Chapter 214

Approximately ten minutes after the battle between Kaito and the Senju brothers, a large group of ninja from the Hidden Stone Village encircled the area.

A young man stood at the forefront of the crowd, his complexion seemingly somewhat off.

Especially after witnessing the transformation of the area, his inner self was continuously sinking.

This young man was Bungo, and as the youngest elite ninja of the Hidden Stone Village, his mission this time was weighty.

He knew this was an opportunity to be honed, so he made thorough preparations before setting out.

He forced himself to memorize the nearby maps completely; he demanded from himself absolute diligence without any slack.

Because this time, who he was facing was a precursor who once established the ninja village model and, even more, once a victor against four opponents!

Whenever anyone faced the Leaf, they could not help but feel immense pressure, and Bungo, even with his lofty pride, was no exception.

Even though the Leaf had chosen to compromise and concede when previously threatened by the Hidden Cloud Village, this time the Leaf's choice seemed to bring to light its former self.

Faced with such a Leaf, probably no one in the entire ninja world would dare say they could be unconcerned, that they could handle it with ease.

Especially within the Leaf, there was a person who had killed Kitsuchi, which made Bungo even more need to be alert and careful.

Kitsuchi's strength was extremely potent; there was no successor in the entire Hidden Stone Village who dared say they could surely defeat him.

But now, Kitsuchi was actually killed in a mere instant?

The news was known only to the elite ninja within the Hidden Stone Village, and Bungo, being one, naturally knew as well.

It was precisely because he knew this news that he had to be even more cautious.

Currently, he was waiting for the investigation report to be produced, but the waiting process was a torment, particularly as witnessing the current situation intensified the agony.

He knew that this place was originally a lush forest, but at this moment, where was there even a trace of its forest-like appearance?

The traces of trees had almost been utterly obliterated, replaced by a massive crater and the lingering chakra that even now made one feel suffocated.

Bungo knew that these traces might not have been done by the people of the Leaf.

But the issue was that encountering such an incident at this sensitive time point, Bungo had to take into consideration the problem of 'it might be the Leaf'!

After all, when Kitsuchi led so many troops to encircle Deidara and encountered Uchiha Kaito, the result was devastating.

That individual, relying solely on his own power, killed so many of their men, and it's said that almost none of the dead were left whole.

Everyone's bodies were torn apart; limbs and severed arms were scattered all over the ground.

This is why Kitsuchi was so furious, why he lost his reason, pursuing to kill the opposition.

"Lord Bungo, the results are in."

As Bungo was deep in contemplation, a young Stone Ninja approached him and spoke softly.

"According to our findings, there was a battle here involving two or perhaps more individuals, and their powers were immensely strong.

From the traces on the scene, we deduced the presence of fire and earth powers, and of course, powers of various other types in many places.

As for the strength of these powers, I apologize, we truly cannot imagine because it has exceeded our understanding.

In addition, there are large amounts of toxins deposited here, these toxins are extremely dangerous, and someone has already been poisoned during the examination.

Thankfully, these toxins don't seem to be lethal; their main effect appears to be paralysis.

But regardless, these powers are terrifying, and the people who used these powers are incalculable.

We were so far away, but their camp is"

At this point, the Stone Ninja seemed to find it hard to continue.

So far away, yet their camp can now only be described as utterly chaotic because those terrifying fluctuations truly destroyed their base.

And it wasn't just their camp; not far behind them, the area of the Grass Country actually controlled and administered by the Hidden Stone, also suffered some damage.

Such a situation really cannot be simply summarized with a statement of 'very bad,' and they have truly never encountered such a situation before.

"I understand, you finish the report immediately."

Bungo took a deep breath, then spoke with utmost seriousness.

"List all the personnel we've lost and those who need rescuing, and comprehensively record the entire situation on the scene.

We must report these circumstances to the village because this is no longer a time when we can make decisions on our own.

We need support now, substantial support, and if possible, I hope Lord Han can come over.

Even if there's no need for him to take action, his presence as a deterrent and a trump card would suffice, since the situation we encountered earlier is overly complicated."

At this point, Bungo paused. He knew what calling the Jinchuriki over implied.

But the current situation genuinely pressed heavily upon him, even if it was not Leaf Ninjas he must be wary of.

If those who acted have any thoughts toward Hidden Stone, what could the ninjas here do?

"I understand."

The young Stone Ninja quickly nodded, and after confirming that he had thoroughly recorded everything, he then continued to ask, lifting his head,

"Lord Bungo, is there anything else to be conveyed?"

"Yes, in a moment, notify all, and have all the uninjured ninjas quickly form groups."

Bungo pondered for a moment before speaking with utmost seriousness.

"Have them quickly form five groups, two groups responsible for guard patrol duties—they have encountered such a situation earlier, no one knows how Leaf will react.

At the same time, have a team act as a mobile unit, so once the patrol groups encounter enemies, they can immediately provide support.

The remaining two groups, one in charge of caring for the wounded, the other responsible for rebuilding the camp.

These matters must be dealt with swiftly, and the situation must be stabilized, as we wait for support from the village."

Bungo's thinking remained extremely agile; in just a moment, he had already completely figured out how to handle these matters.

The pressure of war indeed is most adept at forcing growth, whether as a frontline warrior or a commander.

Because a slight mishandling is tantamount to joking with one's own and even the entire unit's lives.

After finishing these instructions, Bungo took a deep breath and once again turned his gaze toward the deep pit before him.

He truly couldn't comprehend who might possess such power; all he could hope for now was that such a person did not hail from the Leaf.

Moreover, witnessing the scenes before him, he genuinely felt that his pressure had notably magnified.

As a frontline commander, what he had to do was resist the Leaf's encroachment!

Although saying so was indeed somewhat improper, because they were the ones who actively ignited the war, at this moment, they indeed could only defend.

Because their true commander, the soul of the Hidden Stone Village, the Third Tsuchikage, hadn't come; he had his own matters to deal with.

The pressure now naturally fell upon Bungo.

Bungo still remembered how utterly thrilled he was when he first learned of his assignment.

But now, he felt no excitement whatsoever; all he could sense was a thick suffocation.

Kaito might not know what sort of consequences and speculations his fierce battle with the Senju brothers had ignited, but at this moment, Kaito's expression was somewhat inexplicable.

Negotiating with Orochimaru didn't particularly surprise him, after all, Orochimaru was a smart individual.

Moreover, the confrontational relationship between Kaito and [the individual he planned to oppose] was also due to their respective positions. Of course, Orochimaru having some inappropriate thoughts couldn't be ruled out either.

But generally speaking, unless it was necessary, their confrontation was more akin to merely accomplishing a task.

That's also why Orochimaru could so decisively betray both the Akatsuki organization and Hidden Stone.

This guy was a pure example of 'happy to work for you, but don't expect loyalty'.

Perhaps Orochimaru was only ever loyal to the Leaf once upon a time, but once he harbored new thoughts within.

Or rather, once he ascertained his heart's true will, he no longer possessed any loyalty to speak of.

For him, everything he did was in pursuit of an answer, an answer that the will within his heart desired to find.

And when he found this answer, that was when he had, after going through life and death, seen Sasuke in his later period.

Of course, while Orochimaru's matters were important to Kaito, the most vital were still the Senju brothers, Hashirama and Tobirama!

Kaito actually also didn't know whether it was Orochimaru dispelling the Reanimation Jutsu on the two brothers that gave him the mark.

//

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