly, they too had arrived after receiving news that had spread throughout the ninja world, attempting to gather more detailed intelligence. Therefore, Hyuga Kanan knew he absolutely could not easily reveal any of his other elemental powers besides Wood Release, lest he arouse the suspicion and apprehension of those behind the scenes.

The current environment was ideal for using Wood Release techniques. Not only would it benefit his practice and understanding of the power of the wood element, but it would also allow him to drive away the White Zetsu hiding in the bushes, preventing them from approaching. At the same time, he could also eliminate the weaker ordinary ninjas in the area. It was truly killing three birds with one stone! With this in mind, Hyuga Kanan had already made up his mind.

"The Tree Realm is born!" With a roar, his hands clasped together with lightning speed, and the surging energy within him erupted like a volcano. The surrounding trees seemed to be summoned by a mysterious power, and driven by the power of the wood element, they began to grow wildly at an astonishing rate.

These trees seemed to have been given life, greedily absorbing the nutrients and energy from their surroundings, growing ever thicker and taller. They intertwined, forming a dense, impenetrable forest that tightly enveloped all the ninjas present. Every branch was brimming with power, as if it could tear the entire world apart.

The solid stone wall that had trapped Hyuga Kanan proved utterly ineffective against this powerful force of nature, instantly torn apart by the growing tree trunk. The surrounding ninjas were terrified, feeling unprecedented pressure in the face of such a massive and ferocious Wood Release technique.

Countless enormous tree trunks, like ferocious beasts, charged towards Hyuga Kanan and his companions with unparalleled momentum. The ninjas panicked, unleashing their most powerful ninjutsu in an attempt to withstand the onslaught. Fire Release, Earth Release, Water Release… a dazzling array of techniques blossomed within the wildly growing forest, but they could only slightly slow the trees' advance, failing to completely breach this solid barrier formed by the trees.

In this thrilling battle, the power of nature was fully displayed, allowing people to deeply appreciate its boundless power and irresistibility.

In just a few minutes, more than 80% of the original thousand-strong ninja force was killed, leaving only a few highly skilled elite ninjas who managed to defend against the attack.

The attack was far more effective than Hyuga Kanan had anticipated. He had only intended to eliminate some minor enemies to ease the pressure of the battle ahead, as too many ninjas attacking indiscriminately would pose a threat and disrupt his attack rhythm.

Hyuga Kanan didn't linger either, his figure flashing rapidly towards the remaining ninjas, preparing to eliminate them as quickly as possible. Before the White Zetsu could close in again, he seized the opportunity to retreat.