"Knock, knock, knock!" A knock came at the door.It was time for the shift change again.Tomorrow was the last day of the mission; after it ended, we could head back to Konoha Village.
The next day, the members of Teruharu's team worked diligently and conscientiously to complete their tasks.
The group returned to the meeting point, packed their belongings, and prepared to leave.Just then, Mawa and Rekka from the Kazama Squad came running in, panting.
"Oh no, Mr.Teruharu!Noma-kun has been kidnapped!"
The members of Teruharu's squad were taken aback when they heard this.Teruharu asked, "Where is your squad's -sensei, Kazama?Why didn't you report to him?"
Jiangwa took a breath and said urgently, "When Noma was captured, Kazama-sensei followed, but then someone appeared on the other side and got hold of him.There was nothing we could do, so Kazama-sensei had to call for help immediately.That's why we came back for help."
Hatake Kaede and Teruharu Yuhi exchanged a glance, then Teruharu Yuhi gave the order: "Team 4, assemble!There's an urgent mission.Our comrades from Konoha have been kidnapped by villains.As their comrades, we cannot stand idly by.The entire Team 4, move out together to rescue our comrades.Everyone, understand?"
"Yes!" X3.
"Okay, if anything else happens, Hatake Kaede will take over as captain.Understand?" Suddenly, Teruharu Yuhi added an extra sentence.
"Understood!" X3.Sarutobi Shota and Yuhi Haru didn't think much of it and nodded in agreement.However, Hatake Kaede gave Yuhi Teruharu a meaningful look.
The next moment, led by Jianwa and Liehuo, Teruharu's team set off towards their destination.
What exactly do the Konoha ninjas want to do?Is it to sow discord between Yugakure and Konoha, or are there other factors at play?
Suddenly, a black-robed figure wielding a scythe appeared in the direction the group was heading.The black-robed figure rushed forward quickly, raised the scythe, and slashed it down at Liehuo, who was leading the way.
-sensei Teruharu rushed forward and used a kunai to block the black-robed man's attack.The next moment, -sensei Teruharu and the black-robed man began to fight.
The man in black robes possessed superb martial arts skills, and every move he made was a deadly strike.Under these circumstances, -sensei Teruharu was suppressed by the man in black robes' martial arts.
While fighting, -sensei Teruharu said, "Feng, you'll be the captain.Continue the mission.Be careful!"
Hatake Kaede nodded and led the group around the battle site to continue their rescue mission.
The man in black showed no sign of giving chase; it seemed he was merely trying to stop one of the members of the group.
Hatake Kaede led his team members on their way, and soon they came across a very ordinary manor.
Retsuka pointed at the manor and said, "Hatake-kun, Noma-kun was brought to this place.Let's hurry and rescue her!"
Kaede looked at the raging fire before him, then turned his gaze to the manor in front of him, nodded and said, "Okay, let's go in and save them right away."
Hearing Hatake Kaede readily agree, Retsuka and Mawa exchanged a glance, their faces bearing enigmatic smiles.
Hatake Kaede stood at the front, his back to the others, and said, "Shota, Haru, you two will move with Mawa, and Retsuka and I will move with each other.We'll use the X formation.Understand?"
Shota and Haru were stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then stood next to Mawa.
Before Jianwa and Liehuo could figure out what the X-position was, they heard Hatake Kaede say, "Attack!"
The next instant, Yuhi Haru used illusion magic to control Mawa, and then Sarutobi Shota chopped Mawa on the back of the neck, knocking him completely unconscious.Then the two quickly tied Mawa up.
On the other side, Hatake Kaede's palm suddenly transformed into several lightning snakes, completely stunning the surrounding flames.
In less than a minute, both sides had defeated their opponents.
It turns out that the "X" position was a code among the three boys, with "X" referring to a suspect.This was originally a code they made up while playing around, but unexpectedly, it was being used here.
Mawa and Rekka also withdrew their transformation techniques, revealing them to be two ninjas from Yugakure.
After the two woke up, they said angrily, "I don't understand, how were we exposed?When did you find out that we weren't your companions?"
Shota and Haru also wanted to know when Hatake Kaede had figured out their identities.Because, to this day, they were still completely bewildered.Their actions against Mawara and Retsu were simply because they trusted Hatake Kaede.
Hatake Kaede stood to the side with his arms crossed and said, "Hmph~ I knew you weren't our partners the moment you arrived?"
Two ninja from Yugakure shouted, "Impossible!I don't think I have any weaknesses.How could you have seen through us?"
Seeing that his two teammates were also looking on with curiosity, Hatake Kaede said, "Reikou, that Uchiha guy with the poker face would come to ask us for help?Don't be ridiculous!"
