"Cough, cough!" The Konoha female ninja called 'Sakura' seemed to have just caught her breath.
Then she vented her anger at the blond Konoha boy: "Naruto, if you dare act so recklessly again, I'll smash your head!"
"Ye... yes!"
Seeing Sakura raise her fist filled with fiery anger, Naruto nodded fearfully.
"What just happened? Was it the Chakra power of the Dragon Vein that we felt earlier..."
Another Konoha boy named Sai brushed the dust off himself, cautiously scanning the surroundings before finally locking his gaze on Hakushi.
On Hakushi, he felt an extremely dangerous aura.
This aura was far more dangerous than the one they faced with their Root Leader, Shimura Danzo.
"No matter what has happened, first figure out where we are."
The last one was an adult male, wearing the Konoha Jonin uniform, indicating he was likely a Konoha Jonin.
"Captain Yamato, are you okay?"
Naruto asked.
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
The Konoha Jonin named Yamato smiled, assuring that he was okay.
After standing up, he, like Sai, locked his gaze on Hakushi, the only outsider here, showing a look of vigilance.
Hakushi remained impassive, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his fingers.
"You are..."
Naruto blinked his eyes, looking at Hakushi with a puzzled expression.
Hakushi ignored it, quietly starting to seal.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Seeing Hakushi start sealing, Naruto seemed to think he was preparing some dangerous jutsu to attack them and was about to move forward to stop him.
Sakura stopped him, saying, "Don't be impulsive, Naruto. That's just the seal for a Medical Ninjutsu, looking at him, he was probably injured earlier."
Just as Sakura said, after Hakushi used the jutsu through sealing, his injuries began to heal rapidly, and his face regained its color.
After recovering from the injuries, Hakushi then began to scrutinize the four Konoha ninjas who gave him a bizarre feeling.
Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Yamato... Hakushi was certain that during his time in Konoha, he had absolutely no impression of these four people.
Yet looking at their ages, even the oldest Jonin, Yamato, was just a few years older than him, he hadn't reached the point where he knew nothing about such Konoha Jonin.
"Um, could you tell us where we are?"
Finally, Jonin Yamato stepped forward and asked Hakushi for information about this place.
"You don't know where this place is?"
Hakushi replied with a question instead of an answer.
"Of course not. We were chasing after a renegade ninja from Hidden Sand named Mukade, and somehow we ended up here. By the way, who are you?"
Unable to hold himself back, Naruto jumped out and shouted loudly.
An idiot easily driven by hot-bloodedness? Hakushi gave such a definition in his mind.
Jonin Yamato and the Konoha female ninja named Sakura both frustratingly patted their heads.
To leak information so simply, should it be said as expected of the most surprising ninja?
Unable to distinguish between friend and foe, such actions would undoubtedly put them in an awkward situation.
"Chasing a Hidden Sand renegade Mukade?"
Hakushi heard this response, his mind filled with various question marks.
Konoha ninjas pursuing a Hidden Sand renegade? Could this be a new trending joke?
Since when did Konoha's business expand to cleaning up other villages' renegades?
Moreover, during the Third Shinobi World War, Hidden Sand was in fierce conflict with Konoha.
These people were not participating in the battle here, but instead chasing after a Hidden Sand renegade, were they treating him like a fool?
This kind of lie that even a three-year-old can see through is used to deceive him.
Contrary to their foolish appearance, they were actually quite sinister inside. Hakushi redefined this Konoha ninja named Naruto.
"Ah, yes." Jonin Yamato sighed helplessly, since the topic was dragged here, there was no point in hiding anymore, so he said: "We were entrusted by the Hokage to come to Roran to chase a rogue ninja from Hidden Sand named Mukade. But somehow, an abnormal Chakra erupted from underground, swallowing us in. By the time we realized it, we had arrived here. Could you provide us with some insight about the situation? And your identity?"
"How peculiar."
Hakushi chuckled.
"Peculiar?"
Yamato and the others looked at Hakushi, sensing there was some special meaning hidden within his smile.
"It's strange how you, as Konoha ninjas, don't recognize me. Isn't that odd? You're definitely not Konoha ninjas, so who are you really? What's your purpose in disguising as Konoha ninjas here?"
Hakushi advanced toward the four with a terrifying pressure.
Seeing Hakushi's unfriendly appearance, Yamato and the others knew that the person before them was an enemy, not an ally.
Wait a minute, this person's appearance seems familiar... Konoha Jonin Yamato suddenly had a flash of insight in his mind, recalling something.
"You are... Chiba Hakushi?"
Yamato's face was covered in nervous sweat.
Though he appeared younger, Yamato still remembered parts of his overall appearance.
A renegade ninja who had left Konoha twenty years ago.
A highly dangerous figure who disturbed the Ninja Realm, centered in the Land of Demons, and caused turbulence in recent years.
"No need for such doubtful tone when speaking to me, I left Konoha merely two months ago. This makes it obvious you are not Konoha ninjas. Well, no worries, I can just drag your souls out of your bodies to find out who you are."
A cold gleam appeared in Hakushi's eyes.
"The three of you, get back! This is not a ninja you can deal with!"
Yamato shouted anxiously to Naruto and the other two while simultaneously starting to seal.
"Wood Style: Great Forest Jutsu!"
A surge of trees erupted from his arm, surrounding Hakushi from all directions.
Wood Style!? What kind of person is this? Hakushi's eyes widened in shock, his heart suddenly jolted.
Unbelievable that the person disguised as a Konoha ninja before him would actually use the long-lost Wood Style Ninjutsu.
Could it be they're accomplices of White Zetsu?