Seeing Uchiha Ryosuke walk into the forest to the front left without a word, the three behind him immediately frowned.
"Hey!"
Uzuki Sen couldn't help but call out in a low voice.
And Sarutobi Shio also complained with a hint of dissatisfaction:
"This guy, I saw his strength was pretty good, and our captain is dead.
I only agreed to form a temporary team with him, but I didn't expect him to be so reckless..."
"He's going to get all of us killed."
Hyuga Koji, however, said nothing, his expression normal, his thoughts unknown.
Just as Sarutobi Shio finished speaking, Uchiha Ryosuke's voice immediately followed from ahead.
"If you want to complain, wait until you can return to the Village alive."
"If you don't want to die, hurry up and follow."
Hearing Uchiha Ryosuke say this, Uzuki Sen, Hyuga Koji,
and Sarutobi Shio exchanged puzzled glances.
"Did he discover something?"
Hyuga Koji wondered aloud.
"Hmph! This kid, I think he's just playing tricks!"
Sarutobi Shio said disdainfully.
But at this moment, Hyuga Koji had already activated his Byakugan and began observing his surroundings.
Two or three seconds later, when he turned to look in the direction Uchiha Ryosuke had been observing, his expression instantly changed.
Seeing the change in Hyuga Koji's expression, Uzuki Sen and Sarutobi Shio also felt a chill in their hearts.
"What's wrong?"
Uzuki Sen quickly asked.
"About a kilometer ahead, several people are heading in our direction..."
"It looks like... the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from the Hidden Mist Village!"
Hyuga Koji replied.
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"
Uzuki Sen and Sarutobi Shio's faces all changed drastically when they heard this.
Those were the renowned elite Ninja of the Hidden Mist Village.
Each of them possessed the strength of a Jonin, capable of taking on all of them alone.
They had heard that the Hidden Mist Village had recently dispatched them to hunt down other Konoha units on the battlefield.
These guys were ruthless and incredibly cruel.
They especially liked to target new Ninja from Konoha Village, never leaving any survivors.
If ordinary people encountered them and didn't flee quickly, death was their only option.
"It seems we should retreat!"
Hyuga Koji warned.
"That kid already detected the enemy's approach?"
Sarutobi Shio frowned, asking incredulously.
No one answered him.
Uzuki Sen and Hyuga Koji had already turned and were retreating, following Uchiha Ryosuke's back.
"Damn it... How did he do that?"
Despite his immense displeasure, Sarutobi Shio still followed suit.
One kilometer away.
The first generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who were rapidly on the move.
A man with spiky, fluffy yellow hair, wearing an Anbu mask from the Hidden Mist Village, and several bandages wrapped around his neck, suddenly spoke.
"Oh? They seem to have discovered us."
"It seems there's a sensory-type Ninja among them..."
This person was one of the first generation Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the user of long sword: needle, Kuriarare Kushimaru.
Hearing him say that, Suikazan Fuguki, who was carrying the great sword samehada (shark skin - sword name), grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth:
"To deal with these brats, we actually had to come out ourselves, hmph... If we let them escape now, it would be our fault."
Immediately after, the one-eyed Munashi Jinpachi snorted coldly:
"Because the team responsible for attacking the enemy's logistics and Medical Ninja unit didn't return.
We sensed something was wrong, so we came to check, and indeed there are enemies here."
"Killing our people and still expecting to leave alive? There's no such easy thing in this world."
After speaking, Munashi Jinpachi even swung the Bakutō Bibara in his hand at the air in front of him.
The other members remained silent.
They silently accelerated, rapidly pursuing in the direction Uchiha Ryosuke and the others were retreating...
Uchiha Ryosuke felt a little depressed.
He hadn't expected to encounter such a powerful opponent at this time.
He had only sensed that the opponent's aura was very strong, and their Chakra was incredibly powerful.
For now, his side couldn't defeat the opponent.
However, he didn't know the opponent's identity.
But, Hyuga Koji had directly seen the target's appearance through his Byakugan.
And based on that, he had determined that the opponents were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
At this point, Uchiha Ryosuke certainly couldn't engage them in battle.
"They're accelerating their pursuit."
Hyuga Koji and Uzuki Sen quickly caught up with Uchiha Ryosuke, and the former subconsciously warned him.
He had witnessed Uchiha Ryosuke's actions against those Kirigakure Ninja.
Objectively speaking, his strength was even greater than all three of theirs.
So, he naturally and subconsciously treated Uchiha Ryosuke as their "captain."
Uchiha Ryosuke turned to look at him:
"If we're unlucky enough to be caught up to later, everyone for themselves."
This answer greatly surprised Uzuki Sen, Hyuga Koji, and Sarutobi Shio.
"Your Uchiha clan members are truly special."
"Abandoning comrades, and you say it so matter-of-factly!"
Sarutobi Shio snorted coldly.
"At a time like this, let's not argue. Escaping is the priority."
Uzuki Sen, seeing the tense atmosphere, quickly reminded them.
Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Shio snorted coldly again and fell silent.
Uchiha Ryosuke, however, turned to her and asked, "You're a Medical Ninja, right?"
When he woke up, he found that his wounds had been re-bandaged.
But all the other Medical Ninja were dead.
So, it was highly likely that Uzuki Sen had bandaged him.
"Yes."
Uzuki Sen replied.
"Then you can follow me."
"The other two are on their own."
Uchiha Ryosuke didn't waste words.
Facing the pursuit of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he didn't want to carry two burdens.
He still needed to save his life to achieve his plans.
"This..."
Uzuki Sen was stunned when she heard this, and she looked hesitantly at Sarutobi Shio and Hyuga Koji.
"If you don't want to, then you can follow them."
Uchiha Ryosuke sped up.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were very fast.
They had already closed the initial distance of one kilometer to less than eight hundred meters from their position.
At this rate, we'll be caught sooner or later.
"Hey! Are you really going to abandon us? Damn it!"
"That Uchiha bastard!"
Sarutobi Shio cursed angrily, then turned his head to glance at the woods on his right, and suggested they run that way:
"Since this kid doesn't want to take us with him, let's split up!"
"Hmph! You'll have a hard time when we get back to Konoha. Abandoning comrades and leaving without permission—someone like that isn't fit to be a Ninja!"
After he finished speaking, he turned and left towards the right, signaling Uzuki Sen and Hyuga Koji to follow him.
These three were, after all, members of the same squad.
At this moment, despite some inner conflict, Uzuki Sen and Hyuga Koji still followed him…