Chapter 58: Retribution Comes Too Suddenly
It was clear that for Su Xiao’s team, the Hidden Rock Village trying to catch up to them was nothing short of a fool’s errand.
Half a kilometer behind Su Xiao and the others, the main force from the Hidden Rock Village had already rendezvoused with Ohnoki, who had charged out of the Vertical Rock Village.
The reinforcements from the Hidden Rock Village were led by the father-daughter duo of Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi. After meeting up with Ohnoki, Ohnoki took command.
Ohnoki, Akatsuchi, and Kurotsuchi were direct relatives. Ohnoki was Akatsuchi’s father, and Kurotsuchi was Akatsuchi’s daughter, making her Ohnoki’s granddaughter.
No wonder this girl Kurotsuchi could become the Fourth Tsuchikage; her family background was too strong. She was practically a third-generation official. Her grandfather was the Tsuchikage, and her father was the strongest of the second generation of Rock Shinobi, who had no interest in the Tsuchikage position at all.
Ohnoki commanded the main force, launching a massive pursuit of Su Xiao and his team. If this main force caught up, Su Xiao would be dead without a doubt.
Not to mention the combat power of Ohnoki and Akatsuchi, even the new-generation Kurotsuchi couldn’t be underestimated. After all, she was a kunoichi capable of succeeding as a Kage.
The threat didn’t just come from these three, but also from the ninja force behind them.
Within the pursuit team, there were 10 Jonin, 15 Special Jonin, 507 Chunin, and no Genin.
Ohnoki divided the pursuit force into three groups. He personally led 6 Jonin as the vanguard. This was a high-speed marching unit, tasked with catching up to Su Xiao and his team and holding them in place.
The second echelon of the pursuit team was commanded by Kurotsuchi. She led 4 Jonin, 5 Special Jonin, and 150 Chunin, positioned right behind Ohnoki’s vanguard.
The third echelon was led by Akatsuchi. He commanded 10 Special Jonin and 357 Chunin. This was the rear-guard unit, ensuring that if the first and second echelons were ambushed, they could provide support at any time. The third echelon also carried supplies and could dispatch speed-type Special Jonin to catch up to the first two echelons for resupply at any moment.
It could be said that Ohnoki’s arrangement was nearly flawless. These three pursuit units served the purposes of: chasing the enemy, surrounding the enemy, providing reinforcements, and logistical support. It was clearly a formation used in wartime.
These three pursuit units could not only chase down enemies, but even if they were ambushed, they had the power to fight back. Any one of these three units, even if faced with 3 to 4 Kage-level opponents, could hold out for a long time, while the other units could provide support at any moment.
This old man Ohnoki had experienced the Great Ninja War, so setting up a ninja pursuit formation was second nature to him.
The reason Ohnoki was so cautious was because he knew one thing: the Akatsuki organization were experts in warfare. Therefore, their destructive power couldn’t be judged by numbers alone. He had once hired the Akatsuki, so he was all too familiar with this.
Not only that, but Ohnoki had also made arrangements in the Hidden Rock Village to prevent the Akatsuki from launching a sneak attack on the village.
The Rock pursuit army began its chase, with the vanguard being the fastest. Not only were they familiar with the terrain of the Land of Earth, but Ohnoki’s flying ability was very useful for pursuit.
It wasn’t just Ohnoki who could fly; his granddaughter Kurotsuchi could too.
The Rock pursuit force was massive in number, but that didn’t mean they were slow. These were all ninjas; high-speed marching was just another day’s work for them.
Su Xiao’s group fled ahead, while the main Rock force chased from behind. This made Su Xiao think that retribution came too suddenly. Not long ago, he had been chasing Terumi Mei and the others, and now he was the one being chased.
There was no doubt that if any one of the Rock units caught up and held them down, Su Xiao and his team would be dead. There was no need to question this. Fortunately, the speed of the two sides was not on the same level.
After thirty minutes of pursuit, the distance between them was one kilometer.
After one hour of pursuit, the distance was three kilometers.
After four hours of pursuit, the distance exceeded five kilometers.
On the dark Gobi desert, Su Xiao sat on a large rock, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Beside the rock, Bubu Wang lay flat on the ground, tongue out, panting heavily.
Karin was slumped on the ground, drowsy and about to fall asleep. Su Xiao had previously discovered that biting Karin not only healed injuries but also restored some stamina. Therefore, during the escape, Su Xiao had bitten Karin’s back again, and Bubu Wang had bitten her calf.
At the time, Amu had seemed eager to try, but considering his terrifying 85-point Stamina attribute, Su Xiao didn’t let him bite Karin, or else Karin might have died from life force depletion.
“Water…”
The weakened Karin raised her hand. Su Xiao tossed her a bottle of water. Karin tried to unscrew the cap, but her hands were so weak she had to use all her strength to open it.
Karin felt bitter. After joining Su Xiao’s team, she had gone from being full of energy every day to becoming a “sickly young girl.” Now, she just wanted to get a good night’s sleep.
Snoring came from nearby. Karin turned her head to look. It was the Akatsuki member they had rescued.
After being rescued, Deidara hadn’t done anything else. The guy had just passed out. Perhaps even now, he still didn’t realize he had been rescued.
Deidara wasn’t a taijutsu-type ninja. Although his physical fitness was stronger than an average person’s, he hadn’t slept for several days in a row, which had inevitably damaged his brain. Earlier, he had been splashed with cold water, and the alternating hot and cold had given him a severe cold.
As a result, Deidara wouldn’t wake up for a short time. Even though Su Xiao had slapped Deidara a few times earlier, swelling his face, the guy still slept soundly.
As soon as Deidara woke up, Su Xiao would have a way to shake off the Rock pursuit force. But one thing puzzled him: how did the Rock Village pinpoint his location?
They were several kilometers apart, and Su Xiao had tried to clean up the traces along the way, yet the Rock Village could still keep up the pursuit. This left Su Xiao confused.
At first, Su Xiao thought something had been done to Deidara. But neither Karin’s perception nor White Zetsu, who had come to report on the pursuers, found anything unusual on Deidara.
The possibility of Bubu Wang being tracked was unlikely. Amu had also been checked, and there was nothing suspicious. As for Su Xiao, Karin and White Zetsu couldn’t perceive the situation inside his body because the Cyan Steel Shadow Energy within him was too aggressive.
Su Xiao had used his Cyan Steel Shadow Energy to check his own condition and found nothing abnormal. He had checked his clothes and weapons as well.
He had checked Bubu Wang, Amu, and Deidara. Karin was even less likely to be the source; she was a perception-type herself, and because she helped Su Xiao recover stamina, he often pulled down her top to bite her. Nothing was found on her either.
None of them had been marked or anything like that, yet the Rock Village could still pursue relentlessly. No matter how far they were shaken off, as soon as Su Xiao and his team stopped, the Rock ninjas would quickly close in.
Su Xiao sat on the rock, thinking. From the current situation, it seemed the problem wasn’t on their side, but rather that the enemy had a ninja skilled in tracking.
Just as Su Xiao was pondering, a pitcher plant sprouted from the nearby desert ground. It was a White Zetsu clone.
“The Rock ninjas are coming again.”
White Zetsu had a full smile on his face, his tone carrying a hint of schadenfreude.