Konoha's Tatsuya

One week later, at the gates of Konoha, Tatsuya, Shinno, and their party embarked on their journey.

This time, Shinno was headed to the Land of Wind, and besides Tatsuya, a squad of chunin was accompanying them as escorts. This chunin squad had taken on the escort mission through the standard mission desk process, while Tatsuya had joined at Shinno's personal invitation.

Judging by the mission rank, this was a B-rank mission, which logically should have been led by at least one jonin. However, news had recently reached Konoha of a surprise attack launched by Kumogakure on the border of the Land of Fire. Upon receiving this intelligence, the village had immediately mobilized a large number of ninja, led personally by Jiraiya and Orochimaru, to provide support.

Simultaneously, to prepare for any potential emergencies, the village elders had frozen a significant number of mission requests, keeping all elite ninja of chunin rank and above within the village.

It was precisely due to these circumstances that Shinno's mission request had been accepted by a chunin-led squad. This was only achieved through Shinno leveraging his accumulated connections and accomplishments over many years.

The already underpowered chunin squad raised no objections to Tatsuya's temporary addition. Currently, among the younger generation of Konoha, Tatsuya's reputation was almost on par with Asuma and Anko, second only to Kakashi.

A summon comparable to a jonin was a powerful force that no one could easily ignore. However, this also sparked discontent among many of the younger ninja in the village, with many believing that Tatsuya had only reached this point through luck.

Two days prior, Seiryu's injuries had completely healed. After Seiryu's recovery, Tatsuya didn't dare leave it with Orochimaru any longer and immediately sealed it away and took it with him. Orochimaru, seemingly having obtained sufficient experimental data, offered no resistance.

After leaving Konoha, the group headed directly west. After traveling for more than half a month, they finally reached the western border of the Land of Fire. Continuing forward would lead them into the Land of Rivers.

The Land of Rivers was located between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, serving as a buffer zone between the two great nations. Its geographical environment was similar to that of the Land of Wind, with a significant portion of its territory consisting of vast, desolate deserts, completely uninhabited.

On the day they entered the Land of Rivers, after a full day of travel, Tatsuya and his group stopped at the edge of the desert they were about to enter. It was a bizarre rock formation, a stone forest with sparse yellowish vegetation at its edges. The group decided to set up a temporary camp here.

After setting up traps around a large stone pillar, the five of them each chose a clean spot, sat down quietly, and began to eat.

The atmosphere during the meal was somber. Shinno, disguised as an ordinary person, quickly pretended to be exhausted and fell asleep leaning against a large rock. Tatsuya and the three members of the chunin squad also leaned against stone pillars, feigning sleep.

The pain of the Nine-Tails' attack had not yet fully subsided, and the news of Kumogakure's surprise attack hung like a massive, dark cloud over the hearts of all Konoha ninja.

Along the way, the three chunin had been paying close attention to any news they could gather about the war on the front lines.

To counter the surprise attack launched by Kumogakure, Konoha had sent both Jiraiya and Orochimaru, two of the Legendary Sannin, to the front. While this move served to stabilize morale on the front lines, the overall situation remained far from optimistic.

From the information available so far, Kumogakure had directly deployed both Killer B and Yugito Nii, two jinchuriki, in this attack. Even in one-on-one combat, Jiraiya and Orochimaru might not be able to suppress either of them.

Moreover, in a large-scale ninja war, the abilities of jinchuriki could easily sway the course of the battle. It would not be easy for Konoha to gain an advantage on the battlefield.

And, even more worrying, with the departure of Jiraiya and Orochimaru, the only remaining Kage-level shinobi available to Konoha was the Third Hokage himself.

Although Fugaku Uchiha, who had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, also possessed Kage-level strength, this information was a closely guarded secret. Given the strained relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village elders, it was unlikely that he would actively step forward to assist the Third Hokage.

As for Shisui, although he had also awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan early, his young body was not yet capable of sustaining a true Kage-level battle, unless he used his ultimate genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami.

Under these circumstances, if any other Hidden Village were to launch an attack on Konoha, the situation would become truly dire.

Faced with this predicament, Tatsuya couldn't help but lament Konoha's turbulent fate. The Land of Fire's advantageous geographical location had gathered a wealth of talent and resources, but it also forced Konoha to contend with enemies on all sides.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Just as the group had settled into a state of feigned sleep, the sound of several explosions in the air shattered the silence of the stone forest.

Tatsuya was the first to react. He leaped onto the stone pillar behind him and looked in the direction of the sound. On another stone pillar a few meters away, the leader of the chunin squad had also leaped up.

Standing atop the pillars and looking down, they saw several plumes of smoke suddenly rising from the desert a mile or two away, with a curtain of sand cascading down.

Beneath the sand curtain, several figures emerged, running directly towards the stone forest where Tatsuya and his group were located.

Soon, these figures had reached a point less than a hundred meters from the edge of the stone forest.

Looking down from his vantage point, Tatsuya quickly realized that the figure fleeing in the lead was a voluptuous, attractive female ninja. Judging by her attire, she was a shinobi from Sunagakure, but she wasn't wearing a Suna headband.

The female ninja was clearly seriously injured. As she ran, blood continuously trickled from the corner of her mouth. Several sentient fireballs orbited around her.

"Pakura of the Scorch Release from Sunagakure!"

Seeing the approaching figure, the chunin squad leader on the other pillar exclaimed in surprise. He had instantly recognized the identity of the fleeing kunoichi.

Pakura of Sunagakure!

Hearing the chunin squad leader's exclamation, Tatsuya's heart skipped a beat. This was a powerful bloodline limit user from Sunagakure.

Behind Pakura, the figures pursuing her also quickly came into Tatsuya's view.

Sunagakure ninja!

Why are they chasing Pakura here?

Seeing the attire of these pursuers, Tatsuya's body trembled slightly, and his face filled with confusion.

In his memories from his previous life, Pakura was a powerful shinobi whose reputation in Sunagakure was second only to the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. She was also a hero of Sunagakure, having rendered meritorious service to the village on numerous occasions.

Later, as the Third Shinobi World War was drawing to a close, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, personally ordered Pakura to act as an envoy to Kirigakure. Because it was a secret mission, Pakura had quietly left the village.

However, upon entering Kirigakure's territory, she was ambushed by Kiri ninja and died tragically at their hands, becoming a political sacrifice. This was a pre-arranged condition for a ceasefire between Sunagakure and Kirigakure, using Pakura's death to appease Kirigakure's hatred.

Now, more than a year after the end of the Third Shinobi World War, how was Pakura still alive? And why was she here, being chased by a group of Sunagakure ninja?

Could this be the butterfly effect caused by my arrival?

For a moment, Tatsuya's mind was flooded with thoughts.

While Tatsuya was perched on the stone pillar, lost in thought, the fleeing Pakura also noticed him. This was an open area, a stone forest at the edge of a vast desert, and Tatsuya's figure atop the pillar was hard to miss.

Seeing Tatsuya, the gravely injured Pakura didn't hesitate. She leaped and ran towards his position.