Escape From Konoha

"What was the outcome of the negotiations?"

The envoys of Sunagakure and Kumogakure have been staying in Konoha for several days. These days, they have been holding secret meetings with Shikaku in the small conference room of the Hokage Building.

On a whim, Tsunade called Shikaku to ask about the results of the three-party meeting.

Lu Jiu rubbed his eyebrows, opened his mouth and replied:

"The matter is basically finalized. As long as the time comes, Sunagakure and Kumogakure will send people to assist. Next, we only need to discuss the specific steps for action."

"Where's the personnel list?"

Tsunade asked.

After all, the person we have to deal with this time is a slippery and dangerous rebellious ninja like Orochimaru, and he will probably have to deal with Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi at the same time. Konoha's side alone does seem to be powerless.

It would be great if we could get support from Sunagakure and Kumogakure.

"After they go back, they will hand it over to the Kazekage and Raikage for a decision. At about the end of this month, the list of participants will be sent to Konoha. Considering that this is a special operation, ninjas in action must have special abilities. , the personnel list cannot be put together in a short while."

Shikaku responded.

"Yes, and we also need to consider that this is a trap designed by the enemy for us. However, can Sunagakure really not be able to temporarily extradite the body of the Red Sand Scorpion to Konoha? If that is the case, it would be You can directly confirm the authenticity of this information.”

Tsunade said.

Shikaku pondered for a while and said: "I also asked Ye Cang for confirmation on this matter. Sunagakure's Anbu thought that the corpse of the Red Sand Scorpion was too strange, and there was no way to extract any information from his brain. Then Sunagakure's The ANBU secretly disposed of the body of the Red Sand Scorpion in accordance with Kazekage's order."

To be honest, Shikaku couldn't decide whether this was true or false.

Moreover, Scorpion's body is in Sunagakure's hands, and Konoha cannot prove the truth.

"It's completely unlike Rasa's style to dispose of the body so hastily... Moreover, as soon as Chiyo of Sunagakure returned to the Kingdom of Wind after her previous actions, news of her death immediately spread. No matter how you look at it, it's very strange. .”

Tsunade frowned, her tone laced with annoyance.

Sunagakure must be hiding something secretly by doing this.

"It's too late to explore now. Next, let's focus on Orochimaru. If Scorpion's information is true, then the relationship between Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke should actually belong to the hostile camp. Kaka Nishi's attitude is unclear, and he is not sure whether he will help Orochimaru or Uchiha Sasuke. But no matter which one, it means that they have begun to split internally. "

Lu Jiu felt that they must seize this golden opportunity, even if it was a trap dug for them by others, they could not miss it.

"Then start two different plans, take into account the possibility that the intelligence is a trap, and formulate an alternative plan so that you can safely evacuate if there is an accident in the operation."

Shikaku nodded, he would do the same without Tsunade explaining.

As long as you grasp Orochimaru's line, you can quickly find those lost tail beasts through the opponent. At the same time, you can also pull out the hidden hands in the ninja world from the shadows, and get rid of this disadvantage of being in the dark. .

This time, Konoha must go all out.

◎

"Do you need to practice with me?"

In the clearing of the forest, a gust of wind mixed with chill blew by. Jiraiya looked at Naruto who was standing in front of him making a solemn request, showing an expression of surprise.

"Yes, lustful immortal, the only one who can help me now is you."

Naruto rubbed his hands, as if he was convinced of Jiraiya.

"Even if you say so, I still have important things to do next and I don't have time to practice with you."

Jiraiya scratched his head in embarrassment. Although there were still two or three months to prepare for the arrest of Orochimaru, as a Sannin, he must prepare in advance.

Facing a ninja of Orochimaru's level, even half a year's preparation in advance is not an exaggeration.

"By the way, didn't I practice with you in the past? For example, for physical training, I should have taught you these skills carefully."

Jiraiya frowned in confusion.

"It has nothing to do with that kind of thing. What I want is a real fight."

"Real battle, you mean..."

Jiraiya slowed down for a moment before he seemed to understand what Naruto meant.

"Yes, I want to have a real battle with you, the lustful immortal, which is different from the previous training. Please fight with me."

