Chapter 56

Is this the Sage Mode?

Su Zhong tried to form hand seals with his hands.

But as usual, Su Zhong did not detect any signs of a jutsu being activated.

"It seems I was too presumptuous," Su Zhong thought to himself.

Carefully sensing the Boundary-Breaking Pearl in his mind, he found it had fallen back into a deep sleep. He could sense its presence, but could not touch it.

After suddenly awakening and helping Su Zhong solve his troubles, the Boundary-Breaking Pearl returned to its state of neither life nor death.

Su Zhong was familiar with this state. For nearly twenty years in his previous life, the Boundary-Breaking Pearl was always in this state.

No longer thinking about it, he felt strength surging throughout his body, and the numbing toxin that had paralyzed him was gone.

Glancing to the side, Su Zhong saw several Sand shinobi who were uncertain and suspicious. A fierce anger suddenly flashed in his heart.

"Speak, who sent you?"

He tore off the black robe that was mostly destroyed, leaving only a tattered pair of pants.

Su Zhong walked towards the Sand shinobi nonchalantly.

His exposed upper body was not particularly muscular, just average. But as he moved, his muscles rippled with each movement.

There was a tremendous power contained within this rhythm!

The six Sand shinobi were on high alert.

The scene of Su Zhong recovering had a great impact on them. This bizarre secret technique made their scalps tingle.

"What, you don't want to say?"

Su Zhong habitually raised an eyebrow.

His hair had been completely burned off by the Sand shinobi captain's Fire Release, and his eyebrows were no exception. The action of raising his eyebrow made his facial expression very strange.

The Sand shinobi captain, experienced and shrewd, noticed the sudden change in Su Zhong and realized his strength had increased significantly.

Earlier, the six of them had attacked Su Zhong simultaneously, but he had shown no resistance and they still couldn't kill him.

Now, they had lost a third of their forces, while Su Zhong had fully recovered his mobility.

If they couldn't kill Su Zhong in a short time, he would pose a threat to them.

"Retreat!"

The Sand shinobi captain made a decisive decision.

A flash of admiration crossed Su Zhong's eyes: "Good judgment."

The six Sand shinobi immediately scattered in different directions.

Su Zhong stared at the six retreating figures from a distance and sneered: "Come and go as you please? It's not that easy!"

Shunshin!

Bang!

A large pit, half a meter deep, suddenly appeared in the ground, and dust rose.

Su Zhong's figure disappeared from the spot, as if he had never been there.

...

Akasaka kept channeling chakra into his feet, hoping to increase his speed.

How could a half-grown kid be so powerful?

Others might not have seen Su Zhong in action, but in the genjutsu, he had truly experienced Su Zhong's attacks!

Because of this, he knew how terrifying Su Zhong was. Not to mention his terrifying self-healing ability or the even more bizarre secret technique.

Just the powerful taijutsu displayed in the genjutsu made his scalp tingle.

Thinking of Su Zhong's unparalleled speed in the genjutsu, Akasaka felt a chill run down his neck.

A sudden thought flashed through his mind: Could he really be following me, just like in the genjutsu?!

With this thought, Akasaka leaped forcefully, taking advantage of the moment in mid-air to look back.

One glance was all it took to be his last in this world.

Crane Hand!

Akasaka's pupils suddenly constricted: "Sure enough, he was following me." Then his vision went black.

Swoosh!

His head flew into the air.

Su Zhong coldly looked at Akasaka, who died with his eyes wide open.

Bang!

His figure disappeared from the spot.

Shouichi, head down, hurried along the road.

He chose a path completely opposite to the Sand shinobi captain's.

In his view, the Sand shinobi captain was the most valuable source of information among their group and would definitely be a key target for Su Zhong.

If Su Zhong wanted to understand the details of the ambush, he would certainly focus on tracking the Sand shinobi captain.

If this guess was correct, his chances of survival would increase significantly.

