"Trying to leave?"
Hanzou's icy voice rang out, carrying a hint of anger at being unexpectedly disturbed.
He didn't pursue them personally, because something even more bizarre and troublesome had already locked onto him.
It was a monster with the head of a tiger and a human body, its muscles bulging, wielding twin blades. It rode a strangely shaped deer-like creature that seemed to be made of light (Tiger Burial and Circular Deer).
Tiger Burial's speed was astonishing, like black lightning, instantly cutting into the path between Hanzou and the retreating Uchiha. Its twin blades swung, creating sharp wind blades that tore through the air.
Hanzou swung his sickle to parry, and the clash of metal produced blinding sparks.
He frowned slightly; he had never seen such a bizarre summoned beast.
This Tiger-headed Monster not only possessed amazing strength and speed with sharp swordsmanship, but it could also eerily merge into shadows, launching surprise attacks from unexpected angles in his own shadow, making it impossible to defend against.
More troublesome was the glowing deer beside it, which emitted a soft, clear light that enveloped the Tiger-headed Monster, making his sickle and the poison mist released by Salamander Ibuse completely ineffective against it.
This was getting a bit problematic. Hanzou knew that half of his strength lay in his poison; now that the poison was restricted, it would be quite difficult to fight for a while.
"A summoned beast? Or some unknown Bloodline Limit summon?"
Hanzou made a quick judgment in his mind, but his movements didn't slow down at all. As he swung his sickle, water surged, attempting to bind and cut this agile tiger.
But with the support of Circular Deer, Tiger Burial's movements were incredibly smooth, alternating between physical assaults and shadow-evasions, firmly entangling Hanzou and buying precious time for the Uchiha's retreat.
While Hanzou was pinned down by the combination of 'Tiger Burial' and 'Circular Deer', Uchiha Yashiro and the others followed the two mysterious masked men. Amidst the roar of 'Piercing Ox' and the common-sense-defying battle behind them, they quickly disappeared into the rain and the complex terrain of the hills.
Hanzou glanced in the direction the Uchiha had fled, then looked at the troublesome tiger-deer duo before him, his gaze under the mask turning even colder.
This ambush seemed to have been disrupted by an unexpected force.
However, that group just now... did the leader have the Sharingan?
But Hanzou had no time for further thought.
The next second.
Chila—!
Tiger Burial's twin blades thrust out once more from the shadow beneath Hanzou's feet. The angle was tricky and ruthless, and Hanzou barely managed to parry them with the handle of his sickle.
A wind blade grazed his armor, leaving a white mark.
The Circular Deer beside them glowed with clear light, which not only dispersed the poison mist that was spreading again but also made Hanzou feel an imperceptible sluggishness in his Chakra flow.
This light seemed to have a suppressing or purifying effect.
Hanzou's gaze was cold.
This Tiger-headed Monster's fighting style was extremely bizarre. Its switching between physical and shadow forms followed no pattern. Combined with its incredibly fast speed and sharp wind blades, even he needed to focus his mind to deal with it; the slightest carelessness could result in injury.
Coupled with the deer next to it with its unique support abilities, it had actually managed to stall him here for a short time.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye toward where the Uchiha had fled.
The two mysterious masked men had led them away, using the hilly terrain to completely disappear into the vast rain and the dark mountain forests further off.
Even the giant, monstrous ox that had knocked Ibuse aside no longer clashed head-on with the angry Salamander after letting out a sky-shaking low.
Instead, it turned around, took heavy strides, and thundered off in a direction slightly different from the others' retreat route, each step making the ground tremble, clearly intending to draw attention or regroup with its master.
Seeing that the primary targets had disappeared, Tiger Burial swung several sharp, crossing wind blades to force Hanzou back half a step, then suddenly leaped backward, landing precisely on the back of Circular Deer, which had been hovering nearby to provide aura support from a distance.
Circular Deer's hooves glowed as it made a light turn and galloped toward the direction Piercing Ox had left, its speed incredibly fast, turning into a streak of light.
The Salamander let out an unwilling roar, its poison sacs bulging as it prepared to spit poison mist in pursuit.
"Ibuse, stop," Hanzou barked a command.
