After this battle, Asuma and the others had shed their nervousness.
A jōnin squad…
It didn't seem that difficult after all!
However.
They only got carried away for a moment.
Kyōichi killed three, while the three of them killed one.
If there were more enemies, they would have been in danger. In a covert operation, expecting the enemy to fight you one-on-one every time was simply unrealistic.
Moreover.
This time, they had caught the enemy off guard, making them mistakenly believe that Kyōichi was using the Three Crescent Moon Dance, when in reality, they had transformed into Kyōichi's shadow clones.
Only by doing this could they eliminate the enemy so quickly.
Of course.
They had also gone all out.
With this in mind, handling one or two squads was more than enough.
They now had a rough idea of their capabilities.
"Kogan-sama, where are we going now?"
Asuma quickly got into character.
"This way."
Kyōichi confirmed that all traces of the battle had been erased, then led the team forward.
Normally, Kogan would be patrolling ahead, but Kyōichi wasn't really here to work for Iwagakure. His target was one of Iwagakure's key figures—
Gari.
This guy had Explosion Release and was a member of Iwagakure's elite Explosion Corps.
If he led the forces to the Land of Grass battlefield, Konoha's defenses would be in trouble. The Land of Grass might be directly breached, shifting the battlefield from the Land of Grass border to the Land of Fire border.
According to the intelligence, the Explosion Corps was over there.
Using his sensing abilities.
He detected two patrol squads far ahead rushing towards the area where he had sent Hayate and the others to launch their attack. Kyōichi guessed that the frontlines might have already received news of the logistics team being ambushed.
"We need to speed up."
Kyōichi said urgently.
"Yes!"
The group picked up their pace.
Their Body Flicker Techniques weren't weak. As long as they were willing to expend chakra, they could move quickly.
In no time.
Kyōichi sensed the location of the "temporary camp" that Yahiko and the others had gathered intelligence on.
It was a valley flanked by rock walls, making it easy for Iwa-nin to escape or ambush. He used his sensing to carefully probe the area but couldn't confirm if there were any ambushes hidden in the rocks.
No choice.
They'd have to take the risk and try. At worst…
They could use Earth-Style River, unleash an AOE attack, and then leave.
Covert assasination strikes were inherently high-risk operations with no guarantee of success. Moreover, they already had a fallback plan—Hayate and the others should have succeeded. Otherwise, the Iwa-nin patrols wouldn't be rushing in that direction.
"Let's go!"
Kyōichi dashed forward.
The Iwa-nin quickly noticed them, and the distribution of ninjas in the camp shifted slightly.
Clearly.
They were still on guard.
"Kogan, why are you back?"
The current ninja had a distinctive hairstyle. While not as eye-catching as Sakura's father, it was still the kind that made his identity obvious at a glance.
Gari!
The captain of the Explosion Corps.
Unfazed, Kyōichi stepped forward, "Gari-sama, we encountered a squad of Konoha Anbu. We suspect Konoha might have reinforced their troops, so I came to report."
"Konoha Anbu?"
Gari was startled.
This was deep within the Land of Earth. How had Konoha's Anbu infiltrated this far?
He was anxious, but out of caution, he asked, "Where did you encounter the enemy?"
"About three kilometers ahead. I suspect they infiltrated from the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain. There might be a gap in our patrols in that area."
Kyōichi mixed truth with lies, showing no signs of panic.
Shisui and the others, seeing their sensei so composed, also remained calm.
"Come closer."
Gari's guard lowered slightly.
However.
Kyōichi's intelligence still shocked him.
A gap in the patrols…
If there was a gap, it could only be due to a mishap during the patrol shift. Otherwise, there was no way the enemy could have slipped through.
Kyōichi approached.
As he got closer, he sensed faint chakra signatures hidden within the rocks.
Roughly estimating, there were at least seven or eight squads.
Clearly.
There were many Iwa-nin ambushed here, and they were all strong. If a fight broke out, Kyōichi would be fine, but Asuma and the others might not be so lucky.
Kyōichi then calmed down.
Since he had arrived first, as long as they weren't discovered, all they had to do was wait—
Wait for the intelligence from the frontlines to arrive!
As he got closer, Gari continued questioning, "Explain the situation in detail. What exactly happened?"
"Yes!"
Kyōichi lowered his head and said, "We were preparing to rotate shifts when we sensed ambushers. Although I counterattacked and injured the enemy, Konoha ninjas had actually mastered the Hidden Mist Technique!"
"Huh?"
Gari was stunned for a moment.
The Hidden Mist Technique?
Wasn't that Kirigakure's signature technique? How had Konoha ninjas learned it!
"Kogan, are you sure you didn't mistake it? How could Konoha ninjas know the Hidden Mist Technique?"
An Iwa-nin voiced his doubts.
He was the real deal—
Mogura.
"I'm certain. It was definitely the Hidden Mist Technique, and their sword technique was the Three Crescent Moon Dance."
Kyōichi continued.
Everything he said was true. During the battle, they had indeed used the Hidden Mist Technique and the Three Crescent Moon Dance. He had just tweaked the outcome slightly.
"The Three Crescent Moon Dance… That's a technique of Konoha's Gekkō clan. They're skilled in that sword technique, and now they've even learned the Hidden Mist Technique… This is bad. Kirigakure is useless!"
