In the cold, dark depths of the forest, it was already around one in the morning as Hakushi and his companions rushed towards their destination.
Under the faint moonlight, large steel wires could be seen connecting the towering trees, forming an impenetrable web, awaiting the unfortunate prey to fall into the trap.
It wasn't that they didn't want to break in from a safer spot, but rather this was the weakest point for an assault.
Just ahead was the vital supply point of the Hidden Sand Ninja.
In other words, it was impossible to enter silently, given how important this location was, and there must be perception ninjas monitoring it. Their movements were likely already exposed.
Cutting through the web of steel wires, kunai and shuriken densely shot down from the darkness above. Some of the kunai had explosive tags attached, their edges sizzling and burning.
Boom!
Boom!
The endless explosions made one's eardrums ache.
The earth trembled, and the surrounding trees quickly ignited, devouring the tranquility of the night.
However, this also confirmed that the front was a crucial supply point of the Hidden Sand Village; otherwise, there wouldn't be such meticulously set traps. Even with the Byakugan observing beforehand, it was impossible to bypass silently; they could only forcefully break through.
"They're coming, eleven from the west, nine from the south, seventeen from the north."
Ayane, using the Byakugan, observed the number of ninjas coming to block their advance at the defense outpost, a total of thirty-seven.
Among them, most were Chunin, with a few Jonin mixed in, acting as leaders.
"Start using the antidote."
Hakushi finished speaking and first swallowed the white pill.
Ruri and Ayane did the same, taking the antidote.
Hakushi then took out two smoke bombs from his ninja tool bag, detonating them in the fiery forest. Ashen smoke billowed into the sky, and although useless against perception ninjas, it disturbed the other ninjas, throwing them into chaos.
"Damn it, there's poison in this smoke! Quickly retreat!"
The well-trained Hidden Sand Ninjas entered the smoke-heavy area and immediately sensed something wrong. Their bodies began to weaken, feeling as if suffocated, their minds becoming dizzy. Those with lower resistance to poison fell to the ground, convulsing in pain.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Extinguishing!"
Ruri swiftly formed seals with her hands, gathering chakra in her mouth far surpassing that of the Great Fireball Jutsu, releasing it all at once.
A wave of fire surged into the sky, overwhelming the forest ahead like a tidal wave.
Amid the scorching flames, the night turned a blood-red hue.
The initially cold air rapidly heated up, making those within the sea of flames feel as if soaked in boiling water, their skin unbearably hot.
Three small figures darted forward like lightning; surely, this welcome ceremony at the supply point would unsettle the Hidden Sand Ninjas.
Ruri's Fire Style had a vast range, and the abundant flammable trees around fed the flames with any Wind Escape techniques, making the fire blaze even stronger.
These raging flames could only be extinguished with Water Style, yet Water Style was the weakest technique for the Hidden Sand Ninjas. Given the vast spread of the fire, it was far beyond what ordinary Fire Style Jutsu could compare.
To extinguish the fire with Water Style wouldn't be done in a short time.
The time to act was only ten minutes. Although the feint attack seemed effective, how much it could distract the Hidden Sand Ninjas was uncertain for Hakushi and his team; they had to do their best to complete the mission.
After ten minutes, regardless of mission success or failure, they had to leave the battlefield.
In the forest ablaze with flames, agonizing screams continuously echoed. The encounter with the Hidden Sand troops faced by Hakushi was over in mere gestures.
Hakushi skillfully handled the kunai in his hand, brushing past a Hidden Sand Ninja, slicing their carotid artery, killing him instantly.
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"
Boom!
Ayane swung her palm, releasing a chakra shockwave akin to an air cannon, hitting a Hidden Sand Ninja attempting to ambush from behind, causing them to spew blood and fly backwards, crashing into a tree.
This was a unique long-range Taijutsu derived from the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, invisible and colorless, virtually indistinguishable with the naked eye. Without being a perception-type ninja, it was hard to dodge such an attack.
This long-range attack technique was a reward for Ayane from the last mission.
Negotiations were conducted by the Hokage and the Hyuga Clan Elders to strengthen Sakumo's squad, hoping the Hyuga Clan would teach Ayane, a branch family member, more Gentle Fist Secret Techniques.
Eight Trigrams: Air Palm was one of those techniques.
This attack plan on the Hidden Sand supply point was managed by Hakushi and Ayane on the outside, while Ruri only needed to gather Chakra and continuously release Fire Style ninjutsu to expand the scale of destruction, thereby drawing all the attention of the Hidden Sand ninja and creating a breach for the Anbu to attack their supply point.
