Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Chapter 1232 Escape

It wasn't just Uchiha Shisui's group that was fighting; Yamato and the others were also fighting at the sand dune where everyone had been.

However, they did not separate again, but instead worked together as a group of six to deal with the Sand Ninja coming from two other directions.

Seemingly considering that the main character of this mission had not yet appeared, Yamato and the others fought in a relatively conservative manner and did not unleash their true strength.

Even so, the Sand Ninja who gathered there suffered considerable losses.

Unfortunately, compared to Yamato and his group, who were all elite Anbu members, the strength of these Sand Ninjas varied greatly. In the chaos of battle, one careless move could result in someone being killed or seriously injured.

The only thing that allowed these people to keep going, besides the fact that they still had a numerical advantage, was that their comrades were on their way from the other two directions; otherwise, they would have retreated long ago.

However, they waited and waited, but no support ever came.

Finally, they realized something was wrong and began to panic.

Just then, Qingming finished off his last opponent and rushed back to the side.

From afar, a Sand Village Jonin noticed him.

Immediately, his expression changed drastically, and he muttered to himself, "How is this possible?"

As the Jonin leading the team that carried out this interception mission, Maeda Sakawa had some understanding of his strength.

If the two were to fight at full strength, he might not be a match for them.

But now, he is dead, and killed in such a short time with so many helpers. How could he not be shocked?

As for why he was so sure the other person was dead?
It's very simple. Behind Qingming, who rushed over at high speed, there was no one else besides the two Konoha ANBU who had escaped earlier.

What this means is self-evident!
"hateful!"

Cursing under his breath, the Sand Village Jonin prepared to issue an order to mobilize manpower to stop Qingming from getting closer.

However, before he could look away, a powerful spiritual force, carrying chakra, suddenly surged into his mind along with their intersecting gazes.

In an instant, his vision turned a dark red.

Looking up, he saw a huge three-tomoe Sharingan appear in the sky, occupying most of his mind and making his thoughts run at a snail's pace.

"not good."

Chi Zaokang was terrified and immediately mobilized his chakra to try to get rid of the illusion, but he was unsuccessful for a long time.

To outsiders, he seemed like a machine that had lost power, his body suddenly frozen in place, motionless.

Ahead, a Konoha ANBU member who had just been under attack from him and several other Sand Ninjas suddenly saw this, his eyes under his mask suddenly lit up, and he immediately seized the opportunity to throw a shuriken straight at Chi Zao Kang's throat.

Despite the attack, Chi Zaokang remained motionless.

Just as the shuriken was about to hit him, at the critical moment, another Sand Village special Jonin instantly appeared in front of Chizao Yasushi, wielding a kunai to block the attack for him.

Hey~
There was a clear sound of metal collision.

Feisha withdrew the kunai from his hand, keeping a watchful eye on the Konoha Anbu ahead, while retreating to Chizao Kang's side to check on his condition.

But at that moment, a dark red line of fire, about the thickness of a thumb, shot out and precisely pierced through Chi Zaokang's skull.

A burnt, foul smell filled my nostrils.

"what?!"

Fei Sha was shocked to see this scene out of the corner of his eye. He quickly moved away from Chi Zaokang and looked in the direction from which the fire was coming.

Then, he saw Qingming rushing towards him, and his Sharingan eyes that looked as red as blood.

The two made contact, and Fei Sha secretly thought, "This is bad."

In an instant, he understood why Chi Zaokang had frozen in place; it turned out he had been hit by a Sharingan genjutsu.

Without any hesitation, he immediately closed his eyes and stepped back.

huh~
A strong gust of wind swept in from the front.

Thinking of the long sword in Qingming's hand, he did not hesitate and immediately dodged to the side.

Call ~
Feeling that his strike had missed, Fei Sha thought to himself how close he had come to disaster. If he hadn't reacted in time, he would probably be in the same boat as Chi Zaokang.

At that time, we will truly be at the mercy of others.

