Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

Seeing that he couldn't catch up, the Third Elder of the Whirlpool didn't press the matter and immediately ordered the cleanup of the mess.

Soon, he encountered Hozuki Shingetsu and his two companions who were chasing after him.

"Oh? So quite a few Cloud Ninja escaped?"

"Yes! It has to be said that with this Lightning Release Chakra Mode, ordinary people really can't catch up." Despite having more people than he could ambush, quite a few still managed to escape, and Elder Uzumaki was somewhat ashamed.

"It doesn't matter."

Hozuki Shingetsu shook his head nonchalantly; he had arranged ambushes along more than just this route, enough to keep Moody in check.

"Let's go," Hozuki Shingetsu gestured to his two companions to continue.

"Watch out, Tsuki~" Yukinagi's sarcastic voice came again, but Hozuki Shingetsu ignored it, while Yagura Karatachi watched from the sidelines.

-

A group of defeated soldiers were running rampant through the dense jungle. Their tattered vests, heavy breathing, and frequent glances back all indicated that this group of ninjas were already terrified.

"Lord Modibi, the Gourd Pass is just ahead. Once you cross this pass, you will be outside the borders of the Land of Whirlpools!"

One of the ninjas surveyed the terrain and spoke to Moody.

Hulukou is a place where mountains and rivers converge, and it is named for its gourd-like shape when viewed from above.

Modibi originally planned to rush out of the Land of Whirlpools in one go before resting, but seeing that the Cloud Ninja around him were all sweating profusely and looked exhausted, he had no choice but to rest here for a while, eat and drink his fill, and then continue on his way.

Judging from our observations along the way, the Hidden Mist Village has given up on pursuing them, so resting here shouldn't be a bad idea.

"Let's rest for ten minutes, then we'll hit the road! Once we reach Wano Country, the people from Kirigakure shouldn't follow us anymore, and then we can get a proper rest!"

After arranging the guards, Moody spoke to the ninjas.

Upon receiving their orders, the ninjas immediately scattered joyfully, some drinking water, some relieving themselves, and some resting.

Just then, another burst of jubilant cheers rang out.

"Hahaha……"

Upon hearing the laughter, many Cloud Ninja reacted as if to a stress response. Those who were drinking water immediately spat it out, those who needed to use the toilet pinched themselves to stop, and those who were resting immediately jumped up like zombies, looking around warily.

However, everything was quiet, and nothing happened.

So everyone turned their attention to the instigator, Modibi, wondering what had gotten into this boss this time.

"Cough cough... I was just laughing because Uzumaki and Hozuki are not very resourceful. If I were to use troops, I would have ambushed a group of men right here, waiting for them to tire themselves out. Even if we escaped with our lives, we would still be seriously injured. I only laughed because there was no ambush here."

However, the group did not relax. After waiting for a while and seeing no further movement, they loosened their grip and continued to release the pressure.

"I told you there weren't any ambushes! His Hozuki and Uzumaki are nothing special!"

As if to bolster his own morale, Moody shouted loudly at the people around him.

Before the words were finished, two cannon shots rang out from the hillside, followed by deafening battle cries. A white-haired elder from the Whirlpool Clan, clad in armor, stroked his beard and shouted, "The Whirlpool Clan has been waiting here for a long time!"

Immediately, a similar scene unfolded again, with a group of vortex shadow clones carrying explosive tags beginning to imitate the Arabs and launch a fierce charge.

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

Seeing that things were not going well, Modibi began to flee again.

However, he was able to escape thanks to his superior stamina and abundant chakra, but the other exhausted Cloud Ninjas didn't have his strength. Just the fact that they had crossed the Uzushio Village from that great river without stopping and reached the border of the Land of Whirlpools was enough to exhaust most of their energy, let alone the fact that they had gone through two fierce battles.

Even more distressed was the Cloud Ninja who was caressing his spear. He looked up at the approaching Uzumaki ninja, then down at his brother, and sighed deeply. He loosened his grip, gave up struggling, and let things take their course, a look of enjoyment on his face.

Even in death, one should die in an easy way.

Chapter 53: Whirlpool Village lost, but the Whirlpool Clan did not lose!

"Ho...ho..."

Moody was panting heavily. After fleeing repeatedly, even he couldn't help but feel exhausted.

As dusk settled, Moody, using the setting sun as a guide, could vaguely make out the cave ahead—the very cave where they had stayed when they were stationed in the Kingdom of Jiang.

He turned his head and saw no sign of enemies in the dim woods, and the area in front of the cave was an open space with no trace of an ambush.

So, this time it's really safe.

Moody let out a long breath and, in the afterglow of the setting sun, slowly walked into the dark cave, as if walking into the mouth of a ferocious beast ready to devour him.

When he entered the cave and saw this wonderful scene, he was about to say something, but as if by reflex, he looked around warily again. Only after finding that there was no one there did he feel relieved.

