Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Zongxian looked at Jiriku, who was standing to the left of the Enjojōja.

"Since Kazuma and the others are not in Daimyo's residence, I have no reason to stay here now. I joined the Twelve Guardian Ninjas only temporarily in the first place. I was going to return to the Fire Temple sooner or later. Now I'm just bringing that time forward a little."

Di Lu answered calmly.

Since the deaths of Hokane and the others, the Twelve Guardian Ninjas have fallen apart, and the misdeeds of Kazuma and the others have been exposed... To be honest, the motivation that drove him to stay in the Daimyo's mansion during this time was to find Kazuma and the others and avenge the dead Hokane and the others.

However, Ma and the others truly escaped from Daming Prefecture.

They spent over a month searching the Daimyo's residence with the Oniwaban ninjas, turning it upside down, but they couldn't find Kazuma and the others, or even a single clue. As time went by, the anger they initially felt gradually subsided.

He realized that unless Kazuma and the others showed themselves, he would have virtually no chance of finding them because he was not good at sensory ninjutsu and tracking techniques. Continuing like this would only be a waste of time, but it was also impossible for him to stay in the Daimyo's mansion.

As he himself said,

He no longer has any attachment to this place.

Leaving was the best choice and the best outcome for him.

"In that case, I wish you a safe journey."

Zongxian didn't insist on sending someone to escort him, and to be honest, he didn't have many capable men under his command in Daming Prefecture. Unless he personally took charge, his subordinates were not as capable as Dilu.

"Thank you for your kind words."

Di Lu put his hands together in a gesture of respect.

The old man, Yizhi Xingzhe, waved his hand nonchalantly, took his granddaughter's hand, turned around and left, with the loyal Dunbingwei following closely behind.

that's it.

After bidding farewell to Muneaki, the four of them—Yakuza, his granddaughter Tsuchigumo Hotaru, his attendant Dunbei, and Jiraiya—headed straight out of the Daimyo Prefecture.

only--

No one noticed that as the travelers and others left Daming Prefecture, a gray-brown sparrowhawk took flight from the woods not far from the main gate of Daming Prefecture. After circling once in the air, it chose its direction and flew towards the depths of the forest.

······

An abandoned village located in the forest.

Kazuma and the others had been waiting here for several days. However, apart from Kogitsunemaru, who liked to make a fuss, the others were quite patient. In fact, Kogitsunemaru was just habitually complaining and had been behaving himself without doing anything out of line.

Until the messenger sparrowhawk cried out and landed on He Ma's arm.

"So they've finally left?"

After reading the secret letter brought by the sparrowhawk, Kazuma...

A cold, stern smile appeared on his face.

He shouted, "Kamanosuke, Tenmoku, go and gather everyone here. We need to get to work!" With that shout, the radical members of the original Twelve Guardian Ninja quickly assembled. Kogitsunemaru strode in, carrying a blood-stained katana, his excited killing intent making Sparrowhawk tremble.

"Kazuma, is it finally time to break the ice?"

"Almost there. We've confirmed that our target has left Daimyo Prefecture and is heading northwest." Kazuma shook the short, secret note in his hand. "However, there's a small problem."

"What went wrong?"

Kamanosuke frowned and looked over.

“The landmass is mixed up with our objectives.”

"Land?"

"That bald guy?"

"How did he end up hanging out with the target?"

Kamanosuke, Murasaki, and Tenmoku all showed surprise, but that was all. They didn't show much emotion. Having already killed Kitane and the others, they no longer cared about the meager camaraderie they once shared. And Jiraiya alone was not enough to make them feel fear.

"Kazuma, what are you going to do? Take care of it together? Or...?"

"I asked Kamanosuke."

As Di Lu's old rival, he knew all too well how troublesome the Immortal Clan's talents were. Unlike Bei Gen and his group, who were strong in offense but weak in defense, Di Lu was good at both offense and defense. Unless one used special secret techniques or overwhelming violence, it would not be an easy task to deal with Di Lu.

"Of course we should take down that bald guy! He was lucky to let him go last time, but who told him to be so blind as to come right to us again?"

Kogitsunemaru shouted.

A murderous aura permeated the air.

"It depends on the situation. The priority target is still to capture Yi Zhi Xing Zhe alive. As for Di Lu... his life or death is not important. If it's convenient, we can take care of him together. If it's inconvenient, we should proceed according to the original plan, with Yi Zhi Xing Zhe as the primary target. No one is allowed to mess around."

As he spoke,

Kazuma's gaze lingered on Kogitsunemaru's face for two seconds.

The reason I'm bringing this up again is to warn Kogitsunemaru not to act recklessly and ruin his plans.

"whispering sound!"

Kogitsune clicked her tongue.

However, he didn't say anything more, only giving Kazuma a displeased glare.

then,

Under Kazuma's orders, the group set off.

The sensory ninja, Tenmoku, went ahead, searching for the whereabouts of En no Gyōja and his group as they traveled. Because they did not know how strong En no Gyōja was or whether he possessed any secret techniques unknown to them, Kazuma's subordinates in Daimyo Prefecture dared to sneak around in the crowds and secretly monitor the Konoha embassy.

However, once he left Daming Prefecture, he didn't have the courage to pursue a once-legendary figure.

