It should not be forgotten that although the Third Hokage had mobilized students from the third year and above to graduate early and go to the battlefield over a year ago, those who ultimately passed the graduation exam were all ordinary commoner students.
The students from the ninja clans had all had their requests for early graduation denied by the supervising teachers.
In other words, the fourth, fifth, and sixth-year students still attending the Ninja Academy were all from ninja clans.
Compared to commoner ninjas like Sagawa and his friends, they had better backgrounds, better bloodlines, better ninjutsu resources, and better life-sustaining medicines...
After their time on the battlefield, the surviving students who had graduated early understood all too well why those stronger ninja clan students had not been allowed to pass the graduation exam.
If they didn't train hard now, they feared that when those others graduated normally in a few years, they would become mere stepping stones for them.
This was something Sagawa and his friends could not accept under any circumstances.
Therefore, after receiving the secret flying dagger art from Li Anshi, the three of them came to him for guidance every day.
For them not to have come by now was something Li Anshi found slightly unusual.
After finishing another carving, Li Anshi still had not seen the three of them.
"Something's not right."
Putting down the carving in his hand, Li Anshi's expression darkened.
Something was very, very wrong.
Even if the three of them had gone on a mission, with their abilities, a D-rank mission should have been completed long ago.
Getting up and closing the door, Li Anshi walked towards the forest outside Konoha village.
Although Konoha had many training grounds where ninjas not on missions could practice, Sagawa and his friends didn't want their training of the secret art to become common knowledge.
So, they didn't train in the grounds, but instead went to the more dangerous Forest of Death to practice.
Of course, with their strength, they couldn't venture deep into the forest. They had merely chosen a spot on the outskirts that was not easily discovered.
Li Anshi soon arrived at their training spot.
"Wrong."
"The tracks here have been cleaned up!"
Although Li Anshi was known for his offensive prowess, he had still learned how to set traps and use camouflage at the Ninja Academy.
Furthermore, after mastering the Little Li Flying Dagger, his perception had greatly improved.
The person who had camouflaged this area was very skilled, but it was precisely because they were too skilled that Li Anshi was able to spot a few flaws.
When Sagawa and his friends practiced, they didn't just train with the daggers; they also practiced tree climbing and water walking to improve their chakra control.
On the trunks of two trees nearby were two sets of small footprints.
They were from when their chakra control slipped while practicing tree climbing, causing explosions that damaged the wood.
And based on Li Anshi's understanding of the trio, while they hadn't yet reached the point of standing on water without causing ripples, they were already very proficient at "tree climbing."
Even if they occasionally used a bit too much chakra and damaged the tree, it was unlikely they would leave a continuous series of footprints.
Clearly, someone had camouflaged the broken tree trunks to make the footprints look like they were caused by a lack of proficiency during tree climbing practice.
A flying dagger appeared in Li Anshi's hand, allowing him to enter the state of "Dagger Perception."
Unfortunately, he soon discovered that while he did perceive something in this state, his experience was not yet sufficient to discern what had happened to the three of them from these perceptions.
But he could be certain that they had been attacked.
However, for someone to dare to launch an attack in Konoha at this time, did they want to start another war?
Were the attackers from the Stone, the Sand, or the Cloud?
Li Anshi's face fell.
Upon realizing his subordinates had been attacked, he understood.
It must have been because he had passed on the first stage of the technique to them that they had become targets.
As a secret art that had shone so brightly on the Cloud battlefield, it would be a lie to say the other ninja villages weren't envious.
But Li Anshi's strength was too great. Even if they were envious, they wouldn't dare to make a move on him.
Li Anshi estimated that while his students were practicing, they were discovered by a spy from another village, who then abducted them.
With their strength, never mind a Chunin, even an experienced Genin could have wiped them out in a surprise attack.
"Very well. It seems my last battle with the Cloud was not enough to deter the ninjas of other villages."
"Good. Of the thirty thousand-plus flying daggers I had the blacksmith forge, there are still over twenty-eight thousand left."
"Let me see which village is so bold."
The corners of Li Anshi's mouth turned up slightly, his eyes cold.
Whether the training method for his secret art was obtained by other villages was not something he was overly concerned about.
Never mind that Sagawa and his friends hadn't even completed the first stage of training; even if they had the complete method, Li Anshi didn't believe that without Li Xunhuan's memories, there were many in the entire ninja world who could successfully master it.
With his own skills in tracking and concealment, Li Anshi couldn't get more information from this camouflage.
However, the people who had abducted his students seemed to have forgotten—this was Konoha!
Anger rising in his heart, Li Anshi's figure flickered. Using the Body Flicker Technique at full speed, he rushed from the Forest of Death to the Hokage's building in less than a minute.
"Lord Hokage."
Pushing open the door to the office directly, Li Anshi saw that besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, the elders Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were also present.
"Elder Homura, Elder Koharu."
After greeting the two elders, Li Anshi said to Hiruzen Sarutobi in a deep voice, "Lord Hokage, my three subordinates are missing."
"I went to the place where they usually train and saw that they seem to have been abducted. The scene has been camouflaged."
"I would like to request that you dispatch a few ninjas skilled in tracking to assist me in bringing them back."
"Wait!"
Before the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could reply, Homura Mitokado frowned and questioned Li Anshi, "Three subordinates?"
"Are you a squad-leading Chunin?"
"Do you know how many missions Konoha has received from the daimyo and nobles?"