It had to be said—the wisdom of a group truly was powerful. After shifting the focus of their reconnaissance…
They really found something suspicious.
The Hidden Sand was crafty as hell.
Beneath a ridge, hidden within an unremarkable pile of rubble, Satomi discovered a passageway.
Yes—not a camp, not a cave—
But a tunnel.
A tunnel so long that even the Byakugan's 1.5-kilometer range couldn't see it in its entirety…
Where did the other end lead?
The entire southwestern mountain range was vast—stretching north to the Land of Rain, covering most of the Land of Rivers in the middle, and extending southeast all the way to the sea…
A chill crept into everyone's hearts.
The answer was already obvious.
At some unknown time, the Hidden Sand had completed this tunnel—and had already dispatched at least two ninja division into the interior of the Land of Fire…
And that was only what they knew.
What about the forces they didn't know about?
So the crisis had been lurking all along within the southwestern mountains…
For the four Konoha division arriving to reclaim the southwestern mountain range, this place would become hell.
Dawn was just beginning to break. At this hour, Konoha's main force likely hadn't departed yet. If they could complete the reconnaissance quickly, there was still a chance to transmit the intelligence in time.
"Should we go in?" Satomi asked.
"If we want to know the truth, we'll have to take a look inside," Yoshimaru replied.
"Not yet. I've experienced something like this before. The Sand wouldn't leave it unguarded," Shimizu said. "We need to notify Konoha and Rakuyō City immediately!"
Minato realized the gravity of the situation. There wasn't a second to waste.
He bit his thumb at once, formed hand seals, and pressed a palm to the ground. Black contract markings instantly spread across the earth.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The Summoning Jutsu was a type of space-time ninjutsu. By forming a blood contract with a summoned creature, a ninja could call it forth at any time to assist in battle. The size of the summoned being was also related to the summoner's chakra reserves.
In the next instant, a cloud of smoke dispersed. Two toads—each about half a person's height, one yellow and one green—appeared before them.
"Minato? What's the matter?" the yellow toad asked.
"Each of you, go. One to Konoha to inform the Hokage, the other to Rakuyō City to warn—"
"Enemy attack!" Satomi suddenly shouted.
In an instant, dozens of wooden branches burst from the soil, lashing toward the five of them—and the two toads.
The five jōnin narrowly avoided the ambush.
But the sharp wooden spikes instantly pierced through the two slightly slower toads…
"Gah! That hurts!"
With two loud pops, the summoned creatures vanished back to their realm.
Damn it. Could the intelligence still be delivered in time now?
Within Shimizu's sensory range, nearly twenty enemies had already appeared around them…
Within Minato's perception, nearly fifty…
"One hundred… no, one hundred and one in total. We're surrounded," Satomi reported clearly.
Was this a trap?
Had the enemy known all along that they would come here?
The five of them watched as the enemies made their entrance. Every single one used Earth Release—rising slowly from the soil. This was high-level Earth Release that could bypass both the Byakugan and chakra sensing, moving without leaving a trace.
It was the exact same method used the night the Third Kazekage's letter was stolen, and the same as when Minato was ambushed while investigating the missing gold in the Land of Rivers!
"It's you!" Minato recognized the leading ninja at once—his attire was simply too bizarre.
A long black robe. A white mask with a spiral pattern—but with only a single eyehole on the right side.
This was the mysterious ninja who had previously attempted to assassinate him!
"Has the Hidden Rain always been under your control? Or did you seize control of it?"
Looking at the steady stream of ninja arriving nearby—each wearing the forehead protector of the Hidden Rain—Minato was filled with disbelief. Was the Hidden Rain truly allied with this war criminal?!
Was that why Elder Danzō's mission in the Hidden Rain had failed? And why the Hidden Rain had since closed itself off from the outside world?
A terrifying hypothesis had already formed in Minato's mind…
Shimizu, meanwhile, was even more shaken.
That mask…
It was unmistakably Tobi!
No… that couldn't be right. Obito had only just passed the Chūnin Exams—there was no way it was him!
"Who are you?" Shimizu asked in a low voice.
"You've got too many questions. Which one do you want me to answer?" the masked ninja said flippantly. Then he sighed. "Ah, forget it. Since you won't be alive much longer, I'll generously tell you…"
"My name is…" He scratched his head as if thinking hard, but seemed unable to recall.
Then he turned and patted a Hidden Rain ninja beside him. "Hey? What was my name again?"
The Rain ninja merely shook his head blankly.
This wasn't normal behavior for a ninja…
Had they been controlled by some kind of secret technique?
"Ah, whatever. A name's meaningless anyway. Why am I wasting time chatting with you dead men? You'd better be on your way."
Minato drew his kunai. Just as he was about to strike, Shimizu stepped forward and blocked him, placing himself in front of Minato.
"If we're all about to die," Shimizu said, "why not enlighten us a little?"
"You make a fair point…" The white spiral-masked ninja rested his chin on one hand thoughtfully, then shook his head regretfully. "But I still don't feel like telling you."
Suddenly, a tri-pronged kunai flew toward him—followed by several more of the same shape scattering toward different points around the battlefield.
"Whoa! You guys are ambushing me?!"
The masked ninja twisted his body in an extremely strange and contorted motion, narrowly avoiding the kunai. At the same time, a wooden shield sprouted from the ground to block their trajectory.
"Not this trick again…" he muttered.
Sure enough, Minato had already appeared behind him—only to find that the opponent had prepared specifically for it. At first glance, it seemed futile.
But in the next instant, another Konoha ninja appeared on the opposite side behind the masked man.
It was Shimizu.
A one-handed Lightning Release technique activated—
Lightning Release: Lightning Blade Slash!
Blue lightning burst forth with the roar of a thousand chirping birds, crashing down upon the masked ninja with overwhelming force.
With a loud bang, the Lightning Blade cleaved through nothing more than a humanoid block of wood.
Wood Release: Wooden Substitution!
"You guys are all so underhanded—always ambushing people!" The masked ninja rose slowly from the ground not far away, sounding irritated. But in the next moment, his tone shifted to curiosity. "Huh? But how are you so fast too…?"
From the moment they launched their attack to when he used Wooden Substitution, only a single breath had passed. Only Shimizu and Minato—relying respectively on exceptional Body Flicker and the Flying Thunder God Technique—had been able to execute a decapitation strike before he could properly react.
And yet, they had failed.
"Get them, boys! Slaughter these rats!"
With the order given, over a hundred Hidden Rain ninja surged forward, launching their assault on the five Konoha ninja…
..
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