Chapter 574 Target

Like a rushing figure, it swooped down from the sky.

Yamazaki Ku, who was patrolling the sky, discovered the headless corpse whose head was blown off by Sai with a sniper rifle.

It was basically impossible to look directly at the area above the neck. The trees and the ground were also splashed with a large amount of bright red. In the hands of the corpse, a blue three-pronged sword was tightly held.

"This is it."

Yamazaki Jiu used the flying ninja tool on his back to fly into the low air and move along the horizontal line. In the blink of an eye, he covered a distance of more than ten meters and reached out to grab the headless corpse.

Then the flying ninja behind him began to spray white rising gas, and under the powerful thrust, the body quickly rose into the sky.

at this time--

"Wood Release: The Technique of the Great Forest!"

Long snake-like wooden vines came from the dark depths of the forest and wrapped around Yamazaki's body.

Yamazaki Jiu was startled, and without hesitation, a silver metal ball fell out of his left hand and flew away.

The metal ball collided with the wooden vines, and with a bang, a violent impact of flames erupted, covering the wooden vines that attacked him in the wave of fire and burning them to ashes.

The fire exploded, illuminating the late night woods as bright as daylight, and soon dimmed again.

Yamazaki Jiu did not dare to stop when he saw this scene. Driven by the flying ninja tool, his body quickly rose into the air and flew away towards the west with the body.

Not long after Yamazaki Jiu flew away, Tenzo and Sakura flew over. Tianzang looked at Yamazaki Jiu who had already flown into the air, squinted his eyes, and didn't know what he was thinking.

"I remember that he was a genin from the Kingdom of Demons, and his name seemed to be Yamazaki Ku. Could it be that the one who captured Naruto was..."

At this time, Sakura recognized the identity of Yamazaki Hisashi. She had met this person when she took the chunin exam in the Kingdom of Demons.

He is good at operating ninja tools, and uses his speed to get close to the enemy, and uses explosives to surprise the opponent. He is a tough ninja.

"No, it wasn't the ninjas from the Oni Country who kidnapped Naruto. It was the Shitenjojo from the Takunin Village."

Sai came out of the darkness at this time. After watching all this, he shook his head and rejected Sakura's point of view.

"Four Elephants?"

"The body that was taken away was one of the members of the Four Elephants. There is information about these four people in the root intelligence network. The person who attacked Naruto and took him away should be one of the Four Elephants. wrong."

Sai explained.

"Then let's go to the Artisan Ninja Village to ask for someone."

When Sakura was about to take action, Tenzo stopped her and said, "It's useless to look there. The Shitenzomon are outliers from the Craftsman Ninja Village. Although they are not rebels, their relationship with the Craftsman Ninja Village is very different. .Because the Takumi Ninja Village has always been an internationally neutral ninja village, but the Shitenjoshi people are rare radicals in the Takumi Ninja Village...Sai, do you know the purpose of taking Naruto away?"

Tenzo turned to look at Sai.

Sai thought for a moment and replied: "It should be for the powerful power in Naruto's body that does not yet belong to him. According to the information collected by the roots, the Shitenjo people have been searching for huge chakra energy in the ninja world to complete the task. Something unknown.”

After hearing these words, Tianzang's face couldn't help but darken.

The target is indeed Naruto's tailed beast.

"Captain, I'll leave it to you to request support. I must complete the tasks assigned by Danzo-sama."

After Sai finished speaking, the figure quickly ran out and launched a search operation.

"Wait, Sai, don't—"

Sakura wanted to call out to Sai, but Sai turned a deaf ear and continued running out. For him, protecting Naruto is the most important thing right now.

All other things are secondary.

"That guy is really..."

Tenzo was also a little helpless about Saoi's arbitrary attitude.

However, this is also a style unique to roots.

For them, completing the task is the most important thing.

"Sakura, I..."

"Hey, what is this?"

Sakura's eyes suddenly lit up and she took two steps forward.

There was something familiar to her in front of her feet.

She picked it up and took a closer look, only to realize that it was a palm-sized drawing book.

"Hmm, this seems to be Saoi's thing."

Tianzang walked over and took a look, and found that this painting book had been seen on Saoi's body before.

"Did you accidentally drop it while fighting the enemy just now?"

Sakura thought for a moment and realized this was the only possibility.

"That should be it. Give this picture book to him later. The most important thing now is to find Naruto."

Tianzang did not delve into the matter of this picture book, but formed seals with his hands.

"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"

From the shoulder position of the body, a large number of trees suddenly appeared, and finally condensed into the appearance of Tenzo.

"This is……"

Seeing the two Tenzos in front of them who could not tell the real from the fake, Sakura was surprised.

