novelnext Chapter 91 Desperate Counterattack
Chapter 91 Desperate Counterattack
Chapter 91 Desperate Counterattack
The atmosphere was heavy inside the cave at the temporary outpost.
Members of both teams gathered here.
Taiichi was alone deep inside the cave he had opened up, healing Sakumo Hatake's wounds.
First, there was the most serious penetrating wound in his shoulder. The chakra scalpel precisely removed the already necrotic flesh. Every operation was performed with utmost care, yet with unwavering decisiveness.
The shimmering green light from the Palm Immortal Technique followed closely behind, promoting rapid cell division and accelerating wound healing.
At this moment, all that talk about "consuming life potential" is utter nonsense. Only by living can there be a future.
With the largest injury treated, Taiyi dared not catch his breath, and even though sweat soaked his hair, he had no time to wipe it away.
He immediately turned to the numerous wounds, large and small, that covered Shuo Mao's body and had worsened due to the lack of treatment. Many of the wounds were red, swollen, and festering, emitting a nauseating stench. If left untreated, he might die from infection, which would be a joke.
While Taiichi was receiving treatment, outside the cave, Captain Yamaguchi, Minato, and the others were also busy. They gathered all the supplies and set up traps of all sizes around the temporary camp, hoping to delay the enemy's advance.
Minato even buried several Flying Thunder God kunai around the cave, hoping to give the enemy a surprise.
"Minato, how is Sakumo-senpai's injury?" Captain Yamaguchi asked worriedly, looking at the cave entrance that had been concealed by the hiding barrier.
"It's very serious. I also checked on Taiichi and the other guy when they brought Sakumo-senpai back. Ordinary medical ninjas can't save that kind of injury. I just don't know how good Taiichi's medical skills are."
Minato was equally worried. If Konoha's White Fang were to die in this battle, Konoha would suffer a tremendous loss.
Captain Yamaguchi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Minato's reply. He had witnessed Taiichi's medical ninjutsu skills firsthand. Minato's description of Sakumo Hatake's injuries clearly indicated that he was not in a life-threatening condition, so it wasn't a big problem for Taiichi.
"Then there's no need to worry. Taichi's medical ninjutsu can even save people on the verge of death," Yamaguchi reassured Minato.
Minato was also hearing about Taiichi's medical skills for the first time, and he was very surprised, but he was also relieved.
After setting up the traps, everyone found a place to rest. Everyone knew that there would be a tough battle soon, so they were making the most of the remaining time to recover their strength and chakra.
"Boom!"
A deafening series of explosions shattered the silence, flames soaring into the sky and smoke billowing everywhere! The pre-set detonation tag trap had been triggered.
The loud noise instantly startled the resting group. They quickly formed a formation as agreed, with the two captains in front, Yangping behind in the middle, and the other four guarding the cave at the back. Quan Jiacheng's three large dogs roamed around the perimeter.
As the explosion subsided, 15 figures emerged from the dense forest, but four of them walked unsteadily, their clothes torn and charred, clearly indicating that the explosion had had a significant impact on them.
The people of Konoha and Kumogakure stood facing each other, about twenty meters apart, with neither side making a move or speaking first.
At this point, the Cloud Village's ANBU were in a very bad mood. Not only had their teammates died before, but now, before they had even officially started fighting, four more of them had been injured by a trap.
Although it wasn't a fatal injury, it certainly weakened their combat effectiveness considerably, especially the impact on morale.
Looking at the Konoha members who were waiting in full battle array ahead, the squad leader understood. It seemed they were buying time to treat Hatake Sakumo. In fact, they knew that after chasing Hatake Sakumo for several days, they knew how badly he was injured.
Without the rescue by these Konoha ninjas, even without their intervention, Hatake Sakumo would have been a corpse sooner or later.
The Cloud Village members carefully examined the Konoha group and gradually noticed something amiss. It seemed that neither of the two Jonin leading the group were the Jonin skilled in taijutsu and swordsmanship, as they had previously speculated.
The leading Cloud Village Jonin exchanged glances, all understanding each other's meaning—Konoha still had hidden forces, so they had to be careful.
"Konoha ninja, hand over Hatake Sakumo! He assassinated a high-ranking official of our village. We are here to apprehend him on the orders of the Raikage." The squad leader, trying to intimidate his opponents, immediately launched into a accusation.
"It seems there are serious problems with your village's intelligence transmission!" Minato retorted without backing down, "If we don't get back today, all the shady dealings that Kumogakure did before will be exposed to the ninja world. We'll see how you handle that then. I advise you all to go back and consult with your superiors first."
