Deep in the forest.
Ever since the rogue ninja captain left with his men, the black-robed figure had been waiting here. He had removed his hood by now. If anyone who knew him saw him, they would recognize him as Masatobi Ishihara, the head of the Ishihara clan's secondary branch.
As time passed, Masatobi Ishihara grew increasingly anxious. He paced back and forth, occasionally gazing in the direction the ninjas had left, hoping to see the answer he desired.
Just then, rustling sounds came from the distance. Masatobi immediately pulled his hood back up and looked toward the noise.
The ninjas appeared in Masatobi's line of sight. But his expression changed drastically when he saw that two fewer people had returned, and the person he wanted wasn't with them.
Once the ninjas stopped, Masatobi rushed forward impatiently, holding onto the last shred of hope. "Aoyama, did you kill that little brat?"
"You have the nerve to ask?!" Rogue Ninja Aoyama shouted furiously. "Great intel you gave us! I lost a Chunin and a Genin! What are you going to do about it?"
"What exactly happened? Speak clearly!" Masatobi was also growing impatient. Why couldn't a ninja get straight to the point?
"Those Konoha ninjas... their leader is a Jonin, and the other three aren't ordinary Genin either. We were caught off guard." Aoyama recounted the events roughly to Masatobi. Hearing this, Masatobi frowned deeply, secretly annoyed at the main branch's good luck.
"So what do we do now? We can't just give up!" Masatobi said unwillingly. "You guys have a stake in this too. You don't want the duck that's already in your mouth to fly away, do you?"
"There's no other way now. We can only wait for Koji to arrive. With Koji, a Special Jonin, we'll have a chance of winning." Aoyama was naturally unwilling too. He was supposed to enjoy the mission reward alone, but now he had to split it with someone else. How could he be happy about that?
...
Meanwhile, the group finished cleaning up the battlefield, reassembled the scattered carriages and personnel, and took stock of their losses. The carnage that evening had resulted in nearly half the personnel being killed or injured.
Masao Ishihara was currently distressed, clicking away at his abacus, calculating whether this trip would still turn a profit after deducting the compensation payments.
Taiichi watched from the side, shaking his head. Even at a time like this, he was thinking about profit. Truly a merchant through and through.
"Mr. Ishihara, arrange for the caravan to camp and rest soon. Everyone is exhausted today. We need to speed up tomorrow, and we can't do that without stamina," Taiichi reminded him.
"Right, right! Look at me. The slaughter just now messed up my mind; I even forgot about that." Masao Ishihara looked remorseful. Calming himself down, he immediately went to arrange the caravan's overnight stay.
Watching Masao Ishihara walk away, Taiichi rejoined his teammates. Mrs. Ishihara and little Ishihara happened to be there too. But it made sense; was there anywhere safer than here right now?
At this moment, Yohei was recounting his glorious battle achievements to Saori—how he slaughtered enemies in all directions and how he awakened his Sharingan. He claimed that if the attacking ninjas had left any later, he would have made them all stay permanently.
Saori covered her mouth and giggled, and little Master Ishihara danced with excitement listening to the story.
Seeing Taiichi arrive, Sensei Yamaguchi stopped the endlessly chattering Yohei. "Alright, Yohei. Everyone is tired today. Rest early."
"Yohei, you take the first watch. Taiichi, you take the second. Saori, you're injured, so rest well."
"Yes, Captain Yamaguchi!" x2
Saori lowered her head and started poking her fingers together again, showing none of the ferocity she had displayed while fighting four enemies at once.
...
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, the caravan woke up earlier than usual. Before the sun even peeked over the horizon, they had packed up and set off.
Perhaps influenced by the previous battle, everyone knew the fight was far from over. The fleeing ninjas alone were enough to cause trouble for the caravan, not to mention potential reinforcements.
So, everyone traveled exceptionally fast today. Based on this speed, the caravan would reach Kanematsu City by noon on the eighth day, marking the end of the escort mission.
Today was the sixth day. Calculating the time for the attacking ninjas to send a message back and for reinforcements to arrive, they would likely attack tomorrow.
Just as Taiichi expected, the entire sixth day passed smoothly, as if yesterday's attack had never happened.