Yuhi Haru slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "That's right, the real Uchiha Retsuka will follow them and send Mawa to ask for help."
Shota Sarutobi nodded, indicating that he fully understood.
Hatake Kaede said, "-sensei Teruharu has already discovered it.That's why he made me the captain of the next operation.Alright, Haru, the interrogation is your job.Find out the layout of the manor, and then we'll break in to rescue them."
Under the control of the genjutsu, the two ninjas from Yugakure quickly confessed the truth.It turned out they were members of the Jashin Cult, and dissatisfied with the state of development in Yugakure, they had joined the cult to develop their own power.
They kidnapped many children throughout the Land of Hot Water, as well as three ninjas—Uchiha Retsuka, Mawa, and Noma—who were also tied up.
Today, I originally intended to offer all these sacrifices to the evil god, but in order to obtain a stronger one.Power.The two ninjas from Yugakure then persuaded another high-ranking member of the Jashin Cult to trick the remaining three members of the Teruharu Squad into coming over as sacrifices.
Hatake Kaede chuckled: "The 'splitting plum blossom' strategy, a brilliant plan.Perhaps they're waiting for us at the manor!"
Shota Sarutobi asked, "Then what should we do?"
Hatake Kaede laughed and said, "Since they want to trick us into going there, then we'll be tricked into going there."
"Shadow Clone?" asked Yuhi Haru.
Hatake Kaede smiled and nodded.
After dealing with the two ninjas from Yugakure, Hatake Kaede and Shota Sarutobi each created a shadow clone.The shadow clones transformed into the appearances of the Yugakure ninjas and, carrying the three little ones who were pretending to be unconscious, swaggered into the manor.
After entering the manor and walking for a while, the group entered a dimly lit room.
By the light of the candle, Hatake Kaede's shadow clone observed that there was an altar in the room, on which lay the unconscious Uchiha Retsuka, Mawara, and Noma, surrounded by a group of unconscious children.
A group of men in black robes were chanting incantations around the altar.
Beneath the black-robed man's feet was a huge, blood-red circle, inside which was nested a triangle.
At this moment, the leader of the evil god cult shouted fanatically, "Fellow practitioners, our gathering here today is all at the behest of the evil god.We must offer the best sacrifices to the evil god!These children, these ninjas, are the evil god's favorites."
He spread his arms and looked around."From this moment on, please enjoy the feast offered as a sacrifice to the evil god.Until then, we must uphold our doctrines and show the evil god our loyalty!"
After saying this, the leader of the evil god cult suddenly extended a short black spear from his hand and pierced the heart of the person next to him.The person who was stabbed showed no fear, but instead laughed wildly: "Hahaha~ It's all for Lord Evil God."
His laughter seemed to be a signal, and the surrounding followers of the evil god began to fight each other.They used their fists, their teeth, their knives—every means possible to kill each other.
The leader also fell into a frenzy of killing.He was skilled in martial arts and quickly eliminated one follower after another.
Looking at this group of fanatical cult members, Hatake Kaede had only one thought: [Cherish life, stay away from cults!]
The scene before them was extremely bloody, but fortunately, everyone had been through similar experiences and had a certain level of tolerance.
Soon, the cult leader survived to the end thanks to his superb martial arts skills.In the end, only the evil god leader and two shadow clones carrying three unconscious children remained on the field.
The leader of the evil god cult licked the blood off the short spear, revealing a cruel and vengeful smile: "Long live the evil god!"
Hatake Kaede could no longer tolerate the cult leader's fit of madness.With a flash, he dispelled his shadow clone.Then, he appeared beside the cult leader, a purple lightning spear appearing in his hand with a flicker of lightning.
In an instant, Hatake Kaede plunged the purple lightning spear in his hand into the body of the leader of the evil god cult.
Before the leader of the evil god cult could react, his life force was rapidly draining away.He reached out his hand, pleading for Hatake Kaede's help; he realized how terrifying death could be.Although he was the leader of the evil god cult, he too was afraid of death.
Seeing that the leader was completely dead, Hatake Kaede spat out a mouthful of phlegm."Damn it, I thought he was some kind of powerful guy, but he's just a show-off."
Shota and Haru followed, and upon hearing Hatake Kaede's words, they agreed.What they thought would be a tough battle turned out to be a self-inflicted wound, with the remaining leader, whom they had assumed was a formidable opponent, being eliminated so quickly.
The three of them first rescued the members of Kazama's team, and then took the unconscious children to a safe place.
Next, Hatake Kaede and Shota worked together to burn the place down completely, and then Shota used Earth Styleto bury it completely.
