People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

The lack of high-end combat power is a significant disadvantage in the war.

Jiraiya sighed softly, "Old man, you're getting old. You hesitate when you should be decisive, and you're so decisive when you should hesitate. The Uchiha clan... what a pity."

Although Jiraiya was Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple, he had no prejudice against the Uchiha clan.

Even because of the friendship between his disciple Minato Namikaze's wife, Kushina Uzumaki, and Mikoto Uchiha, Jiraiya had a rather favorable impression of the Uchiha clan, feeling that they were not the extreme and uncontrollable clan that the higher-ups claimed.

The current situation in Konoha was entirely avoidable; it can be said that Konoha's leadership brought it upon themselves.

Jiraiya shook his head helplessly. This was the reason why he didn't want to stay in Konoha. Even though Hiruzen Sarutobi had hinted that he wanted Jiraiya to succeed him as the Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya refused.

Jiraiya saw that Konoha was already corrupt, and the root cause of Konoha's corruption was the interest group led by Danzo. Even if he became Hokage, without any real foundation, he could not change the status quo and would only become a puppet Hokage under these interest groups.

Night falls.

The four Jonin designated by Jiraiya began their operation.

Under the cover of night, the four of them stealthily advanced and arrived at the heart of the Sunagakure village's encampment.

Asuma gave Kurenai a look, and Kurenai understood immediately.

"Illusion? The Sakura Nami Technique!"

After Kurenai finished her hand seals, cherry blossom petals fell from the sky.

Upon seeing the beautiful cherry blossom petals, the ninja from Sunagakure who were stationed there gradually lost their luster and fell into a deep sleep and coma.

After all the guarding ninjas fell into a deep sleep, Gekko Hayate drew his katana and killed them all.

After dealing with the guarding ninjas, the four of them proceeded to Ebizo's tent.

Asura Kurenai and Gyoko Hayate kept watch outside the tent, while Might Guy and Asma silently entered the tent.

At this moment, Ebi was sleeping in bed, completely unaware that Might Guy and Asma had entered the tent.

Might Guy and Asuma exchanged a glance and nodded to each other. Asuma then took out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch, gripped it in his hand, and thrust it towards Ebizo's neck.

With a "plop," the kunai in Asuma's hand successfully sank into Ebizo's neck.

Strangely, no blood gushed from Ebizo's wound; instead, his body began to crack like plaster.

"Trap! Retreat!" Asma immediately issued the order to retreat.

However, it was still too late. Kurenai and Hayate Gekko, who were guarding outside the tent, were forced into the tent.

The sound of ninjutsu being unleashed could be heard outside the tent.

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"

Like sharp blades, the wind destroyed the tent and then attacked Asma and his companions.

Asuma and his companions moved through the wind blades, successfully dodging them.

Meanwhile, the ninja forces from Sunagakure had completely surrounded Asuma.

The assassination target, Ebizo, was also on the list.

Leaning on his cane, Ebizo said coldly, "Just as I expected, Konoha will definitely send ninjas to deal with us first. How naive."

As the strategist of Sunagakure, Ebizo had already anticipated that Konoha would send ninjas to stop the Sunagakure ninja forces based on his analysis of the situation, and he was already prepared.

"Asuma, what should we do?" Kurenai asked Asuma, her brows furrowed.

"There's no other way. The assassination mission failed. Now we have to fight our way out! You guys follow me!"

Asma quickly forms hand seals.

Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!

Asma spewed out a large cloud of smoke and ash, covering the entire area.

With a 'click', Asuma lit the flint that had been placed in his molars beforehand, and the cloud of smoke and ash was instantly ignited, turning into bursts of flame that raged across the battlefield.

"Now's the time!"

Asuma summoned Moonlight Gale, and Might Guy and Kurenai followed in his footsteps, retreating while the ash cloud obscured the Sunagakure ninjas' vision.

"Sarutobi Asuma, the son of Hiruzen Sarutobi? How lucky! We can't let you get away!" Ebizo's powerful voice came from within the flames.

Four puppets burst forth from the flames, blocking Asuma and his companions' retreat route.

In contrast, almost none of the Sunagakure ninjas were injured in Asuma's attack.

Chapter 212 The Lost Gyutaro

The current situation is quite unfavorable for Asuma and his group.

Outnumbered and outgunned, and with Kurenai's illusions being useless against the puppets, the only ones truly capable of fighting were Asuma, Might Guy, and Hayate Gekko.

"Eight Gates Formation! Fifth Gate! Gate of Closure Opens!"

Might Guy immediately activated the Eight Gates and charged into the crowd.

"Fire! Leaf Vajra Whirlwind!"

Might Guy swept his leg, sending a large number of Sunagakure ninjas flying into the air.

Hayate Gekko also activated his Bloodline Limit Transmission, concealing his form.

"Konoha Style Swordsmanship: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

Like a harvester, Gale Moonlight reaps the lives of the Sand Village ninja.

"Red! Follow me!"

Asuma gave a warning and then joined the battle.

The Sand Village ninjas, unaware of Asuma's and others' strength, initially suffered heavy casualties, but thanks to their numerical advantage and the use of puppets, the situation gradually stabilized.

