A Pity It Wasn't You

After a large number of Konoha Ninja arrived on the battlefield in the Land of Rivers, the Second Kazekage seemed to immediately lose his nerve and chose to "flee" without hesitation.

Faced with this situation, the Konoha side didn't need to think too much; what they had to do was entirely a matter of reflex... He runs, they chase, he can't fly even with wings, the process is always the same.

But honestly, the Second Kazekage's "normal reaction" made Shimura Danzo breathe a sigh of relief... Danzo was worried the enemy would fight to the death.

As the Konoha commander, if the enemy were cornered and fighting desperately, Danzo would have to lead the charge, but a head-on confrontation could easily kill him.

Now, it was good. Since the Second Kazekage valued his life and fled, Danzo's side had a great morale boost. After all, their courage was with them, not the enemy.

"Chase, don't let him get away!"

At this moment, Danzo seemed like a heroic figure. He began to command the Konoha Ninja to pursue, as if he had decided that the Second Kazekage must pay for his actions.

It's just that Danzo's lines were a bit too much like a background character.

"Captain, don't you think this Kazekage is a bit strange?"

Yuzuru supported Might Duy, clearing a path. They, the "ragtag survivors," would not be joining the main force in the pursuit... Yuzuru took the opportunity to express his doubts.

"It is indeed a bit strange. Someone of his caliber appearing alone is already unusual; he should have at least brought a squad of elite guards with him..."

Kiba Inuzuka thought for a moment, then continued, "What is the purpose of someone like him coming to the battlefield? Is it just to deal with the Konoha Ninja within the Land of Rivers? It doesn't make sense logically."

"He even chose to flee after Konoha's reinforcements arrived..."

At this time, a large number of Konoha Ninja were following Danzo in pursuit, while a few Ninja remained to clean up the battlefield, gather intelligence, and rescue the wounded.

"Captain, could the answer be right in front of us?"

"What do you mean?"

"An unreasonable phenomenon often serves a deeper, hidden rational intention. Perhaps the Second Kazekage was merely bait to attract Konoha's main force. Since the main force has appeared, his objective has been achieved, and thus he immediately chose to retreat," Yuzuru said.

Shinnosuke Kohinata understood Yuzuru's words before anyone else.

"Yuzuru, you mean the real battlefield isn't here?"

"Senior Shinnosuke, let's put ourselves in his shoes. There's a simple question that needs answering... The Second Kazekage appeared, so Konoha's main force came to meet him. So the question is, where is Sunagakure's main force?"

Yuzuru's words made them all stare at each other, dumbfounded. This, this couldn't be right?

Then, Kiba Inuzuka was startled. Ignoring his injuries, he rushed directly towards a Konoha Ninja who was investigating the scene.

"Quickly contact Lord Danzo, we might have been tricked! The Second Kazekage's appearance was most likely to attract our main force, creating an opportunity for Sunagakure to raid Konoha's front-line camp!"

Kiba Inuzuka spoke quickly and urgently. The Konoha Ninja opposite him was initially confused, then wore an expression of "Are you kidding me?"

Kiba Inuzuka stomped his foot in frustration, then smoothly mounted his dog with a stylish sideways jump, and charged directly in the direction Danzo was pursuing... He intended to warn Shimura Danzō himself.

Actually, stopping the pursuit would be difficult. As everyone knows, a certain Second Hokage, skilled in space-time Ninjutsu, still "sacrificed himself" when facing encirclement.

This shows that even for a Kage, a numbers advantage can be effective.

This Second Hokage died young and strong, while the Second Kazekage that Konoha was pursuing now was old and frail. Therefore, as long as he dared to sacrifice (his subordinates), Shimura Danzo could very well achieve the great feat of defeating the Second Kazekage.

If he achieved the merit of killing a Kazekage, Shimura Danzo would certainly be one step closer to the Hokage seat... even if he only killed a retired Kazekage.

Don't dismiss a retired village leader as insignificant. Did Hiruzen Sarutobi achieve such great merit? No. At that point, Danzo could shout "Who else dares?" in Konohagakure.

With the captain "fleeing," the remaining three members of the squad decided to rest on the spot and assist with the rescue.

Yuzuru and Shinnosuke Kohinata first carried Might Duy to the side, letting him lie down and rest... Might Duy, having just used the Eight Gates, looked very peaceful, as if he had already passed on.

Shinnosuke tried to gently touch Might Duy with his hand, and the latter immediately let out a scream.

"Severe muscle fatigue and tearing, with extremely intense stinging pain."

"Prolonged excessive Chakra output and exaggerated high-speed movement have caused bone and joint damage to varying degrees throughout the body."

"Excessive stimulation of the body by Chakra has a chance of causing internal organ damage. It's obvious this is a technique that drains one's life force... Senior Duy, there's no denying it, what you just used was a forbidden jutsu."

After a brief examination of Might Duy's body, Shinnosuke Kohinata made this judgment.

Yuzuru felt that Shinnosuke Kohinata's judgment was basically correct. What did this mean? It meant that Might Duy's Eight Gates hadn't been mastered yet; his level of proficiency was probably only at the "mastered" stage, and certainly not at the "proficient" level.

Using the Eight Gates comes with a corresponding price, but as far as Yuzuru understood, as long as the eighth gate, the Gate of Death, wasn't opened, the technique wouldn't be considered forbidden.

"Forbidden jutsu? No, I was just burning my youth. It's a shame I was too lazy usually... I didn't truly burn out, nor did I effectively stop the enemy," Might Duy said with great regret and self-blame.

Well, if he was aiming for what he called "burning out," then he indeed hadn't.

Might Duy's performance was normal and aligned with Yuzuru's understanding. In contrast, Shinnosuke Kohinata's combat ability was even more astonishing.

"Senior Shinnosuke, I didn't expect you to be able to use Gentle Fist... Is that possible even without the Byakugan?"

This certainly couldn't be explained simply by saying Kohinata came from the Hyuga clan.

The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist looked ordinary, but if an enemy faced an elite Jonin-level Hyuga ninja and accidentally took a couple of blows, they would basically be left lying on the ground.

"It is possible, but without the Byakugan, the precision of Gentle Fist is lost. I was just hitting randomly and crudely. If what I used is called Gentle Fist, then the Hyuga clan would certainly not recognize it."

Shinnosuke Kohinata claimed his Gentle Fist was random, but Yuzuru felt he wasn't fighting randomly at all; he was fighting very well.

"I didn't expect that in our squad, everyone except the captain has something they are particularly good at. This can be considered fate..." Shinnosuke Kohinata looked at Yuzuru with a meaningful gaze.

"It is indeed special. Senior Shinnosuke and Senior Duy both have Jonin-level combat power. It's a shame we couldn't cooperate closely in the recent battle. Our squad missed an opportunity to become heroes," Yuzuru said, seemingly not noticing the other's gaze.

On the battlefield of the Shinobi World War that day, some people did become heroes. Unfortunately, this person was neither in the unremarkable Taijutsu ninja squad, nor was it Shimura Danzo, who was pursuing the Second Kazekage...

It was a ninja who used a sword.