Shimura Danzō had lost an eye and suffered wounds all over his body, but he had successfully thrown Kumogakure into chaos and survived. There were hardly any powerful shinobi left within its territory, which meant Hiruzen, their teacher, and the others had successfully kept the enemy's strongest fighters occupied over there.
Unfortunately, only five remained of their original force of several dozen. Their losses had been devastating too, but this time, they had crippled Kumogakure. Even if the village did not fall to Uchiha Mu, it would take a long time to recover.
"How is it? Any enemies?" Danzo looked at the Hyuga member. They had brought two Hyuga clansmen; one had died in Kumogakure, and this one was nearly out of chakra.
"No enemies nearby." The Hyuga shinobi was exhausted, but he did not dare deactivate his Byakugan. They were still inside the Land of Lightning, after all. It was a shame the other Byakugan user had died. Otherwise, they could have taken turns and avoided becoming this exhausted.
"Rest for a while. Shiki, your turn."
"Yes, Lord Danzo." As Shiki spoke, insects spread out around them, sensing nearby movements. Their range was smaller than the Byakugan's, but the Branch Family shinobi was nearly out of chakra. They still needed his Byakugan to check the border defenses, so he had to conserve what he had left.
"Heqing, carry him."
"Yes."
"Thank you, Lord Danzo." The Hyuga Branch Family shinobi did not stand on ceremony. He needed to recover his chakra. It would be a problem if he reached the border and could not activate his Byakugan.
"Lord Danzo, someone is catching up," Shiki warned.
"Move." Danzo immediately detonated the Explosive Tags. Booms rang out in the distance, destroying the road leading toward them. Roads made little difference to shinobi,