The first to leave was Uzumaki Kushina, carried away by the flying Summoning beast.
The Spear Egret, the Yatagarasu, a giant eagle, and several other types of Summoning beasts.
Following close behind were the Kumo-nin pursuing Uzushiogakure's Book of Seals.
Further back were two Konoha Anbu battalions.
Danzo followed as well.
The Yellow Dog Battalion remained in the rear to cover the retreat.
Yōkō stood on the perimeter wall, looking back at Uzushiogakure.
The Kiri-nin in the village were surrounding and intercepting the last of the Uzumaki kunoichi.
There were about fifty of these kunoichi, desperately trying to break through the Kiri-nin's blockade.
The entire Uzushiogakure was deathly silent, with only some sporadic fighting remaining near the northwestern wall.
After jumping off the wall and infiltrating the forest outside the city, the Black Gorilla Squadron Leader signaled for the squadron to halt.
The squadron now only had five members left: Black Gorilla, 3 squad leaders, and 1 member.
"Change into Kumo-nin disguises. We have another mission."
The sole remaining member carried a large pack, containing Kumo-nin equipment collected at some unknown time.
Yōkō discarded his Anbu iron flak jacket, which had numerous sword marks, and put on a Kumo-nin single-shouldered flak jacket.
He threw away his half-wrecked ninja sword and picked up an almost brand-new long ninja sword.
Additionally, there was a blood-stained Kumo-nin forehead protector.
The most crucial part was putting on the face mask.
A five-man Kumo-nin squad was now formed.
Black Gorilla glanced at the sole remaining member, feeling it unnecessary to hide the mission content from him, and said:
"Our mission is to ensure that the Uzumaki remnants do not affect the Uzumaki Princess's entry into Konoha."
No explanation was needed; everyone knew what to do.
Any Uzumaki clansman approaching the Uzumaki Princess must be executed.
The five Kumo-nin rushed out of the forest.
The Uzumaki remnants had left the village and were heading northwest towards Konoha.
The Land of Whirlpools' narrow peninsula terrain offered them little room for maneuver.
Most Kiri-nin stayed behind in Uzushiogakure, scouring every inch. Sealing technique research notes, valuables, and intelligence from corpses were their primary targets.
A small portion of Kiri-nin continued pursuing the Uzumaki remnants.
The Uzumaki remnants continuously split off into three-person squads to act as rearguard, buying time for the others.
These women all stared fixedly towards the northwest; Konoha was their only hope.
The appearance of the five Kumo-nin made their hope grow even slimmer.
These five Kumo-nin carried long swords on their backs, each with an upright posture.
Squad Leader Black Gorilla didn't rashly approach but ran parallel to the Uzumaki remnants with his subordinates.
Slowly closing in, applying pressure on the Uzumaki remnants.
Under heavy pressure, usually simple actions like jumping, landing, and running would become distorted due to psychological stress.
Only when someone among the Uzumaki remnants showed flawed movements, stumbling upon landing, would Squad Leader Black Gorilla lead the team in throwing kunai.
The poor Uzumaki girl died under the volley of over a dozen kunai.
With Kiri-nin pursuers behind and Kumo-nin harassment on their flank, these Uzumaki remnants grew increasingly desperate.
Yōkō frowned inwardly.
The situation felt wrong. One shouldn't press a desperate enemy too hard.
The Uzumaki ninja weren't without the ability to fight back; they still had sealing scrolls and secret sealing techniques.
If pushed too far, what if these people fought to the death, trading one for one?
The Dead Demon Consuming Seal was not something Yōkō could resist.
Yōkō saw several Uzumaki kunoichi with vacant eyes, already resolved to die, actively moving closer to him, disguised as a Kumo-nin.
It was only the 7th day of the month, not yet the full moon. He had no resurrection chance left. Trading his life one-for-one with these desperate enemies here wasn't worth it.
Yōkō glanced at Squadron Leader Black Gorilla. The squadron leader had only the Anbu mission in mind: definitely kill all Uzumaki ninja.
