章節 122: Ch.122 Ambush
The carriage sped down the road, kicking up a cloud of dust as it raced forward.
After receiving the news that the Sealing Grounds had been attacked, the convoy pushed onward, traveling day and night toward the Land of Demons.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The Hidden Leaf shinobi darted from tree to tree, closely following the convoy.
Watching the tense faces of the guards from the Land of Demons riding alongside the carriage, Kurenai Yuhi asked, "What exactly is sealed in that place?"
Asuma replied, "It's said to be a demon that once wreaked havoc across the shinobi world, a creature known as 'Moryo.'"
Yamashiro Aoba was puzzled, "A demon? Why would anyone want to release such a thing?"
Asuma shook his head.
He had asked the captain of the guards from the Land of Demons about this in private. The captain had told him that the group attacking the Sealing Grounds was likely a rogue shinobi organization known as the 'Yellow Springs Sect.' But when it came to why the Yellow Springs Sect would want to release the demon, what exactly 'Moryo' was, and why only the priestess from the Land of Demons could seal it, the captain had fallen silent and refused to answer.
Asuma warned his companions, "In any case, this mission is no simple task. Be on guard!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Kurenai glanced at Uchiha Shinji and the other young shinobi. "Is it really okay to bring these kids along?"
Asuma chuckled. "Don't underestimate them!"
Yamashiro Aoba remarked, "Captain, you're talking about Uchiha Sasuke, right? There's a rumor going around the village that he was the one who subdued the rampaging Nine-Tails. I find that hard to believe!"
Kurenai added, "The Nine-Tails is a monster beyond any kid's ability to control. There's got to be some misunderstanding!"
Asuma shook his head. "No, I'm talking about all four of them! Besides Uchiha Sasuke, the other three kids are not to be taken lightly either."
Kurenai raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Asuma was not the type to give praise lightly. Even the Third Hokage had struggled to control Asuma's rebellious streak. So she took another look at Shinji and the others, her curiosity piqued. "Are they really that strong? Like Kakashi when he was young?"
Asuma nodded. "Exactly. Just like Kakashi back then. Uchiha Sasuke is only seven years old, yet he's already mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu and, with his teammates, killed an enemy who was at least Special Jonin level. Uchiha Shinji took down another Special Jonin on his own. Don't you think kids like that are worth paying attention to?"
"The Uchiha clan never runs out of geniuses, huh," Yamashiro Aoba said with a hint of bitterness.
He had grown up witnessing the rise of Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, and now he was watching Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Shinji rise as well.
"No matter what, we need to protect those kids," Asuma said in a low voice. "At the very least, we have to make sure Uchiha Sasuke stays safe."
"Understood!"
Everyone around Asuma nodded in agreement.
On the other side.
Shinji and the other academy students moved through the trees, just like Asuma and his team.
Neji, who was using his Byakugan to scan the surroundings, suddenly asked, "What do you all think this 'Moryo' demon looks like?"
"Heh," Sasuke chuckled.
Shinji glanced at Sasuke, and even Kimimaro looked over.
Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Sasuke smirked and said, "What are you worried about? No matter how terrifying that demon is, could it possibly be more frightening than the Nine-Tails? I've already subdued the Nine-Tails with my Sharingan. Dealing with a mere demon should be a piece of cake!"
Neji blinked in surprise. When he had first heard about the demon breaking free from its seal in the Land of Demons, he had been anxious. But now, hearing Sasuke's confidence, he realized Sasuke had a point.
Even the Fourth Hokage had died during the Nine-Tails incident, so to Neji, the Nine-Tails was the most terrifying creature in the world.
If Sasuke could handle the Nine-Tails, then dealing with Moryo should be no problem.
Sasuke continued, "Shion doesn't even know many jutsu. Expecting her to deal with this demon is unreasonable. I'll take care of it when the time comes!"
Kimimaro gave Sasuke a long look before turning his head away.
Oddly enough, even he felt some of Sasuke's confidence rubbing off on him, lightening the heavy mood.
Seeing that no one was saying anything, Sasuke felt rather pleased with himself.
