After confirming that everything was safe, the White Fang Squad set off again.
However, Hatake Sakumo decisively changed the route, no longer choosing to go directly through the Land of River, which borders the Land of Fire, and enter the Land of Wind, but instead choosing to enter the Land of Rain first, and then enter the Land of Wind.
After changing their course of action, the White Fang Squad had a very smooth journey until they reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, and they still did not encounter any more attacks from the enemy.
Nawaki, who had been targeted and killed for the first time, was no longer as excited as he had been when he first heard about the advanced mission. He stopped taking risks and walked behind Hatake Sakumo, and then formed a triangle formation with Kirito and Chizuru.
Before nightfall, Team White Fang finally reached the border of the Land of Rain.
At that moment, the sky quickly turned grey, and the entire sky was covered with thick rain clouds.
Before long, a heavy rain began to fall.
Team White Fang and the others quickly put on their raincoats and continued on their way.
Half an hour later, Team White Fang stopped in front of a fast-flowing river.
It was a very wide river, nearly three kilometers across, and in the heavy rain, it was impossible to see the other side unless you had Byakugan.
The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain was marked by this river, and because the current was so strong, people from the Land of Fire generally had to cross one of the bridges on the border to enter the Land of Rain.
Not far from Team White Fang is a bridge. But to be honest, it is just a long iron chain connecting the two sides of the river.
For ordinary people, this iron chain naturally cannot be used as a bridge to cross the river, but for ninjas, this is already enough.
"The Land of Rain is just ahead. Remember, keep a low profile and don't stir up trouble. It's only been a little over a year since the end of the war between Konoha and Amegakure, so many people in the Land of Rain are quite hostile towards the Konoha ninja. If provoked, don't act impulsively. This is especially true for you, Nawaki. Your status is special, so you must be even more careful not to act impulsively, otherwise someone may take advantage of the situation and deliberately create conflict between Konoha and Amegakure."
Hatake Sakumo led Kirito and the others to the iron chain, then turned to the three and said:
"Ha~"
the three said in unison.
After Hatake Sakumo finished speaking, Kirito said, "Hatake Sensei, there are quite a few people on the other side of the river, it's not safe to cross just by this iron chain."
"Many people?"
Hatake Sakumo's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he inquired:
"Twenty people. Judging by the amount of chakra, there's one jōnin, three ninjas, and the rest are shinobis."
Kirito immediately replied.
As he advanced in rank in his training of natural energy, his natural energy perception ability also continued to improve. Although the range of perception was still not comparable to soul perception, which had a range of nearly six kilometers, it was already close to three kilometers.
"Is it aimed at me again?"
Nawaki said with gritted teeth.
After suffering a targeted attack and deeply feeling the malicious intent of his enemies from the outside world, he was now extremely sensitive.
"It doesn't seem like it. I think it's probably the border guards from Amegakure Village."
Kirito patted Nawaki on the shoulder to calm him down and stated his own inference.
"Even if it is aimed at you, we are not afraid. We can just kill them all."
Chizuru said nonchalantly from the side.
In her opinion, as long as the number of people coming did not exceed a hundred, the number of jōnin did not exceed twenty, and no Kage-Level powerhouse appeared, the so-called attack was not a big deal, and their White Fang team was enough to handle it.
"Chizuru, our White Fang team is here to carry out a secret mission. Unnecessary battles should be avoided as much as possible, and our whereabouts must be kept as secret as possible,"
Hatake Sakumo reminded.
Chizuru remained silent, but nodded slightly to show her obedience.
"Kirito, find a weak spot and we'll force our way across the river."
Hatake Sakumo saw Chizuru nod, so he turned to Kirito and said.
"I got it, follow me,"
Kirito immediately replied, then quickly ran at the front, and the other three quickly followed.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the river, a group of Ame-Nin were waiting on the other side of the iron chain. A young female ninja with blue hair suddenly opened her eyes and said, "Lord Kizakura, there should be a sensing ninja among the four of them. They have discovered us and are beginning to move away from us. Should we signal the others at the border?"
She was the only sensing ninja here. Relying on the Ame-Nin's Free-Style Technique, she could use the naturally falling rain in the sky to monitor every move within a five-kilometer radius.
Upon hearing this, the other Ame-Nin around her all looked at the strongest person in the group, a one-armed Ame-Nin carrying a large sword on his back.