The massive summoned beast gave a dissatisfied low growl but stopped its movements, merely glaring at the direction the enemies had vanished with its fierce, small eyes.
Hanzou stood in place, rain dripping from the edges of his respirator mask.
He did not pursue immediately, but instead fell into a brief contemplation.
Today's events were bizarre at every turn.
The Konoha team had precisely stepped into this trap, which wasn't even Sunagakure's real request point for help, which was beyond his expectations.
The subsequent appearance of these... things had completely disrupted his plans.
Those were by no means ordinary summoned beasts.
Those three monsters just now.
The giant ox with immense strength and reckless charging.
The tiger-headed warrior with bizarre swordsmanship and shadow-hiding abilities.
And the glowing deer that could purify toxins and even affect Chakra... their fighting styles and combinations of abilities were too strange.
Hanzou looked up at the gloomy sky and the continuous curtain of rain.
The Land of Rain was now surrounded by enemies. Forces from Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure were like sharks smelling blood, cruising around the borders, constantly testing and encroaching.
As the leader, every decision he made affected the survival of the Village.
The gap in strength between the Great Ninja Villages and the small ninja Villages—this time, he had truly seen it clearly.
This was not something that could be compensated for by his personal bravery alone.
Amegakure simply couldn't compare to the talent, material reserves, and subsequent logistical supply of the Great Ninja Villages.
"Is it still not enough..."
Was his strength still insufficient?
Could it be that only by reaching the level of the God of Shinobi could one rely on their own power to bridge the gap between great and small nations?
Thinking of this.
He put away his giant sickle and took one last look in the direction the enemies had disappeared.
"Retreat, Ibuse. Increase the patrol density in the third and seventh border sectors, and pay special attention to reports of abnormal Chakra reactions and infiltration by unknown forces."
Hanzou gave the order decisively, his figure slowly sinking into the ground, merging with the rain and soil, vanishing from sight.
Salamander Ibuse let out a low growl and dissipated into a cloud of white smoke... In the brief interval created by the Ten Shadows Technique's Shikigami 'Piercing Ox's' roar and 'Tiger Burial' and 'Circular Deer's' entanglement with Hanzou.
Uchiha Yashiro and the others followed the two mysterious masked men like startled birds, racing through the complex and treacherous mountain forests of the Land of Rain.
The sense of pressure and the aftershocks of battle behind them gradually faded, but everyone's tense nerves didn't relax in the slightest until the leading masked man made a gesture, and the team suddenly turned into an extremely hidden mountain fissure, cleverly concealed by vines and Genjutsu.
The light dimmed abruptly, and the air became humid but relatively stable. After passing through a winding natural tunnel, the view suddenly opened up into a rather spacious cave with signs of manual repair inside.
Inside the cave, several Everlasting Fire Talismans were lit, illuminating the rough stone walls and the simply paved floor.
More importantly, the sound of rain and the killing intent from outside could not be felt here; the presence of a Chakra barrier blocked most detection.
Only now did the shaken Uchiha breathe a slight sigh of relief, but their wary gazes remained fixed on the two masked men who had brought them here.
Many were injured, their Chakra severely depleted. Although their Sharingan were deactivated, the suspicion, lingering fear, and inquiry in their eyes were clearly visible.
Uchiha Yashiro and Uchiha Inaho stood at the front of the group; their injuries were relatively light, but the mental shock was greater.
Yashiro took a deep breath, his gaze sharp as a knife, looking directly at the fox-masked man who was clearly the leader.
"Who are you? That token... and those monsters... what on earth is going on? Why did you save us?"
His voice echoed in the cave.
Inaho's hand also rested on his ninja tool pouch. Although he knew the other party had just saved them and held a token, the unease brought by the unknown was even greater.
He and Yashiro were the team leaders, and when they left, they had promised Elder Setsuna they would protect their teammates.
Because of their carelessness, they had encountered that danger just now; they couldn't afford to mess up again.
The fox-masked man exchanged a look with the dog-masked man beside him and nodded slightly.
Sho U raised his hand and slowly took off the Fox Mask from his face.
As the mask was removed, a young, handsome face revealed itself, yet it carried a composure and sharpness far beyond its years.
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808