After confirming the opponent's base camp, Lock did not continue to observe and was about to return and report the information to Orochimaru. His mission was essentially complete.
As he turned to leave, his face suddenly changed. With all his strength, he darted to the side.
"Boom!"
A thunderbolt suddenly struck, blasting the gravel where he had been standing moments ago.
"No, I've been spotted!"
The sudden attack made Lock immediately realize he had been exposed. He began to flee in the direction he had just come from, but at that moment…
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
A dozen figures appeared with lightning speed, surrounding Lock.
"There he is."
One of them pointed directly at Lock, loudly alerting the others.
Immediately, all eyes fixed on Lock, who was no longer hidden.
"Guys from Muye Village, stop hiding and show yourselves. You can't run now."
A strong man in his twenties stared coldly at Lock, shouting with authority.
"He must have used some invisibility ninjutsu, which is why our perimeter didn't detect him. If Takeshi hadn't noticed, he would have escaped."
"According to intelligence, the Muye ninja with this ability is probably from the Moonlight Clan."
Another Cloud Ninja spoke. The sentient ninjas analyzed Lock carefully, trying to understand his origin.
Lock felt a surge of frustration. Even after being so careful, a perceptive enemy had still tracked him. His stealth skill was mostly neutralized, so he revealed himself, ready to face them head-on.
"It's just a boy?"
Seeing that Lock was only twelve or thirteen, many of the Cloud Ninjas were shocked.
"Yo… a kid, and he almost got away from us!"
At that moment, a strange tone rang out. Among the Cloud Ninjas, a young man with light yellow hair and black sunglasses twisted his waist, pointing at Lock while rapping to himself.
Lock's eyes widened.
"Hachiuriki… Kirabi?"
Lock immediately recognized the figure. This was the famous ninja from the Cloud Hidden Village—Kirabi, not yet the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, but already a life-and-death partner of the Fourth Raikage.
Beside Kirabi stood the man who had spoken before, and Lock instantly realized: this was the son of the Third Raikage, the future Fourth Raikage.
Lock groaned inwardly. His bad luck had just gone through the roof: trapped in the enemy's den with a combination of the Fourth Raikage and Kirabi—both top-tier fighters.
"This is going to be tricky."
Facing so many elite Cloud Ninjas, Lock knew a direct fight would be suicide. He needed to escape. He glanced at the terrain, calculating his options.
"Boy, you should know—you can't escape. Capture him."
The future Fourth Raikage barked orders. Lock understood: surrender was not an option.
Lock smirked faintly. "Catch me without a fight? Sorry, I don't do that."
"Take him!"
The Cloud Ninjas lunged at Lock simultaneously. He seemed passive, but as the first three rushed forward, Lock vanished.
The sensory ninjas had been tracking Lock's chakra constantly, but even they were momentarily caught off guard.
Suddenly, a voice of panic broke out: "He's behind me!"
Before the ninja could react, Lock had already appeared behind him. With a swift, precise strike, the sensory ninja fell, dead before he could even raise a defense.
The other Cloud Ninjas froze, terrified.
"How is he this fast?"
A blue flash shot toward Lock—the future Fourth Raikage, moving faster than the eye could follow.
"Boom!"
Lock was slammed with immense force, and his body was thrown violently. Even blocking with his arms, the impact felt like bones being crushed.
"Boom!"
Before Lock could fully recover, the Fourth Raikage reappeared in front of him, closing off any escape. Lock's eyes narrowed—he had walked into a storm, and the fight was only beginning.
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