"Recently, your disciple named Uchiha Shisui has been very active on the battlefield, making some Jonin feel ashamed," Orochimaru shifted the topic to Mokgetsu's disciple.
Mokgetsu was a smart person, so his probing was limited. Talking too much would make Mokgetsu suspicious.
"Shisui is very hardworking," Mokgetsu praised with a smile.
...
"Our squad's reputation is really growing. Last time, we were recognized by the enemy before we even fought. If this continues, we might become famous ninjas," Kobayashi Kenji said excitedly.
"Why are you daydreaming in broad daylight? Isn't Shisui the famous one? What's it got to do with you?" Takagi Shinji couldn't help but retort.
As a Chunin at the age of eight, Shisui had killed Hidden Mist Jonin several times and was already the most renowned Konoha genius on the Hidden Mist Battlefield.
Originally, Might Guy was the undisputed strongest genius, but since Might Guy returned to Konoha to recuperate, let's not discuss him for now.
"Shisui is also part of our squad, it's all the same," Kobayashi Kenji said with a friendly pat on Shisui's shoulder.
"Isn't that right, Shisui?"
Shisui nodded. Although he wouldn't stay in this squad forever, he was undoubtedly one of its members for now.
"Keep quiet now, we're nearing the mission site. Even with Shisui here, don't underestimate an A-Class war mission," Takagi Shinji reminded them.
The moment the Guiding Jonin spoke, Kobayashi Kenji and the others fell silent immediately. They had been on the battlefield long enough to understand the cruelty and danger of war.
Not only the Hidden Mist suffered losses, Konoha also had casualties, but they were fewer than those of the Hidden Mist.
Shisui quietly opened his Sharingan and began observing the surroundings.
In this squad, nobody had sensory abilities, so the most effective observation method was Shisui's Three Tomoe Sharingan.
As they got closer, Shisui discovered the hidden enemies.
Having discovered the enemies, Shisui did not make any big movements. He calmly made a few hand gestures.
Upon seeing Shisui's gestures, Kobayashi Kenji and the others became instantly alert; this was the signal for enemies.
Whizzing sounds!!
Once they approached a certain distance, the five of them simultaneously threw Shuriken towards multiple directions.
Some Hidden Mist ninjas were caught off guard and got hurt by the Shuriken.
The injured Hidden Mist members immediately moved away.
Just as Kobayashi Kenji was about to pursue them, several streams of water shot from a bit farther away.
Swish!
With quick reflexes, Shisui used Instant Body Jutsu to dodge the Water Release attack with Kobayashi Kenji.
"We've caught a big fish, Uchiha Shisui who awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan at the age of eight." Eight Hidden Mist ninjas emerged from hiding in the village.
"Having the ability to kill Jonin at eight, you're a genius to an unreasonable extent, but your ninja career ends here," said a Hidden Mist Jonin with bandages on his face, holding a Longsword coldly.
The information here was deliberately leaked to attract less powerful Konoha squads to kill them.
Even though there's a chance of encountering a powerful Konoha team by bad luck, there's no absolute safety on the battlefield. Encountering a strong individual like Mokgetsu, one could only consider it unfortunate.
"There are three not weak Chakras..." Shisui's Sharingan quickly scanned all the Hidden Mist ninjas, then his brows furrowed slightly.
If his judgment was correct, there should be three Jonin and nine Chunin and Genin here.
Shisui was confident he could handle two Hidden Mist Jonin. The Jonin they encountered this time weren't as strong as the Seven-Swords Ninja, just relatively ordinary Jonin.
But the rest of the squad might not be able to handle one Jonin and nine Chunin and Genin.
"It's a trap, retreat quickly!" Takagi Shinji's face became extremely grim.
He couldn't see the Hidden Mist members' strength without Sharingan, but given the number of Hidden Mist ninjas, it was clearly not just an A-Class mission, unless most of the twelve Hidden Mist were Genin and there wasn't a single Jonin.
But a ninja squad with such a configuration could only mean one thing: the commander is brain-dead, and Takagi Shinji didn't think Karatachi Yagura was brain-dead.
