Konoha: Who's the good guy?

Five kilometers outside the town.

Six Kirigakure ninja, led by Suigetsu Hobuki, returned to the ambush area after barely repelling the Sunagakure ninja led by Pakura.

"Captain, there are no signs of combat at the scene. All of them were one-hit kills. Judging from the wounds on the necks, they are most likely masters of the nature transformation of the Wind Release technique."

A ninja from the Hidden Mist Village, skilled in on-site investigation, reported the results to Suigetsu Hobutsuki.

"Which direction did the enemy leave from?"

"The traces of our previous battles were too messy to... make any judgment."

"Are there no other clues?"

"...Yes, yes."

The chilling killing intent that gradually enveloped his entire body caused the Hidden Mist ninja to break out in a cold sweat.

Seeing his subordinate's cowering appearance, Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish Demon let out a disgruntled snort.

He turned his head and took out the summoning scroll of Samehada from his pocket, running his fingertips over the still bleeding wound on his forearm.

After forming a hand seal, he placed his palms on the spirit contract at the center of the scroll.

A huge cloud of chakra smoke rose up.

Samehada, the greatsword that should have appeared at the center of the scroll, showed no reaction to the summoning contract.

Watermelon Pufferfish Demon felt a chill run down his spine, a bad premonition rising in his heart. Refusing to believe it, he used his summoning technique again.

The psychic scroll beneath their feet remained completely unresponsive.

bang~

Suigetsu Hozuki grabbed the head of his subordinate beside him and slammed it hard to the ground.

The rising anger in his chest made him want to smash his subordinate's head with a single punch.

The repeated defeats in battles against Yekura had already caused much dissatisfaction among the village's higher-ups.

If Samehada, one of the village's most prized possessions, is lost.

He will inevitably face criticism from the village!

"I'm giving you one last chance. Find the little thief who stole Samehada, or I'll crush your bones inch by inch!"

"Yes, yes!"

With his nose bridge collapsed and his face covered in blood, the Hidden Mist ninja was terrified and could only hurriedly agree.

The remaining Hidden Mist ninjas also quickly sprang into action, searching inch by inch for any traces left on the battlefield.

While staying away from the enraged Suigetsu Hozuki, they also hope to find some clues left behind by the enemy.

Otherwise, this anger will likely still fall on them in the end.

--------

Inside an inconspicuous house in the town.

The oil lamp lit on the square table flickered with a flame the size of a soybean, emitting a dim light.

A Sand Village ninja, disguised as a commoner, skillfully concealed his presence, pretending to be an ordinary person as he busied himself preparing dinner.

Inside the basement of a residential house.

Having escaped the clutches of the Hidden Mist ninjas, Pakura and her six subordinates, with the help of medical ninjas, were treating their injuries.

Although Yekura's act of charging into the encirclement alone successfully disrupted Kirigakure's plan and attracted most of the firepower, allowing his companions to take the opportunity to counter-encircle.

But after a fierce battle, five of their men were still killed.

Almost all of them were wounded, making it clear that they were unable to make a long-distance retreat.

In this situation, towns with a more complex population composition are undoubtedly more conducive to their concealment than open wilderness.

Thump thump~ thump thump thump~ thump~

A rhythmic knocking sound came from the basement door.

Upon hearing that the code was correct, the Sand Village ninja guarding the basement door breathed a slight sigh of relief and opened the door.

"Lord Yekura, something's not right."

The Sand Village ninja who entered the basement quickly reported the results of their investigation.

After they and the Hidden Mist ninjas each stopped fighting.

He, who was the least injured, returned to the location where the Hidden Mist Ninja had initially set up an ambush, under Yekura's instructions.

But they couldn't find their companions.

The four headless corpses of the Hidden Mist Ninja also struck him as extremely eerie!

There were no traces of powerful ninjutsu at the scene, nor were there any messy footprints or damage from close combat.

Everyone is a one-hit kill!

He is very clear.

Even at his peak, Akazaburo, who was left behind due to injury, did not possess that kind of strength.

"A third party?"

Ye Cang narrowed his eyes slightly.

Her keen senses, honed through years of walking on the edge of life and death, set off alarm bells in her mind.

He sat up from the ground almost without thinking and spoke to the crowd.

"It's no longer safe here, let's evacuate!"

"yes!"

Everyone responded in unison.

After quickly packing up his weapons and supplies, he used a transformation spell to look like an ordinary citizen and swiftly left the basement.

And just before they were about to merge into the street.

A strange yet familiar sound of flowing water reached everyone's ears.

Ye Cang looked up in the direction from which the sound came.

Small sharks, enveloped by the current, swam straight toward the group!

Damn!

Who failed to properly remove their body odor?

Ye Cang cursed under his breath, knowing that it was pointless to reprimand his subordinates at this point.

He raised his hand and made a warning gesture to the people behind him.

Although it was unclear why the Hidden Mist Village ninjas were chasing after them now, even though they had just fought that afternoon.

However, despite their long-standing rivalry, the two sides have tacitly avoided engaging in combat in towns.

After all, it could cause large-scale destruction in towns.

Even if the daimyo of the Land of Tea is the weakest, he will still protest to the daimyo of the Land of Water and the Land of Wind.

Given the complex relationships among the daimyo of various countries, which involved kinship ties, the daimyo of each country also began to criticize their respective ninja villages.

According to common sense...

Once the Hidden Mist Village ninjas were discovered, they had already lost the opportunity to assassinate them using methods such as poison smoke, fog, and illusion.

They might utter a few harsh words, but they'll have no choice but to leave.

just.

The current leader of Kirigakure, Suigetsu Hozuki, is clearly beyond the comprehension of ordinary logic.

Almost the instant they saw the Sand Village group.

His anger then completely erupted!

"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!"

The swirling water gathered in front of them, and water guns shot out, heading straight for Yecang and his group!

The other Hidden Mist ninjas still had reservations.

But those of them, who came from the Village of Blood Mist, understood that if they didn't help Suigetsu Hozuki retrieve the Greatsword Samehada...

Before the village could retaliate against them.

As the captain and the strongest, Suigetsu Hozuki will kill them!

That guy never shows mercy to his own people.

One after another, kunai and shuriken shot towards the Sand Village group standing at the alley entrance, emitting a sharp whistling sound.

One after another, water-style ninjutsu techniques were unleashed from the hands of the Hidden Mist ninja!

Yekura's pupils contracted sharply.

Having misjudged the intentions of the Hidden Mist Village, they hastily dodged and used defensive ninjutsu!

Boom! Boom~ Boom~

The clash of ninjutsu against ninjutsu instantly created a deafening roar throughout the town.

Screams mingled with cries, shattering the peace and tranquility of the evening as the city lights began to twinkle.

Having just finished dinner, Yamanaka Kei and Namikaze Minato frowned as they watched the horrific scene of ninjutsu clashing hundreds of meters away.

In a flash, they realized that they had underestimated the importance of Samehada.

If it weren't for the sudden disappearance of this knife...

Having fought for a long time, neither side has maintained a certain degree of restraint and will act recklessly in the town.

"Should we return the knife to them?"

"Should we just kill them?"

Minato Namikaze and Kei Yamanaka both spoke up.

After they finished speaking, one of them looked helpless and the other looked disgusted.

After exchanging glances, Little Sun finally gave in and chose her best friend's plan.