Pursuit

"Dry!"

One of the leaders cursed angrily, saying that encountering such a mess was truly bad luck.

No matter how conflicted they were, they couldn't afford to delay any longer. If they dragged it out, even if they wanted to pursue it, they would lose all clues. The rain had been falling continuously, and it could easily destroy any usable traces.

"Chase them, of course we have to chase them." The Sand Ninja, clutching the black stone, took a deep breath, tossed the stone aside, and his eyes sharpened. "We can't let these Konoha -skinned Konoha bastards get too out of control. Besides, with Lord Kumasaburo here, he definitely won't let these guys off easily. If we let them escape, Lord Kumasaburo's punishment will probably still fall on our heads."

The mere mention of Kumasaburo sent chills down everyone's spines. With such a bloodthirsty and belligerent superior, there was a high probability that he wouldn't just stand by and watch the Konoha Ninja escape.

"Go after them! I'll take men."

The other person sighed, a deep bitterness on his face; this job was no easy task.

"We'll definitely catch these guys, but I hope the brothers can come to our aid soon. These guys from Konoha dared to venture deep into our territory, so there must be sensory ninjas among them. If we're too late, we might never see them again."

After saying this, he selected three people beside him and set off immediately, searching for the remaining traces.

The remaining four watched the figure disappear before turning back to report the news.

Okunuki Kumasaburo.

She was second only to Chiyo among the Sunagakure ninja, and was considered one of the top fighters in the village.

However, this guy is notoriously foul-mouthed, which has offended many people. Moreover, he is extremely bloodthirsty and not well-liked. If it weren't for his strong skills and powerful background, he would probably have been sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder long ago.

The only reason they're still able to escort supplies from the rear is because of the Okunuki Family's reputation. After all, they're a powerful clan in Sunagakure, and they have to save face for them.

The bearded Sand Ninja lived up to his name, Kumasaburo, with a burly physique, as robust as a large black bear that had eaten its fill and wandered aimlessly in the forest, always looking for trouble.

"Scraps from Konoha? We've got a customer!"

After hearing the report from the sensory ninjas who had rushed back, Okunuki Kumasaburo revealed a ferocious, bloodthirsty smile, which sent chills down the spines of his own men.

"You, you, all of you come here and join me in making a killing. Let's slaughter some Konoha scum to vent our anger."

Although Okunuki Kumasaburo has a rough and careless appearance and seems easy to fool, he is a shrewd man who does not act rashly or carelessly. This can be seen from the fact that he stopped at the Taniguchi and did not move an inch, but sent his men to scout ahead.

At this moment, he didn't know exactly how many people Konoha had. To be on the safe side, he chose to bring a few more subordinates to avoid being caught off guard and losing both face and life.

The Sand Ninja who were named secretly groaned. Following a leader like Kumasaburo was truly bad luck. Their mission was to escort supplies, and if anything went wrong, they couldn't afford the consequences.

"Lord Kumasaburo, we have received orders to deliver this batch of supplies to the front-line camp as soon as possible. We will report the news to the camp, and someone from above will naturally handle it. Why delay important matters?" A Sand Ninja said, forcing himself to speak.

"Wait for the higher-ups to handle it?"

Kumasaburo's fierce gaze instantly fixed on them, and his icy question sent a chill down the spine of the Sand Ninja who had tried to explain.

Sure enough, the storm arrived in the next moment.

"That's utter nonsense! When did we Sand Village ninja become so timid and hesitant? How long would it take to deal with a few Konoha Ninja? I ask you, how long would it take for the higher-ups to send people to hunt them down? We might as well just take action directly. You're not made of tofu, you're a stupid donkey. You only move two steps when you're whipped. Without orders, you can't even breathe."

The barrage of insults left the Sand Village ninja who had spoken earlier feeling ashamed and indignant. After all, he was Special Jonin, and even if he couldn't compare to a real Jonin, he was still one of the leaders in the team. Such disrespect was truly rare.

After finishing his tirade, Kumasaburo, along with the few people who had been called out, quickly left under the guidance of the sensory ninja who had delivered the message. As for the affairs here, he decisively handed them over to the other two Jonin.

Such a large convoy could not possibly have only one Jonin. However, the other two were far inferior to Kumasaburo in terms of both background and seniority. Therefore, they turned a blind eye to Kumasaburo's outrageous behavior and simply urged the convoy to continue moving forward.

Among Jonin, aside from exceptional individuals like the Jonin Commander leader or Sakumo, cooperation is usually based on discussion, and no one can forcefully dominate the other.

Therefore, Kumasaburo's departure from the team did not have much of an impact, and everyone had come to regard his self-willed behavior as the norm.

A series of muffled thunderclaps came from the horizon, and the drizzle gradually intensified into a torrential downpour. The raindrops, like beads, crashed and shattered on the ground with a magnificent display of force.

"It's raining so hard, this will make traveling difficult."

Fugaku placed his hand on the rock wall at the cave entrance, stretching out to feel the raindrops falling like bullets. They hit his hand as if he were being struck by bullets, quite forceful, and painful. In this kind of weather, it was obviously impossible to travel. No matter how powerful a ninja was, he was still made of flesh and blood, and traveling in such a downpour was extremely difficult.

Seeing that he could not continue his journey, he felt a sense of unease, worrying that the Sand Ninja would discover the supply depot had been destroyed and that if they caught up with him, he would likely suffer a terrible fate.

"Boss, we can't move in this awful weather, and the Sand Ninja can't travel either. Why don't we just rest here?"

Kamiya said with a grin from the side.

"It's not that easy. The Sand Village is not to be trifled with. If they get serious, our small force won't even be enough to satisfy their teeth. We'd better be careful."

Fugaku kept a straight face and a serious expression, not relaxing for a moment. He thought and pondered for a long time, his heart like boiling water, unable to calm down. He didn't have any sixth sense or anything like that, but rationally judged that now was not the time to stop and rest.

"Get ready, we're on our way immediately."

Having made up his mind, Fugaku calmed down and began to tighten his leg wraps and check his pouch.

The group looked at each other, not daring to disobey the order, and began to pack up.

Katsuki combed her messy, sticking-out hair with her fingers, put on her straw hat, tightened her leg bindings, and finished getting everything ready in half a minute.

Finally, after putting the straw hat on his head, Fugaku gave a deep look around. Without saying another word, he rushed out of the cave and climbed the mountain in the pouring rain. He had already memorized the route for this trip.