In the rapidly changing battlefield, to have such clear and calm thinking was not a simple matter.

It was this calmness that had kept him, a genjutsu specialist, alive until today.

While running at full speed, he listened intently.

Apart from the sound of his own footsteps, there was nothing else.

Shouichi couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. His calm thinking had saved his life again.

Indeed, intelligence is also a part of strength.

Shouichi leaped from the roof, intending to slip into an alley and head to the predetermined rendezvous point.

Casually looking up, he saw a window of a house in front of him.

Through the glass, he saw a woman with her mouth wide open in surprise.

Noticing her fair skin, Shouichi felt a surge of warmth. In the Sand Village, deep in the desert, the wind and sand were everywhere. Even with the best care, women's skin was generally rough.

But in the Land of Fire, the climate was mild all year round, and the women there were mostly beautiful.

If this attack on Konoha succeeded, he might be able to live in the Land of Fire in the future.

"At that time, I must find a beautiful woman!" Shouichi thought fiercely, involuntarily looking up at the window again.

The clean glass reflected his figure, but why was there someone behind him?

Shouichi's body trembled.

Great Dragon Fist!

With a loud shout, a black fist burst out of Shouichi's chest.

Shouichi fell to the ground, his face full of unwillingness and confusion.

Why didn't he go after the captain? Wasn't he afraid of losing the trail? Why didn't he hear any footsteps?

Su Zhong shook off the blood on his arm and disappeared again.

The reason he didn't rush to kill the captain was that he wanted to save him for last and see if he could gather any unexpected information.

As for losing the trail?

If it were before, Su Zhong would have immediately gone after the Sand shinobi captain.

But after his breakthrough, his Insight Eye had changed significantly.

Su Zhong had a new advantage.

Within a hundred meters, he could clearly see the path of ants.

This was a circular, 360-degree visual field.

If he focused his vision in a straight line, the entire Konoha was in his sight!

No matter how fast the Sand shinobi captain ran, as long as he didn't leave Konoha, Su Zhong could see him!

Shunshin!

Dust flew up from the spot, and Su Zhong disappeared again. He was going to kill the three Wind Release users.

"How could I let you go after what you did to me!" Su Zhong thought angrily.

...

"Sand jōnin Baki! Give up your resistance. Your Fourth Kazekage has disappeared, and the person on the platform is Orochimaru." Three ANBU with cat masks formed a triangular formation, surrounding Baki in the center.

Baki was drenched in sweat, his eyes filled with fear.

He knew what they said was true because he had also seen Orochimaru.

This was why he was afraid. For a month, all their missions had been planned and ordered by the Fourth Kazekage on the platform.

But the truth told him that for the past month, they had been tools used by Orochimaru to strike Konoha.

In short, they had been played by Orochimaru!

Since this Fourth Kazekage was Orochimaru, where was the real Fourth Kazekage? Was something wrong with him?

The more he thought about it, the more confused Baki became.

The jinchūriki was the strongest strategic weapon of a village, but the One-Tail was in Konoha, and the Kazekage was missing.

Something was wrong with the Kazekage!

Baki couldn't help but think of the Third Kazekage, who had disappeared without a trace.

Could the Fourth Kazekage of the Sand Village also mysteriously disappear? He couldn't help but feel anxious.

This speculation was a huge blow to the Sand Village.

"Surrender. It will be beneficial for both sides." The ANBU continued to persuade.

In normal combat, it was a matter of life and death.

But with the enemy's commander in trouble and the situation suggesting that the Sand Village had also been played by Orochimaru, surrender became a possibility.

"We can guarantee the safety of those who surrender. Both sides will cease fighting, and the rest will be discussed by the adults."

Baki's heart stirred; he was already considering it. The disappearance of the Kazekage had left him in a state of confusion.

"The Fourth Kazekage is missing, and this incident is likely a conspiracy by Orochimaru against both the Sand Village and Konoha. Stopping the fighting and investigating the cause is the right course of action."

