Spirit Transformation Technique

When they had used Lightning Release just moments ago, many Sand Ninjas had defended themselves with varying degrees of Wind Release Ninjutsu. This natural elemental disadvantage had greatly weakened the Lightning Release.

After dodging the Lightning Release attacks, the Sand Waterfall Clan ninjas immediately clashed with the four members of Team 6, who wielded Shuriken and Kunai.

"Ninja Art: Spirit Transformation Technique!"

Dan Katō's soul flew out of his body and straight toward the enemy Sand Waterfall ninjas. Many Sand Ninjas couldn't dodge in time and were struck by the soul. Before long, more than a dozen had fallen.

On a cliff wall dozens of meters away, Sabaku Chiharu watched the battle unfold. When he saw that more than a dozen of the clan members he had brought had died at Konoha's hands, he flew into a rage and shouted at the ninja beside him, "What a bunch of useless fools! Rasa, how many do we have left?"

"Father, besides the dozen or so fighting those four Konoha ninjas, we have more than twenty clan members left on the surrounding cliff walls," Rasa replied calmly.

"Hmph. Send them all down. I refuse to believe that more than thirty of our ninjas can't beat those four." Sabaku Chiharu roared in frustration.

"Yes." At Sabaku Chiharu's command, Rasa waved his hand. More than twenty clan members hidden in the darkness immediately jumped down from the cliff and joined the fight against Team 6.

Seeing more and more ninjas joining the battle, Uchiha Matsuri grew deeply frustrated. They were in the light while the enemy lurked in the dark, and they didn't know how many enemies they were facing. A pointless fight would only drain their chakra, and once they ran out, they would be at their enemies' mercy.

At first, the four members of Team 6 had relied on their ninjutsu to hold their ground against the Sand Waterfall Clan ninjas.

But after more than ten minutes, the battle reached a fever pitch. As their chakra reserves dwindled, the four members of Team 6 began to fall behind, and the Sand Ninjas' numerical advantage started to show.

Of the three, even Uchiha Matsuri, who had the most chakra, was running low.

"Yin Seal: Release!"

With his chakra nearly spent, Uchiha Matsuri had no choice but to release his Yin Seal. In an instant, a seemingly endless supply of chakra surged from the seal into his body, and he felt his exhaustion ease.

Unlike Uchiha Matsuri, who had the Yin Seal with its nearly cheat-like effects, Kushina Uzumaki and Nohara Shin weren't so lucky. They were accumulating more and more scratches and wounds as the battle went on.

After fighting fiercely for more than half an hour, only Dan Katō, a jōnin, was faring slightly better among the four members of Team 6. The three others were gradually going from being at a disadvantage to facing an imminent rout. The situation was rapidly turning against Team 6.

"What do we do? There are too many of them! The four of us can't hold out!" Kushina Uzumaki wiped the blood from her face and shouted to Nohara Shin and Uchiha Matsuri.

"Exactly! If this keeps up, they'll wear us down sooner or later!" Nohara Shin shouted.

Damn it.

After killing the ninja in front of him with a swing of his hand, Uchiha Matsuri yelled, "What choice do we have? Everyone, do your best to move toward the Land of Fire!"

Though their chances of breaking through were slim, the three of them fought desperately toward the Land of Fire. Whether they could escape encirclement was now up to fate.

Meanwhile,

Dan Katō was locked in a fierce battle with the Sand Ninja beside him.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

After he used the Great Fireball Technique, the eight ninjas surrounding Dan Katō were reduced to six.

"This won't work. We have to get out of here." Dan Katō glanced at the troops who kept rushing in to replace their fallen comrades and gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind. After driving back one ninja, he suddenly shouted to Uchiha Matsuri and the others, "Matsuri, the three of you, find a way to break through now. I'll cover your retreat!"

"How can we do that? We're a team. We live together or die together!" Nohara Shin shouted, agitated.

"Don't be naive. We'll be lucky if even one of us gets out alive!" Dan Katō shouted. "Matsuri, take the other two and find a chance to escape. Hurry!"

Uchiha Matsuri glanced at Kushina Uzumaki and Nohara Shin, who were fighting desperately nearby. He dodged an attack from a Sand Ninja and moved over to them.

Seeing the three of them draw closer together, Dan Katō smiled, then formed Hand Seals and slapped his palms against the ground.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

The ground across an area of more than ten meters instantly turned into a muddy swamp. The ninjas who had been standing on solid ground now had their feet stuck in the mire and couldn't move for the moment.

"Go!" Seeing Dan Katō use the technique, Uchiha Matsuri immediately understood that he was buying them time to escape.

At Uchiha Matsuri's words, Kushina Uzumaki and Nohara Shin hesitated for a moment, then followed him toward the Land of Fire.

"Running away, are you?" Sabaku Chiharu looked at the three of them with disdain. "So Konoha's teams aren't all that united after all! They've just abandoned their comrade and run off."

Seeing Uchiha Matsuri break through the encirclement and run toward the Land of Fire, Sabaku Chiharu hurriedly ordered, "Rasa, take the dozen or so ninjas who can still move freely and pursue those three with everything you've got. Make sure they're killed!"

"Yes, Father." Rasa accepted the order, then led more than a dozen Sand Waterfall ninjas in pursuit of Uchiha Matsuri and the others.

After breaking out of the encirclement, the three of them raced toward the Land of Fire, in the direction of Scarlet Valley. It was still a day and a half from there to the Land of Fire's border—the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain lay between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind—and it was uncertain whether the three of them had the stamina to make it. But once they entered Scarlet Valley, it would be like stepping into a maze. Escaping through a maze was far easier than fleeing across a vast, open plain.

Kushina Uzumaki glanced at the pursuers behind them and said worriedly, "Matsuri, they're catching up."

"It's fine. At our speed, as long as we reach the bottom of Scarlet Valley, we'll have a chance to escape them," Uchiha Matsuri reassured her.

A few minutes later, with the pursuers drawing closer and his strength nearly spent, Nohara Shin finally broke down. He looked at Uchiha Matsuri and Kushina Uzumaki running at full speed beside him, then called out between gasps, "I can't... I can't keep running. You two go on. I'll stay behind and cover your retreat."

"How can we do that?" Uchiha Matsuri shouted as he ran. "Senior Dan stayed behind to fight them for our sake. I won't let anything happen to any of us!"