59. Hunt

In a forest near the border of the Land of Fire.

Whoosh…

Kisuke flickers through the forest with his escort group. His escort group includes five Uzumaki clan members and two Konoha jounins.

"Kisuke-sama, we are already at the border of the Land of Fire. The disputed territory of the Forest of Hell is a few kilometers up ahead. We must be careful in this area." The Konoha jounin warns them.

"I am sorry for troubling you. If not for my insistence on reaching Uzushiogakure early, we could have taken the longer and safer route." Kisuke sighs and apologizes to the Konoha jounin.

"Kisuke-sama… I understand your concern. You shoulder the responsibility of an entire clan on your shoulders. So, some issues are bound to crop up as a result of your long absence." The jounin shakes his head.

Kisuke and the rest of the group conceal their presence and enter the forest of hell. An ancient and umber brown forest greets them. The composting, organic smell rose in waves like a miasma. The damp and humid environment reeks of the mulchy mix of the forest. Shuffling noises came from deep in the interior, deadened by the cunningly woven web of leaves.

Further up ahead, the slinking sounds of wild animals mix up with the hooting of various birds. Kisuke and the group carefully traverse through the forest while erasing their trails.

There is a story behind the forest of hell. During the warring era, multiple shinobi clans clashed in this forest. Their battle lasted for a decade. Rivers of blood flowed at this place and the mutilated corpses of shinobi piled into a mountain similar to the netherworld. Thus, the reason this forest gets its name.

Hmm…

Kisuke frown as suddenly an ominous premonition strikes his heart.

Whoosh…

He pauses in his tracks, surprising his escorts.

Sheesh…

He signals his group to stay silent and uses hand signals to warn them of the enemy's presence. The eyes of the rest of the team narrow and they quickly conceal their presence.

The Uzumaki clan members swiftly make some hand signs and draw a Fuinjutsu seal on the ground to create a camouflaging illusion formation around them. This illusion formation, paired with the natural camouflage of the thick shrubs and vines, serves as a perfect hideout for the group.

The group holds its breath and patiently waits for the enemies to show up.

A few minutes later,

A few shinobis with Kumogakure headbands appear in their vicinity. Kisuke and the group peek at their group from the shelter of their temporary hideout.

A person who seems to be the leader of the Kumogakure issues a series of orders to his subordinates. The Kumo shinobis swiftly disperse in the surroundings and conceal their presence.

"That's… that's Metal B!" The Konoha jounin recognizes the shinobi in charge of Kumo shinobis.

"Metal B?! Is he that Metal B, the adoptive brother of the previous Raikage and the right-hand man of the current Third Raikage?" The Uzumaki clan member asks in surprise.

"Yes, it's him! I am pretty sure about it. That lightning-shaped scar around his left eye is proof of that." The jounin nods in confirmation.

"But what's he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be at the battlefront against Iwagakure?" The other Konoha jounins ask in confusion.

"From the look of it, they seem to be waiting to ambush someone." Kisuke speculates on the behavior of the group.

"Let's wait a bit to figure out their intentions. Given their numbers, we don't want to pick a fight against them." He adds.

The group waits for half a day, but the Kumogakure group doesn't move from their position. Just as the Kumo group was losing patience, another group of shinobi arrive at that place.

The eyes of Kisuke and his escort group member narrow as they recognize the newcomer as the shinobis from Kirigakure.

"What's Kiri shinobi doing at such a place? Were the Kumo shinobi waiting to ambush them? Kisuke speculates as he observes the situation.

Metal B's group also notices the presence of the Kiri group.

"Should we attack them?" One of the elite jounin captains of Kumogakure asks Metal B.

"No, we will wait! They aren't our target. Also, their forces don't lack in comparison to ours. And their leader…"

Metal B recognizes the leader of Kiri's party.

"He is the right-hand man of the current Mizukage."

Before the Kiri group could settle, Kisuke senses a few more chakra signatures.

"That's…" Kisuke's expression pales as he recognizes the shinobi's chakra signature.

"What's the matter, Lord Kisuke?" The Uzumaki clan members notice his expression.

"I am afraid someone leaked our whereabouts." A grim expression appears on Kisuke's face.

Soon, the shinobis from Sunagakure and Iwagakure also gather at that place. All three parties confront each other in a tight deadlock.

Hmm…

Metal B also frowns as he spots the shinobis from other nations. It doesn't take him long to figure out their intention.

"Looks like they are here for the same purpose as us." He mumbles and turns to his group.

"There is no need for us to hide." He signals his people and reveals himself before the other three groups.

"Metal B?"

The commander of other shinobi nations recognizes Metal B.

Whoosh…

A gust of wind breezes through the forest as the four groups confront each other. Their shinobis wield their weapons, ready to battle at command.

The four leaders silently glare at each other. None of them speaks a word as they scrutinize each other's forces.

At some distance, on a nearby cliff.

The Root shinobis silently observe the movement of forces of the four shinobi nations. Their purpose is to confirm the death of Kisuke Uzumaki and report the situation to their hidden forces deployed at a distance from this place.

After the forces of the four shinobi nations assassinate Kisuke, Danzo will lead his overwhelming force to kill them all and deal a fatal blow to the four shinobi nations.

Somewhere in a hidden place on another cliff,

Black Zetsu silently observes the movement of Root shinobis and four great nation's shinobis.

"Kuku… does this Danzo really think that everything is going according to his plan?" The white Zetsu remarks.

"This is a perfect opportunity for us to wipe the Uzumaki clan. Uzumaki clan is one of the biggest hurdles to achieving our goal." Black Zetsu mumbles.

"Oh, Blackie… do you have a plan?" The white Zetsu turns to Black Zetsu.

"Mm… let's activate our hidden Zetsu we sneaked among their forces." Black Zetsu gazes at the four shinobi nations.

Swoosh…

He enters the ground and silently appears behind the Root Shinobis.

Vines erupt from the ground and wrap around the two Root shinobis.

"What the…"

Before the Root shinobis could respond, the poison laced in Zetsu's vines paralyzes them.

"Kuku… I like this plan of yours." A twisted smile appears on white Zetsu's face.

Slash… slash…

Two dead bodies fell to the ground and Zetsu disappear from his place.

"Commander, should we attack them?"

A few shinobis from each camp break the silence.

"Why not? We are at war with them. So, they are our enemies." Other few shinobis murmur among themselves.

Metal B and the rest of the commander frown.

Currently, all of their forces are evenly matched. If they engage in a fight, they will suffer many casualties and will most likely fail the mission. So, none of them are willing to take the risk.

"Since none of us are willing to fight each other, why don't we call a truce?" Eventually, the commander of Sunagakure proposes.

Among all the forces present here, their platoon is the weakest.

Hmm…

The rest of the commander glances at each other and, after pondering for a while, nods in agreement.

"Very well! We are here on a very urgent mission. Once we fulfill our mission; we will retreat." Metal B remarks.

"It's the same for us as well!" The Suna representative remarks.

"We too!" Iwa and Kiri's representative also nods at them.

All four groups separate themselves in their respective camps and silently wait while their Sensor shinobis monitor the situation.

Back in the bushes,

An ugly expression appears on the faces of Kisuke and his escort group.

"Which traitor betrayed us?" One of the Konohagakure elite jounin clutches his fist.

Their situation is very clear to them. All four shinobis are here to hunt down their group, and their main objective is none other than their current target of protection, Kisuke Uzumaki.