The land of ponds, in the forest in the wilderness.

The group stopped here for a moment and sat down around an open space.

Seeing the bonfire burning, Sakura set up the grill on the bonfire with a skillful technique, and then with the same skillful technique, caught Naruto and Sakai, cleaned the fish, raised it with a wooden stick, and put it on the grill to bake.

After a while, the smell of fish wafted into the air, making Naruto's stomach rumble around the grill.

"Sakura-chan, aren't you okay yet? That's too slow, isn't it? ”

Naruto, who was already hungry and growling, couldn't wait to eat the grilled fish that Sakura had grilled herself.

However, Sakura just rolled her eyes at Naruto's impatient performance and said, "It's early, and there is still left material that hasn't been sprinkled." Besides, you're too anxious, and the grilled fish won't run away on its own. ”

"But I'm hungry."

Naruto stroked his shriveled belly, wearing only a pair of large pants with four corners, a blouse, a coat, and pants, which were all wet from fishing, and were being placed on a simple hanger made of wooden sticks and baked over the fire.

Not only that, Zuo Jing is also dressed in the same way, putting his clothes aside and baking, trying to get rid of them as soon as possible.

"Really, if it weren't for the fact that you wasted a lot of time by pulling your stomach several times halfway, we would have gone to the town to receive supplies by now, so there would be no need to eat in the wild."

Sakura grumbled.

"Haha." Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment: "It's a force majeure factor." ”

At this moment, Tenzo walked over from the bushes and saw that the three of Naruto were sitting here unharmed, and nodded.

"Captain Yamato, what's going on around you?"

Sakura skillfully uses the barbecue techniques she learned at her own yakiniku restaurant while talking to Tenzo.

"Don't worry, the cordon has been arranged, if there is any movement, my side will be alert in advance."

Because Naruto was abducted a few months ago, every time he went out on a mission, especially in the wilderness, Tenzo would be extremely vigilant to set up a cordon around to prevent someone from attacking.

Even though Naruto had undergone rigorous raid training because of what had happened before, and had improved his ability to sense danger, he still couldn't be careless about it.

Once the human pillar force is targeted, it means that the ninja who is eyeing Naruto is definitely extraordinary in strength and needs to be taken seriously.

"Speaking of which, Captain Yamato, after going back this time, I should be able to increase the difficulty of the mission. I'm tired of doing C-level missions, either to expel beasts or to escort VIPs, and I always feel that it's not challenging. ”

Seeing Tenzo return, Naruto began to explain his appeal.

I hope that the other party can come to Tsunade to make a speech and improve the difficulty of the task of the seventh class.

With the rapid increase in strength, Naruto is no longer satisfied with the tasks of the C rank.

After all, in the past six months, he has been training hard, gritting his teeth and completing the vigilance training arranged above, his physical ability has also been greatly improved, and Chakra's control skills are also improving day by day, and now he urgently needs a real battlefield to test his current strength.

"Naruto, it's useless for you to tell me about this, it's Hokage-sama who makes the final decision."

Tenzo smiled helplessly.

"However, Tsunade mother-in-law said that you must be completely approved by your shinobi before you can carry out more difficult tasks."

Naruto grunted disapprehensively.

"Hey, Naruto, that's Hokage-sama, you're always screaming at your mother-in-law, it's too rude."

Sakura turned her head and reproached Naruto.

"But, she's also in her fifties, she's the same age as a lustful fairy, isn't she a mother-in-law?"

Naruto tilted his head and looked at Sakura suspiciously.

After all, he called the three generations of Hokage, and he was also the Hokage's grandfather, so it was no different to call the current Hokage his mother-in-law.

In his eyes, in this era when the average life expectancy is generally less than forty, Tsunade is in his fifties, and he is already a real long-lived old man.

"That being said, that's also Hokage-sama, and it's best to change the name."

Sakura looked at Naruto with a headache.

Among Konoha, this guy is the only one who dares to act so recklessly.

"Okay, you two don't quarrel, let's dine next. This is a hard time for you, so let's spend the night in town, the country is still famous for its hot springs. ”

Tenzo stopped the two and said with a smile.

The grilled fish on the grill is ready to eat.

"Great, it's finally time to take a break."

Naruto shouted happily.

This mission is to escort a caravan to the port of the neighboring country of Ikenoku, because the road is long, it is still a simple C-level mission, and the robbers encountered during the period will be directly settled in three or two. So during the mission, most of the time it was very boring, either rushing or rushing, and there was no exciting battle happening, which made Naruto completely unmotivated.

Seeing Naruto's happy appearance, Tianzo couldn't help but smile bitterly, and he also knew that the other party had been a little suffocated recently, after all, he had this kind of thought in the past.

