"Hahaha! Didn't expect that, did you, Konoha ninjas? We're still one step ahead!" Rogue ninja Aoyama delivered a powerful strike that forced Captain Yamaguchi back. He flexed his arm, tired from the prolonged exertion, his face unabashedly displaying arrogant triumph.
Before Taiichi and the others, who had paused upon hearing his shout, could respond, there was a poof. The "Taiichi" maintaining the jutsu dispersed into smoke. The massive water prison collapsed instantly, and the two ninjas trapped inside fell out.
Anyone could see they were already lifeless. The battle had been raging for nearly ten minutes. These two were just ordinary wandering ninjas; they couldn't possibly have survived that long in the high-pressure, turbulent water prison.
Their deaths were like two hard slaps to Aoyama's face, who had just been gloating moments ago.
"Damn it!" Aoyama glared viciously at Taiichi, the instigator, his eyes looking like they wanted to devour him. "It's all this brat's fault. He ruined our plan last time too!"
Wandering ninjas weren't as easy to recruit as bandit minions. Heaven knows how much effort he spent recruiting these people, and now he had lost so many in a single mission, including two Chunin. How could his heart not ache?
Putting aside his thoughts, Aoyama steadied himself and said to Captain Yamaguchi, "We already have the target. There's no need to continue fighting. Let's stop here, and maybe this kid can keep his life."
"Otherwise, a dead body serves our purpose just as well," Aoyama threatened viciously. He didn't want to fight anymore either. Continuing would only lead to more deaths, which wasn't worth it. They were rogue ninjas working for money, not defending a village.
"Are all Sand ninjas this shameless?" Captain Yamaguchi mocked.
"Hmph! I haven't been a Sand ninja for a long time. I'm a rogu—"
Before he could finish, another poof interrupted rogue ninja Aoyama.
The "Saori" by the carriage suddenly turned into Taiichi's appearance, then dispersed into white smoke. This was a sign of a Shadow Clone running out of Chakra.
"Shadow Clone... Transformation Jutsu..." Seeing this, Aoyama gritted his teeth.
It turned out the "Saori" guarding the carriage had been Taiichi's Shadow Clone all along. During the battle, "she" mostly guarded the carriage and only fought off some bandits, so no one realized she was fake until she dispersed.
If that girl was fake, then where was the real one? The situation had changed beyond Aoyama's expectations, confusing him.
"Not good! Mitsuhiro, check the kid quickly!" Koji, who reacted faster, shouted at the Chunin holding the child hostage.
But there was no need for Mitsuhiro to check. The "little Master Ishihara" he was holding also vanished with a poof and a puff of smoke. Taiichi had voluntarily dispelled the Shadow Clone.
Now, everyone on Aoyama's side was dumbfounded. Then came the anger of being played. The prize they thought they had secured had flown away—how could they not be furious?
...
Rewind to the night of the fifth day, the night of Aoyama's first attack.
"Madam, having Saori carry little Ishihara and take a detour straight to Kanematsu City will definitely be faster than the main group. If all goes well, they should arrive by the seventh day," Captain Yamaguchi explained their plan to Mrs. Ishihara.
This plan was proposed by Taiichi. It was similar to Masao Ishihara's previous idea—both aimed to deceive everyone.
"Since they just retreated in panic, they definitely won't expect someone to leave the main group and travel alone right now. We'll use the Transformation Jutsu to disguise ourselves as Saori and little Ishihara, staying here to attract their attention," Captain Yamaguchi continued.
"By the time they gather reinforcements and attack us again, it will be too late even if they discover the truth."
Mrs. Ishihara thought about the feasibility of the plan and nodded in agreement. She knew that if the enemy attacked again, her side wouldn't be able to handle it easily.
Captain Yamaguchi and the three Genin were relieved to see Mrs. Ishihara agree. Although they had agreed to continue the mission, they didn't want to fight the enemy to the death. Now, all that was left was to stall for time, not fight to the death from the start.
"Then, Madam, please pack up. We'll be ready to pick up little Ishihara later." Captain Yamaguchi gave the final instructions, then led the three out of Mrs. Ishihara's tent.
Just as they were about to leave, Taiichi thought of something and turned back to Mrs. Ishihara. "Madam, don't tell anyone about this, including Masao Ishihara. Understood?"
"You mean... within the caravan..." Mrs. Ishihara hesitated.
"Better safe than sorry!" Taiichi didn't say more, turned, and left.
Soon after, a figure used the cover of night to leave the camp quickly, circled around, and headed straight for Kanematsu City.
...
Back to the present.
"Where are they?! Where did you hide them?!" Rogue ninja Aoyama roared.
"Ah... haha! Calculating the time, they should be arriving at Kanematsu City about now!" Yohei gloated from the side, incredibly excited as if he had come up with the plan himself.
Seeing the furious Aoyama and his men, Captain Yamaguchi didn't want to provoke them further. The battle had reached a point where there was no meaning in continuing.
"It's over. Just as you said, your mission has failed. We have no reason to fight anymore. Continuing will only increase casualties for nothing," Captain Yamaguchi persuaded the other side.
Following Captain Yamaguchi's words, Taiichi and Yohei gathered on either side of the captain, assuming a stance ready to fight to the death.
Aoyama was unwilling to accept this. He had expended so much effort and lost four subordinates, only to end up with nothing. How could he swallow this?
"Leader, let's go. If they fight to the death, they can definitely take one of us down with them. Cut our losses while we can," Koji, beside him, was thinking clearly and stepped forward to persuade him.
"Damn it! Let's go!" After pondering for a long time, Aoyama finally gave up the fight.
Upon receiving the order, members of both sides disengaged from their opponents, retreating while keeping a wary eye on each other.
Watching the enemies leave, Captain Yamaguchi, Taiichi, and Yohei all breathed a sigh of relief. The enemy's lineup was indeed formidable, especially with the unexpected Chunin showing up later. If the fight had continued, they might have suffered casualties too.
Fortunately, everything went according to plan. Without a target, the enemy finally retreated.
At this point, everyone in the caravan understood their situation. The most dangerous moment had passed; all that remained was a peaceful journey. Cheers erupted among the group.
Sure enough, the rest of the journey was smooth sailing. Not even a shadow of a bandit was seen. The sky seemed to sense everyone's mood, putting away the continuous drizzle and hanging up a warm sun.
On the afternoon of the eighth day, the caravan finally saw Kanematsu City in the distance. Many caravan members wept tears of joy. The casualties on this trip had been heavy. People who were laughing and joking with you yesterday might be dead today, leaving behind only a handful of ashes.
Arriving at Kanematsu City, Taiichi saw the welcoming crowd. Among them, he instantly recognized Saori Furukawa and little Master Ishihara standing beside her. Only then did Taiichi completely relax. The mission was truly successfully completed.
There wasn't much else to say. The Ishihara Clan Head warmly hosted Taiichi and the others, apologizing once again for the deception at the start of the mission and promising to report the specific details to Konoha to raise the mission rank and reward.
Of course, Captain Yamaguchi handled these negotiations. Taiichi and the others took advantage of the remaining time before the mission deadline to have a fun day in Kanematsu City. They didn't bid farewell to the Ishihara family and start their return journey to Konoha until just before the mission deadline.