Hokage: You Call This Guy the Savior?!

"Leaf Village... ninja."

Baki and Kankuro exchanged a glance, then immediately followed the direction Gaara pointed, sprinting ahead at full speed.

They had finally caught the tail of the main force!

Meanwhile, Keiichi and the others, who were protecting the high-ranking officials, were moving at an agonizingly slow pace. They had only traveled one kilometer since leaving the village when people started complaining that they couldn't walk anymore.

The reason was simple: these people had arrived in palanquins and were accustomed to a life of luxury; when had they ever walked such a long distance?

Some of the women, in particular, were suffering immensely, dragging long skirts across the ground while wearing high heels.

Some even made unreasonable demands for the Leaf ninja to carry them, only to be met with cold indifference.

This caused intense dissatisfaction on both sides, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

Fortunately, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire was a reasonable man; he mediated between the two parties, and the tension finally simmered down.

Otherwise, they wouldn't even need to keep moving—the two sides would have ended up fighting sooner or later.

However, this couldn't go on. These people had reached their physical limits; at most, they could walk another kilometer before they would be truly unable to move.

But at this critical juncture, the Hyuga ninja sent to patrol the perimeter reported that a Sunagakure squad was closing in, and based on their chakra levels, there were likely two jonin among them.

If they were allowed to charge into the crowd and start a massacre, there was no guarantee they could stop them.

After a quick consultation, the group decided to split into two: one team would continue escorting the VIPs, while the other would stay behind to intercept the Sunagakure attackers.

Keiichi, Neji Hyuga, and Sasuke volunteered to stay, while Rock Lee, Tenten, Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shikamaru Nara continued the escort mission.

Not long after the two groups separated, they saw the Sunagakure ninja catching up, and upon closer inspection, they were all familiar faces.

What made Keiichi most vigilant was not the team leader, Baki, but Gaara, whose eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty desire to kill.

"I'm going after the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire. These people are yours." Baki didn't even glance at them, speeding off in the direction of the footprints.

Sasuke stepped forward to intercept him, but Temari blocked his path, causing him to miss his best chance.

"Sasuke! We didn't get to finish our fight before because we were held back, but now we can continue!" Temari said, leaning on her giant fan with high fighting spirit.

"Don't worry, I'll finish you off in the shortest time possible!" Sasuke glared, his Sharingan activating.

"Keiichi, leave that Gaara to me." Neji was equally eager for battle; he had long wanted to test his skills against this guy who was touted as the strongest examinee.

"Don't push yourself. There's a monster inside that guy. Once it's released, neither of us will be a match for him, so be careful."

Neji's stamina hadn't fully recovered yet, and Keiichi was deeply worried for him, but since he was the only one capable of holding off Gaara alone, he couldn't say anything more.

Then, his gaze shifted to Kankuro, who was looking back at him with clear hostility.

"So you're the guy who nicknamed me the Desert Scavenger King? Once I beat you, you're going to explain exactly why you chose such a title!" Kankuro unstrapped the puppet from his back, flexing his fingers.

In an instant, the bandages wrapped around 'Crow' fell to the ground, and the puppet lunged out like a wild beast, rapidly closing in on Keiichi.

"I can explain it to you right now. Tell me, where did you get this Crow?"

"I built it myself, of course!" Kankuro boasted shamelessly.

As he spoke, the puppet suddenly thrust out an arm. Just as Keiichi raised his hand to block, a sharp blade popped out from the side of the arm.

This kind of attack, which completely defied human anatomy, was truly impossible to guard against.

Fortunately, the Sharingan had anticipated the change, so Keiichi immediately ducked, narrowly avoiding injury.

"But I heard that this Crow was left behind by a puppet master from your Sunagakure?"

Kankuro's expression darkened, as the other party was right—he hadn't actually built the puppet himself.

But he had spent years repairing and modifying it; surely there were plenty of his own designs inside?

Does micro-innovation not count as innovation?

And how did he know the puppet was called 'Crow'?

Kankuro quickly pushed these distracting thoughts from his mind and refocused. He saw the puppet's elbow joint suddenly open, spraying a cloud of suspiciously colored toxic mist that instantly enveloped Keiichi.

