The sun slowly rose above the horizon. The dawn light lifted the veil of night, and brilliant morning sunshine spilled across the ground.
At the foot of a rocky peak somewhere in the Land of Earth, Uzumaki Kuming had just finished a battle. Five Stone Ninja lay dead at his feet, their blood staining the ground red.
After
a night of pursuit, Uzumaki Kuming had made it deep into the Land of Earth. But even by sunrise, he still hadn't caught up with the fleeing Stone Ninja. On the contrary, the distance between them had only grown.
This was mainly because Stone Ninja kept appearing to intercept him, greatly slowing Kuming's progress. The group he had just dealt with was already the tenth wave of interceptors. There were only five of them, but every one was skilled, and they had laid traps in advance. Kuming had needed quite some time and effort to take them down.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out. Hatake Sakumo and the Konoha Ninja he had brought as reinforcements landed beside Uzumaki Kuming. After a night of pursuit, Hatake Sakumo and the others had finally caught up with him.
"Kuming, are you all right?" Hizashi hurried over to Kuming and asked with concern.
"I'm fine."
Uzumaki Kuming replied, looking north and sighing. The Stone Ninja who had taken Roshi had completely vanished from his range of perception. What's more, Kuming sensed a large force of Stone Ninja heading toward them. There was no chance of pursuing Roshi now.
"Those Stone Ninja..." Hizashi pointed at the bodies on the ground, about to ask what had happened, but Kuming cut him off.
"We'll talk when we get back. Let's leave first. Stone Ninja are closing in."
Uzumaki Kuming waved a hand, unwilling