Baki's expression changed.

"Alright. I agree to surrender, but we cannot disarm. Give us a place to stay, and I will gather the Sand shinobi, waiting for the village's decision."

Baki decided to preserve the strength of the Sand Village.

"Alright, please come with us to stop the fighting."

The three ANBU quickly led Baki to the battle site. Baki, using the Fourth Kazekage's name, ordered that everything was a trick by Orochimaru.

The small-scale fighting quickly subsided.

Baki began to gather the Sand shinobi, with many Konoha shinobi as monitors.

Both sides glared at each other but tried to remain restrained.

From a distance, Baki saw a Sand shinobi running towards him, looking very panicked. Seeing Baki with a group of Sand shinobi, his eyes lit up with surprise.

Baki recognized this person; he was the elite jōnin Daifu, known for his strength and talent.

But why was he so panicked? Wasn't he supposed to be on a mission ordered by the Fourth Kazekage?

Thinking of the Fourth Kazekage being Orochimaru, Baki's heart skipped a beat.

Could this secret mission have touched on Konoha's secrets?!

"Daifu, what happened? Why are you so panicked!" Baki pulled Daifu into the group of Sand shinobi and asked urgently in a low voice.

Whatever he had done, he needed to be thrown into the group first to ensure his safety.

The Konoha shinobi nearby glared angrily. This shinobi was clearly up to no good!

Daifu's fear did not subside. Seeing the Sand shinobi walking with Konoha shinobi and maintaining restraint, he immediately knew something had changed.

He opened his mouth to tell them about the person chasing him.

"You're dead!"

A faint voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

Daifu's body stiffened.

This voice had been in his ear since he started retreating, but he couldn't see anyone.

The eerie voice kept repeating, especially after seeing the terrifying secret technique that drained people.

Fear surged in Daifu's heart.

Even among the Sand shinobi, he still felt terrified.

"Someone is chasing me! Someone is chasing me! He knows forbidden techniques! He can absorb people's lives! He can harvest souls!" Daifu rambled.

"Calm down, Daifu. The Fourth Kazekage ordered a ceasefire. You are safe now," Baki said sternly.

The Konoha shinobi across from them smiled. Seeing Daifu almost collapse from being chased, they felt a sense of satisfaction, wondering which jōnin was so fierce!

"Can you guarantee our safety? Right?" Baki asked seriously.

They had taken advantage of the surprise attack, causing damage to Konoha.

Now, the Konoha shinobi had regrouped and were united. They had no power to resist Konoha here, after all, it was their territory.

The cat-masked ANBU looked at the terrified Daifu.

"Don't worry, we can guarantee your safety. The condition is that you do not attack first."

Baki nodded: "We will remain restrained."

Turning to Daifu, he comforted: "Daifu, you need to calm down."

But Baki saw Daifu's face filled with terror, as if he had seen something extremely frightening.

Suddenly turning his head, he saw a man standing behind him, bare-chested.

"Who are you!"

Baki's face turned pale, and he immediately stepped back.

"You are truly a Sand shinobi. It seems Orochimaru gave you the order." Su Zhong ignored him and said to Daifu: "I'll ask Orochimaru the rest. You have no value left."

"You, you're dead!"

"Uchiha Shū, the Hokage ordered a ceasefire. Do you want to defy orders?" The cat-masked ANBU shouted sternly.

Su Zhong glanced at him with disdain.

His right hand moved downward, slicing through the air in front of him.

Swoosh!

A half-meter-long crescent-shaped air blade suddenly flew out.

Thud!

The Sand shinobi captain Daifu was instantly cut in half by the air blade, blood splattering everywhere.

"Insolent!" The cat-masked ANBU shouted in anger.

Su Zhong didn't even look at him and disappeared instantly.

Bang!

A large pit appeared in the ground.

Just as he had arrived silently, he left without anyone seeing how he did it.

His speed was too fast!