By the time Shimizu arrived at the battlefield, the fight was already nearing its end.
The quality of Konoha's ANBU was truly exceptional—let alone six full squads encircling a single Sunagakure team.
After a quick assessment, Konoha had only one lightly wounded member, while the enemy already had three dead and one severely injured.
Excellent. The orders had been executed perfectly.
Three Sunagakure corpses lay scattered across the ground, their deaths gruesome.
The last severely wounded Sunagakure ninja was already at the end of his strength. Even without further attack, his death was only a matter of time.
"You despicable cowards… We Sunagakure ninja will avenge the Third Kazekage!"
It seemed Sunagakure's propaganda about Konoha's "crimes" had been quite effective.
Body Flicker Technique!
"I curse—"
The shrill curse was cut off abruptly.
A kunai appeared in an instant, plunging straight into the man's mouth and piercing cleanly through his throat.
The sudden turn made the Konoha ANBU present stiffen slightly.
The Sunagakure ninja clutched at his throat with both hands, producing muffled, gurgling cries—the desperate sounds of life slipping away.
Shimizu immediately withdrew the kunai and vanished from the spot with another Body Flicker.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Some words were too easy to turn into ominous flags. He knew that all too well.
Better to silence him and enjoy some peace and quiet.
Tenkō sincerely praised, "Captain, your Body Flicker Technique is incredibly fast."
Last time, Tenkō had been locked in combat himself and hadn't seen how Shimizu killed his opponents.
This was his first time witnessing Shimizu's instant-kill method firsthand. It was likely this lightning-fast execution that had allowed them to repel the Sunagakure earlier.
In a matter of moments—two killed, one gravely wounded.
Anyone would feel a chill at that.
"Good thing I'm not your enemy."
It was probably the unspoken thought of every Konoha ANBU present.
No one would want a jōnin with such extreme speed as their opponent.
"Everything went smoothly?" Shimizu asked. There shouldn't have been any surprises this time.
"No problems. Just one light injury. This Sunagakure squad had some skill. They tried to call for reinforcements midway, but we intercepted it."
Ninja had various methods of signaling each other, but the most common were sharp whistles and bright signal flares.
Especially the latter—against a sky where the sunset's last glow lingered, it would have been unmistakable.
If such a flare had been successfully launched, the Konoha ANBU here might have faced an overwhelming number of enemies.
"Clean up the battlefield. Send someone to call Kazawa back—he's to our north. Gather the team leaders for a meeting. We need to determine our next plan. Oh, and bring the two from the Third Division as well…"
"I'm already here. But our captain has fallen unconscious…"
Shimizu frowned slightly. What was wrong with this woman? Hadn't his earlier order been clear enough?
"I assessed the situation and saw no immediate danger, so I came over on my own…"
With that, Mercury removed her dog-faced mask, revealing a pair of stark, empty-looking eyes.
It was the Byakugan.
"You have the Byakugan and still ran straight into our encirclement?" Tenkō asked in confusion.
Was that Byakugan just for decoration?
"She was out of chakra earlier," Shimizu explained calmly.
Mercury glanced at Shimizu again before continuing, "Yes. I had almost exhausted my chakra earlier. I've only just recovered a little…"
"How is Captain Ōzoku?"
"Not optimistic. Our team's medical-nin can't completely neutralize the puppet poison from Sunagakure. We need to send him to Rakuyō City as soon as possible, or his life will be in danger," Tenkō reported.
Rakuyō City was roughly half a day's journey from here.
But to travel south overnight through the wilderness, with nightfall approaching…
Out here in the wilderness, there were at least seven fully staffed Sunagakure divisions—very likely an entire regular regiment—amounting to a force of 360 shinobi.
Rakuyō City, the military fortress, lay to the south. And earlier, this group of Sunagakure ninja had attacked from that very southern direction—right at their backs.
There were only four exits from this canyon.
Three of them led toward the Land of Rivers and were guarded by three Konoha ANBU divisions.
The fourth road led south into the interior of the Land of Fire—the very path they had taken when departing for this mission.
Most likely, there was a Sunagakure camp to the south…
If Sunagakure's objective was to eliminate the three Konoha ANBU divisions inside this canyon, then there would almost certainly be ambushes set at the exits.
The Third Division had already been scattered, but there had to be comrades still fighting desperately somewhere in the canyon. How could they simply abandon them?
And what about the Ninth Division? He needed to scout their situation as well.
It was time for a decision.
"My suggestion is to split up," Tenkō said. "Send one or two squads to scout the Ninth Division's situation and see whether they can support us. The main force remains here to search for and reinforce the Third Division. Finally, assign one squad to escort Captain Ōzoku and Mercury back to Rakuyō City—we just need to determine the safest route. Mercury has the Byakugan, so they can avoid enemy engagements as much as possible."
Tenkō's proposal was conservative. At a time like this, recklessness would be fatal. The disparity in strength between the two sides was simply too great.
Shimizu was thinking along similar lines. To carry out all these tasks simultaneously, the two Byakugan users with the strongest reconnaissance abilities would have to be separated.
The key question was this:
Should the other Byakugan user accompany the smaller squad north to scout the Ninth Division—or remain here with the main force?
A unit with the Byakugan would see a dramatic boost in reconnaissance ability—and naturally, survival chances would rise sharply as well.
A unit without it, however, could easily stumble into an enemy encirclement.
And if surrounded by such a massive Sunagakure force under these conditions, survival would be slim.
"Any suggestions?" Shimizu asked.
"I agree with Captain Tenkō."
"Same here."
"Agreed."
"No objections."
The other four team leaders offered no alternative ideas. It seemed there truly was no better option at the moment.
Shimizu turned his gaze to the other key figure—the captain of Team 3, Byakugan user Kazawa.
"I'll follow your lead," Kazawa said. "Whether I go north or stay here doesn't make much difference. Personally, I think the north is probably crawling with Sunagakure ninja too…"
"Then you stay," Shimizu decided. "Captain Tenkō will command here. Team 9 will escort Captain Ōzoku and Mercury back to Rakuyō City. I'll take Team 6 north to locate the Ninth Division."
"I have a suggestion," Mercury suddenly interjected.
"Speak."
"As long as Team 9 enters the Land of Rivers through the route you're guarding, then detours around the mountain outskirts before heading south to Rakuyō City, it should be much safer. In that case, my Byakugan wouldn't even be necessary."
Enter the Land of Rivers first, then circle back south along the outer mountain range…
Indeed, the Land of Rivers—the area they had been guarding—had been completely quiet. All enemy forces so far had appeared from the south.
For Team 9, this detour would only cost additional time—but it would greatly increase safety.
On the surface, it was a highly feasible plan.
"Then I can accompany Captain Kūryū north."
"Team 9 is an elite squad," Shimizu replied calmly.
An elite squad was typically composed of one jōnin, one special jōnin, and two veteran chūnin.
Such teams had exceptional coordination and mission success rates.
The implication in Shimizu's words was clear—he was concerned Mercury might slow them down.
And it wasn't just him. The other team leaders clearly shared the same view.
The Byakugan offered unparalleled reconnaissance ability, yes—but this was a dangerous intelligence mission, not a training exercise.
Bringing along a burden would severely limit the team's mobility.
Moreover, judging by Mercury's face earlier, she looked like a girl of about sixteen.
The Hyūga Clan had certainly been bold to allow someone that young into the ANBU.
"I'm a jōnin," she stated flatly.
"… "
Seven people fell silent at once.
...
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