Realizing that Amegakure's forces were mobilizing on a large scale, Takuya was taken aback. He quickly said to Minato and Nawaki:
"Amegakure's ninja are gathering in large numbers; they're targeting us from Konoha. We need to return to camp as soon as possible."
Whether or not they were specifically targeting Konoha, leaving quickly was definitely the right move.
Takuya had no intention of getting surrounded and then dragged into a senseless battle.
He could escape on his own, but Nawaki and Minato would face all sorts of dangers.
"Amegakure?"
"A large-scale mobilization of forces? Have they gone mad?" Nawaki exclaimed as he hurriedly followed Takuya.
Minato didn't even bother to speak; he just wanted to get away as fast as possible.
"Whether they're mad or not, I don't know, but I do know that if we're too slow, we could end up surrounded by the enemy," Takuya explained as he glanced back.
Even someone as tough as the Third Raikage could be dragged down and killed by a ninja army, so what chance did they stand?
Unless they released Snowy to buy some time.
But Takuya didn't want to resort to that, so running early was the safest bet.
Could it be that Hanzō had been pushed to the brink?
Was it possible that the destruction of their supplies had left Hanzō with no patience to continue the war of attrition, forcing him to choose a decisive battle with Konoha?
If he won, he could plunder Konoha's supplies to keep fighting. If he lost, he'd negotiate with Konoha for aid.
Hanzō wouldn't be that foolish, would he?
Amegakure must have other supply routes. Maybe those were intercepted too.
When it comes to intelligence gathering, Amegakure couldn't compare to Konoha.
Difficulty in gathering intelligence would mean being at a constant disadvantage.
Could Amegakure be planning a fierce attack on the position where Orochimaru and the others were stationed?
"Takuya, do you think Amegakure is planning to attack our camp?" Nawaki asked.
"Impossible. The camp is too far away. At most, they'd target the territory we've occupied.
Haven't you already formed a contract with a summoning beast?
Get it to inform Orochimaru to prepare for a tough battle."
This was no time for jokes. If they could send a warning, they should do it, to avoid Orochimaru, Tsunade, and the others from getting caught off guard.
In the original story, they were almost cornered, with Jiraiya nearly dying, saved only by the timely arrival of Konoha reinforcements.
As much as Danzo might scheme, he wouldn't dare pull any tricks in such a critical situation.
If Danzo really wanted Tsunade and the others dead, he could have simply delayed the deployment, and the three would never have earned the title of "Sannin."
Takuya and his team couldn't detour to deliver the message themselves, as doing so would only put them right into the enemy's trap.
The only option was to rely on a summoning beast to send the message.
Luckily, the toads of Mount Myoboku and the snakes of Ryuchi Cave were good at tasks like these.
Now that they were out of the enemy's reconnaissance range, Takuya urged Nawaki to quickly notify Orochimaru.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Nawaki's frustrated expression, his face contorted as if constipated, Takuya couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
"Don't tell me you're waiting for me to perform the summoning?"
If you dare say yes, I'll smack you, believe it.
"Maybe his summoning beast isn't cooperating," Minato, who shared the experience, offered an explanation.
"That's nonsense!"
Nawaki jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"How could I, Nawaki-sama, be troubled by something like this? I'm just worried that the summoned creature might not obey."
"..."
Really?
Takuya thought to himself, unimpressed.
Neither of them had room to talk. Especially you, Minato.
You're in no position to laugh at Nawaki. At least Nawaki has enough chakra to summon a sizable snake.
And your toad?
It's so small it wouldn't even make a decent snack if you tried to roast it.
"Get on with it. What kind of summoning beast could be that temperamental?" Takuya grumbled, giving Nawaki a swift kick. If he didn't keep this guy in line, he'd always act up.
No wonder Tsunade was always hitting him. No wonder she liked to knock some sense into her brother.
If Takuya had a brother like that, he'd probably hit him three times a day too.
Fine!
You don't believe me? If something goes wrong, it's not my problem!
Feeling underestimated, Nawaki gritted his teeth, bit his finger, and began forming seals, determined to give Takuya and Minato a scare.
As for whether the summoned snake would obey him, he'd deal with that once it appeared.
Boom!
After quickly forming the seals, Nawaki slammed his hand onto the ground, and a summoning circle spread out from beneath him.
With a loud bang, a cloud of smoke appeared on the ground.
Nawaki felt drained, having accidentally used a bit too much chakra.
He was almost completely wiped out.
Roar!!!
A deafening roar echoed as a massive purple figure rose, lifting its upper body high above the ground. Its huge head loomed over Takuya and the others, eyes filled with disdain and rage.
"Brat, was it you who used the summoning technique?"
"I can smell Orochimaru on you."
Manda, with a tongue thicker than a thigh, flicked its tongue through the air, sniffing the scent particles as it growled in anger.
"Brat, have you prepared my tribute? If not, Lord Manda will eat you instead."
To be honest, Manda was enormous.
In the original story, this creature even took on both Gamabunta and Katsuyu at once.
If Tsunade hadn't pinned Manda to the ground with Gamabunta's blade, Gamabunta would've been skinned alive.
This showed just how powerful Manda was.
A regular Jonin wouldn't stand a chance against Manda.
And Nawaki had managed to summon this beast.
You've really outdone yourself, Minato thought, silently giving Nawaki a thumbs up. You win. I'm not going to compete with you!
You'd better start thinking about how to deal with this creature.
This guy isn't easy to handle.
As Jiraiya's student, Minato was well aware of Manda's notorious reputation.
After all, the snakes of Ryuchi Cave and the toads of Mount Myoboku were mortal enemies.
And Manda wasn't exactly a friendly summon. Even when Orochimaru summoned it for battle, Manda demanded a tribute or threatened to eat its summoner.
This wasn't uncommon behavior among the snakes of Ryuchi Cave.
"Takuya, this one's all yours. You deal with it. I'm done for," Nawaki declared before making a quick exit. Minato hesitated for a moment before following, leaving Takuya to face Manda alone.
What the hell? You two cowards just left me here?
"Brat, no tribute? Then prepare to die!!!"
Seeing Nawaki and Minato run off, leaving only Takuya, Manda felt tricked and roared as it lunged at him with its massive jaws.
Just as Takuya was preparing to negotiate with Manda using his Sharingan, Snowy suddenly appeared.
"Get lost, you smelly snake! How dare you threaten my master?"
What the…?
Manda only saw a white blur speeding toward it.
But it didn't pay much attention, figuring whatever it was, it was too small to be a threat, not even the size of one of its scales.
Manda's only focus was on devouring the three little brats who had dared to summon it.
I'll start with you, it thought as it got closer to Takuya, its enormous slit-pupils glinting with cruelty and bloodlust.
At that moment, a massive white claw descended from the sky, pinning Manda's neck to the ground with such force that it was slammed into the earth.
Boom!!!
The ground shook, the surface cracked, and deep fissures formed as Manda's upper body was forced into the dirt.
Roar!!!
***********
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