Ambush

The canyon, the battlefield between the Akatsuki and the Seven-Tails.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, and Suien reunited in front of the only hut in the center of the canyon.

The fierce battle that had just taken place had miraculously failed to destroy the hut.

It's unclear whether the Seven-Tails intentionally avoided this place or it was simply a coincidence.

"The Akatsuki members should be Kakuzu and Hiruko; I found them on the ground."

Tsunade threw out a bunch of Earth Grudge Fear tentacles, along with a shattered mask.

Upon hearing the name Kakuzu, the Suien beside him immediately changed its expression.

"Kakuzu, is that the Kakuzu defected decades ago?"

"It's him. There's actually someone in Takigakure who remembers his name."

Whether these words were sarcastic or complimentary, Suien felt somewhat embarrassed after hearing them, as the village's intelligence gathering was truly terrible.

"The battle traces indicate that only Kakuzu and Hiruko were there to capture the Tailed Beast. Although they succeeded, they were seriously injured. If we chase after them now, we have a great chance of retrieving the Tailed Beast."

Tsunade continued recounting her findings, but these words once again made Suien feel ashamed of Takigakure's previous actions.

That's so embarrassing.

"The enemy is retreating north; let's give chase now."

Tsunade looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, awaiting his decision.

"Let's go. Hopefully they don't run too fast, or we'll still have a chance to catch up."

While Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two companions were Scout the canyon, forty kilometers to their Northern Front, Kakuzu and Hiruko were traversing the forest.

Just then, Jue's figure emerged from the trunk of a large tree ahead.

Kakuzu and Hiruko quickly stopped in their tracks, standing on the large tree.

"Jue, you've come again at this time, are you trying to lighten our burden?"

Hiruko to the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki on Kakuzu's shoulder, then to his own newly reattached arm, and glanced at the weak Kakuzu, indicating that they were both injured.

Zetsu glanced at the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, a slight smile playing on his lips, but the words that came out were unpleasant to hear.

"I'd like to help you, but unfortunately, the circumstances don't allow it."

White Zetsu's smug voice rang out as he waved his hand, looking utterly helpless.

"I'm here to inform you to speed up. The pursuers from Konoha are already here. I need to go back soon to cover up the tracks you've left along the way, so you won't be caught up immediately."

"Pursuers! Who's chasing us? Does he have a death wish?"

Although Hiruko was seriously injured, he was not confident in the slightest.

Kakuzu, who was watching the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki from the side, had a slight change in expression. He didn't believe that Konoha would send any simple person to pursue them.

"Hehe~" White Zetsu chuckled wickedly, "You definitely know the person who came, and you're very familiar with them."

Hiruko's expression changed slightly, but White Zetsu revealed the answer before he could speak.

"The Third Hokage and Tsunade have arrived! How about that? Surprised? Excited?"

Hiruko's face froze instantly, as if struck by lightning. This was absolutely terrible news.

He wasn't arrogant enough to think he could handle either of them, especially since he wasn't in the right state of mind right now.

"Go, go, hurry up and go, Kakuzu, we have to get out of here, we can't stay here any longer."

Kakuzu wasn't stupid; he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could face the pursuit of two Kage Level ninjas in his current state, especially since they were among the Kage Level.

Without further hesitation, the two swiftly flew past the large tree where Jue was and continued their escape.

Behind them, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two companions were also quickly pursuing the trail left by Kakuzu and his Kakuzu.

Everything went smoothly at first, but after chasing for about 20 kilometers, the situation changed.

"The traces here have been damaged. Judging from the damage, someone else is helping them erase the traces."

Tsunade squatted down next to a footprint that had been deliberately erased, and reached out to trace the name back and forth on it.

"So, is there any way to determine the direction they fled in?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. He had really run into something annoying; the Akatsuki was certainly well-prepared.

"Hey, if it were before, there really wouldn't be anything we could do, but now it's different."

Tsunade formed hand Ram Seal, trying to adjust the fluctuations of her Chakra. The next moment, her eyes widened, and a faint golden light shone from the depths of her eyes.

Sage Mode, activated.

Senjutsu, Ninjutsu, Life Scout.

A pale green hue enveloped Tsunade's eyes; in her vision, everything in the world shimmered with varying shades of green—the energy of life.

Before her, three faint yet distinct green streaks stretched into the depths of the forest.

