Looking at the two newly appeared figures, Hatake Ikko's expression became extremely grave.
The Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans were all famous ninja families in the Land of Fire, renowned for the unique secret techniques passed down within their bloodlines.
And what made them even more formidable was that these three clans had been close allies for generations, developing their own distinctive style of combined combat.
Together, they were known as the Ino-Shika-Cho formation.
One had to understand...
In the Warring States Era, something like this was exceedingly rare.
This was an age of deception, betrayal, and ruthless struggle.
For the sake of survival, people would pay any price.
And among all of them, ninja were the most extreme.
To kill the enemy, they would stop at nothing.
Even members of their own clan could not always be fully trusted.
As for people outside the clan?
Trust was even more impossible.
And yet...
The Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans had broken that rule.
The closeness between these three clans was, in some ways, even deeper than that of a single clan.
They could entrust their very lives to one another.
And this state of unity had lasted for many long years.
No one really knew how these three great clans had managed to maintain such a tight bond for so long.
But there was one thing everyone had to admit.
The secret techniques of any one of these three clans alone were already notoriously troublesome.
When the three great secret-technique clans fought together...
They were almost unmatched.
There was even a rumor in the Warring States Era:
If Ino-Shika-Cho fought together, then even top-tier ninja clans like the Senju and the Uchiha would have to temporarily avoid their edge.
Of course, that was only a rumor.
But even so, it was enough to show just how terrifying the combined might of Ino-Shika-Cho truly was.
After all...
The Senju and the Uchiha were the absolute pinnacle bloodline clans of the ninja world.
"Hatake Ikko," Nara Lukoto said with a smile, "why don't you just wait here quietly for a while? We'll take Saito Tsubasa's head and leave. That way no one has to waste any extra effort. What do you think?"
"The Hatake Clan has never voluntarily abandoned a mission," Hatake Ikko replied calmly.
His face remained expressionless.
But inwardly, his heart had already sunk.
The appearance of three jonin from the Ino-Shika-Cho clans truly placed enormous pressure on him.
"What a pain," Nara Lukoto said lazily. "Looks like we'll have no choice but to kill you and leave you here forever."
Hatake Ikko drew his short blade, his eyes cold as he stared at Nara Lukoto.
The atmosphere instantly grew unbearably tense.
At this point, even the slightest disturbance could ignite battle in an instant.
And just then...
Rosinante also slowly put down the book in his hands.
"What is this?" he asked lightly. "Have Fujimitsu, Nakajima, and Marukawa decided to join forces?"
Hearing that, Nara Lukoto was briefly stunned.
Then he smiled faintly, with a trace of disdain in his tone.
"Please rest assured, General. General Fujimitsu has not allied with Generals Nakajima and Marukawa. Besides, Saito is not yet worth enough for General Fujimitsu to join hands with those two. It's simply that our three clans are closely connected and often cooperate with one another. That's all."
"I see," Rosinante said with a smile. "I was wondering. One is greedy, one is overbearing, and one is an old fox. I was surprised they would suddenly unite."
"General," Nara Lukoto suddenly asked, "you seem completely unconcerned about your own life?"
"What exactly is there for me to worry about?" Rosinante smiled. "With just the likes of you... you're not enough to take my life."
Nara Lukoto narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I wonder where the General's confidence comes from. Is it because of Hatake Ikko? Or the soldiers outside? If that's the case, then perhaps the General should be a little more worried. Or..." His smile deepened. "Could it be that the General has some other hidden support?"
"Isn't the Nara Clan famous for its intelligence?" Rosinante said with a smile. "Why don't you try and see if you can figure out whether I have any other trump cards?"
"Forgive my bluntness," Nara Lukoto said with a cold sneer, "but I believe the General is playing a bluff. An empty-fort strategy."
"Oh?" Rosinante asked. "If that's the case, then why don't you try and see whether you can break through my empty-fort strategy?"
At those words, Nara Lukoto frowned.
Long before coming here, they had already scouted the surroundings.
They knew very clearly that there was no other combat force here capable of affecting the battle.
Yes, there were many soldiers outside.
But they were confident they could kill Rosinante and withdraw calmly before the soldiers could even arrive.
And yet...
His instincts were warning him.
Something here was not simple.
Nara Lukoto could tell.
The calm confidence on Rosinante's face was absolutely not fake.
Even Hatake Ikko began to wonder at this moment whether Rosinante had secretly arranged some other expert in advance.
But from everything he had observed over this period, he knew very well that aside from himself, there were no other ninja around Rosinante.
At that moment, the Yamanaka ninja and the Akimichi ninja also turned to look at Nara Lukoto.
Among the three clans, the Nara had always taken the lead.
Because the Nara were the brains of the trio.
"I almost got fooled by you," Nara Lukoto suddenly said, smiling with renewed confidence. "You're stalling for time. Move!"
"If you want to touch the General, you'll have to get past me first!" Hatake Ikko said coldly.
"I'll keep you company for a bit," Nara Lukoto said. "You two go take General Saito's head."
"Understood," the Yamanaka ninja and the Akimichi ninja replied at the same time.
As soon as they finished speaking, both of them lunged toward Rosinante at once.
Seeing this, Hatake Ikko immediately moved to intercept.
But just then—
He noticed a shadow on the ground rapidly stretching toward him.
Hatake Ikko instantly recognized it.
A Nara Clan secret technique.
If that shadow caught him...
Things would become extremely troublesome.
So he instinctively retreated.
But the moment he moved back, he immediately realized—
This was bad.
Unfortunately...
By then, it was already too late.
The two figures had already burst past his defensive position and rushed straight toward Rosinante.
"It's over!" Nara Lukoto said with a confident smile.
But the moment those words left his mouth—
He saw two figures fly backward.
One to the left.
One to the right.
They crashed violently into the ground on either side of him.
One was broad and heavy.
The other was lean and narrow.
They were none other than the two ninja who had come with him—
The Akimichi and Yamanaka clan members.
Seeing that scene...
The confident expression on Nara Lukoto's face froze completely.
It turned into utter dumbfounded shock.