After dealing with the situation here, Shirakumo Kazama and Yuhi Teruharu also arrived.Following their instructions, the unconscious child was handed over to the ninjas of Yugakure, while the three unconscious individuals were carried back to the inn where they had gathered.
......
P.S.: Naruto is a long-running manga, and its timeline is somewhat ambiguous, with many time settings unclear.Here, the author intends to briefly clarify the timeline to give readers a clearer understanding of the era.Of course, if you're not interested, you can simply ignore this.
Of course, this timeline is just one set by the author, and it's being made as logically sound as possible.This is because Kishimoto has created inconsistencies in many parts of the story.
For example, the cause of the First Shinobi World War, and the timing of Hashirama Senju's death.Therefore, the author referenced Kishimoto's explanations here, but also tried to make the timeline as plausible as possible.This is the timeline of this book.
(This is not part of the main text, it is not part of the main text, it is not part of the main text!)
Since the main character is in Konoha Village, we use Konoha Village as the year.
In the first year of Konoha's reign, the Senju and Uchiha clans reached a reconciliation and officially established Konoha Village.Hashirama Senju became the First Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura are 5 years old.
In the second year of Konoha's reign, Mu and Onoki, master and apprentice, represented Iwagakure as envoys to Konoha, forming an alliance with the village.The two were brutally beaten by Madara Uchiha.Madara then fled Konoha.
Ohnoki is 13 years old.
From the third to the seventh year of Konoha's reign, the major ninja villages in the ninja world were established.During this period, the Hidden Cloud Village failed to capture the Nine-Tails, and Kinkaku and Ginkaku obtained the Nine-Tails' chakra.
In the eighth year of Konoha's reign, Madara Uchiha captured the Nine-Tails and attacked Konoha.Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha fought a fierce battle at the Valley of the End.Ultimately, Madara Uchiha was defeated, faked his death to escape, and obtained Hashirama Senju's.Cells.Mito Uzumaki became the first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha Village.
In the thirteenth year of Konoha, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were born.
In the seventeenth year of Konoha, at the first Five Kage Summit, the First Hokage distributed the Tailed Beasts.
[According to Obito's later account, at the First Five Kage Summit, the First Hokage distributed the Tailed Beasts, quelling the war.This was the First Shinobi World War.The author has abandoned this version of events here.We hope readers can understand.]
In the nineteenth year of Konoha, the first leaders of the major ninja villages all passed away, and the First Shinobi World War broke out.
[This part is a secondary interpretation by the author.The various explanations in the original manga do not specify the exact dates of death for each of the First Hokage.However, the death of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was the catalyst for the First Shinobi World War.]
From Konoha Year 20 to Konoha Year 22, the First Shinobi World War took place.During this war, the Second Hokage and the Second Raikage died in the rebellion of Kinkaku and Ginkaku; the Second Tsuchikage and the Second Mizukage perished together; and the Second Kazekage died unexpectedly.The Third Kage then began their reigns.
From Konoha Year 23 to Konoha Year 36, a period of peace existed between nations.Nations accumulated strength, and militant factions gradually rose to prominence.
Konoha Years 37-42 [Author's alternate setting, striving for logical consistency].The Second Shinobi World War.The fundamental cause of the war was the desire of various militaristic factions to gain greater territory through conflict.The direct cause was the expansion of Amegakure's power, which threatened Konoha's safety.
Amegakure's power grew, and it launched the first attack on the Land of Grass.To ensure border security, the village conscripted ninja to garrison the border.Instigated by a third party, Amegakure declared war on Konoha.The Second Shinobi World War then broke out.[This is an author's interpretation; the specific reasons are unclear in the original manga.]
In this battle, Hatake Sakumo became the formidable "White Fang of Konoha," and Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru became the "Legendary Sannin" of Konoha.Dan Kato and Nawaki sacrificed their lives.
From Konoha Year 43 to Konoha Year 46, a brief period of peace.Hatake Sakumo died because of rumors, leaving Tsunade heartbroken.
Konoha Year 46 – Konoha Year 50: The Third Shinobi World War.The Third Shinobi World War was a continuation of the Second Shinobi World War.The catalyst was the assassination of the Third Kazekage by Sasori of the Red Sand.
In this battle, the Third Raikage died, and the Yellow Flash fought against the Cloud Village's A and B duo.Three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist remained.Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara sacrificed themselves, and Kakashi Hatake became a Sharingan hero.Yahiko died, and the Akatsuki organization fell into darkness.Namikaze Minato became the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.
The above is the author's own interpretation based on the original manga.The goal is to make the timeline as reasonable and logical as possible.And here's a curse: that damn Kishimoto!
In subsequent articles, to avoid this problem for our readers, I will try to blur the timeline as much as possible.
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