Counterfeit, Tenfold Compensation

Hearing Nagato's voice, Katsuki strained her eyes and finally spotted Nagato crouching in the corner.

This guy always likes to squat in the corner, I don't know where he developed this bad habit. Plus, this cave is pitch black, and with the little light he emits, if Nagato doesn't make a sound, he might never find him!

"Just the two of you? Where's Konan?"

"... Before the battle, Konan and her companions had already evacuated. To be honest, I don't know where she is or if she's safe..." Nagato's voice trailed off.

Yahiko was panting heavily beside her, also had a contorted expression, clearly worried about Konan's safety.

"Alright, stop thinking so much, Nagato. Try to stall for time, I'll find it as quickly as possible..."

"Boom--!!"

The earth shook violently, and a large hole was punched through the top of the cave, allowing sunlight to stream in and instantly fill the cave with light.

Then, Katsuki's body immediately began to twist, hissing as if a signal jammer had been activated. She was interrupted halfway through her sentence, but fortunately, in the last moments, she saw the huge wooden figure with a solemn and fierce face outside through the newly opened skylight.

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"Damn it!"

Upon regaining consciousness, the original Katsuki, who was sitting cross-legged on the Dodai, opened her eyes and immediately uttered a vulgar curse.

With a flick of her finger, Katsuki dispelled the barrier. Without bothering to explain to the curious onlookers, she grabbed the cat's Anbu face.

"Hey, did you bring a map of the Land of Grass?"

"The Land of Grass? I brought it with me. Not just the Land of Grass, I also have maps of the Land of the Falls, the Land of Rice, the Land of Rivers..."

"Just give me a map of the Land of Grass."

The cat-faced Anbu keenly sensed the anxiety in Katsuki's heart, and quickly took out a large stack of maps from the scroll, then turned out the map of the Land of Grass and handed it to Katsuki.

Produced by the Geography and Surveying Class. Ten times the compensation will be given if it's fake!

July, Konoha Year 44, 39th Edition.

Looking at the row of small printed words along the edge of the map, along with the publication date, Katsuki's lips twitched. No wonder when she suddenly felt like flipping through the accounts a few days ago, she discovered that the funding budget applied for by the Geography Surveying Class had been increasing year by year, like bamboo flowering. They've even expanded their work scope overseas.

"No, no, let's get down to business, let's get down to business..." Giving a sharp tap to her habitually absent-minded head, Katsuki began searching for her target on the map. "A large lake... a large lake... there's a large lake nearby... found it!"

Large lakes are not common in inland areas. Only a peculiar country like the Land of Rain, which is rich in water, could have large lakes inland. The border area of the Land of Grass, which is close to the Land of Rain, is also affected to some extent, so finding that large lake is not too difficult.

"Hey you, which way do you go?" Katsuki asked, pointing to the lake on the map for the cat-faced Anbu to see.

"Let me see... this... it's roughly at the ten o'clock position."

Sweat was pouring down beneath the cat-faced Anbu's mask. The Lord Commander's killing intent was just too intense! How many people would one have to kill to produce such a strong killing intent?

"Ten o'clock? OK! Kuyue, Kakashi, I have something urgent to attend to. You guys go back to the village with the group. Don't cause trouble. Even if you do, wait for me to come back so I can cover for you. Got it?"

"Teacher, I understand." Kuyue nodded obediently, without asking Katsuki what she was going to do.

"All I want to do right now is go back to the village and get a good night's sleep," Kakashi, waving his hand dismissively.

"Commander, are you heading to the Land of Grass?"

Kuyue and Kakashi were considerate enough not to ask too many questions, but the cat-faced Anbu couldn't just ignore it. Katsuki was the supreme commander of this team, and there was no reason for the commander to abandon the team and wander off.

"Ah... that's right, I have an urgent mission to complete. You all go straight back to the village. We can discuss any questions when I get back."

"And... cover your ears."

With a slam of one foot into the ground, a thunderous roar erupted as Katsuki soared into the sky atop his Thunderclap Chariot. He waved to Kuyue and Kakashi, the two little guys who were still dazed from the shockwave and covering their ears, before transforming into a streak of silver light and disappearing into the horizon.

"That move was so cool!" Kuyue's eyes widened in envy.

"He is very handsome."

Kakashi tilted his head back, craning his neck to gaze at the sky. Even though the silver lightning bolt had disappeared, he remained in the same position.

The Thunderclap Chariot roared through the sky, cutting a wide path through the vast sea of clouds.

While traveling, he also pondered the ins and outs of this matter. The giant wooden figure was clearly related to Madara Uchiha. Although the Senju Clan had restored the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, no one could currently control this level of Wood Style Jutsu. The Wood Human Technique could be said to be one of the strongest Wood Release techniques, and its difficulty in mastering it was also among the highest.

It can only be absolute.

But why would Zetsu launch such a high-profile attack on Nagato and his group? After thinking it over, Katsuki narrowed his eyes. This time, Nagato... things might not be good. He hoped that he would get there in time.

The Land of Grass.

A hundred-meter-tall wooden figure swiftly traversed the mountains, causing a tremendous roar and billowing dust to appear wherever it passed.

Shinra Tensei.

A violent repulsive force erupted, slamming heavily into the wooden figure's calf, but the force only caused the figure to stagger back two or three steps.

Nagato's face was a little pale, all from exhaustion.

All Six Paths Clone were destroyed. The intensity of this battle was the greatest in Nagato's life. His Deva Path and Preta Path Clone were killed by two little devils, and the remaining four clones were also destroyed one after another during the battle, which took him all the way from the Land of Rain to the Land of Grass.

One reason he was in such a sorry state was that the enemy was too strong. Another reason was that he had to be distracted by protecting Yahiko, which put him under tremendous pressure and made him hesitant in battle, leading to his current predicament.

Yahiko's condition was even worse than Nagato's. His strength was barely at the level of Jonin, but it was clear that his combat power was among the lowest of the Jonin. Getting involved in such a devastating battle was an extremely difficult thing for him.

Despite Nagato's best efforts to protect him, he was ultimately unable to cover all aspects of Zetsu's terrifying attacks. Even when Nagato deployed all his clones, it only bought him time, and he was powerless to turn the tide of the battle.

"Nagato... you go quickly, you go alone... huff, that damned monster... he can't catch you, don't worry about me... go find Konan, protect her, protect Konan, promise me..."

Yahiko gripped Nagato's sleeve and spoke haltingly. These two sentences exhausted him, and blood and foam kept gushing from his mouth.

He was hit in the chest by flying shards of stone. Even with Nagato's quick reflexes, he couldn't defend against the secondary attack that occurred in the chaos. Yahiko was now hanging by a thread, feeling like he could die at any moment.