Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 209 Choice

The heartland of the Land of Rain.

In the forest seven kilometers outside of Misty Rain City, Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sagumo, was leading a four-person ANBU squad cautiously toward Misty Rain City.

Yahiko and his group never expected that while they were searching for the Konoha ninja, Konoha's Anbu had already infiltrated the vicinity of their hideout, and crucially, no one from the Akatsuki organization noticed.

It can only be said that the Akatsuki organization is still too inexperienced. Most of its members are genin, there are very few chunin, and only five members, including Yahiko, are jonin.

Furthermore, the ninjas of the three great nations possessed fewer skills in intelligence gathering, infiltration, and assassination.

This is what led to the current situation.

"Hmm... someone's coming from ahead."

Hatake Sagumo suddenly raised his hand, signaling them to stop and hide. The four of them immediately used their respective methods to conceal their presence and hide.

A short while later, a team of ten ninjas arrived with their hands behind their backs.

Judging from their black trench coats and the Amegakure headbands on their foreheads, Hatake Sagumo quickly deduced that this group of people were members of the Akatsuki organization.

Where are these people going?

"Is there any action planned?"

A hint of doubt flashed in Hatake Sagumo's eyes, but he did not move. Their main purpose in coming here was to infiltrate Misty Rain City to find the Akatsuki organization's stronghold and investigate whether there was any evidence of other hidden villages supporting them.

What Akatsuki does is none of their business.

"Those bastards from Konoha actually killed our comrades. This time, they'll pay the price!"

"Haha... With Yahiko and the others' strength, destroying a town in a short time is easy. Let those guys in Konoha know that whoever dares to kill members of our Akatsuki will pay a bloody price."

not good!

The Akatsuki organization is planning to attack towns in the Land of Fire!

Hatake Sagumo, who originally didn't care what the ten Akatsuki members were doing, changed his expression immediately upon hearing their conversation as they passed by, and instantly abandoned his plan to continue to Misty Rain City.

Nothing is more important than protecting the village.

After the ten people had passed, the four of them immediately gathered together.

"Rabbit Crown, return to the border of the Land of Fire immediately, find your patrol comrades, and warn them of the possibility that the Akatsuki may enter the country and attack towns."

"The remaining two of you come with me."

"Yes, Lord Zuoyun."

Hatake Sagumo quickly assigned tasks, and the four of them immediately split into two groups. The ANBU ninja codenamed Rabbit Crown went back to report, while the remaining three continued to follow the ten Akatsuki members to gather more detailed information.

soon.

Hatake Sagumo and the others caught up with the ten Akatsuki members again, following them secretly without being detected.

But at that moment, a roaring sound suddenly came from the direction where the rabbit had left, followed by billowing black smoke.

"It's a rabbit crown!"

"Lord Saun!"

Hatake Sagumo and the other two immediately stopped. At this time, in that direction, only Rabbit Crown was engaged in battle with the enemy.

At the same time, the ten Akatsuki members ahead seemed to have also noticed the battle and immediately turned around to give chase.

"Walk."

Hatake Sagumo didn't hesitate for long. Since the operation had been discovered, he decided to quickly deal with the people there, rescue his companions, and leave as soon as possible to warn the border troops.

The three immediately ran towards the direction of the battle.

Soon, as they approached the battle site, they were inevitably spotted by the ten Akatsuki members ahead.

"It's Konoha... So fast!"

The Akatsuki member who first spotted Hatake Sagumo had just spoken when a flash of white light appeared in his eyes, and then his vision spun around as he saw his own headless corpse.

However, thanks to his reminder, his companions had time to react and jumped away to make their move.

Moreover, their response was unusually fast, unlike the response capabilities that Hatake Sagumo had gathered about the Akatsuki members during this period.

"Water Release: Explosion Style!"

"Earth Release - Earth Rising Spear!"

Five Water Release: Explosive Streams swept in like a tornado waterfall, blocking Hatake Sagumo's movement, while countless earth spikes bursting from the ground further prevented Hatake Sagumo from getting closer.

The opponent is very familiar with his fighting style!

Hatake Sagumo's heart tightened instantly. His opponent knew he was fast and used large-scale water and earth techniques to change the terrain and stop his rapid thrust.

"These guys aren't from Akatsuki... no, they must be the masterminds behind Akatsuki. Which hidden village are they from?"

"not good!"

While pondering, Hatake Sagumo suddenly realized a problem: the organization preparing to attack the Land of Fire might not be Akatsuki, but rather a hidden village of another major power.

Hidden Rocks?

Sand Village?

Or is it the Hidden Cloud?

Hatake Sagumo's mind raced through a series of possibilities. Regardless of the possibility, they had to send the intelligence out as soon as possible, otherwise Konoha would suffer even greater losses.

