Chapter 83

Exterminate the village...

When Hui learned the specifics of his mission, he was stunned.

Village of Waves was a small shinobi village, with its most powerful ninja being just an elite Jonin. 

At one point, the village had two other elite Jonin, but they had died in the last Shinobi War. Aside from that lone elite Jonin, Village of Waves had one Jonin, eight elite Chunin, and nineteen Chunin. The remaining members were over three hundred Genin.

In total, the entire population of Village of Waves was barely over four hundred people, most of whom were shinobi. It was a ninja clan-type village that did not accept any civilians.

Hui's First Division still had thirty-two members, including him. 

Hui himself was Kage-level, one was an elite Jonin, six were Jonin, and the rest were elite Chunin. On paper, it wasn't difficult for the First Division to wipe out Village of Waves. Despite the large number of shinobi in Village of Waves, most were low-level Genin with little combat power—a force that was more like cannon fodder.

Additionally, even though Village of Waves had allied itself with Iwagakure and Kumogakure, it wasn't much of a concern for Hui's division. 

The Land of Waves bordered the Land of Fire, but Iwagakure and Kumogakure weren't particularly interested in protecting this territory. The only reason they had agreed to help Village of Waves was to irritate Konoha.

In reality, both Iwagakure and Kumogakure had sent only a token of support to Village of Waves. Each village had dispatched a small squad of shinobi, and these were the type of squads that could retreat at any sign of danger.

In other words, Village of Waves was doomed from the start. Their fate was sealed, and this night, the village would not escape annihilation.

Though the mission seemed straightforward, Hui's heart was heavy.

What did it mean to exterminate a village?

At a minimum, it meant slaughtering over eighty percent of its population and turning the survivors into fleeing refugees who would never dare return to their village. This mission was destined to be filled with bloodshed and killing.

It was the first time Hui had been tasked with something like this.

And he would be the one giving the order.

With a heavy heart, Hui made his way to the Land of Waves. Following the signals left by the First Division, he located their camp and officially took over.

There was no need for Hui to issue any more directives. The First Division had already scouted and mapped out every detail of Village of Waves before his arrival. All that remained for Hui was to set the time for the operation.

That night, the weather was ominous.

Dark clouds blanketed the sky, and lightning flickered across the heavens. Thunder rumbled ominously, and the rain fell in torrents, striking the earth and trees with a deafening roar.

Nearby the Village of Waves, a cave lay hidden in the shadows.

Inside the cave, the dim light of torches flickered on the walls, casting a faint, eerie glow. In the gloom, thirty-one shinobi stood in formation, waiting. They wore white masks and matching uniforms, swords strapped to their backs.

These were the members of Konoha's Anbu—Hui's First Division.

Standing in front of them was a small figure, a boy who seemed no more than eleven or twelve years old.

He was their captain—Konoha's Light, known in other villages as the 'Ghost'.

Tonight was the night, the Village of Waves would be annihilated.

The group of grim reapers stood ready, waiting for the final command.

Inside, Hui's heart was heavy. He loathed this mission. He knew that the decision to betray Konoha had been made by the village's three leaders, and most of the villagers had nothing to do with it.

People from Konoha were human, and so were the people of Village of Waves.

Surely, among the four hundred villagers, there were innocent people.

But...

Hui took a deep breath, pushing down the compassion and hesitation welling up within him. In a cold voice, he gave the order: "Target: Village of Waves. Move out."

"Yes, sir!" the Anbu responded in unison.

…

Thunder roared in the sky, lightning briefly illuminating the world before everything was plunged back into darkness.

Village of Waves was built along the mountainside, with only one road leading into the village.

The village gate sat along this road, flanked by two guard towers, where several Chunin stood watch.

In the past, there hadn't been guard towers. The "only road" into the village applied only to ordinary people. 

For shinobi, there were countless ways to infiltrate Village of Waves. The village lacked protective barriers, and it was far too easy for skilled ninjas to sneak in.

The towers had been erected recently, more out of fear and paranoia of Konoha's retribution than any real defense. Knowing the towers wouldn't provide much protection didn't stop the village from setting them up—it offered a small sense of security, however hollow.

Since the incident involving Hui, the entire village had been on edge, the atmosphere growing more oppressive by the day.

Atop one of the guard towers, a group of Chunin huddled together, talking quietly.

"Captain, do you really think Konoha will come for revenge? It's been two months already. Maybe we're just overthinking things?" one Chunin asked hopefully, longing for some reassurance.

The captain shook his head with a sigh. "From the moment we chose to betray Konoha in the last war, a confrontation became inevitable. There's no avoiding it."

Silence followed his words, the others too anxious to respond.

Finally, another Chunin spoke up: "Captain, do you think if we surrendered and begged for forgiveness, Konoha would spare us?"

When it came to Konoha, no one in Village of Waves had even entertained the thought of resisting. All they could think of was surrender.

After all, Konoha was one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and in the last war, they had defeated four other villages despite being outnumbered. Everyone knew what that meant for their strength.

"I don't know… But I heard our leader reached out to Iwagakure and Kumogakure for help first," the captain replied, though his voice was heavy with doubt. He cursed their village leaders under his breath.

How had someone with such a pig-headed brain managed to rise to the rank of elite Jonin and lead the village? It seemed like they were marching straight into ruin under his command!

If only I were stronger! he thought bitterly, frustration welling up inside him. But in the end, he could only sigh.

That was the reality of the shinobi world. Only the strong could lead.

Suddenly, thunder crashed in the sky, and a flash of lightning briefly lit up the ground below.

"What the—?! Who's there?!" the captain shouted, immediately going on alert as the other guards scrambled into defensive positions, peering down at the road below.

But it was too dark to see anything.

Another bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the road.

That was when they saw him.

A lone figure, standing on the road, small and slight, with a white mask obscuring his face.

The captain's eyes widened in terror as recognition struck him.

"It's… it's the Ghost!!!"

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