"Uncle, looks like your scheme is about to fall through..."
Lying on the ground, Qi—who'd nearly gotten a mouthful of dirt—watched the five elite Jonin fighting Minato tooth and nail and clicked his tongue.
Five of them. Five whole elite Jonin. What a haul they'd make if they killed them!
Elite Jonin were practically synonymous with a ninja village's finest. If a village brought back their corpses to study, it had more than enough means to glean all sorts of information from them, even the ninjutsu they knew.
In this world, that was hardly difficult. The Yamanaka Clan of Konoha were experts at it. Living or dead, as long as the brain was intact, it was all good.
"Shut up."
Tsang Yeh was furious. Just looking at Qi and the other "hostages" gave him a headache.
If ever there was a dilemma—caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to advance or retreat—this was it.
And it wasn't just him. Every Sunagakure Ninja present was in an incredibly awkward position...
Killing Minato? That wouldn't be difficult now. If Sunagakure attacked, Minato would almost certainly die here. The problem was, what would they do after killing him?
Fine, they wouldn't kill Minato. But they'd already captured four of his subordinates, and those four knew their purpose. Even if they hadn't made a move yet, and could still help Minato kill the Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja as allies, they'd still have a mess to deal with afterward...
Tsang Yeh was practically tearing himself apart over it. He even thought this was more troublesome than running into the White Fang years ago...
"Uncle, these Rock Ninja are up to no good... Looks like you've been played."
Qi didn't care that Tsang Yeh was in an awkward position. He grinned like a cat that had gotten into the cream.
These Rock Ninja were just too delightful. They'd made such a mess of things—how could he not fan the flames among the Sunagakure Ninja? They were clearly already furious with the Rock Ninja...
"But it's okay, Uncle. We're allies, after all. Just kill those Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja, and we can split things up. You take two Rock Ninja and one Cloud Ninja, and we'll take one Rock Ninja and one Cloud Ninja and head out."
"Who the hell said we're allies with Konoha!?"
Tsang Yeh's eyes seemed to shoot flames. He wished he could slap Qi dead on the spot just to shut him up, but he knew he couldn't do that now. At least, not before Minato was dead...
"Isn't that right?"
Qi looked at Tsang Yeh in surprise.
"Uncle, didn't you come all this way specifically to help our teacher? Without your protection, us nobodies would've been done for. You've taken such good care of me the whole way here."
"..."
The Sunagakure Ninja were all speechless. Was this kid mocking them...?
But thinking back on the way he'd acted like a pampered lord throughout the journey, they had to admit they agreed with that last part!
Across the entire Shinobi World, which ninja would be so carefree after getting captured by the enemy? They'd never seen anyone this thick-skinned...
"Uncle, don't keep up the act. We're not idiots, are we? Do you really still need to honor your agreement with the Rock Ninja?"
Qi suddenly let out a few cold laughs and said,
"As long as you haven't acted on it, what's an agreement worth? Sunagakure and Iwagakure are enemies, while Konoha is your ally. Just kill these people. If you don't admit it, who can prove you secretly made an agreement?"
But Tsang Yeh still said nothing. He only looked at Qi with a cold smile...
"Uncle, that look in your eyes isn't right. Do I seem like someone who doesn't know how to play along?"
He looked shocked, then broke into a rather lecherous grin.
"Putting personal interests aside, I actually admire you, Uncle. Loyalty and honor, right? No matter what, the Rock Ninja are your greatest enemy, aren't they? For all we know, Lord Kazekage was set up by the Rock Ninja."
At the mention of the "Kazekage," the Sunagakure Ninja around them visibly drew breath.
The Third Kazekage was said to be the strongest Kazekage of all. After he died, Sunagakure went into an uproar and eventually settled on Konoha as the prime suspect, triggering the Third Shinobi World War.
Qi knew who had killed the Third Kazekage, of course. But would he dare say it out loud...?
He thought it was perfectly reasonable to pin the blame on Iwagakure. Iwagakure and Sunagakure were like Kumogakure and Konoha: two pairs with the fiercest conflicts. Even when there was no war, their people were hereditary enemies.
Countless people from Iwagakure and Sunagakure had died at each other's hands. The same was true of Kumogakure and Konoha. The Second Hokage had been killed by Cloud Ninja, a disgrace and a blood feud that Konoha had never forgotten.
The Sunagakure Ninja suspected Konoha because it had so many powerful shinobi and was strong enough to be the most likely culprit behind the Third Kazekage's death. But when it came to motive, Iwagakure was more than ten times as suspicious as Konoha!
It just so happened that the Sunagakure Ninja never dreamed the Third Kazekage had actually been killed by a traitor from their own village...
"Kid, you've got a sharp tongue. But have you considered that we can just leave right now?"
Tsang Yeh smiled ominously.
"Do you think I'll believe you? You'll probably sell us out the moment we turn our backs. Why should Sunagakure get involved in Kumogakure's affairs?"
"You haven't left, so doesn't that mean you've changed your mind?"
Qi sighed.
"Uncle, I admit we're weak, but we're not stupid. Anyone can see what's going on, right? If you stand by and do nothing, Kumogakure will get involved. I don't know what'll happen to Konoha, but Sunagakure will be in real trouble. And besides..."