The attack on the Great Power Hidden Village is no joke.

"You guys go to Rabbit Crown first, I'll handle things here."

Hatake Sagumo made a decision instantly, and then charged toward the remaining nine Akatsuki ninjas. The two Anbu ninjas behind him immediately detoured to support their comrade, Rabbit Crown.

"Don't even think about leaving!"

The enemy naturally did not want two Konoha ANBU ninjas to go to support the front, so they immediately sent four people to intercept and kill them.

"Earth Release - Earth Wave Technique".

Suddenly, Hatake Sagumo pressed his hands to the ground. In an instant, the ground within a hundred-meter radius around him and the ten Akatsuki members in front of him surged violently like ocean waves.

The Akatsuki members, who were splitting up, suddenly lost their balance and fell to the ground.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, two ANBU ninjas broke through the encirclement and fled.

Tear!

A sound like the air being torn apart suddenly rang out, and a white light, as fast as lightning, arrived in front of the Akatsuki members who were unsteady on their feet.

"hateful!"

The enemy did not expect that Hatake Sagumo could turn the tables and use the terrain against them. At this moment, they could not maintain their balance, could not form hand seals, and had no time to do so. They could only instinctively raise their kunai or short swords to defend themselves.

However, the reason why Konoha's White Fang is Konoha's White Fang is because the white lightning blade in his hand, covered in white lightning without any leakage, is exceptionally sharp.

Zizizizi!

The kunai and daggers in their hands were as fragile as cheese; Hatake Sagumo's white lightning blade easily sliced ​​through them, sweeping across their necks or piercing their hearts.

In an instant, four more people were eliminated from the nine. The remaining five tried to spread out, but none of them could hold out for long before being killed one by one by Hatake Sagumo.

The difference between a Kage-level ninja and an ordinary Jonin or Chunin is terrifying.

Especially for speed-type Kage-level powerhouses, there is not much difference between Jonin and Genin. Unless there are enough people using a wide-range attack ninjutsu together, they can restrain a Kage-level powerhouse.

Boom! Boom! The sound of the detonating tags exploding rang out one after another.

The three members of the secret service team were engaged in fierce fighting.

When Hatake Sagumo arrived, his three companions, who were being attacked by twelve enemies, were already wounded. Among them, Rabbit Crown, who was attacked first, had a large chunk of flesh blown off his thigh by an explosive tag. If he wasn't treated quickly, the bleeding alone would kill him.

Zizizi!

Hatake Sagumo arrived in an instant, killing two Akatsuki members who couldn't escape in time.

A gap suddenly appeared in the encirclement of the twelve men.

"You guys take the rabbit crown and run quickly, I'll cover the rear."

Hatake Sagumo, wielding his Raikou, faced the remaining ten enemies. He addressed his three companions behind him, and without hesitation, he made the decision to cover their retreat, deeply influenced by the Will of Fire.

"Be careful, Lord Zuoyun."

Without hesitation, the three members of the Dark Guard immediately helped the injured Rabbit Crown away. They understood that only with the strongest, Lord Zuo Yun, covering their retreat could they escape. Without their assistance, even if Lord Zuo Yun couldn't kill the enemy, retreating would be easy.

However, it was as if they had entered the enemy's lair; they had barely left when they were surrounded by twelve enemies again.

Boom! Boom! The sounds of exploding tags and fire attacks echoed throughout the rainforest.

After Hatake Sagumo killed four more enemies, these people became somewhat afraid and changed their battle strategy, focusing on containing and keeping Hatake Sagumo at bay.

Sensing the explosion coming from afar, Hatake Sagumo instantly changed his battle strategy, no longer seeking to kill, but instead trying his best to break through to support his comrades.

These Akatsuki members are abnormally strong, work together seamlessly, and their fighting style is definitely that of the hidden dreadnoughts of major powers.

His three companions would never have made it out of here without him.

Soon, thanks to his superior speed, Hatake Sagumo arrived at his three companions' side, who were injured once again.

Ten more enemies surrounded them, and more enemies were rushing towards them from a distance.

"Will you save your comrades or complete the mission? What will you choose, Hatake kid?"

On a distant mountaintop cliff, Danzo looked down at the battlefield, his eyes gleaming. He smiled inwardly and then said to his subordinates behind him, "Notify the people within the territory that we will make our move in two hours."

"Yes, Lord Danzo."

The Root ninjas accepted the order and withdrew.

Two hours was the perfect amount of time; if Hatake Sagumo abandoned his companions now, it would be just enough to return to the border and deliver the message.

Now it's up to Hatake Saigumo to make his choice.

(End of this chapter)