Naruto wrapped his palm tightly around his fist and stared at Jiraiya with a burning gaze.

Although he had fought with Jiraiya in the past, a battle of that level could only be regarded as an adult giving tricks to a child, which was completely different from a real battle.

As if aware of the determination in Naruto's eyes, Jiraiya's expression became slightly serious.

Is it because during this operation, I clearly felt that there was a huge experience gap between myself and the powerful ninja? Jiraiya guessed so.

If it weren't for these reasons, Naruto wouldn't have suddenly approached him and asked for a battle.

It was obvious that Naruto was aware of his own shortcomings and wanted to conduct targeted practice in this area.

Indeed, in the past two years, he did teach Naruto many techniques, including physical combat, the timing of Ninjutsu, and how to deal with illusions that he was not good at... But those things were only training after all, not actual combat.

These shortcomings are easily exposed by fighting against truly powerful enemies.

"I see."

Jiraiya nodded and agreed to Naruto's request.

Naruto's face lit up with joy.

"That……"

"But not now."

Jiraiya immediately refused, as if there was no room for negotiation.

"Eh? Why?"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya in confusion.

"They say I have important things to do now. Even if I'm sparring with you, I have to put it behind this."

"You have something important to do. Are you planning to be lazy and write those obscene novels?"

Naruto's eyes were filled with contempt, as if he had seen through Jiraiya's character.

Jiraiya snorted and said sternly: "That's not some obscene novel, it's great art! Do you know how many people in this world can only write what I wrote in the dark and lonely night? Do you want to use the book to comfort yourself? If they cannot vent their excess desires, it will increase the crime rate in the ninja world. My purpose in writing this book is for the peace of the ninja world!"

Looking at Jiraiya who was full of righteousness and talking shamelessly here, the corner of Naruto's mouth twitched.

Although his mind is indeed not very bright, writing obscene novels and insisting on linking them to the peace of the ninja world is an excuse no matter how you look at it.

This guy's head is full of unhealthy and dirty thoughts, and he is probably hopeless.

"Besides, I don't have time to write a novel now. I need to track down Orochimaru."

Jiraiya coughed, and seemed to feel that what he said before was too forceful, and even he felt a little ashamed.

"Orochimaru!?"

Upon hearing this name, Naruto's voice suddenly became loud.

"Hey, what's going on, you lustful immortal?"

"Well... what else could it be? Didn't you learn from the dead Scorpion that Orochimaru will attack Uchiha Sasuke in June this year. And it's almost March now, so far away There are less than three months left in June, so as a Sannin, I must take the lead to verify the authenticity of the intelligence."

Jiraiya felt that Naruto was also aware of this matter, so he did not hide the news that he was going to gather information alone.

"Are you going alone?"

"Of course, after all, I am one of the three ninjas. I am a top-notch expert in gathering information."

After all, whether it is the deserted mountains and forests, the taverns and casinos in the bustling city, or even the Fengyue Club, they are all the sources of his information.

Familiar with the knowledge of various religions and disciplines, Jiraiya believed that few people in the ninja world could compare with him in this regard.

"Then, take me with you, Erotic Sage. I will go with you to find out about Orochimaru."

Naruto became excited and asked.

"no."

Jiraiya refused to allow Naruto to follow without negotiation.

Before Naruto could speak, Jiraiya continued: "With you by my side, I can't find out the information carefully. Besides, your hiding skills are too poor. If you follow me, it will be easy to expose my existence."

"why is it like this?"

"You should just stay and develop new techniques for me. You are not an expert in this field at all."

"But once you leave, Lustful Immortal, there will be no one left to practice with me."

Naruto said without giving up.

"Well, that's true." Jiraiya thought for a moment, and then he thought of something and said to Naruto: "Wait for me here for a while."

After saying that, Jiraiya disappeared from the place.

About five minutes later, Jiraiya returned to his original position. Not only that, there was another person beside him.

"T-Teacher with thick eyebrows?"

Naruto was immediately surprised when he saw the person next to Jiraiya.

