Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

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In the silent, dark night, danger was silently brewing, slowly surfacing as time passed.

Kushina closed her eyes, focusing on sensing the flow of chakra. Not far from her, Yoru was listening intently. After a moment, he turned his gaze and shook his head at Orochimaru.

Beneath the seemingly calm forest, the silence was deceptive. In reality, numerous sounds severely interfered with Yoru's listening.

Orochimaru gave a slight nod, silently observing Kushina and patiently waiting for the results.

After a while, Kushina slowly opened her eyes. She had pinpointed the locations of the sentries and nodded towards Orochimaru.

The mission… had begun.

The threat lurking in the darkness was unknown to anyone.

The occasional screech of an owl echoed through the night sky. The sentries hidden in the bushes instinctively tilted their heads and pricked their ears. The next moment, they habitually let their brief and superficial alertness lapse.

They were used to the owl's insistent screech and accustomed to the brief relaxation between shifts.

A faint breeze carrying a subtle fragrance brushed past them. In that moment of relaxation, even if they noticed something amiss, the well-hidden sentries had no time to react. They didn't even feel any pain before their bodies became uncontrollable, unable to lift a finger or even open their mouths.

"..."

The sentries' eyes widened in terror as their eyeballs desperately darted around. They had clearly given the order to shout, yet the night remained eerily silent.

Soon, they found it increasingly difficult to breathe. The fragrance at their nostrils grew fainter, as if it was slipping away, and darkness quickly closed in.

Kotoe supported the body, carefully placing it down, and then silently moved towards the next sentry.

For the first time, Orochimaru's group recognized the frightening side of the seemingly lively girl.

"Such terrifying poison." Yoru said, his voice trembling.

He had clearly seen Kotoe insert a needle-like object into the target's neck, and in less than ten seconds, the target had quietly died without making a sound.

Kushina was also astonished by the terrifying poison and was already planning to inform Tsunade back in Konoha.

Only Ye Zi's expression became unpleasant. The object causing the sentry's death was none other than the shuriken Kotoe had thrown at him the previous night. He hadn't expected that shuriken to be laced with such a potent toxin.

Shinboku, who had initially felt a bit smug while watching the surprised group, realized something was wrong when he saw Ye Zi's displeased expression. After all, Kotoe had used such a weapon to attack Ye Zi last night.

"This is troublesome." Shinboku muttered, rubbing his forehead with a bitter expression.

Under the watchful eyes of the group, Kotoe skillfully and silently eliminated each sentry. Despite the effectiveness of the unknown poison, it was her exceptional close-combat skills that truly made the difference.

"I didn't expect there to be such a talent among the Grass Ninja." Orochimaru remarked with deep interest. To him, Kotoe's young age combined with her proficient skills made her a natural assassin. Given time, she would surely reach her peak, and then everyone would want her dead.

Unfortunately…

Orochimaru's lips curled into a smirk. In the current era, such a person was simply not suited to survive.

After eliminating the sentries, the group quickly made their way to the Land of Ash's capital without being detected.

Unbeknownst to them, dark clouds had covered the moon, and the temperature had suddenly dropped.

As Ye Zi sprinted, he looked up at the night sky, feeling a familiar sense of foreboding. It seemed that after starting the killing, only the oppressive, stormy weather before a downpour could be remembered, a moment that was often marked by blood-stained palms.

Human life, so fragile…

Continuing their stealthy advance and eliminating obstacles, the group finally arrived at the residence of the Land of Ash's ruler, with relative ease.

Outside the residence, the group exchanged glances and swiftly climbed over the wall into the courtyard. At that moment, a number of kunai attached with explosive tags were suddenly hurled at them.

"Detected?" Before they could react, Ye Zi nimbly dodged the kunai raining down.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

As soon as they landed, several cold voices called out. The ground of the courtyard suddenly turned into a swamp-like mire. Within moments, the group's legs were already sinking into the muck.

Swish, swish, swish…

As if it had been meticulously planned, kunai with explosive tags continued to fall towards the group's landing spots. The flames and white smoke from the tags were like a countdown from the Grim Reaper.

He had no time to focus on anything else as he quickly formed hand seals.

Boom, boom, boom…

The successive violent explosions engulfed the entire courtyard.

Such a commotion attracted the attention of everyone in the Land of Ash.

The previously silent city erupted into chaos.

"An enemy attack?" The night guards looked towards the direction of the explosions, their faces filled with terror. That was clearly the ruler's residence.

The ninjas responsible for the perimeter defenses turned pale upon seeing the commotion caused by the explosions.

Inside the ruler's residence.

On a pavilion, a middle-aged man dressed in tight combat gear coldly stared at the courtyard covered in thick smoke below.

This man was the ruler of the Land of Ash, Haibara.

"Konoha ninjas…"

Beside him, a middle-aged man with pronounced features, wearing an Iwa headband, spoke with a serious tone, "It's one of Konoha's Three Ninjas, Orochimaru."

The man's forehead bore the Iwa symbol. Next to him stood three boys and girls, around eleven or twelve years old.

Haibara, who could identify the visitors as Konoha ninjas from their attire, was not as discerning as the Iwa ninja. Hearing that it was Orochimaru, even he couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

"Are you confident?" Haibara's voice quivered slightly. After all, the visitors were one of the renowned Three Ninjas.

Tsuchiya Sanzou remained expressionless and said in a deep voice, "As long as it's not Konoha's White Fang, I can ensure your safety. Dai-Iwa, Dick, and Maoka, you three protect him."

"Yes." the three youths responded in unison, forming a defensive stance around Haibara with serious expressions.

Tsuchiya Sanzou leapt down from the pavilion, his heart heavy. Despite having the advantage of surprise, facing Orochimaru meant this mission was unlikely to be simple.

Vague regrets arose in his mind. He shouldn't have taken on this mission with his students. After all, those three students…

Soon, the regrets were dismissed, and he cast aside any factors that might influence the battle.

The smoke from the explosions gradually dissipated.

The ambushing ninjas watched the courtyard intently.

There were no bodies…

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