Chapter 218: What a Thrill
Twenty minutes later, Sakumo Hatake arrived at the scene with his squad. He found the two unconscious Konoha ninja, woke them up, and demanded a situation report.
The two groggily came to their senses, staring blankly for a moment before answering.
"Wait... something's wrong. Weren't we crouching in the woods? What happened? Were we discovered? Why don't I have any memory of it?"
After confirming that the pair couldn't recall anything no matter how hard they tried, Sakumo didn't dwell on it. This pursuit team was a collection of Konoha's elite—Aburame, Hyuga, Inuzuka, and other sensory specialists were all present. Once they picked up a trail, shaking off Konoha's pursuit would be nearly impossible.
"Wait! Where's my dog?! My giant dog is gone!"
"Where is General Iwa?! Has anyone seen General Iwa?! GENERAL IWA!!!"
Regardless of the panicked cries of the two Inuzuka ninja, within minutes, the Aburame clan members and another Inuzuka tracker had already pinpointed a new direction.
"Hokage-sama, they ran east."
"Pursue!"
Countless black shadows shot forward, disappearing into the night.
A moment later, a man and a woman appeared at the same spot. It was Hiroto Uzumaki and Kayo Uzumaki.
"Kushina must have been here," Hiroto noted.
"Can you sense her direct location?"
Kayo shook her head. "It seems Kushina is too far away, beyond the range of my Mind's Eye of the Kagura. I can only sense that group of Konoha ninja."
"Let's keep following them... If they went east, they'll hit the coastline of the Land of Hot Water soon..."
"Wait," Kayo paused. "There seems to be another person approaching from behind."
"Probably a straggler from Konoha. Let's evade first, don't get discovered."
Kayo nodded.
Long after Hiroto and Kayo had left, a dark silhouette arrived at the scene.
The figure placed a hand on the ground, sensing the vibrations for a long time. eventually, they too headed east.
"Go! Split up in two directions!"
After using the ninja dogs to leave the forest and reach the flatlands, Nagato had tied pieces of his and Kushina's clothing onto the two beasts. He then ordered them to run in different directions as decoys.
His control over the dogs would last about another day, which was more than enough time.
"We'll head out onto the sea first. The ocean water will mask our scent. Then we'll double back and follow the coastline north toward the Land of Lightning," Nagato explained with a grin. "Of course, if we're lucky, the enemy might be lured away by the dogs. I sent them running toward the Cloud Village direction separately. If the Konoha ninja chase them all the way there, things will get interesting."
The two switched to traveling on foot, continuing toward the coast. Before long, the salty, humid smell of the ocean filled their noses.
It was still dark, and the sea was pitch black, but that obviously wasn't an obstacle for a Rinnegan and a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Just as they were about to step onto the water, Nagato and Kushina noticed a rocky section of the beach that showed signs of a previous battle. The ground was littered with dense, strange white bone fragments. Even though the tide had washed most of them away, they still covered a large portion of the beach. Some looked as if they had grown directly out of the ground.
Nagato couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Strange traces."
They didn't dwell on it. The battle here looked like it had happened quite a long time ago, so they paid it no further mind.
"We move in this direction. Then, in ten minutes, we turn north."
"Okay, Nagato-kun."
On the ink-black surface of the sea, the two moved rapidly in single file, leaving only faint splashes in their wake.
However, not long after, Kushina heard the Nine-Tails' urgent voice. "Kushina! Someone is approaching! Very fast!"
Kushina signaled the warning to Nagato.
A moment later, Nagato's Rinnegan spotted it—a figure moving at high speed across the dark ocean surface.
Nagato hesitated briefly. "You stick to the plan and keep moving. There's only one of them. I'll try to intercept him."
Kushina looked worried but nodded. She had just seen the tip of the iceberg regarding Nagato's strength.
After Kushina left, Nagato cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, stretching his trapezius muscles in preparation for a fight.
"I wonder who it will be..."
His tone was filled with eager anticipation.
Soon, the figure at the edge of his vision drew closer. Nagato could now see the person's attire clearly—a tall figure dressed entirely in white.
Nagato, who was mid-stretch, froze.
"Oi, oi, oi! Don't tell me this is the 'Hokage' Kushina mentioned? They sent a player of this level right off the bat?... Also, that coat is really cool!"
Although Nagato had always been confident in his strength, facing a Kage was a completely different story.
Sakumo Hatake quickly spotted Nagato as well. He guessed this was the individual traveling with the Jinchuriki mentioned in the reports. Initially, Sakumo wondered if this person was an agent from another Great Village sent to make contact with the Nine-Tails. But seeing Nagato, he dismissed that thought. The man's aura and stance clearly marked him as a free-spirited mercenary ninja.
Plus, there were traces of a Transformation Jutsu on him.
Sakumo had no intention of getting tangled up with this guy. Now that they were in the Land of Hot Water, every minute was a race against time. He had to resolve this trouble before the Cloud could react.
So, Sakumo adjusted his angle slightly. The open sea was vast; blocking a ninja here wasn't easy. He decided to bypass this obstacle and let the main Konoha force behind him deal with it.
The opponent seemed to have no intention of moving, simply watching as Sakumo circled around from the side.
However, just as their paths crossed parallel to each other, Sakumo saw the stocky ninja out of the corner of his eye suddenly raise a hand toward him.
"Bansho Ten'in! (Universal Pull!)"
They were too far apart for Sakumo to hear what was said, but in the next instant, an inexplicable suction force surged toward him. His body began to fly involuntarily toward the stocky ninja.
Sakumo's pupils constricted.
A seal-less ninjutsu?!
Sakumo tried to resist the force, but the pull was immense. On the sea's surface, aside from focusing chakra to stand, there was no leverage to be found. After a brief moment of surprise, he simply adjusted his posture in mid-air.
His right hand drew the white chakra saber from his back, and his eyes narrowed into slits.
Seeking death...
Forcing Sakumo Hatake into close-quarters combat was a foolish choice.
Sakumo flew rapidly toward the stocky ninja, even adding his own burst of speed to the pull. His blade was already prepped.
Whatever plan the opponent had, Sakumo had zero doubt that he could end it with a single slash.
The next moment, just as the two were about to collide, and just as Sakumo was about to swing his blade...
"Shinra Tensei! (Almighty Push!)"
In a split second, the terrifying suction turned into a massive repulsive force.
Caught off guard, the Hokage was blasted backward instantly, skipping across the water like a thrown stone.
Watching the Hokage skip across the waves, Nagato felt a rush of adrenaline.
What a thrill.
Then, he turned around and bolted.
"Run! Run! Run!"