The land of grass.
In the mountain forest, it was quiet and uninhabited. It was already dusk, and the scorching red glow of the sunset reflected on it, dyeing the forest red, as if it were covered with rosy clouds.
Wearing a ninja outfit modified from a white kimono, with a white moon-blue metal ring tied close to the skin around her neck, she was running in the woods with her long hair flying and her pure white pupils staring straight ahead at a very fast speed. He quickly came to a clearing and stopped.
Although her gaze was firmly fixed in front of her, for Ayane, who had opened her 'Byakugan', her eyes had formed an omnidirectional monitoring radar with no blind spots.
The target that Byakugan sees is not only the human body, but also the human body's more important meridian system that can flow chakra. Unless the energy of chakra is abandoned, no matter what kind of existence it is, it is impossible to hide it from Byakugan. Observe and arrive here quietly.
Of course, there are exceptions. For example, a special stealth technique that can obscure one's own existence can be hidden from Byakugan's observation. However, Ayane has never seen this kind of stealth technique a few times so far.
But maybe there are similar special talents among the ANBU of Konoha.
After all, there are various types of ninjutsu, and it is reasonable to have secret techniques and ninjutsu that target the limited ability of blood inheritance like the Byakugan.
After all, Konoha is also the most powerful representative of the five great ninja villages. Among these tens of thousands of ninjas, there are some ninjas with special abilities. It is not surprising.
Therefore, Ayane also maintained a high level of alert during this operation.
Special ninja departments like Konoha Anbu and Roots specialize in absorbing special talents, and the members inside are all elites who master special secret techniques.
In Konoha, those who can become elites may not necessarily be absorbed by Anbu and Roots, but those who can be attracted and absorbed are all elites.
"Five million taels per head always feels like a bit of a loss."
Ayane came to the open space and muttered softly.
According to the standard price per head of the underground black market, the standard bounty for a Jonin would indeed start at a price of almost several million taels. However, there are special talents at the root. Even if they are not jounin, the ability they possess must be the best in a certain field.
However, the price of thirty million taels made Ayane very satisfied with the generosity of the Iwagakure ninja.
"The trends in Konoha have changed a bit."
The normal observation distance of the Byakugan is about one to two kilometers. Those who have refined their Byakugan to an advanced level can observe a radius of about five kilometers.
Ayane's Byakugan, on the other hand, has gone through a lot of practice and has been tempered for a long time. It can be seen within a radius of ten kilometers with itself as the core.
Calculated in terms of area, the range that can be observed is more than double the distance that the jounin of the Hyuga clan can observe with his Byakugan.
Therefore, it is not difficult for Ayane to use her high mobility to invade Konoha's patrol system in a short time.
Within the ten-kilometer radius that her Byakugan could observe, the movements and destinations of dozens of Konoha shinobi divided into several patrol teams were not hidden from her eyes.
"Although the patrol methods have changed a bit compared to before, many patterns have not changed."
Ayane touched the bark of the tree next to her. There were some inconspicuous and strange symbols on it, which looked like ghost drawings.
"The way the code is handed over has also changed."
Ayane was in the White Fang team in the past and was exposed to such codes, so she knew very well what the handover code of the Konoha patrol force was.
"Are you making so many changes in a short period of time to prevent information from being obtained by defecting ninjas like me?"
Indeed, if the code has been changed and the new system is not clear, the meaning of a symbol will be wrong, leading to huge errors in the intelligence.
"In such a short period of time, a new code system was recreated. The Sannin are really something that cannot be underestimated."
Even the Hungry Ghost in Sex, one of the Sannin who is often criticized, cannot be ignored.
Of course, from the beginning, Ayane never underestimated Konoha's high-end combat power.
Every ninja who can become a jounin has to fight his way out from the dead before he can be awarded the position of jounin.
But this doesn't mean much to a ninja like her who has Byakugan.
She is a former Jounin of Konoha who has personally joined Konoha's "Advanced Soldiers". The peak period of the White Fang Team was when she joined it, where she accumulated a lot of combat experience that outsiders could not imagine.
Outsiders would only lament the efficiency and success rate of the White Fang Team in completing their missions, but in fact they didn’t know much about the White Fang Team’s mission execution mode.
This kind of guerrilla warfare is exactly the field suitable for her.
◎
"What? Everyone is missing? It's only been less than a day."
At the border of the Country of Fire and the Country of Grass, in the tent conference room of the Konoha camp, Jiraiya showed a look of disbelief.
The new patrol team mode, but he personally asked how it could be so fragile.
Even if the enemy had Hinata's Byakugan, it would be impossible for him to have such an efficient action rate.
I thought that by retreating here and fighting in a familiar environment, I could regain some advantages in patrolling, but what I got was a more difficult situation.
