Changing the plan, luring the snake out!

Sunlight streamed lazily down the path on the North Mountain, and even in the sunlit areas, a musty, rotten smell permeated the air.

The faint, dark color dampened the soles of my shoes. The soft, wet ground couldn't support my weight, and each step left a deep dent, about the width of a thumb.

"Something feels off here!" Naruto, oblivious to everything, wiped his hand on the tree trunk and found his palm covered in dark mud.

"Naruto, you're disgusting!" Sakura took two steps to the side in disgust, using the opportunity to close the distance between herself and Sasuke.

"This is blood. No wonder there's a faint smell of blood in the air," Sasuke sniffed and calmly analyzed.

Although the blood had turned black, it hadn't been there for very long; it must have been left last night.

Did that guy not listen to me? Not only did he not leave this place, but he intensified his Blood Sacrifice: Dead Soil?

Tōka narrowed his eyes dangerously. Was it because the strength he had displayed was not enough?

If you dare ruin my plans, Kazuma? I'll turn you into a dead horse!

"An utterly foolish fellow."

Tōka snorted coldly and walked towards the place where the smell of blood in the air became increasingly strong. The three little devils quickly followed.

Everyone seems to have realized that this matter is not as simple as it seemed.

Everyone held their breath, carefully concealing their presence, and quickly made their way into the depths of the forest.

As I ran at top speed, the wind whistled past my ears, and tall trees blurred into afterimages as they sped by.

Sparse sunlight fell on the ground, casting a Dark Red shadow.

The bare bones, devoured and left only by the gnawed flesh, were faintly visible, half-buried in the sand near the grass roots under a tree not far away.

"Teacher Tōka, this is..." Sasuke flashed to the tree, half-squatted down, and used the Kunai in his hand to pry open the Withered Bones buried in the soil.

The group approached one after another, looking through the soil that Sasuke had dug out.

All that could be seen were countless skeletons piled up in the weeds and mud.

"They're all animal bones, and the bite marks look like they're from Beast," Sasuke analyzed seriously.

Tōka nodded secretly. It was indeed the carcass of livestock that had been bled, and the traces of the body being dragged away and eaten by Beast in the mountains.

Because the carcass has no blood, the marks left by Beast after they have eaten it are different from what is left on the body.

"Sasuke-kun is so amazing, he even knows all this." Sakura blushed slightly, her eyes sparkling, and she looked at Sasuke with admiration.

Unexpectedly, her words Sasuke's face to darken instantly, and his cold gaze made Sakura take two steps back uncomfortably.

Sasuke... his eyes are so scary! Sakura doesn't understand why...

Naruto was angry. He didn't understand why Sasuke was being so mean to Sakura, but reason told him that he shouldn't speak at a time like this.

Naruto and Sakura didn't understand, but Tōka did.

These wilderness survival skills were probably taught to Sasuke by Itachi, before that incident, when the two brothers were camping in the wild.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy, and everyone remained silent until Tōka broke the silence.

"Now that Sasuke has found a clue, you two should continue the investigation with him."

As they were talking, Tōka leaped onto the tree trunk and lay down lazily.

"Teacher Tōka, what are you doing?" Sakura looked at Tōka with a puzzled expression and asked.

"Me? Of course I'm here waiting for your news?" Tōka rested her head on her arm and lazily closed her eyes.

The three of them twitched their eyes. Sure enough, it happened again!

The three of them always completed the tasks, while Teacher Tōka only knew how to take advantage of the situation and always got the largest share of the rewards!

Despite their displeasure, the three kids could only grumble to themselves.

Naruto had only witnessed a fraction of Tōka's strength, while Sasuke learned more about Tōka's exploits from Itachi.

As for Sakura, seeing her two teammates huddled together like sick cats, her innate girlish wariness told her it was best not to mess with this seemingly harmless teacher.

The three exchanged a glance, then quickly turned and chased after each other in one direction.

"Why should we listen to this Sasuke? Honestly, Tōka- sensei is something else!"

Naruto muttered to himself, not daring to speak earlier, but that didn't mean he wouldn't dare to speak to Sasuke now.

"If you have a way to find out useful information, I'll listen to you!" Sasuke glared coldly at Naruto, then turned and continued chasing after the direction from which the smell of blood was coming.

Sakura naturally followed without a word, while Naruto looked resentful, wanting to do it alone but afraid that Sasuke would steal the credit.

After much hesitation, Naruto suddenly leaned forward, bracing his legs against the tree as he chased after Sasuke.

North of Sanghe Village lies a sprawling mountain range, resembling a giant dragon coiled around the area.