"This is the Wood Clone Technique that is more difficult to distinguish between true and false than the Shadow Clone Technique, and its mobility is wider than that of the Shadow Clone Technique. Next, he will go to the nearest Konoha ninja to seek support. Sakura, You act with me. I'm worried that Sai alone is no match for the remaining Four Elephants."

Being able to take Naruto away silently, Tenzo believed that this so-called Four Elephant Man should have some strength.

With Sai's strength alone, it would be very difficult to deal with them.

"yes!"

Sakura nodded.

◎

"Isn't that boy back yet?"

In the dark night forest, three figures were flying quickly, heading northwest.

The tall and thin man in the lead frowned and showed dissatisfaction when he saw that the short-haired boy who had led away the pursuers had not yet returned.

"Maybe it's just for fun. But with that ninja tool here, no matter how many ninjas come to Konoha, they will all be killed in the end."

The woman standing on the right said in a confident tone.

At the same time, she also held the two swords in her hands tightly, raising the corners of her mouth slightly in a cruel smile.

"I hope so. I always feel that things won't be that simple. The ninjas of Konoha are still very difficult to deal with."

The strong man on the left side of the tall and thin man turned around and said something.

He wore a white armor with a tiger head on it, and held a long stick weapon in his hand, with a meteor hammer connected to the top of one side of the long stick.

On his left shoulder, he was carrying an unconscious person, and this unconscious person was Naruto.

Perhaps it was because the strong man was running too fast that the running was very bumpy, and Naruto soon woke up from his coma.

Um?

When Naruto woke up from a coma, he suddenly thought of something and began to struggle violently on the strong man's shoulders, trying to break free from the strong man's control in this way.

"Oh, are you awake, little brother? Shuihu, the medicine you gave him is not fake, is it?"

The woman on the right side of the tall and thin man said with a smile when she saw Naruto waking up so quickly.

"Peacock, don't talk nonsense here, I have used all the medicine." The strong man Shuihu glanced at Naruto who was struggling on his shoulder, and also showed a puzzled look: "It's really strange, I used so many doses. With the sleeping pills, he should lie down for a day and a night."

"Humph, it must be because of the jinchūriki. It doesn't matter, soon, his power will be used by us."

The tall and thin man glanced at Naruto with a sneer.

"This is not the way to go. Let's control his chakra first."

The water tiger felt that Naruto's struggle was getting stronger and stronger. Even if he was tied with a special rope, it might not be safe.

Thinking of this, the water tiger began to inject chakra into the tiger-shaped armor on his chest. In an instant, a strong suction force was generated on the armor, which acted on Naruto, sucking out the chakra from his body.

Naruto was completely panicked now. He felt that the chakra in his body was getting less and less. The armor on the water tiger was like a bottomless pit, swallowing the chakra in his body all the time.

Gradually, Naruto's struggle weakened, and his whole body collapsed on the water tiger's shoulders, losing the ability to resist.

"Haha, it's really full of chakra. It feels more satisfying than swallowing the chakra of a Jonin."

The water tiger felt a steady stream of chakra flowing from Naruto to himself, and laughed heartily for a while.

"Let's go and speed up. We have to reach our destination before dawn."

The tall, thin man began to give orders.

The speed of the three people running quickly increased, leaving behind a series of afterimages on the road that were difficult to see clearly.

◎

It was three o'clock in the morning and it was still dark.

Led by a tall, thin man, the team ran at high speed for six or seven hours.

The border of the land of grass.

Leaving the forest area, we came to a canyon area.

The high rocks on both sides extended out a river that went straight forward. It looked dark in the night. Only the river at the bottom shone brightly, showing that the water was clear.

With the help of the rocks on both sides of the river, he kept leaping forward. With each leap, he could cover a distance of more than ten meters.

At this moment, he suddenly noticed something, and the tall and thin man suddenly stopped on a huge rock above the water.

Seeing the tall and thin man stop, the peacock and the water tiger with Naruto also stopped and looked at the tall and thin man.

The tall and thin man did not speak, but glanced sharply at another rock on the opposite side of the river. Without hesitation, he pointed the black sword blade in his hand at the rock and swung it hard.

White light swept out, like a flame-like beam impact, shattering the huge rock on the opposite side of the river.

After the rock was shattered, a figure jumped out from behind the rock and landed on the water. The three of them looked at each other with an expressionless face and the tall and thin man.

It was Sai who was chasing him from behind.

"Woo!"

Seeing the familiar figure, Naruto struggled on Suihu's shoulder again, trying to say something, but because his mouth was blocked by a cloth, he could only make a whimpering sound.

"This kid seems to be no ordinary kid. He was able to eliminate so many traps and signal misdirections on the road and find his way directly here."