He then glanced at Shinji, who seemed to be deep in thought, and said, "Shinji, your medical ninjutsu is impressive, but this time, I'll show you what the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan is truly capable of! Once you see it for yourself, you'll understand that with our bloodline, all we need to do is fully tap into the power of our Sharingan, and we can handle anything."
Preoccupied with the fusion of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Shinji replied half-heartedly, "Yeah, yeah."
The convoy rushed onward, frequently stopping at relay stations to change horses. In just two days, they left the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Rain.
The convoy didn't stop, moving through the Land of Rain, then the Land of Birds, until they reached the Land of Bears, which bordered the Land of Demons.
The rugged terrain of the Land of Bears forced the convoy to slow down.
Fortunately, they were close to the Land of Demons now, so no one felt overly anxious.
After a while, the convoy arrived at the entrance of a canyon.
Staring at the steep cliffs on both sides, Asuma frowned and ordered the convoy to stop.
The captain of the Land of Demons' guards quickly approached him. "Asuma-san, what's wrong? Why did we stop?"
Asuma pointed ahead. "The terrain here doesn't feel right. I should scout ahead."
The captain of the guards sighed and smiled bitterly. "Asuma-san, you may not know this, but the part of the Land of Bears near the Land of Demons is filled with these steep canyons. If we stop to investigate each one, it will take us a month to reach the Land of Demons."
"But here…"
"Please understand, we must return to the Land of Demons as soon as possible, or our people will suffer greatly!"
The captain cut Asuma off, bowing deeply as he pleaded.
Asuma sighed, his expression conflicted.
Kurenai was puzzled. "Entering a canyon like this is risky, but if we're cautious, we should be fine. What are you so worried about?"
After a moment's hesitation, Asuma relented. "Alright, let's go."
Soon, the convoy entered the canyon.
As they moved through the steep, rocky walls, Shinji turned to Neji and said, "This place is perfect for an ambush. Neji, can you check the cliffs?"
Neji nodded and activated his Byakugan, scanning the cliffs.
Sasuke and Kimimaro also became more alert.
The convoy continued cautiously, with Yamashiro Aoba's trained crows flying overhead and Neji using his Byakugan to scan the surroundings.
Everything seemed fine as they reached the midpoint of the canyon, and the group started to relax slightly.
Suddenly, a loud cry came from the sky.
Yamashiro Aoba looked up and saw his crows plummeting from the air, crashing onto the top of the cliff. He shouted in alarm, "Everyone, be careful!"
Neji, who had just deactivated his Byakugan to rest, immediately reactivated it, scanning the cliffs again. His eyes widened as he detected faint chakra signatures hidden within the rock crevices on both sides.
He froze for a moment before realizing the chakra signatures were likely explosive tags. He shouted, "Watch out for explosive tags!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As soon as Neji finished speaking, explosions erupted from the cliffs on both sides.
The ground shook violently as huge chunks of rock broke off and tumbled down toward the convoy.
Asuma quickly made a series of hand signs, pressing his palms to the ground. "Earth Release: Earth-Style Rampart!"
*Whoosh!*
In an instant, towering earth walls sprang up from the ground, forming a sturdy shelter over the convoy.
Hidden in the dark, surrounded by the constant sound of rocks crashing down, everyone inside the earth fort was tense, afraid that the boulders might break through their shelter.
Even Asuma, who had cast the Earth Release, looked serious.
After a while, the sound of rocks falling subsided, and Asuma signaled everyone to stay on guard as he deactivated the jutsu.
As the earth walls crumbled, the convoy's view cleared, and they saw that while the falling rocks hadn't directly hit them, they had blocked off both ends of the canyon.
The convoy was now trapped in a giant pit in the canyon.
At that moment, a figure wearing the signature red cloud cloak of the Akatsuki appeared at the top of the cliff.
The captain of the Land of Demons guards squinted against the sunlight, and when he saw the figure clearly, his face paled. "Y-You're the leader of the Yellow Springs Sect?"