"Haha... Everyone says that this Hozuki Shingetsu is resourceful and clever, but in my opinion, he's just an incompetent fool. If there were a group of people lying in wait here, I would be helpless!"

This time, however, no Yunren came to watch his performance.

As he spoke, he carefully checked the cave again to make sure no one was inside before bursting into laughter once more.

pat!

Moody tensed up abruptly, bracing himself for a fight. After a long while, once no one had appeared, he realized he seemed to have kicked something.

He picked up the object, which looked like a wooden board. There seemed to be words carved on it, but since the sun had already set and he hadn't lit a fire in the cave, he couldn't see what was written on it for the time being.

Click!

He quickly slashed the stone with his kunai, and a spark flew out. By the light of the spark, he finally saw what was written on the wooden board.

Nine large characters were prominently engraved on it.

“Capture Mudibi in this cave.”

Upon seeing the handwriting, Moody felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately threw the wooden board away and fled without looking back.

"Is it too late to leave now?"

Hozuki Shingetsu and his two companions emerged from the cave entrance, effectively trapping Moody in their trap.

"Heh... I never imagined that my illustrious reputation would be ruined by a brat like you." Modibi now clearly knew that he could not escape. He looked back on everything he had experienced since he set foot on the land of Whirlpools and smiled bitterly.

"However, if you think I will surrender easily, you are underestimating me. In the Night Moon Clan, there is only dying standing up, never living on your knees!"

With a resounding voice, Moody used his last bit of strength to activate Lightning Release Chakra Mode to its maximum power. Enveloped in a chakra aura filled with blue lightning, he charged fiercely towards the three of them.

"Why do we seem like the villains?"

Seeing this, Hozuki Shingetsu was not flustered. Instead, he joked with his companion with great interest.

"It's just a desperate struggle." Yukinagi, who had been unhappy ever since Hozuki Shingetsu got engaged, glanced at Moody and said disdainfully.

Although he was no match for Modibi in terms of strength, this guy, who was being played like a monkey, simply didn't inspire any respect in her.

Only Yagura Karatachi raised his weapon and stepped forward to fight.

"Water Style: Water Mirror Technique!"

As he swung his staff through the air, a water mirror suddenly appeared, from which emerged a figure also covered in blue lightning, charging toward Moody in the same manner.

"Since he wants to save face, then let's give him face!" Hozuki Shingetsu, fearing that things might get complicated if he delayed, immediately stepped forward to help.

"To deal with these evil heretics, we don't need to talk about chivalry; let's fight side by side!"

Amidst ambiguous words, Hozuki Shingetsu summoned a mirage, and under the cover of the mirage, activated a half-finished Water Release chakra mode and charged in.

"Ice Release: Thousand Kill Water Flight!" Yukinagi naturally followed suit and immediately joined the battle.

Hozuki Shingetsu had anticipated that the battle would end quickly. While the outcome was correct, some minor mishaps occurred during the fight.

"Nagi! Your ninjutsu hit me!" Hozuki Shingetsu screamed.

"Watch out, Tsuki~" Yukinagi's drawn-out voice, its tone indistinct, rang out.

"Nagi?!...Ah..."

The screams of Hozuki Shingetsu and Moodybi echoed through the cave, creating a beautiful duet-like sound.

-

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Just as Hozuki Shingetsu and his two companions were chasing after the Cloud Village ninjas who had fled the main battlefield, the Five-Tails on the main battlefield had also fully revealed itself and was venting its fury.

Its long period of captivity by humans instilled in it a deep hatred for all humans within its sight. And the first to suffer were the ninjas of Iwagakure, the village closest to them.

It can be said that of the surviving Iwagakure ninjas, only a small number died at the hands of Kirigakure and the Uzumaki Alliance, while the majority perished under the hooves of the Five-Tails, Kokuou.

This even includes the leader of the Iwagakure team this time, Hunter, the leader of the demolition squad.

Well, or rather, it's more appropriate to call him Hunter Sauce now.

After wiping out all the Iwagakure ninja in the vicinity, it naturally set its sights on Kirigakure and the Uzumaki Alliance in the distance.

"Iwagakure has really gone mad. Can they really carry around a tailed beast like that?" Hozuki Zangetsu was also a bit of a headache, looking at the Five-Tails in the distance, which was constantly breathing white air from its nostrils and scraping the ground with its hooves, as if it was about to charge this way.

Despite being top-tier ninjas who had experienced countless bloody battles, they had absolutely no confidence in subduing such a behemoth.

Unfortunately, most ninjas lack the ability to attack large animals, or rather, such behemoths should not appear on the battlefield!

"You just need to hold him off for half a minute, then leave the rest to me!"

Takumi Uzumaki glanced at the fleeing Uzumaki elder and child behind him, a resolute glint in his eyes, as if he had made a decision.

"Chief! Let me do it!"

Realizing that Takumi was about to use some kind of ninjutsu, the other Uzumaki elders all rushed forward to try to stop him.