The tall and thin man looked at Saoi seriously, feeling vaguely that he should not underestimate this young man who was only thirteen or fourteen years old, otherwise he would definitely suffer a big loss.

The traps he left along the way, as well as the various traces that mislead people's judgment, cannot be solved by ordinary genin. Even experienced chuunin cannot do this.

"Then get rid of him quickly."

The peacock picked up the two swords in his hands and became excited and eager to try.

"certainly."

The tall and thin man also picked up the black sword blade in his hand and prepared to fight.

"Look at me, Peacock Tornado!"

Peacock waved the two swords in his hands vigorously. Inspired by the abilities of the two swords, a powerful storm was generated in an instant, rolling up a large amount of gravel and water, forming a tornado and raging forward.

Sayi only felt a strong suction force, which made his body unable to stop moving forward. He was slightly startled and retreated backwards, out of the attack range of the storm.

The next moment, he picked up the brush in his hand and painted quickly on the unfolded scroll.

A giant eagle rushed out of the scroll. Without hesitation, Sai stepped on the back of the giant eagle and flew into the sky.

"cut!"

The peacock looked at Sai who flew into the sky using the giant eagle, and clicked his tongue in displeasure.

Although she was a long-range attacking ninja, Sai flying into the sky was beyond the range of her attack.

"Next..."

Sai looked at the people below and knew that it was safe enough here, so he continued to draw on the unfolded scroll, creating more creatures to suppress the enemy from the air.

Suddenly, a bright light shot out from below, interrupting his movements.

Sai glanced subconsciously.

I saw that the tip of the black sword in the tall and thin man's hand released a strong white light, illuminating the entire night into day.

Zuo Jing felt his eyes sting, and his hand stopped moving, leaving him no time to paint.

"go to hell!"

When the tall and thin man saw that Sai's vision was blocked by him, he waved the black sword in his hand unceremoniously.

The flaming beam impact was released from the tip of the sword and sprayed high into the sky.

Sai, who was hit by the beam impact, and the giant eagle under his feet turned into pitch-black ink, falling from the sky.

"Clone!?"

Seeing this, the tall and thin man's expression suddenly changed with shock.

"No, water tiger——"

He seemed to understand something suddenly and turned to Shuihu.

Shuihu, who was still in shock, also came to his senses and looked back.

Naruto on his shoulder disappeared.

"ah!"

After that, he was greeted by a flash of silver sword light.

Cut off his left arm from the shoulder, and the blood spurted out, spraying on the water, rocks, and the rock wall on one side, which was extremely cruel.

Seeing that his sword had only cut off one of the enemy's arms and that Sai had rushed out of the river with traces of water all over his body, he couldn't help but frown and was very dissatisfied with the result.

"Water tiger! Damn it, you little brat! Peacock whirlwind!"

Seeing Shuihu's severely injured and broken arm, Peacock, the only woman among the three, was immediately enraged and waved the two swords in her hands wildly.

The wind roared, and several tornadoes were generated. Due to the large amount of sand and water mixed in, the tornadoes were directly dyed pitch black, which matched the darkness perfectly, and surrounded Sai and Naruto for a siege.

After untying the rope, taking down the cloth, and regaining his freedom, Naruto immediately entered a state of preparation for battle.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

After Naruto finished using the shadow clone technique, only one shadow clone appeared next to him.

But at this time, there was no need to worry about that. The shadow clone that had just appeared quickly identified the situation and began to rotate Naruto's right hand with his own hands to help him concentrate chakra.

Just when the chakra ball was about to be completed, there was a bang and the shadow clone exploded.

Naruto paled.

Not enough chakra.

Along the way, the water tiger absorbed a large amount of chakra, and his own chakra was basically bottomed out. This little chakra was not enough to use the Rasengan.

Now, the attack has arrived.

boom!

Several dark tornadoes of water merged together and exploded in an instant with Naruto and Sai as the center.

Black rain poured down from the sky.

The water in the river began to surge restlessly, slapping against the rock walls on both sides and splashing with foamy waves.

It didn't stop for a while.

On a large rock near the rock wall, Naruto and Sai fell there.

"Ahem, Sai, are you okay..."

Naruto tried his best to get up from the ground, but the moment he turned his head to look over, the sound stopped suddenly.

I saw Saoi lying there with bruises all over his body, his clothes were torn by the sharp stones rolled up in the water, and the flesh and blood all over his body were also torn apart.

Lying on the cold rock, breathing extremely painfully, his breath was extremely weak.

"Ah, he's not dead yet? As a kid, he's an amazing guy, right?"

Peacock looked at Sai who had not yet died from the attack and raised his eyebrows.

