"Something's wrong! A massive Chakra signature is approaching!"
Suddenly, a Sand Hidden sensory ninja, who had been guarding the outer perimeter of the encirclement, shouted loudly.
Ishido, who was manipulating his puppet to decapitate a Yamanaka Clan ninja, frowned slightly. He made an immediate decision and gave an order.
"Change of mission objective! Kill the Uchiha ninja and retrieve the Sharingan, then retreat immediately!"
All the Sand Hidden ninjas, including Qingshui, instantly focused their fire on the Uchiha.
As for the Konoha Chunin, he was firmly entangled by Sasori, who was controlling the Salamander.
To be honest, that Uchiha's performance was quite impressive. Relying on his two-tomoe Sharingan, he managed to fend off the combined attack of a Special Jonin and two Chunin, only sustaining minor injuries.
But no matter how strong he was, he couldn't stop an entire group from ganging up on him.
He had just used his Sharingan's dynamic vision to dodge hundreds, even thousands, of poisoned needles, and then, with precise Fire Release cover, avoided four or five incoming Ninjutsu. Just as he was about to find a weak point to break through, a powerful, heavy iron fist came crashing down.
Clearly, this Uchiha's reaction and combat abilities were far superior to the previous sword-wielding ninja. He almost instantly drew the wakizashi from his waist to block and deflect the force, while performing a graceful backflip to leap backward.
Within a few seconds, aside from perhaps inevitably sustaining some internal injuries from deflecting the force, this Uchiha ninja could practically be said to have escaped unscathed!
This was an Uchiha with activated Sharingan!
With the Sharingan, they could perfectly maximize their Taijutsu and Ninjutsu to their highest potential, and it provided a significant boost to Genjutsu, making them virtually unbeatable in battles of equivalent rank.
After delivering that punch, Qingshui retreated, merely observing from a distance with ranged weapons like poisoned needles and kunai.
The cylinders in his arms needed to recompress air for recharging. Although this process only took about ten seconds with the help of Chakra Threads, it still required time.
Three Special Jonin swarmed forward, attacking Uchiha Sen from all angles.
Two seconds later.
"Stop him!"
Jianye, controlling his puppet, yelled anxiously.
It was Uchiha Sen, realizing escape was hopeless, who actively reached for his eye sockets, intending to destroy his Sharingan in the last second before his death.
Blood splattered as Uchiha Sen's fingers were severed on the spot by a flying blade shot from a puppet, and a bloody mark appeared on his neck.
The next moment, his head fell, and the two tomoe in his crimson Sharingan spun rapidly, faintly showing the remnant of a third tomoe, but then dimmed as they lacked sufficient Chakra support.
"Oh no! He's here!"
A Sand Village sensory ninja exclaimed in alarm.
And at the edge of their vision, on the sand dune on the other side, a white light streaked across the land like lightning.
Seeing this, Qingshui quickly took off the Fatty Puppet.
The Fatty Puppet was fine for fighting Genin and Chunin, but if it encountered a speed-specialized Special Jonin, it would likely become a target, not to mention that the approaching individual was clearly no ordinary enemy.
"Damn it… it's the White Fang… Everyone, retreat!"
Seeing this, Ishido didn't bother with further entanglement. He turned around, controlling several puppets to carry Qingshui and Sasori, and fled at full speed.
Qingshui, being carried by a puppet over two meters tall, hastily used Chakra Threads to pull back the Fatty Puppet and the Little Boy, sealing them into the sealing scrolls on his back.
Compared to Ishido, Kyuichi seemed to be a bit unluckier, and a bit greedier.
He wanted to take the Uchiha's head.
Even if they couldn't capture the Uchiha alive, bringing back a pair of Sharingan would be a great achievement.
But he miscalculated.
Nara Hirano, who had already been cut in half by a puppet and seemed to have died, now opened his eyes. With one hand, he barely managed to form a hand sign.
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu."
Because Nara Hirano was close to death at this point, his consciousness was hazy, and he could barely maintain the Ninjutsu normally, lasting less than two seconds.
But these two seconds determined the distance between life and death.
Two seconds later, Jonin-level Chakra erupted from Kyuichi, forcibly breaking free from the Shadow Imitation Jutsu's restraint.
However, that white lightning, in less than five seconds total, had traveled from the distant desert horizon into the battlefield.
It was a slender, medium-height, white-haired man.
Hatake Sakumo!
"Konoha's White…"
*SWISH!*
In an instant, a white flash streaked across their vision.
Kyuichi didn't die; he was a Jonin after all, not someone to be mowed down like grass in front of a Kage-level opponent.
But he wasn't in good shape either.
The kunai in his hand was broken, and a scratch appeared on his brown vest, from which faint traces of blood seeped out.
"Konoha's White Fang… why are you here?"
Hatake Sakumo didn't answer. Instead, he looked mournfully at the fallen Konoha ninjas scattered around him, and the lightning on his White Fang Short Sword grew even more dazzling.
One white flash after another.
A few breaths later, Kyuichi's head rolled to the ground.
Hatake Sakumo sighed.
Of Konoha's six-man elite squad, only two remained alive, and one of them, Nara Hirano, was barely clinging to life.
He was clearly not going to survive much longer.
The other was the middle-aged ninja.
The moment Hatake Sakumo arrived, the severely wounded ninja's last thread snapped, and he collapsed, unconscious.
"It seems only Iyu among us will make it back alive. He's always been so lucky," Nara Hirano coughed, after Hatake Sakumo stopped his bleeding and gave him a Military Ration Pill.
"Lord Sakumo must be injured, otherwise, it wouldn't have taken him so long to deal with that Jonin."
Hatake Sakumo didn't answer, simply pressing Nara Hirano's shoulder.
"Hirano, I'll take you all back to the village."
"No need, Lord Sakumo. My injuries are beyond even Lady Tsunade's help. You must dispose of our bodies here to prevent Sand Hidden from gaining intelligence from them. Just bring our ashes back to the village."
Hatake Sakumo pursed his lips and uttered a single word.
"Alright."
"Cough, cough, and also, the Sand Hidden squad that ambushed us was led by Ishido of the Puppet Force. There are two Puppet Masters among them who are very young, but far stronger than others their age. If Lord Sakumo still has the strength, please eliminate them. They will be a future threat to the village. If not, please at least bring the information back to the village. Finally… please… end… my suffering…"
Nara Hirano's breathing grew weaker, and his words became more difficult to articulate.
Hatake Sakumo sighed again, reaching out and snapping Nara Hirano's neck.
"I'm sorry, I might not be able to pursue them to avenge you, nor can I bring all of you home."
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