Sand Shinobi Appear

When Ikezi woke again, he found the squad was not far from the border of the Land of Fire.

According to the intelligence, intercepting the Sand Shinobi squad would take at least another two hours of travel, but that was still enough to stop them before their reinforcements arrived.

Soon, the rested Rescue Team set off again, chasing after the enemy.

This time, after only about an hour of travel, they discovered traces left by the enemy.

Fugaku stepped forward with seasoned expertise, surveyed the area, and then stated with certainty, "The enemy is not far from us now. Everyone, stay alert."

With that, he turned and nodded toward Ikezi.

Ikezi nodded, jumped down from the older ninja's back, and formed hand seals.

"Summoning Technique."

"Bang." A puff of smoke appeared, and the swarm of Small Snakes from before was summoned again.

He gave them a slight jolt with his Chakra, and the snakes scattered in all directions.

Once they located the enemy's movements, these snakes would immediately alert Ikezi with a special Chakra fluctuation.

All that remained was a long wait.

According to Fugaku's judgment, the enemy was currently resting, so they had to halt as well.

The task of searching for the enemy fell to Ikezi's Summoning Animals.

This was the advantage of having a Sensor Ninja in the team.

Without Ikezi, the Rescue Team would have to advance in a spread-out formation.

While that method had a decent chance of finding the enemy, it also carried a high risk of being ambushed.

One misstep could easily lead to casualties.

With the Uchiha clan in decline these days, ten jonin represented a significant portion of their combat strength—they couldn't afford to lose them lightly.

Moreover, among them were the future clan leader and Ikezi, who had boundless potential.

So Fugaku felt that no amount of caution was excessive.

Half an hour passed as the Rescue Team waited in tense anticipation.

Finally, a Small Snake five kilometers away sent a special signal to Ikezi.

Ikezi's eyes, which had been shut tight, snapped open. He nodded at Fugaku and then took the lead toward that location.

Five kilometers was nothing for a jonin, and even for Ikezi, it wouldn't take long to cover.

But when they were less than a kilometer from the enemy, Fugaku suddenly grabbed him, insisted on assigning a jonin to protect him, and ordered him to stay put.

That protector was none other than Fugaku's girlfriend, Uchiha Ikezi.

Ikezi shrugged helplessly at Ikezi, and the two watched the Rescue Team depart.

Within a few minutes, they heard a thunderous roar from the distance.

That meant the Rescue Team had engaged the enemy.

And Ikezi could only wait here. Though he understood Fugaku's good intentions and knew this was the best course of action, he still couldn't sit still.

Ikezi watched him pace restlessly, gave a gentle smile, and comforted him, "Ikezi-kun, don't worry. Trust that Fugaku and the others will rescue Princess Nagisa."

Ikezi could only nod helplessly and started chatting with her.

As they talked, the conversation turned to marriage.

"Speaking of which, when are you and Fugaku-nii planning to get married? Make sure to invite me when you do," Ikezi probed.

Ikezi blushed at that, then said with a low laugh, "Fugaku and I have agreed—once this mission is over, we'll go home and get married."

"Hey hey, talk all you want, but don't go throwing around flags like that. Aren't you afraid you won't make it back?" Ikezi's mouth twitched as he silently complained.

Huh? Wait—

Ikezi, who never appeared in the original story.

This sudden kidnapping.

Fugaku's Mangekyo, whose origin was unexplained in the original.

Three seemingly unrelated things suddenly clicked together in Ikezi's mind.

"No way..." Ikezi shot a strange glance at Ikezi and silently prayed he was wrong.

But as Murphy's Law said, the more you worry about something, the more likely it is to happen.

And the sounds of battle in the distance, which had stopped at some unknown point, only deepened Ikezi's unease.

Suddenly, his unrecalled Summoning Animals told him that two people were rushing toward them at high speed.

Receiving this news, Ikezi's heart sank.

No matter who was coming, it probably wasn't good news.

If it was the enemy, that went without saying—a fight was inevitable.

If the ones coming were members of the Rescue Team, the situation would be even worse.

Soon, Kyosuke's fears became reality.

The one who arrived was none other than Fugaku Uchiha, covered in blood.

In his arms, he carried the unconscious Uchiha Nagisa.

"The others... all of them." Ikezu stared in shock at the scene before her. After taking the unconscious Nagisa, she finally couldn't help stammering out the question.

Fugaku's face darkened. He nodded silently, confirming what she had said.

Instantly, Ikezu and Kyosuke's expressions sank.

Kyosuke recalled the clansmen who had been quite kind to him along the way, and couldn't help clenching his fists tightly.

"What exactly happened?" Kyosuke squeezed the words out through gritted teeth.

"I'll explain on the way." Fugaku glanced back, then took off his bloodstained coat and led the way, running toward Konoha.

"There are still pursuers?!" Kyosuke's pupils suddenly contracted, and he quickly followed.

This time, he could only rely on his own leg strength to keep up.

Along the way, after Fugaku explained the situation, he finally understood the cause of the matter.

Although the enemy hadn't discovered the Rescue Team's trail, their caution led them to set a trap.

That trap was none other than the Puppet Technique, the art that had allowed the Sand Shinobi to dominate the Shinobi World.

Cunning as they were, they used perfect camouflage that even the Sharingan couldn't detect, hiding several puppets around them.

When the Rescue Team launched a surprise attack, they immediately manipulated these puppets to counterattack.

Though Fugaku and the others were highly skilled, facing a barrage of traps, they still suffered heavy casualties.

There was no helping it—that was the advantage of waiting at ease for an exhausted enemy.

Not only did the enemy have the upper hand in stamina, but the traps laid by the Puppet Master were nothing compared to Kyosuke's amateurish trap techniques.

Even so, Fugaku and his men still killed all of those enemies and rescued the unconscious Nagisa.

They thought that although the mission had casualties, they had at least upheld the Uchiha's prestige and prevented any enemy from escaping.

But an unexpected situation arose once more.

The Sand Shinobi's reinforcements arrived half a day earlier than anticipated.

Now, the Rescue Team, having just endured a bitter battle, had no choice but to brace themselves and face the Sand Shinobi's reinforcements once again.