This was something Tsunade accidentally developed after learning Senjutsu, and she never expected it to come in handy at this time.

Having discerned the Akatsuki's escape route, Tsunade immediately deactivated Sage Mode. She was only a beginner and could only maintain Sage Mode for a short time.

"Over there, they ran that way."

Tsunade in a northwest direction, and the three of them chased after it without stopping.

Zetsu kept destroying the traces left by Kakuzu and the others, but he soon realized that something was wrong.

The three pursuers seemed unaffected by him; they were rapidly closing the distance by following the correct route.

Zetsu kept a safe distance, secretly observing the actions of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two. When Tsunade entered Sage Mode again, he finally learned the answer.

"That works too!"

He cursed under his breath and immediately used the Mayfly Technique to catch up with Kakuzu were fleeing ahead.

"You can't escape. Tsunade has specialized tracking methods; they've already locked onto you."

"What, are you kidding me?"

Hiruko in disbelief. "You're telling me now that we can't shake off the pursuit? What are we supposed to do?"

"Kakuzu, why don't we abandon the Jinchuriki? Maybe that will make them give up chasing us."

A hint of helplessness flashed in Kakuzu's green eyes; if he could, he really would like to do that.

Unfortunately, Pain doesn't reason with you; he'd rather face the pursuers behind him than Pain.

"Jue, have you told the leader about our situation?"

"Hey, Kakuzu, you know me best. In this situation, of course I would ask the leader for help."

Don't worry, the leader has already arranged for the nearest people to come and provide support.

But before that, you must all hold on.

Kakuzu and Hiruko both breathed a sigh of relief; with reinforcements, there was still hope for survival.

This person, however, is truly unfilial and deserves to be torn to pieces.

The two groups chased and fled, with Zetsu responsible for reporting the distance between them to Kakuzu.

Time passed second by second. Kakuzu and Hiruko were both injured, and their stamina and speed were affected. The distance between them was getting closer and closer.

Finally, after another half day, the distance between the two was about to close to the point where they could perceive each other with normal senses.

But Xiao's reinforcements haven't arrived yet.

Kakuzu glanced at Hiruko beside him, whose shoulder was still immobile; in this state, Hiruko was simply unable to engage in high-intensity combat.

He tossed the grieving Jinchuriki to Hiruko and said, "You go first, I'll stay and hold them off for a while."

"Kakuzu, you----"

"Go away, you'll only be a burden to me if you stay."

Kakuzu waved his hand at him unhappily, then immediately stopped and turned to face the direction he had come from.

Not far away, Zetsu's voice gradually faded into the distance, "Kakuzu, although I can't fight for you, I'll go back and urge reinforcements to come quickly."

A mocking smile tugged at the Kakuzu of Kakuzu's mouth; it was unclear whether this support was meant to reassure him or to warn him not to run away.

The next moment, three Chakra fluctuations entered Kakuzu's senses. These were the Third Hokage and Tsunade from Konoha. This trip was truly worthwhile.

Kakuzu Hand Seals, his movements slow but unusually solemn, as he fully mobilized his Chakra.

The moment the three pursuers came into view, Kakuzu completed all the Hand Seals.

Wind Style: Pressure Damage.

A massive amount of airflow was compressed into a violent whirlwind. As the Ninjutsu was released, the turbulent airflow, accompanied by dense Wind Blade, sliced everything in its path to pieces.

"Watch out, scatter!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi a warning, then turned and dodged to the side.

Tsunade and Suien reacted quickly, Body Flicker teleporting to the other side.

But the next moment, another hurricane flew towards them, forcing them to continue dodging.

But soon, Tsunade noticed something was wrong; the attack seemed to be specifically targeted at her.

Neither Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had already separated long ago, nor Suien, who had just separated, were attacked by Wind Style again.

Tsunade's face immediately darkened. Were they taking her for a fool?

In fact, that's not the case.

Kakuzu aware of his own limitations; he knew that in his current state, he was no match for the two from Konoha, so he didn't get close at all and only wanted to harass them with long-range Ninjutsu.

As for why they kept targeting Tsunade, well, she's the only one with the means to track her.

However, it is indeed too difficult for one person to stop three people.

Kakuzu had only completed half of the hand seals for his next Ninjutsu when Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly appeared from the nearby woods, moving so fast that it was impossible to tell he was an elderly man.

