"Damn it! Did she really say that?"
Kazuma knelt on the tatami mat and slammed the teacup in his hand onto the ground.
"Yes, Lord Kazuma. Fuka Lord Feng said she's unwell and can't participate in the operation for the time being. She'll come to apologize to you in person once she recovers."
Kazuma took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. He waved his hand. "I know, go."
The kneeling ninja quickly retreated.
After Kazuma's extreme anger, only sorrow remained.
As the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the daimyo, they should have followed the daimyo's orders without question.
However, among these 12 ninjas, there were still some who refused to obey orders.
As the son of the Third Hokage, Asuma's unwillingness to assassinate the current Hokage is understandable.
But the other three ninjas dared to loudly rebuke him.
What's even more infuriating is that there were originally eight ninjas, all of whom swore absolute loyalty to the daimyo.
But when Kazuma contacted them to demand an explanation from Shinsei's Hokage, six of them immediately changed their story.
Some used their health as an excuse, while others said they didn't want to incite internal strife.
Kazuma could see clearly that they were just a bunch of cowards who feared death.
The news had leaked; they had to act quickly. Kazuma immediately stood up. He clapped his hands, and a ninja instantly entered the house.
"Notify them to assemble at the Fire Temple immediately."
"Yes, Lord Kazuma."
The capital of the Land of Fire is located in the center of the Land of Fire.
The city is huge and bustling. The pedestrians are dressed differently from those elsewhere, full of traditional style and showing off their elegance.
The group from Team 7 had already changed into ordinary civilian clothes and were walking down the street.
Naruto looked around curiously, like a curious child. He leaned close to Kakashi and whispered a question.
" Kakashi-sensei, shall we go catch the bad guys now?"
Kakashi shook his head and led the group straight into a secluded residential building.
A ninja stepped forward, nodded to Kakashi, and handed him an information scroll.
Kakashi unrolled the scroll and began to read it carefully.
" The Fire Temple?" Kakashi frowned almost imperceptibly.
The Fire Temple is located in the mountains twenty miles north of the capital of the Land of Fire, and is the most famous ninja temple in the Land of Fire.
The monks in the temple practiced both Buddhist teachings and Ninjutsu, among whom the most renowned was the " Gift of the Hermit Group."
A secret technique that can transform Chakra into a special form.
Several of the Twelve Guardian Ninja were from the Fire Temple, Kazuma to choose that place as their meeting point.
The problem is that the Fire Temple is situated in a treacherous location, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one main entrance. If Kazuma sets up an ambush inside the temple, it won't be easy to storm in.
" Kakashi-sensei, why don't we just charge in and beat them all down?" Naruto waved his fist, looking eager to try.
"Idiot." Sasuke coldly spat out two words, "Since they dared to choose that place, they must have made preparations. Rushing in recklessly is just suicide."
"What did you say?!"
"Quiet down." Kakashi reached out to separate the two, his gaze sweeping across the map. " Sasuke is right."
The Fire Temple is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and Kazuma currently has at least three Jonin- level ninja under his command, plus a Jinchūriki who possesses the Nine-Tails Chakra. In a direct confrontation, we do not have an absolute advantage."
Sakura Haruno pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Teacher, since the Fire Temple is a ninja temple, are all the monks there from Kazuma's faction?"
A hint of approval flashed in Kakashi's eyes. "Good question. According to intelligence, the Chiriku the Fire Temple, Master Jiriku, Kazuma have always been at odds."
Master Chiriku advocated for the neutrality of the Ninja Temple, urging it not to participate in worldly disputes. Kazuma's choice of the Fire Temple this time was likely not due to the temple's support, but rather because he took advantage of the abbot's absence to illegally occupy the temple.
"In other words, the monks in the temple might not help them." Sakura's eyes lit up.
"Not only will they not help, they might even become our ally." Kakashi nodded. "Master Chiriku and Asuma were close friends. Asuma refused to participate in the Hokage of the Hokage, so you can imagine Master Chiriku's attitude."
Naruto didn't quite understand, but he grasped the most crucial information. "So we have helpers now?"
"Not necessarily." Kakashi put away the map and stood up. "But at least we don't have to worry about being attacked from both sides."
The operation has been changed; the arrest, originally scheduled for the annex, will now take place at the Fire Temple.
