The Matter is Settled

The moment Shinnosuke arrived, he saw from afar the scene of the tiger being backstabbed by Fūen with a kunai.

In an instant, his eyes blazed like a furious Vajra, his speed increasing once more as shuriken flew from his hand.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone."

Thousands of shuriken flew towards Fūen. This technique was ninjutsu developed by Hiruzen Sarutobi from the Shadow Clone. Although called Shadow Clone, each shuriken actually possessed lethal power.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi's son, he had naturally learned this technique as well.

Sensing the killing intent rushing towards him, Fūen's expression changed slightly, and he quickly dodged to the side. However, he was still a step too slow. Several shuriken inflicted wounds on his leg, and he let out a muffled groan.

It had to be said that Shinnosuke's strength was indeed formidable. Amidst so many shuriken, he could still precisely control each one, and not a single one hit the tiger.

Seizing this opportunity, the Anbu members quickly landed beside the tiger.

"Captain, you're finally here." The tiger gave a tragic smile and breathed a sigh of relief, no longer able to hold on, he fell straight backward.

Eagle caught him in time, opened his clothes to check the wounds, and said while healing with Mystical Palm Technique, "The injuries are very serious; treatment must be done as soon as possible."

"I'll do it," Tsunade suddenly said. Then, in front of everyone, she placed the Slug on Eagle's back. The Slug quickly began its work.

"Thank you," Shinnosuke said.

"You were injured saving me, it's nothing," Tsunade replied. "The current situation is, how do we handle this person?" she said, pointing at Fūen.

After the Anbu members arrived, the tables had turned, and Fūen was now at a disadvantage.

Seeing that everyone's attention was on him, Fūen cursed his bad luck. Why did these people arrive so quickly? This speed suggested that all their movements were likely under the enemy's surveillance.

Moreover, "Why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet?" he thought, his expression grim.

"If you're thinking of the Chunin who went out to call for help not long ago, then I'm sorry, he's already dead." The tiger was extremely perceptive; seeing Fūen's expression, he guessed the latter's thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Fūen's heart sank. He subtly moved a few steps back.

As things stood, he understood that killing Tsunade in front of these people was now impossible. Shinnosuke alone was an extremely troublesome opponent, let alone the other elite Chunin.

He sighed inwardly.

This was supposed to be an excellent opportunity to inflict heavy damage on Konoha, but unfortunately, their Takigakure had failed to seize it. They hadn't expected Konoha's reinforcements to be so swift.

After sending these people back, Takigakure would likely suffer severe losses to quell the Land of Fire's wrath.

He gave Tsunade a deep look and, without a word, quietly retreated...

One of the Anbu members wanted to pursue, but Shinnosuke stopped him.

"This is Takigakure. We don't have the strength to rival an entire village yet," Shinnosuke said calmly. "Our mission this time was to rescue Jonin Tsunade. Our objective has been achieved, so there's no need to stir up more trouble."

"The rest will be decided by the Daimyo."

Hearing this, the Anbu members who were eager to fight calmed down.

Shinnosuke turned to Tsunade. "Jonin Tsunade, are you alright?"

Tsunade waved her hand. "I won't die."

Given her fiery temper, leaving just like this felt too cowardly. She had been hiding for almost two days, but she also knew that with just these few people, they were too inexperienced to confront the entirety of Takigakure.

"Jonin Tsunade, have you seen someone..." Kazuki Utsuki finally couldn't help but ask. As soon as he arrived, he had observed the surroundings but hadn't seen a familiar figure.

Coupled with the recent battle scars he saw from Sora Uchiha's fight with Kakuzu, a sense of unease arose in his heart.

Shinnosuke glanced at him calmly but said nothing, his gaze inexplicably deep.

After Kazuki Utsuki's description, Tsunade smiled. "Don't worry, that kid isn't dead. I hid him."

Saying that, she led the group to where Sora Uchiha was hidden.

Seeing the youth before them, covered in wounds and unconscious, a flash of heartache crossed Kazuki Utsuki's eyes. He quickly checked his injuries and, finding that he was still breathing, breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly picked him up.

Shinnosuke took in Kazuki Utsuki's expression and moved his lips, but said nothing. As for why Kazuki Utsuki was so good to Sora, he knew some of Kazuki Utsuki's personal circumstances and thus understood.

However, seeing Sora Uchiha so severely injured, he suddenly recalled the cave he had seen not long ago, which was completely destroyed. At first, he thought Tsunade had caused the scene, but seeing Sora Uchiha like this, a preposterous guess suddenly arose in his mind.

Could it be... that destructive power was caused by Sora Uchiha? But his age...

He remembered the mission his father had assigned him:

To cultivate Sora Uchiha while also winning him over, making him a trustworthy person.

And now, he suddenly realized that even though Sora Uchiha had joined the Anbu for over a month, he seemed to not understand him at all.

He felt a strange sensation, but this was not the time to ponder this matter. He could only temporarily put it aside and deal with it back in Konoha.

"Jonin Tsunade, can you still move freely?" Shinnosuke asked.

After receiving Tsunade's affirmative reply, Shinnosuke nodded gently. "Eagle, you carry the tiger on your back. Monkey, you're responsible for Seven. We're returning to Konoha. If you encounter enemies, do not engage."

"Yes!"

The journey back to Konoha had a minor accident. While leaving the back mountain, they encountered Takinin ambushing them. Fortunately, most of them were Genin and Chunin.

With the tacit cooperation of the group, they quickly killed a few Genin and broke through the encirclement. They left Takigakure before the enemy Jonin could arrive.

The people of Takigakure watched the retreating figures of the Anbu members and fell into silence.

It took a lot of effort for thousands of people, but the other side got away, and quite a few of our people died.

"Jonin Fūen." At this moment, someone noticed Fūen rushing over. He glanced at him and said worriedly, "Jonin Fūen, your leg..."

Fūen looked down. The wound caused by Shinnosuke earlier hadn't been bandaged, making his walk a bit bumpy. He waved his hand.

"The mission failed. Have everyone retreat."

The others exchanged glances. Someone hesitated, "The Hero Water..."

"It's gone. They took it," Fūen said calmly.

"But—"

"I said, the mission failed. Don't you understand?" Fūen spoke again, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

The man's hair stood on end. He shivered and dared not speak again. He felt that Jonin Fūen was terrifying at the moment, his calm eyes holding back a raging storm.

Fūen felt annoyed and rolled a cigarette, placing it in his mouth.

Tsunade had returned safely, so their pledge of allegiance to the Land of Earth was gone. Now, they would have to bear the wrath of the Land of Fire.

But that had nothing to do with him. Let the Daimyo worry about it.

"Jonin Fūen," a Chunin hurried over at this moment, his face pale.

"Speak."

"Just now, four bodies with their hearts gouged out were discovered."

Upon hearing this, Fūen paused and extinguished the cigarette butt in his palm. The method of death—having the heart gouged out—was known to him, and there was only one person who did that.

"Four hearts... Could it be that Kakuzu died four times?"