Before they had gone far, an accident occurred.
Four or five Kunai with Explosive Tag attached to their tails shot out from the dark forest, heading towards Yamanaka Kenji and Akimichi Tsuyoshi, who were leaping through the trees.
Fortunately, the two who had just experienced the trap were still vigilant and immediately dodged to the side the moment they saw the Kunai appear.
Kōki and Nara Yūsuke, who were following behind, saw a flash of Kakkō from an explosion ahead and immediately landed on the ground.
Yamanaka Kenji and Akimichi Tsuyoshi also jumped down to join them.
The attackers, not believing they could kill them with such a simple method, did not hesitate to reveal themselves from the shadows after their attack failed.
One, two, three, countless Sunagakure appeared all around them.
Kōki and the others looked around. The Sunagakure were either standing or crouching, each of them staring at them with murderous intent. They roughly estimated that there were at least a hundred Sunagakure present.
Moreover, judging from their spirit and energy, they are not weaklings; they are mostly at least Chunin level, with the vast majority being Jonin and only a small number being Chunin.
"Hey, Tsukasa, you sensed earlier that there wouldn't be any other Sunagakure around, so what's going on with all these people now?" Akimichi Tsuyoshi Yamanaka Kenji Sunagakure, a few beads of cold sweat dripping down his cheeks, as he looked at the Sunagakure people covering the entire mountainside.
Even if he were stupid, he would know that so many ninjas couldn't have come from anywhere else; the only possibility was that they had been lying in ambush here beforehand.
"I..."
Faced with Akimichi Tsuyoshi's question, he was speechless. He had carefully used his Sensory Technique to confirm that there were no ambushes around the base, but the scene before him clearly told him that they had been ambushed.
Therefore, he was unable to answer his companion's question.
On the other side, Nara Yūsuke defended Yamanaka Kenji: "Shi, it shouldn't be Kenji's fault. You know Kenji wouldn't make this kind of mistake."
He believed that his childhood friend wouldn't make such a basic mistake; the problem should lie with the Sunagakure in front of him. The Sensory Technique had already failed twice, and he guessed that the Sunagakure might have some means of blocking sensory perception.
At the same time, Nara Yūsuke thought to himself, "These must be the two Sunagakure's trump cards. They really have an impressive lineup."
Nara Yūsuke stared at the Sunagakure who surrounded them in layers, his mind racing as he racked his brains for a way to break through their defenses.
Unfortunately, given the vast disparity in strength between the two sides, he could only come up with one way to allow the four of them to escape the encirclement intact, which was to rely on Kōki's Wood Release to escape.
However, this raises a problem: when Kōki uses Wood Release, it will inevitably reveal that Konoha Wood Release, and no one knows what changes this news will bring to the Shinobi World.
Even he couldn't imagine what the exposure of Wood Release would bring to Konoha —revival or war? He couldn't judge.
He then considered what the exposure of Wood Release would bring to Kōki personally. Without a doubt, it would only bring disaster. Before Kōki could fully mature, he would face endless pursuit and attacks, and would forever be under the watchful eyes of greed.
Gradually, on the scales of his heart, Kōki's life became far more important than the lives of the three of them.
With this thought in mind, Nara Yūsuke made a decision. He looked at Akimichi Tsuyoshi and then at Yamanaka Kenji. Although he didn't speak, everything was understood without him saying a word.
Yamanaka Kenji and Akimichi Tsuyoshi were Nara Yūsuke's childhood friends; with just a glance, they understood what Nara Yūsuke meant.
They all nodded in agreement. Yamanaka Kenji began to frantically exploit the potential of his cells, preparing to unleash his Mind Secret Techniques.
Akimichi Tsuyoshi took out the Akimichi Clan's Three-Colored Secret Medicine from his waist pocket, held it in his palm, and waited for the moment the battle began to absorb it, unleashing a powerful attack to open a path to survival from the enemy's encirclement.
" Kōki, we'll help you break through later. You must escape successfully; your value is far greater than ours," Nara Yūsuke whispered to Kōki.
He was prepared to ensure Kōki's safe return to Konoha today, even if it meant sacrificing the entire Ino-Shika-Cho.
Akimichi Tsuyoshi held the secret medicine in his palm, thinking back to the day he became a ninja. His father handed him the Three-Colored Secret Medicine and told him that the moment he had the resolve would be the moment he, as a Akimichi Clan, would break free from his cocoon and transform into a butterfly.
And this very moment was the time his father had told him about, the time for him to break free from his cocoon and transform into a butterfly.
He gripped the secret medicine tightly, about to swallow it, when suddenly a slender arm blocked his way. A sentence he would never forget rang in his ears.
"Senior, I awakened this Kekkei Genkai not so that you could protect me, but so that I could protect you."
If I were to leave today, I think my Kekkei Genkai be disgraced by my actions. Moreover, as a Konoha Ninja, I cannot abandon my comrades and run away alone; I never can."
Kōki had already seen through Nara Yūsuke and the others' plans from their resolute eyes, and he was deeply moved by the determination of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
But he couldn't accept it, because he had sworn in the same situation that he would never let that day repeat itself, so today Kōki would absolutely not give up on Nara Yūsuke and the others.
Moreover, even if his Wood Release is exposed, so what if he faces endless attacks and assassinations? The enemies he will face in the future will only be more terrifying than those he faces now. The current difficulties are not worth his backing down, and besides, he is strong enough to deal with these people.
Kōki's words struck Nara Yūsuke like a bell striking the morning bell, causing them to be deeply shaken. They hadn't expected that while they were preparing to sacrifice themselves to save others, the very people they were saving were also thinking of sacrificing themselves to save them.
At that moment, Nara Yūsuke and the others felt an immense surge of power coursing through their bodies. Looking at Kōki's short yet towering figure, they silently vowed once more, "No matter what, Kōki, you must live. You are the future of Konoha."
Kōki was unaware that Nara Yūsuke had been moved by his words; he was warily watching the surrounding Sunagakure.
"You rats of Konoha, running rampant and ruining our plans time and time again. Now we've finally found our chance. You won't leave here alive today!" A man who appeared to be the leader of the Sunagakure shouted sternly. After careful planning, they finally caught the Konoha rats who had repeatedly thwarted their plans, at a small cost.
At this moment, they were extremely proud and had seen through Kōki and his group's little tricks, but so what? They were confident that with their hundred-plus Sunagakure troops surrounding them, the Konoha Anbu present would be utterly annihilated.