Capítulo 244: Chapter 244
"We must act swiftly, at least not giving them a chance to call for reinforcements!"
"Yes!"
"This is really bad."
In Kakashi's hand, the Raikiri pierced through an Iwa-nin. However, he didn't dare to linger and immediately dodged with a swift movement.
Sure enough, the moment he left his original position, a spear of earth suddenly emerged from the ground. Had he moved a split second later, he would have been impaled.
He waved the kunai in his hand swiftly. The crisp clang of metal echoed constantly, accompanied by the splattering of fresh blood, but he had no mind to focus on these details.
The only thought in his head was the realization of the immense trouble they had encountered.
At this very moment, members of the Uchiha clan and Kakuzu had already taken action, but the hornet's nest they'd stirred seemed overwhelmingly vast.
Throughout their retreat, Kakashi lost count of how many Iwa-nin they had defeated.
Numerous isolated or smaller groups of Iwa-nin basically fell at their hands.
Such actions seemed to have enraged the Hidden Stone Village, leading them to launch a large-scale retaliation. This left Kakashi feeling quite helpless.
Of course, he knew that unless absolutely necessary, it's better not to engage in fights.
However, good intentions aside, the main problem was their unfamiliarity with the mountain range. They weren't sure if many of the routes they were taking were correct.
Under such circumstances, they could only proceed towards the Land of Grass based on their judgment.
The issue was, the more they stuck to this path, the more predictable their route became. Their room for maneuvering dwindled, and the difficulty of evading increased.
As a result, in the end, they had no choice but to eliminate any threats to reduce the chances of being detected. However, this strategy was extremely risky.
The Hidden Stone Village wasn't foolish. If they noticed fewer of their men, they could roughly deduce the intruders' location. With the pressing timeline and no proper means to dispose of the bodies, the likelihood of exposure increased.
That's their current predicament, and the only thing they could do now was to break out quickly.
"Naruto, be careful!"
At that moment, Kakashi suddenly heard Karin's voice from behind. He immediately turned his head to take a glance.
Naruto was seen being surrounded and kicked to the ground. The Iwa-nin already threw kunai towards him, and to make matters worse, there were explosive tags on the kunai!
"Damn it!"
Kakashi cursed silently. He wanted to quickly rush over to help Naruto, but he was also surrounded. His momentary distraction gave the group of Iwa-nin an opportunity.
This suddenly turned his great advantage into a disadvantage, making it almost impossible for him to break free. Distraction is what ninjas dread the most during combat.
The Uchiha clansmen also noticed this, but they were also caught up in their own battles, and their primary concern was actually protecting Sasuke.
Only Kakuzu paused for a moment. In the next instant, one of his tentacles shot out. Protecting these kids was like protecting his money, and he didn't want to lose his investment.
However, when his tentacle was halfway there, several young Iwa-nin fearlessly blocked its path. In an instant, these young Iwa-nin were pierced through by Kakuzu's tentacle.
Blood continuously dripped down the dark tentacle. This made Kakuzu frown, as his speed was hindered by these young men sacrificing themselves.
"Damn bastards!"
Kakuzu cursed. He wanted to speed up his tentacle, but he paused and eventually stopped channeling his chakra.
There was a sigh on his face, and he couldn't help but mutter, "Really, there goes my money."
As he murmured, the ground began to tremble slightly. A wall of earth erected in front of Naruto.
This wall blocked the kunai in the nick of time, but the next moment, with a loud explosion, the explosive tags tied to the kunai detonated.
"Naruto!"
Upon seeing this, Sasuke couldn't help but roar in anger. The power in his hands grew stronger, wanting to break through and check on Naruto.
However, no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't escape. The Iwa-nin were incredibly tenacious, making it impossible for Sasuke to break free.
"Whizz, whizz, whizz"
Just then, several flame-covered shurikens spun through the air. They precisely circled around Sasuke and hit all the Iwa-nin in front of him!
"Ah!"
One by one, these Iwa-nin fell to the ground, the fierce flames ignited them.
