I'm in Konoha, and I have ten skill slots.

In this situation, Danzo could strengthen his control over the village, and since he had gained cooperation with Orochimaru by exchanging Sasuke for it, he would naturally need to hand Sasuke over to Orochimaru.

There has never been a better time to send Sasuke away than now.

Konoha is vulnerable; defending the village is already the limit, let alone sending out elite ninjas to pursue them—it's simply impossible.

Seeking help from Kirigakure was a last resort for the Hokage's faction.

This is a good opportunity to take advantage of the alliance between Konoha and Kirigakure that they have formed because of Shigure.

At this moment, in Konoha Village.

The ninja who received this mission was none other than a stranger.

It was Shikamaru.

Shikamaru emerged from the Hokage Building, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

'Sasuke has defected!'

Shigure left the village!

'The three legendary figures of Konoha, who had just been hailed as heroes, have fallen apart in the blink of an eye!'

Just like the legendary Sannin of Konoha back then!

Shigure's departure from the village was a top secret; very few people knew about it, not even Kakashi Hatake.

The only people who knew were the Konoha high-ranking officials, Homura Tomon, Koharu Utatane, Danzo, and Hayate Gekko.

However, there are some clever people, such as Shikamaru and his father Shikaku, who have already vaguely guessed that Konoha and Kirigakure have suddenly formed an alliance.

These things don't happen for no reason.

Among the genin of Konoha, probably only Shikamaru knew this, but after learning about it, Shikamaru was quite helpless.

Despite Shigure's immense talent, he was treated like an object and traded away, even though it was for the sake of the village.

But Shikamaru still couldn't accept it.

And now!

Now it's Sasuke's turn. Sasuke is different; he abandoned the village on his own initiative.

Shikamaru sensed that Sasuke was worried about him being next, so he decided to abandon the village and go find another place.

Sasuke disappeared around dusk, and it has now been discovered that he has escaped from Konoha.

They fled towards the Sound Village, where Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, seemed to be waiting to meet them.

If Sasuke manages to escape to the border of the Land of Fire and leave its territory, then this pursuit operation will be considered a failure.

Sasuke had set off half a day earlier, and it would only take him less than two days to reach the border from here.

We are now organizing manpower to pursue them.

None of the men assigned to Shikamaru were Jonin: Rock Lee, Neji, Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino.

Kakashi is not in the village, nor is Might Guy.

However, after hearing about Sasuke's situation, it seems Kakashi has already rushed back to Konoha overnight. It's unknown whether Kakashi will be able to make it back in time.

The reason for bringing Ino along is that Ino can sense chakra, and once the pursuit reaches a certain range, Ino's sensing ability will be needed.

With just a few people, they were about to pursue Uchiha Sasuke.

Shikamaru was even worried that even if they caught up with Sasuke, could they defeat him with just a few of them?

Which of Konoha's three oddities is the simplest?

"Shikamaru, this mission is yours!"

Looking at the Jonin in front of him, Shikamaru even thought of something else.

Let's not even talk about Lee. Choji, Neji, Ino, and myself represent the elite families of Konoha. If they fail their mission, and the ninjas fail their mission, the consequences are obvious!

However, their families would certainly not let them die, so the village would have to pay a heavy price to save them.

And that's probably what that guy named Danzo wanted.

He took control of the village, reclaimed the powerful clans of Konoha, and finally ascended to the throne of Hokage.

If Shigure knew about Danzo's opportunity, he wouldn't be able to resist applauding. No wonder Danzo is so cunning.

One thing leads to another, and the last one is Tsunade. If Orochimaru can successfully prevent Tsunade from returning to Konoha, then his becoming Hokage is a sure thing.

And Danzo became Hokage!

It's possible that the Fourth Shinobi World War might break out anytime soon.

"Don't be discouraged, the village has already sent a request for help to Kirigakure!"

"The Hidden Mist Village will probably send ninjas to help us too!"

The Hidden Mist's aid?

At most, they can send a few Chunin squads to help them. Would Kirigakure really send Jonin to assist them?

... ........ 0

Shikamaru didn't take the aid from Kirigakure to heart.

After notifying everyone and packing some basic items, we seized every opportunity to begin the pursuit.

According to the physical condition of a normal person, they should be in a state of rest now.

Therefore, Shikamaru and the others can take this opportunity to get closer to Sasuke.

If Ino can sense Sasuke's chakra, then everything will be fine.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away from Konoha Village, Sasuke was sitting by a campfire recovering his strength.

There were several other people beside him.

These are the four members of the Sound People group who came to meet Sasuke.

Sakon, Ukon, Kidomaru, Jirobo, Tayuya!

Tayuya: "You still have energy, why did you stop to rest? Are you deliberately stalling for time so that the Konoha ninjas can catch up?"

Sasuke glanced sideways at the guy named Tayuya.

"If they really catch up, how can we fight when we're completely exhausted?"

"Furthermore, if I didn't want to escape Konoha, why would I defect? ​​Do you think a defecting ninja can go back on their word?"

Tayuya hadn't expected Sasuke to have such a fiery temper, saying something that left her humiliated.

This guy is totally boring.

"You've rested enough! Let's go! I won't stop for the next three hours. Since you think resting is a waste of time, then let's walk!"

"I hope you guys really have that much stamina!"

Sasuke stood up, ready to continue!

This time, the people didn't look too good! (Spoon)

Chapter 196 Strange Clouds, Goodbye to Shigure

"Most of Konoha's Jonin have already left the village, and the remaining ninja are barely able to defend Konoha!"

"They might not even send ninjas to chase us!"

Kidomaru said, but Sasuke sneered, "Do you think Konoha doesn't have any powerful ninjas?"

"The absence of Jonin does not mean the absence of powerful ninjas."

Kidomaru was very puzzled. "Does Konoha have some kind of secret force?"

"No, but if those people are sent out, even though they are genin... they should not be underestimated!"

Genin?

Kidomaru and the others exchanged glances, not quite understanding why Sasuke would care about a mere genin.

rear.

Shikamaru is chasing after Sasuke and the others.

As soon as Neji saw Shikamaru leave Konoha, he started running rapidly in one direction. Although Shino wasn't assigned to the mission, Shikamaru called on Shino.

The insects of the Aburame clan can help in pursuing Sasuke.

Once the direction was determined, Shikamaru urged everyone to speed up their pace without stopping.

After running for almost half an hour, Neji finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"Shikamaru, if this is the wrong direction, then we've come all this way for nothing!"

Upon hearing this, Shikamaru turned to Neji and exclaimed, "No! This direction must be the right one!"

Shino: "Neji, please trust my technique! Insects don't make mistakes!"

Neji shook his head. "It's not a problem with your ninjutsu. There are many ways to deceive the insects' pursuit, such as having someone take Sasuke's clothes and escape in another direction!"

"No! They won't!"