Guy was shocked: "Right! Where are the two of them? Were they killed?!"
Neji said bitterly, "Actually… we were released by that guy. The price was that Tenten and Ino had to stay by his side."
Kakashi suddenly punched the tree beside him.
"Damn it! I knew that guy was lustful."
Chōji scratched his head. "What should we do now?"
Go back and rescue Ino and Tenten? They didn't have that kind of ability.
Sneak back to the village in disgrace? That would be too embarrassing.
Besides, Ino and Tenten were their companions. How could they watch them jump into a pit of fire?
Guy suddenly burst with youthful energy.
"Ino and Tenten are our comrades. Of course we can't abandon them. Let's go bring them back!"
He took the lead, charging into the forest like a ferocious beast.
Shikamaru looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi-senpai, we…"
Kakashi looked helplessly at Guy's departing back, then said to Shikamaru,
"You all return to the village. Guy and I will bring Ino and Tenten back."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kakashi turned into an afterimage with Pakkun and chased after Guy, leaving Shikamaru and the others staring at each other in confusion.
Chōji looked at Shikamaru. "What now? Shikamaru, should we go back to the village?"
Neji struck the tree beside him with a palm and gritted his teeth.
"I won't go back. Ino and Tenten sacrificed themselves to save us. The pride of the Hyuga will never allow me to live on in cowardly survival."
Neji leapt forward and followed Kakashi.
Lee immediately chased after them without hesitation.
Shikamaru raised his head and looked at the sky. The morning sun glowed crimson.
"Chōji, some things don't need to be thought about."
Even though Shikamaru possessed extraordinary intelligence and knew through a thousand calculations that returning now would accomplish nothing, he still turned decisively and followed Lee.
The First Hokage planted a tree in Konoha, and it bore the fruit called the Will of Fire. As a ninja of Konoha, one would never abandon a companion.
Soon, the incomplete squad regrouped once more.
Kakashi sighed in frustration. "You guys really don't listen to orders, do you?"
Shikamaru smiled. "Kakashi-senpai, I'm guessing you and Guy-senpai didn't actually receive a mission to head to the Land of Wind either, right?"
Kakashi didn't answer. Instead, Guy replied, "How did you know?"
Kakashi fell silent, speechless, staring toward the endless desert ahead.
He warned seriously, "This time, don't place your hopes on Moku Kairen's mercy."
"We know."
"Then let's go. We must bring Ino and Tenten back."
Suddenly, the sound of countless hooves echoed across the desert like an army of thousands. Moments later, tens of thousands of warhorses charged through the sand, sweeping across heaven and earth like a sandstorm.
Kakashi and the others froze, then finally saw the cavalry ahead.
Heavy armor covered their bodies, weapons stood like a forest, radiating a chilling aura.
Shikamaru guessed, "Is this a samurai army? No… what kind of unit is this?"
Kakashi immediately shouted, "Hide!"
"Understood!"
The group moved like lightning, instantly diving into the sand, leaving only their eyes exposed as they watched the cavalry within the sandstorm.
Behind the vast cavalry were all kinds of military units.
Hundreds of armored vehicles formed a long steel dragon, carrying countless modern mechanized infantry.
Tanks, cannons, even armed helicopters, fighter jets, bombers…
Then came endless skeletal troops.
Leading them was a majestic gigantic bone dragon. Sitting atop its head was a silver-haired young man dressed in black. Behind the skeleton army came the dog squad, led by a white dog larger than a bull, carrying two pandas on its back…
Kakashi's group widened their eyes, staring unblinkingly at Kairen atop the bone dragon.
Pakkun muttered, "Which country is this guy planning to ruin now?"
Shikamaru looked toward the direction Kairen was heading and was instantly shocked.
"That's the Land of Fire!"
Chōji became anxious. "He's going to attack Konoha! What do we do? Naruto hasn't returned yet, and no one in the village can fight him!"
Kakashi reminded them, "Keep your voice down. Stay calm. Yesterday that guy announced his target was the Land of Lightning."
Neji frowned. "Then why is his army heading toward the Land of Fire?"
Everyone was confused. Finally, Guy said uncertainly, "Could it be… he just doesn't want to take a detour?"
They were stunned and immediately recalled the continent's map.
The Land of Fire lay between the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning.
If Kairen wanted to campaign against the Land of Lightning, one route was a huge detour through the Land of Earth. Another was by sea through the Land of Water before attacking the Land of Lightning.
The most direct route… was to cross straight through the Land of Fire.
Shikamaru clenched his fist angrily. "That bastard… what does he think the Land of Fire is?"
He turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi-senpai, should we go back?"
Kakashi thought carefully, then shook his head.
"No. That guy said he would attack Konoha in fifteen days."
"There are still five days left. I believe there won't be a conflict with the Land of Fire yet."
Neji frowned. "Matters of national survival can't rely on the enemy's integrity."
Kakashi spread his hands. "But we have no other option. Our biggest bet is Naruto. If he wants to conquer the entire Land of Fire, no one can stop him."
"Besides, even if we return, we won't make a difference. We might as well infiltrate his base and cause some trouble."
Shikamaru nodded. "Kakashi-senpai is right. The most important thing now is to sneak into his lair."
Seeing no objections, Kakashi said, "Then let's move!"
"Right!"
They emerged from the sand and rushed toward Kairen's base.
After they left, a small Pangolin crawled out from the sand.
"Reporting, the targets are heading toward the den. Awaiting instructions!"
"Follow them!"
"Understood!"
...
In the distance, Kairen half-sat atop the bone dragon's head and glanced back toward the faraway desert, letting out a soft chuckle.
Kakashi and the others' movements were completely within his control. Thinking they could steal his base was nothing but a fool's dream.
Suddenly, noise erupted at the front of the army formation. Kairen looked ahead.
The horses that had been ridden all this time were rebelling, going on strike and demanding that the riders become horses while they themselves became cavalry.
After all, every man has a dream of being cavalry. Or perhaps—what's wrong with men liking cavalry?
Arguments broke out endlessly. The cavalry didn't want to get off and become horses, and the horses didn't want to keep running themselves to exhaustion.
The armored vehicles and tanks enthusiastically joined the strike as well.
Kairen shouted loudly, "What are you arguing about? Don't want to work anymore? Careful, or I'll assign all of you to the Eastern Bureau!"
As expected, with one shout from Kairen, the mutiny was instantly suppressed.
To ensure smooth marching, Kairen added, "In one hour, you'll switch roles and rotate back and forth."
Only then did the shadow clones finally settle down.
The great army continued eastward. Kairen lazily leaned against the bone dragon's horn, took out his phone, and began scrolling through short videos.