The leader of the Yellow Springs Sect smiled faintly before raising his arms.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Suddenly, with a series of sharp sounds, dozens of Yellow Springs Sect members, their faces painted with camouflage patterns, appeared on both sides of the canyon, looking down at the convoy from above.
The sudden appearance of so many enemies threw the convoy into chaos.
Kurenai furrowed her brows. "Akatsuki?!"
"So, the Yellow Springs Sect is connected to the Akatsuki after all!" Asuma muttered, equally surprised.
Before taking on this mission, Asuma had looked into the Yellow Springs Sect and confirmed that it was a small-time rogue shinobi organization active in the Land of Demons. He hadn't expected them to be tied to the Akatsuki, complicating things even further.
Shinji frowned as well, thinking, "Moryo and the Akatsuki… How did they end up working together?"
He didn't know it, but it was his earlier impersonation of the Akatsuki that had sown distrust between Nagato and Obito, leading to the current situation.
However, with the leader of the Yellow Springs Sect standing before them, Shinji finally understood what the disaster in Shion's prophecy was.
He knew that without successfully freeing Moryo, the leader of the Yellow Springs Sect wouldn't dare to openly ambush the convoy of the Land of Demons while they were guarded by Hidden Leaf shinobi.
The fact that he was here meant that Moryo had already been released.
"That explains everything!" Shinji thought.
With Moryo involved, without his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan complete and his dojutsu unavailable, there was a real chance he could die here.
Neji's expression suddenly stiffened. "This is bad. The leader up there… his chakra is enormous."
Sasuke immediately asked, "How enormous?"
Neji's face turned pale. "It's… bigger than Naruto's! And it's the filthiest, most sinister chakra I've ever seen!"
"What?!"
Sasuke was shocked.
Not just him, even Kimimaro was taken aback.
Both Sasuke and Kimimaro knew that their classmate Naruto was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, so hearing Neji's words left them in disbelief.
Shinji frowned slightly as he listened, but he quickly realized the truth.
Moryo had chakra on par with the Tailed Beasts, that much was certain, but surpassing the Nine-Tails—the strongest of the Tailed Beasts—seemed unlikely.
The reason Neji perceived the Yellow Springs Sect leader's chakra as surpassing Naruto's was that Naruto only had half of the Nine-Tails sealed inside him.
Even so, Moryo's chakra was terrifying.
At that moment, the Yellow Springs Sect leader stretched out his arms.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Dozens of purple-black tendrils, snake-like in their movements, extended from the leader's body and attached themselves to the necks of the Yellow Springs Sect members on the cliffs.
The leader's vast chakra flowed through the tendrils, transferring into the bodies of the sect members.
In an instant, the once-moderate chakra levels of these rogue shinobi swelled to an overwhelming degree, surpassing that of a Jonin.
"What the…?!"
Asuma and the others were shocked.
The sheer amount of chakra emanating from the Yellow Springs Sect members was so immense that it was visible to the naked eye, even without dojutsu.
As the transfer of chakra finished, the leader of the Yellow Springs Sect let out a manic laugh. "Shion, prepare to meet your fate!"
All eyes turned toward the carriage where Shion sat.
Yet the carriage remained eerily quiet.
Knowing that Shion wasn't ready to face Moryo, Shinji glanced up at the Yellow Springs Sect leader and said without hesitation, "Hey, you cowardly weakling, whatever you're planning, you'll have to get through me first!"
Hearing Shinji's bold declaration, everyone was taken aback by his audacity in the face of Moryo's terrifying power.
Kurenai whispered, "Does that kid even realize what we're up against?"
Yamashiro Aoba, equally perplexed, added, "Even if he hasn't unlocked his dojutsu yet, shouldn't he be able to see the amount of chakra those enemies have? How is he not scared?"
Asuma spat, "Tch, we're being shown up by a bunch of kids!"
Kurenai laughed softly. "Yeah, if even academy students aren't afraid, we shinobi have no reason to be either!"
Sasuke, feeling frustrated that Shinji had stolen the spotlight and embarrassed that he had been momentarily shaken by the enemy's chakra, activated his Sharingan. "Too bad for you," he muttered to the Yellow Springs Sect leader. "You've run into me!"
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