And with Ebizo's superb puppetry skills, he began to overpower the four.

As the battle dragged on, Asuma and his companions were exhausted.

At this moment, Might Guy had already opened the Sixth Gate, and Hayate Gekko's katana was already chipped. Asuma, who was constantly using ninjutsu, was also beginning to feel exhausted, and Kurenai Yuhi, who was fighting alongside Asuma, was also slightly injured.

In contrast, the ninjas of Sunagakure did not engage Asuma and his group in direct combat. Instead, they chose to use puppets to wear down Asuma and his companions, ensuring that they could capture or kill them with minimal losses.

Meanwhile, on the other side of this fierce battlefield, a slender figure was steadily approaching.

And this figure was none other than Gyutaro, who had already gotten lost.

After parting ways with Yosuke that day, Gyutaro traveled throughout the ninja world, experiencing its customs and traditions while searching for Orochimaru.

However, every time Gyutaro found Orochimaru's trail and went to investigate, he was always a step too late. By the time Gyutaro arrived, only the base was empty.

This time, Gyutaro received messages from both Osamu and Yosuke, and the three of them met in Kumogakure.

Unfortunately, Gyutaro got lost.

Gyutaro, who was originally in the Land of Waterfalls, could reach the Land of Lightning by passing through the Land of Frost and the Land of Fields.

However, Gyutaro went the wrong way and took a completely opposite route, passing through the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain, and arriving at the Land of Wind, which was all yellow desert.

Realizing he had gone the wrong way, Gyutaro immediately turned around, wanting to take a shortcut through the Land of Fire. However, he did not expect to encounter ninjas from Konoha and Sunagakure fighting there.

Gyutaro, who didn't want to get involved, chose to watch from the sidelines, thoroughly enjoying himself.

But Gyutaro noticed something was wrong. The way the Konoha ninja wielding the sword swung his sword was reminiscent of Yosuke's swordsmanship, and his breathing style was clearly the same as the breathing technique from his own world.

Gyutaro suddenly remembered that Yosuke had spent some time in Konoha, and considering the ^ organization that Yosuke founded, then this ninja wielding a sword was very likely a member of the ^ organization.

Since they might be partners in the same organization, Gyutaro decided to get involved.

Seeing Gyutaro approaching, the Sunagakure ninja prepared for battle.

Because if he were an ordinary civilian, he would never approach such a formation, and the ninjas from Sunagakure would not believe that he was an ally. Therefore, it is very likely that he was a ninja who came to support Asuma and the others.

Gyutaro appears on the battlefield where Konoha and Sunagakure are fighting.

Faced with Gyutaro, who exuded a powerful aura and was not wearing a headband, the ninjas of Sunagakure dared not make any rash moves.

Gyutaro scratched his cheek and tilted his head to look at the Sunagakure ninja: "Huh, why are you all looking at me?"

Ebizo stepped forward from the ranks and asked solemnly, "This is the battlefield between Sunagakure and Konoha. Why are you here?!"

"I won't interfere with your battle, but I'm taking him away." Gyutaro pointed his blood scythe at Gekko Hayate.

Asuma, Might Guy, and Kurenai looked at Hayate Gekko with confusion.

Moonlight Gale looked completely bewildered: "I don't know him."

Ebizo's face immediately darkened: "So they really are Konoha ninjas coming to support them? Attack!"

With Ebizo giving the order, the Sunagakure ninja launched a fierce attack on Gyutaro.

"Blood Demon Art? A clumsy, leaping spectacle!"

Gyutaro used the blood-red slashes to surround his entire body for comprehensive defense, blocking all the ninjutsu attacks from Sunagakure.

"Blood Demon Art? Flying Blood Scythe? Chaos!"

Gyutaro transformed his own blood into countless razor-thin blades and launched them out.

Bloodstained blades mercilessly reaped the lives of Sunagakure ninjas amidst the crowd; in just a moment, the Sunagakure ninjas suffered heavy casualties.

Asuma and the other three were dumbfounded, unable to believe the strength displayed by the suddenly appearing Gyutaro.

Ebizo was furious. He could have dealt with Asuma and the others at a very low cost, but Gyutaro's appearance made the cost unacceptable.

Ebizo manipulated the puppet and attacked Gyutaro.

"Puppetry? I've never witnessed a puppeteer's attack methods before."

Facing the puppet wielding a sharp blade that was heading straight for him, Gyutaro neither dodged nor evaded, but raised his hand and used his body to directly withstand the puppet's attack.

The puppet's sharp blade pierced Gyutaro's arm.

With a backhand slash of his scythe, the puppet was instantly torn to pieces.

"Is that all?" Gyutaro was somewhat disappointed with the puppetry technique.

Gyutaro originally wanted to collect some puppetry techniques, but now he no longer has that intention, as this kind of attack is too weak for him.

Ebizo sneered, "Don't underestimate the puppetry techniques of Sunagakure! You've been poisoned, and without an antidote, you can only wait to die!"

"Is it highly poisonous..." Gyutaro felt the changes in his body and discovered that a toxin was constantly destroying his cells.