"Hey, Peacock, do you want to kill the Jinchuriki too? If this brat hadn't been protecting the Jinchuriki, you might have killed the Jinchuriki just now."

The tall, thin man looked at the peacock with reproachful eyes.

"Sorry, I was a little too angry when I saw the water tiger being seriously injured. However, jinchūriki don't die that easily. Their lives are hard."

Peacock excuses himself for taking the heavy shot.

"I'll let you go this time. Don't do this nonsense next time."

The tall and thin man snorted and turned to look at Naruto.

"Hey, kid, come with us. If you don't agree, I'll kill your companion immediately. If you come with us, he might still have a chance to survive."

"Damn it, who are you?"

Naruto's eyes glowed fiercely red, and subconsciously, the beard on his face began to darken and thicken, which was a sign of some kind of mutation.

"Huh? Something's wrong, get rid of him quickly!"

The tall and thin man noticed something, noticed some unusual changes in Naruto, and wanted to strike first.

"Let me suck his chakra!"

Suihu, who had lost an arm, had already bandaged the wound on his shoulder. He endured the severe pain and stepped forward, walking towards Naruto step by step.

"Wood Release: Thorn Killing Technique!"

The sudden sound startled Shui Hu.

By the time he reacted, his body had been tied up by a thick wooden vine.

"Wood Release? That's not the legendary First Hokage's..."

Shuihu looked up and saw a figure standing on the top of the rock wall, staring at him while maintaining the seal gesture.

"Huh... I finally caught up. However, this team spirit has been really beaten to pieces..."

Tenzo sighed helplessly when he noticed that Sai was seriously injured while trying to rescue Naruto.

Although he understands the concept of mission first, for Sai, Naruto's life is more important, but... such a reckless action by one person will end up being sacrificed in vain.

"Captain Yamato!"

Naruto looked up in surprise.

Then, thinking of something, he shouted anxiously: "By the way, where is Sakura, Sai, he——"

"Don't worry, Sakura is behind you, come right away."

Tianzang glanced sharply at the three water tigers, with a dignified look in his eyes.

It seems that we need to be extra careful with these ninja tools with strange abilities in their hands. He thought to himself.

"Are you a jounin here this time? You are not an ordinary jounin, but you can actually use the legendary wood escape. Are you from the Senju clan..."

The water tiger snorted softly. As the chakra on the wooden vines was absorbed by the tiger-shaped armor on the chest, it became less and less, and its binding force became like a piece of paper. So, Shui Hu shook hard, and the wooden vines wrapped around his body shattered into a large amount of sawdust, flying around.

"It's a pity that I guessed wrong. I'm just a lucky person who accidentally got part of the first-generation master's divine power...but your armor is really good."

Tenzou looked at Suihu who easily broke free from his wooden escape ninjutsu, and started to smile.

"Of course. This is the ninja tool of God built by the ancestor of our Takumi Ninja Village after all the hard work. As long as we have this and use the huge chakra of the Jinchūriki, sooner or later even the six major nations will Will surrender at our feet."

Water Tiger has an aggressive attitude, and is almost arrogant in his armor that can absorb chakra.

"Yeah?"

While communicating with Shui Hu, Tenzo was looking for flaws in these ninja tools.

Judging from the previous tests, Shuihu's strength is basically reflected in that weird ninja tool.

As for his own strength, it can be said that he is average, stronger than the average chuunin, but his strength is limited.

The rest of the people are probably in a similar situation.

Should he retreat first and wait for the reinforcements to be wiped out in one fell swoop, or... Tianzang kept thinking in his mind.

If it was just him, he wouldn't mind fighting with three people, and he had enough confidence to deal with them.

But fighting while protecting Naruto and Sai was, to be honest, a bit risky.

…

"Did you confront the guys from Konoha again? What a blessing. You even saved the time of fixing the 'target' in the past."

Cai was lying on the top of the rock wall, less than half a meter away from the edge of the cliff. Below was the rushing river, and the clear sound of water flow could be heard.

With the opened Byakugan, everything and terrain within a radius of two thousand meters can be seen at a glance.

And here is the best position to snipe prey.

"Let's get rid of this big guy first. I remember that he can use his own armor to absorb the characteristics of chakra, thereby reducing the enemy's ninjutsu power to zero..."

Cai narrowed her sight to the location of the sniper target, as if it was right in front of her.

This is the power of Byakugan's far-reaching ability, which can clearly present enemies in distant places in his eyes like a magnifying glass.

This function of Byakugan is more convenient than the scope that comes with the sniper rifle.

"Unfortunately, my bullets do not contain chakra."

After saying that, Cai pulled the trigger.

The seemingly thin shoulders barely showed any shock just now.

The bullet had already shot out.