Chapter 1041: Feints and Surprise Attacks

Hatake Sakumo's tactics were simple.

The Root squad would be responsible for the feint, drawing the enemy's attention. Meanwhile, he himself would use his already peak-level Earth Release to infiltrate the enemy's formation, waiting for an opportunity to rescue the hostage.

The few Root ninja did not raise any questions regarding Hatake Sakumo's tactics, nor did they have the slightest objection to the relatively dangerous feint mission they were tasked with.

"Like 'tools' such as them, they will only be used by others unconditionally."

Seeing the numb expressions on their faces, Hatake Sakumo sighed inwardly.

"If there are no objections, prepare for battle."

Hatake Sakumo issued his final order.

"Yes!" XN

The ninja of the Root squad responded one after another.

In a remote forest in the Land of Bears, a very simple camp had been set up.

"Crackle!"

In the center of the camp, a bonfire was burning, the firewood constantly emitting slight popping sounds as it consumed.

An iron pot was perched over the fire, the boiling broth inside constantly wafting the aroma of food outward.

Beside the bonfire, several ninja sat in a circle, silently watching the dancing flames without saying a word.

These ninja all wore headbands engraved with four diagonal slashes; anyone with knowledge of the ninja world's landscape could see at a glance that the symbol on these headbands belonged to Kirigakure, one of the five great ninja villages of the current era.

This group was the Kirigakure ninja who had been pursued by Hatake Sakumo all the way here after abducting "Hai."

After traveling through the night, they had already left the borders of the Land of Fire and arrived in the Land of Bears, located in the buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.

At this moment, they were extremely close to the coastline of the Land of Bears; it wouldn't take long before they could completely leave the land and head toward the Land of Water.

And once they were out on the ocean, it would be the domain of the Kirigakure ninja.

No one could defeat the Kirigakure ninja on the open sea, unless they were a cheater.

Right now, the Kirigakure ninja were essentially making their final resupply before heading out to sea.

And it was precisely this resupply that gave Hatake Sakumo and his team the chance to catch up.

A silent atmosphere hung among the Kirigakure ninja, and beside them, a young boy wearing a Konoha headband looked particularly conspicuous.

The boy was currently in a state of unconsciousness and was tightly bound by several iron chains; he was the target of Hatake Sakumo's mission—the "Root" experiment, the ninja codenamed "Hai."

"Boom!!!!"

Just as they were sitting silently by the bonfire, a loud explosion suddenly erupted several hundred meters away.

Subsequently, bright flames shot into the sky, drawing the attention of the Kirigakure ninja by the fire.

This simple camp appeared incredibly lax, but in reality, it was not.

Ninja were hidden in the shadows on all sides of the camp, remaining vigilant at all times; the place where the explosion had just occurred was exactly the area where Kirigakure ninja were responsible for guarding.

"Swish!"

Several people stood up abruptly, their movements surprisingly uniform.

The Kirigakure ninja showed no signs of surprise; they exchanged glances and saw the deep understanding in each other's eyes.

"Xin, you and Ji stay behind."

"Protect 'Hai' well."

One Kirigakure ninja spoke to his companions around him.

"Yes." X2

The ninja "Xin" and "Ji" responded to the order.

Yet, strangely, even though "Xin" and "Ji" were tasked with guarding, they now wore solemn expressions, their eyes filled with determination.

Conversely, the Kirigakure ninja who went to intercept the enemy appeared even calmer. ===== CHAPTER 1043 =====