Chapter 57

In the dark, cold depths of the forest, it was already around one o'clock in the morning. Bai Shi and his two companions rushed toward their destination at high speed.

With the help of the faint moonlight, one could see that between the large trees, a vast network of steel wires was connected, forming a tightly woven web, waiting for prey to fall into it.

It was not that they did not want to start from a safer place, but this was the weakest point for a breakthrough.

Further ahead was an important supply point for the Sand Hidden Village.

In other words, it was impossible to enter silently. Given the importance of this place, there were certainly sensor ninjas responsible for monitoring, and their movements had likely already been exposed.

Cutting through the steel wire web, a dense array of kunai and shuriken shot down from the dark sky, some of which had explosive tags attached, the edges sizzling.

Boom!

Boom!

The endless explosions caused the eardrums to ache.

The ground trembled, and the surrounding trees quickly caught fire, devouring the tranquility of the night.

However, this also proved that ahead was an important supply point for the Sand Hidden Village. Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a meticulously set defense trap. Even with the Byakugan used to observe beforehand, it was impossible to avoid it silently; they could only force their way in.

"Here they come, eleven from the west, nine from the south, and seventeen from the north."

Ayame, using her Byakugan, observed the number of ninjas coming to stop their advance, a total of thirty-seven.

Among them, most were Chunin, with a few Jonin mixed in as leaders.

"Start taking the antidote."

Bai Shi said, swallowing a white pill first.

Ruri and Ayame followed suit, taking the antidote.

Then, Bai Shi took out two smoke bombs from his ninja tool bag and detonated them in the forest engulfed by flames. A thick, gray smoke filled the air. Although it was ineffective against sensor ninjas, it could be used to obstruct the others, causing them to fall into chaos.

"Damn it, this smoke is highly toxic! Get out quickly!"

The well-trained Sand Hidden Village ninjas, upon entering the smoky area, immediately sensed something was wrong. Their bodies began to feel weak and powerless, a suffocating pain making their heads heavy. Some ninjas with lower resistance to toxins fell to the ground, writhing in agony.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

Ruri quickly formed hand seals, gathering a much larger amount of chakra in her mouth than the Great Fireball Technique, and released it all at once.

The towering flames surged forward, overwhelming the forest ahead with a force like a mountain collapsing.

The burning flames dyed the night as red as blood.

The originally cold air rapidly heated up, making those within the range of the fire feel as if their bodies were immersed in boiling water, their skin scorching hot.

Three small figures darted forward like lightning, and these opening attacks were enough to make the Sand Hidden Village ninjas at the supply point unable to sit still.

Ruri's Fire Release technique had a very wide range, and with the forest full of flammable trees, using Wind Release would only intensify the fire.

These large fires could only be extinguished with Water Release, which was the least skilled technique for the Sand Hidden Village ninjas. Moreover, the vast and widespread fire was far beyond the scope of ordinary Fire Release techniques.

It would take a considerable amount of time to extinguish the fires with Water Release.

Since they only had ten minutes to act, it seemed the feint plan was working, but Bai Shi and his companions could not guarantee how much attention it would draw from the Sand Hidden Village ninjas. They could only do their best to complete the mission.

After ten minutes, regardless of the mission's success or failure, they had to leave the battlefield.

In the forest ablaze with fire, cries of pain and agony echoed continuously. The battle with the Sand Hidden Village forces that Bai Shi and his companions faced ended in a moment.

Bai Shi twirled the kunai in his hand, passing by a Sand Hidden Village ninja who rushed forward, and the kunai cut through his carotid artery, killing him instantly.

"Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm!"

Boom!

Ayame's palm, which she thrust forward, released a chakra shockwave similar to an air cannon, hitting a Sand Hidden Village ninja who tried to sneak up from behind. The ninja was thrown back, spewing blood, and crashed into a tree, breaking it.

This was a unique long-range taijutsu technique derived from the Hyuga clan's Byakugan. The technique was invisible and colorless, making it almost impossible to discern the point of impact with the naked eye. It was difficult to avoid this technique unless one was a sensor ninja.

This long-range attack technique was a reward for Ayame from a previous mission.

The Hokage and the Hyuga clan elders negotiated to enhance the combat strength of the Shukumou team, hoping that the Hyuga clan would teach Ayame, a branch family member, more Jūken secret techniques.

Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm was one of these techniques.

For this attack on the Sand Hidden Village supply point, Bai Shi and Ayame were responsible for the outer perimeter, while Ruri only needed to accumulate chakra and continuously release Fire Release techniques to increase the scale of destruction, drawing the attention of the Sand Hidden Village ninjas to create an opening for the ANBU to attack the supply point.

Another massive wave of fire surged forward, the scorching heat and rolling flames swept away the cold air of the forest.

Looking around, the forest was ravaged by flames.

The cost was also significant. Due to the continuous use of high-level Fire Release techniques, Ruri's chakra was rapidly depleting. She estimated that a few more high-level Fire Release techniques would deplete her chakra.

Ruri decided to stop while she was ahead. The chaos here had already reached its peak, and they needed to advance further to expand the scale of the chaos.

As they continued deeper into the Sand Hidden Village territory, a stream lay ahead of the supply point, with a large number of tents set up on the other side, surrounded by tall trees that provided cover for the camp.

The fire in the forest had already alerted the Sand Hidden Village ninjas. Under the effective command of the Jonin, the Sand Hidden Village ninjas were well-prepared, showing no signs of worry despite the fierce attack.

"Are they Leaf Village ninjas? Why are they attacking here? Could it be that they discovered the secret weapon here?"

One of the Sand Hidden Village Jonin frowned.

"If that's the case, things are not good. The Jinchūriki cannot afford any mistakes."

"Regardless, the use of the Tailed Beast weapon must not be revealed prematurely. We must catch the Leaf Village off guard!"

The Sand Hidden Village Jonin's eyes were filled with killing intent, determined to eliminate every invading Leaf Village ninja.

On the other side of the river, Ayame's body suddenly trembled, and she stopped.

Seeing Ayame stop, Bai Shi and Ruri also stopped.

"What's wrong?"

As the eyes of the entire team, without Ayame's Byakugan, Bai Shi and Ruri would be like headless flies.

"Something's not right. I don't see any supply warehouses. This is not the Sand Hidden Village's supply point!"

Ayame's face turned pale as she realized the severity of the situation.

Shukumou had told them that the main objective of this mission was to cut off the Sand Hidden Village's supply point and coordinate with the ANBU.

Although they were from the so-called 'Root' branch of the ANBU, they were familiar with the mission, which is why they believed it.

However, now that Ayame had used her Byakugan to scan the 'supply point' area, she found no supply warehouses, only a large number of Sand Hidden Village ninjas guarding it.

There was nothing else.

Regardless of why the Sand Hidden Village ninjas occupied this place, it was not a supply point, which Ayame could confirm.

After hearing Ayame's words, Bai Shi and Ruri's faces also changed.

There was a problem with the mission! This thought instantly formed in their minds.

"Let's go!"

Bai Shi was the first to react, not hesitating to leave. This situation required an explanation.

If the mission failed due to their lack of ability, Bai Shi had no complaints.

However, if the information provided was incorrect and the mission was full of deception, there was no need to persist.

The three quickly moved to retreat, but at this moment, the Sand Hidden Village ninjas had already surrounded them, forming a tightly woven net.

...

On a cliff in the distance, four ANBU 'Root' ninjas stood or sat, their backs to the moon, looking down at the chaos and fires in the forest with indifference.

"They are quite capable. No wonder Danzō-sama wants to eliminate this Uchiha prodigy. Letting her grow up would be too dangerous."

"After all, the Uchiha are not to be trusted. It's a pity about the Byakugan and the medical ninja."

"There's no choice. But by eliminating the evil Uchiha ninja, they will die with a purpose."

"This way, the White Fang of the Leaf will bear the title of an incompetent superior for failing to protect his subordinates. The next Hokage position will surely go to Danzō-sama. Only Danzō-sama can lead the Leaf to a stronger path."

The four exchanged words, fervently believing in their 'Danzō-sama'.

According to the plan, they should have started a suicidal attack on the Sand Hidden Village camp from here, but now they were just observers, completely ignoring their own village's ninjas being surrounded by the enemy.

"Should we leave now? There doesn't seem to be anything else to see."

"Wait. Although we don't believe they have the ability to break through, just in case, if any of them manage to escape, we will eliminate the survivors. We must leave no loose ends, as per Danzō-sama's orders."