Gari's composure cracked slightly.
He paced back and forth, then said, "Konoha's eastern front reinforcements have arrived. The frontline is in trouble. Magura, take your team and…"
He was about to order magura to deliver the intelligence.
But the next moment, an Iwa-nin emerged and said, "Gari-sama, I've sensed the patrol squad ahead."
"What?"
Gari was surprised and immediately looked forward.
Sure enough.
Soon, a chūnin came running toward them.
Kyōichi remained calm, leading the team to step back slightly as Gari stepped forward.
"Gari-sama, it's bad! Our supply unit was ambushed. The enemy used the Hidden Mist Technique to cover their tracks, and we couldn't catch up. All the weapons, explosive tags, and soldier pills were taken."
"Damned Konoha! They have multiple squads here!"
Gari was furious. He was now fully convinced that Konoha Anbu squads had infiltrated the Land of Earth, and there was more than one.
Most importantly.
These squads might all have mastered the Hidden Mist Technique.
He cursed inwardly.
Those trash from Kirigakure! While he hadn't expected them to pose a real threat to Konoha, they were supposed to at least tie up some of Konoha's forces!
And what happened?
Not a single Uchiha showed up, and instead, Konoha had learned the Hidden Mist Technique.
Useless!
He took a deep breath and said, "Mogura, Ōishi, Kogan, take your teams to the frontline. Deliver the intelligence and keep an eye out for any Konoha Anbu."
"Yes!"
"Fūma, take your team to the main camp and report the situation there."
"Yes!"
Kyōichi sighed.
Unexpected situations were always a possibility.
He had hoped to stay behind to get closer to Gari or for Gari to lead a team to reinforce the frontline, giving him another opportunity. But Gari had chosen neither, instead sending him away.
At least he hadn't revealed any critical information.
The Hidden Mist Technique…
The ambush on the supply unit would have exposed that anyway. It wasn't a crucial piece of intelligence.
As for Konoha's reinforcements, the advance of their main force couldn't be hidden.
He followed Mogura and the others to reinforce the frontline.
Good things take time.
At least this trip had confirmed Gari's location, and they still had a chance to take out these two squads. The results were already quite impressive.
He followed them forward.
After running for a while, as they approached the frontlines, Kyōichi suddenly felt a sense of danger.
His skin quickly turned black, and he formed hand seals.
A wall of earth rose, separating the squad behind him.
Mogura's blade struck Kyōichi but couldn't penetrate, unable to go any deeper.
He immediately retreated.
Meanwhile, a loud explosion came from behind.
His earth wall was shattered by the enemy's ninjutsu, and beneath Shisui and the others, earth spikes shot up. But the three of them had already used the Substitution Technique to evade, retreating to a safer position.
Kyōichi sighed.
They'd been discovered.
These two were too familiar with Kogan's squad. Someone in their team must have slipped up with a small detail along the way.
He and Shisui jumped out of the fight, facing off against the enemy.
"You know, if you hadn't noticed, you might have died a bit later."
"You're from Konoha, right? I knew those three chūnin were suspicious. It seems Kogan and the others are already dead."
Mogura gripped his blade, his expression grim.
"Mogura-sama…"
"Release the signal flare."
"Yes!"
Kyōichi had to admit, the Iwa-nin were highly disciplined. Mogura and Ōishi had noticed something was off but didn't immediately expose him. Instead, they tried to ambush them.
If it weren't for his speed, Shisui and the others might have been severely injured by the ambush.
However.
There was no way he'd let them release that signal flare!
Kyōichi's eyes narrowed.
The next moment.
His aura shifted instantly. With a flick of his finger, countless paper sheets flew out, forming a paper shield that covered the sky.
The signal flare was released but was blocked by the paper shield.
Then…
Amid the signal disruption, a few "paper sheets" flew toward Mogura and the others.
"Watch out!"
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted.
Explosive tags!
But.
The explosive tags were blocked by earth-style ninjutsu.
At the same time, the squad led by Ōishi moved toward Shisui and the others.
Kyōichi glanced over but didn't immediately intervene—he wasn't a babysitter. They had to learn to handle situations like this on their own.
As for Mogura and the others…
Kyōichi smirked, forming hand seals. The surrounding area quickly turned into a swamp, and then frost spread from his feet, freezing the swamp in less than a second.
After the explosion, the earth-Style ninjutsu crumbled.
Mogura and the others were trapped in the swamp, and even worse, the frost had frozen it, making it harder for them to escape using earth-style ninjutsu.
And…
"Agh!"
A scream rang out.
One of the four let out a loud scream—
An ice spike from below had pierced his body.
He was the only one in the squad who hadn't mastered the Earth Spear Technique.
Mogura panicked.
Although they had the Earth Spear Technique and could barely withstand the ice spikes in the ground, they had to get out of this frozen state, or they'd be sitting ducks.
He increased his chakra output.
However.
At that moment, the blade arrived—
A sword carrying lightning chakra easily pierced through his Earth Spear Technique, stabbing through his neck.
As for the other two.
They were already covered in frost, struggling desperately, but with a third of their bodies frozen in the ground, they couldn't muster any strength.