Naruto grinned, slammed his fist into his palm, and his eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
The bell tower of the Fire Temple cast a huge shadow under the moonlight, covering most of the temple grounds.
The temple should have been brightly lit, but at this moment only a few candlelight shone from the Nobita, while the rest of the buildings were shrouded in darkness, like a lurking Giant Beast.
Kazuma stood in front of the Buddha statue in the Nobita, with four people standing behind him in a row.
Fuen, Jonin traps and barriers, was kneeling on the ground, attaching Explosive Tag to the pillars of the palace in specific positions.
The Fudo, burly Iwagakure missing-nin had his arms wrapped in thick bandages, beneath which faint traces of Earth Release techniques could be seen.
Fuka. A woman wearing a half-mask had her hair tied up high, revealing her slender neck.
She is Fuen's partner, a rare genius who is proficient in all five Chakra nature transformations—and also Kazuma's only subordinate.
One of the Twelve Guardian Ninja who did not make excuses to shirk their duties.
Kong stood at the very end, his expression still gloomy. His long, gray hair covered half his face, revealing only one very pale eye. His body trembled slightly, not from fear, but from the restless power within him that did not belong to him.
"Gentlemen," Kazuma turned around, his gaze sweeping over the four faces, "Tonight's operation concerns the survival of the Land of Fire. Konoha's ninjas have already infiltrated the capital and will likely find this place soon. Rather than waiting passively, we should ambush them here and annihilate them in one fell swoop."
" Kazuma," Fudo said in a deep voice, "Is our target the ninjas of Konoha, or the Hokage himself?"
"Naturally, it's the Hokage." Kazuma sneered. " Kakashi is merely an advance team sent by Shinsei. Once we capture Kakashi and his student, Shinsei will surely come in person. At that time, Ku..."
He looked at his son.
Kong raised his head, his eyes vacant, but his voice was unusually calm. "Father, rest assured, I will use the power of the Nine-Tails to tear him apart."
Kazuma nodded in satisfaction. "With the power of the Nine-Tails, plus Fuen's barrier trap, Fudo's Earth Release suppression, Fuka's Five Elements Release techniques, even the Hokage himself would perish in this Fire Temple."
Suddenly, Fuka spoke, his voice lazy and nonchalant. "Lord Kazuma, I do have a question."
"Explain."
"What if the Lord Hokage doesn't come? What if he doesn't care about Kakashi's life or death at all?" Fuka tilted his head, twirling a strand of hair between his fingers. "Then wouldn't we have worked for nothing?"
Kazuma's face darkened. " Shinsei is a man of great loyalty. Kakashi is his senior, Team 7 are his subordinates whom he personally trained. He will never stand idly by."
What if?
"There's no chance of anything happening!" Kazuma's voice suddenly rose, echoing throughout the hall.
Realizing his loss of composure, he took a deep breath and suppressed his emotions. "Even if Shinsei doesn't come, taking down Kakashi will be like crippling his arm."
When the daimyo issues a punitive order in the name of the imperial court and summons daimyo from various countries to exert pressure, I want to see how a fifteen-year-old boy will deal with public opinion.
Fuka didn't speak again, but lowered his eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Kong remained silent, like an emotionless statue. But no one noticed that his fingers, hanging at his sides, were trembling slightly, his nails digging into his palms, drawing a trace of blood.
Outside the main hall, a night wind suddenly rose.
Four figures landed silently on the temple wall.
Kakashi held up two fingers, making a tactical hand gesture to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura behind him. The three immediately spread out, taking up positions in three different directions around the temple.
Sasuke's Sharingan glowed faintly red in the darkness as he scanned every corner of the temple. "There's an Explosive Tag trap at the main entrance of the main hall, and a Chakra barrier on each of the left and right corridors. There are two hidden sentry posts on the roof of the side hall, which I've already marked."
"I'll take care of the sentries," Sakura whispered, then disappeared into the night.
A few breaths later, two soft thuds came from the roof of the side hall. When Sakura reappeared, there was still a little blood on her fist, which she wiped on the hem of her clothes without changing her expression.
Naruto's eyelids twitched. " Sakura, go easy on me..."
"Don't worry, he was just knocked unconscious," Sakura said calmly.
Kakashi nodded approvingly, then looked at the candlelight shining from the Nobita. His Sharingan slowly rotated, piercing through the walls to reveal the layout and number of people in the hall.