Spores Clone

Kurotsuchi had put it delicately, but Kakashi knew what she meant as soon as he heard her. Iwagakure had clearly suffered at the hands of the Akatsuki Organization duo, Moryo and Shinnō.

That was only natural. Kakashi had witnessed the power of the demon Moryo himself.

Without a Kage Level powerhouse leading the team in person, ordinary Jonin stood no chance of gaining the upper hand against Moryo.

The fact that Iwagakure had managed to keep Moryo and Shinnō tied up in the Earth Country already counted as a success.

After sorting things out, Kakashi asked, "Have reinforcements from the other villages arrived? What do you need us to do?"

Kurotsuchi said, "The other villages' reinforcements haven't arrived yet. Konoha is the first to get here, so we hope you can help us rescue Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, first!"

"Sure!"

Kakashi agreed, then stressed that the Konoha forces had made a long-distance dash and were badly exhausted. They needed time to rest before engaging the Akatsuki members, and they would also need Iwagakure to provide them with real-time intelligence.

"No problem!"

Kurotsuchi nodded.

Then she glanced at Shinji behind Kakashi and winked at him before turning to lead the Konoha group onward.

"!?"

Shinji froze for a moment.

Yakumo asked curiously, "Do you know each other?"

Shinji shook his head. "Not well."

Northern Earth Country.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid a series of visible waves of sound, immense roars followed one after another. The deafening noise made their eardrums ache, and then the dust kicked up by the shock waves swept outward, filling the entire battlefield with smoke and dust!

From above, the trees across the whole forest could be seen leaning in the same direction. At the center of the explosion, nothing remained but a gigantic crater!

In the distance.