"
Minato was simply bluffing the other side, and even if they hesitated even slightly, he would still gain.
Seeing that his bluff had failed and that his side had become swayed by the enemy's words, the Cloud Village squad leader no longer hesitated. With a wave of his hand, four squad leaders led their men to rush towards the Konoha ninja, while he stayed in the middle to provide support and prevent the two hidden taijutsu-type ninja from attacking.
On Konoha's side, Captain Yamaguchi, seeing the enemies charging at him, no longer held back, his hands instantly transforming into afterimages as he unleashed Earth Release: Earth Flow River.
The surging chakra altered the structure of the land in front of him, turning into a torrent of mud that quickly covered a patch of land ahead. The five Cloud Village Chunin who were rushing forward were trapped in the viscous mud because they could not dodge in time.
At that moment, Captain Yamaguchi's hand seals changed again, and in an instant, he completed the hand seals, unleashing Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet.
A dragon head swiftly rose from beneath his feet, spewing out a large number of earthen bullets that hurtled towards the fleeing Cloud Village ninja.
Meanwhile, Minato, not to be outdone, watched as Captain Yamaguchi unleashed Earth Dragon Bullet, and he tacitly completed the hand seals, Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet.
A torrent of flames spewed from its mouth, sticking to the earth dragon bullets used by Captain Yamaguchi, instantly doubling their power.
When the Cloud Village members saw that the Konoha Jonin had used a powerful attack right away, they were caught off guard. Fortunately, the four Jonin managed to dodge the ninjutsu attack in time.
But the Chunin were in trouble. They rushed in too fast, and large-scale ninjutsu like Earth Flow River is not easy to dodge. The subsequent Earth Dragon Bullet and Fire Dragon Bullet were even more overwhelming for them.
Each of them had to use their most secret skills, and even then, they all paid a considerable price to stay alive.
Yangping and Saori, who were behind, were also looking at Captain Yamaguchi, who was showing off his power in front of them, with astonishment on their faces. Although they knew that the captain was good at earth-escape techniques, they never expected that the captain's earth-escape techniques were so powerful.
The Cloud Village Chunin were decimated by the three combined ninjutsu of Minato and Yamaguchi, temporarily losing their threat. However, the Jonin had broken free of the ninjutsu and rushed forward. One of them engaged Minato and Yamaguchi, while the other two bypassed them and charged straight at the Konoha Chunin group.
At this moment, the Cloud Village squad leader no longer cared about the ambush. The loss of many people in an instant made him lose his temper, and he immediately rushed towards Yamaguchi Seisuke, whom he considered the greatest threat, at full speed.
Yamaguchi Seisuke, who was originally engaged in a fierce battle with the opposing Jonin, suddenly felt the pressure increase when faced with the sudden attack of the Cloud Village squad leader. Before long, he was already injured.
The situation was even more critical for the rear squad members. Although there were five of them, they were still in grave danger facing two Jonin. If it weren't for the three large dogs relentlessly supporting their attacks, there would probably have been casualties long ago.
Even so, both female ninjas, Saori and Nakamura Rei, had multiple injuries on their bodies.
Yangping was slashed in the back, the wound so deep that the bone was visible, but he still stood in front of Saori, because most of Saori's wounds were from shielding him from the knife.
The two tomoe in his eyes spun wildly, clearly indicating that Yangping was channeling his chakra to the fullest extent, hoping to find some weakness in his enemy, but unfortunately the difference in strength was too great.
As the situation grew increasingly critical, the Cloud Village Chunin who had miraculously survived the ninjutsu and struggled to escape were all wounded and prepared to join the battle with ferocious expressions.
An atmosphere of despair began to permeate the room.
At the critical moment!
Minato, who was locked in combat with a Jonin, vanished without warning.
The next instant, he appeared to the side of the Jonin who was about to stab Inuzuka Makoto!
Minato held the kunai in his hand to the neck of the Cloud Village Jonin, and using the momentum of the Jonin's forward charge, the kunai successfully pierced his neck.
"puff"
The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was so faint as to be almost inaudible, but at that moment it rang out like thunder in everyone's ears.
The Cloud Village Jonin's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, blood gushing from his neck, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Where did he go?" This was the thought in the mind of the Jonin who was locked in battle with Minato.
"When did you get here?" These were the last thoughts of the Jonin whose throat had been slit.
