From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

After assessing the current situation, Kakashi suppressed the turmoil in his mind and asked Yamato, who was standing to the side with a pale face, "Are you alright, Tenzo?"

Upon seeing Kakashi, Yamato showed no sign of relief; instead, he became even more anxious, saying urgently, "Kakashi-senpai, the purpose of my signal to you was not to ask you to come and support us."

The hidden signal that Yamato sent earlier was the highest level of danger signal, and its meaning is quite simple.

We've encountered a very strong and dangerous enemy. We're probably all going to be wiped out here. You'd better take your men and run away quickly.

After sending this signal, Yamato prepared to die in battle, just to buy a little time for Kakashi's team.

After all, compared to the life and death of their ANBU squad, the tailed beast jinchūriki is of strategic significance to a ninja village.

"My escort mission was already completed, so when I heard that you had encountered enemies, I rushed over to provide support."

Kakashi carefully examined Yamato's injuries and, seeing that he was not seriously hurt, breathed a sigh of relief and casually offered an explanation.

"That's why, Kakashi-senpai, you should stay over there instead of coming to support us."

Yamato shook his head, his expression becoming even more solemn, and said in a deep voice, "The first task the Hokage entrusted to our team and to you is to ensure the safety of the Uzumaki..."

"Let's put the mission aside for now. I can't just stand by and watch my comrades die because of the mission."

Kakashi waved his hand, interrupting Yamato's words with a relaxed expression, but a strange melancholy appeared in his eyes.

"Besides, my lovely students are very capable, and I believe they can handle everything."

Yamato felt a warmth in his heart, but still intended to continue persuading Kakashi to go back.

"Kakashi-senpai, we appreciate your kindness, but the situation is unclear. You should go back as soon as possible; we'll hold them off..."

"Alright, if you're really worried about something going wrong over there, let's deal with these two enemies as soon as possible. Time is of the essence, so let's not say anything more."

Kakashi interrupted Yamato again, his gaze sharpening as he looked at the two mysterious figures in the distance who seemed to still be arguing. He said in a deep voice, "Tenzo, you have fought against the enemy. Now I need you to tell me everything you know."

Yamato was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"That silver-haired guy with slicked-back hair is very strong in both physical and sword skills. From the very beginning of our fight, two of our colleagues died at his hands. In addition, that guy's physique is also very special. The injuries we inflicted on him before had little effect, and he seems to have a recovery ability that is even greater than that of ordinary people."

After a pause, Yamato added:

"His chakra also gives me a very evil feeling."

Although Yamato is not a sensory ninja in the conventional sense, he has the First Hokage's cells transplanted into him, and the First Hokage's sensory abilities can be said to be among the strongest in the history of the ninja world.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, even in his Edo Tensei form, he could perceive the situation on the battlefield from across most of the Shinobi World, as if reading on the palm of his hand.

Even the Impure World Body is like this, let alone Hashirama Senju at his peak.

Although Yamato is like a glimmer of light compared to Hashirama Senju, his sensory abilities are still stronger than many sensory ninjas.

According to his perception, Hidan's chakra was large, but still within the range of a regular ninja. However, the feeling of that chakra was extremely eerie to him.

And the other one.....

Yamato's gaze sharpened, and he tilted his head slightly to look at Kakuzu, saying in a deep voice, "This guy, like you, Kakashi-senpai, is proficient in all five elemental ninjutsu, and can even combine them at will to form combined ninjutsu with immense power! But this guy's chakra seems somewhat complex and chaotic."

In Yamato's perception, Kakuzu's chakra was so great that, apart from Jinchuriki, it surpassed that of everyone he had ever seen.

His chakra was even stranger than Hidan's before.

It was as if that person's chakra wasn't a single entity, but rather a composite of multiple different chakra strands stitched together.

"Compared to the previous ninja, this one is not only stronger, but also much calmer, making him a much more difficult opponent."

At the beginning, Kakuzu was always standing by and letting Hidan fight them, without any intention of intervening.

It wasn't until Yamato used Wood Release that Kakuzu suddenly sprang to his feet, as if he had been stimulated by something.

And every move he makes is a killing blow!

The Five Elements Ninjutsu were used with ease, instantly wiping out most of their squad members.

"I see!"

Kakashi nodded, glanced at Hidan's Hiren, pondered for a moment, and then drew his own White Fang short sword.

"This guy's ritual, the pattern seems strange and dangerous. In the upcoming fight, be careful not to let him complete his ritual."

Kakashi gripped his weapon tighter and gave a reminder.

"Hi!"

Meanwhile, in the distance, Hidan and Kakuzu are still locked in a standoff.