The massive wave of fire spread again, its scorching heat and raging tongues of flame sweeping away the cold air of the forest.
Looking out, there were traces of flames raging everywhere.
However, the cost was significant. Due to the constant use of high-level Fire Style jutsus, the Chakra within Ruri was rapidly depleting, and it was estimated that after a few more such high-level Fire Style jutsu executions, her Chakra would be exhausted.
Ruri decided to stop while she was ahead, as the chaos here had already reached a peak. It was necessary to advance a bit further to expand the scale of the chaos even more.
The further they ventured into the heart of the Hidden Sand ninja territory, a stream came into view ahead of the supply point, with many tents set up on the opposite side, surrounded by tall trees that could conceal the camp.
A fire had already started in the forest across the stream, which had alerted the Hidden Sand ninja here. Under the effective command of the Jonin, the Hidden Sand ninja in readiness were undisturbed, showing no concern for the fierce enemy attack.
"Are they Konoha ninja? Why are they attacking here? Could it be that they've discovered the secret weapon here?"
One of the Hidden Sand Jonin frowned.
"If that's the case, the situation isn't good. We must not be lax for even a moment with the Jinchuriki."
"No matter what, the deployment of the Tailed Beast weapon must not be prematurely exposed. We need to catch Konoha off guard!"
The fierce determination in the eyes of several Hidden Sand Jonin resolved to eliminate every invading Konoha ninja without leaving a trace.
On the opposite side of the river, Ayane's body suddenly trembled and she paused.
Seeing Ayane stop, both Hakushi and Ruri stopped as well.
"What's wrong?"
Without Ayane's Byakugan, the eyes of the whole team, Hakushi and Ruri could do nothing except flounder like headless flies here.
"Something's wrong. I didn't see a warehouse for storing supplies. This is definitely not a Hidden Sand supply point!"
Ayane's face was slightly pale, realizing the seriousness of the situation.
Sakumo had told them that the main objective of this mission was to sever the Hidden Sand's supply point, requiring cooperation with the Anbu.
Though they were ninjas calling themselves 'Root,' they were still a branch of the Anbu, and they were remarkably familiar with the details of this mission, which made the three of them fully believe it.
But now, after scanning the heart of this 'supply point' with the Byakugan, Ayane found no warehouse for storing supplies, just a large number of Hidden Sand ninja vigilantly guarding.
Other than that, there was nothing.
Regardless of why the Hidden Sand ninja occupied this place, Ayane was certain it was not a supply point.
Upon hearing Ayane's words, Hakushi and Ruri's expressions changed as well.
There was an issue with the mission! This thought immediately formed in their minds.
"Let's go!"
Without daring to linger, Hakushi was the first to react. Forgetting about carrying out the mission, this kind of situation demanded an explanation.
If the mission failed due to lack of skill, Hakushi would have nothing to say.
However, the information provided was incorrect, and the mission was filled with disguise and deceit, making it unnecessary to persist any further.
The three quickly retreated, but by this time, the Hidden Sand ninja had already deployed personnel around them, forming an impenetrable net that encircled Hakushi and his team.
...
On the far-off cliff, four Anbu 'Root' ninjas stood or sat, silhouetted against the moonlight, coldly observing the chaos and fires in the forest from above.
"Those three are quite capable, no wonder Lord Danzo wants to eliminate this Uchiha genius. Letting her grow would be too dangerous."
"After all, Uchiha folks aren't to be trusted. It's a pity about the Byakugan user and that Medical Ninja though."
"Nothing we can do, but eliminating the nefarious Uchiha ninja might make their demise worthwhile."
"This way, the Konoha White Fang will also be labeled an incompetent superior who couldn't protect his subordinates. The next Hokage position must belong to Lord Danzo. Only Lord Danzo can lead Konoha to a stronger path."
The four exchanged words with a fervent faith in 'Lord Danzo'.
According to the plan, they should have initiated a suicide assault on the Hidden Sand camp from here, but now they were merely spectators, ignoring their own village's ninjas trapped in the enemy's encirclement, indifferent.
"Should we leave now? Seems there's nothing more to watch."
"Wait, while I don't believe they can break out, to be safe, if any of them fortuitously escape, we'll finish off the survivors. We can't leave any evidence behind. It's an order from Lord Danzo as well."