Chapter 130

*****

A group of four black-haired, unremarkable men carefully moved through the forest, examining every detail of the surroundings. Suddenly, each of them sensed something and jumped to the side.

- Who are you, strangers?! - An angry voice rang out.

Each of the group of men turned their heads warily, trying to determine the location of the enemy, but the voice seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"I am Hidetaka Sazuhiro, captain of the Hidden Leaf Village's Team Eighty-Seven, and you?" The Root Anbu reconnaissance team leader said, trying to contact the other teams and request reinforcements, but all communications were blocked.

"This is the territory of the Nakayama Family, and I ask you, outsiders, to leave in peace. We are peace-loving and do not violate anything, but we will not allow outsiders to invade our home." Kenshin said imperiously, projecting his voice from all sides.

- Okay, let us go, and we will not disturb you. - The commander said, deciding not to get involved in a conflict with an unknown enemy. In his long life, he had seen a lot, but for the first time he found himself in such an incomprehensible situation. He had already managed to assess the danger of the trap they found themselves in, and realized that they would not be able to get out of it so easily. Before Kenshin arrived, they had already tried to get out of this territory several times, but no matter what they did, nothing worked, and the scout team from Root always returned to the same place.

- Just no nonsense, I wouldn't want to kill a group of shinobi from Root and quarrel with your superiors. Do you understand me, Yamada Norio?

Norio broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing his real name. For the first time in a long time, he was scared, and immediately said respectfully with a trembling voice, "Y-yes sir, I understand. Sorry for disturbing you!"

- You are free. And next time, if Konoha wants to talk, let them send an official representative. We are not enemies, and we will be happy to cooperate with the village of the hidden leaf. - Kenshin said a little more kindly, and deactivated the formation, allowing the detachment from Root to go outside without any problems, and disappear into the depths of the forest.

*****

"But how did they bypass the primary detection formations?" Kasumi asked in surprise, sitting on the crown of a tall tree.

- It's all about their clothing. It's all covered in concealment fuinjutsu. Most likely, it was made against sensor shinobi, but for some reason it worked on our formations as well. I managed to study the structure of these fuin a little, so the formations will be improved in the near future. - Kenshin said in a serious tone, not ceasing to watch the group of shinobi from Root.

"What are they doing now?" Kasumi asked. She was very unhappy that someone from outside decided to interfere with their peaceful life, and wanted the strangers to leave as soon as possible.

"All three groups have united, and are apparently deciding what to do next," Kenshin replied, not letting up on his concentration.

- If they decide to attack, none of them will leave alive. With the Patriarch's Aura, I can handle them alone! - Ichiro declared, earning a displeased look from his father.

- Don't get cocky. The Root shinobi are professionals, and I wouldn't be surprised if these three groups could take out several Jonin. We can handle them without much trouble, but taking out three Root teams would attract a lot of attention, which could ultimately cost us our lives.

"You're right, father, forgive me..." Ichiro said guiltily. Even for the incredibly stable psyche of Kenshin's sons, it was difficult to resist primitive worldly vices such as pride. Therefore, Kenshin had to bring all his arrogant sons down to earth from time to time.

Kenshin did not answer, and only focused on the Root shinobi. After a few minutes, they finally decided to retreat, because they had not received an order to destroy the Nakayama Family. They had already learned the approximate location of this mercenary group, and received valuable information that these mercenaries were quite strong.

Seeing the strangers leave, Kenshin relaxed a little, and watched them for about half an hour through two ravens and a falcon until they left the forest, and only then was Kenshin able to breathe deeply.

- The strangers have left, but we have little time. Ichiro, you and your group are responsible for my protection tonight. In the morning, you will be relieved by the Fifteenth's group. We must hurry and arrange the move as soon as possible. - Kenshin ordered.

"You haven't slept much for the last few days anyway!" Kasumi stated. She didn't like the idea of her beloved man exhausting himself so much.

"It's okay if we hold out – I'll have plenty of time to rest," Kenshin replied with a smile, and stroked his third wife's head. She was wearing a smooth hood with small protruding "ears", and he could barely contain his smile as he stroked her.

At that moment, for the first time, he wanted a daughter so much. And although his wives showered him with tenderness and affection, he knew that a daughter's love for her father would be an incomparable experience, and at that moment he decided to sort this issue out at any cost.

Kasumi looked with a little surprise at how tenderly Kenshin stroked her, and how gentle a smile adorned his face at that moment. It was the first time she saw him so gentle, so she didn't even try to interrupt this state, enjoying his caress.

- Ahem... Let's go, Kasumi, we have some work to do. - Kenshin said, a little embarrassed, and flew with his wife to Block B -4, where there was a lot of work.

******

- How interesting... What happened in this forest that made these unprincipled puppets of the Root retreat in horror?.. - Hideo Hyuga muttered in surprise.

Initially, he wanted to explore this forest, in which, according to available information, the Nakayama Family base was located, but even a very strong Byakugan worked with great distortions, not giving him complete information.

An hour earlier, when Hideo was about to go deeper and explore this strange place more thoroughly, he noticed one group of shinobi from the Root Anbu, and eventually the other two. He had no doubt that they were Root shinobi, because they were the only ones wearing so many fuin that blocked any scanning.

If it weren't for his highly developed and powerful Byakugan, Hideo wouldn't have even been able to spot them from a kilometer away. But thanks to the fact that he was one of the strongest shinobi of the clan's branch, spotting several hiding Chunin was no problem at all.

Seeing Root's bloodhounds, he decided to just watch. When they fell into the "trap", Hideo was amazed. Inside the small area of the forest, there was a real mess. Everything was so distorted that he rubbed his eyes several times.

In front of his eyes, the four Root shinobi were acting like idiots, rushing first one way and then the other, running in circles. The only thing that came to his mind was the strongest genjutsu, but he knew how strong the psyche of any Root shinobi was, so the desire to poke around in the territory with such a powerful genjutsu was greatly reduced.

When all the trackers had safely retreated and reunited with their allies, and then after discussing something, left the forest, Hideo was in thought. He did not know what happened inside and how dangerous this area was, so he decided to return to Konoha, and observe what the village of the hidden leaf will do regarding the Nakayama Family.