Inside the Land of Rivers.
In the woods, Hatake Sakumo carried the injured, poisoned Aburame Shibi on his back as he hurried toward Sunagakure. A few young members of the Ino-Shika-Cho were at his side. The five of them were moving quickly toward Sunagakure. Although they had encountered a small squad of Sunagakure Ninja outside Turbulent Town, one of their teammates had been injured,
Hatake Sakumo hadn't abandoned the mission. Instead, he had gone around Turbulent Town and continued toward Sunagakure. Not long after they had evaded the Sunagakure Ninja squad, a loud boom erupted in the direction of Turbulent Town. The explosive roar and a bolt of lightning that lit up the sky turned it white.
"Captain, that came from the direction of Turbulent Town. Did something happen to Jiuming?"
Nara Shikaku glanced back at the explosion in the distance and asked in a low voice. It must have been caused by Uzumaki Kuming clashing with the Sunagakure Ninja. In Shikaku's mind, a technique with that kind of power would inevitably hurt both sides badly. Kuming had probably perished along with the enemy.
"Don't worry. He'll be fine. That was probably his way of covering our retreat."
"Don't get distracted. Keep moving. We won't be safe until we've shaken off the Sunagakure Ninja."
Hatake Sakumo glanced back at the distant explosion as well. He hadn't sensed the Nine-Tails' chakra, heavy with negative emotions, so he relaxed and reassured them. Sakumo knew that Uzumaki Kuming was Konoha's Jinchuriki. As long as the Nine-Tails hadn't appeared, nothing had happened to Kuming.
"But was an explosion like that really just meant to cover our retreat?" Nara Shikaku wondered. He didn't say anything more and hurried on.
"Whoosh!"
Just as Shikaku began to worry about Kuming's safety, a faint whistle cut through the