Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha.

In mid-October of Konoha 48, the "hide-and-seek" mission on the front lines of the Land of Hot Springs was nearing its end, during which the Hyuga clan ninjas played a significant role.

Since the Land of Frost sided with the Hidden Cloud Village, it has become an "accomplice" in the war. After Konoha's attempts to negotiate failed, it never took action against the small country.

The battle lines were too long, and the relatively conservative strategy of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, meant that the supply lines of Kumogakure remained uninterrupted.

With the pressure on the battlefield in the Land of Rain greatly reduced, the Konoha leadership finally mobilized again at the end of the year.

The front lines were handled by ninjas as fast as Minato Namikaze, while the mission of disrupting supply lines and infiltrating the Land of Frost was carried out with the assistance of members of the Anbu.

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At 4 a.m., on the border between the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Springs, the hidden Konoha ninjas awaited the arrival of their target.

A short, shrewd member of the ANBU suddenly appeared in the dense forest, silently approaching Furukawa Osamu's side, then leaned down and whispered:

"Lord Xiu, a ninja from Yugakure has appeared."

The armed forces of the Land of Hot Water have a very low profile, and due to their geographical proximity to Konoha, they have always advocated peace.

Furukawa Osamu hadn't expected that the ninjas from this village would also take the initiative to participate in the war. According to previous intelligence, only the ninjas from the Land of Frost were involved in the supply.

Although both Inuzuka Jacques and Akimichi Tou are Jonin, the strongest among them in this operation is Furukawa Osamu.

The mission could be attacked by Cloud Village ninjas at any time, or even encounter Jinchuriki. The two of them rarely expressed their opinions on key decisions, insisting on the principle of having only one leader in the team.

"Kill them all quickly."

Furukawa Osamu gave the instructions expressionlessly, and the ANBU ninja bowed slightly and left immediately.

Below the cliff, ninjas from the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Water were exchanging scrolls. The voice of Osamu Furukawa appeared in the mind of the Konoha ninjas. "Action!" The words had barely left his lips when an explosion rang out.

"They're Konoha ninjas!"

The ninjas from the Land of Hot Water, perhaps having been out of combat for too long, screamed in terror when they saw the Konoha headbands in the light of the explosion. Some of the younger ones cried out in fear as they saw their comrades fall one after another.

"We were not involved in the Cloud Village's operations..."

No one from Konoha used talk-no-jutsu; the only sounds in the valley were sparks from the clash of shuriken and kunai. The difference in strength was too great; the ninjas from the small country couldn't even muster the courage to fight back.

The ninjas of the Land of Frost seemed to have more backbone. Dozens of ninjas who did not flee roared and charged forward, but before they could adjust their formation, blood spurted out from the center of the formation.

"Tooth-to-teeth!"

Inuzuka Jacques and the big dog cut off the battlefield from the side. Amidst screams, the Frost Country ninja, who had just mustered up their courage, hurriedly fled towards the cliff.

Suddenly, rocks flew everywhere above. Akimichi Touto swung his iron rod and knocked away the enemy who was about to reach the top. When the ninjas from the small country in the valley saw this, they all despaired.

Furukawa Osamu simply stood on the cliff, quietly sensing the entire battlefield. He could clearly perceive the strength of the enemy's chakra. This kind of battle was not difficult for Konoha's elite squads.

A ninja from the Land of Frost suddenly used a Lightning Release ninjutsu, injuring a Konoha ninja before turning and running away.

Just as Hyuga Shuichi saw this with his Byakugan and was about to give chase, he suddenly heard a whooshing sound in his ear, and a huge shuriken imbued with wind-style chakra flew towards the fleeing ninja.

"call out!"

"Ugh!"

The ninja from the Land of Frost had no time to react. He was cut in half at the waist with a scream, and blood splattered in the air.

The giant shuriken struck the rock wall with a loud thud after slaying the enemy. Hyuga Shuichi, using his Byakugan, saw Furukawa Osamu retract his throwing stance and secretly gasped.

"What kind of force is that?!"

In less than 10 minutes, only Konoha ninjas remained in the valley. Furukawa Osamu quickly cleaned up the battlefield, provided simple treatment to the wounded, and the four squads sped away to continue sweeping the Frost Country's supply lines.

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On the front lines between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Springs, the Cloud Village squad that launched the surprise attack sensed something was wrong a week ago. Even after retreating to the rear of the Land of Hot Springs, their supplies were dwindling.

What frustrated everyone even more was Minato Namikaze's efficient killing spree.

With Byakugan ninjas present, many traps became useless, and with Minato Namikaze's wide-range perception, the Cloud Village squad at the front line suffered more than half its casualties within half a month.

If it weren't for the exceptional strength of Jonin A and Killer Bee, Konoha's counterattack would most likely have resulted in the complete annihilation of the Cloud Village ninja.

Upon hearing the news of their impending return to the Frost Kingdom early in the morning, the hot-tempered Ai nearly stood on end in anger, glaring at her companions and roaring furiously:

"You want me to choose to run away?"

The idea of ​​fighting on two fronts had already drawn criticism within the village, and the Cloud Village ninja, knowing A's personality, responded calmly without offering much explanation:

"Lord Ai, we can't let anything happen to Bee. Let's return to the Land of Frost first. The supply lines to Yugakure have been cut off."

Jinchuriki are a valuable asset to the village. Kumogakure changes the "vessel" every few years. This time, Killer Bee is a surprisingly good fit, and for safety reasons, he should stay in the village.

Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Killer Bee, carrying a short sword, pulled A back and soothed him in his comical tone:

"You idiot, big brother! Without supplies, how are we supposed to fight?"

"That blond bastard just runs around. Next time I'll break his mark, and Big Brother can easily take care of him."

Killer Bee started humming again as he spoke, cursing Minato Namikaze in a string of gibberish. For a moment, the Cloud Village ninja present all felt a bit overwhelmed; the rap was really awful.

Ai's eye twitched. He had been unwilling to admit that he was at a disadvantage without his brothers' help. Noticing that the remaining two squad members looked exhausted, he paused for a moment and then gave them some instructions:

"I'll cover your retreat! You and Biyan should return to the Frost Kingdom as soon as possible."

"If you encounter Konoha ninja, do not act rashly; retreat to the border outpost immediately."

"Damn Sunagakure, they actually got scared by Konoha ninjas and retreated back to their village..."

The Cloud Village ninjas truly hadn't expected that after a single conflict, the Sand Village would retreat for three months. If the Leaf Village had acted boldly, their squads might have already been ambushed.

"Lord Ai, let us cover the rear, and you can take care of protecting Killer Bee."

"You bastard, are you underestimating me?!"

Killer Bee started another round of rapping, and Ai shook his head helplessly, refusing to accept the suggestion:

"You can't stop him. Take him away and leave immediately!"

The Cloud Village members lowered their heads in shame; in a battle far exceeding that of ordinary ninjas, they were utterly helpless.

Killer Bee wasn't being willful; he knew his importance. Before leaving, he bumped fists with A and gave him some strange instructions:

"Big brother, don't keep me waiting too long!"

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