Naruto: Scourge of the Ninja World

"Kōjin, Heichi, how many enemies are there?"

Hatake Sakumo didn't show the slightest concern over Sunagakure discovering their presence.

After all, Gekko Chizan had just forced one of their elite jōnin to appear in person.

If Sunagakure hadn't noticed any disturbances, they'd be nothing but incompetent.

Still, as he looked at Gekko Chizan's confused face, Sakumo couldn't help but wonder how Sunagakure had learned about Pakura's disappearance.

"Chizan, were you followed when you left?"

Gekko Chizan shook his head. He had used the Flying Thunder God Technique straight from the bathhouse—who could have seen that coming?

"Then it must have been some kind of secret technique. Otherwise, with your skill, they wouldn't have noticed anything."

Hatake Sakumo had great faith in Gekko Chizan. After all, he knew exactly what Transparent Release and the Flying Thunder God could do.

Chizan himself was a bit frustrated.

This was the second time now—each mission ended with him going out alone, only for enemies to show up right after he returned.

Was he cursed or something?

He had always been confident in his stealth. First it was Kumogakure, now it's Sunagakure. It was starting to shake his confidence.

Just then, Chōmei appeared.

"Chizan, I think you better take a look. In my long, long life, I've seen a certain kind of Ninjutsu."

"Very mysterious, very surreal. The ones who get hit by it don't even realize what's happening, and the effects are super weird—it's called bad luck."

"No matter what you do, it all goes wrong. If left unchecked, you'll be unlucky your whole life!"

Hearing Chōmei's obviously laughter-suppressed voice, Gekko Chizan wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face.

It sounded so real, but he was sure—

Chōmei was messing with him on purpose!

Ever since Chizan brought him out and became his Jinchūriki, Chōmei had become more open and active—far too lively for a bug.

"Sakumo-sama, not many. Thirteen."

Hyuga Kōjin activated his Byakugan. Yamanaka Heichi relied on sensory perception. The numbers both reported were the same.

Hatake Sakumo nodded and said with disdain:

"Thirteen people? They really underestimate me."

That line made the tense group break into laughter.

After all, the White Fang of the Leaf symbolized absolute peak combat power.

When the Sunagakure ninja surrounded them, Sakumo immediately recognized their leader.

"Oh? Look who it is—Chiyo's disciple. If I'm not mistaken, your name's Kemaki, right?"

"Puppeteer, Kemaki."

As Sakumo spoke, Kemaki also spotted him. His face instantly changed.

"Damn it—it's you, Hatake Sakumo!"

"I didn't expect the famous White Fang of the Leaf to be working intel missions now. Konoha must really be going downhill."

Despite his words, Kemaki had already entered combat mode.

He signaled the Sunagakure ninja to prepare to strike at any moment.

"I'm a ninja. Carrying out missions is my duty."

"No matter what the task is, I'll do it. What? You think you can stop me with just this many people?"

To be honest, Hatake Sakumo didn't particularly like intel missions.

He was direct and straightforward—hiding and sneaking around wasn't his style. In that sense, he was the complete opposite of Gekko Chizan.

"Hmph! Release Pakura!"

"Otherwise, we'll have to settle this right here!"

Kemaki casually pulled out four scrolls, and four sharp sounds rang out in quick succession.

"Puppeteer Kemaki's pride and joy—Armored Puppets. Last time we fought, I remember slicing all your puppets into pieces."

"You've rebuilt them over the years, huh? They do look a lot sturdier now."

During the Second Great Ninja War, Hatake Sakumo had dominated the battlefield against Sunagakure.

He slew dozens of their puppeteers in a row—Kemaki was one of the few who survived, thanks to his Armored Puppets.

These puppets were built primarily with iron and boasted incredible defense.

Each piece of armor was covered in spikes and poison, and the puppets themselves were large enough to house Kemaki inside.

"Hmph! I've waited all these years for another fight with you!"

"This time, it won't be so easy to smash my puppets!"

"Attack! Take back Pakura!"

Without hesitation, Kemaki gave the command.

"Chizan, Heichi—take the girl and fall back!"

"Tsuchi! Aoyama! You're with me!"

Hatake Sakumo charged forward, radiating killing intent.

Tsuchi leapt high into the air, slamming his right hand down into the sand.

The Sunagakure ninjas didn't expect anyone besides the White Fang to make the first move.

Caught off guard, they hurried to defend.

But then, something strange happened.

Tsuchi's right fist had slammed firmly into the sand, even sinking beneath the surface.

But his technique didn't activate at all.

Tsuchi himself was stunned. What just happened?

His Earth Release, which had never failed, didn't even respond.

"Big guy! That's not ground under your fist—it's desert!!!"

Gekko Chizan, who had just picked up Pakura to retreat, caught the whole thing.

Seeing Tsuchi's confused face, he had no choice but to point it out.

This Strike was an offensive Earth Release technique that concentrated chakra into the palm to smash the ground and crack it open to attack the enemy.

But they weren't standing on solid ground—they were surrounded by sand.

Trying to split sand with a ground-breaking jutsu? What kind of nonsense is that?

Sunagakure had existed for countless years. Their ninja specialized in puppetry or sand manipulation. At worst, they used Wind Release.

Have you ever seen a Sunagakure ninja use Earth Release?

Trying to use Earth Release in the middle of a desert? Is your brain fried?

Gekko Chizan was truly speechless.

Thanks to his reminder, Tsuchi suddenly realized what went wrong.

He hadn't expected his technique to be completely useless against sand...

Even Hatake Sakumo was a bit surprised. He'd been planning to use Tsuchi's jutsu as a diversion—never expected that result.

But he quickly understood. If Earth Release actually worked on sand,

Then the Second Kazekage Shamon wouldn't have needed to invent Sand Manipulation techniques in the first place. Earth Release alone could've controlled it.

Clearly, sand and earth must be treated as two different things.

Not bad—this Chizan kid really notices the details.

"Hahahaha! Hatake Sakumo, are all your subordinates idiots?"

"Kill them!"

Kemaki controlled his four Armored Puppets to advance. Each one gleamed with metallic light—clearly, they were extremely durable.

"Wind Release! Dust Cloud Technique!"

Four Sunagakure ninja joined forces to unleash a massive Wind Release Ninjutsu.

The Dust Cloud Technique expelled a highly compressed dust cloud from the mouth, infused with chakra.

The resulting storm would devour everything in its path.

Ordinarily, this jutsu wasn't especially powerful. But when launched by four ninja at once, its effects were extraordinary.

As a massive wave of chakra-laden sand surged toward them,

Hatake Sakumo moved.

The white chakra short blade appeared in his hand as if from thin air.

Terrifying chakra surged along the blade. Its gleam was dazzling, as if it could slice through anything.

This was Hatake Swordsmanship!

A supremely advanced technique using flowing chakra—one strike nearly unstoppable.

Even Ninjutsu could be cleaved in half!

The move looked deceptively simple. But as always, true mastery is simplicity born of depth.

Swordsmanship existed for one reason: to cut people in two.

No matter how you swing it, the goal was the same—kill your opponent. That's all.

To Gekko Chizan, that single strike had only one purpose:

To cut through all that flashy nonsense!

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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