Rescue Operation, V

After a while, a dense crowd of people rushed into the ruins of the valley.

Jonin's leg strength is naturally extraordinary. Once they unleash their full speed, they are truly as fast as lightning, only a little slower than Katsuki and the others.

A hundred or so figures moved about, and in just a few breaths, they had searched the entire valley.

"There is no one alive here anymore."

A Jonin spoke, and a large swath of 'shadows' rose and fell around him, emitting a buzzing sound. If one looked closely, one would find that these 'shadows' were insects, hundreds and thousands of them gathered together, like dark clouds.

"The living are gone, and the dead have also disappeared? This is truly strange."

Riding on a ninja dog the size of a calf, the middle-aged ninja twitched his nose. Ahead, in a patch of flattened grass, was a human figure, with dark red bloodstains still wet on it.

"Someone came and took the body away; there were three different smells."

"... Three people?"

After a few breaths of silence, someone spoke up.

"Let's put that aside for now. The primary task is to retrieve the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Everything else can wait. We can't let small things cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture."

This statement garnered considerable support, but some remained indifferent, while others voiced their opposition.

"I think the disappearance of this corpse might be a clue, and the whereabouts of that Uchiha brat who brought the message are still unknown. We need to think carefully before we act."

Thirty-two Jonin, divided into sixteen teams

Although everyone is pursuing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki together, it doesn't mean they are of one mind. The stronger the individual, the more arrogant they will naturally be, and it's perfectly normal for them to be dissatisfied with each other.

"Shut up, all of you, stop arguing."

The ninja with the pineapple-shaped haircut glanced at everyone. As the class leader of the Jonin Commander, she held considerable authority and immediately silenced the arguing group.

"Can we find the whereabouts of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, he then inquired about the sensory ninjas in the group.

Pairs of Byakugan searched all directions, and dense flying insects scattered into the forest. The ninja dogs, as strong as calves, twitched their huge noses. Everyone used their skills to search for the aura of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but they found nothing.

"Once they left this valley, it was as if they had vanished into thin air; there was absolutely no trace of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"The smell has been eliminated too, damn it, these bastards are very skilled."

"Those damned bastards from the Cloud Ninja clan."

"A bunch of barbarians with black and white skin."

There aren't many good-tempered ninjas. After rolling around on the battlefield and walking through fire and blood, they're cursing the heavens, the earth, and their ancestors. There are no civilized people among them. Many of the Jonin hesitation, their spittle flying everywhere. They had no trace of the demeanor of a master and cursed the ancestors of the Cloud Ninja for eighteen generations.

Dan Katō reached out and touched his nose, remaining silent, just like the masked ANBU Anbu around him, so quiet that one might mistake him for not breathing.

There aren't many good people like him who remain untainted by the mud.

The middle-aged ninja with the pineapple-shaped haircut rubbed his forehead in exasperation. Being the leader of the Jonin Commander wasn't an easy job. Most of the time, his job was just to keep track of Jonin's numbers and whereabouts. Unlike Chunin and Genin, every Jonin was a treasure. Even their corpses had to be recovered and disposed of as much as possible, Jonin also needed to be dealt with.

In short, he does have real power as the leader of the Jonin Commander, but the extent of that power depends on how much the Hokage is willing to grant him.

"Although we can't find the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, we can still find traces of the Cloud Ninja. They might be able to erase one person's trace, but they can't erase everyone's traces..." A Hyuga Clan Jonin became more reliable and shared the information he had gathered.

"Seventeen auras?"

After hearing the report from the Hyuga Clan Jonin, Shikaku Nara's head throbbed even more. Why were there seventeen auras of demons of their own? Couldn't these Cloud Ninja fewer routes? It was truly unbelievable.

They only have sixteen squads here, and they're just one short. If they miss this opportunity, it would be a terrible mistake.

As for splitting up the forces, he hadn't considered it. Each group should have at least two Jonin in charge. Although each squad had six Anbu accompanying them, according to intelligence, the Cloud Ninja had at least two Jonin, and they were extremely powerful Jonin.

Therefore, he dared not divide his forces, otherwise even if he caught up with the Cloud Ninja, he would not be able to retrieve the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. In that case, he would lose both his wife and his army, and he would be devastated.

"Senior Lu Xing, since we're still missing one more person, why don't we join in?"

The sound echoed through the valley. The Anbu remained motionless, and the Jonin also Jonin silent. With their abilities, they naturally realized the identity of the newcomer.

Uchiha No smiled Jonin Teuchi to the Jonin from the Uchiha Clan, displaying the grandeur of Konoha clan. Although it couldn't compare to the Hyuga clan's nine Jonin at once, one was Uchiha No himself calling for people, while the other was summoned by the Hokage, so they were naturally not comparable.

In terms of resources, the Uchiha still has a considerable foundation. Even a broken ship has three thousand nails, and they haven't yet fallen to the pitiful state they later became.

It's unbelievable that the entire Uchiha Clan was wiped out by Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito.

Every Jonin is a living legend. Even though Itachi and Obito both awakened the Mangekyo, if the Jonin Uchiha hadn't been so pitifully small in number at the time, they could have easily wiped out an entire clan overnight.

"What are you doing here, Uchiha No?"

Shikaku Nara looked at Uchiha No with a strange expression. The Lord Hokage hadn't summoned the Uchiha Clan to intervene, and those four Uchiha Clan— Jonin, damn it, they weren't even registered in the village's records.

For large clans like the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga, the number of Jonin is an unknown secret. On the surface, there are only so many, but who knows how many there are in reality? After all, the number of Jonin is a standard for measuring the strength of a village, and also a standard for measuring the strength of a clan.

No family would be foolish enough to reveal its wealth; that would be suicidal. Only by keeping things unknown can a wealthy family maintain its dignity and mystery.

"Haha, Brother Lu Xing, isn't it our little guy who's in trouble? He went through all that trouble to use his Shadow Clone to get back to the village and deliver the message, while his real body is probably just sitting around in some corner getting moldy. If we just stand by and watch our own family members die, how can we face anyone else? Especially since this time it's my own nephew who's in danger."

Uchiha No, a genuine look of worry creeping onto his face.