While Taiichi and his team were busy entering the Land of Moon to search for Sakumo Hatake, Sakumo himself had just barely dragged his heavily injured body out of the Land of Lightning.
Speaking of this mission, even the usually mild-tempered White Fang wanted to curse.
Initially, the assassination mission had gone smoothly. He had picked off the targets listed in the mission scroll one by one.
Until the last one. Suhai, the mastermind behind the abduction plan.
Flashback: Six days ago.
Sakumo received intel from a Root spy: Suhai would return to Cloud Village from the Cloud Thunder Gorge that night to report. His escort consisted only of ordinary Chunin.
Sakumo saw this as a golden opportunity. As a ninja specializing in swift, decisive Kenjutsu and Taijutsu, a surprise assassination was his forte.
Everything went according to plan. Sakumo, hidden behind a rock, watched Suhai approach.
Ideally, Suhai was alone. Perhaps feeling safe near the village, he had dismissed his guards. This made Sakumo's job even easier.
When Suhai entered range, Sakumo didn't hesitate. He burst from cover, using the Body Flicker Technique to its limit. In a flash, he rushed past Suhai.
His horizontally held tanto sliced cleanly across Suhai's neck. Blood sprayed from the carotid artery before Suhai could even raise his kunai halfway.
The target collapsed, life draining away with his blood.
If it had ended there, it would have been a perfect mission. But the world rarely allows for perfection.
Just as Suhai fell, a squad of ninja arrived from the direction of the Cloud Thunder Gorge.
It was the Raikage and his personal guard.
Sakumo's face went green. If there was one ninja he absolutely did not want to face, it was the Third Raikage. High attack, high speed, invincible defense. Aside from massive chakra consumption, the man had no weaknesses. He was the perfect counter to Sakumo's style.
When Sakumo saw the Raikage, the Raikage saw him too. White hair, short sword, and the instant kill technique. The identity was obvious: Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake.
A wave of humiliation and rage washed over the Raikage. This was just outside Cloud Village! Sakumo daring to kill someone here was like stomping on Cloud's face and grinding it into the dirt.
Enraged, the Raikage activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode instantly. He charged at Sakumo at blinding speed, four fingers extended.
Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite.
Sakumo could only defend. He poured all his chakra into his White Light Chakra Sabre and slashed down to meet the thrust.
Sparks flew as powerful chakra collided. Sakumo successfully blocked the attack, but he missed his best window to escape.
The Raikage's guards swarmed him, encircling him completely.
Sakumo was cornered. Despite his strength, he was outnumbered and surrounded by elites. Wounds began to accumulate on his body.
The Third Raikage, watching Sakumo struggle and even kill a few of his guards, felt his anger rise again.
"Out of my way!"
The Raikage charged again. This time, he folded one finger. The power was more concentrated.
Hell Stab: Three-Finger Nukite.
Sakumo saw the guards scatter and the Raikage charging. He knew this was his only chance.
He held his sword horizontally. Instead of clashing directly, he gathered his chakra to brace for impact. He decided to tank the hit, accepting a grievous injury to use the immense impact force to launch himself out of the encirclement.
BOOM!
Sakumo flew through the air, trailing blood. He adjusted his posture mid-flight, rolled for ten meters upon landing, and then sprinted away without looking back.
The Raikage was stunned. He hadn't expected Sakumo to use his own attack to escape. Watching the bleeding figure disappear, the Raikage gave up on chasing personally.
"Send an ANBU squad! I want his life left in the Land of Lightning!"
"Yes, sir!"
---
Sakumo managed to shake off the immediate pursuit. He reached a pre-arranged contact point, wrote down the mission success report, and tied it to a ninja hawk along with his extraction route.
Watching the hawk disappear, Sakumo frowned. He could hear the pursuers closing in again. They found him too fast.
Damn. He hadn't mentioned his injuries in the message because of the urgency. Now, hearing the Cloud ninja approaching, he regretted it. He hoped the village sent someone strong.
The escape lasted six days. Constant skirmishes with Cloud ANBU whittled him down. His wounds, untreated for too long, worsened.
Dragging his heavy feet, Sakumo pushed toward the rendezvous point. But blood loss and exhaustion finally broke his will. With his last ounce of strength, he covered himself with debris, hoping to hide from enemy eyes and buy a few minutes of rest.
---
Present Time.
Taiichi and the others had been searching toward the Land of Lightning for almost a day. Anxiety was high. Sakumo was definitely in trouble.
"Bark! Bark! Bark!"
Kuromaru, the small dog on Makoto's head, barked urgently.
"What is it, Kuromaru?" Taiichi asked.
Makoto Inuzuka conferred with the dog. "Kuromaru says there's a strong scent of blood 500 meters to the front right."
Taiichi's heart sank. "Let's go. Immediately."
"Right." Makoto led the way.
Before they even arrived, they saw two ANBU-masked ninjas digging a body out of a pile of debris. The white hair was unmistakable. It was Sakumo.
Worse, the leader had already raised his tanto, aiming for Sakumo's throat.
