After returning to the camp, the severely injured Biwa Juzo immediately sought out a medical ninja for treatment, while the less injured Kuriarare Kushimaru reported the mission situation to Karatachi Yagura first.
"During the mission, we encountered a powerful Konoha squad. They outnumbered us by one, and despite our efforts in the battle, we were ultimately defeated. During the fight, Suikazan Fuguki was killed," Kuriarare Kushimaru said with a solemn expression.
Hidden Mist is a Ninja Village with harsh rules, so Kuriarare Kushimaru had to use careful wording to minimize the impact of their mission failure.
In a way, Kuriarare Kushimaru wasn't lying; Kakashi's side indeed had one more person, although not everyone in Kakashi's team played a significant role.
"Suikazan Fuguki didn't die in vain. Several ninjas in the Konoha squad were also severely injured by us. However, as our casualties were greater, to avoid affecting the battle, we decided to retreat. But then a ninja with Ice Release intercepted us.
Fortunately, Lord Kan also arrived to support us. Since Biwa Juzo and I were seriously injured, we retreated to the camp earlier, while the rest of the Seven-Swords Ninja continued to fight the Konoha ninja with Lord Kan," Kuriarare Kushimaru briefly explained the entire battle process.
Kuriarare Kushimaru believed that this mission shouldn't be too problematic. Although they lost a member of the Seven-Swords Ninja, Konoha's losses were certainly greater.
It is important to know that it's a genius squad capable of defeating the Seven-Swords Ninja head-on. If they don't die, their strength in the future will be visibly formidable.
"A strong Konoha squad, are there any Ino-Shika-Cho among them?" Karatachi Yagura asked, contemplating.
The full force deployment of the Seven-Swords Ninja is a trump card of Hidden Mist, and very few Konoha squads on the East Coast Battlefield can overpower the Seven-Swords Ninja. Yagura thought only an Ino-Shika-Cho or Orochimaru-led squad might accomplish this.
But if it were Orochimaru's squad, the battle wouldn't be a mutual loss, so Yagura directly asked about Ino-Shika-Cho.
The face under Kuriarare Kushimaru's mask showed a hint of embarrassment, but he truthfully stated Kakashi and the others' names, "There's Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, and Uchiha Obito, among other Konoha super geniuses."
Although Shisui's performance was also remarkable, Kuriarare Kushimaru did not know Shisui's name.
A trace of surprise appeared on Karatachi Yagura's face; this was not just slightly different from what he imagined, it was completely unrelated.
As one of the high-ranking members of Hidden Mist, Karatachi Yagura was well-acquainted with these three names. He had read the reports of the Chunin Examination led by the former master, knowing these three were geniuses who appeared in the Konoha Chunin Examination, even defeating several young talents specially chosen by Hidden Mist.
"Are you saying you lost to a few Konoha ninjas who became Chunin less than two years ago?" Yagura's eyes sharpened.
Yagura knew that Kakashi and his comrades were remarkable, but that wasn't an excuse for the Seven-Swords Ninja's failure. After all, the Seven-Swords Ninja were already renowned ninjas; genius was just their previous stage.
Feeling the powerful pressure emanating from Yagura, cold sweat uncontrollably appeared on Kuriarare Kushimaru's forehead.
Unlike their combined debut, Karatachi Yagura was a genuinely formidable presence in the Ninja World, likely to become the Fourth Mizukage.
"Lord Yagura, our information was outdated. Their current strength is far greater than during the Chunin Examination, especially Might Guy.
Might Guy mastered a powerful taijutsu called Golden Horizon. He only used it twice in battle, but the first time he severely injured Suikazan Fuguki, who only recovered with Shark Skin's aid, and the second time shattered the Decapitating Carving Knife, nearly killing Biwa Juzo," Kuriarare Kushimaru explained reluctantly.
Though he could have gotten away with lies, bodies are retrieved after battles. If Suikazan Fuguki's memory contradicted his statement when checked, he would be in real trouble, so Kuriarare Kushimaru could only explain using the facts as much as possible.
"Not all of them were genius ninjas; there was also a middle-aged taijutsu ninja. If it weren't for him blocking Jinin Akebino and Kurosuki Raiga, we would have killed Might Guy and the others."
Karatachi Yagura displayed a thoughtful expression.
The defeat of the Seven-Swords Ninja was infuriating, but the information it revealed was terrifying when analyzed deeply.
Several ten-year-old genius ninjas already had the capacity to contend with the Seven-Swords Ninja. At ten, they were like this—imagine their potential when grown.
"But with Minazuki Kan there, they likely couldn't leave," Yagura calmed down at this thought.
No matter how promising the future may be, it's still a future event. As long as they are all killed before reaching that future, rendering them without a future, the problem is solved.
Though Minazuki Kan wasn't effective in practice, Yagura still acknowledged his strength.
Being brainless as he is, if he weren't strong enough, how could he have survived in Hidden Mist for so long and become the clan leader of the Ninja Clan?
After asking about some details, Karatachi Yagura let Kuriarare Kushimaru go for medical treatment, then sent Hidden Mist troops to the battle location to check the situation.
However, when the intelligence agents sent by Karatachi Yagura returned, they brought back information he completely did not expect.
"Lord Kan is missing, Suikazan Fuguki and five other members of the Seven-Swords Ninja are missing, leaving only the corpses of village ninjas on the battlefield," the Hidden Mist intelligence agent reported in a somber voice.