Naruto: Hatake's No Misfortune

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"According to the direction of the investigation, this should be the place. Let's check it out first."

After escaping from the Cloud Ninja headquarters, Muzan headed in the opposite direction. He retraced the path they had taken, and his persistence finally paid off as he found traces of the carriage and horses.

It was already the fourth day, and there was a chance that other ninjas had discovered the Cloud Ninja's food and supply convoy. Muzan noticed something was off.

"Hmm? Someone's been here."

The eerie silence of the stone forest was unsettling. Not even the sound of birds or animals could be heard, which was abnormal. Someone had cleaned up the area near the battlefield in advance.

Half-leaning against a stone wall, he sniffed the air.

"I'm too late. Konoha's already sent their strongmen."

He had delayed for four whole days, and naturally, Muzan did not rush in. It was possible that this place was within a war zone between Konoha and Kumogakure.

The ninjas of Kumogakure were no fools. For important tasks like transporting supplies, there would be ninja, or even high-ranking Jonin, escorting them.

Just as Muzan was about to wait for an opportunity, he noticed a bug crawling out. It had an extremely faint layer of chakra. Only the Aburame clan of Konoha could cultivate chakra insects like this.

Elsewhere in the stone forest, Aburame Koji had sent his chakra bugs to investigate the area. As the bugs returned one by one, he received different pieces of information.

The structure of the entire stone forest gradually formed in his mind, based on the pheromones left by the bugs. When one particular bug returned, Aburame Koji was slightly stunned.

"I didn't expect Muzan to be nearby. He came at the wrong time."

On the evening of the third day after the ninja team set out, some of the scouts returned with information about the Cloud Ninja's supply convoy. Hatake Sakumo immediately decided to send an elite team to destroy the enemy's supplies.

This task fell on Aburame Koji.

He didn't want Muzan involved. After all, this mission was classified as S-rank.

There were sure to be elite Jonin in the convoy, and possibly some of Kumogakure's top experts.

Although Muzan was strong, he wasn't yet at the level of an elite Jonin.

Thinking this, Aburame Koji made a decision and whispered under his mask:

"You two stop them from the front and use the explosion to block their way, so the supplies can't be transported out!"

"When the others hear the explosion, they'll immediately rush over with me for a surprise attack!"

"Remember, our mission is not to defeat the enemy but to destroy their supplies!"

He ruled out a sneak attack. Even if there were sensory-type ninjas, the Cloud Ninja must be close to the supply team.

No matter how elite a ninja is, when they hear an explosion, their first priority is to protect the critical supplies.

This would give the Konoha ninjas the opportunity to hold off the Cloud Ninja at the moment of the explosion. Then, as long as one person reached the supplies, a Fire Release jutsu could burn everything!

Following Aburame Koji's instructions, the five-man team split into two groups, and a large number of bugs were arranged around them in advance to ensure a swift attack.

Muzan, unaware of the Konoha team's plan, was observing the area when he suddenly heard a loud noise. The stone forest at the center cracked on a large scale, the rumbling sound echoing like dominoes collapsing.

"As expected, Kumogakure sent strong men to support the front line."

A huge roar echoed, and a mushroom cloud bloomed with flames. The effect of using a large number of explosive tags.

He no longer hid but took out his kunai and immediately rushed into the stone forest.

At this time, the Konoha elite team was engaged in battle.

Their opponent was a middle-aged man. The Konoha ninjas used Fire Release together, but their jutsu was countered.

"Lava Release: Rubber Wall!"

The ninjas in the same group used Earth Release to reinforce the defense, directly blocking the sky-filled flames.

At this stage, Dodai was not the older man he would be during the Fourth Ninja War.

His body was in its prime, and assisting the Third Raikage was proof of his strength.

"The Aburame clan..."

Dodai looked at the other party's outfit and immediately recognized their identity.

"Konoha knew you were coming, so I've been waiting here for you!"

"If I can kill you, it will be a significant blow to Konoha."

After a quick glance around, Dodai noted that Konoha had sent an elite Jonin along with four Jonin-level shinobi!

As a rare strategist in Kumogakure, Dodai understood the importance of food and supplies to the army, so he did not hide his presence.

It's not about fearing thieves stealing but fearing them planning.

Better to hide in the team and wait for Konoha's rats to take the bait.

Expecting strong opposition, they never thought it would be the Aburame clan, catching a big fish indeed.

"Attention, all Cloud ninjas! Be careful of the bugs around you! These insects can drain your chakra!"

After hearing Dodai's warning, everyone's first reaction was to get rid of the bugs around them.

Although the Aburame clan's presence in Konoha was low-key, no one dared to underestimate them, especially on the battlefield, where even a tiny insect could be lethal.

"Tch..."

Under his black sunglasses, Aburame Koji's eyes narrowed.

Seeing Dodai standing on the earth wall, the renowned Lava Release user from Kumogakure, Koji knew he had to act quickly.

Backing away slightly, the gourd on his waist opened, and a light blue chakra began to emanate from his body.

"Secret Technique: Insect Jar!"

Parasites like seawater surrounded him, these insects capable of devouring chakra.

But this time, there was a complication.

Parasitic insects could eat through the rubber formed by Lava Release, but at a very slow pace.

If he wanted to break through the opponent's defense, he wouldn't have enough time. It was likely that Kumogakure reinforcements would arrive before he could succeed.

"Lava Release...this rubber is really troublesome!"

The natural wall formed by Earth Release and the strong adhesive properties of the rubber rendered most ninjutsu ineffective.

"Then we'll just have to escalate."

Aburame Koji released all the bugs from his gourd. In an instant, the dense swarm covered a large area of the sky.

"Secret Technique: Insect Tornado!"

The parasites formed a tornado, appearing as a black line from a distance, but no one dared to underestimate this technique.

As long as the surrounding ninjas were caught in the insect tornado, their bodies would slowly disappear.

"You live up to your reputation as Konoha's insect master, but you underestimate us."

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