"You know a lot about Sealing Jutsu."
Ao said as he rushed forward.
"It's very convenient, after all. Just like now, you don't dare to use Ninjutsu recklessly and have switched to Taijutsu instead, haven't you?"
After dodging several direct hits with the help of Lightning Release Chakra, Amane didn't dare to engage in true close-quarters combat. She continued to use the ordinary Ninjas she had pulled over to focus on a harassment-based strategy.
At this time, because Amane's movements were so obviously guided, the local Hidden Mist Ninjas seemed to have received orders and stopped attacking her.
This scene made Ao even more certain of Amane's hostile identity.
"Ao! Retreat for now!"
Mei Terumī's voice suddenly rang out, accompanied by a large cloud of white acidic mist.
This was when the importance of a Sensing Ninja became apparent. Amane sensed it in advance and moved to dodge, but Ao had already detected Mei Terumī's attack through his Byakugan, so he threw several Kunai with exploding tags to cut off Amane's retreat in advance.
Forced into a corner, Amane could only form Hand Seals to use Wind Release, consuming Chakra to prevent this Shadow Clone from dispersing.
After these few exchanges, although the only true clash was the initial one with Ao, Amane had already seen through the details.
Her level was at least not yet at Ao's tier; even if her Main Body came to fight, her odds of winning normally wouldn't be very high.
[My physical fitness isn't high enough—not fast enough and not strong enough.]
Vitality was one thing, but even with the boost from Hashirama cells, it was difficult to make up for the disadvantage of childhood in terms of physical attributes. Even when Obito received his transplant, he was much older than the current Amane.
If it came to a real fight, she could only use her Chakra advantage and frequent Ninjutsu suppression to have a chance at winning.
And this was just a calculation based on raw stats, without taking combat experience or the opponent's trump cards into account.
"To think you can even use Wind Release... there's no such person in the Hidden Mist Village. Are you from the Akatsuki?"
Mei Terumī's words caused Amane's body to freeze for a moment, a reaction that seemed to confirm the answer to the question.
Simultaneously, several Wind Blades sliced the area around Amane, and a powerful force instantly pinned her to the ground, a cold katana held against her neck.
"Don't move if you don't want to die!"
After the low voice finished speaking, the person grabbed Amane, and then began to retreat outward with Mei Terumī and Ao.
Having caused such a huge commotion, today's mission definitely couldn't be completed no matter what, unless the group had the mindset to truly carve out a path of blood and charge through.
A red signal flare echoed across the sky; the raid had turned into a breakout.
Fortunately, it went very smoothly. Until the group of six left the Hidden Mist with Amane, they didn't encounter a single decent expert coming to pursue them. However, this made everyone's expressions turn grim.
"Alright, we have many things to confirm with you now. Are you confident in your ability to keep your mouth shut?"
Ao walked over gloomily. Among the group, aside from the hidden Root member Nakamura Iku, Ao, who possessed the Byakugan, was definitely an interrogation expert.
"Hehehe... It doesn't matter. You've already guessed it anyway, haven't you? Why not a single decent expert has come out of the Hidden Mist Village yet."
After Amane gave a dark laugh, a very faint 'click' sound reached everyone's ears.
Nakamura Iku and Ao's expressions changed; they both recognized this as the sound of a poison capsule hidden in a molar being crushed.
But why didn't she use it when she was first captured?
Just as this doubt rose in their minds, there was a 'poof' in front of them, and the person turned into a cloud of white smoke.
Ao's face turned a shade that matched his name once again.
They had been completely played by this person!
"Calm down, Ao."
Seeing Ao's obviously unstable emotions, Mei Terumī couldn't help but say hurriedly.
"I understand. The problem is, what should we do now?"
Ao looked at Mei Terumī. This wasn't an interrogation; it was because Mei Terumī was the only one qualified to give orders at the moment.
"Think about it, how would we have acted if we hadn't encountered this person?"
Mei Terumī suddenly asked back.
Ao frowned. To be honest, he had suspicions but didn't want to think that way at all. If they followed that line of thought, their entire secret movement was a joke.
"Two possibilities. One is that they are deliberately luring us back. The second is that our movements were exposed long ago, and the Hidden Mist experts, including the Fourth Mizukage, are all heading toward the base now."
Nakamura Iku suddenly spoke up, looking at Mei Terumī while hesitating to say more.
"You are already our comrade. If you have something to say, just say it."
Mei Terumī's words brought nods from some of the people behind her. Just as Amane had said, Nakamura had his own way of gaining trust.
"The question is whether the Fourth Mizukage is actually inside the Hidden Mist Village. Therefore, I suggest that Ao infiltrates once more, while the others or the majority return."
Splitting the forces.
But the arrangement for Ao was very tricky.
He was the only one who could dispel Genjutsu from a distance, using the Byakugan he obtained during the last Ninja World War.
Once a wrong position was chosen, the loss would be immense.
"I approve of this plan. Ao, you and Kirio will infiltrate once more. With the Byakugan, you should be able to quickly find out if the Fourth Mizukage is still in the Village."
After saying this, Mei Terumī looked at Nakamura and the other two, continuing: "And we will return to the base immediately. If the Fourth Mizukage truly appears there, with the four of us and the personnel at the base, we should have a decent chance."
The plan was set, and no one had any objections. This plan allowed them to cover both sides, and the odds of success were quite high.
Only Nakamura Iku, watching Mei Terumī's receding back, suddenly had a strange look in his eyes.
Meanwhile, inside the Hidden Mist Village, Amane's other Shadow Clone finally broke into the interior of the Mizukage Building.