Following the ridge upwards, through Woods, comes a Broken Cliff with gusts of cold wind rising straight up from below.

The cold front came from the north, bringing out the yin energy from below the cliff.

"This should be it. Let's go down and take a look." Sasuke stood on the edge of the cliff and looked down.

At the edge of the cliff, the gathering yin energy resembled two coiled snakes, and the lack of sunlight caused a hazy black mist to rise.

Sharingan - Awaken!

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, a Tomoe slowly rotating within his crimson pupils.

"It's bottomless, we'll need ropes." Before setting off, Sasuke had already prepared Rope, having anticipated the possibility of venturing into the mountains to investigate before even arriving at Sanghe Village.

One of the essential items for going into the mountains is a sturdy Rope.

Just as Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were searching for the scent of blood and preparing to descend the Rope down into the Valley below the cliff...

The officer stationed at the camp immediately Budong that someone had touched the Sensory Barrier at the edge of the area.

"Fuen, it seems someone has broken in."

The Sensor Ninja and those who set up the Sensory Barrier in the team were all Fuen; only she knew best how many people had broken in.

Fuen a sound, he immediately reached out and pressed his hand on a Rock.

"Three Genin have come down the rope." After a moment, Fuen withdrew his hand and said in a deep voice.

"Lord Kazuma has left on business and left us here to guard against outsiders," Budong Dong said after a moment's hesitation.

Earth Release: Creation - Soil of the Dead. After Blood Sacrifice with the blood of livestock, Kazuma discovered that the increase in the power of the Jutsu Formula was not significant.

He didn't want to give up this place that had already been prepared, so he had Fufeng, Fuen Budong, and Bu Dong guard the place, preparing for the next step of the human Blood Sacrifice.

Moreover, Kazuma wanted to try out another "weapon," which is why he left.

"We can't be discovered here before Lord Kazuma returns. I'll go and take care of those three." Fufeng understood what the two meant and immediately stood up.

Swish!

As Fufeng finished speaking, her figure transformed into a gust of wind and soared into the air, seemingly stepping on black mist as she flew away.

Waaaaah!!

A chilling, cold wind swept across my face, penetrating deep into my pores and reaching my very bones.

"Sasuke, how much further down is it?" Naruto was at the back, peered down and saw only pitch blackness, which sent a chill down his spine.

Then, a minute passed without any response from Sasuke.

The three continued descending the rope. Just as Naruto frowned and was about to speak again, Sasuke's voice suddenly rang out.

"Arrive."

Then came the sound of Sasuke's feet landing.

Sakura and Naruto stood on the ground one after the other. Mirai look around, a rushing stream of water suddenly swept over them.

Water Release: The Evil Mouth!

Water droplets sprayed out from the Fufeng; the Jutsu Formula's power was not strong, but the water flow was sufficient to alter the surrounding terrain, creating a stream environment.

"Water Release isn't very powerful, scatter quickly!" As soon as Sasuke finished speaking, he immediately leaped onto a tall Rock.

Naruto and Sakura reacted quickly, climbing up the nearest rock face.

Just then, a slender and delicate figure emerged from a dark corner of the Valley. "Oh, it's two adorable younger brother!"

Fufeng licked his alluring lips, revealing a unique kind of seductive charm.

Unfortunately, she was facing two clueless kids and a little girl who disliked her.

"Who are you? Did you steal all the livestock that went missing in the village? Why did you do this?" Naruto, the most impatient of them all, was the first to shout.

Upon hearing this, Fufeng curled his lips in disdain and sneered.

It's just Blood Sacrifice of some livestock. The soil from the dead hasn't even reached saturation yet. Next, they might use human Blood Sacrifice!

"What are you laughing at?" Sasuke felt a sense of foreboding. The woman in front of him was clearly a ninja, and judging from the Jutsu Formula she had just used, she was at least Chunin or higher.

It would be difficult for the three of them, as Genin, to deal with someone like that.

More importantly, Sasuke's Sharingan is more acute than that of an ordinary person, and he could see that all he could see in the Valley below were stark white Withered Bones.

Such a large number definitely does not represent the livestock of just one Sanghe Village.

Not only are there poultry and livestock, but also jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards from the Yamanaka.

Why is this woman catching so many animals?

"You'll find out soon enough!" Fufeng grinned, his hands rapidly forming Hand Seals.

Lightning Release: Earth Flow!

A bolt of lightning traveled along the ground; although its attack range was limited to the front, its power, combined with the power of the Evil Mouth, would produce a qualitative change.

Water and Lightning Combination Ninjutsu: Evil Mouth: Lightning Walk!

Sizzle...

