Giving Uchiha Madara a Surprise

In the dense forests and mountains of the Land of Grass.

The Ino-Shika-Cho squad was fleeing in disarray.

After resolving to "fight to the last and commit seppuku," Akimichi Dōtō and his two teammates immediately began their infiltration towards Kannabi Bridge.

But as a result, whether it was bad luck or something else, the first Iwagakure ninja outpost they passed had a Sensory Ninja who was proficient in perception.

Yamanaka Santen had intended to sense the number of ninja within the outpost, but his Sensory Ninjutsu had directly alerted the opposing Sensory Ninja!

There was no other way now.

Originally, they had planned to bypass it, but now they had no choice but to fight.

With Akimichi Dōtō's Jonin-level strength, combined with the secret techniques of the Ino-Shika-Cho families, dealing with the Iwagakure ninja stationed at an outpost shouldn't have been a problem.

But the key was that this was the rear of Iwagakure!

Seeing that they couldn't capture these three for a long time, and that they had suffered casualties, the Iwagakure ninja on the other side decisively fired a signal flare to call for reinforcements.

Before long, before the battle here was over, the three were surrounded by ninja who rushed in from two other directions.

Seeing that they had alerted the Iwagakure ninja, Nara Shiosui made a decision: to fight desperately to break through and head towards Kannabi Bridge, no matter the cost.

"This is troublesome, more and more people are following us."

Akimichi Dōtō looked back and estimated that there were probably seventy to eighty Iwagakure ninja following them.

The mission to blow up the bridge was likely impossible.

But the mission to attract fire for the main battlefield was going very smoothly...

"No, no, stop!"

Yamanaka Santen, carried on Nara Shiosui's back, had a pale face.

During the previous breakout, his Mind Transfer Ninjutsu had suffered a backlash from an enemy Iwagakure Jonin, severely damaging his mind!

"We can't go in this direction anymore!" Yamanaka Santen said anxiously.

Direction?

Nara Shiosui quickly understood when he heard this.

Driven and pursued by a large number of Iwagakure ninja behind them, they had originally taken the northern right path towards Kannabi Bridge, but now they were gradually approaching the middle path.

That was the direction of Uchiha Aoya's squad!

"Dōtō, stop!"

Nara Shiosui's expression flickered, and he quickly made a decision: "We can't complete the mission here, but we can't drag Uchiha Aoya and the others down with us!"

If they stopped advancing, the middle path would not be affected, and Uchiha Aoya and the others would still have a chance to complete the mission to blow up the bridge.

"...I understand."

Akimichi Dōtō gritted his teeth, took out a small box from his ninja pouch, which contained three pills of different colors: "Right here, we'll stop them and fight them to the death!"

After speaking, he took out a green spinach pill and swallowed it fiercely.

This was a secret medicine of their Akimichi clan!

After taking it, it could enhance the potential of the human body by 30% for a short period!

"Human Bullet Tank!"

Akimichi Dōtō curled his body into a tire-like shape and charged towards the Iwagakure ninja behind him at high speed.

The Iwagakure ninja behind them were instead surprised.

Good, they stopped running!

These three bastards were really good at running!

Several Iwagakure ninja at the front simultaneously used Earth Style ninjutsu, raising earthen walls that forcefully blocked the rapidly charging, obese body.

"Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear!"

A large number of sharp earth spikes, three to four meters high, rose from the ground, attempting to directly pierce Akimichi Dōtō's body.

At the same time, Nara Shiosui's shadow under his feet spread rapidly, extending to beneath Akimichi Dōtō, and with a strong pull, he directly pulled Akimichi Dōtō back.

The thin black thread actually detached from the ground again, like a solid line, pulling Akimichi Dōtō's body and throwing him into the center of the Iwagakure ninja crowd.

BOOM!

The heavy body struck the ground, shaking it.

The thin shadow pulled Akimichi Dōtō's body, charging around in the crowd of Iwagakure ninja.

This was the combined ultimate technique of the Akimichi and Nara clans, the Human Bullet Yo-Yo!

"Damn Konoha ninja, don't get too arrogant!"

An Iwagakure Jonin slammed his hands on the ground: "Earth Style: Earth Tremor!"

The ground beneath Akimichi Dōtō, who was being pulled and running, suddenly rose. Seeing this, the Iwagakure ninja beside him also began to attack with Earth Style ninjutsu, with earth spears and earth senbon shooting towards Akimichi Dōtō.

"It really won't work, huh."

Nara Shiosui gradually fell into despair.