The patrol team was wiped out.
And it didn't last more than a day, not even the body was found, and it mysteriously disappeared from the forest.
"Yes, Jiraiya-sama, I can't believe it. This kind of mobility is difficult for even Minato, who possesses the Flying Thunder God Technique, to do alone."
The Flying Thunder God Technique is very fast, but Minato does not have the ability to perceive. Sometimes speed is not a problem. What is more important is to know the enemy's action pattern and detailed location, and to have strong judgment to make a plan in an instant.
As far as this is concerned, Minato really can't do it. If he is equipped with a sentient ninja, it will take a certain amount of time to get used to it before he can do this.
"hateful!"
Jiraiya secretly gritted his teeth. He was considered an experienced ninja in combat, but at this time, he had no way to deal with the opponent.
Even if you can gather the manpower to defeat the opponent, the enemy is not stupid, not to mention having all-round Byakugan surveillance. If you know that you are losing, you will mainly retreat.
"That's a given."
A person walked in outside the tent, it was Danzo.
Followed by four root jounin, they came to the tent where Jiraiya was.
"Elder Danzo."
The Konoha Jonin who was responsible for reporting to Jiraiya bowed slightly to Danzo and stepped aside.
Jiraiya frowned and looked at Danzo. To be honest, this root leader who wanted to seize the position of Hokage from his teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen made him want to avoid too much contact more than the other two high-level advisors.
"Hyuga Ayane was the 'eyes' of the White Fang Team. The White Fang Team in the past adopted a highly time-effective and perfect combat strategy, which was personally directed and led by the captain Sakumo Hatake. Since the Second Ninja War, During that period, the White Fang team formed a tacit understanding that is unimaginable to outsiders. Now the opponent is just applying the efficient combat strategy to Konoha to deal with other ninja villages."
"But she's only one person."
Jiraiya also understood this.
Among the White Fang Team, Ayane, who has the Byakugan, must be the equivalent of an 'eye', and is the first priority to ensure that the White Fang Team can obtain the enemy's location and action pattern in a timely manner.
It can be said that the reason why the White Fang team was able to maintain such efficient combat results in the past was indispensable to Hyuga Ayane's Byakugan.
"She quit the White Fang Team at the age of sixteen to seventeen. Now a few years have passed, and she is in the rising stage of ninja, and her strength has already improved by leaps and bounds. Her strength is not weaker than your three ninjas, and is even stronger than them. Be strong."
Danzo's eyes were as sharp as blades, piercing Jiraiya's face.
"Varied……"
The communication jounin next to him showed a surprised look.
"There is nothing surprising about this. Uchiha Ruri, who is at the same time as her, can fight Hiruzen, one of the Five Kages, in a short period of time without falling behind. Can you do this, Jiraiya?"
Danzo asked aloud.
"Does not."
Jiraiya sighed, definitely answering the question.
He knew very well about the power of his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, that even for a very short period of time, he would be the only one who was at a clear disadvantage.
If it was Orochimaru, he might be able to do it reluctantly.
"Misjudgment in terms of strength and differences in combat experience of leading soldiers, your troops will be restrained by the opponent alone. This is not surprising. Because during the Second Ninja War, the main force of Sunagakure was also defeated by White Fang in this way. All the tentacles that were restrained by the team were cut off by the White Fang team. Because of this, Konoha was able to successfully negotiate peace with Sunagakure at that time. It was the result of being forced to do nothing."
Danzo's words caused Jiraiya to think and he smiled bitterly.
Indeed, he was different from Sakumo. The other three ninjas followed the path of a commander, rather than Sakumo, who always rushed to the forefront of the battlefield and turned into a 'sharp knife' to pierce the enemy's heartland, so that the enemy's main force did not dare to act rashly.
Now, the same is true for his disciple Minato Namikaze.
His role in containment is far greater than the benefits on the frontal battlefield.
However, the combat mode of the White Fang Team is difficult for outsiders to imitate.
Otherwise, in Konoha over the years, only one White Fang team would stand out, and the rest of the Jonin team would be reduced to supporting roles.
As the former eye of the White Fang Team, Hyuga Ayane had already accumulated a lot of combat experience in the 'vanguard unit' at that time, including retreat warfare, guerrilla warfare, annihilation warfare, and containment warfare, and she was familiar with them.
"What should we do?"
"I don't know either."
Danzo's answer made Jiraiya even more distressed.
Thinking about it, if he knew how to target them, during the Second Ninja War, Sunagakure would have already formulated a target strategy and wiped out the White Fang team in the hinterland.
"But one thing is clear. The other party has come to the front. It is the root's job to eliminate this kind of rebellious ninja that poses a huge potential threat to Konoha."