Wearing dark green tight-fitting clothes, Konoha's ninja forehead protector is tied around his waist, as well as the watermelon head that will make you care about it as long as you take a look at it, and the thick black eyebrows, it is Konoha's Jounin Matt Kay.

"Hey, Naruto, good afternoon."

Kai greeted Naruto and subconsciously grinned, his white teeth shining.

"Jiraiya-sama has already told me what happened. In the next few days, it will be up to me to fight you one-on-one."

Kai continued to Naruto.

"Is Teacher Nongmei coming?"

There was hesitation on Naruto's face, as if he had a skeptical attitude.

As if he had seen through Naruto's inner thoughts, Jiraiya snorted and said: "Naruto, if you underestimate others too much, you will die. Although Kai's image is indeed a bit strange, but when he comes up with all the In terms of strength, he may be the strongest ninja in Konoha. He is more than enough to be your opponent."

"Konoha...the strongest ninja?"

Naruto looked at Kai's thick black eyebrows, and his heart was still pounding.

The other party didn't look like the strongest ninja in Konoha. He didn't have the slightest bit of domineering power.

"You can't tell people by their appearance. You still have a lot to learn. Now that the matter is settled, I still have things to be busy with."

Jiraiya didn't talk nonsense to Naruto. Before turning around and leaving, he quietly left a message in Kai's ear:

"It doesn't matter if you use the Eight Gate Dunjia. Let this kid suffer a lot and let him know what it means to have someone outside the world."

Kai was shocked. He thought it was just a relaxing sparring session, but he didn't expect Jirai to make these requests.

If he were allowed to use the Eight Gate Dunjia, it would not be a simple sparring exercise, but a real battle.

During the battle, it would be difficult even for him to control what would happen.

"I see."

Kai nodded seriously and took a very serious attitude.

Jiraiya patted Gai's shoulder, nodded, and left using the teleportation technique.

"Teacher Nongmei, let's start quickly."

Naruto couldn't wait to fight.

"There's no rush. I don't think there's much point in just fighting. Why don't we decide the lottery?"

Kai laughed.

"Luck?"

Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

Kai still smiled and said: "That's right. For example, the person who wins the battle can make a condition to the person who loses."

"Conditions? That's it. If that's the case, if I win, Teacher Nongmei, please treat me to Ichiraku Ramen."

Naruto's mouth drooled with appetite.

Kai nodded, not refusing.

"Okay, but if I win, then, Naruto, you have to sprint a hundred times around the Leaf Village while standing on your head."

"..."

◎

In late May, the weather was warm and pleasant, without the heat of summer.

The chill that blanketed the land of ghosts has long since dissipated, and the sun is shining everywhere, making it undoubtedly a perfect day for travel.

Located in the middle of the huge sea of ​​trees in the northern part of the Kingdom of Ghosts, is a hollowed-out plain area of ​​more than ten kilometers.

Standing on top of the huge rock mountain and holding a military telescope, Ichiji could clearly see the rolling snow-capped mountains in the north. That area belonged to the Snow Country. Like the Iron Country, it was a cold winter country with snow season all year round. .

Then there was a rumbling sound in his ears, causing the earth to tremble.

Only then did Yiji move her gaze away from the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and turned to the huge plain area in front of her.

The rolling black steel is formed by armored artillery vehicles.

The flag engraved with asters fluttered in the wind as the armored artillery vehicle began to run across the ground.

Next to each armored artillery vehicle, there will be three to five ninjas from the Kingdom of Ghosts wearing heavy armor, marching forward together.

Compared with two years ago, the armored artillery vehicles rolled faster and faster. Even when they encountered raised hills, they were running as if they were on flat ground, ready to launch an attack.

Opposite to the opposite side is a circular military fortress built.

From the fortress, flying ninja tools controlled by Ninja Shadow clones flew out, flying high in the sky, looking down at the earth from above, and the mechanical troops formed by hundreds of armored vehicles on the plains.

As bombs were thrown from the flying ninja tools and attacked the rolling steel on the ground, the ninjas from the Kingdom of Oni near the armored vehicle began to form seals. As a group, chakra began to gather and condense.

