After an intense battle, the already battered Rescue Team was completely wiped out. Only Fugaku managed to escape with Nagisa in his arms, risking his life.
Of course, the Sand Shinobi had suffered no small losses as well.
Of their seven powerful Jonin, the Rescue Team had fought desperately and taken down three.
The remaining four were all wounded too.
But even so, those four were still not opponents Kyosuke and the others could face head-on.
So running was their best option.
However, after sprinting for more than ten minutes, Fugaku suddenly stopped.
Seeing him stop, Kyosuke and Ikezi could only stop as well and look at him questioningly.
Fugaku looked deeply at Kyosuke, then gave Ikezi a long look before saying in his usual tone, "We can't get away. I'll stay behind and hold them off. Ikezi, protect Kyosuke and get out of here."
"No."
"I'm not leaving."
Kyosuke and Ikezi spoke almost at the same time.
Kyosuke struggled inwardly for a moment, then looked at Fugaku, who was clearly reluctant but still determined to stay behind, and asked, "Brother Fugaku, in your current condition, can you hold off two people?"
Fugaku silently nodded, indicating that he could.
Then Kyosuke asked Uchiha Ikezi, "Sister Ikezi, can you hold off one Jonin?"
"Though I'm not as strong as Fugaku, holding off one person won't be a problem," Ikezi answered without hesitation.
"Then, in a moment, we..." Kyosuke began laying out his battle plan.
Just as he was getting into it, Fugaku unexpectedly interrupted him.
"When did I say"
"We won't leave."
"." Fugaku watched him for a moment, then gestured for him to continue.
Before long, Kyosuke had finished explaining the plan. All that remained was to put it to the test.
"I definitely won't let anything happen to either of you. Absolutely not." Fugaku gave them a warm smile as he silently swore to himself.
"Captain, they're up ahead." A Sand Shinobi wearing a mask and carrying a Human Puppet on his back suddenly spoke while running at full speed.
The captain nodded and made a hand signal to his subordinates.
At once, the remaining four changed formation and accelerated toward their fleeing enemies.
Doing so would leave them vulnerable if they were ambushed unexpectedly.
But it was still better than dragging things out. Who knew whether Konoha had only sent one Rescue Team? What if another one arrived?
That was why the increasingly impatient captain gave such an order.
If he failed to bring back that little girl of the Uchiha Clan's direct line, he would face an incomparably harsh punishment. After all, the casualties from this operation had been far too severe.
He would not be executed outright, but even the best outcome would be being forced underground, becoming a ninja who lived in the shadows.
Only then could he avoid being held accountable by Konoha.
But as a man with a family, he did not want that to happen.
Before long, the Sand Shinobi caught up with the people fleeing ahead.
Seeing that they had caught up, the Uchiha Clan Jonin in the lead could only helplessly choose to stay behind alone.
The remaining female ninja and child prepared to continue their escape.
Seeing this, the Sand Shinobi squad captain made another hand signal to the others, then attacked Fugaku alongside one of them.
The other two made a slight detour before charging toward their ultimate target.
Though Fugaku did his utmost to stop them, he was entangled by the other two Jonin and failed to block them.
"Surrender peacefully. My subordinates will bring the target back soon. Your mission has already failed." The Sand Shinobi captain continued his fierce assault while trying to disrupt Fugaku with his words.
But with Fugaku's strength having fully reached the level of an Elite Jonin, even heavily wounded as he was, the two could not take him down anytime soon.
My task is complete. The rest is up to you, Kyosuke. Fugaku silently prayed.
"Heh, you think splitting up means you'll be safe?" the Sand Shinobi Puppet Master said mockingly.
Then he and his companion pursued in separate directions.
It was not as if they had failed to notice that something was wrong, but what could a child and a female ninja who had barely managed to survive earlier possibly do?
The sounds behind him made the "panic-stricken" Kyosuke even more nervous.
Tightening his hold on "Nagisa" in his arms, Kyosuke plunged headlong into a dense forest.
The one chasing after him was the Sand Shinobi Puppet Master.
When the Puppet Master saw Kyosuke's appearance, he smiled and thought, Let's see what tricks you're trying to pull.
Then he followed him into the forest.
The instant the Puppet Master stepped into the woods, dense waves of Kunai shot wildly toward him.
Kyosuke had set a trap here long ago, waiting for the enemy to take the bait.
Everything that had happened before had been an act meant to lure the enemy into the trap.
It was not just him. Fugaku's "desperate attempts to stop them" had also been part of their prearranged performance, intended to successfully change the enemy's formation.
They hoped this would give the Puppet Master the greatest chance of pursuing Kyosuke.
Facing the frenzied barrage of hidden weapons, the Puppet Master dodged expressionlessly, ultimately avoiding every trap Kyosuke had set.
But Kyosuke's painstakingly arranged attacks were not over yet.
The instant the Puppet Master stopped moving, the ground beneath his feet suddenly split apart.
A python over two meters long suddenly burst out of the ground and wrapped around him tightly.
Kyosuke's earlier traps had all been meant as bait, intended to draw this Sand Shinobi before the summoning animal buried underground in advance.
At last, Kyosuke had succeeded.
The Sand Shinobi's body was tightly bound by the python. Forget forming hand seals to counterattack—he could not even move a finger.
Just when the battle seemed to be over, the situation suddenly took a sharp turn.
The skin on the Sand Shinobi's face began peeling away in patches, like old paint from a wall.
Then spikes of varying sizes suddenly shot out from "his" body, piercing the python in an instant.
Amid the sudden rise of white Mist, the python vanished with a bang.
Its injuries had clearly been too severe, and it had automatically returned to Ryūchi Cave.
As for that "Sand Shinobi," he had not been the real person at all, but merely a remotely controlled puppet.
The real Puppet Master was currently hiding atop a giant tree several hundred meters away, letting out a cold "Heh heh" laugh.
Yet he did not notice that not far behind him, an ordinary small snake flicked its tongue and watched him coldly.
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