"Can you do it with just the roots?"
"You have to give it a try to know whether you can succeed. Sometimes, it makes sense to fight a battle that you are not sure of winning."
Danzo meant something.
"Humph, is this the battle strategy of your radicals?"
Jiraiya snorted softly.
As a result, more people will needlessly sacrifice.
"The ninjas who join the Roots are all ready to sacrifice for the village at any time, so they gather together. If you give up fighting because you don't see absolute victory, there is no need to establish the Roots. War means sacrificing human lives. Get victory!"
Ignoring Jiraiya's ugly expression, Danzo said this and left the tent with his four root subordinates.
"... She is really kind to a woman. We are both Sannin, and we are so different from Orochimaru."
Danzo glanced back at the tent and muttered to himself.
That's why the Country of Grass has been suppressed by Iwagakure and unable to make any breakthroughs.
In the direction of Sunagakure, Orochimaru is doing everything possible regardless of the cost. Sunagakure's ninjas cannot take a step beyond the Land of Rain, so there is no need for senior officials to worry.
If it continues to shrink like this, sooner or later the defense here will be broken through by Iwagakure.
"It seems that only Orochimaru-sama is qualified for the position of the Fourth Hokage."
A root jounin beside Danzo also spoke softly.
"Hmph, it's not that easy to become Hokage. I just hope that when the time comes, he won't adopt Hiruzen's 'balanced' policy."
Danzo snorted coldly, subconsciously believing that the position of the Fourth Hokage was undisputed.
White Teeth of Konoha died. Princess Tsunade, one of the three ninjas, was unable to serve as Hokage due to some problems. Jiraiya was too womanly and did not become the instrument of the Five Kages.
Only Orochimaru is left, who can take on this important task.
With the achievements accumulated during the Second Ninja War and this Ninja War, it can be said that there is no rival in Konoha, and he is firmly seated on the throne of the Fourth Hokage.
In this way, he can further cooperate with Orochimaru.
◎
"Are you just going to keep shrinking like this? It's just like the original Sunagakure."
Ayane, who was traveling through the mountains and forests of the Land of Grass, did not find a Konoha ninja coming out to patrol for several days. She knew that Konoha was once again planning to adopt the "turtle" policy, abandon this area of defense, and let Iwagakure move forward.
Ayane remembers this strategy very clearly. It was exactly the same strategy adopted by Sunagakure during the Second Ninja War.
Due to the serious damage to the patrol team, the patrol scope had to be reduced in the end, and they were caught in a dilemma.
"It's really disappointing. I thought that the ninja who was given the name of Sannin by the demigods could bring a little more difficulty to the game, but it turned out that it was only this level."
Serious dissatisfaction with Konoha's 'shrink' strategy.
This was completely different from the battle she had expected.
He stood up and was about to leave when multiple chakra reactions suddenly appeared in Byakugan's field of vision.
"Here he is, a ninja from the roots. Four people, a total of twenty million taels. Don't even think about running away."
The first time she saw this team, Ayane rushed towards the location of the root team without thinking.
The distance of ten kilometers is just the end of a warm-up exercise for Ayane, who has high endurance.
"So fast!"
Already aware that Ayane was rushing towards her, the root ninja responsible for sensing subconsciously said this.
"Did you show up?"
"Ah, about ten kilometers range."
The Sensing Ninja said.
"ten kilometers?"
Hearing these words from the Sensing Ninja, the other three people all whispered.
"Isn't the farthest distance that the Byakugan can observe only between five and six kilometers?"
"That's why Danzo-sama said that this is a Byakugan that surpasses Hinata's Byakugan and cannot be judged by common sense."
"What a monster. If these eyes are used by the village, they will be excellent weapons of war."
The rest of the people were silent, running quietly through the mountains and forests.
The four members of the Nebe team were within easy reach, and Ayane launched an attack brazenly at the first opportunity.
In the white eyes, an invisible coercion was released, penetrating through the air, making the four running root ninjas immediately feel their shoulders and bodies sink, and their bodies stagnated slightly.
The brain also seemed to have received some kind of terrible impact, and there was a moment of blindness.
"careful!"
The root ninja who reacted the fastest shouted.
"It's too late."
Ayane rushed to one person, took a breath, bent her elbow slightly back, and then punched out.
The fist came into contact with the flesh and blood of the human body, and a terrifying explosion sound immediately sounded, exploding in the air.
Accompanied by shrill screams, blood was sprayed in the air. A large piece of flesh and blood on his chest was blurred, and he died instantly.
"Water Release·Water Dragon Explosion Formation!"
