Starting from the roots of Konoha, they were the masterminds behind the scenes.

Chapter 17 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind! (Please read further, vote, and give monthly tickets)

"Our mission is not protection."

"Just in case, if the Kongren make a move, we must also intervene."

Hoshino explained, "Secondly, if Sora didn't make a move."

"We need to intercept and kill them on their way back!"

Inuzuka Ryo and the other two's gazes sharpened upon hearing this. Aburame Tobi said, "Captain, does that mean that no matter what, we must eliminate this group of Sky Ninja!"

Xingxia Xiu said calmly, "That's right."

"Remember, this is the principle and style of the roots."

"Eliminate everyone who poses a threat to the village."

"Those the Anbu can't kill, Root will kill!"

Sarutobi Atsushi and the other two couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines upon hearing this.

That's so awesome!

……

Ahead, Jiraiya, who was hurrying along, suddenly turned around and looked at Orochimaru on his right, saying, "Hey, Orochimaru, you must have noticed too, right?"

Orochimaru calmly replied, "It should be someone from the Anbu, just in case."

Tsunade frowned, glanced back, and then said, "Does the Sky Ninja dare to attack us?"

Jiraiya said in a deep voice, "Stealing information on sealing techniques and border defense deployments—there shouldn't be anything they wouldn't dare to do, right?"

"In any case, it's best to be careful."

Tsunade and Orochimaru nodded in agreement.

Speechless all the way.

After noon, the two teams crossed the border of the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Hot Water, one after the other.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

On a spacious grassy field, Jiraiya and his two companions met Sora no Shinobu.

There were five ninja in the air, one of whom was bound by ropes.

Tsunade glanced at it briefly, then snorted coldly and curled her lip: "As expected, perfunctory!"

Orochimaru said, "It was expected."

Jiraiya stepped forward: "You two better not let me down!"

Orochimaru smiled and said, "Don't worry, with Tsunade around, you won't die."

Jiraiya couldn't help but raise a finger behind him.

at the same time.

A ninja from the opposite direction was also leading someone toward Jiraiya.

Finally, the two stopped when they were about five or six steps apart.

"This is the person you wanted!"

He sneered coldly, then reached out and pushed the person bound by ropes, a sinister and cruel smile appearing in his eyes.

One step, two steps, three steps.

When they were almost within reach, the bound ninja suddenly broke free of his ropes and lunged at Jiraiya.

"Be careful!"

Tsunade exclaimed in surprise.

Orochimaru's gaze sharpened, and his hands quickly formed hand seals.

Jiraiya was already on alert. He pushed off with his feet, leaped backward, and formed hand seals.

But the two were too close to each other, and there was no time to react. Smoke was rising from the body of the ninja who pounced on him.

"Oh no, it's an explosive tag!"

"Clone!"

Rumble!

Flames erupted and smoke billowed, completely engulfing Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya!"

Tsunade, shocked and enraged, lunged forward, yelling, "You bastard, die!"

Boom!

The ground exploded, and Tsunade slashed a large crater with her foot.

But Kong Ren leaped backward to avoid the attack, coldly sneering, "You're the ones who will die!"

"No, we'll keep one as a hostage!"

Before he could finish speaking, the three Sky Ninjas behind him had already arrived in front and completed their hand seals.

A fierce wind raged, flames spewed forth, and swords whistled through the air.

Rumble!

A stone wall rose up in front of Tsunade, withstanding the raging winds and flames, as well as the fierce attacks from the shuriken in her hand.

"Tsunade, I'm alright..."

After the fire and smoke dissipated, Jiraiya's disheveled figure was revealed.

"Luckily, I just completed a new spell, otherwise I really would have died this time!"

Jiraiya grinned.

Just now, at the critical moment, he activated the newly developed Lion's Mane Technique, using his hardened hair to wrap himself up and block most of the explosion's power, thus avoiding injury.

At this moment, Orochimaru said from behind, "Don't say things like that too soon. Let's fight our way out first!"

Suddenly, two more aerial ninja squads appeared on each of the left and right sides.

