On the other side...
Asuma and his team were facing a squad—and not just any squad, but one led by a Jonin.
The pressure was imnse.
So...
The very first mont, Asuma took a deep breath and activated his Breath Activation Technique.
The next second...
"Shisui!"
He barely had to say it—before his words were even finished, a fireball had already been launched, and Asuma followed up with a Great Breakthrough.
Flas engulfed the area ahead.
In an instant, they withdrew their chakra, and then...
Body Flicker Technique—switching positions.
The ground beneath them roared, and the entire section of earth exploded.
Three Iwa-nin erged from underground.
If they hadn't moved quickly, they might have been buried under rock and soil—
They had learned a lot recently, and one crucial lesson was: Never underestimate the enemy's intelligence.
Techniques like the Great Fireball usually weren't ant to kill.
Because it made too much noise.
But this ti, their goal wasn't to hurt anyone—it was to force the Iwa-nin to use Earth Release.
In the next instant...
Shisui appeared right in front of them, his eyes blood-red, the tomoe spinning.
Genjutsu!
Asuma gripped his trench knives tightly and charged at the trio. Of course...
They hadn't forgotten—there was still one more person to deal with.
Oishi!
The Jonin.
Where was he now?
Kurenai focused all her attention, pushing her perception and observation to their absolute limits, but she couldn't detect a trace of him.
However...
The next mont, Shisui suddenly threw a string of shuriken.
A faint breath gave away his position.
Kurenai's hair stood on end—the enemy was dangerously close, almost right beside her.
But...
Until just now, she hadn't sensed him at all.
There was no ti to think—Oishi's kunai was already coming at her.
He was fast!
So fast that she didn't even have ti to punch or kick back—she could only escape with a Substitution Jutsu—
The Jonin's strength far exceeded her expectations, and her plan to catch him off guard with brute strength had failed.
Shisui was also breaking into a cold sweat.
If not for his Sharingan, which had noticed a subtle anomaly in that area, he would never have spotted the enemy.
If Oishi had gotten any closer, Kurenai would have been in real danger.
For just a mont, his focus on Oishi wavered, and the three Chunin broke free of his genjutsu, dodging vital strikes just in ti. With their Earth Spear Technique, they managed to avoid serious injury from Asuma's Flying Swallow.
To them, being tricked by three kids was just as much a humiliation.
But...
At that mont, they also noticed the situation with the other squad.
All dead?
How could it be so fast!
Oishi's heart sank. He turned and saw the icy landscape, a chill running through his bones.
Ice Release!
Had even this technique been stolen by the Kirigakure?
Damn it, those Kirigakure shinobi are real trash!
He cursed them internally.
But now, cursing the Kirigakure's incompetence was pointless—what mattered was getting out of here alive.
He felt a strong urge to retreat and a pang of regret.
If only...
If only they'd gone back for reinforcents—why bother with this plan to ambush with Mogura?
He used his Camouflage Technique, blending into the surroundings, and fled toward the camp.
"Sensei!"
"He won't get away."
Kyoichi made a single hand sign, and a thick mist rolled in.
The Camouflage Technique could deceive vision and hide his presence, but it couldn't obscure him in the mist. In the fog, his location beca completely exposed.
Oishi realized this too.
He imdiately switched techniques, using Hiding Like a Mole Technique to dive underground. However...
He hadn't gotten far.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion.
Kyoichi's fist struck the ground ahead of him, creating a massive crater.
Oishi had stopped abruptly.
If he hadn't, that single punch could have cost him his life.
But...
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Kyoichi's left hand drew his blade.
Oishi quickly ford seals, using Earth Shore Return to block so of the force, then retreated back into the tunnel.
Kyoichi sighed.
This was why he didn't want to co to the Land of Earth.
These Iwa-nin were just too good at hiding—defensively skilled and far harder to kill than the shinobi from the Kirigakure.
Of course...
Mainly because he didn't know any Lightning Release.
What a hassle!
Kyoichi had no patience for playing hide-and-seek. Using Earth Release chakra, he "helped" maintain the tunnel, then sent two paper bombs transford into small birds fluttering inside.
Oishi's face filled with terror.
Normally, the tunnel created by Hiding Like a Mole Technique would collapse into soft soil and rubble once he withdrew the technique. But Kyoichi's jutsu had kept the passage open.
The two paper bombs flew through the tunnel toward him.
It was too narrow—there was no room to dodge.
As the paper bombs approached, the earth and stones began to collapse around him. And then...
Boom!
A massive explosion flipped the ground over.
Beneath the shattered rubble lay Oishi's body. He wasn't dead yet, seemingly trying to use a jutsu to escape. But in the next instant, Kyoichi dashed over and stomped down hard.
Heavenly Foot of Pain!
The trendous force caused the ground to cave in.
At the center, Oishi's chest was crushed—the power penetrated through, shattering his heart.
Still not satisfied, Kyoichi drew his Executioner's Blade and delivered a final blow.
Now he was sure.
He slung the blade over his shoulder and headed toward Asuma and the others.
There was no need to rush—Gekko Hayate and his team had already arrived. Otherwise, Kyoichi wouldn't have dealt with Oishi so leisurely. He would have left a shadow clone to ensure the trio's safety.
When he got there, the three Chunin had already been taken care of by the combined efforts of Gekko Hayate and Shisui's team.