Even trying to fight to the death to stall them seemed incredibly difficult.

Amidst the fierce battle, an Iwagakure Ninja suddenly grew alert, whipping his head around to look south and shouting, "Who's there?!"

Someone was hiding over there!

Before the other Iwagakure Ninja could react, a cold glint flashed from behind a giant tree to the south. The Tachi was drawn, and Qingye's body became a mere blur as he charged into the Iwagakure ranks in the blink of an eye.

Ching! With a single slash, the Iwagakure Ninja who had spoken was killed, his throat slit, blood gushing out like a geyser.

"Uchiha Qingye?!"

Nara Shiosui was half shocked, half annoyed.

Uchiha Qingye had arrived, increasing their chances of victory, but by fleeing in this direction while being pursued, they had indeed dragged Uchiha Qingye's squad into this.

"You guys go ahead, I'll hold them off as much as I can!" Nara Shiosui roared.

Qingye frowned slightly, not responding. Instead, he asked Yamanaka Santen, "Are there any other Sensory Ninja on their side?"

The one who had discovered their squad's tracks just now was clearly a Sensory Ninja.

"There shouldn't be any more," Yamanaka Santen replied with strained effort, mustering his strength.

"Then you guys go ahead, I'll take care of them."

Qingye flicked the blood off his Tachi as he spoke.

"What? No, you guys retreat, we'll..."

"Stop wasting time!"

Qingye directly cut him off.

"..."

Nara Shiosui swallowed, knowing there was no time for further argument. He immediately picked up Yamanaka Santen on his back and sprinted forward.

Seeing the Ino-Shika-Cho trio about to leave, some Iwagakure Ninja became furious and immediately split off to pursue them.

"Uchiha Style: Sun Halo Dance!"

Qingye gripped his Tachi, and flames suddenly erupted from the silver blade.

He used the Body Flicker Technique, his form vanishing instantly. Almost simultaneously, several fiery slashes cut down all the Iwagakure Ninja who had rushed out in pursuit!

With a single attack, the remaining Iwagakure Ninja who had attempted to pursue changed their expressions and took several steps back in unison.

Akimichi Dōtō, who was covering their retreat, saw this attack and felt a sliver of hope rise within him. He didn't look back again and quickly fled towards Kannabi Bridge.

He couldn't waste the opportunity Uchiha Qingye had bought them!

From behind, Qingye plunged directly into the Iwagakure Ninja ranks, the flames from his Tachi claiming several Iwagakure Ninja lives with each surge!

"Damn Konoha brat!"

The Iwagakure Jonin, hearing the screams and wails of his own men, was completely enraged. Disregarding everything else, he unleashed Ninjutsu, firing a large-scale barrage of Earth Style: Senbon towards Qingye!

While the Senbon rain injured many of his own comrades, it also successfully forced Qingye back, compelling him to create some distance from the Iwagakure Ninja.

"He's too fast, don't let him get close!"

The Iwagakure Jonin rejoiced inwardly as his attack proved effective.

While the other Iwagakure Ninja gained confidence, they also felt a surge of anger.

It was one thing that they couldn't capture the three young members of the Ino-Shika-Cho squad, but now a Konoha Ninja, barely in his teens, was putting them in such a desperate situation!

Various long-range Earth Style Ninjutsu began to rain down on Qingye.

"This is troublesome!"

Qingye dodged for a while, couldn't help but frown.

He could defeat all of them with his current strength.

But with so many of them cooperating, he would likely be delayed, and reinforcements could arrive at any moment.

"...Himon!"

Qingye suddenly shouted and quickly retreated.

Hyuga Himon and Yūhi Kurenai, who had been hiding behind nearby trees, quickly followed.

"With so many of them, how do we shake them off?"

Hyuga Himon, looking back at the large number of Iwagakure Ninja relentlessly pursuing them, was sweating profusely.

They hadn't even gotten far on the road to blow up the bridge, and they'd already run into so many enemies!

What had that Ino-Shika-Cho squad done to attract so many enemies?

"Remember that forbidden area I told you about before?"

Hyuga Himon startled, his gaze shifting towards a spot to the south as they ran. "Forbidden area? You mean that cave?"

Come to think of it, their current location was not far from that so-called forbidden area, only about two or three kilometers away.

"Look over there, see if that cave below has been hollowed out!"

"Remember, just confirm it, absolutely no more than that!"

Qingye, leading his two teammates, with a large group of Iwagakure Ninja hot on their heels, was heading in that direction.