Fuguki Suikazan didn't care about the casualties Pakura's sudden appearance had inflicted on the Mist ninja.
There is no such thing as a war without death.
Plenty of Mist ninja had died before this.
And they had killed plenty of Sand ninja in return.
What Fuguki truly cared about was that the events of the day had perfectly mirrored the contents of his wife, Kocho's, dream. It was so precise that Fuguki could no longer dismiss it as a mere coincidence.
"The time the news arrived about Pakura retreating was exactly the same as in Kocho's dream."
"Pakura hadn't truly left; she was hiding in the shadows, waiting to launch a surprise attack on the main Mist force. This, too, was exactly the same as the dream."
And very quickly, despite not being at a disadvantage, the Sand ninja chose to retreat on their own initiative.
This caused Fuguki's expression to darken significantly.
"Something is wrong. Something is very wrong."
"That makes three specific points of convergence. It's impossible for this to be a coincidence."
"If it's not a coincidence, then what is it?"
"Precognition?"
"Did Kocho see what would happen in the future within her dream?"
"Will I really be killed by Jinin Akebino?"
"That animal!"
Fuguki cursed Jinin viciously in his heart.
"We are both ninja of the Hidden Mist, both members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and we both serve Lord Mizukage. Yet, just because of some personal discord, he plans to murder me directly? He intends to let my subordinates act as the main force, to wear us down..."
"Meanwhile, he sits on the sidelines, not only leisurely waiting to share the fruits of victory but also waiting for me to let my guard down so he can kill me."
"That is crossing the line!"
"I absolutely cannot let him get what he wants."
With a shift in thought, Fuguki immediately issued an order to retreat.
"Lord Fuguki, aren't we going to pursue them while we have the momentum?"
Fuguki cast a cold, indifferent glance at the ninja who asked, a suspicion involuntarily rising in his mind.
He wondered if this ninja was one of Jinin Akebino's men.
Otherwise, why would he be so anxious about the retreat order?
"The Sand army retreated on their own initiative despite not being at a disadvantage. There must be a trap. If we rush in blindly, we'll only fall into their snare. Not pursuing is better than pursuing."
"The advantage lies with the Hidden Mist. Regardless of what happens, the final victory will surely belong to us. There is no need to be too hasty."
"Pass my order: Everyone, return to the encampment."
With Fuguki's command, all the Mist ninja immediately halted their pursuit and turned back toward their temporary base.
The moment he returned to the base, Fuguki went straight to Kocho Suikazan, his expression grave.
"Husband, what's wrong?"
Fuguki hadn't brought his wife along for this raid on the Sand army.
Therefore, Kocho was unaware of what Fuguki had just experienced.
"Kocho, thank you."
Fuguki pulled Kocho into a tight embrace.
"Fuguki, what is it? Why are you suddenly thanking me?"
Fuguki let go of his wife.
"Kocho, do you know what happened just now?"
"What?"
"Just a moment ago, news came that Pakura had transferred to Jinin Akebino's front. I gathered a unit of ninja to launch a raid on the Sand army. At first, we indeed achieved good results."
Fuguki's face was grim.
"But suddenly, Pakura appeared. She hadn't left at all. She was lurking in the dark, exactly like in your dream. Pakura charged into our formation and killed many people."
"Furthermore, even though the Sand ninja weren't losing—and in fact, our village suffered more casualties due to Pakura's appearance—they retreated on their own."
"This is clearly illogical. And it corresponds perfectly with the content of your dream."
Fuguki trusted his wife implicitly.
He would never suspect that his wife might be colluding with the Hidden Sand to put on a show and deceive him.
"Fuguki, do you mean... everything I dreamed about last night actually happened?"
Kocho's eyes went wide.
Fuguki nodded.
"That's right. Everything today happened exactly as you saw. So, Kocho, the dream you had might not be just a dream. It could be some form of precognition. You dreamed of the future."
"That animal, Jinin Akebino... I really didn't expect him to do something like this to a fellow villager."
"I admit, he and I don't get along, but I never harbored any thoughts of killing him."
"No matter what, we are both of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
"That man is terrifying."
Kocho looked a bit panicked.
"Then what should we do now?"
Fuguki said, "I've been thinking about it. The reason Jinin Akebino could find an opportunity to kill me in your dream was mainly because the ninja army I led was acting as the main force."
"In the process of attacking the Hidden Sand, we were worn down too much, and the vast majority of my ninja were engaged in combat with the Sand ninja."
"Jinin Akebino was different."
"He was just providing support from the sidelines."
"That is why he was able to find such an opening."
"As long as I yield the opportunity to lead the main attack to him, he won't find a chance to kill me. On the contrary, I will be the one able to find an opportunity to kill him. The ones who survive will be us."
Hearing this, Kocho finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She asked one more question.
"Husband, you want to kill Jinin Akebino?"
"He wants to kill me, so why can't I kill him? Letting him live will forever be a threat to me. But don't worry, Kocho, I will do it very covertly."
As he spoke, Fuguki looked outside, letting out a cold harrumph in his heart.
Jinin Akebino, you almost got what you wanted. But fortunately, Kocho predicted the future in her dream.
"I didn't expect Kocho to actually have such an ability."
"I wonder if Kocho will be able to dream of more future events later on."
"If she can dream of valuable intelligence, perhaps I can use that information to achieve great merit. In the future, I might even have a chance to touch the position of Mizukage."
A trace of lingering fear rose in Fuguki's heart.
Then, he frowned slightly.
"However, I feel like I've forgotten something."
"Forget it. If I can't remember it, it definitely isn't important."
Half a day later, Fuguki Suikazan finally remembered.
He hadn't passed the intelligence regarding Pakura to Jinin Akebino's side. Under the current circumstances, it was highly likely that Pakura would now transfer to Jinin's front.
But, it was already too late.
At this very moment, Jinin Akebino was looking at the heavy casualties among his Mist ninja subordinates, cursing loudly.
"What is wrong with that Fuguki Suikazan?!"
"He didn't even tell me important intelligence like Pakura disappearing from his front? He left me completely defenseless!"
"Is he doing this on purpose, or is he just a careless idiot?!"