However, just as he was relieved to have dodged the blow, a piercing pain suddenly shot through his chest. Suddenly, Fei Sha opened his eyes.

What came into his view was a pair of extremely cold and indifferent three-tomoe Sharingan eyes.

Looking down at his feet, he was still standing in the same spot.

It turns out that he hadn't avoided the illusion from the very beginning, and everything that just happened was the result of Qingming's manipulation.

puff~
A large mouthful of blood gushed out.

Fei Sha looked at Qing Ming in front of him, wanting to say something, but Qing Ming didn't want to listen at all.

With a powerful pull of his hands, he yanked out the long knife that was embedded in the man's heart, then vanished in a flash.

stab~
The nearest Sand Village genin was approached by Qingming and had his throat slit with a single stroke.

That wasn't all. Qingming's three-tomoe Sharingan darted around, quickly finding his next target, and he used the 'Instant Sword Technique' again to get close.

In a short time, he flashed and killed six or seven Sand Village genin.

Thus, including Chi Zao Kang, who was initially killed by his sneak attack with 'Fire Release: Gathering Flame Strike', and Fei Sha, who stabbed through the heart, the number of surviving Sand Ninja in the field was reduced by a quarter.

"Quick, stop him!"

Seeing that Qingming was specifically targeting and killing low-level ninjas, a Sand Village Jonin shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, several Sand Ninja immediately rushed towards him, attempting to stop him in place.

However, at that moment, Daiki Aburame, who had previously cooperated with him, and the Inuzuka clan's ANBU ninja arrived at the scene.

Without any hesitation, they immediately stopped the Sand Ninja who were closing in on him.

Seeing this, Qingming nodded inwardly.

Then, no longer distracted, he continued to activate his three-tomoe Sharingan to find his target, then used the 'Instant Sword Technique' to approach and finally kill him.

His speed was incredibly fast, just like his original name, like a ghost.

Thus, the Sand Ninja were quickly terrified of him.

With the pressure greatly reduced, Yamato and the others also revealed some of their strength, making the Sand Ninja unable to lift their heads.

If that were all, these Sand Ninja could hold out for a little while longer.

After all, this place is not too far from the border of the Land of Wind, and the Sand Village Jonin who were leading the group had already quietly sent out a distress signal when they realized that the situation was not good.

Therefore, as long as they hold out for a while, even if the people of Konoha do not retreat on their own initiative, they can wait for reinforcements.

However, the return of Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Tekka, and Uchiha Hachiho became the last straw that broke the camel's back, causing them to completely lose the courage to persevere.

There was nothing they could do. One Qingming was already enough of a headache for them, and now there were three more Sharingan. How were they supposed to fight them?
Moreover, the appearance of Uchiha Shisui and others meant that the team that surrounded and killed them had already been killed.

In this situation, continuing the fight would only result in total annihilation.

After some discussion, the Sand Village Jonin leading the group ordered, "Retreat!"

Immediately, the Sand Ninja felt as if they had heard heavenly music. Overjoyed, they immediately followed several captains and broke through towards the border to escape.

That's right, they didn't retreat to Sunagakure, which is deep in the Land of Wind, but instead fled to the border outpost nearby.

This also put Qingming and the others in a difficult position.

Let's continue the pursuit; we might be ambushed by the Sunagakure border troops.

But if we don't pursue it, there's a possibility of leaving hidden dangers.

Finally, after some discussion, everyone decided to prioritize the mission.

Anyway, Orochimaru's base is not far ahead. Instead of wasting time getting entangled with these Sand Ninja, it's better to finish the mission quickly and deal with other things later.

Of course, these Sand Ninja cannot be ignored.

Yamato immediately ordered the three Anbu ninjas who had previously followed Uchiha Inahisa, namely Aburame Daiki and others, to form a small team specifically responsible for monitoring the escaped Sand Ninjas.

At the same time, it also plans the evacuation route after the mission is completed.

(End of this chapter)