He patted his shoulder.
"You can't leave even if you want to. Teacher already left a 'mark' on me, and you're well within his range. He can teleport here. If you leave, Teacher will follow."
"Shit!"
At that, every Sunagakure Ninja—including Tsang Yeh—finally swore in unison...
Shameless! Konoha's people were shameless! Utterly shameless and devious! Wasn't this just setting them up!?
Tsang Yeh couldn't help remembering the White Fang. That bastard had ambushed him back then and nearly taken half his life!
In his eyes, the White Fang of the Leaf's fighting style was even more disgusting than the terrifying combination of Earth Release and Lightning Release. That bastard almost never fought head-on, even though his direct combat ability was second only to the Third Hokage in Konoha...
Could this shamelessness actually run in the family?
Tsang Yeh was utterly stunned. He had to admit that Iwagakure, which had a bitter feud with Sunagakure, was even less trustworthy than Konoha. At least Konoha had never been plotting to wipe out Sunagakure. Konoha's enemy was Kumogakure, not Sunagakure.
Tsang Yeh's cheek twitched violently. In the end, he made up his mind and signaled to the others.
At their leader's signal, the other Sunagakure Ninja also wore grim expressions. But the first thing they did was untie Kakashi and the others and return their weapons—including Qi's.
"Kid, you win. We'll deal with the Rock Ninja first, then settle things with Konoha later."
Tsang Yeh glared at Qi in annoyance, then waved his hand. The Sunagakure Ninja all turned toward the Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja in the field, murder in their eyes—especially the three Rock Ninja...
Without a doubt, the Sunagakure Ninja found cutting down Rock Ninja much more satisfying than fighting Konoha Ninja!
"You guys, come with me. We'll take out those two Cloud Ninja first!"
Watching the two Cloud Ninja crackling with electricity, Tsang Yeh and several Special Jonin from Sunagakure all wore cruel grins.
Sunagakure might have fallen on hard times, but that was because the current Wind Daimyo was aggressively suppressing the ninja, forcing the resource-starved village to cut back on its numbers.
At its height, Sunagakure had been the second strongest village, behind only Konoha...
Most importantly, Kumogakure was known for its overwhelming attack power because nearly everyone there trained in Lightning Release. Konoha had few Wind Release users, but Sunagakure was different. It had countless ninja skilled in Wind Release, with a proportion comparable to the number of Lightning Release practitioners in Kumogakure.
To put it bluntly, Sunagakure was the natural counter to Kumogakure! Most Cloud Ninja were as fragile as tofu in front of Sunagakure!
"Attack!"
At last, just as Minato appeared once more at the closest point to the Sunagakure Ninja and the two Cloud Ninja came flying toward them, Tsang Yeh roared. The Sunagakure Ninja lying in wait surged forward like a fierce gale!
Tsang Yeh led the charge. To the two Cloud Ninja's horror, he swung his hand like a blade, sending a huge wave of wind blades slashing toward them!
Bang!
The Lightning Armor, which normally offered decent defense, was like paper in front of Tsang Yeh's wind blades. He attacked with all his might, leaving the two Cloud Ninja no room to dodge. They screamed as his strike sent them flying, a streak of blood trailing through the air!
That strike had fully demonstrated Tsang Yeh's strength. His overall power might not have matched Minato's, but when it came to Wind Release, he was far stronger!
"Tsang Yeh! What are you doing? Are you going to break our agreement!?"
The three Rock Ninja were just as horrified. Their worst fear had finally come true. Minato's overwhelming strength had kept them occupied for too long, and now the Sunagakure Ninja had arrived!
But what they hadn't expected was that the Sunagakure Ninja would turn on them without the slightest hesitation! It was the worst possible outcome!
"What am I doing!? I'm screwing your mother!"
If they hadn't mentioned the agreement, Tsang Yeh might not have been so furious. But the moment they did, his temper exploded. He pointed at the two Cloud Ninja still spitting blood in midair and roared,
"Kill them all!"
"Kill!"
The Sunagakure Ninja roared as one. Several Special Jonin broke away from the crowd and followed Tsang Yeh toward the two Cloud Ninja, while the rest charged the three Rock Ninja. They unleashed all kinds of ninjutsu without regard for the cost, raining attacks down on the three of them in a frenzy!
Qi and Kakashi's group immediately converged on Minato.
"You did well!"
Minato said little. He patted each of them on the shoulder, his expression approving.
"Sunagakure, I'll slaughter your ancestors!"
The three Rock Ninja were enraged when they saw this. They knew there was nothing left to say. They had intended to kill the Sunagakure Ninja along with the others from the start.
"Then we'll kill you too! That was the plan all along!"
As one Rock Ninja shouted, he raised his hand and launched a firework-like object straight into the sky. It burst open above them!
Boom!
A loud explosion rang out. Wood splintered through the trees on the other side, and a squad made up of Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja appeared. The moment they saw the Sunagakure Ninja, they roared and charged.
Konoha and Sunagakure, Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja—the two allied forces immediately clashed in a bloody melee!