Not long after receiving news that the supply had been destroyed, Sunagakure immediately sent people to the place where the Konoha Anbu had ambushed them.
The Sunagakure who came to provide support said to their companions who had failed in their escort mission, "We will report this failure to the village. You'd better take care of yourselves."
The Sunagakure Village members, filled with shame, lowered their heads. They were not children; they knew that failing to escort supplies would bring enormous losses to the village, and in severe cases, would put immense pressure on the war at the front lines, causing heavy losses to their fellow villagers.
The Sunagakure escorting the supplies turned ashen-faced, already anticipating the punishment they would suffer.
Looking at the desperate faces of the escort team members, the Sunagakure members who came to provide support felt no sympathy. In their eyes, these people were unforgivable for making such a big mistake at a time like this.
However, they were still people from their own village, so the captain of the support force said to them with a hint of reassurance, "We're going to pursue the Konoha Anbu sabotaged our supply lines. If we're lucky enough to kill them before they escape the Land of Rivers, your crimes will be lessened. If the pursuit fails, I don't need to tell you what your fate will be, do I?"
Upon hearing what the support team leader said, the escort team members nodded, their expressions of despair easing slightly.
They knew that even if they managed to kill the Konoha Anbu, they would still be guilty of failing in their escort duties, and the only thing they could do was to accept a lighter punishment.
While ordinary squad members can only await punishment, the two Jonin escorting the squad still have a chance to redeem themselves and reduce their punishment.
They immediately stepped forward and said to the leader of the support team, " Izumi, the two of us will join your pursuit team. Those four Konoha Anbu have brought us such humiliation; we absolutely cannot let them get away with it."
These two Jonin were acquainted with the captain of the support force, and were also somewhat well-known Jonin from Sunagakure. Therefore, the captain of the support force Izumi, gave them face and nodded in agreement. "Alright, you two have also encountered the Konoha Anbu before, so adding you two is fine. Besides, you also know the direction the Konoha Anbu fled in."
"As for those Konoha Anbu, hmph, don't even think about leaving the Land of Rivers so easily. I've already sent a message to the front-line troops, ordering them to cooperate with us in surrounding and trapping the Konoha Anbu. We must make sure they die in the Land of Rivers." Izumi, the captain of the support force, let out a cold snort when he mentioned the Konoha Anbu, his expression full of confidence.
In his view, with the frontline troops joining the encirclement and annihilation, Konoha's Anbu would have no chance of escape.
Then he turned to the remaining members of the escort team and said, "You all go back to the village immediately and follow the village's instructions."
Izumi finished speaking, he instructed the two Jonin from the escort team to Jonin the way, and then chased after Kōki in the direction they had left.
After all the Jonin left, the remaining members of the escort team could only return to Sunagakure with feelings of frustration and despair.
On the other side, after completing their mission to sabotage the supply lines, Kōki and his three companions did not wander around or hide to avoid the pursuit of the Sunagakure forces. Instead, they headed straight towards the Land of Fire.
Because the place where they ambushed Sunagakure's supply depot was not far from where they destroyed Sunagakure's stronghold, they could reach the Land of Fire in less than an hour if they were moving at full speed.
Secondly, they are all in good condition and have sufficient combat strength. As long as Sunagakure does not send a large force to surround them, they can handle the situation with their strength.
Therefore, considering the above reasons, they can head directly towards the Land of Fire, leave the Land of Rivers as quickly as possible, and return to Konoha.
This was the result of a discussion between Nara Yūsuke and Kōki. They all agreed that the longer they dragged things out, the more dangerous it would be for them, while a swift and decisive action like this might achieve a surprising effect.
Just as Kōki and his group had expected, they encountered no obstacles along the way and did not see a single member of the Sunagakure forces.
The people of Sunagakure were also surprised that the people of Konoha would be so bold and act so recklessly. They all thought that the Konoha Anbu were hiding in the Land of Rivers, so they spread out their forces to search for Kōki and his group in the heart of the Land of Rivers.
In this way, Kōki and his companions completely evaded the pursuit of Sunagakure and, traveling at breakneck speed, soon arrived at the border of the Land of Rivers.
The thought of soon arriving in the Land of Fire sent a surge of excitement through everyone.
But just when they thought they could leave the Land of Rivers smoothly, Kōki sensed a fluctuation of Chakra at the border ahead.
Yuki Kōki warned, "Captain, there's Chakra fluctuation ahead; it should be people from Sunagakure."
Upon hearing Kōki's words Yamanaka Kenji also used his Mind Secret Techniques to sense the situation ahead and echoed, "That's right, there are indeed people ahead, and there are fifteen of them. It's a sizable Sunagakure group."
After being repeatedly reminded by Kōki and Yamanaka Kenji, Nara Yūsuke's eyes became serious. He knew that whether their journey back to the Land of Fire would go smoothly depended on this final battle.
He immediately began giving orders. " Kōki, Tsuyoshi, you two lead the attack and clear a path. Our objective is to escape, not to kill, so once we force the Sunagakure forces back, we'll retreat immediately. Be careful of Sunagakure attacks and traps during the retreat."
"Yes," Kōki and Akimichi Tsuyoshi sped up and arrived in front of Nara Yūsuke after hearing his Nara Yūsuke.
Starting with Kōki, he moved his hands in a blur, quickly Hand Seals. A surge of Chakra gathered in Kōki's mouth, and he puffed out a wall of fire in one breath.
Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame
The powerful Fire Style released by Kōki, powered by his vast Chakra reserves, while not as powerful as the one released by Madara Uchiha during the Fourth Shinobi World War, still possessed about one-tenth of its strength.
The flames, resembling a sea of fire, were controlled by Kōki and surged toward the location of Sunagakure that he sensed.
Hidden nearby, the Sunagakure also sensed Kōki and the others' movements. After seeing Kōki Hand Seals, they prepared to respond. However, they miscalculated. They did not expect Kōki's Fire Style to be so powerful, and they quickly scattered after being attacked by the Fire Style.
Faced with such a wide-ranging and powerful Fire Style Technique, they had no good countermeasures.
Even though they were forced back by Kōki's Fire Style, the Sunagakure didn't run too far and remained on the path that Kōki and his group would inevitably take.
The Sunagakure, by scattering, actually had a better chance to surround Kōki and his group.
Kōki also made a mistake. He didn't expect that not only would his Fire Style Technique fail to work, but it would also create favorable conditions for the enemy.