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"What did you say?"
"The daimyo's convoy sped up?"
Minato's surprised exclamation echoed from the Hokage's office.
An Anbu wearing a cat-faced mask was reporting the intel he had gathered.
"Yes! The daimyo's convoy has met up with the escorting unit."
"After the meeting, the daimyo suddenly ordered the convoy to proceed at full speed."
Minato's blue eyes were filled with surprise and doubt. "Did they encounter any attacks along the way?"
The Anbu's reply was unexpected.
"They did not encounter any attacks," the Anbu continued. "According to the brief report, this order was personally given by the daimyo."
"No attacks?" Koharu's brows furrowed, her aged face filled with surprise and suspicion. "Then why did the daimyo abandon this plan?"
"He was the one who proposed it. What is he thinking?"
"Who knows what the daimyo is thinking!" Homura's expression was also extremely serious. "For this plan, Konoha fully cooperated."
"To abandon it now means all our efforts have gone to waste, and we've alerted the enemy!"
In their view, the daimyo's actions were too childish.
"Two elders."
Minato's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting the two elders' guesses.
"The intel just now was very clear!" Minato walked quickly to the map, his gaze sharp as a blade.
The two elders' attention was firmly drawn to him.
Minato's hand swept across the map, then pressed heavily on a point.
It was the last area before the daimyo's convoy sped up.
"The daimyo isn't trying to flush out the enemy," Minato's voice became somewhat chilling. "He's using this action, he's telling us..."
"The snake is no longer interested in biting him, the bait."
After this explanation, the two elders were instantly shocked.
Yes, why didn't they encounter any attacks in the most dangerous section?
The office instantly fell into a dead silence.
Minato turned and asked the Anbu. "When will the daimyo arrive?"
The Anbu replied. "He is expected to arrive at the village before dark!"
"Issue the order!" Minato said decisively. "Have the Anbu deploy immediately and clear all civilians within a three-kilometer radius of the daimyo's residence!"
"Tell the Barrier Team to activate the village's highest-level defensive barrier."
"When the daimyo arrives at the village, I want to see a completely safe Konoha!"
"Additionally, order Transit Station One: the troops are to immediately retreat one hundred kilometers and rebuild their defensive line!"
"Notify the Intelligence Department: I want to know the movements of all units on the Land of Lightning border, precise down to every single squad!"
Command after command, without the slightest hesitation, issued from the young Fourth Hokage's mouth.
"Minato, isn't this an overreaction?" Koharu's lips moved, and she spoke with difficulty. "Such a large-scale deployment, what if it's just..."
"There is no 'what if'!" Minato interrupted sharply. "Kumogakure used the lives of four elite jonin as a price to successfully make all of us believe their target was the daimyo."
"But they gave up the best timing for an assassination!"
"This can only prove that the assassination of the daimyo was a disguise from the beginning."
"Kumogakure's true target is Konoha!"
"But there are only a dozen Kumogakure shinobi who infiltrated!" Homura couldn't help but argue back. "And four of them died!"
"That's why I told the Intelligence Department to keep a close eye on the large units in the Land of Lightning!"
Minato's explanation completely silenced the two battle-hardened elders.
They opened their mouths but did not argue again.
The shadow of war swept over their hearts.
Along the official road, dust billowed.
The daimyo's convoy, escorted by hundreds of shinobi, sped towards Konoha like an arrow shot from a bow.
The carriage jolted, and the scenery outside the window rapidly receded.
Inside the carriage, the atmosphere was eerily quiet.
Uchiha Kasumi sat upright on the cushion, her expression stern.
But deep within her lowered eyelids, vigilance lurked, ready to activate her Sharingan at any moment.
Inside her sleeve, a poisoned kunai was tightly clutched in her hand.
As an Uchiha elite, her perception of crisis had long become instinct.
From the moment the daimyo crushed the teacup, she knew something big had happened.
She didn't ask.
Because her older sister had taught her not to speak unnecessarily about things she shouldn't ask.
All she had to do was, when the crisis arrived, use her life to buy even a tenth of a second for the man beside her.
Unlike her calmness, Kurenai Yuhi, sitting opposite, seemed a bit flustered.
The girl's beautiful red eyes were filled with confusion and worry.
The previously warm and harmonious atmosphere seemed to have suddenly become tense.
Even Kasumi, who had been chatting and laughing with her just now, had become silent.
After much hesitation, perhaps the daimyo's gentle attitude earlier had given her courage.
She finally couldn't help but speak softly. "My lord... Are we in danger?"
Shin's tightly closed eyes slowly opened.
The coldness in his eyes was covered by a layer of warmth when it met the girl's uneasy gaze.
He offered a faint smile, his voice softening as he soothed her. "Don't be afraid."
"We are not in danger."
"I just suddenly wanted to arrive at Konoha earlier to see the welcome ceremony the Fourth Hokage prepared for me."
"Hold on tight, we'll be home soon."
The daimyo's reassurance did not calm Kurenai Yuhi. Instead, it made the unease in her heart stronger.
She stopped asking questions. Instead, she silently straightened her back, her muscles tensing up.
Outside the carriage, the wind howled.
The Guardian Shinobi Twelve guarded both sides of the carriage tightly.
Asuma, running at high speed, could no longer hold back the doubts in his heart.
With a few leaps, he arrived beside Nara Shikato and asked in a low voice. "Hey! Shikato! What exactly is going on?!"
"Isn't the daimyo's plan to fish? If we run like this, what kind of fish are we going to catch?!"
His voice was full of impatience and confusion.
Several other Guardian Shinobi nearby, hearing this, also cast questioning glances.
Nara Shikato's expression was more serious than ever before.
He quickly glanced at the Konoha shinobi around them and said in an equally deep voice. "Fishing?"
"Asuma, you tell me."
"What kind of fish would abandon bait that's right in front of it?"
Asuma was stumped.
Yes, why?
Nara Shikato's voice became sharper. "We are not the bait at all!"
"Those bastards' target isn't us at all!"
"It's Konoha!!!"
All the Guardian Shinobi were stunned.
The next moment, killing intent surged.
A furious rage, born from their home being invaded and their loved ones being threatened, showed itself in them.
This killing intent was so strong that the Konoha shinobi leading the way turned back in alarm.
They didn't understand why they had become so terrifying.
"Bastards!!!"
Asuma let out a low roar, his eyes bloodshot, and the chakra blades at his waist hummed wildly!
Hyuga Hizashi's veins bulged, and his Byakugan instantly activated!
Uchiha Natsume, Ino-Shika-Cho... every single one of the Guardian Shinobi gave off fierce killing intent!
They finally understood why they had to abandon the plan and proceed at full speed.
It turned out that they had long since transformed from a hunt into a race against death!
What they were now desperately protecting was no longer just the daimyo!
It was Konoha!
It was the village where they were born!
It was the tens of thousands of relatives and friends in the village!
At this moment, everyone had only one thought.
Before the enemy makes their move!
They must... rush back!!!