"Take care of the Box of Bliss…" spoke Kuroto.
"Hey… wai–!" Tsunade-hime tried to say something; however, before she could finish, Kuroto had already flown away. With a sigh, she looked at the Anbu beside her and questioned, "Can you recognize the chakra fluctuations from that direction and identify their identity?"
"I… I will try, Tsunade-sama!" nodded the Anbu as he concentrated for a while, then shook his head, "It's too far away for me to be able to identify accurately."
"Is that so?" muttered Tsunade-hime with a thoughtful expression. 'Something made him leave Satori and the Box of Bliss to us and personally deal with that. What could it be? It definitely has to be more important than this…!'
The Anbu continued, "Although I can't identify them accurately because of the large distance, I can at least tell that the Chakra is very large and evil… almost like the…"
Tsunade-hime's eyes widened as she completed Anbu's words, "Like the Tailed Beast?!"
The Anbu nodded, "Yes…"
"Which means it's either the Raikage's entourage or the Mizukage's entourage!" muttered Tsunade-hime in realization. She continued, "And considering how hurried he appeared…" Suddenly, her eyes widened, and her expression became alarmed as she instructed the Anbu and the members of the Sealing Division around her, "Quickly seal this thing… there is a very strong possibility that we might have to confront the members of the Akatsuki Organization!"
…
"Mizukage-sama… we… we won't be able to hold on much longer!" spoke Mei in a worried tone.
"We have almost arrived at Konoha, don't worry… someone will definitely notice us!" Just as Yagura spoke these words, he suddenly noticed a figure flying towards them. Noting the identity of the person, the tension in his heart was finally relieved, and he breathed a sigh of relief, "Phew, Konoha's Godaime Hokage-dono noticed us… he is on his way!"
At the same time as Yagura, Terumi Mei, Hokage's personal guard, Hōzuki Mangetsu, Ringo Ameyuri, Chōjūrō—the current three members of the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri—as well as the other members of the Mizukage's entourage noticed Godaime Hokage Hyuga Kuroto coming towards them. However, the worry and strain on their faces did not disappear immediately.
Obviously, they did not think that Godaime Hokage Hyuga Kuroto would be of much help to them. Although they acknowledge Godaime Hokage's wit, they don't think it would be enough to overturn the situation. After all, Kuroto's individual strength doesn't seem to be high. In fact, in their view, it wouldn't even be too far-fetched to say that the Godaime Hokage of Konoha is perhaps the weakest Hokage so far!
There is no way the weakest Hokage would be of much help, especially when facing the strength of the members of the Akatsuki Organization that have come after them. Not to mention there are so many of them here! All the Kirigakure Shinobi that have joined the Akatsuki Organization have to capture Karatachi Yagura!
Although they are surprised to see him flying while being wrapped in a strange purple chakra, however, they still did not believe that he had enough strength to be able to overturn the situation.
At the same time as the Mizukage's entourage, the members of the Akatsuki Organization also noticed Hyuga Kuroto flying towards them. Everyone had different reactions upon seeing him, but one person, in particular, was furious. This person is none other than Sasori of the Red Sand, who was standing on the back of the flying Chimera Beast and had some history with Kuroto.
Akatsuki's plan to capture the Yondaime Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, using the chaos in Konoha did not go as smoothly as they had planned. The reason is that unlike the other Kages, especially the Raikage, the Mizukage seemed to have been prepared for the ambush from the Akatsuki. Therefore, he did not lead his entourage too far away and stayed closer to Konoha. As a result, the place where the members of the Akatsuki Organization ambushed the Mizukage's entourage was not too far from the village.
Additionally, the strength displayed not only by Karatachi Yagura but also by the other members of the Mizukage's entourage, Terumi Mei and Hōzuki Mangetsu in particular, was beyond their expectations.
Back when 'Madara' was still controlling Kirigakure, the strength of neither of these two people was good enough. Of course, both of them were considered extremely talented, with Terumi Mei possessing two Kekkei Genkai, and Hōzuki Mangetsu being referred to as the Second Coming of the Demon, but it wasn't anything good enough to attract much attention.
But in recent years, both of them seem to have surpassed the level of Elite Jonin. Due to receiving the best resources for their cultivation as well as Karatachi Yagura's personal teaching, both of them are steadily stepping into the strength tier of Kage Rank strength.
Such rapid growth in strength has exceeded everyone's expectations. Both of them have become the strongest aids of the Yondaime Mizukage, with Terumi Mei serving as Yagura's personal assistant and guard, and Hōzuki Mangetsu serving as the leader of the revived Seven Swordsmen of Kiri.
Therefore, with the combined efforts of Yagura, Mei, Mangetsu, the other two members of the revived Seven Swordsmen of Kiri, as well as other guards, they were able to successfully break the encirclement of Akatsuki without any casualties so far.
But of course, because of the chase and running for the entire day, they are tired now and don't really have much chance of fighting the members of the Akatsuki Organization. The other members of Akatsuki are still fine. Mizukage and his entourage believe that they will be able to deal with these people. After all, most of them (the members of Akatsuki who have been pursuing them) are also quite exhausted. However, Sasori of the Red Sand doesn't seem to be fatigued at all, and that guy is the main problem!
'I hope Hokage brings more reinforcements, otherwise, we are done for!' thought Mei as she vigilantly looked at the enemy.
In a short while, Kuroto (the Shadow Clone), who was still in the Ryūmyaku Chakra Mode, arrived. As soon as Kuroto arrived, Yagura became confident and immediately turned around to confront Sasori as well as the other members of Akatsuki.
All this time, Sasori's gaze did not leave Kuroto. For a moment, he looked at the purple chakra that was wrapped around Kuroto, then looked at the village in the distance as extreme vigilance appeared in his eyes.
Within the Akatsuki, Konohagakure has been categorized as a forbidden/restricted area, and no member under any condition should step inside Konoha without permission from Nagato or 'Madara.' This is because everyone 'knows' that there is some kind of cooperative relationship between the top brass of Konoha and the Amatsukami.
The exact nature of this relationship is unknown; however, 'Madara' and Zetsu believe that at all times, at least one or two members of Amatsukami always hide within Konoha.
If, in such circumstances, anyone from the Akatsuki were to approach Konoha, there is a very strong possibility that they will never leave Konoha in one piece. The result would either be death or capture!
Knowing the degree of strength of all the members of Amatsukami, this assumption doesn't seem far-fetched.
Therefore, Sasori appeared a little hesitant and afraid to get any closer to Konoha.
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