30+ chapters: patreon.com/Reborn_noob
Shoutout to Facon_227 for the huge donation. This chapter is sponsored by him
============
When Akano reappeared, the Sand Ninja present could clearly see the attacker's appearance. Upon recognizing Akano's attire, they shouted,
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"It's a ninja from Konohagakure!"
"They actually took the initiative to attack. Have the two countries declared war?!"
Ironically, Konohagakure and Sunagakure had been engaged in skirmishes for a month, yet neither side had formally declared war.
Konohagakure faced enemies on three fronts and was hesitant to further provoke Sunagakure.
Sunagakure, in turn, sought to secure its occupied territories in the Land of Rain and wished to avoid escalating the conflict with Konohagakure.
For the past month, the two sides had primarily engaged in tense standoffs along the front lines, with occasional tentative attacks that resembled more of a drill than full-scale warfare.
However, Danzō was now in a vulnerable position due to Hanzō's pressure, leaving him no choice but to dispatch several teams to raid the Sand Ninja's rear supply lines, catching the Sand Ninja off guard.
The Sand Ninja were initially unprepared, and their overall combat prowess was generally inferior to that of Konohagakure's ninja. Following Akano and his team's surprise attack, chaos erupted immediately.
However, under the command of their senior ninja, they quickly regained their composure and began to organize a counterattack.
But Akano and his men, having successfully executed their initial ambush, capitalized on their momentum and swiftly engaged the Sand Ninja in close-quarters combat. The Sand Ninja, renowned for their puppetry, were no match for Akano and his team's close combat skills.
Despite the Sand Ninja's desperate resistance, some managed to create distance.
"Water Release: Water Wave!"
"Lightning Release: Earth Walk!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Seeing the Sand Ninja retreating and preparing a counterattack, the Konohagakure ninja intensified their assault, unleashing a barrage of various ninjutsu upon the Sand Ninja.
"Puppet Technique!"
A massive wooden puppet suddenly appeared, intercepting the incoming ninjutsu.
"Boom!" The puppet was instantly obliterated by the sheer volume of ninjutsu, sending wooden shards flying across the Sand Ninja's position.
A dozen Sand Ninja scattered, dodging the splintered wood and puppet mechanisms while simultaneously attempting to fend off the attacks from Akano and his team.
But their formation had been shattered, and they were no match for Akano and his men. Moments later, all the Sand Ninja were eliminated.
"Clean up the battlefield, take anything usable, and burn the rest," Akano immediately ordered, surveying the fallen bodies.
"Captain, a large number of enemies are approaching rapidly! Retreat!"
At that moment, Tenchi suddenly shouted.
Tenchi, having confirmed the battle's conclusion, instinctively used his sensory abilities to scan the surrounding area for any remaining threats. He detected a significant number of Sand Ninja rapidly closing in on their position.
"Has the operation been compromised?" Chiye exclaimed, shocked, and immediately ordered everyone to retreat.
But it was already too late!
Half an hour prior, Ebizō had unexpectedly received a coded message detailing Konohagakure's planned attack on their supply line, including the precise time and location.
He knew that the specified route was indeed a Sand Ninja supply line, and their transport team was scheduled to pass through it at that very moment.
Although he couldn't determine the sender of the anonymous message, he decided to personally lead a team to investigate, just in case.
As a result, before even reaching the location mentioned in the letter, the sounds of battle could be heard from afar.
"Not good! The transport team has been attacked! Damn Konohagakure, how dare they? Speed up! We must not let them get away with this!"
While rumors had circulated about Danzō attempting to sow discord between the Land of Rain and Sunagakure, there was no concrete evidence, allowing Konohagakure to flatly deny any involvement when questioned by the two nations.
However, if it was confirmed this time that Konohagakure's ninja had indeed attacked their supply lines, then the two countries would inevitably declare war.
After all, although the two nations had been fighting for the past month, both sides understood the unspoken rules of engagement.
But if Konohagakure had genuinely launched a deliberate sneak attack on the Sand Ninja, then both sides would have had no room for diplomatic maneuvering.
When Ebizō and his team arrived at the scene, they were confronted with the gruesome sight of Sand Ninja corpses scattered across the ground and the transported supplies utterly destroyed.
Observing the hastily left tracks of the retreating attackers, Ebizō waved his hand and commanded,
"Chase them! We cannot let them escape."
"Hoohoo!"
Akano ran swiftly, leaping agilely between the branches of the giant trees, glancing back occasionally to ensure no obvious traces were left behind. Of course, the others also fled in different directions, deliberately leaving numerous tracks to confuse the pursuers and increase the chances of their comrades' survival.
'Who leaked the information?' Akano wondered to himself as he fled.
"There is a ninja at the three o'clock position within sensing range! The chakra reaction is intense!" a sensor ninja among the pursuing Sand Ninja troops called out loudly.
Ebizō said in a deep voice, "Understood. Team Six and Team Seven, flank from both sides and prevent his escape! Don't worry about the others for now; capture this one first. He should be the leader."
"Yes!"
Immediately, several ninja broke away from the main group, moving to the sides to encircle Akano.
Ebizō stared coldly in Akano's direction. He couldn't be certain if Konohagakure ninja were responsible, but since they dared to attack their transport team, they would not be allowed to escape.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!!"
A large number of Sand Village ninja swiftly surrounded Akano.
Akano had already endured a battle and then immediately began a hasty retreat.
Even though his chakra reserves were significantly larger than those of an average Jōnin, he was now exhausted, and his speed had noticeably decreased.
The distance between Ebizō and his team and Akano gradually narrowed until they were within a certain range. A senior ninja beside Ebizō's eyes flashed with a cold light.
"That's close enough!"
"Earth Release! Earth Surge Technique!"
He shouted, rapidly forming hand seals and slamming them onto the ground.
Earth Release ninjutsu was generally less potent in the humid Land of Rain, but certain specialized techniques, such as Earth Flow River and Earthquake Technique, could actually gain power and range in such conditions!
With the release of this Earth Release ninjutsu, the entire ground in front of Akano suddenly surged like violent waves, making it difficult for him to maintain his footing and drastically reducing his escape speed.
"Die!"
Another Sand Ninja nearby didn't hesitate, leaping forward with a short sword in hand, and suddenly slashing at Akano from behind.
Akano, hampered by the surging earth and unable to dodge effectively, quickly leaped into the air to evade the attack, but was still struck by the sword, the blade slicing from his left shoulder down to his right abdomen.
"Ah! Ah!" Akano no longer possessed the strength to resist. He lay on the ground, seriously wounded, blood bubbling from his mouth.
'This might truly be the end.' Akano's entire life flashed before his eyes, and he slowly succumbed to the encroaching darkness.
Seeing Akano dressed as a Konohagakure ninja, a Sand Ninja was about to step forward to deliver the final blow when suddenly a white figure burst forth from beneath Akano, swallowed him whole in a single gulp, and vanished with incredible speed.
"What was that just now?" Because the event happened so suddenly, Akano's body disappeared before Ebizō and the others could clearly identify the white figure.
Staring at the deserted patch of ground, Ebizō gritted his teeth in frustration and unwillingly commanded,
"Retreat!"
"Hmph! This matter is far from over! Just wait, Konohagakure! You think you can be the fisherman who profits while the snipe and the clam fight? That is wishful thinking!" Ebizō resolved to deliver a devastating blow to Konohagakure, and the outline of his plan began to take shape in his mind.