Two days earlier, on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning~
"You can return to Konoha now. The Root will take over from here; your hunting squad's mission is over."
Danzo stood there with a stern face, glaring at the group of Uchiha in front of him. A hunting squad? It was clearly the Uchiha clan's private army!
"We haven't received any orders from Commander Fuma."
Fugaku's newly evolved three-tomoe Sharingan glowed with a crimson hue as he stared at Danzo.
Danzo's face grew even darker, but he forced a thin smile and handed over a document, saying, "The village has other plans for your hunting squad. The Police Force is urgently needed in the village right now."
With that, he took out a handwritten note from the Third Hokage and handed it to Fugaku.
Fugaku carefully examined the Hokage's seal, nodded, and led the hunting squad back toward Konoha.
Danzo watched the Uchihas retreat with a dark expression, feeling deeply dissatisfied. He cursed silently:
"As Hokage's advisor, I still can't command these Uchihas. I even had to forge Hiruzen's handwriting. Ridiculous!"
Danzo watched the departing figures of the Uchihas, then coldly ordered his Root operatives, "Loosen the leash on the Cloud Village's Jinchuriki. Guide her towards the Sand Village battlefield."
This order was a classic example of a reckless command.
But in the Root, Danzo's authority was absolute. Most of the ninjas in the Root prioritized his orders even over those of the Third Hokage.
Danzo stood there, contemplating the situation of the war and the Uchiha clan.
He was a man who had witnessed great upheavals, experienced the might of the tailed beasts, and felt the overwhelming power of Hashirama Senju.
He had his own standards for evaluating Fuma's current strength.
Danzo believed that Fuma undoubtedly had the ability to counter Shukaku. However, if faced with two tailed beasts at once, Fuma's chances of survival would be slim; at best, he would be severely injured.
A sinister smile curled at the corner of Danzo's mouth as he calculated in his mind:
"The Uchiha clan's talent is indeed exceptional, but if they cannot be used for the village, they will bring even greater disaster. This hidden threat must be eliminated."
What Danzo didn't expect, however, was that this action of his would directly affect the future course of the entire ninja world.
Perhaps even at the moment of his death, Danzo would never have realized that this conspiracy was the beginning of Konoha's rapid downfall.
After all, self-reflection was not in his nature.
......
"Minato, the Sand ninjas pursuing us have disappeared, but I sense a powerful chakra approaching us!"
"And also, Teacher Fuma's bloodlust disappeared again a few hours ago and hasn't reappeared yet!"
Kushina sat cross-legged on the ground, using the still unfamiliar "Kagura's Mind Eye" to sense the chakra nearby.
Minato squinted his eyes, pondering their next move, "If there's a strong chakra presence heading our way, this place is no longer safe."
"Let's head towards the Land of Rain. Knowing Brother Fuma, he's likely there as well."
Seeing Nawaki's puzzled expression, Minato sighed softly and explained in a low voice, "When Brother Fuma's bloodlust disappears, it means he's killed someone again. He's always like this."
"Once he defeats the enemy, he'll definitely go to support Sister Tsunade, so the Rain Village battlefield is actually the safest place."
Nawaki scratched his head, still a bit confused, and asked, "But didn't Teacher Fuma tell us to find our own opponents? We haven't even had a real fight yet!"
In recent days, Minato, Kushina, and Nawaki had made significant gains, though Minato's tactics often left Nawaki surprised.
After eliminating two teams of Sand ninja reconnaissance squads, Ebizo had sent Rasa, Pakura, and the remaining Sand ninja intelligence squads to hunt down Minato and his team, hoping to erase Konoha's talented young ninjas.
Minato, however, had handled the pursuit brilliantly, first using Kushina's exceptional sensory abilities to lead the Sand ninjas in circles.
Once the Sand ninjas were exhausted, he used Nawaki's large stock of explosive tags, teleporting them with the Flying Thunder God Technique to bomb the enemy.
Minato had mastered the essence of guerrilla warfare; whenever the Sand ninjas' chakra stabilized and they were at rest, he would swoop in, scatter a handful of explosive tags, and then retreat.
The Sand ninjas were driven to despair by this unorthodox fighting style, something they had never encountered before.
In truth, this was a combination of talent and financial resources, and the results were astonishing.
The Sand ninjas had been whittled down by Minato's tactics, leaving only Rasa, Pakura, and a few others struggling to hold on, while the tide had turned, with Minato's team now hunting them.
Nawaki sighed and said, "But can we really improve ourselves with this kind of combat? I feel like all we're doing is spending Sister's money on explosive tags."
Minato patted Nawaki on the shoulder, reassuring him, "You've already become skilled at recognizing various explosive tag traps, and that's progress. Remember, you were the one who spotted the traps set by the Sand ninjas in the last few encounters, right?"
A look of delight appeared on Nawaki's face. He was easily pleased, and he happily said, "Really? Then I'll follow your plan, Minato-kun!"
After reading Hanzo the Salamander's works, Nawaki had gained considerable knowledge about the traps in the ninja world and had reached a level where he could spot most ambushes at a glance.
For example, if there was an explosive tag hidden in a stack of papers, Nawaki could detect the faint scent of gunpowder.
......
Within the Land of Fire~
The Cloud Village's Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yunito, was swiftly moving through the forest, heading towards Shukaku's location.
A few days ago, Konoha's Uchiha forces had inexplicably withdrawn, and the unit that replaced them had lax defenses, giving her a chance to infiltrate.
"Whoever is fighting Shukaku from Konoha, prepare to meet your end."
Confident in the speed provided by the Two-Tails, Yunito felt no fear in infiltrating the Land of Fire alone.
The task given to her by the Third Raikage was to eliminate Konoha's powerful ninjas or capture their prodigies amid the chaos.
"Something's wrong; Shukaku's presence has vanished!"
Matatabi's voice echoed in Yunito's mind.
Whenever tailed beasts were near each other, they had a peculiar mental connection. Matatabi sensed that Shukaku's presence had completely disappeared!
"What's wrong, Matatabi? How could Shukaku's presence disappear? The battle must have ended, right?"
Yunito asked her inner beast.
To her surprise, Matatabi solemnly warned her, "Leave that place. What I'm sensing is that the tanuki should be dead."
Yunito's face showed shock as she said, "Aren't tailed beasts immortal?"
Matatabi sighed and responded, "If we're sealed within a Jinchuriki like you, we die when you die, but we'll revive after a few years."
Yunito's expression grew heavy. Could she really handle a ninja strong enough to defeat Shukaku?
However, since someone had killed Shukaku, they likely needed time to recover, so returning now might lead her into a confrontation. Too dangerous.
Yunito analyzed the situation and turned her gaze towards the Land of Rain, quickening her pace.
"The Third Hokage's disciples seem to be fighting Hanzo. They could be big fish as well."
Unexpectedly, although Danzo had opened a path for her, Sakumo had left careful arrangements during his retreat and detected the movements of the Two-Tails.
Thus, Sakumo, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Minato's team, Fuma, and Hanzo all converged on the Land of Rain.
And the battle between Hanzo and Sarutobi's team was just beginning....
[Yunito is Yugito Nii's predecessor]
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