[It matches the intelligence from the Kirigakure Anbu. Even here there are no experts; have they been deployed that heavily?]
Retracting the Adamantine Sealing Chains flying out from her body, Amane had just taken down the Village's sensory system hub. Now, even if the mark on her body was still there, she had plenty of time to search slowly.
She couldn't help but envy the Sharingan again. If she had it, she could just use Genjutsu to ask where things were, and she could have stolen who knows how many Ninjutsu at the base. She wouldn't have to rely on luck to find things like she was doing now.
But Amane wasn't entirely without options, and that was the Kagura Minds Eye.
This technique wasn't just for peering into people's Chakra; it could also detect Chakra attached to objects.
Immediately, through her 'Mind's Eye,' Amane saw several suspicious things. The one that caught her attention the most was a door that seemed to have Sealing Jutsu Chakra applied to it.
[Very good, but I need to leave for a bit now.]
The sensing range of Kagura Minds Eye was superior to the Byakugan. Amane already knew that Ao and another person, likely a Jonin, had returned.
If they saw her stealing scrolls, it would be quite an unpleasant affair.
Just like in the first stage of the Chunin Exams in the original work: cheating isn't shameful; getting caught is.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As two figures rapidly arrived at the sensory hub, the scene before them left Ao and Kirio looking at each other in shock.
No wonder they had successfully infiltrated without meeting any enemies this time; the sensory unit had already been wiped out. Judging by the bloodstains and residual body heat, the killer hadn't gone far.
They likely sensed them and left, or left because the mission was complete; this was currently unknown.
"Where is the Fourth Mizukage?" Kirio asked.
Ao shook his head but then said: "But we can't rule out the possibility of him being inside a special Barrier. After all, he is a Kage; if he really wanted to hide, my Byakugan might not necessarily see him."
"In that case, shall we search?"
The ideal situation would be to find that person and interrogate them for information. But from all the current signs, Amane's allegiance was unclear, and her sensing ability might even be superior to Ao's.
Thus, the two began an all-out search of the Mizukage Building. With the help of the Byakugan, the process was very fast, but in the end, they found nothing.
Even at this point, the two hadn't given up. What if the Fourth Mizukage was just hiding?
Since the sensory unit was already wiped out, the two searched all possible hiding spots within the Hidden Mist Village once more, but the result remained the same.
At this, they finally gave up and hurriedly left the Hidden Mist Village to go support the other side.
[Alright, I can finally move safely.]
Returning to the Mizukage Building, Amane strode toward the most suspicious place from before.
As soon as she stepped foot there, the sound of a blade slicing through the air echoed in her ears, cleanly cutting Amane's body into four pieces.
[Sensing Ninjas really are important; I discovered you two long ago.]
These two Ninjas who made the surprise attack were very high-level. Like Amane who was cut into four pieces, they were just Water Clones. Unfortunately, she had already used sensing Ninjutsu to find their Main Bodies in advance.
Two Adamantine Sealing Chains successfully pierced their vitals, making a clanging sound as they fell to the ground.
Amane used a Water Clone again, then watched as it went to the door protected by Sealing Jutsu and began to analyze it.
Aside from the secret Adamantine Sealing Chains technique excavated from her own bloodline, this could be considered the highest-level Sealing Jutsu Amane had ever seen.
Various large and small Sealing methods were interconnected, achieving an indestructible effect that could also automatically counterattack any intruder.
And this was just the surface effect of this seal.
Amane felt that if the Sealing Jutsu concepts she had learned were correct, this seal, in addition to the defense and counterattack mentioned, also had sensory isolation for the outside and provided a drying and insect-proof effect for the inside.
Even more impressive was the energy storage for maintaining this Chakra and its consumption when not in use; the formula for this cycle likely had two more Sealing Jutsus integrated into it.
Impressive.
As a fellow practitioner of Sealing Jutsu, Amane felt like a painter with minor achievements seeing the work of a master.
[I shall call it the Super Five-Way Unified Guardian Seal.]
Yes! Very appropriate, since Amane had already seen that this was a combination of five Sealing Jutsus, forming a super guardian Sealing technique.
So, could it be broken?
Amane began to ponder. If possible, she really didn't want to violently destroy this masterpiece, and if she could break it with her own skill, it meant Amane could set up the same seal.
When the time came, even if she didn't have time to look for scrolls, this trip wouldn't be a loss.
Thinking of this, Amane began to set up physical traps around her; otherwise, it would be too taxing to use Kagura Minds Eye for sensing constantly.
Next, Amane sensed the remaining Chakra in her body once more and then unhesitatingly created a Shadow Clone.
The difference between 1 and 2 was double, after all.
But this meant the reserves of the two Shadow Clones were only about half a Kakashi each—the same level as the Shadow Clone that fought Ao. However, this still reached the level of an average Jonin, which was enough.
[If I really can't break it, I can still commit it to memory. Either way, it won't be a loss.]
So Amane began to focus on cracking it.
One hour passed; nothing happened.
Two hours passed; nothing happened.
Three hours passed; a commotion seemed to have broken out outside.
After four hours, the commotion showed no signs of subsiding; instead, it grew more intense.
[Could it be that Ao and the others, or the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, have returned?]
Water Clones cannot transmit experience back, so for these four hours, she had been responsible for guard duty. Now, the outside was different from an hour ago; the commotion seemed to be escalating.
Amane felt it was necessary to investigate.
And then she saw a massive mushroom cloud rising into the sky in the distance!