At that moment, the smoke from the explosive tags gradually cleared, and the earthen wall in front of Naruto remained intact!
Everyone was a bit stunned by this scene. Right at that moment, three figures landed on top of the earthen wall.
From their elevated position, they looked down, surveying everyone present. A terrifying aura spread throughout the battlefield.
Upon landing, Kaito's gaze started to scan the surroundings.
After confirming that Team 3, Kakashi, and those protecting them were safe, Kaito ignored the highly alert Iwa-nin and directed his gaze at Kakuzu.
"What did you do? Weren't you supposed to protect them? Why did things become so complicated and serious?"
"Although I'd like to say everything was under my control, there were indeed some oversights. That's my fault."
Kakuzu opened his mouth, intending to retort, but in the end, he admitted his mistake.
While Kakuzu might not be an honest person, he still maintained the professionalism expected of a ninja when facing his employer. Especially now, when the situation had indeed blown out of proportion.
He never dreamed that the path to Iwagakure he discovered years ago was constructed for logistical support.
At that time, Konoha and Iwagakure had already ceased hostilities, and Iwagakure had more than one supply line, so he didn't pay much attention.
In his mind, this area was probably just a better and more concealed route for Iwagakure's troops to enter the Land of Grass.
Given the mountains nearby, he initially thought passing through here would allow him to gather some intelligence to sell to Kaito, maximizing his profit.
Now, he didn't even want to think about profit. He had almost failed in his protection mission; how could he demand more?
Kaito didn't know what Kakuzu was thinking. He only noticed that Kakuzu's apology seemed incredibly sincere, which made Kaito less inclined to cause trouble for him.
He speculated that Kakuzu probably knew these young ones were out for training and thus tried to give them as many opportunities as possible.
Letting them genuinely experience the realities of being a ninja, shattering any illusions they might have, and adjusting their attitudes.
However, he overestimated the youngsters, leading to a near disaster that no one wanted to face.
"Never mind, we won't discuss this now. I have a mission for you."
Kaito's gaze swept around, and his sensory abilities spread out, quickly locking onto a specific location.
"You, Shisui, Kakashi, and those from our clan, immediately clean up these small fry.
Yaneko, you protect these three youngsters and try to leave this place as soon as possible. We have visitors."
Kaito's words didn't show any respect to these Iwagakure ninjas; he blatantly used the term 'small fry' to describe them.
Of course, Kaito knew that these guys might not exactly be insignificant, but the lineup on his side was quite luxurious.
There's Shisui of the current phase, a former member of the Akatsuki named Kakuzu, and Kakashi, who could hold his own against anyone.
Plus, there were several Uchiha members who had activated their Sharingan, considered elites even in the guard department.
With such a lineup against these Iwagakure ninjas, it was no joke; even if they weren't small fry, they were being forced into that position.
"Arrogant fool, who do you think you are!"
One of the Iwa-nin yelled angrily upon hearing Kaito's words. Yet, as Shisui landed, a green hue began to emerge on him, quickly covering his entire body, forming a skeletal giant.
Kakuzu's body had black-masked matter separating from him, with eerie and powerful chakra spreading wildly, and the Uchiha members swiftly assembled.
The Iwa-nin were stunned. This powerful display was beyond their expectations.
Under the aura exuded by these individuals, they even felt like they were suffocating!
"Aren't you coming out, Orochimaru?"
Kaito's calm gaze fixed on a distant large tree. After a moment, he softly spoke.
As his voice fell, Orochimaru slowly emerged from behind the tree, revealing to the Iwa-nin that someone had been hiding there all along.
"As expected of Clan Head Kaito, your sensory skills are truly at their peak."
Orochimaru lightly licked his lips, directly addressing Kaito by name. As the name was uttered, all the Iwa-nin present felt an even heavier suffocation.
Uchiha Kaito was undoubtedly a name that instilled fear. The war that erupted between Iwagakure and Konohagakure was fundamentally because Kaito killed Kitsuchi!