It's not easy to succeed in cultivation, and a normal ninja wants to find a suitable stage, let himself show his talents, and enjoy the treatment of the stars holding the moon.

However, if he doesn't think so today, he has already experienced this life, and the responsibilities of the dark department are mainly unassuming.

It's a good thing that the mission is boring and boring, and all ninjas who have a certain amount of experience hope that the task they perform is completed smoothly, and it is best to have a smooth and smooth journey, rather than as Naruto expected, there are countless strong enemies blocking the way, and looking for fun on the way, which will make the leading Shinobi directly have a headache to death.

Just as the four of them were eating the grilled fish, Tenzo, who was sitting on a stone, suddenly frowned, and the action of chewing the fish in his mouth slowly stopped.

"Captain, what's wrong?"

Zuo Jing was the first to notice the strangeness on Tenzo's face and asked.

I saw Tenzo jump down from the stone, put down the grilled fish in his hand, and swept his gaze to the depths of the forest, his eyes were gloomy, and his face was full of solemnity, as if he had found something.

"Captain Yamato?"

Naruto and Sakura also looked over and blinked.

"Someone touched the cordon I set up around it......"

As he spoke, Tenzo asked Sakai to help him hold his grilled fish, and the whole person lay down and leaned his ear lightly on the ground, as if listening to something.

Then he stretched out a finger, and a strip of wood the width of a finger appeared on his finger, and it burrowed into the earth, breaking through the ground.

After a few seconds or so, Tenzo stood up again, the expression on his face becoming even more grim.

"To the east, there were battles there, and there were quite a few of them."

As he was speaking, a loud bang came from a distance.

The direction of the sound source is exactly the east side that Tenzo is referring to.

Fierce flames rose into the sky, billowing black smoke and dissipating the chill in the forest.

After the explosion, the ground shook after a few seconds, and even Naruto and the others were slightly affected.

"What's going on?"

Naruto looked at the burning forest in surprise, a look of surprise.

"This explosion is not a detonator...... Sounds like ......"

Although the sound of the explosion was close to the detonation charm, if you carefully distinguish it, there is still a clear difference, and Zuo Jing judged it.

……

The sound of fighting was heard in the forest.

Both sides wore uniform attire, one of them was a samurai, holding a katana that was as sharp as clay, and the other was wearing a simple but murderous sergeant attire, wearing a saber at his waist, but holding a kunai gun capable of firing kunai.

"High in the Sky"

In just an instant, several kunai were fired from the muzzle of the gun, and they shot at the samurai like lightning.

And this is just one person, a gun array unfolded by dozens of people, and in an instant, there are hundreds of bitter black raindrops, forming a dense killing net, bursting and killing without the slightest warning.

With their swiftness and keen eyesight, the samurai dodged the kunai and charged forward with their katana swords.

"Rip the Ground, Rip the Ground, Turn Your Palm!"

The soldiers holding the kunai gun, one of them suddenly put down the kunai gun in his hand, and instead sealed his hands and performed the earth escape ninjutsu.

The ground collapsed, and the samurai who stepped forward immediately fell into the air, and their bodies involuntarily began to tilt as the ground cracked.

And the kunai didn't stop shooting as the formation under their feet became chaotic.

Rather, as the ground crumbled beneath their feet, the soldiers' appetite to shoot the samurai intensified.

"Don't panic! Everyone, watch your step! ”

Although the strength of the ninja is strong, but they serve the daimyo of a country, and each of them is the best among the samurai, and ordinary ninjas want to take them down by this means, which is a bit too self-conscious.

In this era, it is true that ninjas are strong, but the power of the down-and-out samurai can still maintain a certain status.

And a powerful samurai, even a shinobi, can be killed with superb sword skills.

The sound of Hugh sounded in the sky, and the warriors looked up.

A few projectiles that were like fireworks fired from the depths of the forest, mixed in the kunai's killing web, flew down on their side.

With the sound of Kacha, the projectile was instantly covered with a layer of light that was more fiery than the sun's rays.

For a moment, the sky was dyed a silvery white.

The eyes of the samurai were detached from their vision.

Worst!

There was only this thought in the minds of the samurai.

Before they could evacuate, there was a loud bang that exploded among them, interrupting their consciousness, and the samurai, who were affected by the shockwave of the explosion, rolled on the ground in all directions.

As soon as he stood up, the bitterness of Hugh was unbroken.

The blade pierced their flesh, blood splattering, causing them to let out a terrible scream.

Such screams came and went, and the elite samurai units serving the daimyo were extremely embarrassed to struggle under such endless means.

