Looking at Kaze, who looked utterly disbelieving, Yukino tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and spoke calmly.
"I'm sorry, Kaze. I have my own reasons."
Kaze remained silent, neither speaking nor trying to run away. It was pointless.
This brief delay was already enough for the terrifying figure behind them to catch up. He could already feel the fine sand hitting his face...
It was pointless. He could only hope that Sister Ayako would...
"Yukino, you bastard!"
Seeing this scene, Ayako's eyes were filled with rage. Without hesitation, she turned back and landed in front of Kaze.
She drew the thin sword from her waist and stabbed at Yukino. She also shouted to the person behind her, "My young master, you quickly..."
"Sister Ayako, you...!!"
Before Ayako could take a step—
A huge hand made of yellow sand flew over. Like swatting a mosquito, a finger bigger than Ayako flicked and landed on her.
Bang!
Ayako flew backwards like a weightless porcelain doll. After breaking branches in the air, she finally hit a big tree and fell silent.
"Sister Ayako!" Kaze's eyes were bloodshot. He clenched his fists tightly, and the killing intent in his heart boiled.
Yukino also looked in the direction of her former colleague with a complicated look in her eyes. According to the original plan, Ayako shouldn't have ended up like this.
Sand... sand... sand...
The boundless sand sea appeared in front of them again.
Yuta jumped down from a high place. He first glanced at Kaze, then looked at Yukino thoughtfully.
"So, you're the insider this time?" Yuta said.
Yukino bit her lips and whispered, "Yes, sir. I..."
"Alright, your mission is completed." Yuta interrupted Yukino. A cold look flashed in his eyes. "Now, you can die."
An insider should be sacrificed one - for - one. It was beneficial to him and the secret agents in Konoha.
Yuta raised his arms. Two huge hands stretched out from the yellow sand behind him and grabbed Kaze and Yukino respectively.
Seeing that the mission was about to be completed, he relaxed a little. "Successfully capturing the only son of Tanzō this time should be enough to exchange for a lot of benefits..."
Just then, an invisible wind blade dozens of meters long, accompanied by a shrill scream like a Kama Weasel, roared towards them.
"Wind Release: Ultra - Vacuum Wave!"
"Nani?!" Yuta was shocked. The sand sea behind him and the two huge hands that had just stretched out immediately protected him, temporarily forming a barrier in front of him.
However... it was useless!
The wind blade was fast and sharp. The yellow sand barrier and the chakra protecting him were like thin paper in front of the wind blade and were instantly broken through.
If someone looked down from above at this moment, they would find that the entire sand sea was split in two by this strike, which was extremely shocking!
Drip... drip...
Yuta covered his abdomen. Scarlet blood was constantly seeping out and dripping onto the ground.
If he hadn't retreated rapidly while defending, he would probably have been split in two by that Wind Release technique just like the sandy sea.
"As the so - called Sand Sea of Wind, you're attacking a few juniors. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at if word gets out?"
A figure, not particularly tall, stepped out of the darkness. The familiar voice made Kaze's eyes widen.
"Fa... Father?"
Kaze felt his head was in a mess. So many things had happened tonight that he couldn't sort out his thoughts for a moment.
"Tanzō..." Yuta's face turned grim.
Not only Tanzō, but also figures wearing white masks appeared one after another, looking at him indifferently.
"Truly the darkness of the Ninjas!" Yuta instantly understood everything and sneered, saying, "Tanzō, you're really cruel. I'm ashamed of myself."
What he referred to was not only that Tanzō sacrificed his subordinates like Yuto and Ayako and used his own son as bait to set an ambush for him.
But...
You know, the reason he believed the intelligence provided by this Konoha's undercover agent was that he had successively wiped out nearly a hundred Konoha squads based on this intelligence.
"Hundreds of lives... Tsk tsk. Is it really worth it for an uncertain chance?"