The latest novel is first published here!

In other words, they were now surrounded by twenty Sky Ninja.

Furthermore, although there seemed to be no Sky Ninja behind him, Orochimaru guessed that there were probably Sky Ninja lying in ambush in the woods behind them.

The only good news is that there was originally a squad of ANBU ninjas behind them, who might be able to protect their retreat.

And at that very moment.

In the forest behind Orochimaru and his group, behind four ambushing Sky Ninja, like a hawk stalking a cicada, Xingxia Xiu made a hand signal to Inuzuka Ryo and the other two after hearing the explosion.

Do it!

Hidden Sarutobi Atsushi was the first to leap out, his hands lashing out in quick succession, sending kunai with explosive tags flying out in a whoosh.

Amidst the explosions, four hidden ninjas immediately burst forth from their hiding place.

Teeth clearing!

Ryo Inuzuka and his summoning beast, the Black Ball, leaped into the air and accurately struck a ninja.

At the same time, a dense swarm of insects from Aburame Tobiichi enveloped a Sky Ninja.

The last to strike was Xingxia Xiu, but he killed people even faster.

In the instant he leaped into the air, his body split into three.

The captain of the Sky Ninja Squad blocked only one strike before his body was cut into three pieces and fell from the sky.

When Inuzuka Ryo had finished off his target, the three Hoshinobi Hideakis had already slit the throat of the second Sora Ninja.

In less than five seconds, all four air ninjas were eliminated.

The shadow clones dispersed, and Xingxia Xiu continued her journey, rushing towards the edge of the forest.

Behind him, Sarutobi Atsushi and the other two followed closely.

shhhhhh!

The four emerged from the forest. On the flat grassland, Tsunade and the others were already locked in a fierce battle with numerous Sky Ninjas, making it completely unsuitable to use large-scale ninjutsu for a covert attack.

Hoshino Hide's gaze swept across the area, locking onto Tsunade's figure. He raised both arms, his sword in hand, and blew on it, imbuing it with wind-style chakra. He then hurled the swords out one after another.

Two rapidly spinning windmills roared out one after the other, heading straight for one of the air ninjas who were besieging Tsunade.

The ninja immediately abandoned Tsunade, leaping and soaring, his sword precisely piercing the hollow of the first shuriken, then slashing it to collide with the second shuriken that came hurtling towards him.

With a clang of metal on metal, the two shuriken flew out of their hands.

But just as the Sky Ninja landed, two Star-Under-the-Sea Showmen attacked from both sides.

clang!

With a sword in one hand and a kunai in the other, the ninja blocked the attacks of two shadow clones of Hoshino.

However, Hoshinobu's true form descended from the sky, and his sword, imbued with wind-style chakra, sliced ​​open the Sky Ninja's skull, splitting his head in two.

Just then, two shadow clones exploded one after another, only to be hit by another ninja's shuriken.

Hoshino casually used the air ninja he had killed as a shield to deflect a kunai, then pulled his sword from the corpse. The mud and grass under his feet exploded, and the burst of chakra increased his speed, allowing him to arrive at the air ninja's sneak attack as fast as lightning.

Dangdang Dangdang!

The two ninja swords collided at high speed, sparks flying everywhere.

Suddenly, Hoshinobi kicked his opponent away, and the ninja sword in his hand flew out immediately, piercing through the chest of the air ninja with a "thud".

Hoshino Hideaki followed closely behind, grabbed the hilt of the sword, and pushed the empty ninja on the sword, causing it to crash into another empty ninja.

Release the knife and dodge.

Hoshino appeared behind the enemy, his right hand conjuring a Rasengan.

boom!

The Rasengan struck the air ninja precisely in the back, blasting him into the ground and creating a large crater.

Kong Ren's clothes were torn to shreds on his back, and spiral-shaped wounds appeared on his skin.

What looked like a superficial wound was actually blasted to pieces by the penetrating force of the Rasengan, shattering his spine and internal organs, leaving him utterly dead.

(End of this chapter)