Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 154: Long Time No See, Naruto, Sakura

After sensing the surroundings, Yamato furrowed his brows and stated the current situation: "No one."

There were no guards around the large village's perimeter, which was unusual for a ninja village that sold intelligence.

"The village is quiet inside too," Kurotsuchi said after scrutinizing the village ahead for a while.

Had the people of Lockfront Village already moved away? Had their information been leaked? Both Kurotsuchi and Yamato simultaneously considered this possibility.

Despite this, the mission had to continue.

Yamato signaled with his hand, and the team immediately moved, stealthily heading into Lockfront Village.

Click.

A faint unlocking sound was heard.

Accompanied by the heavy lock falling off the door, Naruto and Sakura swiftly entered the house, scanning everything inside from left to right.

Finding nothing, they returned to the entrance, where they saw Yamato, Sai, Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, Bunpuku, and Kurobane emerging from the houses they had searched. They exchanged glances and silently continued searching the village.

One giant lock after another was opened.

One secret room after another was pushed open.

Still, there were no useful clues.

Everything was too clean.

"Sasuke."

Having finally obtained information about Sasuke, Naruto, who seemed to be about to miss out again, clenched his fists and sped up, quickly searching through Lockfront Village.

Seeing this, Sakura also sped up.

Time passed swiftly.

Having inspected most areas, the combined Leaf and Stone ninja team regrouped at a large underground base and ventured deep inside, rapidly searching the densely packed rooms.

This had once been the intelligence storage center of Lockfront Village.

In room after room, scrolls from various time periods were neatly arranged on the shelves, a truly spectacular sight.

But now, it was completely empty.

Occasionally, a few leftover scrolls were found, but they were all blank.

"Nothing... nothing at all..."

Naruto moved through the corridors, pushing open door after door, only to be met with disappointment each time.

Just when he thought the result would be the same again, they pushed open the final door of the underground base.

Blinding sunlight streamed in from outside, causing everyone, accustomed to the darkness, to instinctively lower their eyelids.

However, in that instant, Naruto's eyes widened with joy.

"Sasuke."

He saw him!

Right outside!

That taller, more mature figure bathed in sunlight.

It was the person he had longed to see day and night.

"SASUKE!!!"

At that moment, Naruto couldn't contain his emotions and shouted loudly.

"Sasuke?"

Sakura looked in disbelief, her eyes welling up with tears.

Yamato, Sai, Kurotsuchi, and the others immediately became alert.

They had finally caught up!

"Sasuke, do you know these people?" asked Hagoromo Anki, the captain of the Lockfront Village guard team, who had just finished his task and was about to leave as planned.

Sasuke turned around, his eyes calmly scanning Naruto and Sakura. Although they hadn't seen each other for two years, he recognized them instantly.

He nodded calmly and said, "They were my teammates when I was in the Leaf."

Hearing this, Uchiha Izumi glanced at the newcomers. After a quick look at the most excited ones, Naruto and Sakura, she smiled slightly and said, "I can tell you have a good relationship."

"Yes, it was quite good," Sasuke responded calmly without denying it.

During his training with Hagoromo Gengetsu, he had abandoned Itachi's method of cutting off ties to become stronger.

Although he no longer had any feelings for the Leaf, he still cherished his bonds with Naruto, Sakura, and Team 7.

Of course, friendships aside, with his new identity, Sasuke wouldn't hesitate if he had to fight them.

"Sasuke."

Hearing Sasuke say this, Naruto was extremely emotional, with many suppressed words wanting to burst out. But when it came to saying them, he didn't know where to start.

"Need to say hello before leaving?" asked Uchiha Kei, the only one who hadn't spoken until now.

Having married and had children, his once aggressive demeanor had softened significantly, and he could now speak calmly.

As for the potential danger ahead, well, the pride of the Uchiha clan remained intact.

As the team responsible for wrapping things up, he, Sasuke, and Izumi all possessed the Three Tomoe Sharingan, and their captain, Hagoromo Anki, was an elite jonin.

The current group of arrivals stood no chance of stopping them.

This was why Uchiha Kei and the other team members were so confident and even had time to tease Sasuke.

Hearing this, Sasuke nodded casually, his gaze first sweeping over the unfamiliar Stone ninjas.

"Stone ninja."

He could guess why they were here. After all, the Stone ninja used for Hagoromo Gengetsu's Reanimation was captured by him.

Without paying further attention to Kurotsuchi and the others, Sasuke looked at Naruto, Sakura, and the other two unfamiliar Leaf ninjas and said calmly:

"Long time no see, Naruto, Sakura."

"Where's Kakashi? Didn't he come?"

Sasuke suspected that Kakashi, who loved surprise attacks, might be hiding in the shadows.

Yamato stepped forward and replied, "Captain Kakashi didn't come. This mission is under my command. From now on, Team Kakashi's mission is to bring you back to the Leaf."

The mission to investigate Lockfront Village had failed.

For Yamato, the priority now was to bring Uchiha Sasuke back.

He would certainly have information about Lockfront Village.

Moreover, it wasn't just Sasuke.

The people with him might also know something.

Yamato's face turned serious as he glanced at Uchiha Izumi and the others.

These individuals gave him a sense of danger.

Fortunately, with the addition of the Stone ninjas, their side had a numerical advantage.

At that moment, Kurotsuchi spoke up: "Uchiha Sasuke, right? Let me ask you, where is the Stone ninja Ishikawa who came here a week ago?"

Sasuke turned his head. "Ishikawa? If you're talking about the big guy who was good at Earth Style, he's no longer here."

"What do you mean, no longer here?"

"Naturally, I killed him."

Crack!

Kurotsuchi clenched her fists, her eyes instantly turning cold.

"A rogue ninja, daring to be so arrogant!"

"Earth Style: Stone Spears!"

Having no patience to wait any longer, Kurotsuchi swiftly formed hand seals, causing bamboo shoot-like stone spears to erupt from the ground, aiming to impale Sasuke and the other members of Lockfront Village.

Seeing this, Yamato and the others had no choice but to engage.

The battle officially began.