He raised his Shuriken. Then, the Shuriken multiplied into two, then four, then eight. In the blink of an eye, what was originally a single Shuriken had split into hundreds of clones.

He himself followed closely behind these Shuriken, launching a surprise attack on Kakuzu.

Kakuzu was too late to re-form the Hand Seals, so he had no choice but to retreat and dodge the follow-up attacks from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As soon as he withdrew, he fell into the hands of the Suien that had been waiting on the other side.

Water Style: Explosive Stream Breaker.

A thick Water Column slammed into Kakuzu as he retreated; if it had landed squarely, he would have lost at least half his life.

The Kakuzu in mid-air scoffed disdainfully, truly a tiger fallen into the plains being bullied by dogs.

With a flick of his left hand, a large number of tentacles shot out, entangled the trees beside him, and pulled hard, instantly changing his direction.

Before he even landed, his other hand had already formed Hand Seals.

Wind Style: Kazekiri.

A massive Wind Blade instantly materialized and hurtled towards the direction from which the Water Column was coming.

The offense and defense shifted extremely quickly, Suien clearly hadn't expected that Kakuzu to counterattack him so quickly. By the time he tried to dodge, his movements were already a fraction too slow.

A splash of blood erupted from his left shoulder; in just one exchange, he was slightly injured.

"Hey, weren't you just chasing me and hitting me? Now you dare to get distracted."

Tsunade's voice rang out from the side, making Kakuzu's hair stand on end. It was because Tsunade had taken advantage of Kakuzu's interaction with others to quietly approach Kakuzu behind.

"Take this punch!"

With Chakra Enhanced Strength, the punch landed squarely on Kakuzu's back. He was sent flying like a rag doll, crashing through several large trees before scrambling to his feet and running away without looking back.

Tsunade watched Kakuzu's fleeing figure, then looked at her own fists, still somewhat bewildered.

She clearly landed a solid punch just now, how could he still run away? Are all Rogue Ninja this tough these days?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi then walked over from that direction and picked up a broken mask from the ground.

"That punch of yours killed him."

"I see," Tsunade, feeling much better.

At this moment, Suien walked over from the other side, clutching her arm, looking somewhat embarrassed.

This is so embarrassing! As Jonin, he couldn't Kakuzu withstand a single move from Kakuzu. He even wondered if Waterfall Village's Jonin standards were really that low.

"Suien, Jonin your arm alright? Do you need me to treat it?"

Tsunade's words Jonin," stung Suien's heart even more. He forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, just a scratch. Let's hurry and give chase."

Tsunade gave him a careful look, but didn't insist. She entered Sage Mode again and released her Life Scout.

This time it took longer, and the aftershocks of the battle destroyed many traces. It took Tsunade a full two minutes to re-lock onto the target.

The three set off again, but after only a few kilometers, a Water Arrow shot towards them from the nearby woods.

Just as the three were about to give chase, the commotion disappeared again.

This happened repeatedly; every time the three of them advanced a certain distance, a sneak attack would strike.

Kakuzu has learned his lesson this time; he doesn't even show his face, but instead launches a sneak attack from afar.

"No, we won't catch up with him if we keep going like this. Let's take down Kakuzu first, then come back and chase him."

Tsunade was getting increasingly angry from these repeated sneak attacks and finally couldn't help but make a suggestion.

"Alright, let's deal with Kakuzu first."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was decisive, immediately changing direction and chasing after Kakuzu.

Kakuzu has now achieved his goal, but he is now in danger.

He only has his heart left in his body; if he takes another punch from Tsunade's Chakra Enhanced Strength Fist, he'll truly die.

Therefore, he dared not fight the three behind him again, and even if they showed obvious flaws, he pretended not to see them.

Escape, escape as quickly as possible—that was his only thought at the moment.

A Kage Level ninja, determined to escape, is certainly not an easy task to capture.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two companions trailed closely behind Kakuzu, only able to close the distance little by little.

Several times I entered the attack range, but the opponent used their survival abilities to widen the distance again.

This time, seeing that Kakuzu had no more tricks up his sleeve, the three pursuers all wore victorious smiles.

The next moment, a spinning fire dragon and a thick Water Column rushed towards the three of them from the left and right.

"There might be an ambush, be careful."