As Bai Xing's voice fell, the wooden boat beneath his feet swayed slightly.
The moment speech ceased, the mist-filled space returned to an eerie silence.
But in the very next second—
"How unexpected."
"To think Konoha would send a jōnin disguised as a genin. Could it be that our plan has already been exposed?"
Step… step… step…
Perfectly round ripples formed out of thin air on the surface of the water, gradually approaching the two boats. Only when Hōzuki Tōru dispelled the technique concealing his body in the mist did everyone finally get a clear look at him.
"Kiri ANBU!"
On the boat, Yūhi Kurenai's face turned pale with shock. Her right hand clenched tightly around her kunai.
"Why—why would Kirigakure's ANBU be here?!"
"Are you planning to declare war on Konoha at a time like this?!"
The others went deathly pale as well, especially the two civilians from the coastal area, whose thoughts immediately turned to the safety of the people back home.
Bai Xing's expression also looked grim—but in truth, it was mostly an act. His peripheral vision was constantly sweeping the surroundings, wary of whether another Kirigakure ninja might appear.
"So you still don't know, huh."
Hearing the Konoha jōnin's words, Hōzuki Tōru felt a subtle sense of relief, though his tone remained casual.
"Kirigakure has already formed an alliance with Uzushiogakure. So…"
He deliberately dragged out his words, his gaze turning icy.
"Konoha has outlived its usefulness."
"Before you die, let me share one more piece of information."
"We've already obtained the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques, and the Three-Tails jinchūriki has now been successfully sealed."
"Oh, right."
"The identity of that jinchūriki is an Uzumaki ninja. He's now one of Kirigakure's shinobi~"
With that, the Kiri ANBU let out a low, chilling laugh. Across from him, the Konoha ninja all turned ashen.
Even Bai Xing briefly wondered whether this could be true. After all, this was something never mentioned in the original canon. In reality, one explanation for Konoha's failure to aid Uzushiogakure was that Uzushio had betrayed Konoha first.
But the moment he heard that the jinchūriki was supposedly an Uzumaki, Bai Xing snapped back to his senses.
That smell—
It was the smell of a lie.
"We're not going to believe you based on nothing but your word," Yūhi Kurenai said. Though doubtful, the fact that Kirigakure had somehow learned of their movements, bypassed Konoha's sea outposts, and set up an ambush in advance made the situation unsettlingly plausible.
Kurenai stepped off the boat and stood on the surface of the sea, her gaze firm.
"I'm issuing a final order to withdraw."
This time, she directly ordered her niece, Yūhi Yugao, and Shiranui Kumo to retreat—no need for any more excuses.
"The enemy is Kirigakure's jōnin-level ANBU! You two cover each other and retreat immediately! Do you understand?!"
"Yes!" ×N
Yugao moved to take over rowing the boat, thinking that with Bai Xing and Kumo protecting her, it would be enough. On the other boat, Might Dai volunteered to row while Nawaki provided cover.
—After all, the two ferrymen whose hands and legs were shaking uncontrollably were probably incapable of rowing much longer anyway.
"Discussing plans right in front of me."
"That's interesting."
Hōzuki Tōru formed a seal with one hand.
"Secret Technique: Hidden Mist!"
[Here, the emphasis of the Hidden Mist Technique is on the 'concealment.']
In an instant, within Yūhi Kurenai's field of vision, the Kirigakure ANBU wearing the intricate mask seemed to stretch from his lower body upward, blending seamlessly into the surrounding mist—then vanished completely.
"Damn it! Where is he?!"
The jōnin, who had become a father just a year and a half ago, was now sweating profusely, desperately trying to pierce the mist with nothing but ordinary eyesight.
Whoosh—
Slash!
Kurenai heard the kunai cut through the air from behind. In the next instant, a flash of red sparks streaked past her vision, snapping her back to her senses.
She saw the enemy's follow-up motion clearly, ducked low to evade the upward sweep of a ninja blade, then viciously thrust her kunai forward.
