A fierce battle broke out at the main gate of the Hot Spring Ninja Village, with hundreds of people fighting in a melee. Fights were also taking place in various parts of the village. The Hot Spring Ninja Village, which had been quiet for a day, began to become noisy, with the sound of fighting incessant. However, for the villagers hiding in the shelter, they thought it was just a practice.
The Hot Spring Ninja Village is located in a low-lying area, and the shelter is built on the west side of the lowest point of the terrain, dug underground. It took the ancestors of the Hot Spring Ninja Village several years to build it. Although it was built underground and the area was not spacious, it did not seem crowded to accommodate all the villagers. Although the Land of Hot Springs is a peace-loving country, the Ninja Village represents armed forces and war. Naturally, this emergency measure was planned at the beginning of its establishment.
"Swish!"
An object with a faint flash of fire and a little sound passed over the high wall of the Hot Spring Ninja Village. The ninja hiding in the dark looked over. It turned out to be a bunch of explosive tags tied together. It was roughly estimated that there were no less than a hundred of them. At this height, the explosive tags would explode when they fell to the ground. The power of hundreds of explosive tags was enough to cause the land used to build the underground shelter to shake violently. Although it was not enough to blow up the shelter, it would definitely cause panic among the civilians in the shelter, and many people would escape from it. As long as they came out, the ninjas of the Hot Spring Ninja Village would be busy trying to protect them. The enemy was very cunning.
Swish!
However, in the eyes of the anxious Hot Spring Ninja, a white light jumped directly into the sky. Sakumo looked closely and saw that the surface of the explosive tags was covered with a strong viscous liquid, making it impossible for him to throw it back along the original path. The enemy's mind had considered that there must be a powerful ninja guarding here. Even Kuriyama Shinzo was actually guarding against him.
"Haha, Hatake Sakumo, you are here as expected."
Outside the high wall, Kuriyama Shinzo looked at Sakumo in the air, a grim smile on his face. He used to work in the intelligence department of Konoha, and he knew most of the Konoha ninjas very well. Among them was Hatake Sakumo, the strongest man in this village second only to the Third Hokage. He knew that Sakumo would never give up the civilians of the Hot Spring Ninja Village, even for the sake of the relationship between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Springs. This group of Konoha ninjas, headed by the Third Hokage, were so sanctimonious. Since the First Hokage, they have been promoting peace and justice. However, in the Land of Water, the ninjas of Konoha are confronting the ninjas of the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. Their confrontation has also directly led to the destruction of many civilians in the Land of Water. Kuriyama Shinzo believes that in the near future, a war will inevitably break out between the five major ninja countries for their own interests.
"Swish!"
Sakumo didn't have much time to think. He waved the chakra short sword in his hand, and the arc formed by the azure chakra hit the group of explosive tags.
"Boom!"
Immediately in the sky, the explosive tags detonated, and the explosion seemed to make the ground tremble.
"Sakumo-sama!" The ninjas of the Hot Spring Village shouted directly when they saw Sakumo do this. They didn't expect that this strong ninja from Konoha would do such a thing for their village.
"Go!"
At the same time, outside the high wall, Kuriyama Shinzo, who had already expected Sakumo to do this, smiled lightly, waved his hand, and the hundreds of people around him rushed out frantically. Because of the explosion just now, two-thirds of the high wall on the west side of Hot Spring Village was directly cut off, and the remaining one-third was not enough to stop these people.
"I am fine. Get ready to meet the enemy."
In the black smoke formed by the explosion, a figure fell. Sakumo's clothes were destroyed by the explosion just now, but he didn't look like he was injured. If an ordinary jonin was swept into this explosion, he would surely die. But for a ninja of Sakumo's level, the powerful chakra can form a defense in an instant. Although it is impossible to reach the level of C's lightning armor that ignores most damage, it is also a fantasy to think that some explosive tags could take his life.
At this time, hundreds of Jashin Cultists rushed in but did not launch an attack immediately. Instead, they formed a circle, surrounding a figure wearing a black robe and covering his face in the center. Seeing this, Sakumo said coldly, "Kuriyama Shinzo, since you already know I'm here, why bother hiding your identity?"
"Hehe."
Hearing this, Kuriyama Shinzo smiled lightly, then lifted the hat covering his face. His eyes were like a hawk staring at Hatake Sakumo, who was more than ten meters away. "You Konoha ninjas are like flies, you are really annoying."
"You were once a ninja of Konoha, but I'm not surprised that you, who killed your compatriots, would say such shameless words."
Sakumo saw that there were still shallow scars on Kuriyama Shinzo's neck. This kind of vitality was really terrifying. After all, he had personally cut off Kuriyama Shinzo's head two days ago.
"But since you know I'm here, you still dare to attack. Do you really think I can't kill you?"
Shocking murderous intent emanated from Sakumo, his eyes awe-inspiring, which made the crazy Jashin believers surrounding Kuriyama Shinzo sweat and retreat subconsciously. Kuriyama Shinzo knew he was not a match for Sakumo, so he let hundreds of Jashin believers form a protective circle around him. As Sakumo said, he was not truly immortal yet. He had to find the Bloody March sickle as soon as possible and complete the last step of the ritual. Only then would he no longer fear Sakumo and Konoha.
Facing Sakumo's astonishing killing intent, Kuriyama Shinzo remained unmoved. The cultists around him seemed unable to hold back but appeared to have received orders not to move forward.
"What on earth are these guys here for?" a Hot Spring Ninja murmured in his heart. The two sides confronted each other but hesitated to attack. Could it be that because Hatake Sakumo was here, they dared not act rashly?
Sakumo frowned. Kuriyama Shinzo should have known he was here a long time ago, yet this guy brought a group of cultists whose fighting power did not seem outstanding to attack the shelter. What is this guy up to?
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