Shisui was utterly exhausted.
Though they were just Chunin, Iwagakure's Chunin were undeniably strong. With all sorts of survival and escape techniques, defeating them was easy, but killing them was incredibly difficult.
He took a few deep breaths. Seeing Kyoichi return, he felt a wave of fatigue wash over him.
His chakra was almost completely drained.
"Shisui, eat a Military Ration Pill to recover so stamina."
"Mm..."
Shisui nodded, taking the pill from Kurenai's hand.
Kyoichi approached, using his Executioner's Blade to execute the two Chunin who were still frozen in ice.
He glanced at Shisui—he was in no condition to use Fire Release. Thankfully, Asuma and Sarutobi Hiroki both knew Fire Release.
"You two, clean up the area quickly. The enemy reinforcents could arrive soon."
"Yes!"
Everyone was surprised.
This was clearly Ice Release, Kekkei Genkai of the Yuki clan from the Land of Water.
How had Kyoichi learned it?
But...
There was no ti for astonishnt. Right now, the priority was erasing the evidence.
Kohinata Mukai activated his Byakugan, scanning the surroundings. He quickly reported, "Sensei, the enemy reinforcents are coming. There are three squads. Should we engage?"
"Retreat..."
Kyoichi surveyed the situation.
Shisui was out of chakra, and Asuma and Kurenai were not in great shape either.
Though Gekko Hayate and his team seed fine, after multiple battles, their chakra reserves were likely running low. If they continued, they might get surrounded.
He had no intention of testing a blossoming from the center strategy.
Besides...
Given their state and the location of the main Konoha forces, they had no hope of achieving that.
Once the cleanup was mostly done, they withdrew swiftly.
A long while after they had left...
Gari arrived with his n.
Clearing the thick mist had taken so ti—otherwise, they could have gotten there sooner.
However...
Seeing the aftermath, Gari nearly coughed up blood in rage.
Though he couldn't discern the exact details, judging by the corpses, it was clear what had happened—
The Kagari squad was a complete fake!
"Fuma, any survivors?"
"Sir, they're all dead! The scene was tampered with. I can't make much sense of it," Fuma responded.
Gari took a deep breath and moved to the first battlefield.
This area was scorched earth, with most combat traces burned away by flas. He examined the remaining signs for a long ti, piecing things together.
"Seems Mogura and Oishi discovered the enemy's disguise, attempted to eliminate the squad together, but failed... or perhaps, the enemy held out until reinforcents arrived."
He added the last part on the fly.
He could tell Mogura's team had been wiped out by a single person.
The exact cause of death was unclear.
But it definitely wasn't Fire Release.
Two against one, and they still got wiped out...
But...
From the traces left, he had to admit—the enemy was very strong.
"Gari-sama, it looks like Oishi died from a terrifying force, possibly Tsunade's monstrous strength. Could it be her?"
"Absolutely not. Besides, the enemy seed to have only two squads."
Gari shook his head.
If there had been three squads, he suspected they would have set up an ambush instead of retreating.
Two squads had dared to venture deep into enemy territory and launch consecutive ambushes on Iwagakure's shinobi.
Such audacity!
He combed through the information on Konoha for a long ti, his expression turning strange—
Could it have been Tsunade leading an Anbu squad personally?
No, that didn't add up.
"Sothing must have happened in the east that we don't know about. We need to find out. Also, send soone to search for Kagari—even if it's just their bodies."
Gari's headache worsened.
Had the Kirigakure suffered such a crushing defeat that their Hiding in Mist Technique had been stolen?
Whoever this person was, the Kirigakure surely knew!
They had to obtain intelligence from the eastern front; otherwise, they would be at a severe disadvantage against Konoha.
---
On the way back, everyone was silent.
There was fatigue, but also shock.
Ice Release!
Kekkei Genkai of the Yuki clan from the Kirigakure—Kyoichi had even mastered that!
Unbelievable!
They rushed onward. Kyoichi glanced at Shisui, then at Kohinata Mukai.
Mukai understood.
He activated his Byakugan and scanned the surroundings.
"No one nearby."
"Mm..."
Kyoichi flickered to Shisui's side, placing a hand on his forehead.
The next mont, chakra gently flowed from his palm into Shisui's body, gradually converting into physical and ntal energy.
After a minute or two...
Kyoichi stopped, took a Military Ration Pill, and said, "Let's move."
"This..."
Shisui was stunned.
His ntal energy had recovered a bit!
Not much, but at least he no longer felt drowsy or a burden to the group.
They set off again.
Instead of retracing their steps, they threaded through the gap they had torn in the enemy lines, returning to the Land of Grass.
Iwagakure had wanted to send scouts out, but...
With Konoha on the offensive, they had no manpower for it.
In just a few minutes, Kyoichi and his team escaped the Land of Earth and returned to safety in the Land of Grass.
Finally, Kurenai asked, "Sensei, what kind of dical ninjutsu was that earlier? I've never seen it before..."
"It wasn't dical ninjutsu. I reversed my Chakra Absorption Technique to transfer my own chakra, converting it into physical and ntal energy."
Kyoichi explained.
This technique currently had a very low conversion rate—only about 10% of the chakra transferred was effectively converted, making it an incomplete jutsu.
"Kyoichi-sama, about what we saw earlier... Should we just pretend we didn't see it?"
Gekko Hayate asked quietly.
***************************
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