Hokage's Office, Hidden Leaf Village.
Tsunade stared at the report submitted by the Hidden Leaf Police Force, exclaiming in shock, "What? Orochimaru's remnants have been spotted near the village?"
The Anbu delivering the report quickly responded, "Yes, the Police Force's patrol team encountered someone suspected to be Yakushi Kabuto, a wanted shinobi, while patrolling near the village."
"What are they planning? To rescue Orochimaru?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
To be honest, she didn't believe Orochimaru's remaining followers would dare infiltrate the village to save him.
Still, with this intelligence in hand, she, as Hokage, couldn't ignore these remnants lurking near the village. After a moment of thought, she ordered, "Yakushi Kabuto is tied to Danzo's collusion with Orochimaru. This time, I want the Anbu to move out and bring him back!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Anbu bowed, accepting the command.
With the Hokage's order, two Anbu squads led by Jonin were swiftly assembled.
Since Shizune had fought a simulated Yakushi Kabuto in Takamagahara, the village knew Kabuto wasn't just a skilled spy but a shinobi who had reached Jonin-level strength. Although the Police Force's report mentioned only two or three enemies, the Anbu, to be cautious, deployed two squads: two Jonin, two Special Jonin, and four Chunin.
This lineup was more than enough to handle Yakushi Kabuto. After all, when the Sound Village was overrun, the five great shinobi villages had seen the quality of ordinary Sound shinobi. Bluntly put, a single Hidden Leaf Jonin could sweep through a dozen of Orochimaru's underlings.
Fully equipped, the two Anbu squads left the village silently through a secret passage. Following the general area marked by the Police Force's patrol where they had encountered Kabuto, the squads tracked their target. Finally, in a dense forest thirty kilometers outside Hidden Leaf Village, they located the hideout of Kabuto and his group.
Swish swish swish. In an instant, the Anbu spread out, surrounding Yakushi Kabuto, Jugo, and Guren in the center.
The numbers matched the Police Force's report, and Kabuto was indeed among them. The two leading Anbu Jonin exchanged a glance, confirming the intelligence was accurate and the arrest could proceed.
One of them shouted, "Yakushi Kabuto, your movements have been exposed! Surrender now!"
Surrounded by the Anbu, Kabuto, Jugo, and Guren looked exasperated.
They had been waiting here for the Akatsuki to rescue Orochimaru, but instead, they were met with Hidden Leaf's Anbu.
Kabuto gave a wry smile. "This is quite the headache, isn't it?"
Seeing no sign of surrender from Kabuto's group, the lead Anbu Jonin wasted no time, forming hand seals. "Ninjutsu, Thunderstone Jutsu!"
Rumble rumble rumble. The ground shook violently as eight stone pillars rose from the earth, trapping Kabuto's group in the center. Arcs of electricity sparked across the pillars, weaving into a net that surged toward the trio from all directions.
Almost simultaneously with the pillars' rise, Guren, caught in the encirclement, unleashed her own jutsu.
As the electric net closed in, the ground beneath her feet sprouted pale red crystal pillars. These crystals expanded rapidly, not only withstanding the layers of electric webbing but also shattering the eight stone pillars surrounding them.
For a moment, the battlefield was filled with flashing lightning and rising dust!
The Anbu retreated, leaping to trees farther back but maintaining their encirclement formation, keeping Kabuto's group at the center.
As the dust settled slightly, they saw the battlefield littered with pale red, translucent crystals, leaving them stunned.
Swish.Swish.Swish.
Suddenly, countless kunai shot out in all directions from the center of the field.
A nearby Anbu Chunin narrowed his eyes and shouted a warning, "Everyone, be careful! There are smoke bombs tied to those kunai!"
Boom boom boom. Before his words fully landed, the kunai exploded into clouds of pungent smoke, instantly enveloping the entire battlefield.
"Wind Release, Gale Jutsu!"
The other lead Anbu Jonin quickly performed a Wind Release ninjutsu, gradually dispersing the smoke. But when the fog cleared, Yakushi Kabuto and his group were nowhere to be seen.
The Anbu gathered, coughing as they regrouped.
"That smoke was poisoned! Everyone, take antidote pills first!"
"Damn it, they got away!"
"What was that jutsu just now?"
"If I'm not mistaken, it was a Bloodline Limit called Crystal Release!"
"Crystal Release?!"
The group exchanged remarks, one after another.
Clearly, the presence of a rare Crystal Release Bloodline Limit user among the enemy had disrupted their plans.
After everyone took antidote pills, the two Anbu squads reformed their formation and pursued the direction in which Kabuto's group had fled.
…
On the other side.
After breaking through the Anbu's encirclement, Kabuto's group immediately created several shadow clones to lure the Anbu along their escape route. Meanwhile, the three of them doubled back to their original location.
Kabuto suspected their exposure this time was likely the Akatsuki's doing. So, instead of killing the Anbu pursuing them or fleeing far away, they risked returning to the original spot to confirm his suspicions.
Sure enough, when the trio returned, they spotted a lone figure standing silently atop the canopy of a nearby tree.
The three looked up and saw the figure cloaked in the Akatsuki's signature red-cloud robe, wearing a strange fox mask.
Kabuto's heart skipped a beat. "A fox mask? Is that the Akatsuki's 'B,' the Mangekyo Uchiha?"
In the shinobi world, 'B' was nearly as infamous as 'A.'
Especially when 'B' had previously unleashed a complete Susanoo near Hidden Leaf Village. Even from over ten kilometers away, the entire village could see the hundred-meter-tall, godlike Susanoo, showing the shinobi world just how terrifying the Uchiha clan's Susanoo could be!
The figure atop the tree was none other than Karin.
Looking down at Kabuto and his group, who had returned, she thought to herself, These guys aren't as dumb as they seem.
Drawing the Hidden Leaf Anbu to hunt down Kabuto's group was clearly Shinji's doing, under the guise of 'A.' By ensuring Hidden Leaf detected Kabuto's presence beforehand, it would make it easier to extract Orochimaru from the secret prison later.
Kabuto was just a Jonin, so even if Hidden Leaf discovered him lurking nearby, it wouldn't raise excessive alarm, thus keeping the difficulty of rescuing Orochimaru manageable.
Suppressing her thoughts, Karin addressed Kabuto's group. "Follow me!"
Guren sighed. "I knew the Akatsuki wouldn't be so easy to fool. Looks like we'll have to rescue Lord Orochimaru ourselves after all!"
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