Chapter 78: Desperate Konoha Pursuers
Su Xiao moved swiftly through the forest, then suddenly stopped, eyeing the path ahead with suspicion.
The forest ahead was deathly silent. On the surface, nothing seemed amiss, but that was far from the truth.
Whoosh~
A figure darted out, clad in a loose, dark green robe. Its eyes were a ghastly white, with large veins bulging at the corners of its eyes and across its cheeks.
The newcomer was named Hyuga Hyuzu, a former Konoha ninja, now summoned by Kabuto and aligned with Su Xiao's side.
"Byakugan, activate."
Hyuga Hyuzu pressed his hands together, index fingers touching, the rest curled inward.
"Twenty-eight enemies total, hidden ahead."
Hyuga Hyuzu's Byakugan was no mere decoration; it immediately detected the foes in front.
With over twenty enemies suddenly appearing ahead, Su Xiao guessed they might not be ninjas but rather contractors from the Konoha faction.
Every ninja village housed many contractors, and Konoha had the most. These contractors were "old acquaintances" of Su Xiao's. Among them were likely those who had previously followed Naruto Uzumaki—the same ones Sasuke had strung up and beaten with his Susanoo.
Ninjas probably couldn't predict Su Xiao's movements, but these contractors were different. They came from the same place as Su Xiao and could communicate with contractors from other villages via the derivative world contact platform.
Su Xiao opened the derivative world contact platform and, sure enough, it was buzzing.
Blue Tiger (Rogue): "What's going on with Konoha? Are they still trying to get themselves killed? I heard they almost got their asses handed to them by Sasuke last time."
Old Withered (Black Sword Adventure Group): "They've already started. All five great ninja villages are hunting that ruthless guy now, and they only need to stall him."
Lead Hammer (Rogue): "That's not asking for death. They don't have to fight him head-on—just stall him for big rewards. Why not?"
Hellhound (Rogue): "Shut up, all of you. This guy's a lunatic. According to the plot, the Fourth Great Ninja War shouldn't start for at least another month. Now it'll kick off in under a week, and it's ten to one this bastard's fault."
...
The derivative world contact platform was unusually lively, while in the forest ahead, the contractors hiding in the shadows had massive psychological trauma.
They weren't actually there to die. They'd been forced into a mandatory mission and had no choice but to intercept Su Xiao.
Originally, they'd planned to just go through the motions—pull a "mystical flanking maneuver," meaning they'd find a random spot to lie low. That way, they could give Konoha a decent excuse later.
But what they never expected was that Su Xiao would actually retreat in their direction. This nearly sent the small-time leader of the Konoha contractor faction into a rage-induced coma.
This leader wasn't the true boss of the group. He mostly offered advice and constructive suggestions, and over time, the other contractors had come to trust him.
Now, in the Konoha contractor faction's temporary team channel, chaos reigned. Initially, seeing only Su Xiao, they weren't too tense. But when Hyuga Hyuzu appeared, panic set in.
Hyuga Hyuzu's presence meant Su Xiao had allied with Kabuto and could summon a large number of Impure World Reincarnation users.
Su Xiao stood still, pondered for a moment, then turned to Hyuga Hyuzu.
"Summoning Jutsu."
Hyuga Hyuzu slapped the ground with one hand. With a bang, white smoke rose, and a coffin was summoned.
Creak~
The coffin lid opened, finally slapping to the ground with a clatter. A figure wrapped entirely in bandages stepped out—the Second Tsuchikage, Mu.
Mu was no pushover. He excelled at stealth and reconnaissance and also mastered Dust Release. Su Xiao had personally experienced the destructive power of Dust Release.
"Damn!"
A low curse came from the forest, followed by a clatter of footsteps. Clearly, the contractors were fleeing. The combination of Su Xiao + Hyuga Hyuzu + Second Tsuchikage was a nightmare for them, far worse than their previous clash with Sasuke.
Within five seconds, all the contractors hiding in the forest ahead had bolted.
From Su Xiao's arrival to the contractors' escape, only about ten seconds had passed.
Su Xiao hesitated. With his current forces not being weak, should he try engaging Konoha's people?
After careful consideration, Su Xiao decided against it. First, Kabuto wouldn't summon his strongest Impure World Reincarnation users, like Uchiha Madara, Nagato, or Itachi.
That meant Su Xiao would likely face a combination of Konoha's main army + Tsunade + Might Guy. If he pissed off that "precious beast" and Guy opened the Eight Gates, Su Xiao could easily be kicked to death by a single Night Guy.
Recalling Uchiha Madara's miserable state after being hit by Night Guy, Su Xiao pushed off the ground and continued forward.
Su Xiao left the Second Tsuchikage nearby as a "surprise" for the Konoha pursuers. He'd only gone a few dozen seconds when a white beam of light erupted behind him.
Su Xiao was familiar with that fluctuation—it was Dust Release. No need to guess; the Second Tsuchikage had engaged Konoha's pursuers.
If Konoha kept chasing, there were more surprises waiting, like Aburame Torune, the Third Raikage, the Fourth Raikage, and the Fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei.
That's right, Terumi Mei had also been reincarnated by Kabuto. She was killed by Su Xiao, and he knew exactly where her body was.
When Terumi Mei was reincarnated, the first person she saw was Su Xiao. After learning the gist of things, she was so furious she nearly "died" on the spot.
She had been killed by Su Xiao, and now she was his ally. What made it worse was that she'd have to fight the very subordinates who once trusted and followed her.
Terumi Mei's mental state shattered. She tried to end herself multiple times, but she couldn't.
Inside the forest, Su Xiao leaped between trees, with Bubu Wang following behind. Two others trailed them: Hyuga Hyuzu and Terumi Mei.
Hyuga Hyuzu wouldn't be used for rearguard actions—his Byakugan was too valuable in forest combat. Terumi Mei, however, was ready to hold the line at any moment.
"Bastard."
Terumi Mei glared at Su Xiao's back, itching to tear him apart, but she was under Kabuto's control.
She recalled the words she'd spoken before her death: "I will never cooperate with scum like you."
She'd said that while refusing to hand over tailed beasts to Obito, meaning she'd rather die than bow to the Akatsuki.
But reality had slapped her hard. Now she was constantly on standby to cover Su Xiao's retreat.
Konoha's pursuers were relentless. The entire village of Konoha was like a hornet's nest that had been viciously poked. This was another reason Su Xiao chose not to engage Konoha directly—even with his considerable forces, Konoha had even more.
Besides, his alliance with Kabuto was shaky. If Kabuto ever dispelled the Impure World Reincarnation, Su Xiao would immediately face the full might of Konoha, with no escape.
In truth, Konoha's pursuit had already stopped. The initial rearguard, Kato Dan, was held off by Tsunade. The Second Tsuchikage they tolerated, but when the Third and Fourth Raikage appeared, Konoha suffered significant casualties. Who knew which village's Kage would show up next? Faced with such a hopeless chase, Tsunade decided to call it quits, and Konoha began to fall back.