In an instant, lightning flashed through the black mist, illuminating the dark valley floor. Bai Fanfan's Withered Bones, scattered throughout the Valley, were clearly visible in the lightning's reflection.

"This..." Naruto stared in shock at the scene at the bottom of the valley. Even though it was just animal skeletons, it was still strangely terrifying to see!

Sakura covered her mouth, stunned on the spot.

"These two idiots, still spacing out at a time like this!" Sasuke's expression changed slightly, and he immediately rushed towards Naruto and Sakura...

On the outskirts of North Mountain, Tōka, who was lying on a treetop pretending to sleep, had his eyes closed, but his vision was always covering Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura.

The moment Fufeng appeared, Tōka knew that Kazuma hadn't followed his instructions.

"However, perhaps this is better..."

"The plan can be changed," Tōka said, a strange smile playing on his lips.

He seems to have fallen into a misconception that some things only need to have the same result, and do not necessarily have to follow the trajectory of history.

So...

Tōka stood up, formed a hand Hand Seals, and then flipped his palm. With a bang, an eagle responsible for communication appeared, accompanied by a burst of white mist.

Puff puff!

The Messenger Hawk hovered in the air. Tōka quickly wrote a note and stuffed it into the Bamboo Tube on the Messenger Hawk's foot.

"Third Hokage, don't let me down!"

In Konoha, at the Hokage Building, a middle-aged ninja from the Intelligence Division rushed into the Hokage's Office in a great hurry.

"What happened?" The Third Hokage quickly put down his pipe and stared at the ninja who rushed into the office with a serious expression.

"This is an urgent message that just arrived."

As they spoke, the middle-aged ninja quickly handed the note he had received to the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage reached out and took it into their palm. With a flick of their fingertips, they unfolded the curled note and quickly scanned it, revealing nine Scarlet Characters written in blood.

Orochimaru launches a surprise attack, targeting the Nine-Tails!

"How is this possible!" The Third Hokage stood up with a bang, and the chair behind him was violently overturned to the ground.

Orochimaru was his most beloved disciple and also his most talented.

Orochimaru's betrayal of Konoha remains a permanent source of pain for the Third Hokage!

The Nine-Tails is the Nine-Tails Demon Fox sealed inside Naruto. Is it possible that Orochimaru is after the Nine-Tails?

Even if Tōka's strength is inferior to Orochimaru's, it won't...

"If you don't believe me, call Kakashi here!" The Third Hokage pondered for a moment and immediately made a decision. The Nine-Tails was important, and so was Naruto.

Leaving aside the strategic significance of the Nine-Tails Demon Fox, it is also a treasure left to Konoha by the First Hokage.

Naruto is also a relic of the Fourth Hokage, and neither of them can be lost.

As for Orochimaru...

"This time I will definitely kill you with my own hands!" The Third Hokage gritted his teeth, clenching his fists so tightly that his Finger Bones cracked.

Upon seeing this, the middle-aged ninja immediately retreated. Kakashi was the Anbu Captain, and he knew how to find Kakashi.

Fifteen minutes later...

A nine-person squad quickly left the gates of Konoha, disappearing into the dense Forest in a few leaps.

The Third Hokage, dressed in Black Ninja Battle Gear with a Konoha Forehead Protector tied with long ribbons on his forehead, led the charge at the very front of the group.

Kakashi, the Anbu Captain, and seven Shadow Guard followed closely behind the Third Hokage, a step behind.

"Lord Hokage, there are still many questions surrounding this matter..." Kakashi frowned; what he really wanted to say was...

The Kage of Konoha cannot be easily mobilized; more importantly, they are enemies in terms of intelligence.

If the intelligence is true, Kakashi worries that the Third Hokage might once again go easy on Orochimaru. If the intelligence is false, and the intention is simply to lure the Third Hokage away from the village...

The mastermind behind this must be carefully examined.

"Kakashi, I know what you want to say." The Third Hokage said without turning his head, his speed not only not slowing down but actually increasing.

"Remember this: you only have one mission!"

After a pause, the Third Hokage's calm voice rang out again, revealing an unwavering resolve, "Bring Naruto back to the village unharmed!"

"I understand." Kakashi's eyes One Flash slightly; he understood what the Third Hokage meant.

Naruto is not only the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha, but also a legacy left by the Fourth Hokage. He has failed to fulfill his responsibility as a disciple for twelve years, and he will definitely protect Naruto in the days to come!

Swish swish swish!!

Two elite Shadow Guard, eight members each, and the Third Hokage, a total of nine shadows, swiftly darted through the shade of the trees.

They sped off towards Sanghe Village...