Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 210 The Shrewdness of Three Generations

"Lord Zuoyun, you should go. The mission is more important. We'll cover the rear."

Faced with an increasing number of enemies, the three members of the Anbu knew that they were the ones who had dragged Lord Zuoyun down.

The enemy's decision to surround them without killing them was clearly a delaying tactic.

The reason for the delay is undoubtedly to buy more time for the attack on the Land of Fire.

One of them had to go back and deliver the message quickly.

This person can only be Lord Zuoyun, and only he can break through the encirclement; the three of them cannot.

At this moment, the masks of the three Konoha Anbu members had shattered during the battle, revealing three youthful faces underneath. All three were only fifteen or sixteen years old.

Those who can join the Anbu at this age are clearly exceptionally talented and can be called geniuses, the future pillars of Konoha.

Faced with the request from three young faces to cover their retreat, Hatake Saigumo refused without the slightest hesitation.

"Follow me. Once we find a breakthrough, you can retreat. I will hold off the enemy."

Without any hesitation, Hatake Sagumo clenched his fists and crossed them in front of his chest.

The first gate, the gate of life, opens.

The second gate, the Rest Gate, is open.

As the Eight Gates within Hatake Sagumo's body opened one by one, a surge of violent chakra began to erupt from his body.

The three members of the Anbu were all blown aside by the violent chakra.

"Eight Gates Released Formation!!!" The three Anbu members were shocked, as were the Root members disguised as Akatsuki members.

This is the Eight Gates Formation, a legendary forbidden technique that, when fully activated, can grant a genin power dozens of times greater than that of a Hokage in an instant.

Now that this forbidden technique is being used by a Kage-level powerhouse like Hatake Sagumo, how terrifying must it be?

In an instant, a deep-seated fear surfaced in the eyes of the Root members, and their bodies involuntarily took a few steps back.

As a Kage-level powerhouse, which one doesn't have a trump card or desperate measure?

The Eight Gates Released Technique, which allows him to open up to the seventh gate, is Hatake Sagumo's trump card and desperate measure.

He was already very fast, but with all seven gates of the Eight Gates open, his speed would only become more terrifying.

If he wants to leave, no one can stop him.

However, he did not hesitate to cover the rear, willing to sacrifice his life for the future of his three young ANBU ninja comrades.

"good!"

On the distant cliff, Danzo silently gave a resounding "good" to himself.

Don't misunderstand, this praise doesn't mean that Hatake Sakumo is a good person for sacrificing himself for his comrades, but rather that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, made a good choice for the members of the ANBU squad that Hatake Sakumo selected.

The deliberate arrangement of three young members of the Anbu was to leave Hatake Saigumo with no other choice.

It must be said that the three generations have a very accurate grasp of human nature.

The story of the Second Hokage sacrificing himself to protect the young talents of Konoha and ultimately dying is a well-known tale in Konoha.

This was the Third Hokage's effort to ensure the legitimacy of his position.

This effort has influenced many people.

At least Sakumo Hatake, who initially saw himself as the future Hokage, was greatly affected.

Faced with three young ANBU comrades, Hatake Sagumo, as the Hokage, had no choice but to make a decision. Protecting the young people to live was the Hokage's duty, and he had no choice but to do so.

"It's done!"

Danzo smiled slightly. The plan was mostly successful. The next step was to keep Hatake Sagumo occupied.

The Eight Gates Formation is indeed powerful, but if there are obstacles, his Root technique can still do the job of merely restraining and delaying.

"Disperse!"

Faced with Hatake Sagumo opening the Eight Gates, the Root members were well aware of his power and did not hesitate at all. The captain immediately ordered everyone to scatter.

Their goal has always been to prevent Hatake Sagumo and the others from returning to the Land of Fire within the stipulated time.

Ten minutes is enough to hold off Hatake Sagumo and his group.

They outnumbered him, and once they scattered, even with Hatake Sagumo's unparalleled speed, it would be difficult to kill them in a short time.

Not to mention he also had to protect those three young men from the Dark Division.

"Hurry up!"

The Root members reacted quickly, but Hatake Sagumo reacted even faster. The moment he opened all seven gates, he threw a punch, and the exploding lightning instantly covered a hundred-meter area in front of him. The Root members within that area were instantly struck down by the lightning.

The three members of the Dark Guard had solemn expressions, but facing Lord Zuoyun, who had already opened all seven gates, they could only live up to his expectations.

The three of them immediately helped each other and ran towards the gap in the encirclement that Hatake Sagumo had opened.

"Don't even think about escaping!"

"Wind Release - Great Breakthrough!"

