Yasu had slaughtered seven Cloud ninjas, leaving only one Special Jonin alive.
As this Special Jonin was about to flee, Yasu's voice came from behind him.
"Trying to escape? Is that how you honor the sacrifice of your comrades?"
The Special Jonin's pupils constricted violently. How had he gotten behind him? He had clearly been there just now...
No, that was a Shadow Clone!
With the Observation Haki, Yasu knew exactly where this Special Jonin was hiding.
The Special Jonin immediately raised his sword, intending to counterattack Yasu, but Yasu's ninja sword had already pierced through the back of his head, killing him instantly.
He then pulled out his ninja sword, flicked off the blood, sheathed it back, and returned to the main group.
Seeing his return, the Konoha ninjas following Yasu's Shadow Clone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
With Yasu as their leader, they felt very insecure following a Shadow Clone.
After his returned, he noticed that Minato and the five ninjas he had taken with him had not yet returned.
So, he used his Observation Haki to sense the situation and found that his team had already ambushed and killed four Cloud ninjas, and two of their own ninjas were injured.
Based on what he sensed, Minato should have been able to deal with the remaining three Cloud ninjas, but the battle seemed to be at a stalemate in order to protect the two injured ninjas.
He stopped observing Minato with his Observation Haki and continued to lead the team forward.
The mission had already been assigned. Regardless of the outcome of Minato's battle with the three Cloud ninjas, this pursuit by the Cloud ninjas had already failed.
He couldn't and wouldn't concern himself with what happened to Minato's team, because the objective had been achieved.
About an hour passed.
Minato finally returned to the team, but of the five ninjas he had taken, only four remained.
The two ninjas who had been injured when Yasu sensed them earlier were still alive; the one who died was one of the other three ninjas.
It seemed they had been held back.
Minato reported to him in a low voice that the seven Cloud ninjas had been dealt with, then silently returned to the team.
He seemed very dejected.
Yasu twitched the corner of his mouth and ignored his sulking.
Sacrificing a combat-capable ninja to protect two injured comrades.
It seemed like a gain, but it was actually a huge loss.
Because the two injured ninjas no longer had any combat power.
Moreover, Minato would have to be responsible for protecting the two injured ninjas in the upcoming battles, which was equivalent to carrying two burdens.
Sacrificing a combat-capable ninja for two ninjas without combat power was simply too stupid.
"Heh, is this the bond between comrades? Luckily, I don't have it."
He let out a mocking laugh and continued to lead the team forward.
...
Having experienced the Second Ninja World War and possessing extremely rich combat experience, Orochimaru and Jiraiya were in their element in this forest with numerous obstacles.
Faced with the pursuing Cloud ninjas, Orochimaru and Jiraiya, relying solely on their rich combat experience, managed to halt the Cloud ninjas' advance.
However, the number of Cloud ninjas in the Land of Hot Water was extremely large.
The Cloud ninjas stationed in the surrounding areas had gradually gathered together, and facing the unknown road ahead, they directly used ninjutsu to clear the traps hidden on the road and advance.
The Cloud ninjas' pursuit speed increased significantly.
At the same time, Cloud ninjas from all directions were closing in, forming an encirclement, intending to trap Yasu's main force.
Yasu's Observation Haki clearly sensed the current grim situation, so a decision needed to be made.
This retreat battle had already lasted for nearly 22 hours.
It would take at least 14 more hours to rendezvous with the support from Konoha.
So, he calmly thought for a moment and then issued an order: "All ninjas! Release Shadow Clones and Clones! With me as the leader, follow me to break through the encirclement!"
Then he reported the current situation and his decision to break through the Cloud ninjas' encirclement to Orochimaru via snakes.
In the current situation, maintaining Shadow Clones and Clones was meaningless.
Because once the encirclement was formed, the Cloud ninjas would discover that so many of them were actually just clones.
Since that was the case, it was better to release them directly to avoid wasting chakra. Then, take advantage of the fact that the Cloud ninjas' encirclement had not yet formed and break through immediately.
Otherwise, being surrounded would be a complete disaster.
The ninjas following Yasu were shocked when they heard him say to break through the encirclement. How had they suddenly been surrounded?
However, all the ninjas obediently released their Shadow Clones and Clones.
They trusted Yasu.
Not trust between comrades, but trust in their commander.
Because so far, his orders had never been wrong.
Yasu then led the ninjas forward at full speed, and they hadn't advanced for long before they saw traces of Cloud ninjas ahead.
Yasu once again used Observation Haki to scout the situation ahead and found that the Cloud ninjas' actions were even faster than he had imagined.
Several Cloud ninjas had already blocked the way ahead, and the surrounding Cloud ninjas had already prepared for an encirclement.
Yasu stopped and turned to the ninjas behind him, saying: "I will clear a straight path. You must follow the path I clear with all your strength. If anyone falls behind, hide yourself and find a chance to escape. Don't rely on others to help you. If you rely on others' help, you will be killing your comrades!"
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Minato and the two injured ninjas beside him.
Minato lowered his head, and the two injured ninjas were also ashamed and dared not look Yasu in the eye.
Yasu withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, exhaled white mist, and placed his hand on the hilt of his ninja katana.
"Thunder Breathing, Seventh Form: Flaming Thunder God!"
His eyes suddenly opened, and in an instant, lightning flickered around his body, forming a blue lightning dragon.
He advanced and slashed at an imperceptible, ultra-high speed. Wherever he passed, the ground was scorched black, and trees fell.
The Cloud ninjas at the very front tried to stop Yasu but were instantly dismembered and beheaded by him.
The Konoha ninjas quickly pursued Yasu through the scorched ground.
The Cloud ninjas' encirclement, which had not yet fully formed, was forcibly torn open by Yasu.
Having received his disciple message, Orochimaru said to Jiraiya: "Let's retreat. Yasu has already started to break through."
Jiraiya was surprised: "Break through?!"
Orochimaru nodded: "That's right. Yasu discovered that the Cloud ninjas were already surrounding them, so they had to break through. Otherwise, being surrounded would be troublesome. Let's hurry over there too."
Orochimaru and Jiraiya abandoned the Cloud ninjas in front of them and retreated, preparing to meet Yasu and the others.
Yasu on the other side used the Flaming Thunder God sword form to clear a straight path.
He originally thought that the chakra in his body was sufficient, and he was preparing to clear the path a little further.
But he suddenly stopped because he sensed a large number of ninjas appearing in the distance ahead, roughly estimated to be about eighty people.
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