Escape from Konoha.

"Eleven people."

“I have a way to take them all out in one go, Ayane. Find me a narrow intersection and wipe them out there.”

Ruri's words surprised Shiraishi and Ayane.

But seeing the confident look on Ruri's face, Ayane chose to believe that she had this ability.

"I see."

The Sand Ninja are still some distance away, and in that time they will have enough time to find a narrow intersection.

Although we don't know the specifics of Ruri's method, as the core combatant among the three, Ruri wouldn't be the kind of person to make empty promises.

Soon, Ayane found a narrow intersection with only two paths leading to it, both of which were flanked by towering, jagged cliffs that blocked her way back.

Is this a suitable place?

"That's enough. How much longer until they arrive?"

Liuli's face was solemn, as if she had made up her mind.

"At this rate, there are still two minutes left."

"Remind me in the last ten seconds."

Ayane nodded in agreement.

Shiraishi frowned. Although he believed in Ruri's strength, he had never heard of Ruri practicing more powerful ninjutsu, nor had he heard of it before.

Therefore, Shiraishi remained skeptical of the method Shiraishi used to eliminate Ruri in one breath, which was the method of an elite Sand Ninja.

But now we can only hope that Liuli's method will work.

Time passed second by second, and Liuli stood at the very front.

That sturdy, unyielding figure, standing tall and unmoved like a flower on a mountain peak, is more admirable than anything else.

"coming!"

Ayane spoke, and the final ten seconds had arrived.

Without any hesitation, Liuli began to form hand seals, which were very standard Fire Release techniques.

She gathered all her chakra and natural energy in her mouth and forcibly fused them without any safety testing.

Then, Liuli felt an extremely terrifying energy filling her entire body.

This powerful feeling was one that Liuli had never experienced before.

Just as she thought, although Shiraishi completed the experiment on guiding natural energy, Ruri believed that she had already surpassed Shiraishi, the experiment's developer, in the application of this energy.

It is precisely because of this that she has the confidence to fuse her remaining chakra with natural energy to form Sage Chakra, which has been greatly enhanced, without conducting any safety experiments.

Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!

"Wait, Ruri—"

Shiraishi discovered the problem.

With her current chakra, Ruri is simply not capable of unleashing a powerful fire blast to extinguish Yang's wide-range fire-style attack.

If the chakra supply is insufficient, not only will the power of the technique decrease, but it may also backfire on the user.

However, by the time the sea of ​​fire appeared, Shiraishi's voice had already been drowned out.

Moreover, even if she heard it, Ruri did not intend to act according to Shiraishi's method.

She's not good at methodology or experimentation, but when it comes to combat, she won't submit to anyone.

Deep within the valley, a torrent of flames surged like a tsunami, devouring everything in its path. The area, which was originally filled with cold air, immediately gave people the illusion of being in a scorching hell.

The group of Sand Ninja were so terrified before they even met the enemy that their minds went blank.

There's no escaping it.

We can't resist it.

The darkness was burning.

The air here is distorted, a terrifying sight caused by the intense heat.

Time and space fell into a deathly silence, with only the surging sound of the sea of ​​fire swallowing and spewing flames.

The intense heat, which caused skin to crack, continued to intensify, and the sea of ​​fire continued to grow in the confined space, relentlessly devouring all living things in its path.

Standing next to Ruri, Shiraishi and Ayane couldn't help but take a breath, only to find that their throats felt like they were filled with scalding boiling water, making them feel suffocated and painful.

The rock walls, washed by the sea of ​​fire, turned into glowing, reddish-brown flame crystals.

Ahead, the eleven Sand Ninja who had no way to reach the road had been reduced to ashes, their bodies nowhere to be found, their bodies cremated and vanished into thin air.

Chapter Sixty: My Art Style Is Above Yours

It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Still haven't found it?

"I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sensei, I didn't find it on my end."

Minato, who was traveling with Jiraiya in the southern valley of the Land of Rivers, simply shook his head when Jiraiya asked him a question.

"Damn it, I never expected a mission to turn out like this."

Jiraiya punched a tree next to him, gritting his teeth in resentment.

He wasn't worried about Shuo Mao, because the mission information there hadn't been altered. The problem lay with the other three; they had completely fallen into the Root's trap.