"Fire Release: Train Technique!"

"Water Release-Water Crush Wave!"

"Lightning Release - Earth Walk!"

"Earth Release - Earthquake Wave!"

The Root members coordinated perfectly. After creating distance, everyone used synchronized ninjutsu, meaning all five of them used the same ninjutsu at the same time, achieving a large-scale attack effect.

Faced with such a wide-range ninjutsu attack, it is still necessary to combine ninjutsu of all five elements.

Hatake Sagumo was able to break through everything with his invincible power and speed at this moment, but the three young ANBU members could not.

With no other option, Hatake Sagumo could only flash to the side of the three young people, shielding them from ninjutsu attacks and clearing a path for them.

Boom boom boom... The sky was filled with water and fire, but Hatake Saikumo pierced through it with a super-powerful air cannon fired from a single punch, repelling the attackers.

"Go! Continue with wide-range ninjutsu attacks!"

The Root Division commander who organized the encirclement was very experienced and knew the weaknesses of the Eight Gates Formation.

The Eight Gates Formation can indeed possess chakra power dozens of times greater than normal.

However, once the Seven Gates are unlocked, the chakra flows wildly and is difficult to control.

This means that once someone opens the Eight Gates, it becomes very difficult for them to use ninjutsu. The more gates they open, the more turbulent their chakra becomes, and the harder it is to unleash ninjutsu.

This is also why the Eight Gates Formation is classified as a forbidden technique in the taijutsu category.

In fact, the Root captain was quite surprised when Hatake Sagumo was able to use Lightning Release Chakra Transformation attack while the Seven Gates were open.

Fortunately, even someone as strong as Hatake Sagumo could only use Lightning Release chakra with mental control at the very beginning. Afterwards, the physical pain and mental pressure from opening all seven gates made it impossible for him to gather Lightning Release chakra for attacks, so he could only use taijutsu attacks.

When faced with overwhelming physical attacks, the best way to deal with them is to keep your distance and use wide-range ninjutsu attacks, rather than engaging in close combat.

boom!

A shockwave blasted in, and the three ninjas, unable to dodge it, were directly pierced through their bodies, their hearts exploding instantly and causing them to die.

Even under such a violent and wide-range ninjutsu attack, Hatake Sagumo was still able to seize the opportunity to kill people.

However, their advance was undoubtedly slowed down.

There were too many people from Root surrounding them, and the weakest of them were elite Chunin, each with their own methods and coordinated ninjutsu.

It was difficult for Hatake Sagumo and his group to shake off the encirclement and attack of the enemy.

"hateful!!!"

Faced with the enemy's constant wide-range ninjutsu attacks from a distance, Hatake Sagumo was furious but helpless.

He couldn't stray too far from the three young ANBU members if he wanted to protect them; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to withstand a large-scale ninjutsu attack.

With three burdens on his shoulders, Hatake Sakumo was ultimately held back.

soon.

Ten minutes passed.

Both Hatake Sagumo and the Root members were exhausted after ten minutes of fighting, and their chakra was depleted.

"monster!"

"abnormal!"

Despite their immense exhaustion, Hatake Sagumo still had all seven gates open and was capable of fighting. The Root members exclaimed that he was a monstrous monster.

Thankfully, I don't have to face that monster anymore.

The surviving members of the Root organization breathed a sigh of relief.

In a dense forest halfway up a mountain, Danzo shook his head and sighed upon seeing this.

"It seems I won't be able to kill Hatake Sagumo."

Unlike the Third Hokage, who wanted to keep Hatake Sagumo alive to control him, Danzo's intention from the beginning was to kill Hatake Sagumo.

When faced with an opponent who can threaten you, it is of course best to kill them, even if they are from the village. If they threaten you, they threaten the village, so it is best to kill anyone who poses a threat to the village.

Unfortunately, Hatake Sagumo was too powerful. The Root members brought by Danzo were all too weak to fight anymore. As for himself... well, although he didn't want to admit it, even when facing Hatake Sagumo, who had already exhausted too much chakra, he still saw no hope of victory.

So let's not humiliate ourselves, let's just continue with that monkey's plan.

"Let them leave, then clean up the battlefield so that no one can tell we've been there."

After giving an order to one of the Root ninjas behind him, Danzo turned and left. His mission here was complete; now it was time to plan his return to the village.

below.

After the Root ninjas stopped, Hatake Sagumo quickly left with three Anbu comrades, not forgetting that they needed to hurry back to their country to report the news.

After Hatake Sagumo and the others left, the Root ninjas quickly cleaned up the traces on the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)