Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"It's good that you're alive!"

Kazuma breathed a sigh of relief. He had learned about the forbidden techniques of the Tsuchigumo clan from the forbidden library of the Imperial Palace. This top-secret information was collected by the Oniwaban ninjas under the daimyo, whose exact number was unknown but whose total number should be over a thousand.

The forbidden techniques of the Tsuchigumo clan are different from ordinary forbidden techniques.

It wasn't something that could be mastered through long periods of cultivation, but rather a forbidden technique passed down and inherited from generation to generation. It resided within the bodies of successive generations of the Earth Spider Clan and was no longer just 'knowledge'; to some extent, it had already acquired a substantial existence.

Although its form and manner of existence are somewhat mysterious and difficult to understand.

Anyway,

Back then, the Oniwaban ninjas confirmed through their investigation that the forbidden techniques of the Tsuchigumo clan were extremely difficult to obtain, and it was highly likely that they would need to capture En no Gyoza alive in order to bring the forbidden techniques of the Tsuchigumo clan under the control of the Oniwaban. At that time, En no Gyoza was not as weak as he is now.

After assessing the differences between them,

The Oniwaban did not take action against the Tsuchigumo clan.

Until now—

The once-renowned En no Gyōsha was first worn down by the relentless passage of time, and then he was ambushed by the junior Kazuma, who outnumbered him... The forbidden techniques of the Tsuchigumo clan will either become a thing of the past, lost in the long river of history, or fall into Kazuma's hands, waiting for a chance to shine again.

As for which outcome it will be...

That depends on He Ma's efforts and luck.

"Can't move?"

Kazuma, who had only relaxed for a few seconds, became depressed again.

"Boss, don't make things difficult for me. I'm not Tsunade. This old man is barely hanging on. I can't guarantee he'll still be breathing after you carry him for a couple of steps. He might turn into a corpse after running fifty meters."

Zizi placed her hands on the chest of the soldier, using her palm magic to help alleviate the backlash symptoms caused by the soldier's ration pills.

"Is there absolutely no way?"

"No."

Kazuma was defeated by Murasaki's irrefutable answer and had no choice but to squat down. "Tsk! It looks like we can only try here. Kamanosuke, Kogitsunemaru, Tenmoku, go after Jiraiya, don't let them escape."

While rummaging through the pockets of the traveler, he assigned tasks to his companions.

He originally did not intend to pursue and kill Di Lu.

According to the original plan, after capturing the Traveler, they should immediately move to a different location and then slowly figure out how to seize the forbidden technique. However, as the saying goes, plans can't keep up with changes. The current situation is that they can't move the Traveler, and they can't even be sure how long it will take to seize the forbidden technique.

Given this situation, we cannot let Di Lu and the others leave.

otherwise,

He could easily imagine that if Jiraiya and the others escaped safely, it wouldn't be long before the ninjas of Konoha arrived. That "Flame Demon" was still lingering in the Daimyo's residence. If that Flame Demon were to personally come... he really didn't have much confidence in dealing with that kind of monster.

"Haha! Leave it to me!"

Kogitsunemaru gripped the hilt of his sword, his boiling killing intent still simmering.

He wasn't quite done yet!

It seemed that their operation had achieved its intended goal, but they hadn't killed a single person. Even if Kazuma hadn't said anything, he was planning to chase after and kill that annoying bald man, Chiriku. Kazuma's instructions were exactly what he wanted.

"I will do my best."

Kamanosuke didn't finish his sentence.

The implication is that it depends on the situation.

As Jiraiya's old rival, he knew how troublesome Jiraiya was. If all six of them joined forces, they could definitely defeat Jiraiya. However, if it was just him, Tenmoku, and Kogitsunemaru working together, defeating Jiraiya wouldn't be difficult, but killing him wouldn't be so easy. If Jiraiya was determined to escape, they might not be able to stop him.

"In that case... Yun Guang, you should go too."

Kazuma considered for two seconds and admitted that Kamanosuke made a good point.

Just to be on the safe side, let's send another person. Tenmoku will be in charge of tracking, Kogitsunemaru prefers a head-on assault, Kamanosuke prefers to sneak up underground and ambush people, and Unko, who is good at lightning release techniques, is the fastest at short-distance movement. If Jiraiya tries to escape, he can stop him.

With the four of them working together, they would be confident enough to save Di Lu's life.

"And over here? It's just you and Zizi..."

Kamanosuke looked at Kazuma.

There are only six people in total, and four of them were sent out at once. As a result, the manpower on Ma's side is somewhat stretched thin. If any emergency occurs, there will be a lack of sufficient response force. To be honest, this place is not far from Daming Prefecture. Even if it is not the help that Di Lu found, we may encounter other people.

As guardian ninja of the twelve

They knew very well that as the capital of the Land of Fire, Daimyo Prefecture was like a drop of honey attracting ants, drawing ninjas from all over the country to gather there. In terms of total numbers, the total number of ninjas in Daimyo Prefecture was not much less than that in Konoha.

It's not impossible to run into someone who likes to meddle in other people's business.

“I have helpers, so you don’t need to worry about things here. You just need to focus on the mission of besieging and killing Di Lu.” He said without looking up from his horse. He took out several scrolls from the Traveler’s pocket and opened them one by one, trying to see if he could find anything useful.

Kamanosuke nodded and said nothing more.

He also knew that Kazuma had other men under his command. This time, it was thanks to Kazuma's subordinates that they were able to track down the group of En no Kyousha in time by sending a message in Daimyo Prefecture. Since Kazuma's side did not lack men, he no longer needed to worry about it.

