"Commander! He's almost caught up!"
At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers, a group of shinobi wearing Konoha ANBU uniforms were sprinting desperately toward the direction of Konoha Village.
They looked utterly battered.
Nearly everyone bore wounds—some deep, some shallow.
If not for their masks, the fear on their faces might have been visible.
They were in serious trouble.
They were being hunted by a single individual—
A puppet master who seemed like a monster, impervious to blades and weapons.
It was hard to imagine. An entire group of ANBU being chased down by one person.
And this group wasn't composed of ANBU alone.
Among them were members of Root as well.
Commander Kusunoki, leader of the Third Division, couldn't help but grimace when he heard the report.
Half a month ago, he had received an assignment.
He was ordered to lead a team to the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind—
To receive and escort Root members back safely.
ANBU and Root were two clearly separate departments.
Root's existence was among Konoha's deepest secrets.
But as an ANBU member—especially someone like him, who knew more than most for certain special reasons—he understood enough.
He didn't hesitate.
He immediately mobilized the Third, Fifth, and Seventh Divisions, whose members were temporarily unassigned, and set out.
After waiting for several days, they finally made contact with the returning Root members.
And at the same time—
They were forced to confront a Sand Village pursuit unit.
After a brutal fight—
And the loss of over six ANBU, with only five of the original eight Root members surviving—
They managed to escape.
Or at least, they thought they had.
Because soon after, they realized—
They had been targeted by something far more terrifying.
The man wore ragged black clothing.
A tattered black cloth covered his numb, icy face.
His body was hunched, his posture almost crawling along the ground.
He looked like a cripple—
And yet, this bizarre figure had dealt devastating blows to both ANBU and Root alike.
They had no idea who he was.
They had never seen him before.
But his strength overturned everything they thought possible.
His puppet techniques were exquisite—beyond anything they had ever imagined.
At that level—
Was he not at least on par with Chiyo of the Sand Village?
No one could answer that question.
All they could do—
Was run.
They had tried asking him why he was attacking them.
Like Natsuhiko, they preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble whenever possible.
But circumstances were stronger than pride.
They had no choice but to lower themselves.
"I'm just curious," the man had said in a hoarse, icy voice, "What exactly did you rats steal, that made the Sand Village's special pursuit unit so furious?"
With those hollow eyes and that lifeless tone—
He seemed like an evil ghost straight from hell.
Commander Kusunoki understood something immediately.
This "evil ghost" would not let them go.
They had no options.
If they chose to fight—
They would be annihilated.
He had no doubt about that.
Because the being behind them—
Was undoubtedly at Kage-level.
Their only option was to run—
And leave some behind to slow him down.
However long they could delay him—
Because anyone who stayed would certainly die.
Kusunoki's heart burned with anger and humiliation.
Under normal circumstances, they might have stood a chance.
Perhaps even defeated him.
But now?
They were numerous—
But after their deadly clash with Sand's ANBU, they were already exhausted and injured.
How could they possibly fight this monster?
"So fast? Then Shirayuki and the others must have fallen." Kusunoki gritted his teeth.
"Double the pace! Kubisaki City is just ahead. We have a garrison stationed there. If we can just reach them..."
Before Kusunoki could finish, a kunai whistled through the air!
The blade glinted with a sickly green light under the sun—it was coated in a lethal toxin.
Kusunoki sensed the projectile and reacted instantly, shoving the Anbu next to him out of the way. The subordinate tumbled to the side, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike.
However, the kunai was moving too fast, and Kusunoki's physical condition was abysmal. In his prime, he could have dodged it with ease, but now his movements were sluggish.
"Pfft!"
The sound of metal slicing flesh echoed through the forest.
The kunai grazed his arm—
Scarlet blood spilling from the wound.
The blood was bright red at first—perfectly normal.
But within moments, its color began to change.
The wound on Kusunoki's arm rapidly festered.
The edges of the cut even began turning black.
Poison—the eternal nightmare of any human, shinobi included.
"Damn it!"
Kusunoki quickly flooded his arm with chakra to suppress the toxin. It was a desperate measure with limited results; he couldn't even stop the bleeding properly. But if he didn't do this, the poison would kill him in minutes.
"Don't waste your effort."
At that moment, the hoarse, icy voice echoed around them again.
"You can resist it slightly with chakra.
But once your chakra runs out, the poison will travel through your blood and reach your heart.
And I've added a few interesting ingredients to my toxin.
Your body will rot.
Your blood will lose its ability to clot.
You'll die miserably."
"Who exactly are you?!" Kusunoki ignored the taunt.
He crouched down quickly and wrapped a bandage tightly around his arm.
The surrounding ANBU immediately formed a defensive formation around him.
The Root members, however, did not approach.
They seemed to be scanning for the enemy's position—
Preparing to break through at any moment.
Kusunoki had no time to think about them.
His focus remained on the man before him—
The one who resembled an evil ghost.
"What exactly is your objective? This is already within the Land of Fire. Are you still going to act so recklessly?"
"Within the Land of Fire? So what?"
The despair-inducing voice sounded again.
This time, the figure slowly emerged from the forest.
"You dare enter the Land of Wind.
You dare enter the Land of Rivers.
Why wouldn't I dare enter the Land of Fire?"
"Are you intending to make an enemy of Konoha entirely?" Kusunoki finished binding his wound and stood up firmly, staring at the man.
"Ignorant." The ghost-like man shook his head, almost disappointed.
"You don't represent Konoha.
And besides… can you even notify Konoha?"
At that point, his interest seemed nearly exhausted.
He glanced over the ANBU in front of him—
Then let out a raspy laugh.
"It seems you ANBU aren't all from the same unit. Whatever. I'll kill you all and leave one for questioning. Now then..."
"Prosthetic Arm Senbon!"
As his words fell, he suddenly raised his left arm.
In an instant—
Countless senbon shot outward.
Just like the earlier kunai, every single needle was coated in poison.
A dense storm of toxic needles scattered through the air—
Covering every possible movement range of the ANBU before him.
Kusunoki immediately tried to form hand seals—
But the poison in his body disrupted his chakra flow.
He couldn't gather it properly.
The other ANBU, though not poisoned, were in terrible condition.
And the senbon were far too fast.
They could barely react.
At that critical moment—
A surge of chakra suddenly erupted not far away.
Immediately after—
A massive earthen wall rose from the ground,
Shielding them completely.