Late at night, a group of six people was still moving quickly through the dense forest.
"Koharu, how far are we from the border of the Land of Lightning?" Young Hiruzen asked in a deep voice.
After a nap, Koharu took out the map, looked at it, and gave him answer:
"We'll be there soon, maybe about ten kilometers away."
"There must be Kumogakure ninjas responsible for guarding the border. How can we break through?" Homura reminded.
"The Kumogakure ninjas at the border might not know about the sudden changes at the alliance meeting, right? Maybe we can just pass through?"
Koharu: "But what if Kumogakure Village has notified those Kumogakure ninjas beforehand through some method?"
Torifu: "Then just kill them!"
Hiruzen frowned, thinking, and looked at Danzo beside him.
"Danzo, what do you think?"
"Ah?"
Danzo woke up with a start, a look of doubt on his face.
"Danzo, why are you always running out of energy? Are you too tired?"
"It's nothing, you don't have to worry."
"Then what do you think? Is this a forced intrusion?"
"You've become Hokage! You can make your own decisions on this matter!"
There was clearly a hint of reluctance and jealousy in Danzo's tone. In his mind, he was just a momentary coward.
Because he was only one step behind Hiruzen, he missed the coveted position of Hokage.
Of course, he was very unwilling to do so, and it even became a lifelong regretful nightmare.
Hiruzen stopped questioning Danzo.
He wasn't stupid either, he always knew that Danzo also wanted to be Hokage, so he fiercely competed with him.
Now that Danzo had missed the position of Hokage, it was inevitable that he felt a little emotional.
After they got through this difficulty and returned to the village, Hiruzen could enlighten him slowly.
"Kagami, what do you think?"
Hiruzen turned to ask Kagami.
Kagami frowned and said sadly: "Should we really give up on Nidaime? If he were here..."
When they talked about Tobirama, everyone fell silent.
Hiruzen clenched his fist tightly, but said with a cheerful expression and comforted: "Don't worry, I believe in sensei, he won't die in battle that easily! Maybe, he has escaped the siege and is now chasing after us."
The others remained silent.
Everyone knew that Hiruzen's words were just to comfort people.
If Tobirama wanted to give them enough time to escape, he would definitely fight to the death with Ginkaku and Kinkaku's forces. With Tobirama's serious injuries, the chances of survival were very low.
After a while, Kagami took the initiative and said: "Let me go to the border to test it first. If I can pass safely, it proves that the Kumogakure ninjas at the border don't know. You can pass again."
"If there's a fight between me and the border Kumogakure ninjas, you can take the opportunity to cross the defense line and directly break through!"
Hiruzen: "No, this is too dangerous."
Kagami: "There's no time to hesitate. Hiruzen, you have taken over the position of Hokage and must make a choice. If you can't return alive, all of Nidaime's efforts will be in vain."
Hiruzen: "I know, but..."
"Don't worry, my Sharingan isn't a decoration. Even if we fight, the border Kumogakure ninjas might not be my match."
Kagami showed his white teeth and smiled easily, clearly he had made a decision.
He was promoted alone by Tobirama, and he was also the most loyal ninja to the village even though he valued family values.
For the sake of protecting his teammates and for the sake of the village's legacy, he was not afraid to sacrifice himself.
"Kagami, you..."
Koharu was a little moved, but didn't stop him.
At this point, everyone was very sensitive and understood that some cruel decisions were necessary.
"I'll go with you!" Danzo suddenly said.
"Danzo, you...."
"Hiruzen, I will stop the enemy with Kagami. You must live well for me. Don't disappoint sensei's expectations."
"Kagami, let's go!"
After saying that, Danzo turned and left.
Whether it was to get away from Hiruzen, or to prove that he wasn't a coward.
Kagami looked at Danzo who was running alongside him, feeling quite happy in his heart. "Danzo."
"?"
"I didn't expect you to be willing to fight with me."
"Hmph! I just don't want Saru to be the center of attention alone."
Danzo mumbled while frowning, still thinking about Hiruzen's succession as Hokage.
"Danzo, you also want to be Hokage, don't you?"
"Who doesn't want to be Hokage? It's a pity that Saru got the advantage!"
"Yes! Originally, I wanted to keep my wife, but unfortunately, the family burden on me is too heavy, so I hesitated."
Kagami also sighed with emotion.
Like Danzo, everyone yearned for Hokage.
Unfortunately, the family constraints of the Uchiha Clan made Kagami hesitate, and he wasn't as strong as Hiruzen.
At this moment, he was willing to act as the front line to test, but he also felt a little guilty and compensated.
Danzo looked at Kagami, with a hint of recognition and sadness in his eyes.
❀❀❀
At the same time, the Kumogakure ninja guards at the border of the Land of Lightning received prior notice and set up a trap to block the Konoha ninjas.
Kagami and Danzo had just approached the border.
They found many Kumogakure ninjas surrounding them.
"The enemy is coming!"
Kagami roared and whispered.
"Indeed, there's an ambush!"
"The number should be small. We can hold on. As long as we can hold back these enemies, Hiruzen and the others can easily break through the border."
"I will too."
"Hmph, I might die with you."
"Danzo, if I die in battle, please help me retrieve my Sharingan!"
"Kagami."
"You know, this eye technique can't fall into the hands of Kumogakure Village. This is my last request. Please agree."
Danzo looked at Kagami, anger resurfaced in his heart.
"Okay, I promise you!"
There weren't many Kumogakure ninjas stationed in this border area, only about twenty, and they weren't very strong either.
Under normal circumstances.
If Danzo and Kagami were at their best, they could definitely kill each other.
Unfortunately, neither of them was in good condition now.
In other words, the six of them who escaped from Kumogakure Village, all consumed a large amount of chakra, and their condition deteriorated drastically.
Not all ninjas could fight like Hashirama and Madara for three days and three nights.
An ordinary ninja, even a Jonin, would be pretty good if he could fight at high intensity for tens of minutes.
If ninjutsu was used frequently, this battery life would be greatly reduced.
In the first few minutes of the battle, Danzo and Kagami almost killed each other randomly, and quickly eliminated about half of the Kumogakure ninjas.
But as their chakra ran out, they inevitably struggled more and more.
More and more scars accumulated on their bodies.
Kagami was almost out of Sharingan power, and two bright red lines of blood dripped from the corners of his eyes.
If this continued, it would be difficult for them to hold on until the end.
There was a high probability that they would both die in battle, and a low probability that one of them would escape.
However, there was still good news.
The two of them had attracted and delayed so many Kumogakure ninjas, so Hiruzen's side must have successfully broken through.
As long as they left the range of the Land of Lightning, the subsequent threats could be greatly reduced.
At least there was a high probability that they could return to Konoha safely. After all, there were Konoha ninjas across the border of the Land of Fire.