Moreover, Jiraiya, a young ninja monk from the Fire Temple, was also with them.

Kazuma's subordinates only reported the composition of the group of En no Kōzō, when they left Daimyo Prefecture, and which direction they went... As for where En no Kōzō and the others had been in the past hour or two, and whether they had suddenly changed their route, these were things that Kazuma and his men had to track and investigate themselves.

Fortunately, the perception range of the Heavenly Eye's perception technique is wide enough. As long as the Traveler and the others do not suddenly return to the Daming Prefecture, or escape directly using the space-time technique, which are both possibilities, we will be able to find their exact whereabouts sooner or later before they return to Mount Katsuragi.

They first searched along the continent, thinking that if they couldn't find it,

Then we'll search inside the woods.

However, they were lucky. They set off at around 8 a.m. and finally spotted their target before noon. Instead of taking the less traveled paths, the group of Yizhi Xingzhe and his companions continued along the main road. "I see it! I see it!" Tianmu, who was perched on a treetop, suddenly opened his eyes and released the hand seals.

"In what direction?"

He pressed Ma for an answer.

"Just six hundred meters away in the forest at our eight o'clock position, there is a stream. En no Kyoudai and Jiraiya's group of four are resting by the stream," Tenmoku replied quickly. He knew that Kazuma was very excited. Although he always looked quite calm, as a sensory ninja, he could feel Kazuma's high spirits.

Are you resting?

Kazuma took a deep breath, adjusted the four-bladed iron claws on his hands, and ordered, "Begin the operation."

[Chapter 280. Word Binding Technique]

Even in early autumn, the Land of Fire remained hot. There were still quite a few pedestrians on the road in the morning, but as noon approached and the sun gradually became scorching, the number of pedestrians dwindled. Even the group of En no Gyōsha did not continue their journey under the blazing sun.

Land or land doesn't matter.

Young and strong, he was not afraid of the sun's heat at all. Even the young Earth Spider Firefly could persevere for a while with his willpower. However, the seventy-year-old Traveler could not endure the hardship. So, around eleven o'clock, they stopped their journey and found a shady spot near a stream to rest and cool off. They would continue their journey after the hottest period had passed.

"Tsuchigumo-senpai, would you like some water?"

"Thank you for your help, Jiraiya."

Yi Zhi Xing Zhe swallowed the last bite of rice ball, then reached out and took the water bottle from Di Lu's hand. "It's really been hard on you, having to travel with this old man like me this time, slowing you down."

“It’s nothing. I’m not in a hurry to get back to the temple. Besides, my teacher told me that life is a journey of spiritual practice.”

Di Lu said with a smile.

“Master Zhongjue? Alas! More than twenty years ago, I heard many people say that he was a wise man, but unfortunately, we have never met.” The Traveler sighed with regret.

"The teacher's health has not been very good in recent years, and he has hardly left the temple."

"Come to think of it, if I remember correctly, Abbot Zhongjue is older than me. As people get older, their bodies can't keep up... wait a minute." Sitting on a rock under the shade of a tree, slowly sipping water from his water bottle while chatting with Jiraiya, the Traveler suddenly frowned.

He lowered his voice and asked, "Di Lu, listen... the sound of the insects, has it gotten quieter?"

He was unsure if it was just his imagination, or... if there was something wrong.

The years have not only taken away his energy and physical strength, but also dulled his senses.

Otherwise, why would we need to confirm with the land?

Moreover, adhering to the principle of caution, while asking in a low voice, he quickly switched the water bottle to his left hand, and with a gentle exertion of his right hand, the kunai hidden in his sleeve slid into his hand. Jiraiya, who was sitting diagonally opposite him, immediately pricked up his ears and tensed up when he heard the words of the kunai.

then,

He found that what the Traveler had said was true; the chirping of insects that had been lingering in his ears had indeed become quieter, as if they had been killed or driven away.

As expected of a senior figure,

Even in his old age, his keen perception made this young man feel somewhat ashamed of himself.

"Senior Tsuchigumo, wait a moment, I'll go check..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

The commotion from the ground beneath his feet interrupted his prepared words. For no reason, a sense of familiarity arose in his heart. This method of attack was not unique; launching a surprise attack from underground was a trick that almost every ninja who practiced Earth Release techniques would master.

But all he saw was the hand reaching out from underground to grab his ankle.

He immediately realized the attacker's identity.

"Kamanosuke!!"

The angry roar startled the birds that were roosting in the woods.

Jiraiya used the Substitution Jutsu to avoid the attack from underground. Then, as he stood in his new position, he assumed the starting stance of a Sage Mode user, releasing chakra along specific acupoints to draw upon the surrounding natural energy, and then—

[Come to welcome·Thousand-hand killing]

The unseen fists came hurtling in like a storm.

The ground was deformed by the fierce punches, but unfortunately, Kamanosuke, who was hiding underground, was also familiar with Jiraiya's various methods. After missing his first attack, he immediately burrowed as deep underground as possible to avoid being injured by the violent attack.

"Kamanosuke, you bastard, get out here!"

Unable to contain his rage, Di Lu roared furiously.

Kamanosuke didn't respond. Jiraiya gritted his teeth, turning his gaze to survey his surroundings. Only then did he notice that the Ennogyo was also under attack, and... the attacker was Kazuma!!