One Uzumaki kunoichi charged over.
Another squad leader moved to intercept her, but he was immediately entangled by chains from a sealing scroll.
The kunoichi didn't want to live anymore. She detonated an explosive tag at close range, blowing up both the squad leader and herself.
Yōkō inwardly clicked his tongue. Countless Uzumaki had died tonight. The fathers, brothers, and children of these kunoichi were all dead.
No, he couldn't risk his life against these madwomen. He couldn't let them keep running towards Konoha.
Yōkō looked towards Uzumaki Yuka.
Uzumaki Yuka was in the center of the group, protected by the other Uzumaki kunoichi.
She was very lucky. The Spear Egret was fast, and she was chosen by the village to send Uzumaki Kushina away.
If Uzumaki Yuka died, the Summoning contract would dissolve, and Uzumaki Kushina wouldn't escape either.
But how could he get a message to Uzumaki Yuka?
While he was pondering, the Black Gorilla Squadron's sole remaining member also died.
The squadron was down to three: Black Gorilla, Fox, and Leaf Monkey.
Seeing the Uzumaki remnants still had such fighting strength, Squadron Leader Black Gorilla quickly increased the distance.
He had left the village with a full squadron of 16, and now only 2 remained, and Fox was originally from another squadron.
Yōkō breathed a sigh of relief. This was right; let the Uzumaki remnants and the Kiri-nin fight to the death. Why should we Konoha Anbu get involved?
The pursuit and flight continued.
The Black Gorilla Squadron became observers, no longer intervening, merely recording the number of Uzumaki remnants.
During a brief lull, Yōkō grabbed a piece of a broken wooden geta sandal.
He held a kunai reversed, pretending he was about to throw it at any moment, while secretly using the kunai to carve a few characters.
The number of Uzumaki ninja dwindled. These people grew increasingly reckless, charging at the enemy upon sight, as if each one had explosive tags ready for mutual destruction.
Taking advantage of Squadron Leader Black Gorilla being occupied by an Uzumaki ninja, Yōkō threw the wooden plank along with a kunai.
After throwing it, Yōkō looked around. No one had noticed the plank.
Uzumaki Yuka noticed a kunai shot towards her and quickly dodged.
Underneath the kunai was a small wooden plank.
The plank fell to the ground. There were words on it!
Uzumaki Yuka picked it up, glanced at it, her face changed dramatically, and she quickly crushed the plank.
The plank read: Don't go to the Land of Fire!
Uzumaki Yuka looked towards the Kumo-nin who threw the plank and suddenly paused.
That figure... he had changed clothes, his hair was wrapped up, he wore a mask, but why did he look so much like Fox?
She had never connected the Kumo-nin with Fox before, but now, looking again, he really resembled Fox.
Was that plank a warning from Fox?
But why would Fox tell her not to go to the Land of Fire?
And why was Fox disguised as a Kumo-nin?
Uzumaki Yuka suddenly thought of Danzo, wondered why Konoha's reinforcements hadn't arrived, and, more crucially, why Konoha hadn't provided Uzushiogakure with intelligence about the Kumo-nin and Kiri-nin invasion?
Konoha and Uzushiogakure shared intelligence.
The most bizarre thing about this disaster for Uzushiogakure was the complete lack of warning beforehand. It was as if all the intelligence ninja had been eliminated tonight.
That was completely impossible.
During the war, the Uzumaki clan had stationed many scout ninja along the coast of the Land of Whirlpools.
Unless... unless someone had given the intelligence about the Uzumaki scout squads to the enemy!
The enemy simultaneously ambushed all the scout squads to ensure success, leaving Uzushiogakure completely unaware.
The Uzumaki clan wouldn't do such a thing. So, was it Konoha?
Konoha shared intelligence with Uzushiogakure and also knew Uzushiogakure's defense layout.
Uzumaki Yuka suddenly felt a chill run through her entire body.
Could it be?
Could Konoha also be involved in the Uzumaki clan's annihilation?
...
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(Chapter End)