Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 83 Under the Moonlight

"Follow along."

"Let's see who can outlast whom."

On the back of the giant black iron eagle, Li Yao glanced back, smiled coldly, and took out a soldier's ration pill from his bag and ate it.

After eating this one, he still had ten left in his bag.

One soldier's ration pill a day, ten soldier's ration pills are enough for him to continue flying in the air for ten days and ten nights without eating.

As for water... he has the Water Release chakra attribute given to him by the Third Hokage, so when he's thirsty, he can just use Water Release to go down. It's natural and unpolluted, so there's no need to worry about water.

Li Yao has no worries about food and drink, and he also has no worries about sleep.

He could enter the belly of the Black Iron Giant Eagle and switch places with his shadow clone, sleeping inside to recover his energy.

In addition, the memory impact after the shadow clone disappears will be eliminated by his chakra manipulation, so it has no effect on him.

Li Yao could fly in the air for ten days and ten nights without eating, drinking, or stopping, and he simply didn't believe that the female ninja could fly with him for ten days and ten nights.

That female ninja's chakra was only the amount of chakra of a typical Jonin ninja clan, not much more than Li Yao's.

Not only can Li Yao sleep and rest, he can also maintain a state of concentrated chakra.

That female ninja included three other Konoha ninjas.

Once their chakra is depleted, they must stop and concentrate on gathering chakra in order to restore their chakra levels in a short period of time.

Otherwise, relying solely on the body's instincts to gather chakra for recovery is too slow; it's difficult for chakra to return to a full state without a whole night's rest.

In this respect, Li Yao's ability to keep himself in a state of focused chakra concentration at all times is also unique in the ninja world.

Therefore, his chakra recovery speed is very fast.

Their only weakness is that their mental state is not as enduring as that of ninjas who have undergone long-term combat missions.

If Li Yao doesn't sleep for a night, he will start to feel tired and need to rest.

Those four Konoha ninjas could maintain their mental focus during battle for three days and three nights without sleep.

This is something Li Yao can't compare to.

However, Li Yao can rest and sleep whenever he wants, but it's unclear whether they can.

soon.

It was late at night.

The moon hangs in the sky, like a white disc about to fall.

Within the northern border of the Land of Fire.

"hurry up."

In the wooded path, the Cloud Village ninja walking in the middle suddenly yanked on the rope in his hand, turned around and said fiercely to the red-haired girl whose hands were bound by the rope.

Since approaching the border of the Land of Fire, they have been forced to conceal their chakra and walk, fearing the ability of Konoha's sensory barrier center to detect their chakra.

Otherwise, when running fast, a lot of chakra will naturally dissipate, and the chakra attached to the feet will also fluctuate, which may trigger the perception barrier.

When walking normally, chakra doesn't need to be attached to the soles of the feet, nor does it need to be circulated to expose chakra fluctuations.

Furthermore, the chakra left on the branches and ground beneath their feet would not be detected by ninjas with keen chakra perception.

This further reduced the chances of the Konoha ninjas finding their trail.

The only drawback is that it is too slow, making it easy for Konoha ninjas to catch up with it.

"Someone, please save me!"

"I doubt anyone will save me, since everyone says I'm an outsider, haha."

The red-haired girl mocked herself in her mind.

She was none other than Uzumaki Kushina, who had been kidnapped by Kumogakure. She hadn't slept for three days and three nights and had only drunk a little water each day.

He was extremely weak and exhausted, and could not hear the Cloud Village ninja's words at all. He just subconsciously took a few quick steps forward as the rope tightened.

At this point, Shinjiro was already in despair, but driven by her survival instinct, she continued to tear off pieces of her red hair and leave marks on the ground.

Let's see if anyone is chasing us, and see if we can spot the mark she left behind from her red hair.

"what……"

Yunyin, who was walking in front, suddenly yawned. After three days and three nights without sleep, they were exhausted.

However, thinking about how smoothly he had come and that he was about to cross the border of the Land of Fire, he felt more energetic and relaxed a lot. He chuckled softly, "We'll be at the northern border of the Land of Fire soon. We haven't encountered any Konoha ninjas yet. It seems the intelligence was right; there aren't many Konoha ninjas on the northern border."

"And the path we've taken is the shortest."

"Yes." The Cloud Village ninja in the middle also looked tired, but his tone was relaxed as he said with a smile, "Once we cross the border and meet up with our comrades who are coming to meet us, this mission will be successfully completed."

"Don't put it... uh!"

Just as Yunyin, who was walking at the back, was about to remind his companions not to let their guard down, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his back before he could finish speaking, and all his strength seemed to vanish instantly as if a balloon had been punctured.

He wanted to call out to warn his companion, but having also been without sleep for three days and three nights, he no longer had the energy. He only managed to groan before his consciousness completely vanished into darkness.

However, his "humph" was enough to attract the attention of his two companions.

The Cloud Village ninja in front and the Cloud Village ninja in the middle who was pulling Shinobu with a rope turned around at the same time.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" the two asked, puzzled.

The moon was almost setting, and little moonlight was shining into the woods, making it somewhat dim. In addition, the attack had pierced the heart from behind, leaving no wound in the front.

The two Cloud Village members were unaware that their companion, who had suddenly collapsed, was already dead.

But soon, a faint smell of blood entered their nostrils, and their pupils constricted instantly as they realized there was an enemy.

"Tap tap!"

In that instant, before the two Cloud Village members could react, a small figure slowly stepped out from the woods behind their fallen companion.

Their attention was subconsciously drawn to the sound of footsteps and the figure of a person.

When a blond boy appeared in the moonlight, the two men's attention was immediately drawn to him the moment they saw his face.

Then... whoosh!

A small, blond figure shot out from the bushes and flashed past the Cloud Village ninja walking in front of him.

At the same time, a kunai that gleamed with a cold light also flashed by.

"Sizzle!"

Blood spurted from the Cloud Village ninja's neck in an instant, and then darkness instantly engulfed the Cloud Village ninja who hadn't reacted at all from beginning to end.

At that moment, the Cloud Village ninja in the middle, who was holding the rope, heard the commotion behind him and instinctively turned around.

"puff!"

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out instantly. When Yun Yin turned around, he felt a devouring force suddenly coming from his heart, and then darkness engulfed his entire consciousness.

thump!

thump!

The two bodies fell to the ground one after the other.

Xin Jiuna kept her head down and continued walking, swaying slightly. She hadn't noticed the commotion from earlier at all.

Until a voice that was both annoying and familiar rang out.

"Are you alright?"

"I've come to save you."

Shinjiro's numb expression began to regain its liveliness. She shakily raised her head, and in the moonlight, Minato, with his blond hair, stood in front of her with the hypocritical smile that she usually hated.

Unconsciously, the corners of Shinjiro's mouth turned up slightly. She smiled, a smile just like the one she used to hate from Minato.

But this time, she no longer disliked the smile.

under the moonlight.

Among the big trees.

Minato, who had rescued Kushina, carried the girl he had fallen for and leaped between the trees, lingering in the moonlight, all the way back to Konoha.

at the same time.

under the moonlight.

On the big tree.

Li Yao, with his black hair and black clothes, sat on the giant black iron eagle, heading north. He looked at the forest ahead and the silvery frost formed under the moonlight, his expression serene and leisurely.

Although there were Konoha ninjas following behind them.

But Li Yao felt a sense of peace on this night, a peace that was even... somewhat lonely.

(End of this chapter)