Kakashi noticed the change in the sky. He realized that the sky had subtly darkened, and wisps of dark clouds were slowly gathering. Although there weren't many, Kakashi, who had studied weather patterns, knew that a thunderstorm was on its way!
The weather in the sky seemed to mirror Kakashi's current state of mind!
Hesitation flickered in Kakashi's eyes.
"I have to go back and kill them!"
"No matter what, I must complete this mission!"
After a long while, Kakashi finally made his decision. Thinking about how miserably he had been beaten, Kakashi couldn't bear to leave so despondently. Furthermore, Kakashi already had a preliminary strategy!
Even with a strategy and the decision to go back, Kakashi certainly wouldn't charge back immediately. He needed to recover his physical condition first!
Having re-covered his Sharingan, Kakashi leaned back, slowly resting and recovering.
"Ah..."
"Chief, are you hurt?"
In Den-nin Village, when Kaede returned to the village, it immediately alarmed the village's ninjas. They all looked at Kaede in surprise, not expecting their chief to be injured!
"I'm fine!"
Facing the exclamations of his subordinates, Kaede waved his hand lightly and said!
"Chief, did you kill the invading enemy?"
A middle-aged man with short green hair asked Kaede. If Kakashi were here, he would know that this person was also one of Den-nin Village's Jonin: Rin!
Intelligence reports indicated he was a taijutsu expert!
"No, he got away!"
Kaede's eyes flickered slightly, and he said with some reluctance!
"Ah..."
"Even you couldn't kill him, Leader?"
"Who exactly is this person? He's so strong!"
Upon hearing Kaede's reply, everyone in the village was shocked, their eyes filled with disbelief!
"Maintain vigilance and notify me immediately if anything happens!"
For the first time, Kaede appeared so flustered in front of his subordinates. He didn't want to say more, and left after throwing out that one sentence. Only the others were left, looking at each other in surprise because of Kaede's words!
"San! Come to my office!"
However, before entering the office, Kaede called out to a ninja outside!
"Yes! Leader!"
A plain-looking young ninja with pockmarks on his face responded in surprise, and then followed the Den-nin Village leader into the office!
"San! I'm giving you a mission now!"
After the pockmarked young ninja entered the Den-nin office, Kaede spoke to him very seriously!
"Chief, what mission? A C-rank mission?"
Upon hearing about a mission, San's face lit up immediately as he quickly asked!
For a ninja village like theirs, high-level missions were rare. Some Chunin didn't even get many C-rank missions!
"No, it's more important than a B-rank mission. It's a mission that concerns the survival of our Den-nin Village!"
"Ah…"
Hearing Kaede's words, San's expression was immediately shocked. He hadn't expected the chief to entrust him with such a serious mission!
"I won't tell you the specific reason. You just need to know the mission's content!"
"Now, I want you to go to Kumogakure immediately and request their support!"
Kaede didn't care about San's surprise, and as he spoke, he took a scroll from the desk and gave it to him!
Seeing how serious Kaede was, San didn't dare to delay. He took the scroll and immediately went out, rushing towards Kumogakure!
"Konoha ANBU! It seems our village was discovered gathering intelligence for Kumogakure. Now they're going to eliminate us, Den-nin Village!"
Watching San leave, Kaede muttered, his eyes flashing with a mixture of unwillingness and fear!
After returning to the village, Kaede kept thinking about why Konoha ANBU would come to Den-nin Village, and after thinking about it, there was only one possibility!
With Konoha's strength, Kaede knew that once Konoha discovered them, Den-nin Village would definitely be targeted for elimination. The fact that Konoha ANBU was dispatched showed that Konoha already had the intention to wipe out their Den-nin Village. Thinking of this, how could Kaede not be terrified!
He had been on tenterhooks, always worrying about this kind of thing happening, and he didn't expect it to actually happen!
What puzzled Kaede was that only one of Konoha's ANBU had entered to carry out the mission, and the other was hiding in the shadows without taking action. He also didn't know if there were other Konoha ANBU coming!
Kaede didn't dare to gamble, and furthermore, he couldn't afford to. He keenly sensed that this time truly concerned the survival of Den-nin Village. Therefore, he immediately ordered the Chunin, San, to go to Kumogakure to seek support!
"No matter what, we must protect the village. Kumogakure won't just sit idly by and watch this village be destroyed. They will definitely send people. We just need to hold out until Kumogakure's support arrives!"
A resolute glint flashed in Kaede's eyes!
Then, Kaede had the village's only medical ninja bandage his wounds. Afterward, he leaned back in his chair to rest and recover. There would certainly be more battles to come, so he needed to restore his depleted Chakra as quickly as possible!
"Leader, it's bad news! The enemy has invaded!"
He didn't know how long had passed when a Den-nin from the village pushed open Kaede's office door, and an alarmed voice rang out!
Whoosh!
Kaede stood up immediately upon hearing this, without responding to the Den-nin's words, and his figure flashed, disappearing from the Den-nin's sight!
In a corner of Den-nin Village, Kaede quickly appeared. Upon arriving, he saw several villagers had been killed, lying in pools of blood, but there was no sign of the enemy!
"Where's the enemy?"
Kaede's expression was grim as he questioned the Den-nin present.
Boom, a rumble of thunder echoed through the dark sky. The terrible weather only worsened Kaede's mood.
"They ran. When I got here, the enemy was already gone!"
Rin said to Kaede with a gloomy face.
"Damn it!"
Kaede cursed under his breath. He carefully sensed the area, but couldn't detect any enemy Chakra fluctuations. He knew that the enemy had either left the village or was hiding, and their concealment techniques were as sophisticated as the Konoha ANBU he had sensed when pursuing Kakashi.
"Hmph, cowards, wasting your energy on such things!"
In Kaede's opinion, the enemy's actions of killing a few villagers and then leaving was a complete waste of energy. It was nothing more than a way to provoke them, to scatter them to search for the enemy, and then pick them off one by one!
"Leader-sama, let's split up and search for the enemy!"
Rin suggested to Kaede.
"Alright, everyone split up and search. Signal immediately if you find the enemy!"
Facing Rin's suggestion, Kaede nodded in agreement, a hint of a wicked smile playing on the corner of his lips. They wanted to pick them off one by one? They should consider his speed first!
"Also, when you encounter the enemy, try to stall them. There's no need to fight them. Just wait for me to arrive!"
"Yes, Leader-sama!"
"Yes! Leader!"
As Kaede finished speaking, the dozen or so Den-nin scattered, beginning their search from their current location.
Watching his subordinates disperse, Kaede remained where he was, not moving. He closed his eyes, carefully sensing the fluctuations of the wind around him. With his eyes closed, he could perceive all the wind within Den-nin Village. As Kaede focused his will, his perception gradually expanded beyond the village!
Kaede had sent his subordinates to search only to force the hidden enemy to reveal themselves. As long as the enemy moved, he would sense it immediately!
.....
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(End of Chapter)