"Hmph, they're smart for not trying to break through from our side. Lord Masanari said that any ninja who sneaks into our Land of Rain without permission must be intercepted if possible, and even if they can't be intercepted, their identity must be confirmed. You should signal the others immediately."
The one-armed Ame-Nin, Onikage, stared murderously across the river at this time, speaking coldly.
"But the people on the other side should be Konoha ninjas. Our Amegakure is currently in a cooperative relationship with Konoha, so it should be fine to let them in."
A chubby middle-aged Ame-Nin muttered.
"What did you say? Do you know how many of our people those Konoha guys have killed? Just because Konoha gave you spineless guys a few bones, you're going to grovel to them? Behind you is our country, not a place where just anyone can easily sneak in."
Kizō immediately turned around, fixed a murderous glare on the fat Ame-Nin, and shouted at him.
The middle-aged Ame-Nin could not withstand the aura of Kizō, a jōnin who had survived the war between Konoha and Amegakure. According to rumors, the other party was a powerful ninja capable of beheading a Uchiha jōnin, and on the battlefield, he had the title of "Sword Demon" Kizō.
Stared at like this by Kizō, his fat face instantly turned pale, and he lowered his head and took a few steps back, not daring to make eye contact with the one-armed Ame-Nin.
"Hmph, a cowardly waste,"
the one-armed Ame-Nin sneered, seeing the cowardly appearance of the middle-aged Ame-Nin, losing the desire to continue arguing.
However, he could not help but feel a little sad in his heart.
Since Amegakure was defeated by Konoha, many ninjas in the village who survived the war have developed a strong fear of Konoha, and they always seem hesitant when dealing with anything related to Konoha.
Now that Amegakure has reached a cooperative agreement with Konoha, this situation has become even more serious.
If most Ame-Nin are like this coward in front of me, when will the rise of Amegakure be realized, as Lord Masanari Hattori said?
Sure enough, as Lord Masanari Hattori said, Amegakure now needs a new beginning.
As he thought this, Kizo looked at the other young Ame-Nin around him. Most of these young Ame-Nin were shinobi, but they all had a resolute look in their eyes that the middle-aged Ame-Nin did not have. He could not help but loudly exclaim with relief,
"Remember, you are ninja from Amegakure in the Land of Rain, not the lackeys of Konoha. If anyone dares to say such weak things again, don't blame me for being rude. Now, immediately send the signal."
"Ha~"
The young Ame-Nin answered in unison.
"Heh heh heh, a bunch of self-righteous losers."
Suddenly, a cold mocking laugh sounded in the ears of the Ame-Nin.
"Over there!"
The blue-haired female ninja heard the voice and immediately pointed in a certain direction, shouting.
Kizakura was the quickest to react. He immediately drew his large sword on his back and used Chakra to sprint, rushing quickly in the direction the blue-haired female ninja was pointing.
As soon as he turned around, he saw a white-haired ninja, and his heart trembled. Then he shouted, "Retreat everyone, and bring back the news of Konoha's White Fang to the village in the Land of Rain."
"Just you try to stop me. You've all seen what I look like, and you're all going to die today."
Hatake Sakumo sneered, and then drew his White Fang short sword.
How could Kizo not know of the reputation of Konoha's White Fang? He had been on the battlefield between Konoha and Amegakure before, and many of his companions had died at the hands of the other party.
When he first met Hatake Sakumo, he was still a chūnin. He witnessed the other party instantly slaying two of their jōnin among the hundreds of Ame-Nin, before floating away.
It can be said that the reason he is still alive today is because Konoha's White Fang regarded him as an ant, believing that he was not qualified to make him draw his blade, and he was only able to save his life.
Kizō has always been resentful about this, regarding it as the greatest humiliation of his life.
Now that he has seen Hatake Sakumo again, although he still feels fear in his heart, his anger and bloodlust have far surpassed his fear. He instantly wraps a layer of Water Release Chakra around the large blade in his hand, causing a spiral of water to wrap around the blade.
"Watch out!"
Kizashi yells, and before he can get close enough to Hatake Sakumo, he swings his blade at the opponent.
In an instant, a huge wave appears, rapidly rolling towards Hatake Sakumo.
The Amegakure Style of Knife Technique: The Secret of the Waves!
The next second, the scene that Kizō imagined of Hatake Sakumo dodging did not occur. Hatake Sakumo was actually hit directly by his knife technique secret. The waves, which were actually as hard as steel, hit Hatake Sakumo and crushed his entire body into a pulp.
