Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

It will take at most five or six hours.

We will definitely be able to catch up with this Konoha spy!

"Okay, Ogata-san, you take the others and follow the trail. I'll contact Yoto-san at the Jonin team and immediately order the Iwa ninja at all the outposts and guard posts to intercept and search. I'll try to outflank them from another direction. They might not retreat from the southeast; they could go around to the Land of Lightning. We also need to be careful that they might have someone to meet them. Once you find any trace, Ogata-san, please make sure to send a signal immediately!"

The general said with a serious expression.

"Don't worry, Mr. Jiang, I understand!"

Oogata nodded solemnly.

Ogata knew better than anyone how valuable a high-ranking spy was. If they could be captured successfully, it would not only save the village from its losses, but also bring even greater benefits, such as the list of other spies that Konoha had placed in their own village!

This is the intelligence information that Ogata most wanted to obtain.

At this moment, neither Shoji nor Ogata lingered or hesitated. After assigning tasks and locking onto the target's location, they each led their own groups to carry out the corresponding pursuit missions!

Amidst layers of espionage, from initial blind guesses to later shrouded in mystery, and now with the target locked in, it can be said that the various safeguards and advantages that Nono had meticulously laid out for herself were being dismantled layer by layer under Shoji's pursuit, leading to the final chase and escape between the two sides.

Whether one side can successfully achieve its intentions depends on the efforts of both sides, and also on some fate. Of course, it also involves the decision of another person, namely, Danzo Shimura, the leader of Konoha Root who caused Nono to infiltrate Iwagakure to carry out a spy mission!

Three days prior, when Nonou noticed something amiss, she had used a special channel to send back the relevant intelligence and a request for retreat to the Konoha Root.

Although she didn't trust Shimura Danzo, she had great faith in the value of the information she could provide. At this moment, Nonou still naively believed that with the information she provided and her own value, Shimura Danzo would most likely send someone to support her. As long as she could successfully meet up with the person who was supposed to meet her, Nonou was confident that she could return to Konoha Village smoothly.

This is Nono's plan.

In reality, however, it was quite different from what this wandering priestess had imagined!

Two days ago, in Konoha Village, the day after Nonou returned to Konoha Village with the relevant information, Shimura Danzo, who had successfully received the information, looked at the information Nonou reported, and at that moment, an extremely dense and cold look appeared in his exposed pupils, as he looked at the two small teams of elite Root members that had been summoned directly.

"Go, bring back the last bit of information about Nonou, then kill her. Remember to have Kabuto do it. I'll order that guy to meet up with you at the border, understand?"

Danzo, realizing that Nono was no longer of any use and wanting to eliminate any remaining threat, made what he considered to be a very wise and brilliant decision.

This is the best option to ensure the highest interests of Konoha.

This is Danzo's judgment.

"Yes, Lord Danzo!"

And those elite members of Root, who were almost all puppets of Danzo, would never disobey Danzo's orders.

They will always follow Danzo's lead!

Two small teams, eight elite members from the root region.

Then, at Danzo's signal,

"whoosh"

"whoosh"

"whoosh"

"Whoosh!"

Each of them leaped forward and quickly left the Root Base, heading north towards the Land of Earth.

Judging from the speed at which these elite members of the Root Army are moving, they should be able to rendezvous with Nonou at the time she plans to retreat, in a location that is not too far from the designated location, provided that everything goes smoothly.

But if everything goes smoothly, Nono will definitely not escape being killed, and this is a situation that Nono could never have predicted.

She had foreseen all possible scenarios, but she never expected Danzo to be so stupid as to disregard all other possibilities and only want to execute her, even going so far as to use her almost-childlike friend, Kabuto, to kill her!

It can be said that when Danzo made this decision...

Nonou's fate was already sealed.

This is why, in the original work, no matter what choice Nono makes, she can only face a tragic end. Iwagakure will never believe her, and Danzo wants to kill her. Therefore, to put it bluntly, Shoji in this life will become Nono's last chance for survival. Unlike that fool Danzo, Shoji can clearly see Nono's value, and most importantly, Kabuto Yakushi's potential.

The former goes without saying, and the latter was further verified in the later part of the original work!

Although there are many issues to consider when trying to recruit Yakushi Nonou and her son Yakushi Kabuto, these issues and risks are worth trying compared to the potential benefits. Besides, at worst, there are just some restrictions to impose.

It is a bit troublesome.

The general still felt that this was a matter of more advantages than disadvantages.

"So, Nono-kun (Note: In Japan, women can also be addressed as 'kun'), you'd better just let me catch you obediently, or else an even more tragic end awaits you!"

Shoji traveled along the southeastern road outside his own ninja village, following the traces he had previously discovered, and sped towards the location where Nono might have retreated. Although the area was still a bit wide, with Shoji's strength and speed, plus the assistance of Ogata and other Iwa ninjas, the probability of catching Nono before the border was quite high!

Meanwhile, on the other side, Nono, who still felt she had plenty of time to escape, realized shortly after leaving Iwagakure that the situation might have undergone a dramatic change she had not anticipated.

Although it was hard to believe, judging from the obstacles and backup plans she had set up, and most importantly, the control measures implemented by the Iwa ninja in the outer areas of Iwagakure, Nonoyu concluded that her identity and whereabouts had been completely exposed.

'Wow, it was that fast?! Or has someone else been caught?'

This situation has suddenly turned around.

This instantly put Nonou in an extremely disadvantageous situation. She knew very well that with her strength, once she was completely locked onto by the Iwa ninja's tracking force, it would be difficult for her to escape alive. After all, Nonou's spy skills were very strong, but her personal strength was only at the level of elite Chunin. A Jonin could put Nonou in a difficult situation, not to mention that there was a tracking force of dozens of elite Iwa ninja behind her.

