Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Thick earthen walls rose up one after another, attempting to slow the collapse of the altar and buy their companions even a second more.

However, all this is in vain.

The newly erected earthen walls crumbled as easily as sand sculptures upon touching the red light emanating from the ground.

Shuo Mao was pulled back more than ten meters by the yellow earth. He looked back and saw the image of the entire altar sinking into the abyss reflected in his deep eyes.

"Boom!"

The final loud bang came, as if the giant beast had closed its mouth.

The eerie altar that had been standing there just moments before, along with the surrounding land within hundreds of meters, vanished completely in a matter of seconds.

Instead, there is a huge circular crater with a diameter of over 100 meters and an unfathomable depth.

The edges of the pit were as smooth as a mirror, from which black smoke rose in wisps. Endless darkness lingered within, like a mouth leading to the underworld, silently gazing at these tiny creatures on the surface of the earth.

Dead silence.

Absolute silence.

The joint investigation team members, who had retreated to a safe distance, stared at the sinkhole before them with lingering fear, their throats dry, unable to utter a single word.

What they just witnessed was beyond their comprehension of ninjutsu.

“Cough… cough…”

A young Iwagakure ninja couldn't help but cough. He wasn't injured, but rather choked by the aura of despair and madness he had just witnessed.

"Is everything...is everything alright?"

Huang Tu loosened his grip on Shuo Mao's hand, panting heavily, and looked around at his subordinates.

The Iwagakure ninjas were all pale-faced, but they all shook their heads to indicate that they were fine.

Huang Tu then turned his gaze to Shuo Mao, his face showing a hint of bitterness and apology: "I'm sorry, Senior Shuo Mao. The clues... seem to have really gone cold."

This operation has caused Iwagakure to lose all face.

They were completely fooled by cult members, and almost dragged their allies down with them. In the end, all they had left was a deep pit.

Sakumo Hatake did not answer immediately.

His gaze calmly swept over the huge crater, over the surrounding ravaged forest, and finally landed on his own short knife, which had just been stained with blood.

The blade remained spotless, without a trace of blood.

He slowly raised his head, looked at the yellow earth, and shook his head.

"No."

His voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable certainty.

"We have not failed."

Huang Tu was stunned, and the Iwagakure and Konoha ninjas behind him also showed puzzled expressions.

Even after all this, it's not considered a failure? Is this Konoha White Fang trying to comfort them?

Shuo Mao didn't explain. He slowly walked to the carcass of the giant wild boar that he had previously beheaded with a single stroke.

Because of the timely evacuation, the body was not swept into the collapse.

He crouched down and, with the tip of his short knife, gently sliced ​​under the wild boar's thick bristles.

The black scorpion tattoo hidden beneath the skin was once again exposed to everyone's eyes.

Then, Sakumo stood up and walked to the other side, where the remains of the evil cultists he had previously dismembered lay. He rummaged through the pile of fragmented, still slightly wriggling parts and picked up a tattered piece of black robe cloth.

On the lining of that piece of fabric, an identical, lifelike scorpion pattern was embroidered in black silk thread.

"This is……"

Huang Tu came closer, his brows furrowing as he looked at the two identical marks in Shuo Mao's hand.

"What organization's logo is this? I've never seen it in any ninja world intelligence reports."

Sakumo's eyes sharpened. "To be able to create that kind of spore bio-weapon and build an altar so quietly, there must be someone behind it... or a group of people who harbor great malice towards Konoha and everything we have now."

Sakumo's words made everyone present feel uneasy.

Huang Tu's face was so gloomy it could drip water. This was no longer a simple biological weapon attack; it was a premeditated and organized war against Konoha and the Iwagakure alliance.

"What... should we do?" a Konoha ninja couldn't help but ask.

All eyes were focused on Sakumo Hatake.

Sakumo slowly sheathed his short sword with a soft click. This simple action seemed to possess a calming power.

"go back."

Shuo Mao only said two words.

"Inform the Hokage and the Tsuchikage."

His gaze shifted to the bottomless pit, as if he could see the darkness hidden deep underground.