"The Hokage is really strong. How could he die?" Pakkun glanced at Naruto, "Konoha has been in chaos before, and it turned out fine."
"But I bought flower." Naruto said out of nowhere.
In his heart, he added, 'If Sandaime doesn't die, wouldn't the flower I have bought be wasted?'
"Huh? What flower?" Pakkun looked confused.
Naruto didn't reply, just muttering in his heart about how he specifically bought the best white chrysanthemum for 30 ryo.
"There are enemies chasing us, about eight of them." Pakkun suddenly said.
As Kakashi's Ninken, Pakkun's sense of smell was exceptionally keen, even among other Ninken. moment the enemies appeared behind them, Pakkun easily sensed their presence and counted their numbers.
"Pakkun, can you sense their strength?" Sasuke asked.
"I'm a sensory Ninken, not some fortune-telling toad sage."
"If we don't deal with them soon, we'll end up being attacked from both sides, right?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, we need to take care of them first." Sasuke said, "The terrain of Konoha Forest is favorable to us. If we set up an ambush, we might be able to catch them off guard."
"In that case, let's do it!" Naruto nodded seriously.
"Pakkun, stay behind and ambush them."
"What!!!"
Sasuke: "…"
Sakura: "(T-T)"
The forest was lush and green, with giant trees blocking out the sun. The three of them, plus Pakkun, moved swiftly, leaping from tree to tree.
Pakkun looked at the blond boy in the team with contempt. The latter did not show any guilt on his face and even showed a serious smile.
"We're counting on you, Pakkun."
"Damn it! I'm a sensory Ninken, not a fighting dog. If you want to make a wish, go to a shrine! Brat, you're definitely a dog!"
"What does it matter? You won't die."
"But it'll hurt! Damn it! How did Kakashi end up with a student like you?"
"Ninken are also Shinobi, right? Isn't endurance a virtue?"
"Be a human, please! I'm begging you!"
Listening to the quarrel between a man and a dog, Sasuke's face was full of black lines, and he coldly interrupted them.
"Stop arguing! Pakkun, how far are the enemies?"
"Less than 3,000 meters."
Sasuke stopped, leaned against a tree, then turned to look at Sakura and Naruto, and said, "We'll wait for them here."
The surrounding branches and leaves were dense, casting dim light on the area. The towering trees blocked out most of the sunlight, and the few beams that made it through were sparse, creating thin, nearly transparent wisps of mist in the air.
Before the battle began, Naruto suddenly spoke up, "Sakura, get ready with the Genjutsu."
"The Otogakure's Shinobi are too strong. We have to be careful."
Hearing this, Sakura nodded seriously, indicating that she understood.
Pakkun, on the other hand, felt a bit nervous. During the mission in the Land of Waves, Zabuza and Haku had died too quickly, so Kakashi hadn't summoned the Ninken to assist him in battle. As a result, Pakkun wasn't fully aware of the strength of Kakashi's three students.
Pakkun glanced to the side, noticing that the normally indifferent Sasuke's eyes had turned blood-red, an intense and frightening sight.
Then, looking the other way, he saw Naruto pulling out a sword from seemingly nowhere.
'Huh??? A sword??'
'Wait a minute, where did this kid pull out that sword from? It looks so familiar. Isn't that the same kind of sword Kakashi used when he was in the Anbu?'
Sakura's mind was in chaos. Facing the imminent battle, she was almost too nervous to stop her frantic, uncontrollable thoughts.
The medical department was almost full of weirdos, and it was common to see them performing surgery with a Chakra Scalpel while casually chatting. Sometimes, with a pot simmering on the stove with a patient's leg bone, the Medical-nin would discuss which shop in Konoha had the best bone broth.
Over time, Sakura thought she had grown desensitized, and as long as things weren't too outrageous, her heart wouldn't be shaken.
But now, the more nervous she got, the more her mind was zapped by all sorts of random thoughts.
During her month of training in the medical department, she often afraid that something might happen to Sasuke. safety. But the more she worried, the more odd thoughts would pop into her head.
For example, she really hoped Sasuke is seriously injured and dying, so that she can see him.
Three kilometers wasn't a long distance, leaving the group little time to prepare.
"They're here!" Parker reminded.
Sakura steeled herself, watching as several shadows quickly descended from the trees in the distance. She swiftly formed hand seals, casting a Genjutsu in advance.
The light around them flickered, and the forest seemed to take on an unreal quality. The eight Otogakure's Shinobi, who landed nearby, immediately sensed something was off, but it was already too late.
The eight masked Shinobi, wearing Otogakure's forehead protectors, landed in a triangular formation, scanning their surroundings warily.
Suddenly, several kunai shot out from the trees, sharp and precise like arrows. But the Otogakure's Shinobi merely sneered and leapt away.
At the moment they jumped, something unexpected happened.
The nearly invisible steel wires in the air tightened abruptly. Four of the Otogakure's Shinobi, who were deeply trapped in the Genjutsu and had slow reactions, did not noticed the steel wires at all. They only realized something was wrong when they were instantly restrained and tied tightly to the tree trunk.
'That's the Uchiha Clan's Windmill Triple Blade!' Pakkun, hidden in the shadows, was stunned.
On the battlefield, the Uchiha Clan was renowned not only for their Sharingan and taijutsu, but also for their nearly mystical Shurikenjutsu. Shurikenjutsu was a fundamental secret skill of the Uchiha, and the Windmill Triple Blade, which combined shuriken with steel wires, was a more intricate technique.
Sasuke controlled the steel wires with his hands and teeth, tightening them with force. At the same time, he released the steel wires and quickly formed the 'Tiger' hand seal.
Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!
Sasuke flawlessly executed the C-Rank offensive Ninjutsu he had used against Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. The fire directly engulfed the four bound Otogakure's Shinobi, and in the next moment, Sasuke activated his Chidori, charging forward to finish them off.
On the other side, Naruto and Sakura coordinated to deal with the remaining four Otogakure's Shinobi in a brief moment of stunned surprise in mid-air, thanks to the Genjutsu.
Naruto swiftly stabbed one in the neck with his sword, and blood splattered immediately.
Before the blood could even stain his clothes, Naruto's figure vanished. The Flying Thunder God kunai had just reached the air above the other two Shinobi's heads. Naruto directly activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, stored the sword into the seal space, and instantly activated his Lava Release.
Same old formula, same old taste.
Naruto slapped the two stunned Otogakure's Shinobi in the face, scalding them with lava, killing them instantly.
The last Shinobi was already hit in the throat by two of Sakura's kunai, ending his life.
The eight Otogakure's Shinobi, two entire squads, were annihilated in an instant. Pakkun, hiding in the shadows, nearly spat out blood.
'This is what you meant by 'the Otogakure's Shinobi are too strong'?'