Anya led the Iwa ninja to her Anbu squad. When they gathered, they noticed one member missing and all looked at Inoichi, clearly confused.
Without his mask on, Inoichi let out a sigh and said, "We were ready to come after receiving orders from the Third Hokage. Clan Leader Fugaku agreed too. However, many Uchiha clan members disagreed and kept urging Shisui to leave the Anbu and fight alongside the family. Because there was so much opposition, Clan Leader Fugaku finally withdrew his order and chose to keep Shisui at Kumo's battlefield, saying he would report this to the Third Hokage afterward."
Anya didn't say much after listening. She simply replied, "Okay, I understand."
This incident clearly showed how foolish Fugaku really was. As a clan leader, he was too soft-hearted, easily pressured by the clan members, and failed to follow the Hokage's command to forcefully retain Shisui.
This matter could be considered either major or minor. In principle, Anbu belonged directly to the Kage's subordinates, and only the Hokage had authority to mobilize them. Viewed seriously, this was open defiance against the Hokage.
Viewed lightly, it was just internal personnel allocation within the clan, all fighting on the battlefield for Konoha.
But no matter which angle you looked at it from, it was definitely disadvantageous. First of all, Shisui was an Anbu member, only secondly was he a clan member. By forcefully retaining him, what exactly was the Uchiha clan trying to do? Were they attempting authoritarian rule? That would give people plenty to criticize about.
Anya felt sorry for Shisui; deep down, she'd always admired his rare talent—something no one else she'd met came close to matching, not even Minato. Unfortunately, Shisui had flaws in his personality. From battle alone, you could see he rarely used decisive force. Of everyone in their squad, after so many battles, Yugao had actually taken down the most enemies.
You could say it was like a dragon stuck in a pond—doomed to sink instead of soar. But since he was recommended by Mikoto-san after all, the responsibility wasn't entirely his. Anya decided to give Shisui another shot—to see if she could bring him back on track.
Thinking about these things, Anya's face revealed nothing. She pointed at the Iwa ninja on the ground and said, "Inoichi, it's up to you. I need all his information."
"Sure." Inoichi formed hand seals with both hands and said, "[Ninjutsu: Mind-Reading Technique!]"
The Iwa ninja on the ground twitched violently, grimacing in pain before finally going blank. His eyes opened with a lifeless gaze—clearly under Inoichi's control.
After waiting a while, Inoichi obtained the intelligence and quickly wrote everything down onto a scroll before handing it to Anya.
Anya read through the scroll carefully—it absolutely couldn't afford any mistakes. If something went wrong, they might not kill the Raikage but instead get wiped out first by the Tsuchikage.
According to the scroll, this Iwa ninja's name was Lie Kai, and along with another ninja named Shou Kari, they were the two top leaders of Iwa's Explosion Corps. Under their leadership, Konoha had suffered immense pressure on the battlefield. During the Second Great Ninja War, even the Sannin barely survived due to the Explosion Corps—they had wiped out all other Konoha ninja except the Sannin themselves. So it made sense that they left a trail of destruction—which was probably why Jiraiya went after them personally.
The Tsuchikage had full confidence in the Explosion Corps and treated them well, even taking Lie Kai's young son directly as his student. His name was Deidara—yes, that name did ring a bell.
Anya recalled a video she'd seen in her past life and murmured to herself, "Clay bombs… Ah, right! That's who it was!"
In her previous life, there were quite a few fan-edited videos of Sasuke's battle against Deidara. That fight had been truly spectacular, with both sides going all-out until the very end. Deidara was also considered the most unfortunate casualty within Akatsuki. The concept of *jutsu-countering techniques* had been vividly demonstrated through Deidara, especially his ultimate move *Patty C4*, whose power could rival a super-level Shinra Tensei if detonated within a single village.
Actually, Deidara's real strength didn't lie in one-on-one battles. When deployed on the battlefield, his abilities were practically invincible. Take for example Lie Kai here—he had given Konoha no small amount of trouble.
After absorbing all available information about Lie Kai, Anya reached into her robe and pulled out another scroll—a gift from Jiraiya-sama before her departure, meant to provide additional security for her infiltration into Iwagakure.
Upon opening it, the jutsu was titled [Toad Flat Shadow Manipulation Technique].
The scroll explained that this ninjutsu allowed the user to hide inside someone's shadow, manipulating their actions. For a certain period, the caster could control both the target's mind and body—even directing their conversations. It barely revealed the presence of the user and was extremely practical.
Of course, there were drawbacks too—if the user breathed, the technique would automatically be released. However, when combined with her Sharingan, controlling Lie Kai would become effortless for Anya, with minimal risk of exposure.
Beside her, Haku had already guessed that Anya had another mission ahead. He said somewhat discontentedly, "Are you leaving us again to complete a task alone?"
"I have no choice; capable people must carry more responsibility. This is a battlefield, and ninja must obey orders." Anya replied seriously. "While I'm gone, follow Lord Jiraiya's commands. During that time, I believe the pressure on this front will ease significantly. Once my mission is complete, I'll return and lead you all."
"Yes," the three responded in unison.
With the briefing over, Anya began studying the ninjutsu Jiraiya had taught her. Though ranked as B-class, this technique wasn't without difficulty. In some ways, it bore similarities to the Nara Clan's Shadow Imitation Technique.
After some practice, once successfully mastered, Anya wasted no time preparing to leave. After all, Lie Kai's prolonged absence could easily raise suspicion.
Anya made her physical form extremely thin and merged completely into Lie Kai's shadow before heading off in a specific direction.
Just as she entered the battlefield territory of Iwagakure, a loud voice rang out, "Damn it, Lie Kai! Where've you been? We've been looking everywhere for you—we even thought you might've been killed by Konoha shinobi!"
Lie Kai smiled faintly and said, "Oh, it's Shou Kari. Killing me isn't so easy. Not just anyone can withstand my explosive art."
Shou Kari shot back irritably, "Yeah, yeah—you're always raving about 'art'. Even your own son has caught the habit."
Lie Kai put on a surprised expression and asked, "By the way, you were in such a rush to find me—do you have something important to discuss?"
"Hmm, it's an assignment from Lord Tsuchikage," Shou said cautiously. "Lately, our demolition team has been too conspicuous on the battlefield. It's easy for us to become targets for Konoha, especially since their two leading figures are none other than Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, and the Yellow Flash—someone so deadly that you'd want to turn tail and run at the first sign of him. Neither of them is someone to take lightly."
"What are Lord Tsuchikage's exact orders?" Lie Kai asked curiously.
"We're being called back to the village to lay low and regroup for a while. Rumor has it something's brewing with Kumo—I'm not entirely in the loop either," Shou said, releasing a breath of relief. "This is actually for the best. If Tenten keeps risking her neck on the front lines like this, she won't last long."
Lie Kai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I should head back and visit my son as well."
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