"Sen!" Jiraiya lowered his voice and gave the order.
Sen understood at once. Together with Jiraiya, he aimed their fire-style jutsu at the sea below!
"Boom—!"
The moment the flames met the seawater, a fierce sizzling erupted. A thick fog billowed up, completely cutting off the two groups.
"Move!"
Taking advantage of the moment, all four surged with chakra and sprinted across the waves like four arrows loosed from their strings.
But they had barely escaped when Kushina glanced back, her pupils suddenly contracting—
Several figures streaked through the dense fog on either side like ghosts, running across the water even faster than they were!
"Jiraiya-sensei, they're catching up! They're faster than us!"
"Damn it!" Jiraiya looked back, his heart sinking.
At this rate, they'd be surrounded again in two minutes at most!
Damn it, I never thought this scouting mission would be so difficult! Next time, I'll make sure to learn more scouting jutsu from the toads!
He made his decision and quickly formed hand seals.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!"
With a massive cloud of white smoke, a huge orange-red toad appeared on the sea with a thunderous crash!
A massive scar ran across his eye, and a short sword hung at his waist. He was Mount Myōboku's strongest fighter—Gamabunta!
"Hey, Jiraiya, what's going on? Why am I surrounded by a bunch of Mist Ninja the moment I show up?" Gamabunta grumbled in his deep, resonant voice.
"Cut the chatter, Bunta! Use oil!" Jiraiya urged him, then shouted at the three beneath Gamabunta, "Get on! I'll get you out of here!"
Knowing the situation was urgent, Gamabunta quickly puffed out his cheeks.
The next instant, a stream of thick, black Toad Oil shot out like a high-pressure jet. Combined with the fire Jiraiya had already prepared, it became a vast sea of flames!
Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!
Facing the wall of flames, the pursuing Mist Ninja immediately formed hand seals.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
With the endless sea at their backs, several shinobi joined forces to raise a Water Formation Wall like a towering blue fortress, forcibly blocking the Toad Oil Flame Bullet.
But it bought Team Seven precious time to escape.
Just as Minato and Kushina climbed onto Gamabunta's head, Sen was about to follow when a long needle glinting with a cold light pierced through the wall of fire, aiming straight for the two above Gamabunta!
It was meant to pierce both Minato and Kushina at once!
"Look out!" Minato immediately drew a kunai, ready to block it.
"Don't come down! Get up there!" Sen snapped, stopping him.
The Three Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly in Sen's eyes. He precisely predicted Nuibari's trajectory, leaped into the air, and knocked the deadly strike aside with his short sword. A sharp clang rang out.
"Sen! Hurry up!" Gamabunta had nearly run out of oil, and Jiraiya urged him again.
The surrounding Mist Ninja had begun counterattacking with all kinds of Water Release jutsu. They had no time left to escape!
Sen glanced into the distance. Suikazan Fuguki had swallowed most of the flames with Samehada, while Jūzō Biwa was already swinging Kubikiribōchō in another horizontal slash.
Sen knew he'd lost his best chance to regroup with them.
From the beginning, he'd been the enemy's only target.
"Jiraiya! Take them and go!"
A plan formed in Sen's mind as his eyes shifted.
He spat out several Great Fireballs in quick succession, forcing back the Mist Ninja on the flank. Then he abruptly turned and charged in the opposite direction from Jiraiya!
After putting some distance between himself and the others, he looked back. Kushina was struggling in Jiraiya's grip, screaming his name. With all the tenderness he had left, he murmured:
"Kushina, don't be afraid. When I get back, we'll have breakfast together."
Gamabunta had already leaped away. Sen's chakra surged beneath his feet once more, and he plunged into the endless darkness without looking back.
Watching the two groups flee in different directions, Jūzō Biwa immediately gave his orders. "Kushimaru Kuriarare, take some men and pursue Jiraiya! Suikazan Fuguki, take two Chunin squads and bring me Uchiha Sen's head!"
"Yes!" A bloodthirsty grin spread across Suikazan Fuguki's face. His chance to redeem himself had come!
He quickly gathered six Chunin and pursued Sen at full speed.
After fleeing for a while, Sen glanced back.
Seven figures were hot on his heels, relentless as burrs.
"One Jonin and six Chunin... They really think highly of me. Still, that's good. At least the others should be safe now."
With that, Sen formed hand seals and created a Shadow Clone, sending it fleeing in another direction. The second part of his plan was complete.
"Lord Fuguki, which one should we pursue?" one of the Mist Ninja asked.
Suikazan Fuguki waved Samehada. Its bandages twisted, then pointed toward Sen's real body.
"This way!" He let out an unpleasant laugh, deliberately raising his voice. "Samehada can tell the real body from a Shadow Clone!"
Sen heard him and felt his heart sink. With no choice, he took out his last Soldier Pills, swallowed them, and kept running.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Clone saw that no one was following it and stopped. It used the moonlight to check its bearings and soon spotted an uninhabited island.
There were still more than two hours until dawn. That should be enough. If Naruto could use the chakra transfer technique, then so could I.
With that thought, he sprinted toward the island.
The chase continued.
Suikazan Fuguki's mood had shifted from the smug confidence of a cat toying with a mouse to utter frustration and fury.
The seven of them had expected to finish the fight with ease.
Instead, their opponent's chakra seemed endless. Even while being relentlessly pursued, he still had the energy to harass them with Explosive Tags and Shuriken—and they'd even lost a Chunin in the process!
That guy was rotten to the core!
After an unknown stretch of time, as the first light of dawn spread across the sky, Suikazan Fuguki finally saw the figure ahead slow down.
"He's at his limit! Close in slowly! Watch out for his Sharingan!"
Sen slowed his pace and panted heavily.
He instinctively reached for his Ninja Tool Pouch, but it was empty. He'd already used up all his weapons and food.
At the same time, a tearing pain spread through his lungs, and every cell in his body was screaming a warning.
It seemed it was time to wrap up his plan to wear down their stamina!
Sen's headlong sprint came to an abrupt halt. He spun around, gripped his short sword, and counterattacked the pursuing Mist Ninja.
The sudden reversal caught them completely off guard.
The distance was less than a hundred meters. In an instant, he was upon them!
One Mist Ninja didn't even have time to react before Sen's short sword pierced his heart!
After landing the blow, Sen kicked off the man's body, backflipped away from the others' attacks, and landed steadily on the water.
Though his strike had hit home, the four remaining Mist Ninja had surrounded him.
"You've been chasing me for so long. You must be nearly out of chakra, too, right?" Sen asked coldly, looking at Suikazan Fuguki's furious face. "Do you really think you can beat me?"
Suikazan Fuguki didn't answer.
Clutching Samehada, he walked over to his comrade, who lay dying from the stab wound. Samehada's maw gaped open, and Fuguki swallowed the man whole.
Feeling the chakra flow into him from Samehada, Suikazan Fuguki smiled with satisfaction.
"Didn't you notice there was one fewer of us? When necessary, they're all just 'chakra supplies' to me!"
Sen spat. He could be ruthless toward his enemies, but he'd never considered turning on his comrades.
"That's disgusting." Sen felt his stomach churn. "You'd stoop to attacking your own people. You're worse than an animal."
Before you continue