"So easily, I have killed Konoha's White Fang?"
Kizō looked at the scene before him, shocked, and thought.
But soon, he realized what was going on and immediately put down the large sword in his hand. He formed a seal with one hand to dispel the illusion, and the scene in front of him suddenly shattered like a mirror and disappeared, and the real-world scene reappeared before his eyes.
The Konoha White Fang he had seen before had been replaced by a black-clad man wearing a pig mask.
At the same time, the painful screams of his companions came to his ears.
He couldn't help but turn around and saw that all of his companions were killing each other with bloodshot eyes.
"What are you doing? Stop it!"
Onikura watched his companions die one after the other in a bloody fight, grief and anger battling within him as he tried to go over and stop them.
But then the man in the pig mask suddenly appeared in front of him, sneering, "What's the fuss? Isn't it better to let them die without pain?"
Onikura heard this voice, and his consciousness immediately became blurred. Then he immediately came to his senses again, but the scene in front of him had already changed, and the figure of Hatake Sakumo appeared once again.
At this moment, Hatake Sakumo once again pulled out his short knife with White Fang.
Then, a dazzling flash of light appeared in Onikura's eyes, and then he couldn't see anything clearly, and darkness fell upon his vision.
In reality, Onikura, with a look of confusion, used his own knife to slash at his own neck, successfully beheading himself.
"No wonder you are the elite of the Kurama clan, your illusion techniques are really powerful. But those Ame-Nin who escaped will really take back the information that Hatake Sakumo and the others attacked the Amegakure border troops,"
From the shadow of a stone not far away, the rabbit-mask man slowly walked out. He looked at the group of Ame-Nin in a pool of blood before him, his eyes revealing a cold gaze, before he said to the pig-mask man:
"What do you think?"
The pig-mask man said coldly.
The rabbit-mask man's face changed when he heard the voice, because he found that he had been surrounded by the White Fang squad. But as soon as he blinked, he realized that the White Fang squad was nowhere to be found, and the group of Ame-Nin in a pool of blood was still in front of him.
At this time, the pig-masked man had disappeared.
"This guy's voice illusion technique actually fooled even me, a jōnin adept at using yin release secret techniques."
The rabbit-masked man discovered that he had just been fooled by an illusion technique, and his heart sank.
Then, he took a deep breath, lifted a seal with both hands, and the shadows beneath him shot out a large number of shadow tentacles, which then threw all the dead Ame-Nin in front of them into the large river in front of them.
Regardless, their objective had been achieved.
On the other side of the river.
Kirito, who was looking for the best place to sneak across the border for the White Fang squad, suddenly stopped and then turned his head to look at the place where the Ame-Nin died.
"Kirito, what's going on?"
Hatake Sakumo immediately asked.
"The group of people on the other side of the river just got killed, and only one chūnin escaped,"
Kirito answered truthfully.
Using the Spirit Perception brought about by the Spirit Transformation Technique, he had just noticed the flexible flames of Kizakura and the others extinguish one after the other.
When Hatake Sakumo and Chizuru heard the news, both of their faces immediately revealed serious expressions, sensing that something was not quite right.
Even the simple-minded Nawaki felt that something was wrong at this time and said doubtfully, "They were killed just after we left. Is that a coincidence?"
"Cross the river immediately. This place is not suitable for long,"
Hatake Sakumo quickly made a decision.
After saying that, he took the lead and jumped into the fast-flowing river ahead, relying on the technique of condensing chakra at the soles of his feet to swiftly advance on the surface of the large river with frequent wind and waves.
The three of them quickly followed.
At this moment, the time to test the control of chakra had come.
On this large river with frequent wind and waves and a fast current, it would be much more difficult for ninjas to move on the water as usual.
Kirito and Chizuru were fine, but Nawaki, who had the worst chakra control of the three, almost fell into the river several times.
There was nothing Kirito could do but use his chakra to wrap a chakra line around Nawaki, pull him back up, and prevent him from really falling into the river, so that they could continue moving forward together.
"Rumble~"
Halfway across the river, the sky suddenly flashed with a huge lightning bolt, followed by deafening thunder.
The next moment, the four of them turned pale and immediately scattered. A huge yellow lightning bolt suddenly fell from the sky, landing where their team had been.
"Be careful, something's coming up from below,"
Kirito shouted at the same time.
As soon as the words left his mouth, eight long tentacles shot out of the water, all of them quickly reaching for Nawaki.