"STOP!"
Taiichi abandoned stealth. He roared and pushed his Body Flicker Technique to the absolute limit. His leg muscles tore under the strain, but he ignored the pain.
The ANBU paused at the shout. Seeing it was just a kid, his eyes turned vicious. Instead of stopping, he swung his blade faster, aiming to finish Sakumo off.
But Taiichi didn't give him the chance. The brief pause was enough.
He triggered a second burst of speed, closing the gap instantly. No time to draw his sword. He threw a straight punch directly at the ANBU's face.
The ANBU hadn't expected such speed. He hastily raised his arm to block.
CRACK!
The moment the punch connected, the ANBU's expression changed to horror. An overwhelming force shattered his defense. Taiichi's fist drove the ANBU's own arm back into his face.
The ANBU was launched backward, spinning 360 degrees in the air, blood spraying from beneath his mask. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Taiichi's punch shocked everyone, even his teammate Makoto. What kind of monster strength is that? He sent a grown man flying ten meters with one hit!
Taiichi didn't pause. He charged the second ANBU. Enemy attempting to kill Sakumo? No mercy.
The second ANBU reacted. He retreated while pulling a signal flare and firing it into the sky.
SCREECH—POP!
A green flare exploded above them.
Reinforcements. Taiichi knew he had to be quick.
Ignoring the pain in his legs, he burst forward again, drawing his tanto.
The ANBU was forced to draw his sword to defend, but his spirit was already broken. He fought defensively, looking for a chance to flee.
Taiichi unleashed a storm of heavy slashes.
By now, Makoto had caught up and joined the fight. The ANBU panicked at the arrival of another enemy. His defense faltered.
Taiichi seized the opening. He switched from power to finesse, sliding into the ANBU's blind spot. He hooked his tanto around the enemy's blade, using leverage to flick it aside.
Then, he reversed his grip and slashed the ANBU's throat as they passed each other.
The ANBU collapsed, clutching his neck. Taiichi walked over and stabbed him through the heart to end it quickly. A small mercy.
Makoto stared at Taiichi, stunned. Two enemies, dead in seconds.
"Let's check on Sakumo-senpai," Taiichi ordered.
"Right." Makoto obeyed instantly. In this world, strength was authority, and Taiichi had just proven his.
Taiichi checked Sakumo. His frown deepened.
Severe blood loss. Multiple injuries. The worst was a puncture wound near the shoulder—if it had hit an artery, he'd be dead already. It was a miracle he was alive.
"Makoto, did you signal the Captain?"
"Yeah, as soon as we found him."
"We need to regroup with them and find a safe place to treat him. This spot is compromised."
"Okay, follow me." Makoto turned to lead the way.
"Wait. You carry him." Taiichi stopped him.
Makoto looked back at the small boy and realized Taiichi physically couldn't carry a grown man efficiently. He nodded and hoisted Sakumo onto his back.
Taiichi created a Shadow Clone to clean up the traces.
WHOOSH.
Fire engulfed the area, erasing the evidence.
---
Thirty minutes later, they rendezvoused with Minato. Taiichi finally relaxed. With Minato here, they were safe.
They found a hidden cave. Just as Taiichi was about to start treatment, memories from his Shadow Clone returned.
"Minato-senpai," Taiichi said grimly. "The Cloud pursuit team just arrived at the site. Fifteen ANBU. Strength unknown."
"Fifteen... plus the two you killed. That's a full squad plus five Jonin-level leaders. This is trouble," Minato analyzed. "How is Sakumo-senpai?"
"Not good. Severe blood loss and delay in treatment. Fixing the external wounds will take an hour. Waking him up... that depends on luck."
Minato fell silent. The Raikage should have recalled his troops by now. Why were they still chasing?
"Taiichi, focus on treating him. We'll buy you time," Minato ordered.
"Understood!"
---
Back at the rescue site.
Fifteen Cloud ANBU surveyed the scorched earth.
"Captain, the site was burned. Two of our men are dead, but no other traces," a squad leader reported.
"Captain, what now? Do we give up?" another asked angrily.
"How did those two die?" The Captain asked, ignoring the anger. He wanted intel on the rescuers.
"One was killed by a single punch. Broken neck. He tried to block, but the force smashed through his guard. The other had his throat slit and was stabbed in the heart. Both kills were fast and efficient."
"Based on the skill level... likely Jonin. One Taijutsu specialist, one Kenjutsu specialist. Or maybe two Special Jonin."
"Captain, what are the village's orders? If we hadn't waited for orders, we would have been here sooner."
"The Raikage ordered us to probe the rescue team one last time. Kill if possible, retreat if not."
"But our men died for nothing! Sakumo killed so many of us!"
"It's an order!" The Captain shouted.
He lowered his voice. "Konoha lodged a protest. The Raikage bought us one extra day, but we failed to kill Sakumo before help arrived. If we keep pushing and Konoha releases that report to other villages, Cloud will be in a bad spot."
The squad leaders fell silent. They knew the stakes.
"Move out. One last attempt."