Because he didn't know what Root would do, Jiraiya also didn't know how Root planned to deal with Sakumo's three subordinates.

Regardless of the circumstances, it was all due to their own momentary mistake that led to the three of them ending up in this situation.

But who would have thought that the Hokage's direct subordinates, the Anbu, would have spies planted by Root?

Jiraiya really wanted to take this opportunity to thoroughly investigate the root of the problem.

They dared to tamper with even the Hokage's direct ANBU; this is no small matter.

The Anbu are responsible for classified missions and the safety of the Hokage; no accidents can be tolerated.

But considering his teacher Hiruzen Sarutobi's personality—a man who cherishes old friendships above all else—he would probably only give him a perfunctory warning at most.

"Please don't do that, Jiraiya-sensei. Perhaps the three of them are destined for good fortune. All we can do is find them as soon as possible, whether they are alive or dead."

Minato comforted Jiraiya.

“I know, I was just venting. Now, only the bottom of the cliff ahead remains to be searched. I went there once before with Tsunade and Orochimaru; the terrain there is a bit complicated. Minato, be careful not to stray too far from me.”

"Yes."

The water gate nodded solemnly.

Although he believed in his own abilities, he still had many shortcomings and was immature compared to a Jonin of Jiraiya's caliber.

"I hope the three of them are alright, otherwise what about the Uchiha clan..."

Jiraiya was not unaware of the situation in Konoha. As the most powerful clan in Konoha, the Uchiha clan had countless Jonin with the three-tomoe Sharingan. Even one of them was troublesome. If they joined forces, they would definitely be able to easily suppress the powerful forces of all ninja clans except the Senju clan.

Compared to the conservative and mild-mannered Hyuga, the Uchiha were mostly a group of unruly individuals.

If you anger them, they are capable of anything.

Thinking of this, Jiraiya began to curse Danzo thoroughly in his mind once again.

◎

It was already past midnight, but the fog covering the deep valley was so thick that sunlight could not penetrate to the bottom and instead dispersed in the fog, with only a few slivers of light falling down.

In the pitch-black cave, only a fire was burning, dispelling the surrounding darkness and cold.

On the flat ground of the cave, Liuli had her eyes closed, her hands tightly clutching her chest. Her face showed great pain as she struggled to breathe, her breath coming out very weakly, as if her life was in danger at any moment.

There was still an extremely violent aura emanating from her that had not fully dissipated; that was a power called 'Immortal Arts'.

"How about it?"

Ayane asked with concern.

This was the first time she had ever seen Liuli so weak.

Her face was deathly pale, the color of a corpse, and her painful, labored breathing made it impossible to doubt that she might die at any moment.

However, considering the destructive power of that previous Fire Release technique, such aftereffects are to be expected.

Although the power of that fire jutsu could not compare to the power of the tailed beasts seen before, it was by no means an invincible power that ordinary ninjas could resist.

"Sage magic?" Ayane sighed inwardly.

I couldn't help but admire Liuli's boldness, and I also felt ashamed of myself for not being as good as her.

Under such circumstances, the difficulty of fusing natural energy and chakra is unimaginable.

Liuli did manage to do this, albeit with great difficulty, but the fact that she used immortal techniques is undeniable.

"This is serious, I need to operate immediately. Help me hold her down."

Shiraishi took out a scroll from his ninja tool bag, unraveled the jutsu on it, and a medical kit appeared on the ground, containing a full range of medicines and surgical instruments.

Even with his superb medical ninjutsu, there are still certain risks involved. However, in the current situation, the longer the time is delayed, the more likely it is that the optimal time for surgery will be missed.

Therefore, he had no choice but to risk undergoing surgery.

"I see."

Ayane walked over to Ruri and knelt down next to her, pressing Ruri's body down firmly with both hands.

Shiraishi took a deep breath, and then, under Ayane's surprised gaze, rolled up Ruri's clothes to reveal her snow-white abdomen, stopping only when the clothes reached her chest.

Ayane blushed immediately.

"Don't get distracted, just keep her under control."

Shiraishi's calm voice came through.

"Oh."

Ayane lowered her head, her face turning even redder.