Konoha White Fang

"Something's wrong! An enormous mass of Chakra is approaching!"

Suddenly, a Sand Village Sensory Ninja stationed on the outskirts of the encirclement shouted.

Ishido, who was controlling a puppet to sever the head of a Yamanaka Clan ninja, frowned slightly and decisively gave the order.

"Change the mission objective. Kill the Uchiha ninja, seize the Sharingan, and withdraw immediately!"

All the Sand Ninjas, including Shimizu, instantly focused their firepower on that Uchiha.

As for the Konoha Chunin, Sasori had Ibuse tightly entangled around him.

To be honest, that Uchiha's performance had been outstanding. With a pair of Two Tomoe Sharingan, he had actually held off the combined assault of one Special Jonin and two Chunin, suffering only minor injuries.

But no matter how strong he was, it was difficult for him to withstand the siege of so many people.

Having just used the Sharingan's Dynamic Vision to evade hundreds, perhaps thousands, of poisoned needles, then relied on exquisite Fire Release to avoid four or five incoming ninjutsu, he was about to find a weak point and break through when a powerful Steel Fist came crashing down.

Clearly, this Uchiha's reaction speed and combat ability far surpassed that sword-wielding ninja from before. In almost an instant, he drew the Wakizashi at his waist, raised it before himself to deflect the force, then leaped backward in a graceful backflip.

In just a few seconds, aside from the slight internal injuries he had inevitably suffered while dispersing the force, this Uchiha ninja had practically escaped unscathed!

This was an Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan!

With the Sharingan, they could bring both Taijutsu and ninjutsu to their absolute limits, and it granted them an immense boost to Genjutsu, making them virtually unbeatable against opponents of the same level.

After throwing that punch, Shimizu retreated, merely hanging back and providing support with long-range weapons such as poisoned needles and kunai.

The cylinders in his left and right arms needed to recompress air and recharge. Though Chakra Threads reduced that time to around ten seconds, it still took time.

The three Special Jonin swarmed forward, attacking Uchiha Sen from every angle.

Two seconds later.

"Stop him!"

Miyaki controlled his puppet and shouted anxiously.

Uchiha Sen knew there was no hope of escape, so he had reached for his eye socket, intending to destroy his Sharingan in his final second before death.

Blood splattered as Uchiha Sen's finger was sliced off on the spot by a throwing knife fired from a puppet. A bloody gash also appeared across his neck.

The next instant, his head fell to the ground. The two tomoe in those scarlet Sharingan spun rapidly, and the faint remnant of a Third Tomoe seemed to emerge, only to dim again for lack of sufficient Chakra to sustain it.

"Not good! He's here!"

The Sensory Ninja from Sunagakure cried out in alarm.

At the far end of their vision, atop a sand dune on the other side, a streak of white light flashed across the earth like lightning.

At the sight, Shimizu hurriedly removed the Fatty Puppet.

The Fatty Puppet was fine for dealing with Genin and Chunin, but against a Special Jonin who specialized in speed, it would probably become a target. Much less when the newcomer was clearly no ordinary enemy.

"Damn it... it's White Fang... Everyone, retreat!"

Seeing this, Ishido stopped bothering with the fight. He turned around, controlled several puppets to carry Shimizu and Sasori, and fled at full speed.

Carried on the shoulder of a puppet over two meters tall, Shimizu hurriedly used Chakra Threads to pull back the Fatty Puppet and Little Boy, sealing them into the Sealing Scroll on his back.

Compared to Ishido, Kyuichi seemed to be a little more unfortunate—and a little greedier.

He wanted to take that Uchiha's head.

Even if they had failed to capture an Uchiha alive, bringing back a pair of Sharingan would still be a great achievement.

But he had miscalculated.

Nara Heiya, who had seemingly died long ago after having half his body severed by a puppet, opened his eyes at that moment. With one hand, he barely managed to form a hand seal.

"Shadow Imitation Technique."

Because Nara Heiya was already near death and his consciousness was hazy, he could barely maintain the ninjutsu properly. It lasted less than two seconds.

But those two seconds determined the distance between life and death.

Two seconds later, Jonin-level Chakra erupted from Kyuichi's body, forcibly breaking free from the restraints of the Shadow Imitation Technique.

But in the less than five seconds that had passed, that white bolt of lightning had already crossed the distant desert at the edge of their vision and reached the battlefield.

He was a lean, white-haired man of average height.

Hatake Sakumo!

"Konoha Whi—"

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, a White Light streaked through his vision.

Kyuichi did not die. After all, he was a Jonin; before a Kage-level powerhouse, he would not be cut down like grass.

But he was not much better off.

The kunai in his hand snapped, and a slash appeared across his Brown Vest. Faint blood slowly seeped from it.

"Konoha White Fang... Why are you here?"

Hatake Sakumo did not answer. Instead, he looked sorrowfully at the Konoha Ninjas strewn across the ground, the lightning on his White Fang Short Sword growing ever more dazzling.

One White Light after another flashed.

A few breaths later, Kyuichi's head fell to the ground.

Hatake Sakumo sighed.

Of Konoha's elite six-man squad, only two remained alive. One of them was Nara Heiya, a man with only his last breath left.

He was fated not to live much longer.

The other was that middle-aged ninja.

The moment Hatake Sakumo arrived, the severely wounded man's final thread had snapped, and he had collapsed unconscious.

"Looks like Iyuu is the only one of us who'll make it back alive. He's always been this lucky."

Nara Heiya, whose bleeding Hatake Sakumo had stopped and who had been fed a Ration Pill, spoke through coughing.

"Lord Sakumo, you're injured, aren't you? Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken you so long to deal with that Jonin."

Hatake Sakumo did not answer. He merely pressed a hand onto Nara Heiya's shoulder.

"Heiya, I'll take all of you back to the village."

"There's no need, Lord Sakumo. Even if Lady Tsunade intervened, my injuries can't be healed. You must deal with our bodies here to prevent Sunagakure from obtaining intelligence from them. Just bring our ashes back to the village."

Hatake Sakumo pressed his lips together, then spoke a single word.

"Alright."

"Cough, cough. Also, the Sand Village unit that ambushed us was led by Ishido of the Puppet Force. There were two very young Puppeteers among them, but they were far stronger than others their age. If you still have the strength, Lord Sakumo, please make sure to eliminate them. They will become a future threat to the village. If you can't, then you must bring this information back to the village. Finally... please... end the pain... in my body..."

Nara Heiya's breathing grew weaker and weaker, and his words became increasingly slurred.

Hatake Sakumo sighed again and reached out to snap Nara Heiya's neck.

"I'm sorry. I may not be able to continue the pursuit to avenge you, nor will I be able to bring all of you home."