On the other side.
Asuma and the others were facing a squad—a squad led by a jōnin.
The pressure on them was immense.
So.
The moment the battle began, Asuma took a deep breath and activated the Breathing Activation Technique.
The next moment.
"Shisui!"
As soon as he spoke, without needing to be told, a fireball erupted, and Asuma followed up with a Great Breakthrough.
Flames engulfed the area ahead.
In an instant, they cut off their chakra, and then…
They used the Body Flicker Technique to reposition.
The next moment, the ground beneath their feet exploded, and the entire area was torn apart.
Three Iwa-nin emerged from underground.
If they hadn't moved quickly, they might have been buried under the earth—
One of the things they had learned during this time was not to underestimate the enemy's intelligence.
Techniques like the Great Fireball rarely killed anyone.
Because they were too flashy.
But this time, the three of them weren't aiming to injure. Their goal was to force the Iwa-nin to use earth-style ninjutsu.
The next moment.
Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of them, his eyes blood-red with the Sharingan spinning.
Genjutsu!
Asuma, gripping his knuckle blades, charged at the three Iwa-nin, but…
They hadn't forgotten about the fourth person.
Ōishi!
This jōnin.
Where was he now?
Kurenai was fully focused, observing her surroundings. Her sensing and observation skills were pushed to the limit, but she couldn't find any trace of him.
However.
The next moment, Shisui suddenly threw a barrage of shuriken.
A faint presence was exposed.
Kurenai's hair stood on end because this person was already very close to her, almost right beside her.
But.
Before this moment, she hadn't noticed him at all.
She didn't have time to think, as the enemy's kunai was already thrusting toward her.
It was fast!
Too fast for her to even swing her fist or counter with a kick. She could only use the Substitution Technique to escape—the abilities of a jōnin far exceeded her expectations, shattering her plan to use the Strong Fist Technique to ambush him.
Shisui was also sweating.
If he hadn't activated his Sharingan and noticed something slightly off in that area, he would never have detected the enemy.
If Ōishi had gotten any closer, Kurenai would have been in danger.
The moment Shisui got distracted dealing with Ōishi, the three chūnin broke free from the genjutsu, avoiding fatal injuries thanks to the Earth Spear Technique. They weren't critically wounded by Asuma's Flying Swallow.
For them, being ambushed by three kids was also a humiliation.
However.
At the same time, they noticed the situation with the other squad.
All dead?
How could it have happened so quickly!
Ōishi's heart sank. He turned around and saw the icy ground, his heart trembling even more.
Ice Release!
Had even this been stolen from Kirigakure?
What a bunch of useless trash!
He cursed inwardly.
But at this point, cursing Kirigakure's incompetence was pointless. The key now was to escape.
He began to consider retreating, feeling a pang of regret.
If only…
He had gone back to call for reinforcements instead of teaming up with Mogura for this ambush.
He used the Camouflage Technique to vanish from sight and fled toward the camp.
"Sensei!"
"He won't get away."
Kyōichi formed a single hand seal, and a thick mist began to spread.
The Camouflage Technique could deceive vision and hide one's presence, but it couldn't evade the mist. Within the fog, his location was exposed.
Ōishi realized this.
He immediately changed techniques, using the Earth Dragon Bullet Technique, but…
Before he could get far.
Boom!
A loud explosion.
Kyōichi's fist struck the ground ahead, creating a massive crater.
Ōishi stopped just in time.
Otherwise, that single punch would have ended him.
But.
Before he could feel relieved, Kyōichi's left hand drew his blade.
Ōishi formed hand seals, using Earth-Style Wall to block part of the attack, then retreated back the way he came.
Kyōichi sighed.
This was why he didn't want to come to the Land of Earth.
These Iwa-nin were too good at hiding. Each of them was a professional when it came to defense, not as easy to kill as Kirigakure ninjas.
Of course.
The main reason was that he didn't know Lightning Release.
What a hassle!
Kyōichi was tired of playing hide-and-seek. Using earth-style chakra to "help" maintain the tunnel, he sent two explosive tags flying in, shaped like small birds.
Ōishi's face was filled with terror.
The tunnel formed by the Earth Dragon Bullet Technique would normally collapse and be buried by softened earth and rocks once he stopped maintaining it, but Kyōichi used ninjutsu to keep the tunnel open.
The two explosive tags flew toward him from the other end.
The tunnel was too narrow for him to dodge.
As the explosive tags approached, the earth and rocks collapsed, and then…
Boom!
A deafening explosion, and the ground was blown apart.
Under the shattered earth and rocks, Ōishi's body was buried. He wasn't dead yet and seemed to be trying to escape using ninjutsu, but the next moment, Kyōichi rushed over and stomped down.
Painful Sky Leg!
The tremendous force caused the ground to cave in.
Ōishi, at the center of the impact, had his chest crushed, his heart obliterated.
Kyōichi still wasn't satisfied.
He pulled out the Executioner's Blade and gave him a final strike.
Now he was sure.
He slung the blade over his shoulder and headed toward Asuma and the others.
There was no need to rush, as Gekkō Hayate and his team had arrived. Otherwise, Kyōichi wouldn't have taken his time dealing with Ōishi. He would have left a shadow clone to ensure the safety of the three.
By the time he arrived, the three chūnin had already been taken care of by Gekkō Hayate and Shisui.
