"What? That brat Sasuke ran away?"
In the Hokage's office, Tsunade on the table and glared at Kakashi upon hearing the news.
Receiving this news first thing in the morning at work, it's no wonder Tsunade was in a bad mood.
"Yes, Lord Hokage! Naruto went after them overnight, along with Sakura, Shikamaru, Neji... and Gaara from Sunagakure also went!"
Kakashi named several people. Apart from Gaara, the others were all companions that Sakura had contacted. It was quite an effort for Kakashi to get these people together so late at night.
"According to Sakura, Sasuke must have gone to find Orochimaru!"
Why didn't you tell me this important information sooner?
Tsunade on the table again. Did he really want to piss her off? She had been angry for the past few days as Hokage, and the anger she had felt in the past ten years was almost equal to the total anger she had felt in the past ten years!
Faced with Tsunade's anger, Kakashi secretly groaned. He wasn't sure if the news was true or false, and besides, it had already been said.
"You and... Might Guy go over there and bring the person back!"
Tsunade originally wanted to suggest Asuma, but since he was now the captain of the Military Police Force, she decided to let Kakashi bring his partner instead.
Upon receiving the order, Kakashi immediately withdrew.
"Orochimaru! You planned this all along! You're just causing me trouble every single Tenten!"
No wonder the other person gave her a meaningful look when they mentioned Sasuke that night; they were trying to give her a heads-up.
She wasn't worried about Sasuke's safety; he had already reached that level of strength, so she figured he wouldn't bully a mere greenhorn.
It's just that Itachi Tsuna returned to Konoha a couple of days ago, and now Sasuke has left, which makes it hard not to draw some connections.
She's just a little guy blinded by hatred who wants to borrow Orochimaru's power. What she's worried about is that Orochimaru will corrupt Sasuke and make him stand against Konoha.
This is not impossible, after all, Orochimaru has a criminal record!
Sasuke and his group rushed towards the Valley of the End overnight, but just an hour later, they discovered that Konoha's pursuers were behind them.
"Form pairs and advance separately!"
Kabuto immediately issued the order that everything in this operation must be done according to his authority, which Orochimaru had granted him.
The men who received the order naturally dared not object, especially since it was just to obstruct them, not to fight to the death. If things went wrong, they could always escape.
Most people in the group thought the same way, but reality and ideals are always different, and whether they can escape depends on their abilities.
Soon, Akado Yoroi and Katsumi one group, Kin and Mizuki formed another, and Kabuto and Sasuke a third. Then, the group used their Clone Technique, scattering in pairs.
Although the Clone Technique cannot be maintained for long, it can slightly disrupt the opponent's judgment and buy more time.
Their strength was not great to begin with, and they couldn't exert much power even if they came together. It would be better for them to scatter and disperse the pursuers' strength.
As these squads disperse, they also set up traps or misleading trails along their routes.
"If you don't reach our destination, our mission will have failed! Conversely, if you do reach it, it doesn't matter if we all die!"
The man leading the way adjusted his glasses, his words devoid of any emotion.
Upon hearing this, a strange light flashed in Sasuke's eyes. Since it was a mission, there was a risk of death. He just didn't expect the other party to value him so much.
He was a little unaccustomed to being valued so much. Little did he know that these people were nothing more than cannon fodder to Orochimaru.
Moreover, Kabuto himself believed that this operation was not only for Sasuke, but also to test his abilities; if he was not capable enough, he would also be cannon fodder.
However, for Orochimaru, trash is just the essence in the wrong place. Moving towards the future requires not only civilization, but also some dregs!
"They've scattered here, this is a bit troublesome!"
Neji frowned as he looked at the messy trail before him, never expecting his opponent to be so cunning.
"Oh dear! I should have called the dentist!"
Naruto said with a frustrated look, "If only we had a dog with us right now; they thought Neji would be enough, but now it seems that was too idealistic."
Time was too rushed, and no one thought of this. It just goes to show that we were too young and inexperienced.
"Actually, it can be roughly divided into three directions: that is the direction of the Land of Earth, that is the direction of the Land of Lightning, and directly in front is the direction of the Land of Gold."
Shikamaru carefully analyzed the situation before him, and then considered it further.
Naruto, Neji, and the others behind him could only listen quietly; when it came to brains, Shikamaru was the most intelligent.
"These three directions of travel lead to Kannabi Bridge, Beidai Bridge, and... the Valley of the End!"
When Shikamaru mentioned the Valley of the End, Naruto felt a slight stirring in his heart. He had a feeling that Sasuke was probably in that direction.
"Then let's split up and proceed separately. If we don't find anything, we'll regroup at Valley of the End!"
Naruto made the final decision, and the others present didn't say anything more; it seemed that this was the only way to proceed.
After saying that, Naruto dashed off straight ahead, with Shikamaru close behind.
Rock Lee and Sakura headed towards Kannabi Bridge, while Chōji and Neji chose the Beidai Bridge direction.
Not long after the others left, a young man carrying a gourd on his back also arrived at the place.
After the war, Tsunade took the initiative to ease relations with Sunagakure. He was the one who led the team here to discuss cooperation, but who knew that this incident would happen so coincidentally.
Gaara randomly chose a direction and followed. He was just there to join in the fun, so it didn't matter where he went.
The Konoha 12 are quite capable, and they caught up with the first group of enemies in no time. However, they were somewhat disappointed when they realized that it was not Sasuke ahead of them.
"Akado Yoroi! It'll be hard to shake off that Byakugan behind me!"
"The other side is much faster than us, and they'll catch up soon, "Katsumi said with a furrowed brow.
The Akado Yoroi also thought of this, and his expression was equally grim, but a murderous intent rose within him.
"Escape separately, and let fate decide your fate!"
Without waiting for a response, the man in the Akado Yoroi immediately dashed off in another direction.
"Hmph! It's not certain who will die yet!"
Whether she was referring to the Akado Yoroi or the pursuers behind her, Katsumi didn't change direction; she simply quickened her pace.
While they were still chasing each other, Rock Lee and Mizuki had already started fighting on the other side.
Because he felt that Sakura was too slow, Rock Lee went ahead on his own, but perhaps the other side noticed this and took the initiative to ambush him halfway.
"Hey watermelon-headed kid, who gave you the guts to chase us all by yourself?"
Mizuki looked at the young man in front of him with a sinister gaze, and together with Kim, they blocked his path from the front and back.
Realizing he had fallen into a trap, Rock Lee remained calm and slowly unwrapped the bandages from his hands.
As for the last route, Shikamaru and Naruto also spotted Kabuto and Sasuke.
"Sasuke!"
Naruto's shouts rang out from a great distance, but perhaps because of the distance, his Talk no Jutsu didn't have the desired effect, and the two people in front of him continued running without looking back.
"Let me do it!"
As he spoke, Shikamaru unleashed his Shadow Imitation Technique. Thanks to the shadows of the trees in the forest and the bright moonlight in the sky, Shikamaru's shadow could extend for a very long distance.
"Careful!"
A glint of light flashed from the glasses, and the cautious Dou accelerated forward a short distance, narrowly avoiding the shadow behind him.
He was already a few meters behind Sasuke, but this burst of energy allowed him to catch up.
"You go ahead, I'll cover the rear!"
Before he finished speaking, Dou threw two Explosive Tag behind him.
The bright Hikari caused Shikamaru's shadow to immediately disappear. When the smoke cleared, two figures could be seen standing in front of him.
One was Sasuke, and the other was also Sasuke; they ran off in opposite directions...