Thk!
The unmistakable sound of metal piercing flesh—and the splash of blood—flooded her senses.
Yet within that sound, there was something off.
The impact felt muddled, and the faint smell of blood was missing.
Kurenai immediately abandoned the kunai and used Body Flicker to escape her position.
In the very next moment, two kunai tore through the air where she had been standing, plunging into the sea with two splashes.
The Kirigakure ANBU who had looked mortally wounded moments ago suddenly collapsed into a body of flowing water, slipping straight into the ocean.
Elusive Kirigakure shinobi—completely suppressing the battlefield where genjutsu could be properly deployed.
"Don't let your guard down, Senior Kurenai," Bai Xing called out from the stern of the boat, eyes fixed on her.
At the very least, wait until I'm sure everyone's out of danger—then I'll come back under another identity to save you.
Hidden in the mist, now faced with an "unknown-strength jōnin," the Kirigakure ANBU abandoned their plan to hunt down the genin.
"As expected, that jōnin has some sensory capability. Even if he can't pinpoint my position, the moment I intend to attack, he can respond in time."
"But still…"
Hōzuki Tōru glanced at the young jōnin on the water, whose breathing was growing ragged from tension, and laughed inwardly.
"Looks like this jōnin's level isn't all that high~"
"Taking him down will do just fine."
"Still, we can't let the others escape too easily. If they call in border reinforcements, that would be troublesome."
"Water Clone Technique!"
Step—step—
"There!"
Hearing the faint sound of the water clone landing on the surface, Kurenai instantly hurled a kunai wrapped in black-and-white explosive tags toward it.
"Tch! As expected of a jōnin—sharp reactions. You know what to do, right?"
The water clone nodded.
"Mm."
The clone dove straight back into the mist, sprinting toward the Kirigakure squad behind them.
Meanwhile, Hōzuki Tōru at the original location formed another seal.
"Ninjutsu: Water Body Flicker!"
On the sea—
This was Kirigakure's home field.
Ordinary ninja would never dare to fight Kirigakure shinobi atop open water.
With a sudden burst of speed, before the thrown kunai even reached its original target, he had already appeared elsewhere.
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion erupted within the mist. Even through the thick white fog, the blinding red flash was clearly visible.
"Uncle Kurenai!!"
"Teacher Kurenai…"
Yugao bit back her grief and rowed with all her strength, tears soaking into her clothes. Beside her, Kumo silently let his tears fall as well.
—In a battle between jōnin, there was nothing they could do.
"Damn it… Senior Kurenai won't be killed, right?" Nawaki stood at the stern of the other boat, staring ahead with wide brown eyes. But all he could see was the brief flare of red light, swallowed once more by white mist.
"Let's believe in him," Dai said quietly. Even the man who always shouted about eternal youth now sounded subdued as he rowed with all his might.
Not long after, the waves ahead surged from the explosion, rocking the boats violently.
Splash!
Yugao and Kumo froze mid-grief.
Wait—this isn't the Chūnin Exams!!!
Ahead of them, Bai Xing—who had been standing perfectly fine just moments ago—lost his footing and fell straight into the sea.
After a moment, Bai Xing popped his head out of the water, shook the water from his hair, climbed back up, and said awkwardly,
"Sorry… I got too absorbed watching and fell in."
Whether it was Yugao and Kumo, or Dai and Nawaki on the other boat, the heavy sorrow in their hearts lightened just a little. All of them shot Bai Xing a synchronized look of utter disbelief.
Shiranui Kumo: "As expected of the No.1 most unpredictable seven-year genin."
Yūhi Yugao: "Hurry up! We need to reach the border outpost and get reinforcements from the village!"
Might Dai: "..."
Nawaki covered his face. "You're really embarrassing the village… and at a time like this."
Hearing Yugao's words, Bai Xing turned his head and glanced once more in Yūhi Kurenai's direction, then nodded back at her.
"…Yeah."
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