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Although he had filled his stomach with various broad-spectrum antidote pills, Haori still suppressed his breathing rate to the minimum when he entered the valley's fog.
It never hurts to be careful to prevent himself from being affected. At the same time, he intensified his perception of himself. If he noticed any abnormalities in his body, he wouldn't recklessly choose to go deeper, regardless of his condition.
But fortunately, the antidote was still working. After all, these drugs were developed by Tsunade specifically to counter the poison of Chiyo of Sunagakure. Overall, they were very effective antidotes.
Then, when he quietly caught up again, although he had already made a guess, what he saw in front of him still surprised him.
Two figures were vaguely visible in the thick fog. The Kirigakure ninja who was supposed to be leading the way had moved to the side, behind Yashamaru. Then, in that instant, he used the essential skill of an assassin:
A backstab.
The entire kunai instantly sank into Yashamaru's back.
This simple attack method could at most be called a "trick." But Yashamaru, a Jōnin and a Sunagakure hero, didn't dodge at all. She was hit completely.
No matter what, when facing other village ninjas, she couldn't completely let down her guard. So, there was only one possibility that could explain the scene in front of him.
"Mental paralysis? Physical paralysis? Is this the effect of the poison gas?"
Haori thought silently.
He instantly realized that the poison gas was taking effect.
The Kirigakure ninja didn't need to directly poison Yashamaru with poison gas. That would probably be difficult. So, they just needed to make her lose her ability to react.
Haori didn't rush forward. Since they had already used poison and a backstab, to ensure the enemy's death, there would inevitably be other ambushes in this valley terrain.
As expected, when Yashamaru stumbled forward and fell, the attack launched again.
Countless kunai flew in from above, on both sides of the valley. They all hit Yashamaru's back, which was unable to react effectively.
At this moment, Yashamaru's first regret was probably: why didn't I choose a mission outfit with stronger protective capabilities?
What it meant to be turned into a porcupine was now illustrated perfectly.
"Wh… why…"
Yashamaru, who had fallen to the ground, had confusion, incomprehension, unwillingness, and anger in her eyes. This script was completely different from what she had been told.
Was she going to die here just because of this momentary carelessness?
"The hatred between villages can never be eliminated. It can only be temporarily quelled and then wait for the next eruption… But quelling the hatred between each other can't be without a price."
"And you, Yashamaru, the hero of Sunagakure, are that price and the bargaining chip to settle things between the two sides."
"Your death will be the first step towards peace between the two countries. Isn't that what a 'hero' is supposed to do? So, die peacefully."
The enemy's tone was full of sarcasm, especially when he said "hero," which made this emotion even more evident.
Yashamaru, whose consciousness was already hazy, might not have heard these words clearly, but the meaning was clear as day: she had been betrayed by the Kazekage and the village to achieve peace with Kirigakure.
He was right. Was this the final sacrifice of a so-called hero?
It was a truly ironic death, both for herself, for the village, and for the word "hero."
"The only regret is that we can't let the news of your death at the hands of Kirigakure get out. I believe that soon, news will spread that Yashamaru of the Scorch Release died on the battlefield against Iwagakure."
The ninja continued.
Haori had heard the conversation between the two clearly. He had also guessed the general situation. But to exchange peace between the two sides by sacrificing one of their own high-level forces… Although you couldn't simply say that the Kazekage's way of thinking was wrong, it wasn't a good strategy after all.
Of course, this was Haori's own consideration. As a Kage, there were many more issues to weigh. Looking at Yashamaru's situation, and thinking back, would Konoha and the Hokage do the same? Haori didn't know the answer.
In fact, they would.
After a certain event, would Konoha also hand over Hyuga Hizashi to Kumogakure?
Although the process was completely different, the essence was similar. For the sake of the village's overall interests and the peace of the world, sacrificing one or two ninjas was unavoidable, but… what did it matter?
Why not?
But now, Haori felt that Yashamaru was worth saving.
A ninja of Yashamaru's level wouldn't be so easily taken out, right?
After she fell to the ground, the three ninjas responsible for the ambush quickly appeared. This four-person team, consisting of one Jōnin and three Chūnin, had killed the well-known ninja, Yashamaru… You could only say that Yashamaru was betrayed by her own people.
Haori's perception confirmed that there were indeed only four enemies.
If they were to fight head-on, Yashamaru could probably handle a 1v4 without a problem. But the other side knew about this gap in combat power, so they had chosen to ambush her.
If you were to take stock of Kirigakure's high-level combat power, you would find that it was pitifully small. Konoha had the Sannin, the Uchiha, the Hyuga, the Yellow Flash, and elite ninjas from various clans. What about Kirigakure? They were few and far between.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were not in the village right now, so they could only send this kind of team to deal with Yashamaru. But Yashamaru was just a dish sent to them by the Kazekage. It didn't take much effort to deal with her.
So, after weighing his options, Haori decided to take down this team.
The formidable enemy, Yashamaru, had fallen to the ground as planned. At this time, the four Kirigakure ninjas, although they couldn't be said to have completely relaxed their vigilance, had relaxed their expressions.
Haori was about 30 meters away from the enemy. Since he had decided to attack, he began to move silently.
Maintaining absolute silence while moving at high speed was impossible. The so-called silent assassination technique couldn't be that magical. No matter how you moved, you would inevitably make a sound. But Haori could suppress the sound to the minimum.
As he moved quickly, his hands formed hand seals. First, he used the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
An exact copy of himself appeared beside him. Then, Haori and his clone spread out in a "V" shape, changing from a frontal assault through the middle of the valley to flanking on both sides.
"Who's there?!"
"Be careful, there's more than just Yashamaru!"
As soon as he began forming the hand seals, the Jōnin among the enemies instantly sensed the presence of other ninjas. The way the other guy was approaching stealthily could only mean that he was an enemy.
But since Haori was forming the hand seals, it meant that he had calculated this distance. Being discovered wouldn't make a difference.
He used the same genjutsu again, the Dark Walking Jutsu, directly taking away the enemy's vision.
"Genjutsu! Everyone be careful."
The four enemies reacted quickly. Almost instantly, they formed a swastika formation, standing back-to-back. They used this method to defend, unable to see, so they could face four directions and prevent friendly fire.
This method had its pros and cons. The downside was that they were clustered together.
Haori's real body and his clone rushed along the left and right sides of the valley at high speed, simultaneously extending an arm towards the enemy.
Then, lightning lit up on his body.
The width of the gorge was only a little over 20 meters. Haori could fill it with one jutsu.
His clone and his real body simultaneously used Chidori Sharp Spear. The brilliant white blades instantly formed a single line. The high-speed rush created parallel cuts that covered the entire width.
The enemies, having lost their vision, were completely unable to react effectively.
Although the four enemies were at different heights due to their positions and postures, they felt the same thing at this moment: they only felt a section of their bodies at a certain height, perhaps cool, perhaps hot.
Then, there was nothing else.
Whether it was a waist cut, a chest cut, a neck cut, or a head cut, anyone cut in half wouldn't be able to survive.
After the strike, Haori's clone checked the enemy's death and continued to guard the surroundings, while his real body went over to Yashamaru.
He squatted down and pressed his two fingers against her neck.
"Is she still alive? I hope the hero won't become a hero spirit."
No matter what, a living Sunagakure hero was more valuable than a dead Sunagakure hero.
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