In the early morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
"Still haven't found them?"
"I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sensei, I haven't found anything on my end."
Following Jiraiya in the southern valleys of the Land of Rivers, Minato shook his head lightly in response to Jiraiya's inquiry.
"Damn it, I didn't expect a single mission to turn into this."
Jiraiya punched the tree beside him, gritting his teeth in frustration.
He wasn't worried about Sakumo's side, because the mission information on Sakumo's end hadn't been tampered with. The problem was with the other three, who had completely fallen into Root's trap.
Since he didn't know how Root would act, Jiraiya had no idea how they planned to deal with Sakumo's three subordinates.
In any case, it was a momentary lapse on his part that led to the three of them falling into such a predicament.
But who would have thought that even the Anbu directly under the Hokage could have spies planted by Root?
Jiraiya really wanted to take this opportunity to thoroughly investigate Root.
If they dared to meddle with the Anbu directly under the Hokage, this was no ordinary matter.
The Anbu was responsible for confidential missions and the Hokage's safety; no accidents could be afforded.
But knowing his teacher Hiruzen Sarutobi's personality, a person who cherishes old relationships, at most he would just give a mild verbal warning.
"Please don't be like this, Jiraiya-sensei. Perhaps those three have their blessings. What we can do is find them as soon as possible, whether they're dead or alive."
Minato comforted Jiraiya.
"I know, I'm just venting a little. Next, we only have the bottom of the cliff ahead left to search. I've been there once with Tsunade and Orochimaru; the terrain is a bit complex. Minato, be careful not to stray too far from me."
"Yes."
Minato nodded solemnly.
Although he believed in his own abilities, compared to his teacher Jiraiya, a Jonin of his rank, he still had many immature and inexperienced areas.
"I hope nothing happens to those three, otherwise the Uchiha..."
Jiraiya wasn't oblivious to Konoha's current situation. The Uchiha, as the leading noble family in Konoha, had an unknown number of Jonin with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Even one was troublesome, but if they united, they could easily suppress all Ninja races except the Senju.
Compared to the conservative and gentle Hyuga, the Uchiha were mostly a group of unruly and untamable people.
If they were angered, who knows what they would do.
Thinking of this, Jiraiya started cursing Danzo inside and out again in his mind.
◎
It was already early morning, but the fog over the deep valley was too thick, preventing sunlight from penetrating down, only causing a slight halo to disperse in the mist.
In the pitch-black cave, only a small fire burned, driving away the surrounding darkness and cold.
On the stable ground of the cave, Ruri was sitting with her eyes closed, her hand tightly clutching her chest. Her face looked extremely pained, breathing laboriously, her breaths incredibly weak, as though her life was in danger at any moment.
On her body, there was still a residue of an extremely violent aura that hadn't completely dissipated. It was the power known as 'Immortal Technique.'
"How is it?"
Ayane asked worriedly.
It was the first time she had seen Ruri look so weak.
Her face was as pale as a corpse, and her painful and labored breathing state left no doubt that her life could slip away at any moment.
But considering the destructive power of that previous Fire Style Jutsu, such aftereffects were to be expected.
Although that Fire Style Jutsu's power couldn't compare to the Tailed Beast's power she'd seen before, it was still an invincible force that ordinary ninja couldn't withstand.
Immortal Technique? Ayane sighed in her heart.
She couldn't help but be impressed by Ruri's boldness and felt a sense of inadequacy within herself.
In such a situation, being able to merge Natural Energy and Chakra, the difficulty was imaginable.
Yet Ruri managed to do it. Although it was forced, using the Immortal Technique was an undeniable fact.
"It's tricky. I need to perform surgery immediately. Help me hold her down."
Hakushi took a scroll from the Ninja Tool Bag, unfurled the Jutsu on it, and a medical kit appeared on the ground, complete with medicines and surgical tools.
Even with his superb Medical Ninjutsu, there was still some risk, but in this situation, the longer they delayed, the more likely they would miss the optimal surgery time.
So, he could only take the risk and perform the surgery.
"Understood."
Ayane moved to kneel beside Ruri, pressing down on Ruri's body with both hands.
Hakushi took a deep breath, then rolled up Ruri's shirt to the chest under Ayane's surprised gaze, revealing the snow-white abdomen.
Ayane's face instantly turned red.
"Don't get distracted, just keep her down."
Hakushi's calm voice came.
"Oh."
Ayane lowered her head, her face turning even redder.
Hakushi paid no attention to Ayane's scattered thoughts, placing his hand on Ruri's exposed abdomen.
Closing his eyes, he sensed briefly, then opened them with an increasingly grave expression.
Ruri's Chakra and Natural Energy within her were extremely chaotic, especially the Natural Energy, which was supposed to be calm and stable, but because it suddenly merged with Chakra, the power of the Immortal Technique rampaged within Ruri's body.
To get Ruri out of danger, the only solution was to extract the Natural Energy from her body.