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"Pat, pat"...
Urgent footsteps echoed in the distant forest.
Jiraiya and Tsunade's expressions tensed as they looked towards the source of the sound.
When they saw who it was, they relaxed and greeted, "Oh, it's you, Fuji and Toya."
The newcomers were indeed Inuzuka Fuji and Aburame Toya, who had rushed to this location.
Both of them were delighted to see Jiraiya and Tsunade, and Inuzuka Fuji happily said, "We just caught your scent, and Toya and I hurried over here."
"Jiraiya, what were you up to? Why are you all wet?" Fuji asked curiously.
Jiraiya naturally answered, "Nothing, just came back from a small mission. And you two? Why are you here so late?"
Tsunade also asked with curiosity, "Yeah, we heard from the people who arrived earlier that you two found something unusual at the border."
Hearing Tsunade's question, Inuzuka Fuji and Aburame Toya's expressions changed slightly.
They glanced at each other before looking at Tsunade and Jiraiya with a serious tone, "Indeed, we did find some important information!"
Toya said solemnly, "At the border, Fuji and I found some dead Konoha ninjas!"
Hearing this, both Jiraiya and Tsunade's faces changed, and they asked, "Konoha ninjas? Did Amegakure do it? Are they the ones stationed at the border?"
Aburame Toya pondered for a moment and said, "Actually... they didn't have the Konoha ninja symbol on them, but their attire doesn't seem to match other villages' ninjas. And... judging from the signs of the battle around them, it's highly likely that they were Konoha ninjas."
Hearing her words, Tsunade frowned, "No symbol? Could it be ANBU?"
Inuzuka Fuji smiled bitterly, "We are familiar with ANBU, so it's definitely not them. Their outfit is completely different, and... their deaths were extremely tragic."
"We rushed here to join you because we were worried about these unknown people. We collected some belongings from the deceased, hoping that the ninjas at the base could identify their identities."
Upon hearing this, the others nodded one by one, and they quickly entered the base.
.....
At this point, the war between Konoha and Amegakure had come to the forefront.
Both sides were no longer hiding.
With the support of daimyo and numerous nobles, the Land of Fire had cut off the supplies to the Land of Rain, dealing a severe blow to Amegakure.
However, Amegakure took advantage of the situation and drew the Land of Wind into the conflict.
Though the Suna and Konoha were still in a tense situation, it was easy to imagine that if Konoha showed any signs of weakness against Amegakure, Suna would immediately intervene!
Iwagakure was also watching closely from the sidelines!
As a result, Konoha could not easily engage in large-scale warfare with Amegakure!
Firstly, because Amegakure had a small and unfavorable geographical location, a full-scale war would not necessarily favor Konoha!
Secondly, because of the lurking Suna and Iwagakure.
So Konoha had to engage in small-scale, attritional battles with Amegakure.
This was also in line with Amegakure's expectations.
After all, the strength of Amegakure's ninjas lay in assassinations, and with the right conditions, they could hold their own against Konoha.
Under the gloomy sky, in a lowland, a fierce battle was taking place.
"Pat, pat"...
The sound of rapid running echoed.
Several ninjas clashed with each other!
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...
Their shurikens and kunai intersected, creating sparks as they collided!
Sparks flew everywhere!
Meanwhile, a Rain Ninja from the rear saw that his companions and the Konoha ninjas were mutually restrained.
With a cold look in his eyes, he quickly formed hand seals and exclaimed, "Suiton: Ame Ryudachi!"
Under his control, the accumulated water on the ground suddenly transformed into sharp raindrops and shot towards the fighting Konoha ninjas!
"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"...
The sound of air being sliced was piercing!
The Konoha ninjas in the midst of the battle tightened their gazes.
They were held back by the enemy's ninjas and couldn't break free to release their techniques!
As they glared fiercely, ready to fight to the death against their opponents, a somewhat hoarse voice suddenly echoed on the battlefield.
"Doton: Dorōgaeri!"
"Boom!"
A wall of earth abruptly rose from the ground, blocking the incoming barrage of water needles!
At this moment, Orochimaru appeared on the scene!
The Konoha ninjas were pleasantly surprised to see him.
"Orochimaru!"
"Keep them occupied for a while longer. I'll deal with that person!" Orochimaru said in a deep voice before rushing forward.
The Rain Ninja on the opposite side saw that his jutsu failed and his expression darkened. He looked intently at Orochimaru, who had disrupted his plans.
A mere young ninja dares to charge at me! He's looking for death!
He quickly formed hand seals.
Then, he suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a large volume of water, surging towards Orochimaru!
Facing such a massive wave of water, Orochimaru's eyes turned cold. He quickly formed hand seals.
"Doton: Doryūheki!"
With a rumbling sound, several walls of earth rose from the ground, blocking the water wave infused with chakra!
At the same time, Orochimaru reached the Rain Ninja!
The Rain Ninja's eyes grew cold, and he pulled a kunai from his waist, rushing towards Orochimaru!
But Orochimaru was equally unyielding!
"Bang!"
The two kunai collided with each other, sparks flying!
Suddenly, in the eyes of the Rain Ninja, several colorful snakes shot out from Orochimaru's sleeve, opening their huge mouths and biting at him!
"Sen'eijashu!"
"Hiss!" "Hiss!"
"Ah! Damn it!"
The Rain Ninja yelled, quickly separating himself from Orochimaru!
But it was too late!
The snake's venom had already injected into his body!
Soon, he felt numbness spreading through his body, losing control of his movements, and fell to the ground, twitching.
His expression was filled with despair, and his body was paralyzed, unable to move, only twitching.
Orochimaru looked at this scene with a somewhat complex gaze.
Then his eyes turned cold as he looked back at the Rain Ninja still fighting with the Konoha ninjas.
....
Toya and the others arrived at the Konoha base.
Inside, they were processing intelligence from various battlefields, and the ninja were rushing back and forth, looking very busy.
Soon, Toya and the others met the person in charge of the base, Mitarashi Kurama.
After telling the detailed what they had seen at the border.
Maruuma's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and after thinking for a while, he asked Fuji and Toya, "Did you collect any information about the bodies?"
Hearing this, Fuji and Toya glanced at each other and took out some items from the bodies that they had put in their ninja pouches.
Seeing these items, Maruuma's eyes narrowed.
Indeed... it's Root. Who would dare to massacre Root members...
Could it be Amegakure? No... Amegakure wouldn't have gone there!
Or could it be ninjas from other villages...? Things are getting more complicated... Regardless, we must quickly report this to the village!
He looked at Fuji and the others and said solemnly, "You've done well! This is indeed crucial intelligence. I will report it to the village as soon as possible. You don't need to get involved in this matter any further."
Upon hearing his words, Toya and the others looked grave.
Is this what war is like... full of conspiracies and unknowns... not knowing when one will die...
It's truly terrifying...