Direct hit!

The poison was so potent that it seemed to melt Keiichi's entire body into a puddle of liquid.

Yet, seeing this, Kankuro felt no joy, only shock.

The poison was a neurotoxin meant to paralyze the limbs; how could it have this effect?

Could it be that Crow held secrets even he didn't know about?

However, the next moment, an intense sense of crisis came from behind him, and he switched positions without hesitation.

Thwack!

A kunai was embedded in Crow's head, driven in with such force that it was almost entirely buried. If that had hit Kankuro's real body, he wouldn't have survived.

Only then did Kankuro pat his chest, his heart still pounding in his throat.

He must have performed the Clone Technique while his attention was diverted!

Was this a Water Clone?

But shouldn't the Water Clone Technique be a specialty of the Hidden Mist ninjas?

And how did he manage to sneak behind me without making a sound?

Keiichi certainly wasn't going to tell him about his Invisibility Technique; combining the Water Clone with invisibility had yielded excellent results on the very first try.

It wasn't that the Invisibility Technique couldn't be used in actual combat, but once in an invisible state, one could not condense chakra.

However, if a Water Clone was used to attract the enemy's attention from the front, sneaking behind them with the Invisibility Technique could prove highly effective.

Of course, he dared to use the Water Clone because the Leaf Village had fallen into chaos; once Hiruzen died, no one would bother to hold him accountable for such trivial matters.

He had expected to land a decisive blow, but he hadn't anticipated Kankuro's switching speed to be so fast; it seemed that being a future pillar of Sunagakure meant he had some real skills.

Keiichi realized by now that while attacking the puppeteer's main body could end the fight quickly, if Kankuro could maintain such efficient switching, it would be difficult to reach the main body. In the end, he would have to destroy this puppet.

No wonder the Puppet Technique was so popular in Sunagakure; it really had some substance to it.

The head injury clearly didn't affect the puppet's movements, as it was connected by chakra threads, so the Crow immediately twisted its head 180 degrees, opened its mouth, and fired three consecutive waves of poison needles.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With the help of his Sharingan, Keiichi's kunai danced through the air. He charged toward the Crow while deflecting every incoming poison needle; not a single one could touch him.

Sharingan Secret Technique: Cutting Edge!

"Gate of Opening, open!"

He had taken the poison needles head-on just to counterattack faster. Keiichi opened the first of the Eight Gates once more, closed the distance to the Crow in an instant, and punched it in the chest, sending it flying several meters away.

However, he sustained some injuries to land that punch; the finger bones on the back of his hand were exposed.

Fortunately, the Uzumaki Clan's recovery ability was extremely strong, so this was considered a minor injury.

"Damn it, look what you've done to my Crow!" Kankuro pulled back the gray cloth covering the Crow, revealing a sunken fist mark on its chest.

What pained him most was that the precision mechanisms inside had been damaged, and many of the trigger devices were now malfunctioning.

"Desert Scavenger King, besides the Crow, you should have two other puppets, right? Don't be shy about bringing them out; aren't those just scraps you scavenged from others anyway?"

"Nonsense! This is called recycling and reuse! Besides, after my modifications, they are completely different from before!"

Kankuro grew increasingly vigilant. How did this guy know so much about his trump cards?

He reached toward his waist, preparing to release the other two puppets from his sealing scrolls.

"Tsk, tsk. I heard that those three puppets you have were made by someone else when they were about ten years old. You're fifteen this year, right? How come you can't even build a puppet of your own? It's truly embarrassing." Keiichi continued to taunt him to disrupt his emotional state.

"You... how do you know so much? Are you a spy planted in Sunagakure?" Kankuro was deeply shaken, as there were many things here that even he didn't know.

"I've lived in the Leaf Village my whole life, how could I be a spy? Everyone knows these things. If you don't believe me, ask Neji over there; he probably knows even more than I do."

Hearing this, Kankuro subconsciously turned his gaze toward Neji, but he realized his mistake almost immediately.

Being lured into a distraction by an enemy's words during battle was a major taboo—how could he fall for it twice?

This guy's mouth was practically poisonous!

