Ruthless Extermination! (Third Update)

Outside the town, the rain grew heavier and heavier.

This was a sign that the rainy season was approaching!

Especially here in the Land of Rain, the downpour was significantly more intense than in other places.

The collected rainwater flowed downstream, merging into the Land of Rivers to form one river after another.

Four figures draped in raincoats were running at high speed.

During this process, Ogawara's face was splattered with quite a few raindrops.

Plop, another drop hit his face.

Iga Kawaji looked at Gong Yi suspiciously and couldn't help but ask, "Gong Yi, your... your strength?"

Gong Yi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered.

To rush back quickly and avoid Kazama Heitetsu, he had kept his Gravity Technique maintained at around eight times.

In this state, his speed and strength were close to the level of a Jonin.

Especially in the eyes of a ninja like Iga Kawaji, who came from the Anbu, it was easy to gauge his corresponding strength.

Gong Yi's expression darkened.

Since Iga Kawaji could judge it, there was no reason the brown-haired man from earlier couldn't.

And that man, Gong Yi recognized him!

Rasa of Sunagakure, the future Fourth Kazekage! The father of Gaara of the Sand!

Thinking of this, Gong Yi, who had originally assumed Rasa wouldn't catch up, felt a chill in his heart.

Almost instantly, he thought of more.

Why had Rasa appeared in the town? He had clearly heard that he went to Amegakure to visit Hanzo of the Salamander.

If he wasn't afraid of his movements being detected by other ninja villages, there must have been something else that forced him to come out.

A signal flare!

The signal flare Shaquan released before he died!

Although he didn't know the nature of that signal flare, it would definitely attract the attention of the Sunagakure ninjas.

Since Rasa had shown himself, Kazama Heitetsu, who was closer, had no reason not to emerge.

The distance between the two towns wasn't far; at Kazama Heitetsu's speed...

Gong Yi gritted his teeth and growled, "Captain, scatter and run!"

Iga Kawaji was deeply shocked. Gong Yi hadn't answered his question, but instead ordered them to "run"!

Coupled with the sudden appearance of Rasa earlier!

Gong Yi suddenly added, "Senso, Ogawara, don't run away together. Find a hidden place to hide and do everything possible to conceal yourselves. In one day—no, wait five days—then sneak back to the village."

After saying this, Gong Yi looked at Iga Kawaji.

There was no time to explain.

Iga Kawaji took a deep look at Gong Yi, and while Hyuga Senso and Ogawara were still stunned, he waved his hand violently.

"Do as Gong Yi says. Also, take these two scrolls. If you encounter danger, Senso, you decide when to use them!"

After speaking, Iga Kawaji darted toward the rear right, his speed unimaginably fast.

"What are you still standing there for? Run! There is a large river to the east. Ogawara, you know Water Release Ninjutsu, go that way!"

Ogawara stared blankly at the ferocious-looking Gong Yi, until Hyuga Senso pulled him along.

"Come with me."

Gong Yi stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes, then opened them and ran to the left.

Hyuga Senso dragged Ogawara, running with all his might. Along the way, the veins around his eye sockets bulged hideously; his Byakugan was already activated.

"Senso, what exactly is going on?"

In the rain, Ogawara asked blankly while running.

Hyuga Senso discerned the direction, trying his best not to overlap with the path Gong Yi and the others had taken.

"I don't know what's going on either, but I suspect it has to do with the person the Captain encountered earlier."

Ogawara was puzzled, then his mouth fell open, and the rain, driven by the wind, poured into his mouth.

"The Captain ran to the rear right; he's going to cover our retreat again!"

The Iga squad hadn't been formed for long, and this was their first mission; where did this "again" come from?

But Hyuga Senso knew what Ogawara meant.

The previous two captains of the two of them had both died covering their retreats, and this time, the captain was...

He thought of the words the captain had said before they set off.

"First of all, you should call me Captain, not 'Sir'."

"Secondly, for the village, missions are indeed the supreme principle. However, during the execution of a mission, I will certainly do my utmost to protect everyone's safety. Of course, you must not hold me back and must strive to complete the tasks assigned to you."

"Finally, if you are dissatisfied with the village's decisions, you should not question them, but rather strive to change them through your own efforts!"

Hyuga Senso's vision blurred, whether from the rain or the gale blowing in his face, he could not tell.

He instinctively looked back.

The captain had gone to cover their retreat, and Gong Yi had told the two of them to hide and return to the village in a few days, but what about Gong Yi?

Everything was because he was too weak!

If I were stronger, then the path Gong Yi is walking right now would be the one I am walking!

In a low-lying area, rainwater gathered into a stream, flowing toward the great river ahead.

Hyuga Senso and Ogawara hid inside, relying on Ogawara's Water Release Ninjutsu to drain all the water from beneath the ground.

Then, the two sealed the entrance with stones and mud, while trying their best not to emit any chakra signature.

Hyuga Senso deactivated his Byakugan and, holding the two Ninjutsu scrolls Iga Kawaji had given him, quickly recovered his depleted chakra.

Ogawara looked panicked and suddenly blurted out.

"Blood, it's blood!"

Hyuga Senso looked over; there were streaks of bright red on Ogawara's face and lips.

Washed by the rain, they looked like vivid flowers.

Ogawara's body trembled. "This is the smell of blood. I know medical ninjutsu and have treated wounds for others; even if diluted by the rain, I can recognize it. This is blood!"

"The captain was with us the whole time, he wasn't injured. I even asked him if he needed my help."

"This isn't the captain's blood, so whose could it be?"

Hyuga Senso closed his eyes, the image of Gong Yi's face at the moment of their parting appearing in his mind.

He gritted his teeth and let out a low growl, his expression ferocious.

I hope this isn't our final farewell!

"Rasa!"

"Kazama Heitetsu!"

"Where are your men? And what about Shaquan?"

"Shaquan is dead. The others couldn't keep up with my speed and are still behind."

"Dead? Killed by that brat?"

The sentence was a question, but the tone was certain.

Kazama Heitetsu's expression was grim. "He overheard my secret conversation with Kitsuchi; he cannot be allowed to escape."

Rasa stood in the vast wilderness, his unique Magnet Release ability allowing him to sense simple information within the natural magnetic field.

The rain was heavy, but it could not wash away all the lingering traces.

"It's someone from Konoha."

Kazama Heitetsu's face turned completely dark. "Then he must not be allowed to escape. We must kill them all!"

"They split into three directions. They are a squad, and the one leading them is a guy from the Anbu. I suspect he's a bit troublesome. You haven't seen him, so I will go after him."

"Another group headed toward the Land of Rivers. Hmm, they are two little Genin. Leave a message for your subordinates to hunt them down."

"As for that brat suspected of being a Jonin."

Kazama Heitetsu gritted his teeth. "I'll go. He killed my subordinates; I won't let him return alive."

Rasa grunted in acknowledgment and chased after the direction of the lingering scent.

"Exterminate them all!"

"Exterminate them all!"