After a minute of bombing and kunai explosions, there was only a mess left on the battlefield, and less than 12 out of 10 samurai could still stay awake, but even if they could still stand up, their combat effectiveness was very weak, and they had no power to resist.

The soldiers who defeated the samurai army stepped forward to capture this group of samurai who did not die, according to the above, these are all valuable labor, and the future road construction and building plan of the country of Ikenoki will depend on them.

This is despite the instructions given that as long as the enemy does not lay down his arms, then not a living force can be released.

However, on the premise of ensuring their own security, they can capture as much of the enemy's vital force as possible, and there can be no waste in the slightest.

Now the situation is obvious, their side has won a great victory, and even if the samurai can still breathe, they have lost the strength to resist, and they are the most suitable labor.

The soldiers were very excited to think that the samurai who used to be high up and flaunt their might with the nobles and were tyrannical were now prisoners of their ranks.

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop it! ”

The sudden sound startled the soldiers who stepped forward, completely unaware that someone would approach here.

Seeing a yellow-haired figure rushing out, some of the soldiers subconsciously pulled the trigger of the kunai gun and fired the kunai out of the muzzle.

However, although the speed of Kunai's launch was fast, Naruto still easily dodged it, allowing Kunai, who was carrying the wind attribute chakra, to pierce a tree behind him, and there was still no tendency to stop.

"Who are you and how did you end up here?"

I thought it was the support of the Daimyo's Mansion, but when he saw Naruto's costume that was very different from the samurai and soldiers of the Daimyo's Mansion, and the ninja forehead guard on his head, the leading captain breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm a ninja from Konoha, what are you doing here? They shouldn't be robbers, why are they killing each other here? ”

Seeing the samurai who fell to the ground, some of them fell asleep forever, and some of them were dying, looking extremely miserable, so Naruto couldn't bear to see it, so he questioned the soldiers.

"What does this have to do with you Konoha ninjas? Get out of the way, or you'll attack with you! ”

The captain of the soldiers stepped out and confronted Naruto with a stern glint in his eyes.

As he spoke, the soldiers behind the captain of the soldiers pointed all the kunai guns in their hands at Naruto, ready to launch an overwhelming offensive at any time.

Naruto's heart was also tight, he knew such a thing as a kunai.

At the time of the ninja school, there was an introduction to this weapon.

The kunai carried in this firearm is smelted from a metal that can conduct chakra, and the gun is also equipped with an attachment chakra system for the kunai attached wind attribute chakra, so that even ordinary people who can't control chakra can use this weapon at will to attack beings far more powerful than themselves.

Even ninjas are difficult to dodge under dense attacks.

It is an epoch-making 'automatic crossbow' weapon.

However, the power, speed, range, and accuracy of the attack are far more than those of automatic crossbows, and it is more convenient to carry than automatic crossbows.

If so many people fired the kunai in the kunai gun together, even Naruto would have to take a lot of effort.

What's more, he felt an incomparably awe-inspiring murderous aura from this unit, this is definitely an elite team that has experienced many bloody battles!

Even in the face of ninjas, there is no timidity, thinking about how to defeat and kill each other.

"Mu Dun: Four Pillars of Prison Technique!"

With this sound, a large number of columnar logs were neatly erected from the ground, and a huge wooden prison was formed in an instant, enclosing the soldier captain and dozens of soldiers behind him in the wooden prison.

Tenzo brought Sakura and Sakai to Naruto's side, and it was Tenzo who performed ninjutsu.

Tenzo glanced at the samurai who had fallen to the ground, especially when he saw the family crest on the samurai's clothes, he couldn't help but be surprised, and then looked at the soldiers who were locked in the wooden cage by himself, and asked puzzledly:

"Who are you? These people who were injured by you should be samurai who belonged directly to the Daimyo family of Ikeno Kuni, right? ”

Every nobleman, like the ninja, has his own family coat of arms.

And the coats of arms on these samurai are the coats of arms of the Daimyo of Ikenokuni, representing the face of the Daimyo Family.

In the realm of Ikeno Kuni, the samurai who attacked the Daimyo Mansion of Ikeno Kuni surprised Tenzo a little.

"Let me tell you, we're fighting the samurai of the Daimyo family!"

In response to Tianzang's questioning, the soldier captain did not have any cowardice, and said in a deep voice.

“？”

Not only Tenzo, but even the three Naruto had question marks on their heads.

No matter how you look at it, this captain doesn't look like a person with a problem with his head.

"Anyway, hurry up and let us go, you ninjas of Konoha shouldn't want to be burdened with diplomatic incidents that intervene in the politics of other countries."