Sure enough, the next moment he felt a sharp pain in his chest, followed by his entire body being lifted into the air. He flew several meters away, curling up like a shrimp.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

He felt as if his lungs had been punctured, making it difficult to breathe.

The scroll containing the two puppets fell to the side, and just as Kankuro reached out to grab it, two shuriken pierced it directly, rendering it unusable.

Keiichi lowered his leg and quickly closed the Gate of Opening; even opening just the first gate was a significant burden for him.

If not for the Uzumaki bloodline allowing his body to withstand the strain, he wouldn't even dare to open the first gate so recklessly.

On the other side, Temari was sitting on her giant fan, gliding through the air using the wind—a position that was essentially invincible.

Seeing her brother defeated so quickly, she hurried to rescue him.

However, concern led to carelessness, and her opponent was Sasuke. A nearly invisible wire reflected a glimmer of light; with a sharp tug, the giant fan lost its balance, and Temari fell from the sky.

When did he set the wires?!

Was it when he used the shuriken to ambush me earlier?

Temari had no time to think. Sasuke certainly wouldn't pass up such a good opportunity; before she even hit the ground, he unleashed a flurry of attacks, leaving her on the verge of death.

Showing mercy to a lady?

That simply didn't exist.

One after the other, Kankuro and Temari were beaten until they lost their combat capability, then had their hands and feet bound. Throughout this process, Gaara didn't even spare them a glance; he was cold-blooded to the extreme.

After finishing this, Sasuke and Keiichi stood beside Neji. Now, only Gaara remained on the field.

Unlike the ease with which the other two had neutralized their opponents, Neji was at the end of his rope. Even at his peak, he might not have been a match for Gaara, let alone now.

If he hadn't used Rotation to deflect the Sand Binding Coffin several times, he might not have lasted until now.

"Watch out, this guy is strong!" Neji gasped for air, looking disheveled.

The sense of superiority of the Hyuga Clan had vanished completely; he only felt that there were people beyond people and heavens beyond heavens. There actually existed someone in this world with talent even greater than his!

No, far greater!

Hearing this, Keiichi and Sasuke nodded. It had only been a short while, yet Neji was already exhausted to this extent; this person was truly worthy of being the strongest among the examinees.

"Sasuke, be careful. This guy isn't even in his strongest form yet. If we can knock him unconscious before he transforms, there's still a chance to win, otherwise..." Keiichi shook his head.

"Hmph, regardless, he's the same age as us. No matter how strong he is, how much stronger could he possibly be?" Sasuke, however, seemed rather dismissive.

Keiichi could not explain any further, as Gaara had already launched an attack, and judging by the movement of the sand, it seemed to be targeted specifically at him.

"I'll draw his attention. Sasuke, you force him into close-quarters combat. His taijutsu is weak; he relies entirely on his ability to manipulate sand."

Sasuke nodded; he had noticed this as well. Gaara stood there without moving an inch, and if he wasn't just posturing, then he truly was not skilled at melee combat.

Neji watched this scene, his heart willing but his strength failing him.

Through their previous battle, he had also identified Gaara's weakness, but he lacked a helper like Keiichi to divert the enemy's attention. Whenever he tried to get close to Gaara to force a melee, that sand would gather into a sphere, its defense comparable to his own Rotation, leaving even him helpless against it.

Therefore, despite having a fatal flaw, Gaara protected it very well.

Deep beneath Konoha, inside the Root base.

Danzo was currently like an ant on a hot pan, feeling quite restless and anxious.

Intelligence reports were constantly being delivered to him, and he was naturally aware of what was happening outside—perhaps even more informed about the current situation in Konoha than Hiruzen.

If it were merely Sunagakure launching a surprise attack on Konoha, Danzo might not have cared at all; he wouldn't have even sent out a single subordinate, preferring to sit back and watch how these people brought about their own destruction.

He knew better than anyone the strength of Konoha and the decline of Sunagakure; Hiruzen could handle it perfectly well.

But the situation was different now, because the ones colluding with Sunagakure to raid Konoha were actually his own Root members!

How strange; if Root was rebelling, why was he, the leader of Root, completely in the dark?