Bang!
A dull impact rang out as the Sand Village ninja took a knee strike directly to the kidney.
The vicious blow sent a wave of searing pain through his body, stripping him of even the slightest chance to counterattack.
Slash!
The short blade in the Sand ninja's hand was instantly stripped away. With a sharp twist of the wrist, it was driven straight into his heart.
The Konoha ANBU operative—who had just used the Substitution Jutsu to evade an ambush—followed up without hesitation, slamming a palm strike into the enemy's body and blasting him toward the ground.
Below, one of the shinobi who had survived the earlier explosive-tag barrage saw the falling corpse and flashed sideways to evade.
But he didn't miss the brief glimmer of flame.
"Damn it—explosive tags again!"
The Sand ninja's body that had just been knocked down was already covered in explosive tags.
BOOOOM—!
A violent explosion erupted once more.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
"Lightning Release: Falling Thunder!"
The shinobi who had barely survived the second blast were left utterly stunned.
Under the relentless chain of attacks, they had no room to retaliate.
The only one who managed to find an opening had been eliminated with ease—his corpse even turned into a weapon used against his own allies.
A massive torrent of water crashed down like a collapsing lake, smashing into the remaining shinobi and sending them flying.
Immediately afterward, a bolt of lightning struck the water head-on.
Electric arcs raced through the current, wrapping around their bodies and forcing them into violent convulsions.
Only after some time did the ever-cautious Konoha ANBU finally descend from the trees.
Clang!
Weapons were drawn in unison, ready for any last ambush.
BOOM!
The ground suddenly exploded.
Three figures burst out from different positions, weapons flashing as they charged straight at the ANBU!
Close-quarters combat was the most dangerous kind—one mistake meant death.
Bathed in moonlight, the shinobi clashed in a brutally bloody melee.
Clang—!
Sparks flew as blades collided.
Time passed.
One by one, the remaining enemies still standing were cut down by the Konoha ANBU.
They had only expended chakra on ninjutsu—their bodies were still in good condition.
Their enemies, however, had suffered a devastating ambush. Their strength was already nearly spent. Victory was never in doubt.
"Where's Lord Dragon?"
"He went after the Iwagakure commander."
"You three clean up here. The rest of us—move! We're backing up Lord Dragon!"
"Yes!"
…
Shua—
The Iwagakure squad leader landed silently within a dense patch of grass, holding his breath and suppressing his presence as much as possible.
In the next instant, Kusunoki Naraku appeared nearby.
Naraku scanned the surroundings, locked onto a direction—and shot off at full speed.
Only after Naraku's presence completely vanished did the Iwa commander finally exhale.
He immediately stood and fled in the opposite direction.
Tightening the scroll strapped to his back, the Iwa ninja revealed a smile despite the blood streaming down his face.
The mission was complete.
In the chaos of battle, he had successfully seized the supply scroll brought by Sunagakure.
It had to be said—the overall caliber of Iwagakure shinobi far surpassed that of Sunagakure.
This exchange mission had involved only one four-man squad and a commander from Iwagakure, while Sunagakure had dispatched two full squads.
Yet during the first wave of attacks, the majority of survivors were from Iwagakure.
By the time Konoha ANBU launched their final assault, Iwagakure still had two shinobi alive—hidden underground, launching surprise attacks—and their commander had already withdrawn.
Sunagakure, on the other hand…
Only one shinobi remained.
The difference was staggering.
…
"Hah… hah…"
Even as his breathing grew ragged, the Iwa commander didn't slow down.
His subordinates had bought him this chance with their lives—he absolutely could not waste it.
Forcing more chakra out of his exhausted body, his speed increased once again, streaking past trees like a bolt of lightning.
Blood from his forehead flowed into his eyes, blurring his vision, but he didn't dare stop to wipe it away.
Logically, the best course of action would have been to treat his wounds.
The blood trail would expose his position and allow pursuit.
But there simply wasn't time.
Blinking hard to ease the burning in his eyes, he scanned the terrain ahead—
His pupils suddenly shrank.
A figure stood silently in his path.
Perched atop a massive tree, the figure wore a white animal mask marked with crimson patterns. He was clad in an ANBU flak jacket, his slightly disheveled black hair swaying in the wind.
Kusunoki Naraku.
Facing the Iwa commander's killing intent, Naraku remained calm.
He had been waiting.
How did he get here so fast?
Which village's ANBU is this…?
The Iwa commander gritted his teeth, pulled out several shuriken, and hurled them forward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The shuriken tore through the air, instantly reaching Naraku.
"Did I hit him…?"
The Iwa commander couldn't believe it had been that easy.
The next moment—
The shuriken pierced straight through Naraku's body, embedding themselves in the tree behind him.
"What?! An afterimage?!"
Before he could react—
A figure appeared in his vision as if teleporting.
Bang!
Naraku streaked through the air trailing flames, appearing directly before him.
A burning kick slammed brutally into the Iwa commander's torso.
"GAAH—!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his eyes went wide.
The devastating blow instantly stripped him of all resistance, sending him crashing into the ground before tumbling into a tree.
Slash!
Naraku followed up immediately, drawing his blade and driving it straight through the Iwa commander's body, pinning him firmly to the trunk.
"Hrk—"
Blood and tears streamed from the man's wide-open eyes as he tried to speak—but all strength drained away, and darkness claimed him.
After confirming the enemy was dead, Naraku stepped forward and picked up the massive scroll the Iwa commander had dropped.
"So it was sand gold."
Unsealing the scroll, Naraku finally understood.
Inside was a vast quantity of sand gold.
Sunagakure's current Kazekage—the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa—specialized in Magnet Release, using it to control sand gold.
With the Wind Daimyō continuously cutting Sunagakure's military funding, Rasa had relied on extracting sand gold from underground just to keep the village afloat.
Because of that, Sunagakure often traded sand gold with other nations—including Konoha.
"Well… Gaara's father is in real trouble this time."
Naraku weighed the scroll in his hand, amused.
"All that sand gold is gone—and they didn't even get the supplies."
Compared to Konoha, Sunagakure really was poor.
"My lord!"
"Lord Dragon—are you injured?!"
One after another, Konoha ANBU arrived behind him.
"Withdraw."
Naraku casually tossed the scroll to one of his subordinates.
Then, without another word, he led the team away.