The next day.
Tsunade put on her Hokage straw hat and officially stepped out of the gates of Konoha.
"This time, it will be hard work for both of you to protect me on the road," she said, pressing down her hat as she looked at the two people beside her, both wearing ANBU masks.
"Please don't say that, Hokage-sama," one of them, a white-haired ANBU with a cat-face mask, said quietly. "Protecting the Hokage's safety is our duty."
"I mean, what's the point of wearing that mask?" The other ANBU, seeming uncomfortable with the outfit, scratched his head and stared at him.
"It's too obvious. With that white hair and the short blade, anyone can tell you're Hatake Kakashi."
"Shut up, Guy."
Kakashi sighed helplessly and rubbed his forehead. "The point isn't whether people can tell or not, but that we have to do this."
"Why?"
Might Guy looked puzzled.
"All right, enough small talk."
Tsunade interrupted them calmly. "The journey to the Land of Iron is not short. We must set off early."
The three of them were all top-level shinobi, so their travel speed was naturally fast.
The Land of Iron lies squeezed between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, almost always covered by snowfields. But the main military force of this country isn't the usual shinobi. Instead, it's a group of samurai descended from the Warring States period.
The samurai wear layered armor from the Warring States era and focus their chakra into their swords. The Land of Iron is considered a neutral country.
The general of the Land of Iron, Mifune, was chosen to host the upcoming Five Kage Summit.
Since none of the Five Kage fully trust one another, the neutral Land of Iron took on this important role as mediator to facilitate the summit.
They traveled quickly and reached the border of the Land of Fire within a day.
"Hokage-sama, who is the representative from the Hidden Sand Village for this negotiation?" Kakashi asked with some doubt.
The Kazekage of the Sand Village had recently been kidnapped, and the village was still in the process of rebuilding.
The remaining members, Kankuro and Temari, were unlikely to handle such a big responsibility.
"I heard it's Chiyo, who is temporarily taking over the Kazekage's duties," Tsunade replied.
Tsunade spoke calmly.
"Lady Chiyo, I hope her body can hold on."
Kakashi wasn't cursing; he genuinely wished her well.
After all, this unprecedented Five Kage Summit was bound to trigger some intense and unexpected disputes.
"Kakashi, do you think we will arrive safely at the Land of Iron?"
Might Guy didn't try to hide his identity as an Anbu. He spoke directly: "I have a feeling this journey won't be smooth. And I'm worried about Sasuke and Lord Jiraiya too."
"Guy, I'd appreciate it if you could just shut up."
Kakashi was speechless and glanced at Might Guy. "That's not something we need to worry about."
"Don't worry."
Suddenly, Tsunade interrupted from ahead. "This time, the guards responsible aren't just you two."
But before anyone could react, a bloodied Anbu staggered toward them.
"No, something bad happened, Lord Hokage!"
"What's going on?!"
Seeing the blood-covered Anbu, Tsunade's heart jolted in fear.
"Just now, we were ambushed!" The injured Anbu stumbled closer, his voice trembling. "Someone… someone discovered us, and in an instant, all of us were wiped out!"
"All of them? Three entire Anbu squads were eliminated?!"
Tsunade gasped and her face went pale.
"So there are three more Anbu squads ahead of us?" Kakashi was shocked as well. That meant twelve highly skilled Anbu—gone in an instant!
One Anbu squad consists of four ninja.
In other words, twelve Anbu were wiped out immediately.
The Anbu looked severely wounded and staggered forward. Tsunade quickly ran over.
"Don't move. I'll heal you!"
But just then—
Suddenly, a kunai shot out from the forest and pinned itself into the ground.
Tsunade's pupils shrank slightly. Kakashi and Guy immediately closed in, shielding the Hokage behind them.
"Be careful, Hokage-sama!"
"Who is it?"
Just as Tsunade was puzzled, a figure slowly emerged from the forest.
Long black hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall. She wore a deep black kimono. Her features were delicate, and her skin was fair.
"Hikari?"
Upon seeing the woman's face, Tsunade felt as if struck by lightning.
"Hokage-sama, you know her?" Kakashi asked, confused but still cautious.
"Long time no see, Sensei."
The woman named Uchiha Hikari smiled faintly. "But if you want to catch up, wait until I deal with this trouble first."
Trouble?
Before the three could react, Hikari's figure blurred. With a single slash, she beheaded a bloodied ANBU right in front of them!
"Damn it! What are you doing?!" Guy's eyes widened in shock, unable to hold back his roar of anger.
"Hikari... have you joined the Aurora Order?"
Tsunade stared in disbelief at the decapitated ANBU — her once proud disciple.
"You're the one attacking our ANBU!"
Kakashi drew his kunai. Just from that moment, the enemy's strength pressed heavily on him.
"Hokage-sama, please leave quickly. Guy and I will do our best to stop her!"
The two exchanged a glance, their years of friendship giving them perfect coordination.
"You misunderstand, Sensei."
Uchiha Hikari looked at the wary three, wiping blood off her blade, and sighed helplessly. "Sensei, take a closer look at who I just killed."
At that moment, the ANBU who had been beheaded suddenly transformed into a white corpse.
"Is that... White Zetsu?!"
Tsunade recognized the white body immediately. It was the "First-Hokage's cellular clone White Zetsu" mentioned in Orochimaru's research.
Kakashi, standing beside her, also recognized it, a flash of realization in his mind. "You mean to say... those people just now — were all... it?"
Uchiha Hikari nodded slightly and said calmly, "That's right, but the person who killed them was not me."
At that moment, Tsunade and Kakashi suddenly understood.
"When I arrived, your Anbu team had already been wiped out."
Uchiha Hikari continued, "But I discovered that one of them was disguised as one of your people. Worried something might happen to you, I chased after them."
"So that's how it is."
Tsunade finally understood. The enemy had eliminated the Anbu squad sent ahead to explore and planned to let White Zetsu infiltrate among them.
No one knew what White Zetsu intended by suddenly mixing in.
Perhaps to stop them from reaching the Land of Iron, or maybe to do something during the negotiations.
Realizing this, Tsunade felt a chill run down her spine.
*******
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