Of course, if Nono knew that Tsukasa, a famous Uchiha genius in the ninja world, had joined the pursuit, her expression would probably be even more interesting.

Unlike before.

The current commander is widely recognized as a 'Five Kage level' powerhouse.

No matter how confident Nonou is, she probably doesn't think she can easily survive Shoji's pursuit. But no matter what the final outcome is, Nonou will definitely do everything she can to try her best in the process!

This is not only for herself, but also for Kabuto who joined the Roots, and for the children in the orphanage. These people are the driving force and belief that Nono fights for!

'Even for the sake of those children, I must go back!'

A resolute glint flashed in Nono's eyes as she readjusted her retreat route, heading towards a more secluded location.

Only by avoiding the main force of the Iwa ninja could she have a higher chance of escaping.

This is a choice made with great care.

Indeed, this allowed Nono to avoid almost all the Iwa ninja pursuit and interception forces. Those forces had already received orders from the Jonin team to thoroughly investigate the Iwa ninja guarding the strongholds in the surrounding area. Not a single one of them discovered Nono's whereabouts. Nono completely avoided these strongholds, preferring to take a longer route to minimize the risk.

Even Nonou was considering abandoning her plan to head south into the Land of Grass if things went wrong, and instead trying to find a way to retreat directly east, returning to the Land of Fire from either the Land of Iron or the Land of Waterfall!

If all else fails, they can head further north and enter the Land of Lightning. Although that might cause them to miss their reinforcements, it's the only option they can do. Nono doesn't believe that the Iwagakure pursuit force would dare to venture deep into the Land of Lightning.

If this were discovered by the border troops stationed in Kumogakure, it would be a very serious diplomatic incident in the current situation. This is also Nono's last backup option!

"The soul is pale!"

"Haven't you found it there yet?"

"no!"

"Has any news come from Chiyang?"

"No!"

With agile maneuvering and the most careful choices, Nonou managed to outrun the Iwa ninja pursuing her by less than two hours, and even had to take the longest possible route. She still managed to leave the Iwa ninja, including Ogata, who were following closely behind, in the dust. Although she couldn't completely shake off the Iwa ninja, she clearly didn't let them catch her tail. If she maintained this distance, and if she could drag it out for a few more hours or even a whole day, it would be enough for Nonou to reach the border.

At that time, the difficulty of the Iwa ninja's pursuit will definitely increase, and there is even a high probability that they will be met by the Konoha Village's support force.

It can be said that Nono is truly a top-tier expert in this field.

Unfortunately, this time the wandering priestess encountered another freak with cheat codes, namely Uchiha Shoji, who had also come from another path. If it were a year ago, or even a few months ago, Shoji would most likely have lost track of Nonou.

But now, with his perception of natural energy gradually becoming clearer, even though he is still unable to absorb and refine Sage Chakra.

However, it is already possible to enhance some of one's perception.

The scents they had sensed at those locations earlier were just like that. On the current pursuit route, although Nono had done a lot of cover-up work, the time was very short. In fact, if Ogata and the others spent more time, they could lock in further information, but that would definitely give Nono time to escape.

But the general is different.

This aura, which could be easily detected, could not escape Shoji's senses under the enhanced perception of the Sharingan.

This directly and firmly locks onto the target location.

"Whoosh!"

A figure rushing upwards.

"Ha! Is it right in front of me?"

Unlike Ogata and the others, who were still hanging dozens of miles away, after two or three hours, Shoji had already approached the area less than five miles from Nono.

"You almost managed to escape, didn't you? Let me see if you're really the same Yakushi Nonou from the original story!"

A sharp glint flashed in Shoji's eyes, and the chakra that burst forth further rapidly chased after the position ahead. Within this range, with Shoji's strength, he could already clearly detect Nono's chakra fluctuations!

This allows you to pinpoint the exact location of the target!

However, in contrast to Nono, who was still focused on moving forward, she was completely unaware that danger was approaching. As mentioned before, Nono was valued by Danzo and recruited into Root, so her personal strength was naturally not bad. But this depends on the reference point. Compared to Shoji, Nono seemed too weak. Shoji could easily lock onto Nono, but she couldn't sense Shoji's approach at all.

She's not one of those special sensory-type ninjas.

At this moment, Nono, who still felt that she might be safer, was thinking about how to negotiate with Danzo after returning to the village, and also thought that it would be best to report the information to her Third Hokage in advance.

And only when these things were just being considered.

Suddenly.

Nonou's heart skipped a beat, as if a chilling feeling spread throughout her body. She instinctively stopped, her muscles tensed up, and she pulled out a kunai as she flipped over. She immediately adopted a wary and alert posture, but when she looked around, she found nothing.

This puzzled Nono, but as a spy, Nono's intuition was always very sharp. Just a moment ago, she did feel a very dangerous aura spreading out.

But nothing could be found around them.

This made Nono's brows furrow, but she still didn't relax at all. She always trusted her intuition, which was one of the key factors that allowed her to escape danger once during her many years of espionage.

The absence of discovery does not mean the absence of something!

And it was also when Nono was planning to conduct further investigation.

"Ho ho? You can actually sense a trace of my presence? Although I wasn't taking it very seriously, being able to do this is already quite commendable. You truly deserve to be called Konoha's top spy who infiltrated our village, the walking shrine maiden. No, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to call you Yakushi Nonou?"

Suddenly.

From the shadow of a huge tree trunk on the east side, Shoji stepped out. Nono's heart tightened the moment she heard the voice, and the next moment she turned her gaze in the direction of the sound and saw Shoji's face, which was not unfamiliar at all.

Nono's pupils suddenly contracted, and an extremely ugly expression appeared on her face.

"Uchiha Shoji!?"

The words that came out became dry and difficult at this moment!