"Damn it, saying such nonsense that only you can kill him."

Hidan was filled with resentment and shouted, "You just want his heart, you despicable person!"

Kakuzu remained calm, glancing at Hidan out of the corner of his eye, and said indifferently, "He can be considered one of them."

Hidan, seeing Kakuzu's nonchalant demeanor, flew into a rage: "Bastard, I'll kill you! How dare you interrupt my..."

"The ceremony can be held again."

Kakuzu interrupted, saying, "Your complicated ritual is complicated enough as it is, a little more won't hurt."

"Shut up. Of course I know the ritual is troublesome, but the doctrines and rules are strict, and there's nothing I can do about it."

At this point, Hidan was taken aback. Wasn't he questioning Hidan about interrupting his ritual?

How did it turn into me explaining the ritual procedures?

Hidan gritted his teeth and said, "Ugh, I'm so angry! I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"

Just as Hidan was about to charge forward, Kakuzu's calm voice rang out.

"We'll talk about killing me later, Hidan."

Kakuzu glanced at the Konoha Anbu group in the distance out of the corner of his eye and said calmly, "Compared to that unknown Wood Release ninja, I think the famous Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi would be a more suitable gift for your sacrificial ritual, wouldn't he?"

"Kakashi Hatake?"

Hidan was taken aback, followed Kakuzu's gaze, pondered for a moment, and then grinned.

“Indeed, if I were to offer such a famous figure as a sacrifice to the Evil God, the Evil God would be very pleased.”

"Hmph! But you, Kakuzu, don't expect me to forgive you for interrupting my ritual!"

"Let's talk about it later."

Seeing that Hidan had been fooled, Kakuzu turned his gaze to the Konoha Anbu in the distance, or more precisely, to Yamato.

At this moment, Yamato formed a strange hand seal, and the gruesome wound on his chest had stopped bleeding and was even healing at a speed far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Seeing this, Kakuzu lowered his eyelids slightly and said in a casual tone, "With your Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, your healing and recovery abilities are quite strong."

Kakuzu's voice was extremely soft, yet inexplicably, it reached everyone's ears clearly.

The group from Konoha looked serious and were on high alert.

"However, you are still far inferior to the First Hokage."

At this moment, Kakuzu's calm voice suddenly changed, and he spoke condescendingly.

"Back when I fought the First Hokage, his powerful body was full of vitality, and he could automatically and quickly recover from his injuries without needing to form hand seals."

Upon hearing this, Kakashi was startled.

The enemy's words revealed two pieces of information.

First, he fought against the First Hokage!

Secondly, he also injured the First Hokage.

Otherwise, how would he know that the First Hokage possessed powerful regenerative abilities?

'This seems to be a formidable enemy.'

Kakashi didn't really believe much of what Kakuzu said.

After all, the First Hokage passed away decades ago. Even if this guy was just a teenager when he fought the First Hokage, he would be at least a seventy or eighty-year-old man now.

How could he still look like a middle-aged man?

Although he didn't believe it, Kakashi's vigilance was at its peak. He gripped White Fang tightly and gave orders to Yamato and the two surviving Anbu members:

"Prepare for battle!"

War is imminent!

Meanwhile, at the Great Waterfall in Takigaku Village.

The three members of Class 7, each with their own thoughts, entered a secret passage under the waterfall, led by the enthusiastic Fu.

The mission was considered complete at this point, and Shemu didn't want people from other hidden villages to enter the village through the dense network of secret passages.

Fu insisted that, as hospitable and generous hosts, they should take good care of guests who had come from afar.

Seeing this, Shibuki could only swallow his words, even though he originally wanted to stop it.

"Konoha is a friendly village to Takigakure, so it shouldn't be a problem. I haven't broken any rules."

Shemu found a reason in his heart to comfort himself.

The secret passage was extremely long, and the group continued forward until they reached the end, where a whirlpool appeared.

Following the eddy current downstream, it was initially extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. After swimming several dozen meters further, it suddenly opened up into a bright and spacious area.

After surfacing, Fu shouted:

"Welcome, friends of Konoha! This is..."

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Before Fu could finish speaking, a faint yet extremely urgent voice came from behind her.

Shibuki and Fu's expressions changed simultaneously. They looked toward the source of the sound and saw a ninja wearing a Takigakure headband, covered in bloodstains, and with several kunai stuck in his thigh, limping slowly toward them.

"Huayan?"

"Brother Huayan?"

Shibuki and Fu quickly stepped forward to support him, and after he caught his breath a few times, they asked:

"what happened?"

"Lord Shibaki."

Hua Yan spoke weakly, "The enemy attacked the village...we...we..."