A series of blue transparent walls covered the entire mechanical army, and an invisible shield wall was erected on top. After the reflection of the sunlight above the head, the blue transparent shield wall immediately emitted an illusive blue fluorescence.

boom!

The air-dropped bomb fell between the mechanical troops and came into direct contact with the blue shield wall.

The fire and shock waves generated by the explosion covered and surrounded everything in sight, and also dispersed the beautiful blue fluorescence.

As this life roared, more bombs were dropped from the sky again. Each detonation was like a heavy hammer, making the earth tremble and wail.

Among them, there are also flash bombs that block the vision, poison gas bombs that can make the whole body weak if inhaled, and incendiary bombs that turn the plains into a sea of ​​​​fire.

Then, a huge pit suddenly appeared in front of it. If the armored vehicle was not careful, it would fall directly into the pit, unable to climb out of the pit, and be buried deep underground.

Or build earthen walls around the armored vehicles to abruptly cut off the connections between them, thereby disrupting the offensive deployment of the mechanical troops.

Use various means to conduct indiscriminate attacks on the mechanical troops on the ground, and then impede their progress in various ways.

Even on the rocky mountain outside the battlefield, Ichiji could feel the strong hot wind coming from one side, blowing her long black hair and flying backwards.

Observed through military telescopes, this mechanical force was destroyed by nearly half before it reached the circular fortress where the 'target' was located.

Many of the remaining half have reduced mobility.

The accompanying teams who had used the protective barrier were also very tired.

Although the clothes they wore were able to withstand various extreme environments and had anti-virus effects, they still made them miserable and fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"It's enough to only last until the second round... The higher authorities require that it last until at least the third round. It seems there is still some way to go."

Yiji put down the military telescope. Although she was a little dissatisfied with the performance of the mechanical troops, she also knew that this could not be accomplished overnight.

"Let them clean up the battlefield quickly. It's the turn of the next batch of mechanical troops to enter."

"yes."

The accompanying Jonin walked to the tent at the rear to notify the mechanical troops on the field to make changes.

As the next batch of mechanical troops entered, they carried out dual attacks from the air and underground as before, constantly compressing the attack space of the mechanical troops in a tricky way.

A stream of hot wind blows from afar, turning the pleasant warmth here into a summer-like heat.

Perhaps the local movement was too grand, coupled with the excessive use of incendiary bombs, black clouds appeared in the upper levels of the sky, and the earth was shrouded in black shadow.

In the dark clouds, there were flashes of thunder, and thin raindrops began to fall on the sea of ​​trees.

Even so, the mechanical troops located on the plains did not stop training and insisted on carrying out this cruel exercise.

And this is just an exercise after all. Although the various ammunition dropped from the sky look bluffing, their power and attack frequency are deliberately reduced, so they are not fatal to ninjas.

"Lord Ichiji."

There was a voice coming from behind, and the messenger carrying a signal device came over.

"What's up?"

Yiji tilted her head slightly.

"Headquarters wants you to go back immediately with the members of the Thorn Team."

"now?"

Yiji frowned and looked at the black clouds above her head.

"Yes."

"I see."

Ichiji sighed. She thought that after she came back, she wouldn't have to run around in the ninja world and could spend some time at leisure, but she didn't expect that she would have a new mission so soon.

Fortunately, the mechanical army is now on the right track. Even if she is not here to watch in person, there should be no surprises.

"let's go."

Yi Ji glanced at the members of the Thorn Team standing on one side. Each of them was wearing a black coat and a black beak mask on their face. The whole body was wrapped tightly, leaving only a pair of eyes looking outside.

This group gathers many ninjas with secret techniques, blood inheritance limits, and forbidden techniques. Those who join are all elites among the Jonin of the Kingdom of Ghosts. On the battlefield, everyone has the power to fight one against a hundred.

If you have to make a comparison, it is similar to the ANBU organization in Ninja Village, which only recruits special ninjas. It's just that the recruitment conditions of the Thorn Team are more stringent than those of the so-called Anbu.

Taking a black raincoat from a group member, Yi Ji put it on her body casually, fastened the belt, stepped on it, and left the place in an instant.

The rest of the people followed closely behind and disappeared among the sea of ​​trees in the rain.

