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It took less than two minutes.
More than a dozen Mist Ninjas were killed.
Akira counted. Sensei Minato killed twelve people, and Kakashi killed one.
"You guys acted too fast, you didn't even leave one for me."
Obito held his kunai and shouted as he walked up after the battle was over.
His words successfully attracted a round of scornful glances.
"Come on, let's change our route."
Without cleaning the battlefield, Team Minato quickly left.
Only.
After switching to a different route, Team Minato collectively froze.
Lying scattered on the ground were several corpses of Mist Ninjas, their chests seemingly pierced by blunt force.
Akira walked up to the corpses and looked at them suspiciously.
"Did I kill these Mist Ninjas?"
He scratched his head, finding it a little unbelievable.
If he remembered correctly, he hadn't traveled this route before.
"Strange, we definitely haven't walked this way," Anko also felt something was wrong.
"Then who killed these Mist Ninjas?" Rin was puzzled.
Minato Namikaze took a closer look and detected faint traces of Lightning Release (Raiton) Chakra.
"It must have been done by the Cloud Shinobi (Kumo)."
"Cloud Shinobi?"
Akira stroked his chin.
Cloud Shinobi are truly shameless.
"Let's go, let's change the route."
Minato Namikaze gestured.
If they continued to walk here, the Mist Village would certainly assume Team Minato did it.
That would be too unfair.
So, Team Minato began to detour again and switched to the next route.
As a result, they didn't go far before encountering more Mist Ninja corpses.
"Gah! Who did this?"
Akira couldn't help but swear.
These corpses were in a terrible state, stabbed all over like hornet's nests.
"Why do I feel like I've seen this kind of death before?" Kakashi looked puzzled.
"I think I've seen it too," Obito echoed.
"That's right! That time at Supply Station No. 3!" Rin suddenly remembered.
As she spoke, she pointed at Anko.
"Anko stabbed the three Root corpses multiple times with a kunai, just like these bodies."
"What? Anko killed Root agents?" Yūgao Uzuki covered her mouth in disbelief.
At this moment.
Anko looked innocent.
Those three Root agents were obviously killed by Akira; she was just threatened by him to stab the corpses a few times.
Minato Namikaze checked again and shook his head.
"The fatal wound was destroyed, but these numerous kunai stabs seem to be a deliberate cover-up."
"There's a high probability it was the Sand Shinobi (Suna)," Akira judged.
"It should be," Minato Namikaze agreed.
Next.
Team Minato switched routes yet again.
Unsurprisingly—
They encountered another batch of corpses.
The cracked ground, the pierced chest, and the marks left by an explosion.
"It has to be the Rock Shinobi (Iwa)! They're trying to cover up their Earth Release (Doton) with Explosion Tags."
Akira judged it instantly.
Right now, Team Minato was facing a significant problem.
There were only four possible roads leading to Kirigakure, and as a result, every single one of them had corpses on it.
What is going on?
Team Minato collectively pondered, and Minato Namikaze was also deep in thought.
"Don't worry about it, let's just take this route," Akira suggested, having made a decision.
"But what if we're misunderstood—"
"No," Akira shook his head.
He then said: "There must be ninjas from other villages ahead of us. As long as they walk in front, the blame will definitely fall on them!"
Minato Namikaze suddenly realized his point.
Kakashi also understood.
The remaining four seemed half-confused.
"But what if the people in front of us didn't encounter any Mist Ninjas, but we do?" Obito asked a valid question.
"Heh... You say the people in front didn't encounter anyone? Do you have proof?" Akira countered.
Obito looked shocked.
He found that Akira's logic was impossible to argue against.
Every reason Akira gave seemed perfectly self-justifying.
Noon.
When the team took a short break, Minato Namikaze unfolded the map to confirm their current location.
"We are now less than fifty miles from Kirigakure."
"When we get close to Kirigakure, Kakashi and I will be responsible for sneaking in, and Akira will lead the others to respond outside."
Hearing Sensei Minato's suggestion, Akira thought for a moment.
"Sensei, are you sure you'll be able to get information after sneaking in?"
"It should be possible."
"Okay," Akira chose to trust him.
He wasn't too worried about the safety of Minato and Kakashi; after all, Sensei Minato possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique (Hiraishin no Jutsu).
Afternoon.
The team continued on their way.
The surrounding fog gradually thickened, and a towering mountain loomed ahead.
"Kirigakure is located deep in the mountains; you can see the village after passing this mountain," Minato Namikaze explained.
"This really is a unique terrain," Akira remarked, moving to the front of the team.
Thick fog, deep mountains, Kirigakure.
It was a very fitting description.
At the same time!
Killer B and A stood in place, ready for a fight.
Not far away, Sand Shinobi's Baki stood ready, while Pakura had Wind Release (Fūton) Chakra circulating around her fingertips, and several orange fireballs appeared.
On the other side, Rock Shinobi's Kitsuchi and his henchman had their hands on the ground, ready to launch Earth Release Ninjutsu at any moment.
The three parties were locked in a confrontation.
"Brother, let's move first..." Killer B was getting restless.
After confronting each other for so long, the stalemate was torturous.
"Don't worry! If we attack first, Sand Shinobi and Rock Shinobi will definitely target us together," Ay whispered.
This was not just his thought process.
"Baki, if I keep maintaining this state, my Chakra will continue to be consumed," Pakura whispered.
"You have to maintain it. Once you cancel your Ninjutsu, our deterrence won't be enough," Baki responded.
On the other side.
Kitsuchi had been maintaining his posture, hands on the ground, for so long that his waist was aching.
The same went for his subordinates.
"Lord Kitsuchi, how long do we have to maintain this posture? I feel like I can't hold on much longer."
"If you can't hold on, you'll die," Kitsuchi said in a deep voice.
Rustle...
Suddenly, subtle footsteps sounded, approaching from a distance.
Someone was coming towards the mountainside.
In unison, all the forces present looked towards the hillside.
After a moment.
Step!
Akira walked onto the mountainside with long strides.
"Huh?"