The captain of the soldiers not only did not reflect, but calmly threatened Tianzang and the others.

“……”

Tenzo had never seen such an arrogant bandit, not only attacking the troops of the Daimyo's Mansion, but also threatening the Konoha Ninja Village in turn.

Are these people really robbers, though?

Tenzo looked at the soldiers in uniform in the prison, and they were full of spirit and discipline, and they didn't look like robbers robbing houses.

However, it is also true that they attacked the samurai of the Daimyo Mansion of Ikeno Kuni.

There are some lakes in the sky.

Tianzang was about to continue to ask, when two figures suddenly walked out of the grass on the side, which immediately attracted Tianzang's attention, making his Tong Kong shrink slightly, revealing a dignified expression.

The two men who appeared were young women of about eighteen or nineteen years of age, dressed in clean shrine maiden costumes, which did not fit in with the bloodshed of the entire battlefield.

"This Mr. Ninja from Konoha, this is a domestic matter within the country of Ikeno, and if you interfere too much, you Konoha will be put in an indifferent state of criticism."

A wandering shrine maiden said to Tenzo.

“…… I know. ”

Swept the faces of the two wandering witches without a trace, although they were a little puzzled, but they also knew that if someone from the Ghost Country intervened, if he made another move, it would probably cause some trouble.

So, he untied the Mu Dun Ninjutsu and allowed the group of soldiers to regain their freedom.

"Thanksgiving. So, a few please. ”

After the wandering shrine maiden finished speaking, she no longer bothered with Tenzo and the others, but walked up to the samurai who had not died, and treated them with medical ninjutsu, with a holy look of compassion.

"Captain Yamato, what the hell is going on?"

Sakura asked, puzzled.

I always feel that the atmosphere here has become very strange after the two wandering witches came out.

The soldiers who had escaped stared at them with great vigilance, for fear that they would make trouble here.

And the samurai who attacked the Daimyo's Mansion also said that it was a household matter in the country of Ike...... It's a little weird to say.

"It's nothing, let's go."

Tianzang shook his head, he didn't know what the inside story was, but in short, it was the best choice to try not to get involved with the people of the Oni Country during the mission.

Besides, he didn't intend to stand up for these samurai, but he was worried about Naruto, so he had to ask about the situation.

Since it's related to the country of ghosts, there's no need to ask.

It is best to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible.

"The captain is right, it's better not to be nosy. If you are targeted by the people of the Oni Country, things can get very troublesome. ”

Zuojing glanced towards the location of the wandering witch, and there was a look of wariness in his eyes.

His instinct told him that it was no accident that the Wandering Shrine Maiden appeared here.

But due to the lack of intelligence, they also don't know exactly what happened.

◎

Located in the port of Ikeno Country, an ironclad battleship made of steel is moored on the sea in the midst of a large number of ships.

On the deck of the battleship, Kazuhime was holding a single-tube military binocular, scanning the entire picture of the capital of Ikeno Country, that is, the port city in front of him.

The Daimyo Mansion of Ikenokuni was built in the center of the city, and it is an incomparably magnificent castle, and its magnificent pavilions towering in the castle have become the most eye-catching buildings in the port city.

Standing in that kind of place, you can also take in the whole city in your own view, and it is a great place to enjoy the scenery.

There was a sound behind him, and a shinobi of the Oni Country wearing chakra armor arrived.

"Ichchihime-sama."

"Are the troops over there concentrated?"

Kazuhime didn't put down the monoculars in her hand, and continued to look at the highest attic of the Daimyo's mansion, thinking about how many cannonballs she needed to let off that pavilion as a beautiful firework.

In her opinion, such ornate buildings, which are placed on high places and have important symbolic significance, are the best targets for erection.

"Yes." Wearing Chakra armor, the Ghost Country Shinobu nodded, and continued to report: "Not only that, according to the information we have received, the Daimyo of Ikeno Kuni has asked for help from the Konoha Ninja Village. Do you need ......?"

"You don't have to stop them on the road, just do whatever they want. The ninjas of Konoha will not do anything with us here. And, perhaps, they haven't met with the Daimyo of Ikenokuni yet, and the deployment on our side has already been completed. ”

Ichihime put down the binoculars in his hand, and the chilly sea breeze blew from afar, bringing a cold snap, but Ichihime didn't care about the chill at all.

"Tell me to go down, at ten o'clock tonight, let them break through the Daimyo's Mansion. If the Konoha ninjas really plan to intervene, our side will also take corresponding measures to help them intercept the Konoha ninjas. ”

"Yes!"

The Oni Country Shinobu nodded, and went down to summon Kazuhime's order.