Chapter 111: The Desert Ambush
The Third Kazekage nodded grimly, accepted the scroll, and after reading its contents, his expression turned ashen. It was just as he had feared. The new Hokage of Konoha was as uncompromising as he was powerful.
Even their early retreat had not spared them. They were commanded to send envoys to Konoha to formally surrender. The demand was utterly unreasonable, yet absolute.
And Akatsurugi's threat was explicit. The desert, a natural fortress to others, meant nothing to him. He could fly across it in a matter of hours. The question then would be whether Sunagakure could withstand the Blaze God's wrath.
"Lord Kazekage, what is it?" Chiyo and Ebizō entered, having been informed of the Konoha delegation's arrival. Seeing their leader's dark countenance, they pressed for answers.
The Kazekage silently handed the scroll to Chiyo. Her face contorted with rage as she scanned the words, and she slammed her fist on the table. "This is too much! Konoha's arrogance knows no bounds!" She glared at Hatake Sakumo, the old rival who had once grievously wounded her, the memory still a fresh wound.
Hatake Sakumo remained impassive. He had come prepared for hostility. With his skills, a full-speed retreat might see him escape alive, but the consequence would be an irrevocable war of annihilation between their villages—a war the Fourth Hokage would not lose.
Ebizō finished reading the scroll, took a deep, steadying breath, and placed a restraining hand on his sister's arm. "We will send an envoy," he stated flatly.
The Third Kazekage was not surprised. They had no choice. Everyone had seen the intelligence on Akatsurugi. The man's power was terrifying. A ninjutsu that could transform a hundred kilometers into a sea of fire was more than enough to scour Sunagakure from the map. Faced with such a foe, they had no option but to submit.
This ill-fated alliance of four great nations had proven a catastrophic failure. Before Akatsurugi's return, they had been winning. After his return, Iwa and Kumo were forced to surrender, and Kiri was annihilated before it even had the chance. Suna knew it lacked the strength to contend with him; they had always been the weakest of the Five Great Powers.
Though, perhaps not anymore. Having preserved most of their forces while Kiri was decimated, Suna might have finally climbed out of last place.
Hatake Sakumo watched the Kazekage, waiting for the official confirmation.
The Third Kazekage gave a slow, reluctant nod. His silence was his final, petty defiance.
"Then we take our leave," Sakumo said. His mission accomplished, he and his team turned and departed without another word.
Watching them go, Chiyo ground her teeth, the urge to order their capture almost overwhelming. But she knew it would be a death sentence for their entire village.
Once clear of Sunagakure's borders, the Konoha ninja accompanying Sakumo let out a collective sigh of relief. Being in the heart of enemy territory was always a nerve-wracking experience. Not everyone possessed the legendary prowess of Konoha's White Fang.
However, halfway through their journey back, Hatake Sakumo's eyes narrowed. His right hand moved in a blur, and the famed Konoha White Fang—a brilliant silver chakra blade forged from his family's entire fortune—was in his grip. The short sword gleamed with a deadly, cold light.
In a flash, he was before a cluster of emerging earth spikes. His wrist flicked, the chakra blade tracing a perfect arc through the air as it cleanly severed the spikes, shattering them into harmless rubble. His movements were too fast to follow.
In the distance, a figure in a black robe stared at them with eerie, glowing green eyes. He was the source of the ambush, surprised that his earth technique had been detected so effortlessly.
"Identify yourself!" Sakumo commanded coldly. His ANBU squad instantly fanned out into a defensive formation.
The response was a guttural, "I'm going to kill you!" The robed man's hands flew through seals, and a cluster of floating, demonic masks materialized behind him. One mask spewed a torrent of fire, another a hurricane-force wind. The combined inferno roared toward the Konoha ninja.
Sakumo's form vanished. He reappeared beside the masks, his White Fang dagger lancing out to pierce one of the wooden faces. As it shattered, countless black threads, like solidified shadows, shot from the other masks, seeking to entangle him.
"Hah!" Sakumo's blade became a whirlwind of silver, severing the threads with precise, efficient strokes. He retreated just as the area he'd vacated was consumed by the fire-wind technique—his own ANBU squad had countered with their own coordinated assault. The five jōnin with him were elites, not to be underestimated.
"Is it over?" one of them asked, seeing the robed figure engulfed in the flames.
"Look out!" another yelled, but the warning came too late. From the ground beneath the jōnin, more black threads erupted, piercing his chest and vanishing with his still-beating heart.
Sakumo's frown deepened. What bizarre ninjutsu is this?
The masks, now five again, swarmed as the green-eyed man formed another sequence of seals. He unleashed a Water Release technique in the middle of the desert, followed instantly by a Lightning Release channeled directly through the water. The shocking combination was not aimed at Sakumo, but at his remaining squad members.
The ANBU reacted with practiced synergy, raising an earthen wall to block the electrified deluge. Seizing the opening, Sakumo moved. His chakra blade flashed, a streak of silver light that passed cleanly through the assailant's neck.
The robed head tumbled to the sand. Sakumo allowed himself a moment of relief. Decapitation was usually final.
"Captain! Behind you!" an ANBU jōnin screamed.
Sakumo's instincts kicked in, hurling him backward in a desperate shunshin. But he was not fast enough. A web of fresh black threads, erupting from the headless body, lashed across his chest, tearing through his flak jacket and leaving a deep, bleeding gash. The headless corpse began to rise, the masks swirling around it with renewed malice.
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