Shisui was exhausted.
Although they were only chūnin, Iwa-nin chūnin were indeed strong, with various survival and escape techniques. Defeating them was one thing, but killing them was much harder.
He took a few deep breaths, and when he saw Kyōichi return, he felt a bit drowsy.
His chakra was nearly depleted.
"Shisui, take a soldier pill first and recover some stamina."
"Okay."
Shisui nodded and took the soldier pill from Kurenai.
Kyōichi returned and used the Executioner's Blade to finish off the two chūnin who had been frozen. He glanced at Shisui, who was in no condition to use Fire Release. Fortunately, Asuma and Sarutobi Hiroki both knew Fire Release.
"You two, clean up the area. The enemy reinforcements might be here soon. Hurry up."
"Yes!"
Everyone was shocked because this was clearly Ice Release, a kekkei genkai of the Yuki clan from the Land of Water.
How had Kyōichi learned it?
But.
There was no time for them to be amazed. Cleaning up the scene was the priority.
Mukai activated his Byakugan, scanning the surroundings, and quickly reported, "Kyōichi-sama, the enemy reinforcements are coming. There are three squads. Should we fight?"
"Retreat."
Kyōichi assessed the situation.
Shisui's chakra was depleted, and Asuma and Kurenai weren't much better.
Hayate and his team seemed to be in better shape, but after several battles, their chakra was likely running low too. If they kept fighting, they might get surrounded.
He didn't want to play the "blossom in the center" strategy.
Besides.
Given their current state and the location of Konoha's main forces, this "blossom" wouldn't bloom. The cleanup was mostly done, so they quickly retreated.
Long after they left.
Gari arrived with his team.
It had taken some time to disperse the mist, or he would have arrived sooner.
However.
Seeing the battlefield, he nearly vomited blood in rage.
Although he didn't know the specifics, the state of the bodies made it clear what had happened—
The "Kogan" squad was fake!
"Ganba, are there any survivors?"
"they're all dead! The scene has been tampered with. I can't make much sense of it."
Ganba replied.
Gari took a deep breath and headed to the first battlefield.
The area was scorched, and most of the battle traces had been destroyed by fire. He could only glean a little from the remaining marks. After studying them for a while, he began to understand.
"Mogura and Ōishi must have discovered the enemy's disguise and tried to take them out together, but they were outmatched… or the enemy held out until reinforcements arrived."
The latter part was something Gari added on the spot. He could tell that Mogura and the others had been taken out by a single person.
From the scene, he couldn't determine the cause of death.
But it definitely wasn't Fire Release.
Two against one, and they still got wiped out…
Still.
The battlefield's scars forced him to acknowledge the enemy's strength.
"Gari-sama, Ōishi-sama's injuries… they resemble Tsunade's monstrous strength. Could it be her?"
"Absolutely not. Besides, there were probably only two squads."
Gari shook his head.
If there had been three squads, he suspected the enemy would have stayed to set up an ambush.
Only two squads dared to penetrate deep into their territory and launch consecutive ambushes.
What boldness!
He recalled the information he had about Konoha, thought for a while, and his expression turned strange—
Had Tsunade and Konoha's Anbu Commander personally led the team?
No!
It definitely wasn't Tsunade.
"It seems something has happened in the east that we don't know about. We need to find out what's going on. Also, send people to look for Kogan. Even if it's just their bodies, we need to find them."
Gari said with a headache.
If even the Hidden Mist Technique had been stolen, how badly had Kirigakure been beaten?
Kirigakure must know who this person was!
They needed to get intelligence on the eastern front from Kirigakure, or else they'd be too passive against Konoha.
…
On the way back, the group was silent.
There was exhaustion, but also awe.
Ice Release!
This was a kekkei genkai of Kirigakure, and Kyōichi had actually managed to replicate it.
It was astonishing!
They hurried along, and Kyōichi glanced at Shisui, then at Mukai.
Mukai understood.
He activated his Byakugan to check the surroundings.
"No one for now."
"Good."
Kyōichi used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Shisui and placed his hand on Shisui's forehead.
The next moment, chakra slowly flowed from his palm into Shisui's body, then split into physical and mental energy.
After a minute or two.
Kyōichi stopped and took a soldier pill before saying, "Let's go."
"This…"
Shisui was shocked.
His mental energy had actually recovered a bit!
It wasn't much, but at least he wasn't feeling drowsy anymore and wouldn't slow the team down.
They set off again.
They didn't take the same route back but instead slipped through the gaps they had created by killing the enemy, returning to the Land of Grass.
The Iwa-nin wanted to send out search parties.
But.
Konoha was on the offensive, and they simply didn't have the manpower to search.
In just over ten minutes, Kyōichi and the others successfully escaped from the Land of Earth and returned to a safe area in the Land of Grass, far from the Iwa-nin main forces.
At this point, Kurenai finally asked, "Sensei, what was that medical ninjutsu you used earlier? I've never seen it before…"
"It's not medical ninjutsu. I reversed the Chakra Absorption Technique to transfer my own chakra into him, then split it into physical and mental energy."
Kyōichi explained.
This technique currently had a very low conversion rate. Only about 10% of the chakra he transferred was converted into energy, making it an incomplete technique.
"Kyōichi-sama, about what happened earlier… should we pretend we didn't see it?"
Hayate asked quietly.