All the ninjas abruptly stopped what they were doing. What was going on? Even the Body Flicker Technique couldn't be that fast! A sense of unease settled over all the Cloud Village ninjas. Unable to understand the situation, they dared not make a move.
The Cloud Village Chunin who had just escaped their predicament gathered behind their captain, and the scene became eerily quiet for a moment.
Before the battle, Minato gave everyone a Flying Thunder God Kunai, so that they could be used in crucial moments.
Fortunately, the move was indeed effective. It's not surprising that Minato didn't use the Flying Thunder God Technique sooner, as he had only recently mastered it and wasn't particularly skilled at using it in actual combat. The fact that he was able to use it in a critical moment was partly due to luck.
Just as the scene was locked in a standoff again, the cave entrance, which had been hidden by a barrier, rippled, and the barrier was suddenly removed.
All eyes were drawn to the changes at the cave entrance.
A figure slowly emerged from the dark cave. First, his feet were illuminated by the sunlight, then his figure held a short sword, and finally his white hair and sharp eyes. The one who walked out of the cave was none other than "Konoha's White Fang" Hatake Sakumo.
"Sakumo-senpai, your injuries have healed." Minato, who reacted the fastest, instantly appeared next to Sakumo and asked with concern as he looked at Sakumo's upper body, which was covered in bandages.
Other Konoha ninjas also gathered at the cave entrance.
But at this moment, the Cloud Village ninjas were not in a good mood. The two Konoha Jonin present were not to be trifled with. They still did not understand how the blond ninja had killed their Jonin subordinate in an instant.
Now that Sakumo Hatake, whom they had been chasing, is able to fight again, wouldn't they all have to die here?
"Damn Konoha ninjas, they brought such a powerful medical ninja with them on this mission!"
Remembering the village's instructions to retreat if they couldn't win, the Cloud Village squad leader decisively ordered his men:
'
"Take the wounded and the dead—we're retreating."
The squad leaders knew the situation was serious, so they silently carried their wounded comrades away from the scene.
Just as Captain Yamaguchi was about to speak to stop the Cloud Village from leaving, he received a look from Minato stopping him. Although he didn't understand why, he chose to trust Minato's judgment.
Once all the Cloud Village ninjas had disappeared from sight, before Captain Yamaguchi could even ask a question, Sakumo Hatake, who had been standing upright, collapsed as if he had lost his support, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, and he was panting heavily.
Everyone then realized—that was just a bluff, risking their lives!
At this moment, Taiichi also came out of the cave. The long-term, high-intensity medical ninjutsu treatment had really exhausted his energy. At this moment, his condition was only slightly better than that of the collapsed Sakumo.
"Let's hurry up and replenish our strength before leaving this place, in case the Cloud Village realizes what's happening and attacks us again."
Minato helped the fallen Sakumo Hatake to his feet and gave instructions to everyone.
The group remained silent and each ate a soldier's ration pill to speed up their recovery.
Taiichi couldn't rest yet. Although he couldn't use medical ninjutsu for the time being, he had prepared a lot of medical supplies. Apart from the two Jonin, even the three big dogs were seriously injured.
Providing simple treatments to so many people is quite a workload.
When Taiyi treated Yangping, the usually jovial Yangping was deathly pale, his lips bluish-purple from blood loss. Looking at his back, Taiyi couldn't help but gasp. A slight misstep would have severed his spine, yet he remained silent.
"How about it, Taiichi? This is my medal of honor!"
"If your medal were any bigger, I wouldn't need any more treatment."
Hearing that Yangping was still in the mood to joke at this time, Taiyi couldn't help but admire him, but his hands were not slow either, and he used the last bit of chakra to perform the Palm Healing Technique.
With injuries this severe, ordinary treatments simply won't work.
While Taiichi was busy treating everyone, Minato and Captain Yamaguchi were also discussing the details of the mission with Sakumo Hatake. How did the mission, which was originally going well, turn out like this?
After some conversation, everyone basically pieced together the complete picture of the mission.
First, when Sakumo Hatake was on a mission, he unfortunately encountered the Raikage and his Shadow Guard. Although he completed the mission, he was beaten so badly that he could only escape with serious injuries.
Then, they were relentlessly pursued by the Hidden Cloud Division, and this escape lasted for six days.
After checking the time, both sides were surprised to find that there was at least a two-day time difference. Logically, the Cloud Hidden Dark Division should have received the order to retreat two days ago, but in fact, they were still pursuing them until just now.
This was clearly not a normal thing, and a suppressed anger was brewing in everyone's hearts.
