Signing the peace treaty with Amegakure was the best option for Konoha. Once the internal matters were stabilized, they could fully focus on dealing with Sunagakure.
"Yes, Lord Hokage." The ANBU promptly appeared, collecting the documents and heading off to print them, preparing to post them all over Konoha at dawn.
Takuya had been at the camp for two days and hadn't noticed any ANBU or Root operatives trailing or keeping an eye on him. After the camp was properly set up, Takuya took on the responsibility of escorting a group of injured shinobi back to Konoha.
Tsunade, on the other hand, had to return with the main forces, which would take significantly longer.
"Takuya-sama is truly remarkable — only ten years old and already a jonin! That's a record even in Konoha, right?"
"Not just Konoha. In the entire shinobi world, no one else could compare."
"If my son had even half of Takuya-sama's talent, I'd be grinning in my sleep!"
"Your son? Please, he's nowhere close to Takuya-sama."
"And yours is no better!"
As the group traveled slowly to accommodate the injured, the veterans couldn't help but sing Takuya's praises, occasionally getting into heated arguments.
Takuya felt a bit awkward at their overzealous compliments but stayed out of the conversation. His focus remained sharp — any trouble with the wounded and the blame would fall on him.
Thankfully, Snowy, his trusted white fox, helped keep watch and provided early warnings for any potential threats.
"Lady Chiyo, the group escorting the wounded is led by none other than Yagami Takuya," a Suna shinobi reported.
Sunagakure had remained in Amegakure after the ceasefire, with Chiyo debating whether to retreat to the Land of Rivers to support the Third Kazekage or stay for a while longer. Eventually, she chose to remain, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike Konoha hard.
And the group escorting the wounded presented the perfect target.
Konoha's camp had already been attacked once, making it heavily fortified. No openings were left. So, Chiyo shifted her attention to the injured shinobi.
There were still plenty of wounded left in Konoha's camp, and if she could strike at the right time, it would deliver a severe blow to Konoha's morale and fighting strength.
Injured shinobi, once healed, would return to the battlefield, and Chiyo wanted to eliminate as many of these potential threats as possible.
"Yagami Takuya..." Chiyo's eyes narrowed. She wasn't unfamiliar with him.
Takuya's exploits had spread throughout Suna, and the villagers harbored a deep resentment toward him. After all, he had embarrassed their Kazekage in front of the entire shinobi world. Any shinobi from Suna would leap at the chance to tear him apart.
Chiyo was no different.
She hadn't expected the escort team to be led by Takuya.
"What's the status on that explosion in Amegakure?" Chiyo asked.
Konoha had begun peace talks with Amegakure, but before the negotiations could even start, an explosion rocked the city, blowing a hole in the wall and killing numerous shinobi.
Suna's spies in Amegakure had sent this information back. However, the exact cause of the explosion remained unclear.
To avoid further embarrassment, Hanzo had ordered his men to keep the incident under wraps. With the limited access that Suna's spy had, it was difficult to uncover the full details in just a few days.
Chiyo's assistant shook his head.
"Lady Chiyo, our agent is doing everything he can to gather more information, but Hanzo's heightened security is slowing things down. We'll need more time."
"Make it fast!" Chiyo snapped, her patience running thin.
She saw the delay as incompetence, frustrated that even a minor incident like this was dragging on for so long. Suna's spy was clearly not up to her standards.
Now she had to decide: should she make her move?
Takuya's Sakura Fall genjutsu, which had humiliated the Third Kazekage, weighed heavily on her mind. What if she, too, fell victim to it? The disgrace would be unthinkable.
"Send out my orders: surround the Konoha escort team. Eliminate them and kill Yagami Takuya," she finally decided.
Despite her reservations, Chiyo knew this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.
As long as she stayed out of direct combat, Chiyo believed her forces would prevail. There was no way one shinobi, no matter how skilled, could defeat hundreds.
Suna had seven to eight hundred shinobi at her command. Even if it came to throwing their lives at him, they could overwhelm Takuya by sheer numbers.
Killing him would not only be a major victory but also a much-needed morale boost for Suna.
"Yes, Lady Chiyo!" her subordinates responded eagerly, ready to carry out her orders.
Meanwhile, Takuya, unaware of Chiyo's plans, took a quick scouting round as a formality before returning to his team. He found working with his own group much easier — they understood him with just a look.
Working with strangers, however, was a different story. If he didn't scout the area, they'd assume he wasn't competent enough to lead.
Takuya hated that feeling, but luckily, this would be his last mission of this kind.
He estimated that at their current pace, they would reach Konoha in about four days, significantly faster than his last escort mission, which had taken over a week.
"Master, a large group of enemies is approaching," Snowy's voice echoed in his mind.
"What direction? How many?" Takuya's senses sharpened instantly.
"A lot. They're slowly surrounding us."
Suna!
Takuya sighed in frustration. They were nearing the borders of the Land of Fire, and the only enemy capable of such a large-scale ambush had to be Sunagakure.
It had to be Chiyo's forces.
Takuya realized that, despite the official ceasefire, Chiyo had stayed behind, waiting for an opportunity to strike at Konoha.
Now, it seemed he had become her target.
Takuya wasn't surprised that Suna wanted him dead. His Sakura Fall technique had turned their Kazekage into a laughingstock.
If someone had done the same to Konoha's Hokage, Takuya was certain Konoha shinobi would want that person dead too.
"Very well. If that's how it's going to be, I'll settle this once and for all."
Takuya knew that until he dealt with Chiyo, Sunagakure would continue targeting him. The only way to end this was to beat them decisively — make them fear him.
If the very mention of his name struck fear into Suna's shinobi, only then would they stop coming after him.
"Master Takuya?" one of the accompanying shinobi asked as Takuya stopped and stared toward the right side of the group, muttering to himself.
"Everyone, listen up! Keep moving forward. No stopping, no matter what."
Something was wrong.
Hearing Takuya's command, the accompanying shinobi and the injured understood that danger was near.
Without hiding the truth, Takuya shouted, "We've got a large number of Suna shinobi closing in on us. It's that old hag Chiyo — she's planning an attack!"
"Damn it!"
"Those bastards!!"
"Master Takuya, should we send a distress signal back to the camp?"
"We'll take those Suna dogs down!!"
The shinobi, even the injured ones, roared in defiance, preparing for the worst.
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Good job on reaching 1000 power stones! You will now get a new chapter every 30 minutes so five chapters. Your next goal is 1500 power stones.
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