"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
Three Hidden Mist Jonin jointly performed Hidden Mist Jutsu, and the extremely dense white mist quickly enveloped the area. Takagi Shinji and the others couldn't even tell which direction was which, let alone retreat.
As the mist was created by Chakra, even Shisui's Sharingan couldn't see through the enemies hidden within.
"Everyone, don't panic, pay attention to your surroundings, stay calm against the enemy," Shisui quickly said.
Although the enemy was strong and they were weak, there was no absolute strength or weakness among ninjas unless one was as powerful as Mokgetsu. A Special Jonin might not necessarily lose to a Jonin, and a Chunin also had a chance to kill a Jonin.
If they panicked, it would be a different story. In a narrow confrontation, the brave would win, and those who panic first have already fallen into a disadvantage.
"Shisui is right, don't panic," Takagi Shinji followed up, seeing that there was no way to retreat for now.
With the reassurance of a guiding teacher and a strong comrade, plus the fact that Kobayashi Kenji and the others were experienced Chunin, they soon calmed down, began observing their surroundings, and prepared for combat.
"Heart, head, thigh, arm, guess which part will be attacked first."
The cruel taunting from the Hidden Mist sneaked through the thick mist to reach Shisui and the others' ears.
This wasn't pre-battle banter but a psychological warfare technique required learning for Hidden Mist in mist.
Vision is extremely important to humans. Many things are terrifying because of the unknown; once seen and touched, they become less scary. Conversely, suddenly losing sight easily leads to anxiety.
The cruel words could effectively stimulate the already unstable emotions, leading them to panic and reveal flaws.
Whoosh!
Two Kunai wrapped in flames flew towards the direction of the talking Hidden Mist.
"Oh, they actually discovered me." The talking Hidden Mist Jonin swiftly dodged, somewhat surprised.
In the dense mist, there is a skill to speaking intimidatingly, and logically speaking, untrained people shouldn't be able to directly discern his location from his voice.
Shisui, with his Sharingan closed, attacked the Hidden Mist Jonin with eyes closed.
To prevent such a situation, Mokgetsu gave him special training, enhancing other senses by giving up vision in low visibility mist.
Initially, Shisui was unaccustomed as the insight provided by Sharingan was too strong, but after getting used to it, Shisui could almost fully perform in the mist, although Genjutsu was a bit inconvenient to cast.
At first, the Hidden Mist Jonin thought it was a coincidence, but Shisui's subsequent close-range attacks made him realize that the battlefield's most brilliant genius was not merely living up to his reputation.
"This time, your teammates aren't Might Guy and Kakashi," the Hidden Mist Jonin, having fallen into disadvantage, remained calm.
He indeed couldn't defeat Shisui, not even in the mist, but after his teammates finished killing Shisui's comrades, could Shisui still fight all twelve of them alone?
Whoosh!
The sound of a blade cutting through clothes and piercing flesh echoed, followed by Kobayashi Kenji gasping at the injury.
"Breath of Flame, Full Concentration!"
Shisui had to exert his breathing to the utmost, temporarily forcing back the Hidden Mist Jonin in front of him, then flashing towards Kobayashi Kenji for assistance.
Although he was stronger than the Hidden Mist Jonin, it wasn't easy to kill a Hidden Mist Jonin. By the time he killed the enemy, Kobayashi Kenji might already be a cold corpse.
If Obito or Kakashi were here, they might be able to unexpectedly break through and kill a Hidden Mist Jonin, but Shisui really couldn't do it because his explosive ability was the weakest among Mokgetsu's disciples except for Nohara Rin.
Obito had the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode, Kakashi had the Transparent World, Might Guy had the Eight Gates, they all had super powerful burst skills Shisui hadn't mastered.
Relying on precise perception and ghost-like Instant Body Jutsu, Shisui successfully bailed out Kobayashi Kenji, but as he noticed his other teammates' conditions, a sense of powerlessness still surged in Shisui's heart.
He could handle two Hidden Mist Jonin, but knowing his combat strength, the Hidden Mist weren't foolish enough to target the genius first. Isn't it better to kill off other teammates first and then gang up on him, instead of solely focusing on the genius?