Golden Horn and Silver Horn Operation 3

The movements of the Golden Horn and Silver Horn were closely monitored by Konoha's ninja forces. When it became clear that they were heading towards Fumori Masaki, a message was quickly relayed through various channels and ultimately reached Fumori's team, thanks to the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques.

Upon receiving the information, Yamanaka Takuma promptly reported, "Captain Masaki, the Golden and Silver Horns are closing in."

"Good. Keep monitoring them. Report any new developments immediately," Fumori Masaki responded calmly. "Kei, it's up to you now."

"Understood," Hyūga Kei replied. Once the Golden and Silver Horns bypass the other squads, it will be up to him to track their movements using his Byakugan.

Scanning the distance with his Byakugan, Hyūga Kei asked, "Captain, are we heading straight into battle with the Golden and Silver Horns, or should we fall back to the ambush point?"

"We'll engage them briefly to draw them into our trap. Coordinate closely with Takuma," Fumori Masaki instructed, glancing at the rest of his team. "The same goes for all of you."

The team was well-versed in the plan. If they could synchronize their efforts, they should be able to evade the Golden and Silver Horns temporarily while luring them into the ambush.

According to the continuous flow of intelligence from Yamanaka Takuma, fourteen Kumo ninjas accompanied the Golden and Silver Horns. These were undoubtedly Kumo's elite forces. Even though the primary goal was containment, the sheer strength of the enemy put the team under considerable pressure.

Fumori Masaki's hand hovered over the hilt of his concealed blade as he steadied his breathing. The others would handle the Silver Horn and the supporting guards, while Masaki himself would face the formidable Golden Horn. He needed to take him down in one swift move, hoping nothing would go awry.

As the Golden and Silver Horns closed in on their targets, the elite Kumo force demonstrated their prowess in pursuit. The battlefield clues quickly led them to the exact location of Fumori Masaki's team.

Soon after Hyūga Kei detected them, the Golden and Silver Horns spotted their targets as well. With Kumo's sensing techniques aiding them, the brothers exchanged a glance and smirked. They knew Konoha's reconnaissance abilities were superior, and that their approach had likely been detected, but they were undeterred. To them, no trap could stand in the face of absolute power.

As the two sides came into view, the Silver Horn's rage surged upon seeing Fumori Masaki. He had lost an arm in their previous encounter, a loss that haunted him every day. Although he could train to perform one-handed seals, the thought of what he'd lost only fueled his anger further. The sight of Masaki made him burn with the desire for vengeance.

Kinkaku, noticing his brother's fury, immediately unsheathed his blade and signaled to Ginkaku. The Silver Horn responded by channeling chakra into his Bashōsen (Leaf Fan) fan and unleashing a torrent of water, surging toward Masaki's team. The Kumo ninjas nearby immediately followed up with lightning ninjutsu, charging the water with deadly electricity.

Compound ninjutsu, combining multiple elemental attacks, was not a complex concept. Kumo had long since mastered it, though their chakra nature was predominantly lightning-based. While some had developed secondary attributes, they lacked the versatility seen in Konoha. However, with the Silver Horn wielding the Leaf fan, which could manipulate all five chakra natures, they could unleash devastating attacks without concern for elemental limitations.

A massive wave of electrified water crashed toward them. Sarutobi Konosuke quickly responded with Earth Release, raising a wall of earth to intercept the attack. He then followed up with Fire Release, launching flaming projectiles that collided with the water, causing a massive explosion. Amid the chaos, Satomi used Water Release to create an opening, and through the tempest, two figures emerged: Kinkaku and Fumori Masaki.

This was the Golden and Silver Horns' standard tactic—using Silver Horn's leaf fan to initiate a wide-range assault, allowing Kinkaku to close in for the kill. But this time, the strategy played right into Masaki's hands. His hand gripped the hilt of his concealed blade.

Kinkaku, aware of Masaki's famed technique—where a clash of blades would unleash a hurricane—was determined not to fall for the same trick. He planned to carefully observe Masaki's blade and counter the attack with his enhanced speed, ready to drive his sword into Masaki's body.

