"Move faster! Most of those prisoners are ordinary people who've been locked up for a long time. They won't be able to hold things up for long!"
Outside Konohagakure, Dodai and his group hurried forward while carrying a huge wooden barrel. From time to time, he urged everyone to increase their speed.
The massive wooden barrel was a special sealing container crafted by Konoha's Sealing Team. Dozens of sealing formulas were inscribed across its surface.
Inside it was sealed Kumogakure's Eight-Tails jinchuriki—Killer B.
Samui glanced at the sealed barrel and suggested,
"Lord Dodai, since Shimura Danzō has already taught us the release formula, why don't we unseal Lord Killer B now? If he's freed, our chances of escaping safely will increase greatly."
Dodai shook his head.
"No need to rush. Even with the release formula, breaking the seal will take time. Konoha's pursuers are close behind us. If we stop even briefly, they'll catch up."
"Our current forces are insufficient. If they catch us now, we won't even be able to stall long enough to release Killer B."
After a pause, Dodai added,
"The interception team that failed to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi has already been rushing here nonstop. Judging by the time, they should have reached the Valley of the End by now and will soon rendezvous with us."
"Also, as a precaution, when I reported this operation to the Fourth Raikage a few days ago, I asked him to assemble another elite squad to reinforce us. During the day, I already ordered them to move toward Konoha. They should be arriving soon."
"Once our forces gather and we have sufficient protection, it won't be too late to unseal Killer B."
Samui didn't say anything more, but she turned back to glance toward the direction of Konoha.
For some reason, she felt a faint sense of unease.
A few kilometers behind the Kumogakure delegation's team, Uchiha Ren was leading members of the Tenth Squad of the Konoha Military Police Force, steadily tracking their trail.
Standing beside Ren was a strange figure in a cloak, wearing a swirling mask.
Ren looked at him and asked,
"Where are our people now?"
The masked man—Obito (disguised as "Tobi")—answered briefly while relaying intelligence gathered by White Zetsu.
"The Kumogakure reinforcements coming to meet them number about one hundred shinobi. Most are chūnin and elite chūnin, with around ten jōnin-level fighters."
"They're planning to rendezvous near the Valley of the End."
"About three and a half hours later, the Kumogakure ninja who attempted to assassinate Hiruzen will also join them. There are thirty-one of them—mostly chūnin, with five jōnin."
Hearing this, Ren laughed coldly.
"Over a hundred shinobi above chūnin level… Heh. The Fourth Raikage has really spared no expense to rescue Killer B."
Then he asked,
"Are you certain this intelligence is accurate?"
"Absolutely certain," Obito replied confidently.
"At their current speed, they'll meet their reinforcements in about an hour and a half."
Ren nodded slightly.
By now, he had basically figured out the entire scheme between Danzō and the Kumogakure delegation.
In short, Danzō had helped the Kumogakure envoys steal back the Eight-Tails jinchuriki and escape Konoha. Afterward, all the blame would be pushed onto Kumogakure.
They would simply deny everything.
From the perspective of the Konoha villagers, the Uchiha clan's Military Police Force was responsible for protecting the village.
Even though Konoha's defense system involved many different departments—and the Uchiha were only responsible for maintaining internal order—most civilians wouldn't care about such distinctions.
If something went wrong in the village, they would naturally blame the Uchiha clan and the Military Police Force.
If this matter wasn't handled properly, the reputation that Ren had painstakingly rebuilt for the Uchiha among the villagers could collapse overnight.
Meanwhile, Kumogakure would reclaim their Eight-Tails jinchuriki, saving themselves from paying the previously negotiated compensation.
And Danzō would completely remove himself from the incident.
A perfect outcome for both of them.
But Konoha would suffer enormous losses—and the Uchiha would become scapegoats.
Because of that, Ren had to act.
For example—
Wiping out every Kumogakure shinobi involved.
That way, the Kumogakure delegation's attack on Konoha and the rescue of Killer B would also serve as indirect evidence that Kumogakure had attempted to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Konoha's citizens would unite in outrage against Kumogakure.
Without concrete evidence, Hiruzen Sarutobi would also have no way to publicly deal with Danzō.
As for how Kumogakure and Danzō would explain themselves after all those Kumogakure ninja were wiped out…
Ren chuckled coldly.
That had nothing to do with him.
Ren then asked,
"What about the situation inside Konoha?"
Obito replied,
"The people causing the disturbances were expendable pawns. The situation in the village has basically stabilized."
"Also, Minato Namikaze has already organized a group of shinobi and plans to come reinforce you."
Ren shook his head.
"Send word to Minato. Tell him not to personally lead a team out here. Have him stay in the village and keep an eye on Shimura Danzō instead."
Ren had already lost any expectations regarding Danzō's moral bottom line.
To prevent Danzō from doing something desperate, it would be safer to have Minato monitoring him.
After a brief pause, Ren asked another question.
"Where are Fugaku and the others?"
Obito answered,
"Uchiha Fugaku has already joined up with the Hyūga clan's shinobi and Uchiha Yashiro's unit. They're moving to intercept ahead of the Kumogakure delegation."
"They'll likely encounter the Kumogakure envoys and their reinforcements in a little over an hour."
Ren immediately issued an order.
"Tell them to hold off on attacking for now."
"Move at full speed to the Valley of the End and set up an ambush."
"Once all the Kumogakure forces gather together—"
"We'll wipe them out in one strike."
Then Ren added calmly,
"And just in case… have Obito keep watch in the shadows."
"We can't rule out the possibility that Danzō might try to ambush Minato."
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