Moreover, they had heard that Kaito killed dozens, if not hundreds, of Iwa-nin defense troops in an instant.
For them, this was unimaginable, because it didn't seem like something a single person could do!
But all of this was accomplished by one person, a person who, like a demon, made people forever remember his name.
Now this very person appeared before them. Even though he looked quite young and, no matter how one looked at him, he didn't seem like a demonic entity.
However, this is the world of ninjas. The world of ninjas has never been one of common sense. At the end of the day, it's a world determined by the strength of one's fists!
"Damn it! Don't underestimate us!"
As the suffocating atmosphere reached its peak and everyone felt fear due to Kaito's presence, an Iwa-nin suddenly shouted.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled out a kunai. The next moment, with a roar, he charged furiously towards Kaito.
Yet, Kaito didn't even spare him a glance. Just as he was about to approach Kaito, Shisui, controlling Susano'o, punched him away with a single blow.
"Boom!"
The Iwa-nin's body crashed violently against a large tree, which toppled over in that instant.
This act seemed to ignite everyone's fury, where anger and the will to fight overshadowed fear.
"Take him down, charge!"
"Everyone together, kill this demon!"
The Iwa-nin yelled, one by one swiftly drawing their weapons, and like the previous ninja, they madly charged towards where Kaito stood.
They roared and bellowed, but what awaited them was the spreading shadow of death.
The scent of blood constantly wafted through the air. Kaito looked at the wall beneath which was already piled with bodies and couldn't help but shake his head.
Charging only requires courage, a phrase Kaito had heard. But when he saw this group genuinely charging just out of courage, he was somewhat stunned.
Of course, it could also be out of hatred, perhaps because they felt that his previous demeanor was too arrogant?
In fact, Kaito never imagined that he would one day receive the same treatment as Madara.
He always thought that only Madara would stand there, not uttering a word, and enemies would rage and desperately attack him.
But today, he realized that he seemed to have that ability as well. Maybe that so-called 'acting technique' isn't unique to Madara, but rather, an innate trait of the Uchiha clan?
However, these matters were no longer of significant concern to Kaito. The small fry had already been taken care of, and now it was time for the most important and crucial reason Kaito came here.
His eyes instantly turned a deep shade of red, and three tomoe slowly rotated in them. His aura began to rise significantly.
Shisui and the others then turned their gaze to Orochimaru. Perhaps Kakashi might still be wary of Orochimaru, but neither Shisui nor Kakuzu had such reservations.
Kakuzu already had a dislike for Orochimaru, and Shisui recognized Orochimaru as somewhat akin to himself. Even though this guy always caused them some trouble, be it minor or major.
But he indeed provided a lot of valuable information, and that was something Shisui would never forget.
Sasuke and the others seemed somewhat dazed at this point. They hadn't expected Kaito to come here.
Even more so, they hadn't expected that the Iwa-nin, who had besieged them for so long, causing them to be frequently in grave danger, would be wiped out in just a few minutes.
The scent of blood constantly stimulated their brains. Even though they had seen blood before, the horrific scene before them was still deeply shocking.
"All right, the small fry have been cleared. Orochimaru, it's your turn now."
Kaito's chakra slightly fluctuated, and the earthen wall slowly sunk into the ground. Kaito then began to walk slowly towards Orochimaru's direction.
"Where are the others? And are you ready?"
"The others are searching in different areas. But once you make a move, I might not even need to summon them; they'll come on their own."
Orochimaru slowly took a step back, then quickly formed hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground. As the smoke rapidly rose, he spoke with a smile.
"As for me, I dare not challenge the authority of Clan Leader Kaito. But I have carefully chosen an opponent for Clan Leader Kaito. I hope you will be pleased!"
With his words, a defiant figure emerged from the smoke.
His appearance immediately changed Kakuzu's complexion, making his body involuntarily tremble. Shisui frowned deeply at the figure.
Kaito, on the other hand, showed a hint of a smile on his face. He quietly looked at the person in front of him and then slowly said,
"It's been a long time, Uchiha Madara."
//
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