Clone self-destruction

After passing smoothly through the first checkpoint, the convoy traveled farther. When the second pass came into view in the distance, Qianye Lan summoned a Shadow Clone to scout ahead again.

This time, he specifically gave the Shadow Clone three Explosive Tags.

The Shadow Clone immediately understood his intent and nodded with a mischievous grin.

After Qianye Lan's Shadow Clone entered the pass, Akasuna Kotsu perked up as well.

He lowered his voice and said, "Someone's coming!"

Hino Ryo, Wind Cutter, and Shuo nodded, their expressions turning serious.

Shuo even turned to the dozen or so rank-and-file fighters and said, "Get ready."

"Yes!"

At that moment, Wind Cutter frowned and said, "Boss, why is he alone? Could he be scouting?"

Akasuna Kotsu soon noticed something amiss as well, and his gaze quickly grew grave.

Qianye Lan's Shadow Clone seemed to have discovered something. He crouched down on one knee and easily dismantled the traps they had set.

Wind Cutter looked at Akasuna Kotsu questioningly. "Boss, should I..."

His eyes hardened, and he put a hand to his neck.

Akasuna Kotsu hesitated briefly, then shook his head. The scout had not discovered them yet, so there was no need to act. They would keep watching to see what happened.

But after some time, Akasuna Kotsu was clearly unable to sit still.

Watching Qianye Lan check and clear every trap they had laid, he grew agitated.

Akasuna Kotsu nodded to Wind Cutter.

Taking the cue, Wind Cutter used the Stealth Technique to approach Qianye Lan's Shadow Clone without a sound.

Qianye Lan's Shadow Clone had already grown alert while clearing the many recently laid traps. Sensing obvious killing intent behind him, he took out the three Explosive Tags his original had given him and silently attached them to his body.

Akasuna Kotsu had an inexplicable confidence in Wind Cutter. He turned back and said, "Once Wind Cutter finishes off this brat, we'll retreat to the third pass."

Everyone nodded. Just then, a thunderous boom instantly drew everyone's attention.

The confidence in Akasuna Kotsu's eyes abruptly vanished as well.

Everyone stood up, seeing only the thick smoke left by the explosion.

As the smoke dispersed, a huge crater appeared in the ground.

Several broken Shuriken and Kunai lay scattered around it. Wind Cutter lay at the very center of the blast, a large hole blown through his chest and blood spilling from his mouth. His pupils had lost focus; clearly, his life had already slipped away.

What struck Akasuna Kotsu as even stranger was that the other brat's body was nowhere in the crater. There were not even any scraps of clothing.

He immediately thought of one possibility: the brat was someone else's Shadow Clone. They had actually been led around by the nose by a Shadow Clone.

Akasuna Kotsu's face darkened at once. Disregarding his companion's body, he turned and said to those behind him, "Retreat to the third pass immediately."

Meanwhile, far away, Qianye Lan received his Shadow Clone's memories and turned to Hatake Sakumo. "There may be an ambush ahead. My Shadow Clone was just killed, but he took one of them with him."

Hatake Sakumo asked, "Do you have any memories of that person?"

After a moment's thought, Qianye Lan said, "No memories of his face. He had a scarf covering it, and he was rather thin and small."

After hearing Qianye Lan's description, Hatake Sakumo replied, "I told you to read the intelligence carefully, but you didn't. That should be Wind Cutter, one of Akasuna Kotsu's three key subordinates."

Qianye Lan realized it too and nodded, somewhat embarrassed.

He looked at Hatake Sakumo and asked tentatively, "Uncle Sakumo, should I send out another Shadow Clone to investigate?"

Hatake Sakumo nodded.

This time, to be safe, Qianye Lan deliberately created two Shadow Clones.

Once they determined there was no danger ahead, one Shadow Clone would remain in place while the other dispelled itself to relay the information.

Soon, Qianye Lan received word that the second pass was safe.

The convoy advanced smoothly.

While still some distance from the third pass, Qianye Lan suddenly said to Hatake Sakumo beside him, "Uncle Sakumo, in theory, can the Red Sand Mercenary Company only ambush us up ahead?"

Hatake Sakumo nodded slightly. "That's right. This is probably their last chance. If they don't set an ambush ahead, there won't be anywhere else they can ambush us."

A bold idea came to Qianye Lan then. "Uncle Sakumo, since they've already lost an important fighter, why don't you and I find them directly and wipe them all out?"

Hatake Sakumo hesitated when he heard Qianye Lan's proposal.

Seeing Hatake Sakumo hesitate, Qianye Lan knew there was a chance. He decided to strike while the iron was hot. "Uncle Sakumo, Kushina has my Flying Thunder God Kunai. Even if something unexpected happens when we go over there, we can use Flying Thunder God to get back in time."

In the end, Hatake Sakumo agreed to the plan. "No problem."

Qianye Lan turned back and carefully instructed Kushina. "If there's danger, just channel chakra into the Kunai I gave you."

Although Kushina was very worried about Qianye Lan, she still nodded to show that she understood.

Seeing the worry in Kushina's eyes, Qianye Lan reassured her. "Don't worry. We already have clear intelligence on the enemy this time. It won't be that dangerous."

With that, he followed Hatake Sakumo and disappeared from the two girls' sight.

Kushina kept staring at Qianye Lan's back until he disappeared.

Uchiha Mikoto was also very worried about Qianye Lan, but she could not readily show it and could only comfort Kushina softly.

After Qianye Lan and Hatake Sakumo checked two possible ambush sites, only one final location where an ambush might be hidden remained ahead of them.

The two exchanged a glance and slipped inside without a sound.

Qianye Lan suddenly raised a hand, signaling Hatake Sakumo to stop.

Although Hatake Sakumo did not understand, he complied. Qianye Lan skillfully dismantled two traps ahead, then signaled for Hatake Sakumo to continue.

Hatake Sakumo found this strange too. Why did Qianye Lan know so much at his age?

But he also knew this was not the time to dwell on it. He continued leading the way, and after taking out two rank-and-file fighters, the two successfully infiltrated the central area.

Hatake Sakumo scanned the surroundings, then fixed his gaze on Akasuna Kotsu.

He swiftly drew his blade. A cold gleam flashed, and the White Fang in Hatake Sakumo's hand instantly severed Akasuna Kotsu's head.

This rogue ninja leader who had operated along Konoha's border finally met his end.

He still had trump cards he had not used. Those trump cards were also a major source of the confidence that had allowed Akasuna Kotsu to cause trouble for so many years.

But in the world of ninja, once someone died, however many trump cards they had hidden became useless.

Before the other two could react to what they had seen, Qianye Lan formed a Rasengan in each hand and slammed them into the centers of their backs.

The tremendous power of the Rasengan instantly punched straight through both their bodies.

The two also dispatched the remaining rank-and-file fighters in an instant. Qianye Lan could not help muttering, "Why do they seem so weak?"

Hatake Sakumo shook his head somewhat helplessly, then explained, "They were just too relaxed. Akasuna Kotsu probably still had quite a few trump cards he hadn't used. Konoha's Anbu failed to eliminate them repeatedly, yet we ended up taking them out."

Qianye Lan's eyes suddenly lit up. "Uncle Sakumo, do you think they've amassed a lot of wealth after causing trouble along the border for so many years?"