Focus on hunting on land.

They immediately sprang into action, following the old routine: Tenmoku, the sensory ninja, led the way, with the rest of them close behind. The group chased after Jiraiya at top speed in the direction he had fled.

·······

Holding the unconscious Tsuchigumo Hotaru in his arms, Jiraiya's running speed was inevitably affected. Dunbei, standing beside him, was also slowing down; as a follower of the Ennogyōja, he was, frankly, not young anymore.

Furthermore, he was slashed many times during his previous fight with Kogitsunemaru, but the wounds were not deep enough to render him immobile on the spot.

However, the problem of blood loss cannot be avoided.

Even though he had taken a hemostatic pill while he was traveling, the problem was that by the time the hemostatic pill took effect, he was already inevitably affected.

His breathing became rapid and labored, and the strength in his hands and feet also weakened considerably.

"Whoosh—whoosh—! Earthly Mage, those guys don't seem to be catching up!"

"Hold on a little longer. We can't be sure yet whether Ma and the others have given up tracking us."

Di Lu said in a deep voice.

Unexpectedly, Dunbei shook his head and said with difficulty, "Master Jiriku, what I want to say is... if, if they really catch up later, please don't worry about me. I will stay and try my best to buy you time. Please take Miss Hotaru and continue to escape, although with my abilities, I can probably only hold them off for a few seconds."

This old man's perseverance is quite astonishing.

Despite panting heavily like a broken bellows, he still managed to talk while running and attach explosive tags to his kunai.

"······I see."

After a two-second silence, Di Lu gave an affirmative answer.

"Thank you for your help."

A slight smile appeared on Dunbei's pale face as he sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Death was not frightening to him. He was already over sixty years old, which was considered a long life in this world. Moreover, as an orphan, if he hadn't been taken in by the Traveler, he probably wouldn't have had the chance to live to this day. For him, every extra day he lived was a bonus.

As they were talking,

Di Lu suddenly turned around and looked behind him.

"coming!"

Though his words were extremely brief, Dunbei instantly understood what Jiraiya meant. He too turned to look and saw the figure he couldn't forget, the one chasing after him with a katana—white hair, a beautiful fox-like face…

Moreover, there was more than one pursuer.

Besides Kogitsunemaru carrying a katana, there was Yunguang, whose entire body was wrapped in lightning, and Tenmoku, who didn't seem particularly remarkable.

"Three people?"

Di Lu frowned deeply.

While it's good news that we haven't seen any trace of Kazuma, we can't completely rule out the possibility that Kazuma and Kamanosuke are lurking underground. Both of them are experts in earth-escape techniques, and even if no one is hiding underground, to be honest, Kogitsunemaru and his two companions are more than he can handle alone.

They are both members of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas.

While there are differences in skill levels among them, these differences are not significant enough to guarantee a quick victory in a one-on-one head-on confrontation.

“Master Dilu, you take Miss Ying and go first. I will stay here to buy some time.”

Dunbei spoke quickly, preparing to carry out what he had just said.

but--

"Don't rush."

Jiriku suddenly called out to Dunbei, "There are many people ahead, we might have a chance."

He wasn't a professional sensory ninja like Tenmoku, but thanks to the training methods of the Sage Clan of the Fire Temple that emphasized mental awareness, his sensory abilities might not be comparable to those of professionals, but they were much sharper than those of ordinary Jonin.

Shortly after noticing Kogitsunemaru and the others approaching...

He sensed a dense chakra fluctuation not far ahead, and within it seemed to be several powerful auras. The quality and quantity of that chakra, if not due to exceptional talent, should at least be those of a Jonin-level expert.

A spark of hope ignited in my previously chilled state of mind.

This is the Land of Fire.

In terms of sheer numbers, Konoha definitely has the most. Other ninja villages and clans rarely travel in large groups. The fact that such a large group of ninjas is highly likely to be from Konoha. If that group ahead is indeed Konoha ninja...

They will not only escape danger,

There might still be a chance to launch a counterattack and wipe out He Ma and the others.

It's easy to imagine that it wasn't just Jiraiya who noticed this; even a half-baked sensory ninja like him could detect the chakra fluctuations ahead. This was even more true for Amemoku, a professional-level sensory ninja. He used a secret ninjutsu called "Bird's-eye View Technique," transforming his spiritual energy into an invisible bird soaring high in the sky, taking in everything below.

The reason he discovered them almost simultaneously with Di Lu was because he couldn't use this secret technique while moving at high speed. He hadn't discovered them when he used the Bird's-eye View technique from a greater distance to find Di Lu and the others.

Until now,

As the distance closes

He sensed the chakra fluctuations ahead at almost the same time as Jiro, from a location farther away than Jiro.

Then he immediately stopped, half-squatting on the ground, forming hand seals, closing his eyes, and once again using the [Bird's-eye View Technique]. His invisible and colorless spiritual power transformed into the shape of a bird and flew into the sky, gazing into the distance from the air, seeing the distant scenery before Lu and the others.

His expression turned strange, and when he opened his eyes, a look of bewilderment appeared in them.

"The situation has changed!!"

Unable to take cover and communicate with his companions, he could only shout to warn Kogitsunemaru and Unko beside him, as well as Kamanosuke, who was hiding underground preparing to launch a surprise attack, that sound can travel through solids, or rather, sound travels faster through solids.

Also, the scene he saw was beyond his imagination, and his brain couldn't comprehend it for a moment.