Ayane looked back and saw that another root ninja had retreated and formed a seal. A huge water dragon rose from the ground, with a large number of detonating talismans wrapped around its body, and fell from mid-air towards her.
Ayane jumped back, folding her hands in front of her to protect herself, and dodged the water dragon's attack. The explosive flash of the detonating talisman appeared, shattering the entire earth.
The impact was definitely considerable, and there was a lot of dust on Ayane's clothes. She looked a little embarrassed, but her body was unscathed.
"Is this guy...a humanoid tyrannosaurus?"
The root ninja was a little surprised to see this scene.
The opponent could easily withstand the impact caused by the explosion of a large number of detonating symbols and landed safely on the ground.
"Is it really okay to make such a comment about a lady?"
When the voice sounded, Ayane's figure had already flitted in front of him, and the index and middle fingers of her right hand were thrust out like the tips of knives.
Using superb physical skills, he instantly dodged and jumped into the air. The long sleeves of his hands floated, and a large number of shurikens with detonating talismans flew out from them.
"Shuriken detonation array!"
Another series of explosions.
Ayane rushed out of the smoke, then lowered her head slightly, and a ninja sword sliced through her head.
Seeing the root ninja's attack failed, he immediately withdrew his ninja sword and retreated back without hesitation.
"There's another one who escaped."
The first one was killed, and only two of the four-man team were here. The last one left the battlefield, probably because he wanted to go back and spread the news.
"Don't even think about it."
Two root ninjas stood in front of Ayane, building a barrier with their flesh and blood bodies to prevent Ayane from crossing.
"It's really troublesome. If the information is leaked, it will give you a headache."
Ayane took a deep breath, and the veins next to her Byakugan beat more ferociously.
——The escaped root ninja shuttled through the forest. The battle behind him had nothing to do with him. He only needed to complete his mission.
For members of the Roots, death is nothing but a daily occurrence.
They are machines that have given up everything and are willing to go through life and death for the village.
Therefore, he felt no guilt at all about abandoning his companions and escaping.
Just to complete the task assigned to them by the adult.
And this mission is related to Konoha's interests.
Precisely because they knew that all these sacrifices were meaningful, the four of them appeared here without hesitation.
"In this way, the range exceeds five kilometers, even with White Eyes..."
"Sorry, your information cannot be passed back."
A cold voice came from the side, and the root ninja was startled. When he turned his head to look, his body suffered a huge impact.
That's an attack from Rou Fist.
His body flew out like a cannonball, breaking a big tree, and he fell into a pothole, coughing up a lot of blood. His body was in extreme pain.
His internal organs had suffered irreparable damage, and he knew that he would definitely die. Even if Tsunade, one of the three ninjas, came to the scene, it would be difficult to treat such a serious injury.
Ayane walked to his side and struggled on the ground for a moment. Even if she wanted to take out a weapon from her ninja bag to fight, her internal organs were so damaged that she didn't have the strength to pick up the weapon. She could only fight in pain. died in.
If he had died directly from the beginning, he might not have had to endure this pain.
But it also proves the tenacity of these root ninjas.
An ordinary ninja who withstood such a blow would probably die the moment he flew out, instead of having to struggle painfully for a while before dying.
◎
Konoha Camp, inside an inconspicuous tent.
Danzo and other root ninjas met here. A masked root ninja was sitting in the center of the tent, making seals with his hands. The chakra in his body was running at a terrifying speed, and sweat from hard work continued to seep out on his forehead.
He was performing some kind of ninjutsu.
He didn't know how much time had passed before his eyes suddenly opened and he lowered his hand seal, which meant the ninjutsu was over.
"How about it?"
Danzo took a step forward and asked the root ninja.
Under Danzo's questioning, the ninja prepared his lines and clearly stated everything he saw:
"The total fighting time is two minutes and twenty-seven seconds. The Byakugan's observation range is ten kilometers in radius. It can release pupil techniques similar to mental shocks. Its power is slightly lower than that of Tsunade-sama, and its speed is much faster than ordinary Taijutsu jounin. The soft fist's It is extremely destructive and will be over in one hit. If you cannot keep up with the opponent's fighting rhythm in terms of speed and strength, close combat is not recommended."
The ninja spoke with unparalleled precision, as if he had experienced the battle himself.
"It is indeed the secret technique of the mountain clan. In this way, we can use this information to formulate targeted strategies."
Another root ninja said.
"Byakugan that can observe a radius of ten kilometers is simply unheard of."
“That’s why threats like this must be eradicated as soon as possible.”
The ninjas at their core were already boiling with murderous intent.
Danzo nodded calmly and said, "If there are no problems, we will set off in an hour."
Without these simple words, Danzo walked out of the tent directly, his eyes filled with coldness.
"Yes, Lord Danzo."
