Chapter 397: What, you just ran away?

The other side of the Whirlpool Country's coast.

"Stop them!"

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang stared expressionlessly toward the Kirigakure troops not far away.

The ANBU, hearing the command, immediately charged forward.

This caught the newly landed Kirigakure forces off guard.

"Damn, how did Konoha's ninja end up here?"

The Third Generation Water Shadow's face darkened, his gaze landing on Tuan Cang.

Even the Hokage of Konoha arrived in person.

Could it be that someone leaked the information to Konoha Village?

Not allowing him to think further, seeing the ANBU closing in, he could only hastily prepare to fight.

The ANBU and Kirigakure elite instantly erupted into a fierce battle.

Because Zhi Cun Tuan Zang had learned the news in advance, he brought along the vast majority of the village's ANBU.

Meanwhile, Kirigakure Village had only a few dozen people.

In numbers they had no advantage and quickly fell behind.

The Third Generation Water Shadow, seeing the situation turn bad, entertained thoughts of retreat.

But he recalled he was not alone.

On the island there were also Cloud Hidden Village and Iwagakure Village.

As long as they held out a while longer, reinforcements could arrive.

By then, the balance of attack and defense would shift!

With that in mind, the Third Generation Water Shadow gritted his teeth and charged at Zhi Cun Tuan Zang.

Capture the king first when catching a thief.

Tuan Cang shared the same thought, and the two soon clashed.

"You aren't hoping for reinforcements, are you?"

Tuan Cang sneered, thrusting his kunai straight into the Mizukage's throat.

The Third Generation Water Shadow sidestepped, a look of horror flashing in his eyes.

The Hokage actually knew he had reinforcements!

Sure enough, the news of the attack on Whirlpool Country had indeed been exposed.

Konoha Village had long prepared a contingency.

Who exactly leaked the information to Konoha?!

A short figure floating in midair involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

If anyone were to inform Konoha of the intel,

it would probably only be Kirigakure Village's mortal enemy—

Third Generation Earth Shadow Da Ye Mu.

The Third Generation Water Shadow watched his subordinates falling back in waves, and the reinforcements that never arrived.

Unconcealed anger flashed in his eyes.

"Da Ye Mu, you really are cunning!"

As long as the Iwagakure troops don't come to aid,

with their numbers, they are no match for Konoha's ANBU.

At that point, only two paths lay before them.

Either they miraculously break through, or they are captured alive—or killed!

And Da Ye Mu needs to do nothing to wipe them all out.

Heh, seems I was too foolish.

I haven't seen through it as clearly as the Cloud Hidden Village brutes…

I once thought this world held no permanent hatred, only permanent interests.

But Da Ye Mu gave him a lesson with his actions.

Tuan Cang, in the middle of forming a seal, was somewhat bewildered.

He didn't understand why the Mizukage casually mentioned Da Ye Mu.

Though full of doubt, the seal on his hand did not stop.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Orb!"

Seeing this, the Third Generation Water Shadow's eyes showed a hint of madness.

Now there is only a desperate gamble!

When he breaks through and safely returns to the village, he will definitely not let Da Ye Mu go unpunished!

Ideals are abundant, reality is lean.

Even though Kirigakure's elite have a natural advantage by the sea,

they still cannot withstand the sheer numbers of Konoha's ANBU.

What made it even more frustrating was that among the ANBU were several members of the Hyuga Clan.

The powerful Kirigakure techniques proved useless.

The battle ended quickly.

The Third Generation Water Shadow was pinned hard to the ground by the ANBU, his eyes reddening as he looked at the corpses of his comrades around him.

"Damned Da Ye Mu, I will not rest until I kill you!"

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang: "???"

Mizukage, is there something wrong with his brain?

Why keep complaining about Da Ye Mu?

He instinctively looked around, but did not see Da Ye Mu's figure.

"Lock him up."

Tuan Cang did not probe further and ordered the ANBU to imprison the Mizukage.

A living Kage is more valuable than a dead Kage!

He believes Kirigakure Village would gladly exchange a trivial amount of money for their Water Shadow Lord.

Tuan Cang gazed at the dark sky and murmured softly.

"Are there three ninja villages in total?"

Saying that, he carried the person and rushed toward the location of the last fired signal flare.

"Ri Zhan, is the battle over?"

Halfway there, Tuan Cang saw Ri Zhan and the Spiral Clan Leader approaching with a group of Uzumaki clan members.

The two squads met each other.

"Hmm, Lian Ye defeated the Third Generation Earth Shadow, and then left."

Yuanfei Rizhan explained what had just happened.

Third Generation Earth Shadow?

The Third Generation Water Shadow stretched his neck and indeed spotted Da Ye Mu, who had been bound by the Five-Flower Great Bind.

"Hahaha, Heaven has eyes!"

He couldn't help but laugh.

He didn't expect Konoha to spare Da Ye Mu, who had been the informant.

Wait, that's not right...

The Third Generation Water Shadow suddenly realized that Da Ye Mu had already been captured.

Logically, it couldn't have been the information he leaked.

It now seems the murderer is someone else.

In his mind, Da Ye Mu's figure slowly faded, replaced by a black‑skinned hulking man.

Could that reckless Raikage really commit such a treacherous act?

The Third Generation Water Shadow stared at the distant signal flare, lost in thought.

All we can do is see whether the Raikage will be captured.

If he gets caught, it proves the information didn't come from him.

The converse holds as well.

Directly beneath the distant signal flare.

"Raikage, I didn't expect you to be involved."

Lian Ye, whose arrival on the Battlefield was unknown, fixed his gaze on the black‑skinned hulking man.

The Second Generation Raikage was battling Uzumaki clan members.

Hearing a familiar voice, he suddenly froze in place.

He instinctively turned his head.

He saw a long‑haired man with a stern face, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

The Second Generation Raikage's pupils abruptly contracted, and some unpleasant memories surfaced in his mind.

Yuzhi Bo Lianye, Cloud Hidden Village's absolute nightmare!

The moment they saw Lian Ye, the Second Generation Raikage and the Cloud Hidden elite turned and fled without hesitation.

Since the war ended, Cloud Hidden Village has had an unwritten rule.

Whenever one encounters Yuzhi Bo Lianye, do not hesitate; immediately abandon the mission and withdraw.

And those words were spoken by the Second Generation Raikage!

Several clever Cloud Hidden elites ran off the instant Lian Ye appeared.

At that time, the Raikage was still in shock.

Lian Ye stared at the sprinting Cloud Hidden ninjas, his face bewildered.

"What, they just ran?"

Especially the frontmost Cloud Hidden ninjas, who ran even faster than the Raikage.

But he quickly recovered, hurriedly gave chase.

He couldn't just let this group escape.

Especially the Second Generation Raikage!

Lian Ye still hoped to extort a hefty sum from Cloud Hidden Village by using the Raikage.

The Second Generation Raikage was soon caught up to by Lian Ye.

"Jie jie jie, Lord Raikage, long time no see!"

……

"Are we really going to abandon Lord Raikage like this?"

"Stop the nonsense; staying means certain death!"

"How about we return to the Village and seek support..."

"Lord Raikage, wait a moment; we'll go find someone to rescue you right away!"

The Cloud Hidden ninjas looked toward the Raikage, who had been intercepted by the Poison Master in the distance, and shouted.

……

……

ps: I originally planned to take a day off and rest, but on second thought I scrapped it, so I dragged my exhausted body and wrote two chapters, Eek eek eek……