Four hours later, inside a blood-soaked temple.
"Haha, die! All of you, die!"
"Great Jashin, grant me your power!"
"You dare profane the Divine! You will surely die! I will curse you from Hell..."
Dozens of cultists were bound by ropes, yet they continued to scream hysterically, their pupils blood-red and giving off a feeling of extreme madness.
"Are these all the Jashin Cult followers? They seem really weak," Guy said, ignoring the cultists' screams. He was surprised. Aside from being crazy, this group didn't seem much stronger than common bandits. It was hard to believe they were the target of an A-rank mission.
Hinata's father, Hizashi, frowned. "According to the intel provided by the village, there should be quite a few ninja within this Jashin Cult."
Guy rubbed his chin. "Could they have gotten intel and run away ahead of time?"
Hizashi scanned the still-yelling cultists and said in a low voice, "Judging by the level of these guys' madness, they don't seem like the type to run."
At that moment, Setsuna and Shizune walked out of the temple. Shizune was pale, and her steps were slightly unsteady.
"Shizune, did you run into hidden enemies?" Guy asked immediately.
"No, Shizune was just thoroughly disgusted," Setsuna shook his head slightly and sighed. "Beneath the temple is a pool of blood, filled with scattered limbs and remnants. There were even remains of small children, maybe two or three years old."
"These bastards are scum, the absolute trash of the trash!" Shizune pressed her hand to her chest, her teeth gritted as she swore.
She wasn't a trainee anymore and had seen plenty of death, but the scene had still made her sick to her stomach. It was truly inhumane.
"They've lost even the most basic human decency," Hizashi said, looking at the cultists with revulsion. He made a decision. "Let's burn these scumbags, along with this temple, to the ground."
Previously, Shizune might have felt that burning people alive was too cruel, but now she would cheer, feeling that it was actually too merciful for this kind of filth.
Just then, a signal flare suddenly shot up into the sky in the distance.
"That's Konoha's distress signal!" Hizashi immediately recognized the flare.
"Could Kakashi and the others be in danger?" Guy sounded worried.
"It's possible, but it could also be an ambush set by the enemy, deliberately trying to lure us in," Hizashi was extremely cautious. The fact that the Jashin Cult ninja, who should have been at the temple, hadn't shown up at all made him suspicious.
After thinking for a moment, Hizashi looked at Setsuna. "Setsuna, what do you think?"
"Rescue them," Setsuna said succinctly.
The most likely enemies in that direction would be Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud) ninja, and they were exactly the type of enemy Setsuna feared the least.
Physical attacks? Few people could even pierce his defense. As for Lightning Release, it was just a little game that activated his body cells.
"Alright, we'll go and rescue them," Hizashi nodded. Given his and Setsuna's strength, unless they ran into a large military unit, regular ninja posed little threat.
"As expected of Master Hizashi, you're so decisive!" Guy had been worried that Hizashi might hesitate, so he was relieved that the decision was made so quickly.
After setting the temple ablaze, the group immediately set off.
The Land of Hot Water is not small, but its shape is long and narrow, connected to the Land of Frost like the handle and the barrel of a gun. The temple where Setsuna and the others were was not far from the Land of Frost, and they soon crossed into its territory.
Meanwhile, in a forest in the Land of Frost, the wind howled, creating a chilling and deadly atmosphere.
Two dozen Hidden Cloud ninja walked through the forest. The leader grinned savagely: "Little mice, are you done running? Hiding won't help you. I have enough patience to find you. Come out now, and I might consider letting you live..."
The voice echoed through the woods, but no one replied. The Cloud ninja leader didn't mind, enjoying the thrill of the hunt.
Deep beneath the forest, in a stone room temporarily dug out with Earth Release, specialized glowing moss illuminated the space, revealing the grim expressions of Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.
Obito looked as if he had made a monumental decision, standing up and saying, "I'll go draw them away. Kakashi, you have to get Rin out of here!"
His calves were trembling, but his tone was firm.
Kakashi stared into his eyes as if seeing him for the first time.
Obito felt unsettled under his gaze and grit his teeth. "Hurry up and go! It took everything I had just to work up the courage!"
Kakashi was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "You're too weak. You'll be killed as soon as you step outside, and you won't even be able to divert the enemy."
"I'm too weak?" Obito ground his teeth. "I'm offering to risk my life! You bastard, you don't have to be grateful, but don't mock me!"
Kakashi said coldly, "I'm just being realistic. You going out would be pointless suicide."
Obito scoffed. "Then you go draw the enemy away! I'll take Rin and run."
Kakashi's tone was dismissive. "I can't afford to die."
Obito sneered, "A coward who's afraid to sacrifice himself."
"Stop arguing, this is not the time to..." Rin stepped forward to mediate, then suddenly noticed something. "Huh? Why did it suddenly get quiet outside? Did they leave?"
BOOM!
The ground above them collapsed. The sudden sunlight forced the three to squint, and through the haze, they saw a tall figure jump in.
Kakashi reacted instantly. Before he could even clearly see the enemy, he charged towards the silhouette with his hand crackling with lightning.
However, his sure-kill attack was grabbed bare-handed, and the lightning had no effect whatsoever.
Just as Kakashi's heart sank, a familiar, clear laugh came from the figure: "Your welcoming ceremony is a little too enthusiastic."
"Senpai!" Even Kakashi, with his naturally cool disposition, was thrilled.
Obito was even more emotional, shedding tears and snot: "That's great! It's Big Brother Setsuna and the others!"
Amidst her excitement, Rin didn't forget the danger: "Senpai, be careful of the Hidden Cloud ninja! They might not have gone far. We should leave quickly!"
"Don't worry, they are no longer a threat," Setsuna said with a smile as he jumped out of the stone room.
Kakashi and the others followed him out and saw that all the Hidden Cloud ninja had indeed been defeated and were lying on the ground. Guy was busy cleaning up the battlefield.
"Incredible!" Kakashi was inwardly shocked. He hadn't heard a single sound underground, which meant these ninja had been taken out almost instantly.
Setsuna asked, "What exactly happened? Where is Lord Minato?"
"We fell for a trap!" Kakashi's anger was palpable. "That bastard named Katz is actually the leader of the Jashin Cult. He colluded with the Hidden Cloud to deliberately lead us into an ambush. Master Minato used all his strength to get us out, but he stayed behind."
Hizashi walked over and asked, "What kind of ambush could prevent Minato from escaping with the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
Kakashi continued, "It's a cursed formation that Katz used his followers to create. Within the range of the blood mist, our sensory abilities are severely weakened."
"Sensory abilities are weakened?" Guy asked somewhat naively, "Wouldn't that make it hard for the Hidden Cloud ninja themselves to sense Master Minato's location?"
"They're restricting the Flying Thunder God Technique," Setsuna said seriously. "The Flying Thunder God requires sensing the marking formula to teleport. Weakened sensory abilities mean that Master Minato can only teleport within a very small range. Given enough time, when Master Minato's chakra runs out, he'll be completely at the mercy of the Hidden Cloud."