Tanzō seemed to understand what Yuta meant. His face remained calm as he calmly said, "As long as I can capture you, these sacrifices are worth it."
Yuta grinned, removed his hand from his abdomen, and hooked his finger at Tanzō.
"Then let's see if you've got the guts. I'm Yuta, and I won't go down without a fight! I'm the man who's gonna be the Fourth Kazekage!"
"Humph, then I'll let you have a taste of my power!"
Tanzō gave a cold snort, leaped into the air, and almost instantly formed the Hand Seals of Rat - Rabbit - Dog, spitting out streams of chakra towards Yuta.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
At this moment, Tanzō was like a pea - shooter on the battlefield. The streams of air he spat out were like machine - gun bullets, carrying terrifying kinetic energy capable of piercing through mountains and shattering rocks, continuously shooting towards Yuta.
"Earth Release: Quicksand Hell!"
Yuta roared as he clasped his hands together. The sandy sea behind him rose like a roaring tidal wave, surging and threatening to engulf everyone.
"My young master, it's dangerous here. We'll take you to a safe spot first."
Two Root Ninjas crept up on Kaze unnoticed. One on each side, they grabbed Kaze and carried him away into the distance without hesitation.
"Wait, Sister Ayako, and Uncle Yuto..."
Just as Kaze was about to resist, another Root Ninja said, "Don't worry, young master. Someone is taking care of them. Let's get out of here first."
Hearing this, Kaze felt relieved and allowed the two to carry him away.
Yukino tried to slip away in the chaos but was immediately subdued by two Root Ninjas and dragged off somewhere.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, the sky was filled with falling yellow sand. Kaze and the others barely managed to escape the area covered by the sandy sea.
There were continuous loud noises behind them, which meant the fight was raging.
Kaze and the others stopped. He silently looked back, his face showing a complex expression.
"What on earth is going on..."
Although he said so, Kaze had already sorted out the whole thing in his mind. He just didn't want to accept what he had figured out.
"My young master, Lord Tanzō will explain everything to you later. We'll take our leave first!"
"Oh, by the way, Haruna Ayako should be taken back to the camp. If you're worried, you can go back to the camp to see her first."
After saying that, the two Root Ninjas leaped back. Kaze didn't try to stop them. His mind was filled with mixed emotions.
On the way back to the camp, Kaze suppressed his irritable mood and forced himself to think about other things.
"Come to think of it... Why is father so powerful now? The combat power he showed just now far exceeded that in the anime!"
Well, it makes sense, though.
In the anime, when Tanzō went all out against Sasuke, he was already in his seventies.
But at this time, Tanzō was just in his forties, in the prime of his life. He also had Hashirama cells that were compatible with his body, which raised the upper limit of his physical ability. Naturally, his strength was far different.
Well, you could say he's achieved his wish of seeing his father become a great man.
"However, father is really ruthless..."
When he returned to the camp, Kaze went to see Ayako.
Ayako was seriously injured. It was unknown how many bones were broken, but fortunately, her internal organs weren't fatally damaged.
After being treated by several Medical Ninjas together, she had regained consciousness.
When she saw Kaze coming, Ayako showed a surprised expression regardless of her injuries.
"My young master, you're okay! That's great!"
"I'm fine, but you almost lost your life!" Kaze sat beside Ayako, looking at the bandages all over her body, and said crossly.
"Those guys were clearly after me. You weren't their match. Why didn't you just run away and come back instead!"
"Hehe, as long as you're okay." Ayako smiled, but then her mood suddenly dropped.
"But what about Senior Yuto... And Yukino... Why did she..."
Kaze held Ayako's hand and said softly, "This matter is very complicated. You should rest well first. I'll tell you about it later."
After visiting Yukino, Kaze returned to his own tent and waited quietly.
He knew that once everything had settled down, his father would give him a complete explanation.
And Tanzō didn't keep him waiting long. Soon, a Root Ninja came and took him to Tanzō's tent.