However, when Masaki loosened the cloth strip covering his back, revealing nothing, Kinkaku hesitated, momentarily thrown off. Realizing the danger, he quickly deduced that the blade must have been hidden somehow. With no time to track its movement, Kinkaku was forced to rely on observing Masaki's wrist, but without the precision of a Sharingan, he couldn't accurately predict the direction of the strike.

Kinkaku attempted to dodge, but he misjudged. A violent gust of wind erupted from Masaki's invisible blade, hurling Kinkaku back. The ferocious wind overwhelmed the surrounding waterfall, temporarily incapacitating the Silver Horn and the others.

Masaki's technique, inspired by a weapon from another world—the "Wind King's Barrier"—encased his blade in wind, bending light to render it invisible. After much practice, Masaki had perfected the use of wind-natured chakra to achieve this effect. However, fully concealing the blade required an immense amount of chakra and precise control, along with careful preparation. Even then, the blade wasn't entirely invisible; its outline remained faintly visible. Masaki had used the cloth strip as a distraction, drawing Kinkaku's focus away just long enough to execute his wind strike.

This time, the force of the wind was even greater than before, blasting Kinkaku away and scattering the waterfall. The Silver Horn and his men were swept up in the ferocious wind.

"Now!" Hyūga Kei and Yamanaka Takuma exchanged a glance. Kei tossed a smoke bomb, and black smoke billowed out, carried by the wind toward the Silver Horn and his forces, obscuring their vision. With his Byakugan, Kei pinpointed Silver Horn's location and directed Takuma, who quickly formed seals.

Ginkaku, realizing it was a gas bomb, quickly covered his mouth and nose. But in that brief moment, his body suddenly moved against his will. With a swing of his Leaf fan, a blazing flame erupted, rapidly expanding in the wind.

Takuma had used his clan's Mind Transfer Technique to momentarily take control of Ginkaku's body. Though the Silver Horn's chakra was too powerful to fully control, a few seconds were enough. Normally, such brief control would be ineffective, but with Ginkaku holding the Leaf fan—a weapon that didn't require hand seals or elemental mastery—Takuma had turned his own power against him.

Within those few seconds, Takuma, using Ginkaku's chakra, unleashed a devastating fire jutsu, which, amplified by the wind, engulfed the Kumo ninjas. Silver Horn expelled Takuma's spirit from his body, regaining control just in time to push the flames back with his own chakra.

Takuma collapsed, blood pouring from his mouth. The strain of the Mind Transfer Technique was immense, especially against such a powerful opponent. Inuzuka Shigeru rushed to his side, supporting him with his ninken. "Run!" Shigeru shouted to the others.

The team quickly fled, with Masaki using the reverse thrust of his wind technique to rejoin them as they raced toward the ambush point.

Though caught off guard, the Silver Horn and his men soon recovered. The powerful chakra of the Nine-Tails erupted, the rising wind forcing the flames back. Kinkaku and Ginkaku stood amidst the dissipating smoke, their bodies cloaked in a translucent red chakra—the first form of tailed beast transformation, allowing them to harness the Nine-Tails' power without losing control.

"Damn brat," Kinkaku growled, his rage at Masaki now tempered by the throbbing pain of his injuries. The wind pressure had caused significant internal damage, but the Nine-Tails' chakra was rapidly healing him.

Ginkaku was equally furious, having almost been incinerated by his own flames due to Takuma's interference. He barked orders at the Kumo ninjas, who, though injured, quickly regrouped. "Get up! We're not done yet!"

The Kumo elites, though battered, responded with determination. None had perished, thanks to their quick reflexes and the timely intervention of Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

"Chase them down!" Kinkaku ordered, his voice filled with venom. He had no intention of letting them escape, driven by a burning desire for vengeance. With the Nine-Tails' chakra coursing through them, their speed and strength were unmatched.

Despite the distance Fumori Masaki and his team had gained, the Golden and Silver Horns were rapidly closing in. Had they not slowed down for their subordinates, they would have already caught up.

"They're fast," Masaki muttered, sensing the brothers' rapid approach. The power of the Nine-Tails' chakra was formidable, but they were nearly at the ambush point. The real battle was about to begin.