In the plain beneath the rocks, the roar of explosions could still be heard faintly.

◎

Shiraishi sat in his office, holding the military's intelligence documents, flipping through page after page, clearly imprinting every word on it in his mind, and reviewing it carefully.

This intelligence document summarizes the comprehensive situation of all units in the military.

Whether it is the main force, the reserve force, or the logistics force, they are all available without any omissions.

After these years of development, even if the Demon Country's military has repeatedly adopted a streamlined strategy, the number of ninjas accumulated over such a long period of time has reached a considerable number.

Although it cannot be compared with the 20,000 or 30,000 ninjas in the ninja villages of other big countries, the number of more than 13,000 people, in terms of numbers alone, is far from comparable to the ninja villages of small countries.

Among them, the number of Jonin was the smallest, nearly three hundred.

The number of chuunin reached 10,000, and the remaining more than 2,000 people were genin who belonged to the reserve army.

And that's just the number of ninjas.

The scale of combat soldiers catalyzed by natural energy is even larger. Although there have been a lot of layoffs in the past two years, there are still 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers left.

In addition, there are more than 1,500 flying ninjas and a total of three mechanical troops, each consisting of nearly a thousand armored steel vehicles.

There are 500 sets of chakra armor sets, with priority given to jounin, and the rest are supplied to chunin with outstanding strength.

There are seventeen warships, most of which are frigates and supply ships. Even so, it is enough to control the sea areas under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

These are all the forces deployed in the Kingdom of Ghosts. As for the armed forces, militia personnel, weapons and equipment, and military bases in the Allied Powers, they are not included.

Shiraishi then took out documents recording the composition of the military forces of the other great powers' shinobi villages.

The most eye-catching one is Kumogakure, with a number of 30,000 ninjas, more than 300 jounin, and more than 20,000 chuunin. He has introduced 100 flying ninja tools from the Kingdom of Demons, more than 300 homemade flying ninja tools, and homemade weapons. The three ships and the rest of the weapons and equipment are following up like crazy, becoming a huge war machine after the Kingdom of Ghosts.

Over the years, Kumogakure has not participated in the direct disputes between countries, but has developed with peace of mind. With the strong support of the Daimyo of the Kingdom of Thunder, it has been expanding its army and developing its weapons every year. Such strength is not beyond Shiraishi's expectations. outside.

It's a more troublesome opponent.

Next was Kirigakure, and then Konoha.

After the battle two years ago, Iwagakure and Sunagakure were at the bottom.

Looking at Konoha, which after many turmoils could still occupy a mid-range position in the Great Country Ninja Village, Shiraishi took a breath, feeling helpless.

The potential of this village is as terrifying as ever. Although he has plotted against Konoha many times and even cooperated with Akatsuki's Nagato, in the end, he still failed to put Konoha at the bottom of the Great Country Ninja Village... I can only say, It is indeed a village inherited from the ninja god Senju Hashirama. As long as the foundation and foundation are still there, no matter how hard it is, it can quickly recover its strength and continuously cultivate outstanding ninjas.

"Old man, I'm back. What's the matter with calling me back so urgently?"

Kicking open the door of the office, Yi Ji walked in unceremoniously, interrupting Shiraishi's thinking, and asked Shiraishi a series of questions.

"..."

Shiraishi put down the document in his hand, clasped his hands together, placed them on the desk, and leaned back slightly.

"There is news from Kakashi that Orochimaru will soon perform the reincarnation ceremony on Uchiha Sasuke."

After a long moment of silence, Shiraishi said to Kazuji.

"Should I ask you to come over to support us and deal with Orochimaru together?"

Yiji immediately asked.

Shiraishi shook his head and narrowed his eyes slightly: "No, I will personally take people over to Orochimaru's place. His group of men who have been planted with curse seals, as well as his follow-up treatment, will be very troublesome and you can't handle it. .”

"Then why you asked me to come back..."

Yiji tilted her head in confusion.

Baishi still looked calm and said slowly:

"Konoha, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure are preparing to join forces to form an investigation team and will set out to encircle Orochimaru soon. I need you to lead the Thorn Team and stop their advance halfway."