An Ambush!

He spoke as he pulled a short blade from his ninja pouch and charged at Kawaki Aoba.

Kawaki Aoba showed no fear. He gripped his kunai and met the charge.

They traded blows, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Kawaki Aoba was fast, every strike precise. The leader of the Sunagakure ninja was just as deadly with his blade, each cut aimed to kill.

As the fight went on, Kawaki Aoba began to spot openings in his opponent's defense.

He seized his chance, sidestepping the leader's attack and driving his kunai toward the man's chest.

The leader could not dodge in time. The kunai struck, and blood flowed from the wound.

"You..."

The leader stared at Kawaki Aoba, his eyes full of resentment. Then he fell to the ground and went still.

With their leader dead, the Sunagakure ninja in the cave panicked and tried to flee.

Kawaki Aoba and the Konoha ninja pressed the attack and quickly took down the rest.

"Lord Aoba, are you all right?"

One of the ninja looked at the dust covering Kawaki Aoba, concern written across his face.

Kawaki Aoba shook his head. "I'm fine.

Everyone, check these crates. See if there's anything besides explosive tags."

They got to work at once, opening every crate in the cave.

Along with a large stockpile of explosive tags, they found ninjutsu scrolls and intelligence files.

Kawaki Aoba picked up one of the files and read it carefully. His expression grew grimmer by the moment.

"Lord Aoba, what's wrong?"

One of the ninja saw his expression and hurried over to ask.

Kawaki Aoba handed the file to the others. "Look. According to this, the Akatsuki and Sunagakure have joined forces. They plan to launch a large-scale attack on Konoha in three days. These explosive tags are