The caravan passed the day safely, but instead of relaxing, everyone's mood grew even more tense. As if sensing the anxiety, a continuous drizzle began just after nightfall, as if trying to extinguish the burning agitation in everyone's hearts.
Seventh day. The drizzle continued all night and showed no sign of stopping by morning. This was relatively rare in the Land of Rivers, as its climate was influenced by the Land of Wind and generally leaned towards dry.
Taiichi didn't know if this weather was good or bad for the attacking ninjas, but he wanted to laugh out loud. This weather was perfect for his Water Style.
The caravan set off in the drizzle. But today's formation was different: Captain Yamaguchi led Taiichi and the other two in closely guarding Mrs. Ishihara's carriage at the very front of the procession. It seemed they were waiting for something, marching forward courageously with no retreat.
Just like that, noon arrived. They encountered the enemy, who had been waiting on the main road. The enemy stood carelessly in the middle of the road with a large group of bandits, waiting for the caravan to approach.
They were truly fearless, not even bothering with an ambush. As the saying goes: Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.
"Listen, Konoha ninjas. Hand over the child in the caravan. We only came for him. This doesn't conflict with your mission." The rogue leader Aoyama shouted loudly at Captain Yamaguchi.
"Sorry, I can't agree to that. Abandoning an innocent child is not the style of Konoha ninjas." Captain Yamaguchi responded unceremoniously, giving the opponent no face.
"Think carefully. We have an extra Jonin compared to before. Do you think you can stop us?" Actually, they didn't want to fight either. Konoha ninjas weren't to be trifled with; otherwise, Masao Ishihara wouldn't have hired them to use Konoha's reputation as a shield.
"How will we know if we don't try?"
Actually, the moment he saw the enemy, Taiichi had already started preparing. Using the carriage as cover, he created a Shadow Clone and had it prepare the hand seals for the Great Water Prison Jutsu.
Just as negotiations broke down, Taiichi launched the first attack. "Water Style: Great Water Prison Jutsu!" Boosted by the weather, the jutsu's power was amplified. A wide water wall rose directly around the enemies, encircling them in the blink of an eye.
Seeing Taiichi make a move, the enemies weren't going to let him have his way. They used Body Flicker Jutsu to dodge, but their reaction was a step too slow. Taiichi's Great Water Prison Jutsu caught one Chunin and one Genin. Just like that, the enemy lost two members, and the battle instantly became easier.
Seeing two of his men trapped, Aoyama cursed, "Damn it!" and immediately led the others to attack the Konoha ninjas.
Among them, the new bald ninja formed seals directly. "Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!" Several wind blades swept toward Taiichi and the carriage in a wide area, hoping to interrupt the "Taiichi" maintaining the jutsu.
Having seized the initiative with great difficulty, Taiichi wasn't about to let him succeed. He stood in front of the "Taiichi" maintaining the jutsu and rapidly formed seals. "Water Style: Water Wall!" A water wall rose abruptly in front of him, blocking the incoming wind blades.
At this moment, Captain Yamaguchi engaged the rogue ninja Aoyama. As before, it was a Taijutsu duel. Aoyama, worthy of being a Sand rogue ninja, possessed formidable strength and actually fought Captain Yamaguchi to a draw for a while.
But judging from his expression, he was only holding on by sheer force of will; he couldn't maintain this state for long.
On the other hand, Yohei had the upper hand against the two Genin besieging him, forcing them back repeatedly and gradually moving away from the carriage.
Meanwhile, Saori was protecting the carriage and the "Taiichi" maintaining the jutsu, while occasionally fending off charging bandit minions.
As for Taiichi, merely stalling the bald ninja was quite strenuous. The opponent was obviously a Special Jonin skilled in Wind Style. His mastery was profound, and Taiichi felt that if not for the weather advantage, he might have been defeated by the opponent's Wind Style long ago.
Several battles fell into a stalemate. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the balance to break somewhere first.
Just then, a cry of alarm rang out. While everyone was tied down by their respective opponents, another Chunin charged out from the nearby woods. He quickly dispatched the guards blocking his way and, before anyone could react, snatched little Master Ishihara from the carriage.
Only now did everyone realize that besides the Special Jonin Koji, there was another Chunin hiding in the dark, waiting for the right moment.
"Hahaha! Didn't expect that, did you, Konoha ninjas? We're still one step ahead!"