Desperate Escape

Kinkaku and Ginkaku had somehow managed to persuade the Gate Guard General of the Land of Iron, openly searching for his trail right here.

Staring at their eyes brimming with Killing Intent, Uchiha Ao felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

At this distance, unless he could open the Last Three Gates of the Eight Gates, there was no way he could break out!

However, with his current Physical Quality, even opening the Second Gate was a distant dream, let alone the latter.

With that thought, he began to slow his pace, analyzing the situation before him.

At the same time, carried along by the flow of the crowd, he kept drawing closer, yet Kinkaku and Ginkaku acted as if they hadn't seen him, still staring in two different directions.

"Strange...

Why haven't they launched a direct attack on me, even though I've come this close?"

He suddenly realized something.

"Could it be... that their Tracking Ninjutsu can only sense a general area?"

Thinking this, he began to observe the Line of Sight of Kinkaku and Ginkaku from the corner of his eye.

Sure enough, one was watching the travelers passing through the Gate Crossing Line, while the other was gazing further into the distance, checking if anyone was turning back.

Their lines of sight had silently formed an invisible net, and ever since he crossed a certain area, he had already been caught in it!

Uchiha Ao followed the crowd slowly, taking a deep breath. This discovery finally allowed him to suppress the fear of death in his heart and think calmly.

At my current pace, I have at most about five minutes to reach the gate.

Five minutes...

Too little time to do anything.

Yet, on the brink of life and death, he grew calmer, his mind racing with thoughts.

If I can shift Kinkaku's line of sight away before I Enter the Gate... and slip out at the same time!

Based on the range of that Secret Technique, I'd probably only be discovered leaving the gate after I've run about a kilometer away!

There's also the method of diverting attention, creating chaos...

Four minutes passed, and he was only about ten meters away from the gate.

"This is the best plan I can think of right now. If it still doesn't work..."

Uchiha Ao fell silent for a moment, a trace of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

"Even if I die, I'll tear a piece of flesh off them!"

Counting the time, those guys should be arriving soon...

With that thought, he glanced toward the back of the line.

Boom!

Just then, a sudden commotion broke out in the middle of the Gate Crossing Line.

"Wait, don't move! There are a few Explosive Tags on the ground here!"

"What? Where?! Hey, where did my Explosive Tags go? Could those on the ground be mine?!"

"Step back and wait for the Samurai to go over."

The Samurai standing at the City Gate instantly split into two groups and rushed over.

Kinkaku and Ginkaku, standing on the High Wall, exchanged a glance and then sneered:

"That guy is getting desperate. Keep an eye on the Tail End and the Front Section."

"Got it, Brother."

But at that moment, at the Tail End of the line, three people suddenly turned back.

"Brother, three people are heading back. Help me watch one of them!"

Kinkaku's eyes flickered. He first carefully scanned the area in front of the gate, and only after finding nothing suspicious did he quickly shift his gaze to one of the three.

"Not him!"

The moment he reached the conclusion, he swiftly moved his line of sight back to the front of the gate.

"Those two aren't either!"

"This is strange... Brother, screen the dozens of people before the gate."

Ginkaku, as if suddenly remembering something, quickly reminded him.

"Mm."

Kinkaku quickly grasped his younger brother's meaning and looked carefully. After a moment, he shook his head.

"Nothing..."

At this moment, the Explosive Tags in the middle of the formation were also quickly dismantled, but according to murmurs spreading through the crowd, it turned out that all these Explosive Tags were merely fakes hastily drawn on White Paper.

Just as the two of them were feeling a flicker of doubt, the paper covered in Spell Script that Kinkaku held in his palm suddenly changed.

"That person has started moving!"

This paper seemed to be linked to Kinkaku; he looked closely, then suddenly exclaimed: "He passed through! His speed isn't fast—with our pace, we'll catch up soon!"

"Playing clever!" Ginkaku grinned savagely. "Let's go!"

However, before they had even chased a single li, rumbling sounds erupted from two directions several li away, accompanied by two massive surges of Chakra fluctuations.

Kinkaku froze for a moment, then realized what was happening. His form flickered wildly as he roared: "That man really is a Konoha Ninja—he's calling for help from his Konoha comrades! Chase him! If we kill him before his allies arrive, we still have a chance!"

"Brother, roughly which direction?" Ginkaku asked.

Kinkaku halted mid-step, staring at the paper in his palm. It was now spinning endlessly, like a headless fly. Those two huge Chakra fluctuations had clearly disrupted the Tracking Secret Technique's accuracy.

"Split up and chase!" Kinkaku tossed the paper aside, his face twisted with ferocity. "Kill any Ninja we encounter on the way—no mercy!"

In the dense forest several li away, Uchiha Ao panted heavily, veins bulging on his forehead, his face flushed red as he drained every last ounce of his remaining stamina, racing forward.

Several minutes had passed since the earlier explosions. Relying on the Gate of Opening State of the Eight Inner Gates, he had fled another dozen li in a desperate sprint, yet the sharp warning of danger still stabbed at his nerves. And this sting hadn't faded with time—instead, it grew fiercer!

With a hiss, a white vapor burst from his body, signaling that the Gate of Opening State had dissipated. Uchiha Ao's heart sank.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared not far ahead of him. The figure looked at him with a mocking gaze, like a cat toying with a mouse.

"Finally caught you!"

Uchiha Ao stopped abruptly, staring at the figure in the distance, his face dark. "...Ginkaku."

Still, he didn't give up struggling. One hand deftly pulled a Kunai from his waist, holding it before him, while the other slipped into his pocket. Not to look cool—there were still over a dozen Explosive Tags in there. If he got one-shot in the fight, he could turn himself into a Suicide Bomb Truck and at least annoy the bastard.

"...Good!" Ginkaku looked at Ao, who neither begged for mercy nor showed despair, a glint of approval in his eyes. "Since you still have some guts, I'll consider leaving you a whole corpse!"

With that, he hefted the Seven Star Sword and slowly approached. With every step closer, the killing intent radiating from him grew thicker.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

Suddenly, three streams of flame blasted toward Ginkaku from behind, left, and right simultaneously. The three flames were like three fire dragons, sealing off all his paths of advance and retreat.

Rumble...

Blazing flames instantly engulfed his form. At that moment, a Ninja carrying a thick Wooden Staff on his back suddenly appeared beside Uchiha Ao.

"Third Hokage?!"

"Third what?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, retorting, then as if sensing something within those flames, shielded Ao behind him.

"You're Ao, right? That guy Kagami has been searching for you like crazy these past two days. Step back—I can sense it, he's not badly injured!"

Before Uchiha Ao could react.

Whoosh...

Just then, a sudden gale appeared, abruptly scattering the blazing inferno on the field.

At the center of that windstorm, Ginkaku's entire body surged with a red Chakra as he slowly hoisted the Seven Star Sword, which had been dragging on the ground, onto his shoulder. Tilting his head with a sneer, he said:

"And where do you think you're going?"