Behind this time difference, whether it's a serious blunder in Konoha's intelligence or a blatant deception and attempt to silence witnesses by Kumogakure, the truth must be thoroughly investigated!
After a short rest, everyone gradually recovered, and even Sakumo Hatake regained his basic mobility.
After discussing it, they decided to set off immediately to return to Konoha. This place was really not a safe place to rest and recuperate; it was better to go home as soon as possible.
They advanced in a defensive formation, with Inuya Makoto leading the reconnaissance. He and Kuromaru used their abilities to eliminate dangers along the way. It would have been even better if the other three big dogs hadn't been injured, as their reconnaissance capabilities were somewhat lacking in the current situation.
They didn't encounter any pursuing forces from Kumogakure until they reached the border of the Land of Hot Water. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, since they were now close to the Land of Fire and far from the Land of Lightning.
After a long and tiring journey, and with most of them carrying injuries, everyone was eager to find a comfortable place to rest and recuperate.
As everyone gradually moved away from the border and their expressions relaxed,
"Boom!"
A series of explosions rang out ahead, and surging flames accompanied by violent shockwaves instantly engulfed Makoto Inuzuka and Kuromaru, who were exploring ahead.
The sudden explosion caught everyone off guard. Everyone stared blankly at the spot where Inuya Makoto had been standing, now only flames were burning.
"No!" Yang Ping roared first, rushing headlong towards the firelight. Minato arrived first, completing his hand seals at the same time, and a fierce gust of wind dispersed the remaining flames.
Only two mangled and charred corpses, one large and one small, remained in the scene, clearly devoid of any life.
At this moment, more than a dozen ninjas surrounded them from all directions. They were dressed in all sorts of different clothes and were clearly not under any one command.
"Haha, as expected, Konoha's White Fang is here. It looks just like the intelligence said; he's really badly injured."
"
"We wouldn't dare to touch White Fang's whiskers when he was at his peak, but now that we have the numbers and the power, it's not like we can't give White Fang a shot."
"This escort team is either injured or a bunch of kids. The only capable ones are two Jonin, while we have six Jonin!"
"5000 million taels! That's mine!"
Seeing the bounty hunters putting pressure on everyone with their back-and-forth banter, Minato, Yamaguchi Seisuke, and Hatake Sakumo, the Jonin, quickly calmed down. Taichi also grabbed Yohei, who wanted to go forward for revenge, to prevent him from doing something foolish in a moment of impulsiveness.
But when his eyes inadvertently glanced at Yangping's eyes, he was stunned. The Sharingan that originally had two tomoe had now become three tomoe.
"There are too many enemies, and even more Jonin. How are we going to fight them?" Captain Yamaguchi asked Minato and Sakumo.
Honestly, in this kind of close-quarters combat, it all comes down to raw skill. If Sakumo Hatake were at full strength right now, he might be able to take down all the enemies on the other side by simply moving around. But alas—
"Captain, their main focus is on the three of you Jonin, they won't pay much attention to me and Yangping. This is an opportunity," Taichi suggested. "Yangping has activated his Three-Tomoe technique."
Upon hearing this, both the captain and Minato were shocked, their gazes towards Yangping filled with astonishment and pity. They were astonished by Yangping's extraordinary talent, having awakened the Three-Tomoe stage at such a young age, and pitied the grief in Yangping's heart; the death of his friend had been too much of a blow to him.
"We can give it a try." The three Jonin exchanged glances and all agreed with Taiichi's method.
Now that the decision has been made, it's time to strike first.
While these bounty hunters were still trying to put pressure on the Konoha ninjas, they did not expect that the Konoha ninjas, who were clearly at a disadvantage, would make the first move.
Earth Release: Earth Flowing River
Captain Yamaguchi first unleashed a large-scale restrictive ninjutsu on the area where the bounty hunters were most concentrated, followed by his usual method: Earth Dragon Bullets to clear the ground. However, this maneuver attracted the attention of two Jonin who were attacking him. This time, Minato didn't use any ninjutsu; instead, he relied on his incredible speed to charge at one of the Jonin, and the battle between the two instantly reached its climax.
Despite his injuries, Sakumo also mustered his strength to entangle a Jonin, but the fight was quite intense.
Seeing the Konoha ninjas taking the initiative to attack, the bounty hunters, relying on their superior numbers, did not back down at all. Except for those who were entangled or trapped, the rest of them rushed madly toward their target, Hatake Sakumo.
I hope to first take down Sakumo Hatake and claim the 5000 million taels bounty.